I was at a business wealth club meeting today with many
business owners from Oxford and surrounding areas, http://www.thebusinesswealthclub.com/,
and we were discussing the importance of having a clear and compelling WHY we
run our businesses.
But then realised that this morning was probably the first
time I had expressed why I am so passionate about my coaching business and my
motivation to get up every morning, the see clients, plan new workshops and
develop my business.
I thought I would
share my why with you.
When I was 19 one Sunday afternoon in September my father
drove me to London, to my halls of residence and to the beginning of my life at
university. The following Sunday I was viewing his body in the chapel of rest, not
knowing anything of his illness in the intervening week. That same day my
mother threw me out of the house and told me that I was welcome any longer.
Just before the end of the Christmas term I realised that what my mother had
said was not just a reaction to the death of her husband, but she meant that I was
never welcome back home. Just before my end of term exams I discovered that I
was homeless and had to move out of my halls of residence. I was alone and felt
like I had no one to support me. My years at university would probably the
worst five years of my life, as I look back at that time I don't recognise the
person I was. I'm not proud of many things I did all the person I became.
During college I worked hard and played even harder, and at the end of five
years at an astronomical amount of debt.
Within a few years of qualifying I brought my own practice
and life became much better. Then I
discovered my manager was embezzling very large amounts of money. I discovered
practice was technically insolvent. I had many staff who were dependent on me
for their income, and I felt a massive responsibility to them and my patients.
I was single with no family to fall back on, the only thing I had to get me
through with my resourcefulness. Once again I was alone, didn't know what to do,
didn't know who to turn to and this time I had a mountain of debt.
I had the realisation that I knew how to deliver great
dentistry and yet I knew nothing about how to run a successful business. There
was no reason why I should do how to run a dental practice as a successful
business, as there was no heritage of self-employment in my family and dental
school does not teach business skills.
This period of my life was one of the longest and darkest
times and yet the most rewarding. I was lonely, isolated, ignorant, frustrated
and felt helpless much of the time. My free time was spent in seminars and
reading, learning how to run a successful dental practice. I worked with a
coach, and implemented everything that I could. To this day he tells me that
what made me different from other clients was that I took action and I got
results. The truth was I didn't feel I had any other choice, my practice was
failing and I had to blindly trust that my coach and other mentors knew what they
were doing, I had no choice. There were times, many times when I doubted myself
and was distrustful of those around me. It was bleak.
My ignorance of how to run the business had repercussions in
other areas of my life, I was overweight, unfit, drank too much alcohol. I cut
myself off from friends and those I did see got the worst of me.
So why do I now work
as a business coach and trainer?
In essence I do what I do so nobody else has to go through
the ignorance, pain, frustration and loneliness that I went through.
Within a relatively short period of time I transformed a
failing business into a profitable rewarding practice the staff felt was like
belonging to the family and the patients loved coming in and kept returning.
I transformed the practice because I learnt how to run it as
a business that put it patients at its heart and still attended to the other
aspects of business. And I can show you how to do it too.
Dental schools still don't teach business skills and I have
yet to find many other business owners who have learnt how to run a business
before they go into business themselves. Each day I talk to business owners,
dental principals and team members tell me they are experiencing some of what I
went through when I was ignorant to how to run a successful business and yet I
passionately believe that this pain, frustration and isolation that so many
business owners experience is entirely preventable.
So that is why I wake up every morning between 5:15 and 6:00
with a spring in my step and a fire in my heart eager to get to work and help
fellow dentists business owners and their teams.
If you are someone or know someone who is currently
experiencing the pain, frustration and isolation of owning a failing business
call me on (01296) 770462 or (07989) 757884, because I can help.
