Forging a bond while working in a highly demanding, toxic environment, Carmen and Inez brought their work friendship and capabilities together to develop their own company 3 years ago.
This start-up literally “exploded” into being.
Offering the exact same legal services, family, friends and professional colleagues beat a path to their door to work for this woman owned, minority owned new venture. Work poured in and the coffers filled.
Why?
Because they made a cultural “promise,” based on their authentic values to interact with employees and customers alike from a place of collaboration, mutual communication and responsiveness. Totally unlike their previous toxic environment.
And… they delivered. It’s been a thrilling 3 year ride!
(Hear outtakes: Massive applause and cheers, awards ceremonies and testimonials, cha-ching and more cha-ching.)
New owners like Carmen and Inez come to their business with well-honed professional expertise for which they have been acknowledged as they climbed their career ladders. Strong personalities, they are used to the limelight from their hard won achievements.
But…. like all start-ups, these 3 years have also been exhausting.
(Hear outtakes: Moans, groans and sighs, subtle sounds of irritation and disgruntlement. All behind closed doors.)
No matter how much pre-planning—for any new owners—running The Business-of-the-Business is a whole new set of skills.
New owners are juggling demands of employees and customers, crash-coursing their way into new skills from tech to HR, confronting roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, often colliding headlong into communication and style differences between themselves (difficulties they never anticipated before) that affect their ability to make wise decisions necessary to move their business forward.
Such discouragements, differences and difficulties are energy sucks. Momentum stalls.
It’s not uncommon to hit a lull. A stall-out. A standstill when you’ve come through a rapid, successful Start-Up Phase and are salivating to taste the goodies of the Second Stage Growth you were aiming for.
But you’re pooped and disgruntled. What to do?
Benefits of Requesting Help
Do what Carmen and Inez did.
They wisely reached out for help. Working together, a combination of Executive, Partnership and Leadership Development coaching approaches gave them:
-New appreciation of their dynamics. Complementary talents necessary to the business.
-Better understanding their unique style differences, which then helped improve communication.
As we strengthened their individual and partnership skills, these strengths were funneled into the Business Development that is taking them to the next level—Stage Two Business Growth—they had always envisioned and were now ready to execute step-by-step.
Big Benefits From a Strategic Planning Retreat
Carmen and Inez fully entered this phase when we three met for a Two Day Strategic Planning Retreat a few months ago. We dove into BIG long-term plans then backed out short-term steps and timelines for the coming 12-18-24 months.
Here’s how we grounded all strategic planning by clarifying their long-term personal and professional Succession and Exit Planning Needs and Desires:
First we revisited Foundations and Context
-Commitment to the Partnership and the Business
-Articulating their future goals (10-25 year personal and professional dreams)
-Articulating their 5-7 year professional vision (shifting roles within the company)
-These funnel naturally into long-term Exit Strategy and Developing Leadership strategies
Within this Context
-They re-upped agreement to the 18-24 month Growth Plan
-We then identified every aspect of the business and graded what was functioning well, identified areas to be addressed with specific changes and timelines and oversight ownership.
Go Further, Faster
Back in the office a few months out, our business meetings are much more efficient, focused clearly on the objectives laid out in the two-days. They’ve agreed on ways to move forward smoothly and bring crunchy topics to our coaching/consulting table.
At this “table” they listen more carefully to understand fully until they arrive at mutually satisfying agreements that benefit the business growth laid out in the Strategic Plan for Growth.
As a result, a lot of distractions fall easily by the wayside and they are moving forward, faster than ever before.
Do you need to GET READY for the Next Stage Growth of your business?
You’ve navigated through the Start-Up Phase. Your objective now is Second Stage Growth. everyone’s vision and capabilities, fully focused on the business’s needs.
Let me help you get ready so you go further, faster.
💡Opening yourself as CEO—as Business Partners, Owners, Founders, Top Executives, and Leaders—to professional growth through Executive Coaching with a Business Development and Growth Focus will support all your decision-making. A re-evaluation pause at this stage will ignite growth so you go further, faster.
As an executive, career professional or business owner, having a supportive, strategic coach and consultant who empowers you to confidently clarify and achieve your desired outcomes is invaluable. Coaching helps you work more productively and lead more effectively.
While Dr. Hoistad cannot promise to remove outside demands, she can help you prioritize, set goals and strategies so you and your team function at peak performance.
♦ Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and Business Consulting. Develop awareness of how your decisions affect other areas, your people and your future goals. Fully aligned, make decisions for best possible outcomes.
♦ Partnership Coaching for business owners, partners, teams, entrepreneurs, dual-career couples and couples in business together. Become fully aligned so you work together better, achieving business objectives.
♦ Career Coaching for individual professionals and dual-career couples. At all stages of development; during times of transition; when considering a relocation; when desiring to integrate personal life goals with your career.
With her unique “Big Picture” perspective, Dr. Jan partners with you as you transition through choice points in your career and business life. Her focus is on helping you clarify what you want, identify what’s in the way, and strategize a step-by-step plan so you achieve your goals.
Dr. Jan brings her expertise in human development, system dynamics, entrepreneurship, business growth, partnering, communication and creativity to her clients who become catalysts for change in their businesses, careers, and personal lives. She has helped numerous professionals, business owners, and teams achieve ambitious career and business goals, healthy relationships, and a greater quality of work and life.
“When an experienced professional incorporates Dr. Jan’s coaching and consulting solutions, you can almost feel their body relax. They become excited again. More hopeful, they remember what they love about their work as, together, we turn burdens into doable strategies that achieve their future goals.”
-Dr. Jan Hoistad
- Three Ways to Advance Your Career - October 7, 2024
- How to Take Your Business to the Next Level - October 3, 2024
- Coaching for Business Partners: 4 Times to Work with a Skilled Business Relationships Coach - September 12, 2024