The phrase doing a gig has been around since a long time. I was introduced to the term way back in the late 1980’s when studying in London by aspiring musicians or actors within my circle of friends.

It wasn’t uncommon to head to an artist-centric pub with other friends to watch their band play or act in skits. We supported their gigs because we were aware that their income depended on these gigs.

I admire people who are willing to play the role of starving artist with the dream to hit it big time if they hang on long enough and get the right breaks.

It requires a lot of self-motivation and resilience to handle the out of work periods.

The story of Van Gogh apparently doesn’t bother them or if it does, they don’t show it.

My interest was aroused last year when a friend from my LinkedIn network told me about how the gig economy was acquiring new entrants in the pandemic world.

That was the time professionals were reaching out asking for help in getting jobs and even though I’m not in Executive Search, I wanted to give them ideas to apply and this was one worth exploring.

Normally when we talk about gig economy, one thinks about

• Uber/Lyft drivers
• TaskRabbit workers
• Airbnb landlords
• Online marketplace sellers
• Volunteers
• Artists

But the new entrants my friend was telling me about were professionals who were highly skilled and open to contingent work arrangements and included

• Freelancers
• Consultants
• Independent contractors and professionals
• Temps (temporary contract workers)

Professionals who had lost their jobs or were furloughed were entering that segment of the employment market. .

There are industries where doing gigs is normal but here my friend was telling me about other industries where the gig concept was getting embedded.

From what I know, gigs can be risky ventures and one has to have a lot in place if one plans to make a good living from it.

But it’s a good way to test the waters if you’re planning to become a freelancer, have a side hustle or even start a business.

What’s the gig in Gig Economy?

The gig economy gets its name from each piece of work being akin to an individual ‘gig’ – although, such work can fall under multiple names.

The simplest definition I could find is a labour market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.

It isn’t freelance work as such although both gigs and freelance workers are hired for one-time jobs.

Also, if you ask a freelancer to be honest, they’ll most probably admit they’d prefer a long term contract or continuous project over the one-time freelance gigs or temp assignments.

Gig work can fall under multiple names and according to an article I read, it has been called the “sharing economy” — mostly in reference to platforms such as Airbnb — and the “collaborative economy“.

However, at its core are app-based platforms that dole out work in bits and pieces — making deliveries, driving passengers or cleaning homes — leading some to prefer the term “platform economy”.

Please note that not all gig economy roles are based around a technology platform and gig economy workers can also work for more traditional companies who might have changed their staffing system.

The article gives the example of delivery drivers for Hermes who work on a piece-by-piece delivery basis.

The gig economy is also found in India in the form of drivers of Uber (or Ola), delivery guys of Swiggy, and plumbers and masseurs you find on services such as UrbanClap.

None of them is an employee of the company you’re contacting for the services but instead, they are “partners”. This means they get paid a commission or earn a share of the bill when they work; and when they don’t, they get nothing.

Much worse, these workers lack protection and fair pay and their income is dependent on the gigs they get.

They don’t get holiday or sick pay because the companies that hire them can claim these are contractors.

Reforms are required for these workers and governments in many countries are starting to recognize this fact.

Then why are highly qualified professionals now joining the gig economy?

The answer to this question is simple – following the sudden loss of full-time employment due to COVID-19 out of work employees needed to find a way to sustain themselves and survive.

In my blog post advocating starting a new business during the pandemic, I’ve mentioned that 57% of those professionals surveyed by Salesforce said being their own boss was the ultimate inspiration as well 25% of respondents brought forward their plans to fly solo.

This scenario is slightly different as it was born out of necessity and then transformed into a way of working for oneself as a freelancer.

At the same time, companies who had laid off staff to survive the total lockdown found the need to get talented and qualified labour back but were not in a position to offer full-time employment.

It looked like a win-win situation.

But when the golden glow of benefits like flexibility in work, efficiency, additional income for the jobless, improvement in productivity and sustaining the bottom lines of the companies that hire gig workers starts to fade, we need to look at some hard facts.

For one, you’ll be seen as an independent contractor and responsible for your own accounting, safety and taxes!

All the issues that apply to the low pay gig workers will apply to you too.

Mitigating the risk and enhancing the rewards of being a gig player

If you really want to make money (and you can) then you need to do your homework first and get all your ducks in a row.

The first thing to check is if there enough demand in the market for your gig.

Even though it will be one piece of work at a time, you have to ensure there are enough people and companies out there who are looking for the skills and experience that you’ll be selling as a gig.

Your mindset is going to be your strongest ally and you need to make the shift from being an employee to a business owner.

It’s equally important to remember the gig economy is all about self-directed freelance work and part-time jobs that let you set your own schedule and work as much (or as little) as you want.

You must be able to handle the pressure of managing the gig without direction as well as all the other hats you’re going to have to wear like marketing, client management and finding work so that your time is utilized.

You’re going to be responsible for negotiating terms like time, hourly rates and scope of work done using your skills.

You might also need to upgrade some skills to ensure your gig work is run like a business.

Secondly, consider the vehicle for your gig – will you be a sole proprietor or launch a proper business with all the paperwork and reporting to the tax authorities?

I’d suggest keeping it simple to start with and consulting a good tax accountant too because the tax structure and deductions are different for salaried people, self-employed and companies.

Don’t spend all your income in one go but put some aside for tax season so that you’re not in a fix later on.

Beware of hidden costs because doing gigs isn’t all income and no expense!

For example, will you be traveling or visiting the client site? Factor that into your quotes. Using the internet to deliver work? Assess how much of that additional expense is related to gig work.

Will you need to take out professional indemnity insurance? Cost of bookkeeper, tax accountant, lawyer to help you with contracts? These are all costs that need to be taken into account.

Which reminds me, make sure you open a separate bank account for your gig business and use it for both income and expenses. Keep it separate from your personal bank account.

You can do your own accounting with different software accounting packages that are available otherwise your tax accountant might be able to refer you to a part time accountant who can create your books for you.

You also need to choose the right gig which takes into account your goals, personality, skills and time. Don’t jump into the first gig that comes along.

Instead, invest time learning more about the gig, the scope of work, negotiate the hourly pay or the gig amount and make sure that you’re not losing out.

Create a proforma contract for the work you do or if the employer has the contract, go through it and discuss all terms and conditions to make sure you don’t end up doing more than you’re supposed to.

When you get it right, you can earn a lot more than you did in your full-time job and the earning potential is unlimited. That’s a great confidence booster too!

The gig may be a temporary thing for you while you wait for the economy to bounce back, but the rules of professionalism still apply.

Getting good reviews and feedback from customers will help with references and the company employing you might just offer you permanent employment once they are in a position to afford you.

The bottom line is, yes, you can make good money in the gig economy provided you do your initial research and choose the right gig.

And if you need more guidance, you need to get Karmic Ally Coaching’s Gig Economy Bundle and use it.

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Have you been thinking about starting a new business because you now want to leave the corporate world but are too scared to step out of your comfort zone and do it?

Well I’ve got some news for you. It is possible AND it can happen even during a pandemic.

Prefer to read? Here’s the transcript below

Hi, I’m Vatsala Shukla, Chief Encouragement Officer of Karmic Ally Coaching and today, I’m going to be showing you how you can take advantage of the pandemic for launching a successful new business.

But first, let’s get rid of this myth or a truth bomb.

If you think that a recession is the worst possible time to start a business, then think again.

Because some very profitable businesses were launched during times of recession and they took advantage of some key factors. And the same is true for pandemic times.

And you know why I’m going to say this? Because I’ve got case studies to prove it. And here, I’m going to be telling you about 3 of them.

The first one that I want to outline is that of QuickHire, which is actually an online hiring platform which was started by 2 sisters, Angela Muhwezi-Hall and Deborah Gladney just as American businesses were shutting down during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

This was an idea they had for a long time to help service industry and skilled trade workers obtain jobs.

When it came to capital? Guess What? They pooled together about $50,000 from their savings and 401(k) plans in September of that year and have since secured a $350,000 investment from one angel investor.

More importantly, they are making a difference and thriving during the pandemic helping the job market and skilled workers.

The next one I want to tell you about is Life First Sanitisation which was actually started in India by filmmaker Aditya Gupta when the nation went into lockdown and his industry found itself totally unprepared for the pandemic fallout.

And since starting Life First Sanitisation, he has actually worked with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and leading Bollywood production houses. And his company carries out Covid-19 tests for the cast and crew, it sanitises their spaces and equipment with Ultraviolet-C light, and it enforces social distancing.

And this business only came about because while he was binge-watching Netflix movies and looking at Shark Tank, a new entrepreneurial spirit of his came to be.

The third example that I have, or case study is that of Anthyesti Funeral Services.

This one is slightly different because the startup had already happened in 2016.

And it was started by a former software engineer Shruthi Reddy Sethi, who wanted to clean up India’s unregulated funeral industry but it really took off after they adapted to the new COVID situation. And right now, this company is providing “end-to-end” COVID funerals in four cities.

So you see, it’s not just launching a new business but you can even pivot and actually tap into a market during recession and pandemic times.

And in my opinion, what’s really required is a fire in the belly and a desire to succeed.

So, what does it take for an entrepreneur to launch during a pandemic?

Well, I’ve got some more stats for you if you need more evidence.

There was this survey done by Salesforce in April 2021 to find out what it was like being an entrepreneur during a pandemic and there were 6 facts that emerged that need to be considered seriously.

And these 6 facts are outlined in this slide but let me tell you a little more.

Creativity is critical

Creativity was number one by a landslide and 57% of those who were surveyed said that, you know, they started thinking outside of the box and that is how new businesses were born.

