Mentoring & Coaching

When I worked in the corporate world, anytime we had an idea we would run a pilot to test it. We needed a proof-of-concept or a trial to validate if the idea was a good one before we would decide whether to roll it out to the entire company.

As a young manager working in clothing retail, I used to run pilots inside of my store before I even knew what they were called. I was what they called a “Fire Fighter,” which is the type of manager sent to underperforming stores to clean up their processes, inspire the team, and turn around sales.

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n one store where I worked, everyone believed it was a professional market, which meant that we sold suits. However, I had a theory that might not be completely true, and so I conducted a test at the front of the store by merchandising some cool, trend-setting baby tees and sundresses.

I put together a cute display that mimicked the style I had seen on the popular TV show “90210,” and the next thing I knew those dresses and baby tees were selling like hot cakes! All of a sudden, the store that was known for selling suits was a trend-setting location. The president of the company called me because she wanted to know what was going on since those two items were NOT selling anywhere else.

I had done something I wasn’t supposed to do when I merchandised those dresses at the front of the store. I took an idea and I acted on it. I was driven by results in my store and I had a hunch that this would work. Therefore, I tried it and the next thing I knew, my idea and results had a tremendous impact on the entire company.

You have ideas, too. You may have an idea for a brand-new type of business and ideas to make your business grow. When you are entrepreneurial, you have ideas all the time.

The challenge, however, is turning those ideas into concepts that work.

That’s what this book is about. It’s my blueprint on what you need today to build a successful and profitable business because you need more than just an idea. I will share each of the concepts I have piloted in my own business, used with other business owners, and watched generate profits repeatedly.

When you pilot something in your business, you want to create, test, evaluate, fix, and then test again. It’s a whole lot of trial and error to determine what works and what does not. In this case, I’ve done the testing for you.

Now it’s time for you to take your idea and do the same. First, you have to convince yourself that your idea is worth it.

The First Sale Is Always To Yourself

You have to convince yourself first that the vision you have for your business has legs. You need to sell yourself on your own business ideas if you are ever going to be successful with selling it to others. Selling is really your ability to transfer belief, and the first person you need to convince is you.

Believe that you are capable of building this business and in selling your idea to others. Believe that your product or service is of value and is worth buying. You’re going to have to be able to sell this belief to YOU first; otherwise, you won’t be successful selling to others.

Martha Stewart started out making pies in her kitchen and selling them at the farmers market. She was not the Martha Stewart back then that she is today. She started her business the same way as you and I---as a little idea that she tested, refined, which grew into something much bigger.

Her first pilot was selling pies at the market. Look at her now and the profits in her business.

Martha Stewart had to go through three phases in her business: 1) Start Up, 2) Growth Mode, and eventually 3) Scaling to get where she is today. I am sure her ideas in the very beginning did not include everything her empire is today, however, it did start with a belief in her own ability.

You and your business can get stuck in start-up mode for an exceedingly long time if you do not have belief in both yourself and in your vision.