Kibbe on Marketing: Part 2 - Born or Made?

Well, are our “shovel muscles” all limbered up now? We were without power for five days. I never, ever take my blessings for granted, including the miracle of hot running water, so I was even more grateful when the power came back on.

My crisis management muscle also was exercised. I was pleased with how I was able to keep things calm and under control as humanly possible, which led me to think a little more on my last discussion of whether entrepreneurs are born or made.

I still contend that, while concrete skills like bookkeeping and marketing can be learned by all new business owners, successful entrepreneurs have innate qualities that make them, well, successful. I never thought I possessed some of the more critical ones – my complete aversion to risk-taking, for one – but “Snowtober” and a recent workshop at the Hannah Grimes Center in Keene has me changing my mind. Perhaps with right planning and coaching, anyone can learn to harness his or her own innate abilities to create and run successful ventures, too.

Helaine Iris, life and business coach and owner of Path of Purpose Coaching, led “Four Things to Consider Before Starting Your Own Business,” held Oct. 27 in Hannah Grimes’s new offices. What made this workshop unique is, as far as I can tell, it’s the only one I’ve found that is for those considering whether starting a business is right for them. Certainly, SCORE, the Small Business Development Center, and other business resource agencies have excellent “how to” programs but I haven’t found many “Do I want to?” programs. (If you know of another one, let me know!)

“Four Things” discussed some of the more emotional considerations as well as concrete issues that should be pondered before moving forward with a decision to start a business. Helaine was a wonderful speaker and an incredible resource precisely because she has gone through everything the business-pondering attendees are going through. (Where will the money come from as I’m building a business? Can I still have a social life? What if the business fails? What if I fail?) Attendees received a packet that included several questionnaires and readiness assessments to help rein in some of that mind chatter.

One of the points I learned at “Four Things” was to have your values connected to you passion. This may seem obvious to some, but others wonder if some of their more noble aspirations would sabotage a business in the long run. Whether you’re baking Moon Pies, building websites or anything else, you can and should incorporate your values into your business. That will not only help sustain your passion and the reason why you started a business in the first place, it will help see you through the deeply challenging times as well.

Folks always talk about having a business plan before your start your venture, but so many entrepreneurs don’t even think about having one until there’s a need for a loan. Guess what?  I learned, yes, you really DO need a business plan before you start getting clients if at all possible – but it doesn’t have to be “loan-worthy,” at least not in the beginning. And I’ve learned from other seminars on entrepreneurship, that a business plan is never finished; it grows, changes and evolves as the business (and you as the owner!) grow, change and evolve.

Exit strategies are typically not things business owners think about as they are building their business – but they should. Helaine said every business will always have an end whether that is a sale or merger of the business or the retirement or even death of the owner. Perhaps those are more dramatic endings, but for those considering a business I learned it is good to have a concrete idea of what has to happen if the business is going to continue or when to pull the plug.

For those of you who are intrigued with the idea of owning a business, I encourage you to give Hannah Grimes, Helaine Iris or another business resource agency a call. Remember, there is also as much gained by learning that business ownership is not for you as there is by moving forward with your venture.

Hannah Grimes Center may be reached at 603-352-5538; hannahgrimes.com. Helaine Iris can be contacted at 603-363-4252; helaine@pathofpurpose.com. For those who have made the decision to take that next concrete step toward business ownership, call Hannah Grimes about its 12-month Business Start-Up Program, covering the skills and receiving the support needed to reach your business goals alongside other like-minded entrepreneurs. Class starts Nov. 10.

Cindy Kibbe, an editor for a New England business publication for nearly a decade, can be reached at cindykibbe@comcast.net.