Like housebound parents suddenly baking away in their kitchens and their products. Others you know started using skills and talents that perhaps they hadn’t used in the corporate world but which turned out to be profitable businesses. There were online classes, online therapy.

Creativity and being able to imagine a new business idea was what counted.

The Ultimate Inspiration? Being your own Boss

Now not surprisingly 57% of those who were surveyed said that becoming their own boss was the ultimate inspiration.

And of course passion for your product or service, and capitalizing on market needs is a normal reason for going into business but saying you want to be your own boss, live life on your own terms, that was a very big factor.

Pandemic preponed entrepreneurial plans

25% of those surveyed said the pandemic actually accelerated their plans. Many professionals suddenly found themselves being laid-off or furloughed and they needed an income to keep their kitchen’s burning, and they just decided to go into business instead.

In fact many of them had been planning on starting their own business or becoming self-employed and the pandemic simply brought their plans forward.

The rise of the B2C businesses

Now, 80% of these businesses sell directly to their consumers. In fact, interestingly, the pandemic saw many new businesses in what is known as the B2C space or business-to-consumer space instead of the normal business to business model.

And which means you don’t really need a big office or lots of staff to take on consumers. You can deal with them yourself.

Also, you don’t need a ton of cash to start a side hustle.

In fact, 52% of businesses launched had less than $10,000 seed capital and nearly half of that group had less than $5,000 on hand on the starting day. 80% of these people drew from their own bank accounts and roughly one-third received friends and family investments.

So you see, you don’t need millions and you don’t need an angel investor to start with. You can do it. You need to have a good idea and you need to have some money to fund your fledgling business until the business starts bringing money in.

And the last one was the new businesses are digital first.

In fact, 59% of these new businesses had five or less employees. And what helped them was that thanks to the lockdown and the pandemic, they didn’t need physical space or equipment beyond say a computer or a phone. And 70% of businesses were born out of technology or were tech-focused from day one.

In other words you didn’t need to put out or get any office space. You could use technology. Many meetings are conducted over Skype or Zoom and other platforms and there was simply no reason not to go ahead.

I mean, sort of, our costs are much lower and you could do it. But the best part and the one that made me very happy when I saw the survey was that nearly three in four of the new business owners surveyed already had customers.

So now that we’re all on a positive note, let me ask you, what’s your business plan like right now?

Now with some smart and creative thinking, you can have your business launched in no time. And if you have a clear plan, you can make this happen regardless of the state of the economy.

And for that, I want to give you some more encouragement and I’m going to be sharing some tips that can help you take advantage of the recession or the pandemic to get your business off to a great start:

So my first point is that your Startup costs can be lower.

And that I’ve already shown you how that survey revealed about the seed capital that these new entrepreneurs had and also how they kept their costs down because they were mostly technology based businesses that didn’t more than a laptop, an internet connection or a phone and all. So if they could do it, you can also do it.

The next one is that you must provide excellent customer service.

In other words, make sure you treat your customers the way you would want to be treated.

And a bonus tip here is that when a pandemic or recession happens, many talented professionals lose their jobs.

So if you’re planning to actually have employees on board, you could actually hire some very awesome candidates and if that isn’t possible for you right now, then you could even hire a VA or virtual assistant who can help you with the technology.

In other words, there is no excuse for you no starting your own business.

Now this is actually a very super-duper tip. You see the way Amazon and Flipkart and other online companies keep making great offers?

And of course even though you don’t want or need something, you think oh my God this is a great price, it’s a good deal. Let me take it especially if it is something you have your eyes on?

You might also have seen a lot of online companies which offer services to businesses making absolutely awesome discounted deals and all during the New Year Christmas period.

Similarly, I suggest you offer bonuses.

Now I don’t say, you know, discount yourself completely so that you cannot break even, but you can make offers which have bonuses which complement the services or the product you’re planning to sell and in that way prove that you are actually providing greater value than your other competitors and actually start bringing in the customers to start building up your business.

Ah, you have to be frugal.

In other words, abstain from going after shiny objects thinking that oh this is going to help me or that will help me. Instead, count, make sure you stick to your budget.

Make sure that you actually work out what all layouts you need to start your business.

And if there is something that is required, research all options before you go for it. Don’t just splurge with oh, I have a business, I need, you know, all sorts of crazy things.

The bells and whistles can come later. In the very beginning, make sure that you have your basics and fundamentals correct.

And the other reason, or rather the best reason that I can think of was actually getting started and launching a new business is that it’s going to give you a head start.

You know it takes a lot of courage to actually say ‘I’m going to start a business and I’m going to use it to sustain my lifestyle and provide for my family or for myself’.

But you know, those people who are brave enough to actually take courage in hand and go for their goals, they get a head start because you might just find that many people who are going to be entering the industry in which you have skills and when they join in, the market will get saturated and competition will become tougher.

But when you start earlier you already know the mistakes, you know how to adapt to changing requirements and you also understand what is required in the market and you’re able to keep a respectable if not a very good market share.

So, if I have managed to inspire you a bit to start considering launching your own successful business during COVID-19 times, then here is a very special offer, which I hope you will not resist.

And that is, I have got a workbook which details the 5 things you need to work on before jumping into business and those are the 5 areas that I have found need to be addressed both when I started business and when others who I know have started their businesses and it is in a very simplified form.

But it is going to help you to get your ideas down and actually work out where you could run into hiccups and sort it out before you make some drastic mistakes.

And because I always like to over deliver, I’m going to give you some extra help with resources which actually tie up with the main theme of this workbook and that is, you’re going to be getting the Entrepreneur Mindset Worksheet, you’re going to be getting the Ideal Business Worksheet, my Goal Setting Business Report and an Essential Business Information Guide.

The last one will also help you when you start working on your Business Plan. The link to this resource is included in the comment and I suggest you actually check it out and see if this is something that will help you.

I feel that it can but it’s your call.

So, my final words on the subject.

If you can launch and operate a successful business during a pandemic or during a recession, just think of what you can accomplish once the economy booms again!

And instead of waiting for the “right” time, take action today.

That’s all from me, Vatsala Shukla from Karmic Ally Coaching signing off. See you soon. Bye for now.

Is it a good time to set up the business you’ve been thinking of but never got the time (or found the time) to really work out the details and more importantly launch it?

With many businesses laying off employees thanks to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, now might actually be the right time for you to explore the option of becoming your own boss and starting your business, consulting or even freelancing service.

I was reading an interesting article in FastCompany by startup founder Brian Metcalfe who stated there is never a right time to start a business and what was more important is whether the business in solving pain points relevant to today.

The article reminded me of my own journey into independent Financial Consulting and later Executive Coaching.

Neither happened overnight and I had to ask some hard questions upfront as well as do some legwork to come up with the right business plan.

Back in 1998, I set up my first consultancy and landed my first client within 3 weeks.

The background behind the consultancy was a deeply personal one. My Big Why was more of proving to myself that I was highly employable and capable of being my own employer.

I had been offered a job with a Big Four Firm in India but 3 weeks before leaving Tunisia where I was working for the Tunisian partner firm, the offer was taken back.

This firm was merging with another global Big Four firm and they were undergoing a restructuring where new hires were stopped, offers rescinded and excess staff was being laid off.

There wasn’t much to be done long distance so I took it on the chin deciding I’d get a job after reaching Delhi. That was far from easy.

I got interviews but somehow it wasn’t working out. I was over-qualified for the jobs and a couple of times the interviewer was curious to see me based on my resume and professional achievements.

It was the era of outsourcing global accounting work and there were jobs available in that area but my profile was not a good match. I could not see myself handling overseas company bookkeeping when I had already been the Finance Director of a New York Listed Company.

Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter anymore.

What does matter is I got angry enough to take decisive action of setting up shop and finding paying clients who would value what I was bringing to the table.

I wanted to take back control of my career path and not leave my career to the whims and fancies of interviewers who wasted my time and perhaps their own too. I was not handing out permission slips to knock my self-confidence or question my worth.

My overarching logic?

I had an apartment that could have an office in one of the bedrooms, a car, mobile phone and a computer with internet connection.

I could do certain assignments that didn’t require a bandwidth at a competitive cost and still make a profit because I had worked out all the details in my business plan including partnerships with other accounting firms if I needed staff.

From a tax point of view, I’d have more cash after business expenses than as a salaried employee. That was good, right?

As a senior finance professional who had done marketing at a higher level, I could prepare pitch books and present myself as a good option.

AND I believed in myself. I had the right mindset.

Since then, I’ve found more instances of professionals launching new businesses during the pandemic. 

By chance I got my first lead within a month at a cocktail party while chatting with one of the guests who felt I was ideal for a project in Nepal.

A friend of theirs, the owner of an adventure travel group of companies was looking for someone with my credentials to do a project to find where the group’s money was disappearing.

He wasn’t interested in hiring a Big 4 firm for the assignment and wanted someone who would report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. The assignment was supposed to be low profile.

Within a week I was on a plane to Nepal and spent months at their lodges in the forest and then at headquarters.

My discovery led to the uncovering of a serious fraud and I also managed to save the jobs of at least 800 employees since the company was heading for bankruptcy.

After that, I spent time in Head Office restructuring and reorganizing their systems and plugging the gaps that had led to the original problem.

My next client was an international company in the energy sector and I had been the Audit Manager for their group company in Tunisia.

This was before the Enron fiasco and my assignment again was setting up systems for an important project as a consultant.

I did a great job – so great that they offered me a permanent job as Finance Manager and thus ended my first foray into independent consultancy and back to being a salaried employee.

I took up that dream again in 2008 and got clients and then after 3 years launched Karmic Ally Coaching in a completely different niche and service area with a stronger motivation and Big Why and that’s how you’ve found me.

One common factor during both times I went into my consulting self-employment business was the economic conditions were recessionary.

