The Dream is Now A Reality – Thanks to Patience and Preparation

February 27, 2015 | Leadership

Well, this is a dream come true!  My dream of starting my own consulting practice started with a couple of books, an extended vacation and a dream.  I had been working in a couple start-ups in the summer of 2011.  One had been in existence since 2004 and was doing quite well.  We had doubled our revenue between the years of 2009 and 2010 and were on the cusp of submitting a substantial proposal to the Department of Veterans Affairs that would instantly double our size if we were awarded the contract.  Despite the success and momentum of both startups, I began to feel the itch to do something on my own and more importantly, I felt moved to provide for other businesses what made our startups great companies.

Like most things in life, timing made it difficult to make that dream a reality. The two startups still had a lot to accomplish and other personal roadblocks made the risk of taking the next step too great.  Some will say that one should follow their dream at all costs, but I would have to disagree with that statement especially if one has other obligations such as a family to support, has not fully researched or investigated some of the requirements to open a new business, or simply is not physically, mentally and/or emotionally prepared to go “solo”. I don’t believe all of these items need to be 100% satisfied to make a move.  Let’s face it, if we had this attitude, we would never see any new startups.  The human race may also not exist because like starting up a business, if parents waited until they were 100% ready to have children, our ancestors probably would have stopped having them a long time ago.

So I would spend my free time making action items lists which provided baby steps toward my dream so that when I was ready, I would be better prepared.  I made notes on possible opportunities for marketing my business idea, a target clients list, and a rough sketch of the required resources to start up the endeavor.  Today, I am glad that I began working on it at least on paper long before I pulled the trigger.  It gave me a better grasp on the challenges I may face when I made my move.  It also gave me a road map to begin making my “to-do” lists once I made my move.  I would recommend that anyone that has a dream to do the same.  It moves the idea of a dream into a goal, and that goal can be assigned action items.  It may take years to complete the action steps but that’s okay.

The two books that were discussed in the first paragraph were Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss and Quitter by Jon Acuff.  Both books gave very practical, prudent advice in terms of a comprehensive self assessment to determine if one was ready to go after their dream.  I took both assessments more than once at different stages of my dream’s development. They also provide a road map on how to accomplish your dream, and the action items that I defined early in my pursuit received their inspiration from these books as well.  If someone wanted to start their own business, or pursue their dream job, I would strongly advise them to read Quitter at the very least.

Every week, I plan to provide stories, best practices, and other words of wisdom to help infuse the “human element” into their organization.  We at Earnest Consulting Group believe that the “human element” is the glue that holds all of the other important aspects such as finance, operational efficiency, quality, and growth together. What are some ways that we can assist your organization?

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