Leaving Corporate to Become a Successful Entrepreneur

By: Stan Washington

Date: June 05, 2015

“This is going to be the best company” was the thought I had placed in my mind when I entered my last corporate position.  When I approached the company with that attitude, it actually was a great experience. I rose through the ranks and assumed a great deal of responsibility. Each move I made had new challenges, new problems, new people to meet and relate to.

When I transitioned to become an entrepreneur I was in for pleasant yet sometimes rude awakening.  Know yourself! Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind.

1. Years of training can pay off

As a corporate leader of a Fortune 100 company, I had some of the best training available to me. When transitioning to your own business, leverage this great expertise you have acquired. Whether through training or on the job learning, your experience is valuable.

2. They don’t have to listen to you

I used to speak in front of very large crowds about the new thing we were rolling out and people had to listen. Your customers have many choices and they do not “have” to listen to you. Be humble and leverage the negotiating training and skills you have acquired.

3. You may have to delegate to yourself

If you had a staff of people you used to delegate to do things, you may have to change your mindset. When starting up, you may have to do many things others would do for you. Be balanced though. Find the right resources that can help you get things done well and pick up the slack only where needed.

4. It’s a marathon not a sprint

I ran a marathon recently and learned a ton of parallels. Don’t start off too fast or you will exhaust yourself. Running the long race takes practice and preparedness similar to business. Even when I hurt my ankle I had to finish the race and being in business I’ve had to shake off the temptation to give up. Celebrate every mile, sometimes every step, forward progress is key.

5. You are blessed and in a new stage

Make and mold this new stage in life rather than reminiscing the good old days of your rise. Just because I received high academic honors in third grade doesn’t make me want to go back through school. Leverage the great experiences and achievements as fuel to your new life as an entrepreneur. Treat people with respect and know you are blessed and watched over.

FEATURED - Doug Thorpe (Founder and Managing Partner)

By: Stan Washington
Date: January 05, 2015

Tiny Interview - Doug Thorpe, Founder and Managing Partner at Headway Exec, LLC.

Stan: Doug please tell me about yourself and your services.

Doug: The Headway Executive Coaching Group is dedicated to C-Suite, senior executives, high potential managers/leaders, and first-time owners or managers. Our team is a national group of seasoned leaders and management experts with proven records of success in all sectors. We focus on leadership development and team building. Our programs have been used by over 1,000 leaders nationwide.

Stan: What advice would you give business owners?

Doug:  Identify the three key elements that make your business unique, qualified, and necessary for your customers/clients. 


Doug can be reached at: 
http://www.headwayexec.com/about-us/doug-thorpe/
doug@dougthorpe.com
832-789-9567

Recent blog post: http://www.realdougthorpe.com/

Home Business Spotlight - Vol 1

Home businesses are on the rise!  Many people have hung up their corporate shingle to do similar work but have become their own boss. They have years of experience and have been trained by the best. They are talent that's hard to find.

Why are they leaving corporate and working from home?  They want to work flexible hours and most of all work from their home, thus reducing the commute. This trend is growing.  

Currently more than 16 million people work from home in the United States, a figure that is expected to continue growing in 2014. Social collaboration tools and communication apps present an opportunity to conduct business from home, generating predictions that suggest the number of people working from home in the U.S. will increase by 64% in the next four years.

Before you get started here are a few tips
1. Clean the house - This is now the place you work.  Remove clutter and you will remove distractions.
2. Turn off the television - You are now working from home and TV can be a distraction to your productivity.  
3. Go to work - Your commute is short but make it a ritual where you have office hours and a place that is designated as your workspace in your home. 
4. Get virtual - Join networks of real people and speak with them virtually.  This will give you a sense of belonging.

Google has 7 New Tech Hubs (Chicago is one)!

It's been a while since I have blogged!  Sorry about my absence!  We have been rather busy ourselves with the official launch of Career Coach Office (http://www.careercoachoffice.com) where your small business "IS" your CAREER. Okay... enough advertising.

Google is creating 7 Tech Hubs around the nation.  We don't know what this means for entrepreneurs here in "the middle" but I would only assume that is will be great. Check out Google Tech Hubs.

Starting a business can seem slow as molasses!

After three years of development our team finally got excited of the release of our new software, Career Coach Office.  The initial tests with experts in the field stated everything would go well. On launch day we had technical issues that were minor, but still issues nonetheless.

It seemed like it took forever to correct the tiny issue not displaying a client's  picture correctly and fixing the dreaded "un-styled" tax update form that was buried way in the invoicing tool.

Let me just say every business has it's obstacles that must be overcome.

1. Expect that there will be obstacles and deal with them as they come.
2. Don't freak out when something goes wrong. All the planning in the world won't eliminate issues.
3. Break your issues down to small components so they can be addressed in a timely fashion.
4. Don't give up! When the going get's tough, you know the rest!

What seems like an incredibly slow period to you is really a short period of time to your consumers. They have no idea how many sleepless nights you've had so relax and fix the issues in an expeditious orderly fashion.

visit http://www.careercoachoffice.com and tell us what you think.