By Ellen Dunagan
One of the things that struck me as I questioned Gina during our first meeting was how thrilled she was about changing careers. While the opportunity to pursue a career as a writer had come her way after being forced to shutter the day care center she had built and managed for 20 years, she couldn’t have sounded more delighted with her situation.
I immediately recalled the numerous times I had conducted exit interviews with employees and thought: some of these individuals will discover that being let go from this employer is the best thing that could happen to them. We have all heard the stories of people who have been laid off or fired, only to go on to find better jobs and more fulfilling career paths. While these individuals feel the devastation of being let go initially, many later say they felt a sense of relief that their employer or the economy made the decision for them, thus freeing them to find greater career fulfillment.
This was certainly true of Gina. I didn’t hear disappointment, a sense of loss or foreboding, or even a trace of bitterness as she described the loss of her successful day care business. Instead, I heard sheer excitement in her voice as she described her new career aspiration: becoming a professional writer.
Right away we focused on goal-setting, and I had Gina identify 3 goals that would define a successful career as a writer. While she wrote: “Wow...not an easy assignment for some reason” she came up with 3 goals below:
1. Make a living at writing
2. Become comfortable marketing myself & my business
3. Realize my career makeover as a personal reinvention, complete with new skills and goals
She added: “Honestly, if I can accomplish one of those things I will be proud me!”
So we started with goal number one: Make a living at writing. So far, Gina already had several clients: she was a regular guest blogger for several blogs whose topics ranged from women in the workplace to technology. She was busy using social media on behalf of several clients to get information and news out to followers and she was also conducting research and writing web content.
We focused first off on where and how she was getting her clients. Gina is one of those savvy internet users (probably due in part to her husband who has his own IT business) so using technology and the World Wide Web is where she felt comfortable getting new business. However, Gina talked about wanting to get business on a local level in her town and surrounding area. One of my suggestions to her was getting old-school about it and getting face-to-face with people in her community who she could get to know and market her services to.
During our discussion, Gina mentioned two things that stood out to me: a women’s networking event that was on her calendar and a real estate agent who was well known in the community, had just retired, AND who had sold several houses to members of her extended family. Hello networking opportunities!
As we closed our discussion, I challenged Gina to go out on a limb and change her online behaviors to face-to-face encounters. Together we came up with some action items to help her practice talking about her business and test new and different behaviors that would lead her to securing business and also help her start working toward goal # 2: “Become comfortable marketing myself & my business.” So, action items to be completed by our next session included:
1. Come up with a pitch. Describe your business and what you do in the length of time it takes you to ride an elevator. In other words, make it short, but make it powerful. She’s a writer after all, so I thought this would be a great exercise for her but also might come more easily to her.
2. Meet at least 3 new people at the professional networking event coming up. Since Gina did not have a lot of networking experience, I did not task her with the challenge of pitching her business, but rather asked her to meet three new people and get their business cards.
3. Set up an appointment with the real estate agent who retired. Why? It might seem awkward to some while a no brainer to others. Simply put: people are wonderful resources who will help you get from point A to point B faster than you can do it yourself. Gina’s real estate agent is a pro who was in business for decades (sans the internet!) and who knows the locals, from businesses to business owners, like the back of his hand. One meeting with someone like him can yield a world of wealth, from contacts who might need Gina’s services to helpful business advice from someone who enjoyed great success.
After our meeting, Gina left armed with lots of homework, but lots of new ideas and things to think about. Check back next Wednesday to hear how Gina fared at her networking event…and with completing her action items!!
