The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Week 3...Closing in on Something

Our last post discussed the importance of strategy and goal setting in the development of a successful business. It also gave you some good advice on present moment awareness. In this post we continue to the discussion on strategy and on closing contracts.

Week 3 saw me back in my base office ready to take on the world. My confirmed client schedule well defined and a list of prospects looming on my whiteboard just waiting to be called. 

I am not a natural salesman. The thought of getting in front of someone to ask them for money in exchange for a product or service is not something I crave. Like most people of a technical background there is a small sense of fear that their rejection of my product or service is in fact a proxy for a rejection of me. However a funny thing happens when sales is no longer a hobby, no longer an intellectual curiosity to be viewed from the sidelines. No, now my business success rides on my ability to ask for the sale and close the deal.

It was funny how smoothly I was able to make the transition. Not that I am particularly good at it yet. Just that I had no problem doing it right away. In week three I would close two new coaching contracts that brought me ever closer to my monthly revenue target. It was exciting to do this and to gain the confidence that I could do this.

What did I learn?

Sales is a Relationship sport

Selling to someone you do not know is infinitely harder than doing so with someone who knows and trusts you. As a coach selling in a high trust context this is especially true. The maintenance of a trust based professional relationship cannot be over stressed. Since I had these in place my first several contracts in the first month were relatively straight forward to close. Not easy in any way just straight forward. It is clear to me that the development of a relationship will continue to be an important aspect of the process. Now it should also be said that referrals are a great proxy for an established relationship. When someone refers you, you enter into the sales discussion with the referrers credibility. If you maintain professionalism and passion for your service and can in fact meet the prospects needs you stand a very good chance of closing these deals as well.

Confidence in your service is crucial

Have you ever tried to represent something you did not quite believe in? You just cant give it everything you are can you? Deep down you know that your integrity cannot fully support this thing and must hold back. Holding back comes through in our behaviors and ultimately in the confidence or lack thereof we demonstrate. No you must believe in what you are selling in order to be effective especially in the high trust environments of personal services. As a coach I have a deep confidence that I can help my clients. I have too many success stories to think otherwise. I am blessed with helping people to transform their lives into higher levels of productivity, capability and confidence. No for me I know that I know I can help my clients and my prospective clients. It is easy to be in front of them and discuss how the process can help them transform their lives.

GO ahead make a mistake or two most people will give you grace anyway

Okay many of you get this already and my technical brethren will appreciate this as I do, sometimes you need to just go and do something. The act of executing a "good enough" plan is infinitely more important than a "perfect plan" waiting to be executed. Sometimes we need to just go forth and DO, make mistakes, stumble a bit and figure things out. I have found that people have grace for you if you are not quite polished, not quite perfect. In fact it makes you more human more approachable more credible. Not that we should manipulate this to our benefit but whatever you do waiting until the perfect plan has been birthed is a strategy for FAILURE.

So these are my thoughts on week 3. Next post we talk bout week four and closing out a month.
 

The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Week 2 Strategic Planning

Week 1 was a blur of new experiences, new stressors, ambiguity and much unknown. Week 2 in contrast was relatively easy. Week 2 I had the opportunity to travel back east and conduct a technical training as part of my major contract. A 32 hour training that with travel consumed my week. The training was a success despite the fact that the trainees were from an industry completely foreign to me. I had no relevant examples I could draw on since I had never worked in their field. But all in all the training was a success and the students left more informed and capable than they arrived. The client was happy and it was a good week. 

Okay but there was this one little thing bugging the daylights out of me all week. That little thing is the subject of today's post. 

Planning, strategy, goals...

You could say that I am not the most organized person in the world and you would be correct. My point of view is to take care of the big rocks and let the little stuff take care of itself. So what happens when I don't take care of the big rocks? 

Chaos. I get stressed and dig into the task closest to me. Then the next task, the next one etc.

This is not the best place to be certainly. In some ways it is a decent coping mechanism since at least something gets done. I don't shut down after all. I just don't get the most important things done. A perfect example I spent two and a half hours driving around Memphis one evening looking for a Toys R Us to get a training aid. After a while the goal of finding the store became almost as important as completing the task of finding the training aid. Total waste of time! Yes it was but at least the training exercise was a smash success as a result.

So we can go two ways with this post: 1. Awareness, 2. Strategy

Awareness:

In order to be successful we need to constantly cultivate a sense of present moment awareness. I like to consider this with two phrases.
a. thinking about our thinking
An aware person will regulate their thoughts and will reflect on what they are thinking about and adjust from time to time. A perfect example of this is when we find ourself in a negative place. Our thoughts are pessimistic and lead to negative judgements of others and 
negative behaviors. Self awareness demands that we become aware of our negative thoughts and make the decision to change them. i will often challenge others who are traveling down negative street to share 3 things that are positive about whatever they are talking
 about. This often shakes them out of their negative place long enough to become aware of it. 