Even better is the fact that both times the business I ran was profitable.

With some smart and creative thinking, you can have your business launched in no time. If you have a clear plan, you can make this happen regardless of the state of the economy.

With experience comes knowledge and I’ve compiled it in 5 important things you need to think about before jumping into business.

5 Ways You benefit from starting your Business now

If you’re thinking recession is the worst possible time to start a business, please note this certainly isn’t the case! What is important is to take advantage of some key factors like I did.

These tips can help you take advantage of the recession to get your business off to a great start:

Your initial investment outlay and running costs are lower. It’s less expensive to start a business during a recession than at other times. This is because other businesses are offering deals left and right.

You might be able to get lower advertising rates as well as deals on supplies, inventory, services, and more.

If you plan things properly, you might be able to reduce your original capital outlay.

Remember I started my first business from a bedroom converted into a home office and used my computer laptop and mobile phone.

Somewhere my sub-conscious mind reminded me of the beginnings of Apple and Microsoft and even the beginnings of Infosys which was quite humble!

Provide excellent customer service. Excellent customer service matters. Between two businesses, with all things equal, the company with the better customer service always wins. After all, people always desire to be treated well.

In a recession, it’s possible that your competition has cut back on their customer service efforts. This gives you the opportunity to come in with top-notch service.

Make irresistible offers. In a recession, people are more likely to pay serious attention to the businesses that are giving greater offers. You can open your new business with a bang by beating out your competitors with an excellent deal.

If you maintain reasonable overheads, you could create an offer that keeps your margins healthy, cash flows good and provides an excellent offer to the customer.

Excellent employees or outsource services that you don’t need full-time. During a time of recession, you may find some excellent candidates when it comes time to do your hiring.

Because of other companies’ downsizing, you can snatch up some appreciative and loyal people that are knowledgeable and well qualified.

If the business doesn’t require full-time employees then consider outsourcing services you require to run your business.

Some of these services include book-keeping, website maintenance, tax filing. When the time is right for expanding your manpower, you will do it.

Getting a lead in the launch game. When you start your business during a recession, you’ll get a good head start over other businesses that may be waiting for a “better” time to launch. This means that by the time they do launch, you’ll be that much further ahead of the game.

Be economical and cautious with expenditure. Starting in times of recession forces you to be frugal about your business activities.

Because of the recession, you’ll make it a point to search for the best prices and the most efficient ways of conducting business.

You may do it this way simply because you have to, but in the long run, you’ll learn a very important lesson that can enable you to run a profitable business for years to come.

Instead of waiting for the “right” time, take action today.

That’s how I did it for both my finance consulting business and then when I launched my coaching business.

Luckily both times I had skills and credentials as well as references to land prestigious assignments even though I was a 1 woman show that got me into momentum and I knew what steps were required at each stage.

I’ve seen too many professionals quit cushy jobs and go into business and then return to jobs because they didn’t have a plan or had not thought through things clearly.

Mind you, there isn’t any shame in having failed in your start up and many times firms want such professionals because of the wealth of unique experience they bring with them. It deserves to be mentioned in your Curriculum Vitae.

It’s when your heart is truly set on doing your own thing that you have to prepare properly for success.

Mistakes are made which can prove disastrous for a new business. The first one is not checking if you are cut out for business.

That’s why when I have professionals ask me about leaving corporate jobs and starting their own businesses, I ask them all the uncomfortable questions upfront.

My advice is to always have the ducks in a row before jumping into business.

Instead of surfing the internet looking for information (which is a good idea by the way), why not focus on yourself instead and gather information in a methodical manner?

I’m asking you to do your homework first and take deliberate action to achieve your dream.

Additional Resource for professionals who are ready to play their A Game in business

If COVID-19 job loss or change of perspective has made you consider going into business, self-employment or freelancing, you want this Business Planning Bundle. It includes a workbook that asks all the important questions and some cool bonus resources that will give you a jumpstart to achieve your dream.

In this workbook, you will begin to think more about your plan and consider 5 tough areas so that you transition from employee to business person with clarity and focus and understand what you next step should be to Project Independent Business.

That in itself is worth investing in.

And it’s not just the workbook. I’m giving you additional support with these bonuses that will make all the difference in helping you decide on your course of action and prepare for your new avatar.

Curious?

Get all the details on my Business Planning Bundle here.

If you’ve ever tried to introduce change in an organization or department, then hearing the phrase ‘we’ve always done it that way’ or ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ will irritate you- guaranteed!

You would be fully justified to think the employees are hiding their incompetence or are disengaged.

Sometimes, it’s the insecurity in the staff. They feel that if change is introduced, it would make them redundant or replaceable especially if the knowledge they possess isn’t available with anyone else in the department. I’ve seen that happen too.

But pause for a moment, it’s quite possible the person saying it isn’t defending a time inefficient task, they genuinely might not know of an alternative.

Contrary to the ranting I often see on the internet about people defending archaic or redundant processes because they are scared of change, sometimes, it’s the team that wants change or is open to new processes. But they don’t have a teacher or leader who can help them create a new status quo.

I used to think the same way until I took on a project where to my surprise, the employees asked me to implement a new way of doing things to make their lives easier!

True Story: How a secret bar stock room became an authorized storage room

Way back in the late 1990s when I was working as a consultant to a leading Adventure Group of Companies in Nepal, one of my jobs was to visit their Lodges and check for efficiency and productivity. The mandate was to strengthen the controls over food and beverages since we knew there was a leak somewhere.

You can read the background in my post Internal Controls: To catch Thieves, You need to think like one.

The employees at the first Lodge I visited were eager to co-operate with my audit exercises and wanted to plug the ‘leak’ too since they knew it was an area of complaint from Headquarters.

They asserted their innocence and instead of seeing me as the enemy from Headquarters, took my 2 week visit as an opportunity to create change.

They loved their employer, were loyal to a fault and welcomed my visit.

Interesting discoveries were made including a secret storeroom kept by the Bar Keeper who was unaware of the fact that all stock had to be kept in the centralized storeroom.

His explanation based on my observations made sense.

The tourists who came to the Lodge loved to drink at the fireside and there were times when he would run out of stock, so he kept a bottle or two in the so-called secret storeroom.

Sadly, despite having an Internal Auditor for the Group as well as an external auditor, nobody had bothered to find out what was happening. The forms in use had been there since the beginning of time. (Side story: Both were fired after I submitted my report).

The secret storeroom was legitimized and included in stock takes and a few forms were updated for modern times.

A team of staff members even sat with me at a meeting they had called for to give suggestions to improve the systems and tighten controls.

Mind you, these were not finance specialists or educated, but they had decades of wisdom in lodge management and could have put any hotel management graduate to shame.

One point I noted was the answer to each question was “we’ve always done it that way”.

It reminds me of an anecdote I had read years ago which apparently is based on a true incident.

What happens when we don’t question procedures?

A quality management consultant was visiting a small and somewhat antiquated English manufacturing company, to advise on improving general operating efficiency.

The advisor was reviewing a particular daily report which dealt with aspects of productivity, absentee rates, machine failure, down-time, etc.

The report was completed manually onto a photocopied proforma that was several generations away from the original master-copy, so its headings and descriptions were quite difficult to understand.

The photocopied forms were particularly fuzzy at the top-right corner, where a small box had a heading that was not clear at all. The advisor was interested to note that the figure ‘0’ had been written in every daily report for the past year.

On questioning the members of staff who completed the report, they told him that they always put a zero in that box, and when he asked them why they looked at each other blankly. “Hmmm.., I’m not sure about that,” they each said, “I guess we’ve just always done it that way.”

Intrigued, the consultant visited the archives to see if he could find a clearer form, to discover what was originally being reported and whether it actually held any significance.

When he found the old reports, he saw that the zero return had continued uninterrupted for as far back as the records extended – at least the past thirty years – but none of the forms was any clearer than those presently in use. A little frustrated, he packed away the old papers and turned to leave the room, but something caught his eye.

In another box he noticed a folder, promisingly titled ‘master forms’. Sure enough inside it he found the original daily report proforma master-copy, in pristine condition. In the top right corner was the mysterious box, with the heading clearly shown …… ‘Number of Air Raids Today’.

How does this relate to you the leader of your people?

Not knowing when to make changes in procedures, routines and habits results in time wastage which is not what executives wanting to demonstrate leadership do.

Good managers and executives appreciate the value of their time. They understand it’s what we do with our time to benefit ourselves and others that determines how well they manage this precious resource.

They know how to manage their time and work on priority recommending changes to save time without compromising quality of work.

In other words, they position themselves as Leaders.

Here’s how we did it back in the Lodge:

Step 1: I didn’t have a procedure manual at hand so I recorded how certain processes were done by the staff in charge of those processes including who checked the work.

The staff helped me identify those parts of procedures that didn’t add value to their efforts. I suggested new ones based on my knowledge of internal controls and industry best practice.

Step 2: We looked at the tasks that were not adding value to check if they needed to be improved or simply dumped as the steps had been set up 25 years ago. We also checked if there was technology that could be implemented to reduce wastage.

Step 3: We monitored our results with the new processes and procedures.

My first visit was for only a fortnight but the staff knew I would return at a later date and they were asked to monitor if things were better.

A month later, when I visited the site to continue on another aspect of the systems, I had 800 very happy workers waiting to greet me.

There’s a more comprehensive and systematic way to set up an operations manual and systems in my course Business Systems that encourage Growth – Guaranteed.

More Tips to shine as a good Leader in the Workplace

Quite honestly, as a consultant I didn’t have locus standi to order the changes. Sometimes I had to rely on the Lodge Manager who was the owner’s son to instruct change implementation, especially about the secret bar stock room!

