None of your Business
"I'd love to work with you."
It may be the smallest phrase you can use that has the largest of ramifications. I take that back, there are other powerful shorties. I'm sure you can think of a few, but my mind went directly to the short phrase that packs the biggest punch: "I do."
Still, this good day was just getting better. I had just landed another client. In the months since beginning my hiatus from the newsroom, I had worked extensively with Northwest Harvest. That work inspired me to reach out to other non-profits and see if I could help them. My client count had risen from one to two, and the possibilities seemed endless.
With that kind of build-up, have you figured out what comes next?
Not yet.
Clients three, four, and five quickly jumped on board, and I was a machine. We held phone and video conferences, started going over ideas, and then it was time to plan things on the calendar.
"Yeah, I can't do this until 2012," one client told me.
A similar message began echoing as I asked the others about their time lines. They were on a different track: Established, well-thought out business planners who had planned for today...yesterday. I, on the other hand, was the guy just launching a business that needed to pay a mortgage the next month.
I share this with you for one reason: I urge you to continue dreaming.
I wanted to open my own little business and I did. It's not what I thought it might be, but I'm richer for the experience. I've learned a lot about myself and a lot about others, and the investment is priceless without ever turning a profit. 27 years from now, I won't be sitting there thinking "I wondered what would have happened had I tried..."
I still love to work with my small band of clients, and always welcome more. But it's time to dream again.
What else can i be when I grow up?
It may be the smallest phrase you can use that has the largest of ramifications. I take that back, there are other powerful shorties. I'm sure you can think of a few, but my mind went directly to the short phrase that packs the biggest punch: "I do."
Still, this good day was just getting better. I had just landed another client. In the months since beginning my hiatus from the newsroom, I had worked extensively with Northwest Harvest. That work inspired me to reach out to other non-profits and see if I could help them. My client count had risen from one to two, and the possibilities seemed endless.
With that kind of build-up, have you figured out what comes next?
Not yet.
Clients three, four, and five quickly jumped on board, and I was a machine. We held phone and video conferences, started going over ideas, and then it was time to plan things on the calendar.
"Yeah, I can't do this until 2012," one client told me.
A similar message began echoing as I asked the others about their time lines. They were on a different track: Established, well-thought out business planners who had planned for today...yesterday. I, on the other hand, was the guy just launching a business that needed to pay a mortgage the next month.
I share this with you for one reason: I urge you to continue dreaming.
I wanted to open my own little business and I did. It's not what I thought it might be, but I'm richer for the experience. I've learned a lot about myself and a lot about others, and the investment is priceless without ever turning a profit. 27 years from now, I won't be sitting there thinking "I wondered what would have happened had I tried..."
I still love to work with my small band of clients, and always welcome more. But it's time to dream again.
What else can i be when I grow up?
Brian - it sounds like we've had some similar experiences with nonprofits. It's great to be able to help them, but most are already so overloaded they don't think they have the capacity to do more (but they do).
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