When I sense someone is stressed I encourage them to take a deep breathe and share with me what is bothering them. I speak with a slow measured and soft tone. I breathe slower myself all in an attempt to help them to calm and gain control over their mental
processes. In doing this the person generally will become more aware of where they are at and can with assistance see alternate solutions to what previously seemed an impossible situation. 

b. What is my role in this current situation
Often people interact with others and find the situation not to their liking. Their negative judgement then reinforces the interpersonal dynamic making the situation even worse. I like to ask what my role is so that I can change the context and change the interpersonal
dynamic. Often in random predictable situations I will act in seemingly bizarre ways. For instance at a restaurant with a group and when asked for a name to wait for a table I will make up a name. It amazes me the effect this has on other people. They cannot understand
why I would do such a thing. 

Change your perspective, change your thoughts. Change your thoughts change your outcomes. 

A recent favorite is to go to Chik Fil A and make it difficult for the staff to use their trademark "my pleasure" response. A silly game yes, changing the context and my awareness in the moment ABSOLUTELY. 
We must understand how we interact with others to appreciate what is going on around us. After all the world is not some random movie playing out in front of us for our amusement, rather it is much like an Improv where our every action elicits a 
response from others. To a significant extent our lives are created by our actions. Do you like the plot of your life? No Change it! Change your behaviors get a different response. 

Strategy

Finally the point of the post! Thought I would never get here.

As a small business owner it is crucial that you understand where you want to take your business. It is not enough  to have a vague concept of what your business is about and what you want to achieve. In week 2 I was able to hold onto one core goal, cash flow. How much cash should my new business generate in month 1. What was my plan for month 2,3 and 4 etc. What about the year. With goals set in this area it became quite simple to begin to set sales appointments to begin to see how my business could generate value in its core focus areas of training and coaching.

Strategy need not be a go to the mountain top and come back with a polished strategy book. No it needs to be something far more elegantly simple and effective. A short list of organizational priorities linked directly to your company's core competencies. For me with one major contract secured setting a cash flow goal was a logical and effective starting point. Delving deeper into understanding other core strategies to business success would come later. First protect and grow your cash flow.

Not a lot more to say of week 2. In the next post we will look further at strategy, goal setting and asking for the order.

Live on Purpose!

Ron 
 

The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Still Trying to Start Well... (Week 1 Part 4)

Why work for yourself?

Certainly there are benefits to being an entrepreneur. Lets face it some of us just are not cut out to work for someone else. I spent over 23 years working as an employee. Yes there are benefits and many perks that make such a lifestyle alluring. 

But at what price?

I come from good honest hard working middle class people. When I was growing up there was no other mindset than to be an "employee". In fact the first career advice I received occurred as an early teenager when I was encouraged to find a J O B. You see generations of ancestors had been "employed" that is all they knew. You cannot get encouragement and wisdom on being an entrepreneur from perennial employee people, frankly they just don't get it.

Despite my best efforts my early years as an employee were miserable. I did not quite fit in. I had my own ideas and people did not care about them. I found ways to cope and eventually thrive. At times I even found the path to excel but it always seemed short lived. Organizations have their own sense of consciousness and they don't like people who would rather think and act their own way rather than conform. 

Have you ever felt like you were a half step out of cadence and just couldn't get into line? 

I have and as I matured I came to value being unique and different more than trying to fit in. In fact it is this very uniqueness that I came to value most. In my late 30's I began to seriously explore what this meant to me and came face to face with a concept I now love that of leadership. I discovered that I had no end of passion for leading and for learning how to lead better. In fact the more I discovered this gift, the better I got, the more quickly I was promoted. My last days as an "employee" were in a senior management position of general manager overseeing a facility with 150 employees and a $60M budget. But even this level of responsibility paled against the reflection of uniqueness, independence and personal growth I had come to demand of myself. And yet being the leader gave me the opportunity to be responsible and accountable for things. I really cherished this aspect of leadership. 