The success of this project would not have been possible if the employees were not “team players.”

You may hear that so often that it becomes meaningless. But it isn’t – being a team player is a fairly broad term, and it can include an important attribute that employers appreciate: leadership.

Being a leader in the workplace does not necessarily mean being a boss, manager, supervisor, or other “official” position, although it can mean that.

It can also mean setting a good example for others and/or heading up office programs and projects.

Here are some tips and ideas on how to be a leader in the workplace that I learned from my experience at the Lodge.

Be Confident

There’s a saying that can serve you well in the workplace: “Never let them see you sweat.” Of course, no one is perfect; but appearing confident inspires others to trust you and take your advice.

One way to ensure that you appear self-assured is not to talk too much about your fears and concerns. Talk to friends outside of the workplace about your uncertainties.

See the Good in Others

Being able to see the good traits in others is a useful leadership trait in the workplace. If you need to put certain people in charge of certain tasks, it pays to know who will do well with what task.

You also may see potential in a co-worker and “stretch” him or her by requesting a task that might be a bit challenging. This improves the overall skill set of the workforce and helps build self-esteem in your co-workers.

Use the skill of effective feedback in all situations requiring improvement.

Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate

There’s a difference between being a people person & being a people-pleaser. Being a people person means you have a genuine love for people, but you’re not afraid to ask people to do things.

Being a leader doesn’t mean just doing everything yourself; it means you are comfortable giving up some control and delegating tasks to others.

Appreciate Co-Workers

No one wants to work for or with someone who doesn’t appreciate them. If you let everyone know you appreciate what they’ve done and how they’ve given their time and talents, it can go a long way.

It’s always good to remember that there would be no leaders if there weren’t any followers. People who are appreciated may be more likely to follow your lead next time.

Problem Solving

If you step up with ideas on how to solve dilemmas, problems, and have resourceful ideas about how to accomplish something, then speak up. Employers value the ability to think through a problem and find a creative solution. This is a valuable leadership quality.

The next time you’re faced with the ‘we’ve always done it that way’ phrase, do what I did. Don’t generalize or misread any grumpy expression.

Instead try being a leader.

In How to Convince People You’re An Expert With Integrity, I’ve shared guidance to discover, develop and convey your expert status to others.

The rules apply whether you’re a career professional or have ventured into the world of self-employment and business.

An employee will use Executive Presence as a tool to market themselves within their organization and LinkedIn to showcase their knowledge via group discussions, updates and posts.

The self-employed professional or small business owner will need to market their services not only to establish their expert status but do it like an expert.

I’m sharing some tips based on my own experience of marketing my coaching practice helping me transition from the 9 to 5 workforce to running my own business.

I’ve broken it down to 3 sections which are required in that very order if you want to become proficient at showcasing yourself to the right audience and potential referral partners.

Shift your Mindset to that of a successful business person

Your mindset is your most important weapon for success. Without it, your visibility and credibility efforts will go for a toss.

It’s also an area where many of us fall short. The point to remember is the rules that applied to us as employees change.

For sure we still need to deliver results and services, but we also need to see our business for what it is.

Our business that requires us to create a vision of our end goals.

What we want our new venture to be like and take the risks of applying different approaches to achieve our end objective while staying in integrity and delivering on our promise.

You have to start thinking like a winner

Use whatever technique or modality works for you to keep you going on the journey of entrepreneurship. My favorites include affirmations, creative visualization and tapping.

Make sure you exude confidence. Not the fake it till you make it kind but genuine confidence because when you’re sure of yourself, people are inclined to trust your professionalism more than someone who seems timid and unsure of himself.

This means presenting yourself with poise, professionalism, and ease. Always maintain confidence in the offerings of your business and your ability to succeed as an independent professional.

A friendly word of caution is required here.

Flying solo is not quite as glamorous as it sounds. There are going to be days when one feels alone and disappointed. When the pitches we make don’t get us a project or a prospect decides they ‘can’t afford us’.

We’ll start to wonder where our head space was to venture out into self-employment.

I’ll never forget one incident from my early days that led to my deciding never to offer free coaching again.

It marked my deciding I wanted to run a business from a place of service but without undermining the value I brought to the table.

I had to get my hours for my certification and asked a former colleague if he could get me some prospects to help build my hours. One of the referrals loved my work and a few months later, contacted me because she wanted to speak to me urgently.

By that time Karmic Ally Coaching had come into existence and I was booking paying clients. Our chat turned into an hour of her gushing about how I had inspired her to get out of her comfort zone – so far so good.

Then she told me about how she had invested in a coach and how wonderful that coach was. Of course there were some problems.

She now wanted to discuss with me for free since I did free sessions!

Stumped as I was, I explained it would not be fair to professionals who were investing in my services or to me. I guided her to my website, offered my services and shared the cost. I left the decision to hire me to her.

After the call, I decided on the spot never to allow my services to be perceived as low value by offering free coaching.

Even though there are coaching gurus who preach otherwise, and it seems to work for some.

The decision was furthered strengthened by an important realization.  Many of my coaching calls that followed this ‘free, give them a taste to whet their appetite’ model never brought me any business.

Even if they agreed to a coaching engagement, my emails went unanswered. In other words, I was ghosted.

I know of others who’ve had the same experience and while it is comforting to know I’m not alone, it is not acceptable.

Learn to own your worth!

I can laugh about it now and in a recent challenge, was brave enough to load a video about it to my Facebook Business Page which was well received (you can watch it below).

It was a major mindset shift for me.

Taking ownership of my value made a difference in how I approached my business and the quality of clients who came to me after that.

This is all part of the journey to becoming an authentic business owner who offers their expert services to people who need and want it.

It is temporary and to complete the shift from an employee to a business owner. With time you will hit your stride and find you have more work than you bargained for.

Need inspiration? Think of Disney, Ford and read up on successful business people who faced challenges before getting it right.

5 Basic Marketing Strategies to show you know your stuff on the back of your hand

Once you’ve got the mindset piece sorted out, it’s time to claim your sacred space under the sun. This requires taking strategic decisions so your actions and tactics are not a waste of time or random acts of marketing.

Strategy 1 – Create a 1 sentence introduction that gives the listener a clear message about what you do

It’s called an Elevator Speech or Pitch.

This precious 30 second introduction should answer the essential questions of who you serve, what you do and how you achieve the results or goals for your client.

You’re going to need this in every bit of marketing you do to demonstrate you’re an expert in your craft. You’ll need it in your networking, social media marketing, your website and in fact anywhere you intend to share your services.

Before someone can decide if they may need your product or service, they must first understand what you’re saying. It’s so important I wrote an entire post with a template to help develop your elevator pitch. 

Tip: Nobody gets it perfect the first time round so don’t be hard on yourself. Instead, run it past a trusted friend or colleague and ask them for an honest evaluation of your description. If it doesn’t, work on this as a priority before you work on any marketing activity.

Strategy 2 – Create a Vision and Mission Statement that is authentic and from your heart, not a cut and paste from someone else’s website or LinkedIn Profile to guide your Marketing Message

It has to be your vision and what you want to achieve through your business that matters. All the fluffy words and good copy writing will come later when you know the message you want to convey.

Getting the Mission Statement right is important because once you know the message you want to convey to your right audience, you’ll find there is a whole universe of marketing tactics that you can use to achieve your goals.

Some of those tactics won’t work for your business or might not appeal to your intended audience.

For example, if you want to work with mid-career women professionals returning to work after a career break, your marketing message must appeal to this intended audience and repel those who are not the right fit.

The marketing tactics and tools you would use will be ones that will help you reach your intended audience where they hang out instead of spreading your message all over the place and not getting heard.

For example, they might be more comfortable in a Facebook Group at the moment than on LinkedIn or other platform.

Strategy 3 – Zero in on your Unique Selling Proposition and share it with consistency

Let me be honest, there are lots of other professionals doing the same work that you do and just like in the job market we are advised to stand out from the noise, you need to do it as a business person.

You know you are the expert on your subject and can get your client the results they crave for but before that, your client has to find you and feel you are the go to person for their problem.

This requires you to use your unique selling proposition (USP) to make your business memorable and take consistent action that establishes your own brand.

It means conveying your USP in your marketing material, whether your website, tagline, logo, lead magnet, blog, social media activity and offline activities with consistency.

For example, if your website name, tagline and content convey you are a website developer extraordinaire, use that theme in your business cards and social media profiles too.

When people Google your name, they should see a consistent image and brand being portrayed across all channels for a unique website developer, not a tarot reader (even if you do possess that skill).

Have you ever done a self-google to see what shows up for you?

Strategy 4 – Create one solid marketing plan and stick to it

If all you do is dream up marketing schemes, you’ll miss the opportunities to implement them. Instead, create one solid marketing plan and stick to it. Tweak your tactics according to your results.

 A marketing plan generally includes several marketing techniques, so choose several of your best ideas and start implementing them today. The faster you get out there and start peddling your business, the sooner you’ll begin to increase your revenue.

Test different techniques. Spread your marketing efforts across a number of different strategies. If one or two tactics are less successful, the success of other marketing efforts will keep your business afloat while you determine what gives you the best results.

Strategy 5 – Network like a pro

Jump at the opportunity to attend networking events related to your industry. It’s one of the best ways to find clients and make industry contacts that may hire you at a later date or recommend you to their colleagues.

You may have to pay a fee to attend conventions or events, but they are often well worth the price. You’re paying to chat with a roomful of your target clientele.

Before I started my coaching business, I worked as an independent consultant for an area of finance where I was a specialist.

A wise friend told me to go to events and set up meetings. In his experience, 10 meetings could result in 1 of them giving me a project. That’s a solid 10% conversion rate which could be improved with practice!

