Ramona Riley

Ramona Riley
The Tailor Consultant

Monday, March 15, 2010

Marriage and the Entrepreneur

When I began thinking in terms of starting my own business, I researched everything I could on competitors, market, clients to be targeted and so on and so forth. However, it was not until much later in the process that I stopped and reevaluated my steps, progress, and revenues, to realize that I was in business but I wasn’t producing much. Therefore, I had to reorganize and structure my business based on the end result of what its intended purpose entailed. Thus, we envisioned our company’s success and then worked our way back to where we were to implement a plan of alignment toward the vision.

Being in business reminded me of a time during adulthood when I was single and desiring to be married. When I thought about that whole experience of becoming a woman, I began to look at my business quite differently. For example, as an entrepreneur, I sought clients and looked at every person as a possible client evaluating them on what they brought to the table and how I could change them. When I was single, I looked at every man as possible husband material evaluating them on their capabilities as well as their possibilities. In the end, this was the wrong approach for me because; I had not fully come to the realization of what I had on hand and what my full potential resembled.

As an entrepreneur, the desire for a small business owner is to have big clients able to afford her services, value her work, and join into a long-term committed relationship. Thus, viewing my business, business ventures, goals, and vision in a way which related to the fundamentals of life allowed me to take one step at a time in understanding that one step at a time was the best I could do. When clients are few, rather than moving forward without a plan, it was necessary for me to have a game plan for setting the business up in a way that produced success. During those lonely times, I learned to employ several changes in my behavior to produce the outcomes I desired.

· Discipline yourself.

· Hone in on your expertise.

· Take your eyes off your competitors.

· Don’t focus on what is not happening with your organization.

· Direct your attention to the places to be excelled.

· Empower yourself to build legacy through your business.

· Own the responsibility of your charge.

· Turn off the noise in your head.

· Determine what can be changed right now.

· Focus on what you want in your heart.

· Keep your dream in front of you.

· Increase your wealth.

Thinking about my business in terms of becoming an adult and woman changed my perspective of the business world and how I would impact it. For example, I had to look at the economy and my clients to shape and to prepare alternatives for my business in order to continue for the long term. It was important to concentrate on maintaining business for the long-term; therefore, rather than focusing on the bottom line, I began to focus on keeping, maintaining, and retaining the clients I had to invest in those relationships. The application of the new business strategy included building relationships and building trust with clients. I quickly learned that people were generally more prone to buy from those who had been referred by others, recommended, or those who I had an opportunity to impact and meet personally. It was important for me to nurture the relationships which had already been established with clients and work out customized long-term plans that were WIN/WIN.

The relationships were centered on collaboration and coaching in order to teach clients how to foster and implement best practices for success. Ultimately, my entrepreneurial marriage evolved into growing and developing my services to fit and meet my clients’ expanding needs. Further, my perspective of competitors was changed to partnerships working jointly to expand offerings, leverage opportunities, and capital. In the end, the changes that have taken place have been opportunities which empower us to better lead our clients as well as break down the barriers for other organizations facing the same challenges.

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