Funny though that as I learned more and grew as a leader I found that my heart's desire was to be a number 2 to a great leader for a cause I was sold out for. I had no real desire to be the number 1. No don't have the ego or the stamina for that. My real desire is to make a great leader even greater, help them see beyond their own abilities. The problem is I never found that person, that one leader I wanted to follow. So I always seem to end up in the number 1 chair. I believe this is an exact match with why I now am so comfortable with the concept of being an entrepreneur. Since there is no one I currently want to follow, and I am very comfortable leading myself. Ultimately the decision to become an entrepreneur running my own business is about freedom, independence and leadership. There is no one to tell me when to arrive, when to attend, what to wear, what to think, what to say. I get to make all those choices. Some days I make excellent choices, others I blow it. Regardless I look in the mirror and remember something written by one of America's founding fathers a few centuries ago 

Entrepreneur’s Credo

I do not choose to be a common man,
It is my right to be uncommon … if I can,
I seek opportunity … not security.
I do not wish to be a kept citizen.
Humbled and dulled by having the
State look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk;
To dream and to build.
To fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;
I prefer the challenges of life
To the guaranteed existence;
The thrill of fulfillment
To the stale calm of Utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence
Nor my dignity for a handout
I will never cower before any master
Nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect.
Proud and unafraid;
To think and act for myself,
To enjoy the benefit of my creations
And to face the world boldly and say:
This, with God’s help, I have done
All this is what it means
To be an Entrepreneur.


With that Week 1 ends on a dignified note. Next up the travels and travails of week 2

Ron 
 

The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Still Trying to Start Well... (Week 1 Part 3)

The challenge of week 1 was multifaceted. Not only did i have to get comfortable with the ambiguity of not having a J O B but also with the uncertainty of managing cash flow at an intimate level, maintaining motivation in the face of adversity maintaining balance with family and fitness and on and on. 

In this post we have to talk about "the Decision". It really does represent the crux of moving forward in this new world. 

Significant career decisions can be remarkably hard to make in the absence of good process. After all without process what are we left with? Chance, emotion, whim???

Can you imagine making a serious career decision on emotion of whim?! Seriously doing this is like walking off a cliff and expecting not to fall. Indiana Jones might have pulled that off in The Last Crusade (check out this cool Youtube video of the scene) but his step wasn't emotional or whimsical, it was faith filled. My decision was a long time coming. In fact it took several years before I felt the pieces were in place to make the jump. 

If you are contemplating a resignation or other significant career decision I urge you to seek wise counsel. If you are not the type to know how to make significant decisions seek the help of a trusted friend who is or seek the help of a career coach who can objectively walk you through the process (I happen to know a good one ;). The implications of making a wise decision are far reaching. Not only will good process allow you to sleep at night 

For me actually making the decision to leave was instrumental in my emotional well being during week 1. In the moments of despair when I wasnt sure I could do everything I needed to complete I would draw upon the reserves of knowing that this was my choice, my decision my life. I found comfort in the fact that I was responsible for where I was. For me this was crucial, I need look no further than the mirror. A good friend of mine when hearing of my decision to leave commented, "I admire you I only wish I had the option to leave on my own terms". She had been laid off mere weeks before. 

Regardless of the circumstances that led you to a place of leaving that J O B, you now have a choice. The choice is simple will you rise above your current circumstance and succeed or will you wallow in victimhood allowing the world to dictate your circumstance.

I have met far to many people who are merely bit players in the movie called their Life. They seem content to let the plot of their life be written by others and just allow life to happen to them. You need not accept such a choice. No, you can choose to be the lead actor in your life. You can write the plot. Could it be a thriller, an adventure novel, a romance? The decision truly is yours. Do not accept the potential tragedy that will be written should you not choose to decide. 

What will the plot of your story be? Will you write it?

Resignation

In the next post we will explore the benefits of independence and entrepreneurialism
 

The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Starting Out Well (Week 1 Part 2)

It was really strange to contemplate on Sunday afternoon what Monday would look like. I would wake up early on my first day of freedom and plan for a strategy day. A day where I could pray, reflect, center myself and get ready to act. Being a thoughtful and reflective guy this seemed the right starting point for the first official full time day of my new adventure.

Reality it seems had something different in store. I stared at an outlook calendar that was essentially full. From 6am through to 5pm my day was booked solid! How could this be I asked the tension rising. My first day was supposed to be different it was supposed to prepare me to leap not be a dive straight into the fire.

Day 1 was exactly that dive in the fire and dodge the flames. I was thinking on my feet making decisions I hadn't made in years. It was exhilarating to be sure, the adrenaline rushed through me as did the stress of dealing with many unknowns. Too many unknowns I would suggest but then this is what I had longed for as I struggled to stay engaged in a J O B.

From the start of my full time adventure I had contracts in place. I wasn't starting cold here having to build a clientele from the ground up. No my family wasn't going to starve it wouldn't be easy to be sure but the plan was / is solid and getting better by the day. Day 1 was a surprise but one that was manageable. At the end of the day sitting back almost shell shocked by what had transpired over the previous 14 hours I wondered aloud if this is what it meant to be an entrepreneur.