Remember Even one new customer may enable you to earn back the cost and then some.

Always bring a large stack of business cards and prepare an elevator speech. Sometimes, you’ll only get a few minutes to chat with potential big-budget clients. So leave a lasting impression by displaying professionalism and confidence.

Tip: Use the back of your business card to give a link to a free offer that demonstrates your expert status. This 1 action has added numerous new connections to my mailing list.

Post the networking event, invite your new contact to connect with you on LinkedIn and engage further.

I’ve often discovered mutual connections that have acted as good referrals for confirming the expert status of my new contact or even my expertise!

Do a bit of legwork to find out the proper dress code. Obviously, it’s best to be overdressed than under-dressed. Be careful. You’ll feel silly sitting in a room full of people in cardigans and khakis while you’re in a black Armani business suit.

Tactics to establish yourself as an expert in your field

Once you have your mindset and marketing plan worked out, we get to the really fun part of trying new tactic to achieve our marketing and business goals as well as establish ourselves as an expert in our field.

There are different mediums and the ones you choose should play to your strengths and not follow the latest fad.

I remember when Blab and Periscope were suddenly declared the next best thing since sliced bread. They disappeared shortly thereafter.

Google Plus appeared around the same time but didn’t quite catch on for the intended purpose and is now being closed in the coming weeks.

Then Facebook Live was touted as the only marketing tool you needed until Social Media Examiner and others realized that the return on investment of doing live videos on Facebook wasn’t quite what it was cranked out to be.

The latest advice is to head back to YouTube and get some Google love in the process.

Call me conservative but we are trying to establish our credentials as experts in our subject matter. Not earn doctorates in marketing and communications.

Marketing is our tool to get the message out that we are here to serve.

Avoid following the herd for the latest fad and take actions that are aligned with your goals, values and skills. Rest assured, you will be seen as an expert.

My pick of tactics to follow consistently to establish expert credentials as part of your marketing plan

Create a website as home base to invite visitors to learn about your work and engage with you. Your website must show the visitor within 10 seconds what you have to offer and if it is relevant to them.

Add a few bells and whistles like videos, live chats and downloads in exchange for their email address to share more information about the problem you solve.

Start a blog with weekly posts on your subject.

Blogging will not only keep your website active but also help you get found via search engines. Blogging has the power to showcase your expert status provided you write relevant content on topics that are of interest to your audience.

Blogs are a form of content marketing and this can be expanded to include creating content such white papers, e-books, free reports, tutorials or social media to educate new and existing clients in your area of expertise. Creating content also gives you an opportunity to mention the services you offer to meet those needs.

Once you’ve created your content, you need to make sure you distribute this content at the places that you had identified while doing the strategy work to showcase yourself as the expert.

Speaking engagements, publication articles and volunteer leadership roles will help label you as an expert in your field.

Marketing your business is an ongoing task that should be addressed regularly throughout the year. The more you market your business, the more you increase your exposure, make a name for yourself in the local community, and meet your financial goals.

Whichever tactics you decide to apply, remember you have to do it consistently with a focus on the target market where you want to be seen as an expert. It takes time but the results are worth it.

Marketing is to your business what food is to the human body; without it, it’s impossible to survive. Begin implementing these tips today to find success in your marketing and increase your revenue to new heights.

How are you creating visibility and credibility as an expert?

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Can a woman professional, or any professional for that matter, actually invest in training for 1 career and then having spent what feels like a lifetime in that career actually move into a completely different second innings career with success?

I was asked that question sometime back by a fellow Chartered Accountant who understood going into finance services based business for oneself but was curious about the 180 degree turn.

My answer was an emphatic yes.

I detail my own journey in Meet Your Coach where I share my Ideal Statement as well as my journey following not one but two wake up calls.

It’s not easy to chuck up a well-paying job to pursue a different career path.

More often than not it isn’t even job dissatisfaction that prompts a professional to take what can only be described as a leap of faith into the unknown into the world of self-employment, business or even a completely different industry!

Yet it can be done.

That’s why I always recommend prospective clients and even existing ones to take my quiz on Job or Career Change to determine where they are on their journey to achieving Self Realization.

Most people go to college to do what they believe they have wanted to do all their lives. The first several years are rewarding.

Then they start to realize this is something they are going to do until they retire. They are quickly disillusioned, and they get into a rut.

Some continue doing what they do out of fear there is nothing else, or they are getting a steady pay check. The lucky few, however, break away and find their true passion in life.

Even when we choose a completely different career or vocation path, you must remember 1 thing. You never lose the wealth of knowledge or experience that you have gained in your previous career.

The person you are today is the sum total of all your experiences – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Sometimes the trigger is a small event. Or it’s knowing that something is missing that compels us to listen to our Inner Voice. This leads to our embarking on our Hero or Heroine Journey to correct that misalignment.

As George Eliot eloquently said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been”.

On that note, I’m sharing the stories of 4 remarkable women professionals who’ve experienced successful careers. They’ve then created a second innings career to fulfil their Soul Purpose while being of service to others.

Each of these ladies is known to me personally and when I asked them to share their story and a success secret tip, they not only agreed but also graciously offered a gift to the reader.

May their stories inspire you the way they inspire me!

Reba Linker – From Dance Dream to Healer

I’m actually into my 3rd inning (at least)! I joke that I’m trying to squeeze six lifetimes into one, and that is probably the best way to explain my life.

I had a career working for non-profit organizations, moving from one position to another, first working with an internationally renowned dance company, and then with a cultural and educational exchange program between the U.S. and India.

It was glamorous and exciting, but I wanted to follow my ‘dance dream’ and open my own dance studio in Manhattan, and that’s what I did for my 2nd inning.

I was a ‘boss’ for the first time, and created a colorful space for people, music, dance, and parties. However, after 5 years, my lease was up and I was pregnant with my first child, so it was the right time for another change.

My 3rd inning came about while writing my first book, Follow the Yarn. 

It started as a light-hearted project to collect my knitting teacher’s sayings and knitting tips. Instead, the process catalyzed huge ‘aha moments’ for me. I started to face and understand my past in ways I never had before, and to understand the spiritual wisdom I had studied in a deeper way.

For many years I had studied meditation and metaphysics with a great spiritual teacher, Shanta. Now it started coming together in a way that meant putting that knowledge into practice –embodying what I knew to be true – and sharing it with others.

That’s how I became a healer/lightworker, empowering others to live their best lives, and know their true worth.

My tip for your readers, Vatsala is: Live your dreams! The rewards you seek are not at the end of the journey, but in the flowers you pick along the way. Your dreams hold many gifts for you. Take the journey and receive!

I would like to offer your readers a free 20-minute private consultation.

They can use this link to schedule:
https://my.timetrade.com/book/C2B5R

Andrea Feinberg – From Award winning Product Developer at S & P to Coach and Jeweler

I’ve been very fortunate to enjoy several completely different careers, all of which grew out of each other. When I moved into NYC, looking for a life’s direction, I found the best and last job I had: manager of a department with world-renown Standard & Poor’s Corporation, the debt-rating agency; I had a very happy career there, winning awards in product development 3 times.

However, after 10 years, I discovered the other side of my brain was calling and I did a very major ‘180’ to become a crafts artist, selling my hand-crafted merchandise to museums, zoos, botanical gardens.

In 2001 I sold that business, having discovered several years prior that, as much as I was proud of the product I made, it didn’t fully engage my brain and excitement daily; I had heard of ‘coaching’ in the late ’90’s and, after a brief exploration, enrolled in Coach U where I trained for 3 years with Thomas Leonard, founder of what has become a worldwide phenomenon, to become the business coach I am today.

Through my current business, Coaching Insight LLC, I partner with ambitious, independence-driven business owners to accelerate revenue and happier quality of life. We do it through implementation of strategic planning, targeted marketing and awareness of new ways to approach problems and opportunities.

Does this appeal to you? You can find 9 Breakthrough Ideas on my home page, www.bossonthebeach.com

And yet, despite my love for my current business, my ability to learn new ways to relate to clients and enjoy the success of those clients who follow through on their commitments, I still so enjoy working with my hands!

That’s why I also have pursued a completely different endeavor with jewelry; you can see some of my work here: www.facebook.com/AndreaBeadazzles

Tip for readers: Ultimately, each experience guides us to what’s next and, whatever is current, has been nourished out of our past. We simply have to listen for the cues to guide us to necessary change and opportunity.

However, if what is calling you is your own business, make sure it responds to a real need in a well-defined, easily reachable market.

Passion for your endeavor without connecting to a market that seeks your product/services is a hobby, not a business!

Kim Julen – From the world of Insurance Claims to Feng Shui Expert

My history includes working in insurance claims for nearly 17 years handling litigation and negotiation. My commercial claims background involved significant injuries and exposures including liquor liability, physical/sexual abuse, death and paraplegia, construction defects and real estate.

After leaving the corporate world, I ran my own jewelry business for 10 years and was an independent gold buyer. There many weekends where I purchased over $10,000 in gold! I knew, however, that gold buying was not a forever business because as the economy improved, the price of gold dropped.

I felt a calling to do more spiritually based work and launched my business, Finding Your Fiji, in 2013.

Shortly thereafter, I was in California for a Wayne Dyer/Abraham Hicks event. The vibration at the event was extremely high, to the point where I could barely stay awake during the session.

The next morning, I had an awakening moment of being able to hear my Spiritual Team of angels and guides very clearly, as if they were sitting right next to me. They shared that channeling guidance was part of my life’s work as well.

My business, Finding Your Fiji, is now 5 years old. My mission is helping others find and live their Fiji (aka dream life). I’m living my own dream, having moved from Minnesota to Maui, sight unseen, a year and a half ago and continuing to do the work that I love!

