What is an Intentional Professional?
Hello and welcome to the Intentional Professionals blog! Thank you for signing up or finding us on the web as well. I will keep this introduction short, but I would like to take a moment to establish the reason that we are here.
THE CAUSE OF SMALL BUSINESS PROBLEMS
Primarily, it is to create a community of like-minded professionals according to the three tenets that this organization is based on:
the Person
the Rules and
the Operations.
Let me briefly explain. This idea was formed when I, began business consulting in an official capacity with the SBDC. In about a year, I had to acknowledge a pattern that I had been noticing up to that point: business problems have a personal root. I know, it is not groundbreaking information but I do not believe that most people in business want to acknowledge this. Why? Because most clients would ask for help with marketing, social media, acquiring more customers or something similar, never the root cause. The reality was that there appeared to be a very limited number of issues that really needed to be addressed:
self-esteem (the Person)
habits (the Rules)
processes and systems (the Operations)
Once it crystallized for me I could not ignore it so I began (unbeknownst to everyone else) to consult through that filter. In doing that, I had to commit to telling clients the honest truth in the most delicate way possible in order to truly help them "grow and succeed". So, sometimes a client would ask for tips on marketing because they needed more sales but my questions were geared more toward their personal situation if there was even a whiff of desperation on them. What I know from consulting and taking a stab at entrepreneurship previously is that NEEDING sales is much different than WANTING them. Sometimes, my questions revealed that the client was struggling making ends meet and was taking a gamble with no backup plan. I know that sounds like a rags-to-riches story in the making but I could not, in good conscience, co-sign the idea of someone possibly putting themselves (or their children) into a worse position because of all that they did not know about business. There were times that I had to burst some delusional, fairy-tale bubbles and others where I knew they just didn't know what they didn't know. The key was that I listened and was able to hear the quiet parts out loud. I worried a lot that my approach would cost me my job but it never did. I did lose some clients sometimes. There were even times that clients would circle back around that I thought I would never see again. However, for the most part, clients greatly appreciated my honesty. After a couple of years of testing my theory, I decided that it was indeed sound and that I would use what I learned to help. That time is now. So, now that you know what brought me here, I'm sure you're wondering about the how. Well, first and foremost is good, old-fashioned consulting and strategic planning. The only difference is that clients will be required to sign on for specific, dedicated projects that they are looking to tackle. The second way is through accountability support. Whether that is one-on-one or in groups (both small and large), if you are looking for unwavering accountability support, look no further. Lastly, this will be achieved through offering online education in the form of digital courses. The Intentional Professionals Masterclass with be available for pre-sale later this month and the Priceless Self-Love course is coming your way for pre-sale in early February, just in time for Valentine's Day. I cannot wait to share more with you and I hope you enjoy yourself while you are here!
Sincerely,
-M