Individual Coaching

Coaching starts with a few sessions I call “20 Questions” These questions allow us to discover what your goals are for running this business at this point in your life; and then to design your company so it’s best able to accomplish those goals for you. The blueprint we develop from this becomes a guide to making business decisions and also a motivator like the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Coaching is done either by phone or in person and there are advantages to each.

• By Phone – phone coaching makes it possible for me to help people anywhere in the world. It’s also more economical because there’s no travel for me and can be done when you are on the road. The downside is the depth of the relationship. You can’t show me anything in your company, we don’t have the camaraderie of a face to face relationship, and sometimes it’s more distracting to be on the phone than in person.

 

• In Person – coaching this way has the opposite set of pros and cons as phone coaching. There is also the additional possibility of shadow coaching. This is when I sit back and watch you in action. Maybe you’re running a meeting, giving a speech, conducting an interview. Then afterward we have a debrief session about what went right and what you can do better.

How to get started

Initial Consult –

How to pitch to Investors

Suppose you’re 28 years old and just got engaged. You probably have some acquaintances who would hear about it on Facebook and that’s about all they’d know. Some friends would take you out for a drink and want to know the whole story. Neither of these would be sufficient for your parents who would probably want to meet your future spouse over dinner.  Three ways of telling the story – but the same fiancé.

 

If you’re trying to raise money from investors you need to be able to pitch your company in a multitude of ways. It’s the same company, but some will only want to hear the elevator pitch. Others will want a bit more detail and others will invite you in to give a full blown presentation before they say no (just kidding).

 

As an angel investor I’ve seen hundreds of pitches and business plans. Based on that experience, these programs are designed to help you develop three ways to tell your story, all of different lengths.

• Short version – in this situation I’ll explain all three ways and help you come up with an outline for each.
• Long Version – if you opt for the long version we’ll develop that outline and then flesh it out. I’ll critique your presentation and your slide deck for.

Devil’s Advocate

This program is geared toward people about to start a company for the first time. We’ll spend an hour or so on the phone going over your idea

 

48 Point Review

This program is a review of all the different systems every company needs to be successful. You’re probably doing most of them right now whether you know it or not. But if you’re frustrated with your company’s progress (and why are you reading this if you aren’t?) then there are probably one or two that are causing a problem. The purpose of the review is three-fold:

Alignment. We start with a few sessions I call “20 Questions” These questions allow us to discover what your goals are for running this business at this point in your life; and then to design your company so it’s best able to accomplish those goals for you. I like to do this with all significant owners or investors to make sure everyone’s goals are compatible. The 48 point review will then allow us to see if the company is operating in a way that’s likely to achieve those goals.

1. Alignment. We start with a few sessions I call “20 Questions” These questions allow us to discover what your goals are for running this business at this point in your life; and then to design your company so it’s best able to accomplish those goals for you. I like to do this with all significant owners or investors to make sure everyone’s goals are compatible. The 48 point review will then allow us to see if the company is operating in a way that’s likely to achieve those goals.
2. Crisis Control. Just like there are probably 48 systems under the hood of your car, but only one is making that funny noise or that weird vibration so too with the problems in your business. Each system is rated either In Crisis, Needs Improvement, or Perfect (for now). From this you can develop a plan to deal with the ones that are in crisis first.
3. Growth without Growing Pains. After you’ve fixed the systems in crisis, you can start on the ones that need improvement. More importantly, you can look at even the systems that are Perfect (for now) and see which ones will break as your company grows. It’s better to plan to upgrade your systems xxxxx

What is a system? When I say systems, people often think of technology. But that’s not usually what I mean. Technology helps you do things faster and more accurately. But if you’re not doing the right things, or not doing them effectively, then doing them faster isn’t going to be much help.  Examples of systems are xxxxx