I am a life and business coach – bringing harmony to your head. I am an Intuitive – bringing harmony to your heart by providing guidance for business and life through Angel Readings. And, I am a Feng Shui expert – bringing harmony to your home.

Tip for Readers: Do what you love and follow the flow of what feels easy and light!

Website link: http://www.findingyourfiji.com/

Vidushi Maan – From Headhunter to Educationist

I am Vidushi Maan, mother of two, manager by training and educator by profession in that order. Like most middle class Indian women, my career has been a direct result of motherhood, proximity of workplace, travel etc.

After I gave birth to my son, I also gave birth to frustrations. I had always put motherhood on a pedestal of sacrifice, love and eternal bliss, these notions were fed in part by society and in part by attempting to be a better person that what I thought myself capable of.

I am a Karma person and have always believed in being proactive and positive.

I started running a recruitment consultancy at home. Now, this was also born from necessity. A recruitment setup was something one could run from the house and required minimal investment. The client interaction was primarily over the phone.

Surprise, surprise, I started doing well, although that’s an entirely subjective term, a better way to put it would be that I became sustainable. I hired some people and fed a small cottage office.

After three years, I had my daughter. No surprises there, I took another break. To cut 6 years short, we managed an office, some steady clients and a firm.

Fast forward 3 years and some complexities later, I decided that now I needed to get out of my house and guess what’s the other profession that you could be a part of and “take care” of your family. Of course, that’s a teacher.

I became a teacher in a school that was 400 meters from my house and to my surprise I really enjoyed it. Yes, I was bound by a schedule unlike self-employment and literally had every minute of the day mapped. The salary was paltry yet I was happy.

I did well and within a year was hired to be the in-charge of the Junior Wing of another school. While I was a teacher I attended a phonic training and immediately I could sense that I could turn it into an employment opportunity.

I have become a resource person for content and ELT trainings with two leading publishing MNCs. I have also revised seven books for a leading publishing house.   Now, that’s a leap for a person who could only go to work at a place less than a kilometer away.

This may sound like a success story; trust me I am far from it. Having said that, I am at a happy place in my mind and heart. I know that I am open to opportunities and I am confident that more will come my way.

I have met some fantastic people along the way and I shall remain forever grateful to them. Let me just end with my favorite quote by an awesome guy “You don’t get anywhere without saying yes” – Joel Stein.

Tip for readers: Say yes to opportunities no matter how small they seem to be.

Parting Advice for Success in Second Inning Careers

There is a thread in the stories of these amazing ladies who accepted their Call to Adventure. They found fulfilling Second Inning careers (sometimes even 3^rd and 4^th inning) at the end of their Hero Journey.

When we believe in ourselves and our willing to invest in getting the required skills and training for our dream career, the sky is the limit.

We may even chose to change career tracks instead of a job. Some professionals may decide to escape the rat race and start up their own business. This will help transform your life in ways that you never imagined.

Choosing a business you are passionate about gives you a purpose you may not have gained by staying in your current situation.

This is not to say that starting and running a business is easy. It takes a lot of work and quite a bit of discipline. You become your own boss and have no one to answer to but yourself.

While many view this as a good situation to have, it is a double-edged sword.

You need to have a good plan in place to help guide you towards success.

More people are discovering that having their own business is the only way to go. They love the challenge and find the work fulfilling, all things being equal. In all honesty, not everyone is suited to being an entrepreneur. But for those who are, they are in it for the long haul with no intention of ever looking back.

Sometimes it’s a case of finding a way to keep a career or vocation that facilitates work life balance.

Either way, a shift is required and I go into detail about the shift and change required in my post Can Moving Cheese Positively Improve Career Life Balance.

Have you also made a shift into a second innings career? 

What 1 thing would you say to other women professionals to help them achieve their dreams?

Update 27 April 2022

Dear Reader,

I’m pleased to share with you that this blog post was referenced in a paper in Shodh Sarita in 2021. The paper was also shared in March 2022 in Researchgate.

The topic was Women Entrepreneurship and Second Inning at Career. The paper tries to highlight challenges arising for women in a second inning career and with women entrepreneurship.

The objective of this research paper was to understand the factors affecting on women Entrepreneurs during their second inning career. It also highlighted the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs during their second inning at Career.

You can read it here – Women Entrepreneurship and Second Inning at Career.

Vatsala Shukla

Karmic Ally Coaching

Businesses without basic internal controls and checks in place for monitoring activities and preventing overrides of basic authorization processes run the risk of losing money and sometimes their business itself.

What is an Internal Control?

Internal Controls are methods or procedures adopted in a business to:

• Safeguard its assets
• Ensure financial information is accurate and reliable
• Ensure compliance with all financial and operational requirements
• And generally assist in achieving the businesses’ objectives

You might think Internal Control procedures are only relevant for big companies and not for individual owner businesses or small businesses but that’s not true because the holistic definition of internal control is that it sets in place procedures to ensure and assure that the resources of the business are being used as intended. This includes the self-employed.

A sole proprietor doesn’t need extensive sets of internal controls like a bigger company, but he does require checks and balances for each business process to ensure that the important business systems are functioning properly.

What happens when Internal Checks & Processes are overridden by Management?

The title of this post has its origins in an after dinner drink that I was having with the CEO of a highly respected adventure travel group of companies in Nepal way back in the late 1990s.

I had been brought in as a consultant to find the leak in funds that was taking place in their business and which, despite their being highly profitable, their cash flow was in the red.

There were over 800 employees who were about to lose their jobs and the owner who had built the business from scratch was about to lose his legacy. Many of workers were 3^rd generation employees and apart from some members of top management, the rest had never known working for another company.

This company was also into Tiger and Wildlife Conservation and supported the studies of village children near their Lodges in the forests. There was a lot at stake.

It all started when the owner fell sick and the running of the company was left to his trusted top management.  He finally brought in an outside CEO to manage the company for him and help get the business back on track.

What was puzzling was that even though the CEO and his team had managed to ensure that the revenues were rising and the profits were great, there was a cash crunch. That’s when I was brought into the picture.

My scope was to find the leak and recommend how to fix it. The CEO apprised me that the top management had been around for at least 20 years and the owner trusted them. He warned me about resistance, which was of course natural. After all, who wants an outsider poking around?

I spoke to the CFO who didn’t like me because he thought I was going to steal his job. The Internal Auditor smiled a lot and told me he doubted how I would get the job done  as I didn’t speak Nepalese and the workers at the Lodges didn’t speak any English or at the most broken tourist English. He openly voiced his view that the owner was wasting good money in bringing me on board and I was wasting my time. Their External Auditor refused to meet me. Period, Full Stop.

So off I went to the forests and the first thing I did at their main Lodge location was to start checking their Lodge systems and controls. There were none as such and the few that were there, despite the claims of the Internal Auditor, hadn’t been updated since God knows when. So, I started documenting the business systems and processes so that I could test the control checks.

Language wasn’t a problem because the owner’s son had recently moved in as Lodge Manager and was as keen to protect his family’s business as I was. He had known the workers since he was a baby. He refused to believe that any of them was embezzling the company or guilty of any wrong doing.

By demonstrating support for this strange Indian lady who was poking into the activities of the Lodge and making strange notes and pictures on her A3 size paper, right down to helping take frozen meats out of the freezers and counting the alcohol inventory the staff had no option but follow Baba’s (an affectionate word for a male child) lead.

It also turned out that the location of the Lodge was in a part of Nepal where the dialect was similar to Hindi so the staff and I spoke our languages and yet understood what the other person was saying. In fact, they even made suggestions on how to improve Lodge Management!

We didn’t come up with much evidence of embezzlement though my site visit did lead to the discovery of a secret store room filled with liquor which the barman said he kept stocked in case guests wanted a particular item and the bar didn’t have it. The fact that this secret room was worth thousands of US dollars of inventory; that was now showing up as expense without related income for use, hadn’t crossed his mind. After all he was an ace barman, not an accountant   A few half-filled bottles were found which apparently housed the overs left in bottles which the staff enjoyed in private.

That was remedied by formalizing the secret store room, revising alcohol entitlements to the staff and setting an order for automated liquor measures. The Lodge Manager would sign off on the Alcohol Usage Reports and do spot checks.

By now the staff understood what I was doing and the night before I left, their senior most staff member came to me and told me that their fate of their jobs was in my hands. He hinted that the rot I was seeking wasn’t in the Lodges that I would visit but back at headquarters. An elderly man, he blessed me and told me the Lodge workers were counting on me to find and fix the problem for Sahib, Baba and them.

Back at HQ, the staff was wonderful and helped me with the documentation and flow charts. I still couldn’t find the leak.

That’s when the CEO and I over post dinner drinks were discussing the situation and the fact that it was collusion rather than 1 person. He asked me, if I were the culprit, how would I do it?

I answered that to catch thieves one would have to start thinking like one. So far the only weaknesses in the systems and processes were ones that could be fixed and all expenses were justified.  The employees that I had interacted with believed in the core values and mission of their employer and were happy to have learned new methodology and processes.

I also mentioned that I needed to increase the scope of my work to one of the companies that handled the foreign exchange remittances and bookings in order to complete my business systems documentation and that I wanted to test it.

That was the only company that had been excluded from my scope because the CFO and Internal Auditor monitored it closely because that was where the revenue remittances came in.

Permission was granted.

The very next day, I unearthed millions of dollars of fraud!

It started with documenting the processes of the company and the authorizations required at each step of the process. Then I noticed that there were expenditures on travel which didn’t quite fit in. I was told that the hospitality pickups and drives to and from the airports and hotel were paid from this company and payments were approved by the CFO and Internal Auditor.