Ron

 

The Entrepreneurial Adventure

Leadership Coach goes Live
 
Week 1 was a blur.
 
It seemed that the world was full of possibilities. The days were winding down. The world (or at least my part of it) knew I was done. I had done it resigned as Plant Manager. Who does that they said? Who could leave a stable career role in a time of recession?
 
What great questions!!!
 
You see I have always beleived in integrrity of action and thought. How could I as a leadership and career coach have helped clients to find their own new adventure if I was unable or unwilling to follow my own. I had determined years prior that I had reached a point of diminishing returns. A cool economics term meaning that the incremental increase in learning I recieved for staying was not worth the investment (in this case my time). Life is short ladies and gentlemen, too short to spend in a role you don't find challenging or engaging.
 
It is fascinating for me as a coach to ask how does one approach such a process. For me it began with the clear understanding of my values, life purpose and goals. Next I began to acumulate external learning in the absence of career J O B learning. I completed an MSc in Leadership then an MBA then a Coaching accreditation. Along the way I was very intentional about building a business coaching people. I collaborated with a management consulting firm to achieve even more challenge and engagement. In the same time frame I gave willingly of my time in coaching those less fortunate in life skills training classes. All the while I was very intentional about building a network of like minded people, friends and colleagues. Before I knew it there were numerous entrepreneurs, authors and business owners in my network. It keeps expanding then and now. 
 
Somewhere early this year all the tension applied to the system, all the learning seeds planted and fertilized, all the external influence of business leaders germinated into a decision, a decision to leave.
 
So the decision was made, the decision was executed and here I sit an entrepreneur. 
 
Next Post...
 
Starting out well
 

Can you feel it?!

Saw this amazing billboard in Times Square NYC this morning. Gotta love old school leadership

Photo

Sent from my iPhone

 

Wanted: Leader with Sharp Financial Skills, Unquestionable Integrity, Vision to see for Miles, Charisma to Spare...

There are no prerfect leaders, only those who do their best based on what they know. There are few who are skilled in every area they need and frankly this is a trap you must avoid anyway. Think about it if you can do everything then why do you need others? Since leadership is a relationship, say two of my favorite authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, you need others to lead.
 
I once heard an interesting sarcastic saying that know seems appropriate. An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until unltimately they know everything about nothing.
 
Don't be that guy!
 
Be in relationship with others be vulnerable, be open to other opinions. Allow those who may not be as skilled as you at a task to do it anyway. How else will they learn and grow?
 
Developing Leaders is looking for a local boy or girl (inland empire so Cal) who wants to join the team. If you have a passion for developing leaders and you are interested in helping, contact me.
 
 

Wanted: Leader with Sharp Financial Skills, Unquestionable Integrity, Vision to see for Miles, Charisma to Spare...

There are no prerfect leaders, only those who do their best based on what they know. There are few who are skilled in every area they need and frankly this is a trap you must avoid anyway. Think about it if you can do everything then why do you need others? Since leadership is a relationship, say two of my favorite authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, you need others to lead.
 
I once heard an interesting sarcastic saying that know seems appropriate. An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until unltimately they know everything about nothing.
 
Don't be that guy!
 
Be in relationship with others be vulnerable, be open to other opinions. Allow those who may not be as skilled as you at a task to do it anyway. How else will they learn and grow?
 
Developing Leaders is looking for a local boy or girl (inland empire so Cal) who wants to join the team. If you have a passion for developing leaders and you are interested in helping, contact me.
 
 

2011/01/13 Update: "Goals for Life" Closes Strong in Fontana CA

Last night saw Developing Leaders Goals Program Training "Goals For Life" come to a close. It was exciting to see the participants define goals that are aligned with who they are. One participant will care for the poor in developing nations, others deepen their faith, another write a long awaited book and yet another become a successful real estate broker. So many stories so many goals! As they left the training each participant had that twinkle in their eye that things were going to be different now. You see they had developed goals that will withstand the storms of life, goals that are tied deeply int owho they are as a person. How can they fail?! I can hardly wait as they check back in each of them and hear how they completed goals they had previously only dreamed about.
 
Are you serious about your ________(career, life, health, education, you fill in the blank), this program is for you. Can't wait? One on one coaching is also an option. Contact me for details 
 

About

Hey everyone Ron Hurst here. Leadership development and career coach, and trainer working to make the world a better place through the development of others. Welcome to my page.

Check out my blogs at http://developaleader.com and
http://careertrainingdevelopment.com

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