Wednesday, July 12, 2006

2006 Challenges for Peace Talks



2006 is a challenging year. Peace Talks Mediation Services, www.peace-talks.com, needs to make the transition between entrepreneurial venture (read: fly by the seat of one’s pants) to mature business. The temptation to dive into the next to-do list item must give way to taking time to develop a strategic plan, a budget and financial plan, and a meaningful update to the business plan.

During the first 2 quarters of 2006, revenue has inexplicably fallen off. I don’t know why this has happened. I’ve gone over [what seems like] every possibility, and nothing makes sense. Los Angeles is the epicenter of people getting divorced, people who are willing to try new things, and people who have plenty of secrets. Mediation is a perfect fit. Even the web site, our best source of business, is getting twice as many hits this year as last. I need a plan on how to deal with the ups and downs of revenue, and how to budget for the lean times. http://www.peace-talks.com/divorcemediation/index.php for the full story.

Financial challenges for 2006: I need a budget and financial plan for the next 6 and 12 months. Specifically, I need to get a handle on my business-related spending, which isn’t excessive, but it is haphazard. I also need to pay myself a decent wage. Six years into this business, I should be making at least something close to what I'm worth. This transition is exhilarating yet daunting. I've created one of the only full time family law mediation practices in the country in an industry with huge barriers to entry and profitability. I see myself as a trailblazer, and the challenge of being one of the first mediation-only practices in the country is part of the incentive to continue. Plus, I love my job. Our clients are really great people having the worst day of their lives, and our work makes things better for them. My marketing company has been really supportive, www.golden-media.com, but it takes awhile for marketing to work.

Business challenges for 2006: I need to decide where Peace Talks, www.peace-talks.com, is headed in the short and long term future. Do I position it to sell? To make a franchise offering? I need to delegate some of the marketing projects and schedule some in-service days to work on the business rather than in the business.

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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

The Competition, June 2005


It’s been a wild ride already, and it’s only been 3 weeks! All I knew when I got to San Francisco (at the NAWBO national convention, www.nawbo.org) and saw the other finalists and the energy in the room was that I needed to be a part of this group of people. The organization is called Count Me In, and that’s all I could think: Count me IN! www.countmein.org.
Check out the size of this room---no pressure!

The first day was terrifying. We were to rehearse our speeches for the final contest in front of the coaches, Nell Merlino, head of Count Me In, Margery Miller, among other heavy hitters. One problem: I hadn’t written my speech because I thought that the workshop was about writing the speech, not giving it. I jotted down a few notes before it was my turn (second!) so although it was clunky at least I got some words out. The criticism was constructive, but difficult to hear. And when I heard the other contestant’s speeches I realized I was in trouble—the competition was stiff! And now that I’d seen how amazing the other women business people were, I wanted to be a part of the Award group more than ever.

I worked on my speech like a maniac. I realized I’d pitched it all wrong—I’d pitched mediation as a service, not me as a promising business owner, www.peace-talks.com. I rehearsed it aloud over and over again. I’m not sure what the people in the neighboring rooms thought as I started and started again. I even made my husband listen to it over the speakerphone. I went out to dinner with a college friend. “I am in ‘way over my head!” I told him. He didn’t believe me---if only he could’ve seen the quality of the talent in the room! The odds were good—20 winners out of 33, but this wasn’t shooting fish in a barrel by any means.

Self-doubt struck. We’re at $250,000 now. How on earth could I get to a million dollars in gross revenue? Could I do it? I wallowed in that for awhile, and then I decided to get busy. Once I broke down the $Million mark into exactly what it would take, I realized that it was only 153 mediation clients per year. If 153 out of 41,000 divorces filed in Los Angeles each year came to my mediation practice I would have $1 million in gross revenue. I had an epiphany. I could be a $Million business---easily!

Fingers crossed, I went to the ballroom at the appointed time and fell in line with everyone else. At that point, I’d done all I could do to prepare. All I could do is try to own the room and stay in the moment. Everyone’s speech went so well---as much polishing I’d done, they’d done the same. Afterwards we waited for the results together, tension building as the music blared and lights flashed. Dani Levy, the keynote speaker from Daily Candy, www.dailycandy.com, was inspiring. I love Daily Candy and read it every day. When I was finally called up as part of the winner’s group, I was elated, along with everyone else. Suddenly I’m standing on the stage next to the other winners and Suze Orman. But the trip had just begun.

The orientation made it clear that you’d get out of the program what you put in, and that if we needed help, Count Me In, Make Mine a $Million, www.makemineamillion.org, the coaches and mentors would be there to help. This would be a safe place where I could admit my shortcomings and challenges and we’d troubleshoot together to get to the next level. It sounded like it was going to be a lot of work, but it also sounded very comforting. One of the reasons I applied was that I didn’t have anywhere to go to talk about the problems in my business, or where I felt my knowledge wasn’t up to speed. To other mediators and people in my community, everything’s always “Going great! Really busy!” but in reality there’s always something that could be going better. Here I could be honest, and that honesty would propel me to the $Million mark.

Since returning home, it’s been a whirlwind of activity. Business Week Online interviews, Los Angeles Times articles, talking with the PR agents, talking with Count Me In, exchanging e-mail with other award winners, and organizing my own plans around the award is keeping me very busy! I marched myself over to Tiffany and bought a bracelet engraved with Count Me In so I could remember the spirit of the award moment every day.

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