I selected my test sample and suddenly noticed that there were transport bills being paid for clients who had already left the country. The more I checked, the more fraudulent bills and payments were found. They had been approved by the CFO and Internal Auditor and overlooked by the External Auditor! The payment authorizer was also one of the payment signatories.

The leak was found and the owner and CEO were elated. The next step was, for my physical safety, to get me out of the country before breaking the news and dismissing the very people whom the owner had trusted when he fell sick. The story made the headlines of all major newspapers.

The company and employees were saved. I did return for another short stint to help restructure the Group and renegotiate the bank loans and other important tasks but that is another story.

The reason I shared this long story is to drive home the importance of having documented business systems and processes that are updated and tested regularly.

It is also important to have the right internal controls and checks in place. It’s important to educate staff about their roles and responsibilities and take out insurance on those employees who handle cash and bank. The importance of segregation of duties cannot be ignored.

Some relevant basic business controls & checks sole proprietors can implement

A small business or sole proprietorship needs some basic controls, checks and balances. Each business is unique but some relevant controls that come to mind  are

• Maintaining proper accounting records, whether manual or using a software package that meets the statutory, legal and tax requirements of the country where the business is based.
• A separate bank account if possible for the business.
• Separation of business and personal use of resources so that there is a clear picture of operational efficiency. This is also important for legal and tax reporting purposes. For example, if you have a home office, for tax purposes, you would need to show how much of the utility bills relate to the business and to personal. If you use your vehicle for business and personal use, you would need to keep as accurate as possible a mileage log that documents the business use of vehicle for tax purposes.
• Maintain a calendar of tasks for each week and month such as invoicing customers, paying suppliers, paying utility bills, banking and bank reconciliations, sales meetings and other tasks.
• Regular backups of computerized information systems including websites, accounting books and any other system that is reliant on technology.
• Be aware of identity theft both for yourself as well as your customers by checking and changing passwords. For example, where you receive online payments, make sure that the system is secure. If you are using a plugin on your website, double check that they meet the privacy and security requirements.
• Review your business finance records at least once a month to identify any variances such as budget overspends or payments that have to be made and money to be reserved for it.
• Have your standard sales contracts vetted by a good lawyer to cover all bases.
• Read the fine print when signing documents for purchase and services.
• Maintain a log of all relevant changes in the legal and statutory requirements that affect the industry in which your business operates.

A strong internal control system for the self-employed business owner helps the owner to focus their efforts and precious time on activities that result in revenue and profits.

A simple example of an internal control

Sometimes it’s easier to explain how one would create an internal check or control with an example. So let’s look back at the freebie opt-in process using Mailchimp in my previous blog post.

Either you or Mailchimp would have set up checks where there is a danger of an action that would be against the right use of a step and a control would need to be established.

Here are the controls and checks that you would have performed, even if you didn’t realize that you were performing them.

1. Creating a list in Mailchimp in compliance with CANSPAM regulations (Mailchimp would have guided you to comply even if you didn’t realize it)
2. Thank you email asking for permission to send the information. Once the subscriber confirmed their consent, your fab freebie would be accompanied with the message that they will not be spammed and details of their records and button to unsubscribe.
3. Testing to see if the process works once you have set it up.

In the diagram below, the first activity where there is a possibility of override is in entering the subscriber into your list without their seeing the fab freebie or subscribing. So we have a Red Donut to identify a possible weakness. The control here, shown as the Green Donut, is a landing page with an opt-in form where they enter their details and press the Call to Action Button.

Other controls that you would create would relate to CANSPAM Regulations and Mailchimp requirements such as

1. Asking users to re-subscribe after 2 years, especially if they have been inactive
2. Removing dead subscribers from your emailing lists
3. Monitoring soft and hard bounces.
4. Ensuring that subscribers haven’t been added manually unless you can demonstrate you have their consent.

The last point is quite important. I’ve seen it happen in real life simply because someone’s Marketing Manager didn’t understand CANSPAM or Permission Marketing and added her employer’s LinkedIn Connections to their Marketing Mailing List.

About a month ago, I received an email via Mailchimp from a company that was marketing its executive search services. Reading further down the email, I couldn’t see how I had been added though I knew the name of the company. I unsubscribed and marked it as SPAM.

I went on LinkedIn to investigate the company and details of the sender who had a degree or something in digital marketing. I discovered that the owner was a 1^st level connection (no wonder it sounded familiar). I immediately wrote to him and requested that I be excluded from his mailing list.

An apology came with the reason that his over enthusiastic marketing team had made the mistake. I understand youthful exuberance but told him to counsel his young team about the finer nuances of Permission Marketing, CANSPAM and the risks of being blacklisted.

I suspect there are some internal checks that need to be polished there including an operations manual with the systems and processes.

Which internal controls and checks do you already have in place? Any you need to tweak or implement?

Need more help or want to consult me? Learn more about my Business Systems services here.

Knowing which business systems are important for your business allows you to focus on creating processes to achieve the relevant business objective. The astute business person knows this and makes sure they are on top of their game on this.

Without the right processes, your systems will resemble Mikado, which is a fun game but not a business building strategy.

Last time I wrote about getting our business system ducks in a row. In this post, we’ll look closer at our business processes and take the first step towards creating content for our Operations Manual.

Wikipedia describes a business process or business method as

a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or customers. It may often be visualized as a flowchart of a sequence of activities with interleaving decision points or as a Process Matrix of a sequence of activities with relevance rules based on data in the process.

We’d normally think that only big businesses or those in production of goods would have business processes but the truth is, even a sole proprietor, freelancer, coach, consultant, healer or online marketer has business systems and processes. In fact, any business that interacts with a customer or supplier should have processes to ensure that they are able to deliver their goods and services efficiently.

As solopreneurs, we may not have formalized processes or very detailed ones. Yet they are processes and the best way to ensure that they meet our business needs is to formalize them and review them as our business needs change.

Documenting Your Business Processes

The documentation that you need to formalize your processes can be as simple as documenting the steps that you take to achieve the process objective or it can also be elaborated with a flow chart so you can see each step clearly.

The benefits of documenting your processes include but aren’t limited to

1. Improving the efficiency of a process and save time. Don’t we all love to reduce our rework and have consistent results?
2. Ability to delegate tasks that can be performed by others e.g VA, staff etc by reducing your training time and the delegated person’s learning curve time for that specific process
3. Providing a basis for business continuity should you fall sick and someone else has to take over the backend work. Or if we want to build value for our future exit planning (the buyer will understand that we are a serious business when he sees these documents during his Due Diligence Process)
4. Weeding out time consuming and perhaps unnecessary activities that don’t add value to you or to you ultimate customer. Which means; we improve our top line and reduce our bottom line numbers.

Sometimes the process can be a simple one or it may form part of a bigger process, like the little wheels inside the big wheel in a watch.

No matter the complexity or simplicity of the system, there are key elements to the process which when completed form the documentation for your Operations Manual.

Your business process starts with a mission objective and is completed when it achieves the business objective. Sometimes one process can lead into another or may even have another process built into it.

In its simplest form the Key Elements when designing a business process is

Policy:           The Mission or standard that the procedure must meet

Purpose:       The rationale why this procedure is required

Scope:           Areas of your business that are affected by this procedure

Responsibilities: The people who are required to perform this procedure and their exact duties

Definitions:  This becomes important if you are going to delegate the task to another person whether within your business or outsourcing it. Think of technical jargon that they need to understand.

Procedure: The steps required to take the process from cradle to grave in detail

Effectiveness Criteria: This would include your Key Performing Indices, measurement criteria and documentation of results.

References: This includes any specific standard, regulation or law for which this procedure is required. If the process is leading into another one, then that too would be noted

Forms/Records: Each version of your documentation of a process should be recorded to ensure that everyone is working with the same version and you are able to check for any changes that have been made which may need to be revisited.

You would record the document number or ID, the name of the procedure, the revision number, the names of who prepared, reviewed and approved it and the dates on which each person did their activity. You would also note down the effective date of the procedure and also details of any relevant Standard or Regulation that you are required to meet.

When this documentation is completed, you actually have a process documented for your Operations Manual!

The best way to explain this is with an example. Let’s suppose you are a coach, consultant, healer or a business that uses an opt-in to create your email list.

Your Fabulous Freebie is required for both your Marketing and Lead Generation Business Systems.

Here’s how you would document the system and process for the Lead Generation part. Once that is completed, the process would lead into your marketing process.

Client Attraction Magnet/Fab Freebie Opt-in Process

Policy:  Lead Generation must comply with the tenets of permission marketing & consent to be sent fabulous freebie

Purpose: We want to build a list of interested leads who have given us permission to email them in compliance with CANSPAM and other national regulations.

Scope: This process affects our lead generation and further marketing endeavors with interested leads to convert them further into clients for our products and services

Responsibilities: The Owner, VA and outsourced IT professional (if required).

Definitions:  Insert definitions of Freebie, Optin, CANSPAM, autoresponder etc

Procedure: The steps required to take the process from cradle to grave in detail

1. Create Freebie
2. Create List in autoresponder (MailChimp, AWeber, Constant Contact etc)
3. Ensure all information required under CANSPAM and National Regulations are complied with.
4. Customize optin sequence for freebie in autoresponder
5. Upload Freebie in autoresponder or on a separate page on your website
6. Create Landing Page on Website
7. Enter copy on Page
8. Put code for Freebie on Landing Page
9. Publish Page
10. Test the sequence to see if it works
11. Tweak if required
12. Start promoting like there’s no tomorrow

Effectiveness Criteria: Number of opt-ins, number of bounces and number of unsubscribes after downloading freebie.

References: 1. CANSPAM Regulations, Email Service Provider Requirements, Leads into the Email Marketing process.

Forms/Records: This is version 1.0 created on September 1, 2016 and is effective from September 4, 2016

Having created the documentation for our operations manual, we now need to test each part of the procedure and confirm that it works. For the purposes of our example, let us take step 10 above and assume that we are testing the sequence on Mailchimp.

Our known sequence of how the lead will behave and how our system will respond is as follows:

1. Opt-in via Website Landing page using sign up form
2. Redirected to Thank You Page with message that you are required to confirm opt-in to meet CANSPAM Regulations and we have permission to send the freebie plus any other information based email in future.
3. Opt-in Confirmation Email Email sent to subscriber Inbox asking for confirmation
4. Customer clicks confirmation – redirected to a Thank you page either on Mailchimp or on our website
5. Either the freebie is on the Thank You Page and he can download it or customer is sent another email with link to freebie
6. A Final Thank You Email with details is also sent (optional)
7. Customer is added to a specific list
8. Customer Ignores – no sign up and end of process

If all works well, you have added a potential interested lead to your email list and that person enters your email marketing process. Worst case scenario, they either don’t complete the process or decide to opt out after grabbing fabulous freebie.

A point to note is that testing is important if for some reason the process couldn’t be completed, in which case you need to tweak it.

Vatsala’s Note: Want to test it with me? Have a shot at downloading my Fabulous Freebie http://karmicallycoaching.com/50-attributes-successful-business-person/

Or by clicking this image:

Documenting everything is good but isn’t it a sore on the eyes? That’s why creating a visual of the process; with a flow chart adds to your business process and operations manual.

In the diagram below, I’ve described the same email sequence which simplifies the process.

Clearly, having a process documented allows you to use your time efficiently so you have more time for other important tasks. It allows you to delegate tasks too so you have time to play the real game of Mikado after office hours.

Tell me, how do you keep track of your business processes?

Every business, whether corporate, small home owned, sole proprietor or freelance needs systems. Even non-profit organizations have systems.

The only difference lies in the kinds and types of business systems that are appropriate to the level, complexity and size of the business. The systems that are set up are created to achieve the business goals of the entity in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

Without the right business systems, you’re running a chaotic outfit and would soon be out of business.

Your business is the vehicle for manifesting your Vision and Mission while earning a livelihood and taking your dream to the highest level that it can soar.

To run a viable venture, you need a business plan. You need to know how you’ll achieve the business objectives through the various back-end processes in order to deliver to your customers and get paid for your goods and services. You need to figure out the best way to market your business to reach your prospective niche market.

In other words, you need business systems and the right ones too.

A simple definition of business system is

“A methodical procedure or process that is used as a delivery mechanism for providing specific goods or services to customers.”

The fact that you may be a sole entrepreneur or a freelancer doesn’t allow you to pass the buck, thinking, you provide a service or a product, you get paid, you pay your taxes and that is that.

Quite often, as business owners, our focus is on generating revenue and profits, not on the systems that allow us to build our business on a strong foundation and provide a structure for future business development. To be profitable, there has to be structure for each major activity that we undertake for our business.

There’s a lot more going on in the back-end that has to run smoothly in order to present yourself as a serious player in the your niche and market.

For sure you have processes in place to take the customer experience from start to finish, the cradle to the grave. Many service providers often end up talking about this process to potential customers instead of sharing the benefits of the services.

You have processes and activities that involve blogging, creating videos, fabulous freebies, discovery sessions, client intakes, invoicing, tax submissions and whole lot more.

You tweak them, expand them and drop them depending upon how your business direction and needs develop.

So as you can see, Business processes are dynamic in nature, involve actions and keep evolving as our business services expand but they are part of a bigger whole – a business system.

A business can have more than 3 -4 business systems depending upon their activities and how those activities tie up with achieving the end goals of the business.

For example, let’s look at some activities and how they fit into a bigger picture.

Each of these activities is important to your business but they are only activities that belong to systems that are meant to help you achieve your business goal with efficiency and effectiveness as shown in the diagram below.

Which business systems are right for you?

That question really can’t be answered in a single blog post because there is a lot more to it, but there are 2 points you should consider to start getting your business system ducks in a row.

Type of business

Are you selling products or services or a mix?

What’s your business model? One on one or to many people at the same time?

A lot depends upon the nature of your business. If you are selling products then the kind of systems that you need will be different to the ones that a pure service provider will require.

For example, if you have stock, then your business systems would need to include inventory management and even cost management systems.

If you are providing a service, then having a good client intake system and client management system are going to be important. Especially if you want repeat business and happy client referrals instead of dishing out refunds or getting bad reviews on the internet.

Legal aspect of business

Will you be a sole proprietor or a company?

Will you need a license to practice?

Will you be providing goods or services in a regulated market?

Is your market local or global?

Will you need to register your business for service tax, VAT or other permits like export permits for your products?

Depending upon the way you have set up your business, you may need to register with different authorities, maintain additional books of accounts, get annual audits and file different tax returns.

In such a case, having a Compliance system will be important and the activities under this system would need to be taken care of either by you or by a delegated specialist.

Your Financial System would also need to be robust.

Ultimately, you know your business best. You are the best person to determine which systems you need and in what priority.

For example, when I first set up Karmic Ally Coaching, my first duck was to decide upon my legal entity and setting up the compliance and financial structure.

Then I set up my Sales and Marketing Systems and so forth. I didn’t need Inventory systems but later, I did need to enhance my Marketing System adding new activities and dropping others.

I even set up a special education system to monitor my own professional development!

Let’s Get your Business Systems Ducks in a Row

This exercise is going to help you to determine if there are any weak spots in your business that require attention, tweaking or need to have systems implemented. The exercise will take time but is worth the effort if you are looking to create a viable and sustainable business in the long run.

Step 1. Look at the various activities that you are presently undertaking in your business.

Step 2. Look at the following suggested business systems (in no particular order). Determine which of your activities come under which system. You may have some systems that I haven’t listed so do consider your existing systems too.

Legal and Compliance

Marketing

Sales

Material purchase

Financial

Administrative

Website Management

Client Management

Social Media Management

Products

Inventory

Product Development

Step 3. Assess your business systems. Are they meeting your business objectives? Are there some that you need but don’t have or have but don’t really need? Are any of your systems lopsided and deserve more attention?

In my next post, I’ll address business processes and creating an operations manual. Until then, I leave you with a question.

Which system do you need to work on in priority? Which ducks do you need to set in a row?

You need to get this 1 thing sorted out first

Making the leap from employee to business owner, whether you call yourself an entrepreneur, solopreneur, coach or consultant is a big life change.

In How to follow your bliss with business success, I wrote about 3 elements for a successful business road map. I suggested trying out my Business Readiness Self- Assessment that looks at 50 attributes you need to have in place to be a successful business person, a must take for any professional who is planning a shift to check if their mindset is ready for it.

Let’s explore an important starting point which involves your WHY with a question that even professionals who’ve made the leap often find hard to answer. It’s a question for which I don’t get a clear answer when I ask consults about their planned business or when they ask me to tell them why they failed.

Do you know your True WHY for being in business?

We all have our own unique WHY and yes, making lots of money is always there but if you dig deeper, there is a more precious WHY, the one that is aligned with your core values.

This 1 thing is important because it’s going to determine how you handle all the other things that go into building a successful business. It’s that motivator that will keep you going when you realize that running a business requires work and commitment and not as easy as it felt from the outside. It is what will drive you when you feel like quitting.

So, dear reader, whether you are planning to go into business, or are already in business, what’s your WHY?

• You may have been a star employee, an acknowledged subject matter expertise in your domain and the clients loved you. You may have felt it was more profitable to fly solo and do all the creative things you wanted to but couldn’t because of the job constraints.
• You may have decided that the corporate world was suffocating you and wanted to switch tracks before ‘it was too late’.
• You may have been made redundant and knowing that in the state of the economy, job prospects were bleak and decided to try to make good of a secret dream you’d been nurturing because you had ‘nothing to lose and everything to gain’.
• You got tired of the corporate rat race and frog in the wells and ventured out looking for something better.
• Maybe you retired but weren’t ready for it and wanted to keep yourself busy or needed to continue working because your pension wasn’t enough or you needed more money.
• Maybe you took maternity leave to raise your children but when it was time to return to work, your age, skills or experience wasn’t in your favor or maybe you felt that you didn’t like the environment or wanted more family time.

You need to get clear on your Why because this is the basic raison d’etre for your quitting a cushy job with a guaranteed paycheck and lifestyle for something that will take time to germinate into a full-fledged source of income. You’ll most probably make losses in the first year or so and your income will vary from month to month. Would you be able to hold onto your dream?

Knowing your Why will help you make all the decisions that you need to make as a business owner

It’s the cornerstone when you are planning your vision and mission statement and formulating the core message of your business to use for your marketing.

It will help you to make all of the decisions you will be making as a business owner which you would document in your business plan – the road map in which you decide on how you’ll be spending your energy, time and money in your business.

Your WHY is what will help you stand out above the noise and determine your USP (which is another area that I will touch upon in a later post).

So take the time in the beginning to decide what that one, true thing is for you.

What if you can’t find your WHY?

Then I suggest you take time out and reflect. Here are a few prompts to help you figure it out. If you are already in business, these prompts will act as a good refresher to determine if you’ve outgrown your original WHY or if its time to rebrand to reflect the new You.

It doesn’t have to be a full notebook or thousands of words. It could be 1 word or 2-3 sentences. What is more important is that you are able to define it.

Do you already know your WHY? What’s challenging you in figuring out the answer to this question?

Do share in the comments box below.

PS: If you’d like to know a little bit more about me, you can check out my story here and see if you can pick up on my WHY.

PPS: Need more help in working out your Business Success RoadMap? Please click the preceding link and find out more.