Why are we afraid of commitment?
This week, I taught the social media for business class to 4 students. Although I received e-mails from at least 15 people saying they were going to attend. The 4 students who came had pre-registered for the class months in advance unlike the 15 who just sent an email. Why are we afraid of commitment? As I pondered this question, I looked up the word in the merriam websters dictionary - Commitment is an act of TRUST. Ok, so that is why we are afraid. It is hard to put faith in the future. But for business ownership, failure to plan for the future is akin to being caught in complacency. There is no standing still in business, if we are not moving forward, we are moving backward.
It is running that taught me how to be in training mode and plan for the future. Today is the first day to register for the SheROX triathlon on August 22nd, 2010. Though I don't know how to swim and haven't rode a bike in years, I am registering and making a financial and time commitment in this future activity. It is time to stretch myself and move to the next level so I can lift the lid on my personal leadership skills (John C. Maxwell - Leadership 101 and Sulaiman Rahman) and help more businesses navigate the road blocks in business ownership.
I found a great little article in my google search and it laid everything out in this one statement - "The most important single factor in individual success is COMMITMENT." Commitment requires practicing your beliefs consistently and fully adhere to those beliefs with your actions. My mentor, Sulaiman Rahman, likes to say that you have to practice little commitments to get to the big commitments. My business partner and I have an accountability call every single day. This is our journal of what we need to do for the day and it was her idea to add this activity to the schedule (Thanks Tara!). I am committed to running 4 times a week which translates in to the business commitment of creating a weekly (what is the schedule and what needs to get done), monthly (close the accounting cycle and publish the newsletters) and yearly (how many employees will we have, who are the strategic partners, what certifications do we need) list of what my business has to do to move forward. Sulaiman, I agree it is those little commitments not just saying the words but doing the action which builds belief into completing bigger goals.
The article also states that commitment is demonstrated by a combination of two actions - supporting and improving. "Genuine support develops a commitment in the minds and hearts of others. This is accomplished by focusing on what is important and leading by example." It is my hope to show this by using and supporting businesses in the network and uncovering opportunities and new avenues to market their businesses with cost-effective marketing solutions. The second action is improving. "Improving stretches our commitment to an even higher level. Commitment means a willingness to look for a better way and learn from the process." Though it was my dream to complete a triathlon, it started with a commitment to walk 1000 steps a day use what I learned to walk 10 miles a week ; use what I learned to complete a 5K race which has lead me to register for the tri. Though we can never stop improving, this is where the fun is! My lifetime is not long enough to learn everything so we must use our networks to shorten the learning curve and learn from each other!
That is why I am not afraid of commitment, I TRUST that I don't know everything and would be honored to learn from YOU! I will see the next group of students at the social media for business class part II and COMMIT that the coffee is on me!
Also - women business owners commit to a 3 day conference to learn from your network of like minded businesses who are working together to move to the next level at the 1st annual relax and learn conference at the 4 star Heldrich Hotel and Spa from 4/23/10 - 4/25/10! 100 deposit due now!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
National Minority Economic Development Week Recap
I had the pleasure of attending the national Med Week celebration in Washington DC on behalf of DiversePhilly. The national director, David Hinson, University of Penn Wharton School of Business alum (and a former business owner) talked about the importance of strategic alliances (partnerships, joint ventures, mergers/acquisitions) as growth strategies instead of the traditional organic growth. Then Ervin "Magic" Johnson, former team captain of the NBA champion LA Laker's and business owner, spoke about his growth strategies and his partnership with Starbucks (he owns 105 stores in the urban community). I wish I could copy his speech but these are highlights from my notes. When he approached Starbucks, they had no stores in the urban community. He went to them with a value added proposition about how the urban population (a previously untapped market) is critical to the growth of the Starbucks brand. So the owner of Starbucks said he would come down to LA and conduct due diligence on the Magic Johnson movie theaters. Magic said when he conducted his SWOT (strengths, weeknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, the strengths were Him (passion, drive, brand name and competitive nature), a great management team and excellent customer service. He listens to his customers because they will tell you what they want to make your company successful. As he is from the urban community he identifies with his target market. The fountain drinks in the movie theater chain have not only the traditional Coke but also strawberry, fruit punch and grape because his target audience grew up on Kool-Aid! He asked the food vendors if they had enough hot dogs and the food vendor said they had enough for a month but they sold out of hot dogs on the first day because his target audience does not do dinner AND a movie, they do dinner IN the movie! As a result of seeing the revenue generated at the AMC/Magic Johnson theaters (which was a proven track record) the Magic Johnson/Starbucks deal was done. Now Magic has proved that the urban community can pay $3.00 for coffee but he offers pound cake and red velvet cake among others because the target audience he serves won't eat scones.
Magic talked about how every other community has figured out that partnerships and trust are needed to do well in business but the message has been sadly lost African American community (see Nicole's Commentary 5 August 2009). I would rather have 25% of 10 million than 100% of 10,000 any day. What really struck my heart was when he talked about passing the knowledge to the next generation. The story behind the story of Nicole Newman is my grandfather, Robert Newman. Robert Newman came from a farming family in Virginia to build a life and new home out on the main line. The key to his new life was creating a paving business which did residential beautification projects in Delaware and Montgomery County. He was blessed with three sons before my aunt, the baby girl, was born. None of his sons (including my father) joined him in the family business which unfortunately closed doors (he did not sell the brand name, client list and goodwill, the business just shut down) before he passed in 1991. That family history taught me the importance of passing the knowledge. Magic shared a similar story of getting your children involved early in the business. He started his own son as a janitor and an associate on the concession stand. Last Sunday, I had a meeting with a client and I took my children along. My 6 year old son was so excited to go to a business meeting at Chili's, he asked could he give me a kiss. I said "No, not now". He said "when OUR clients leaves can I give you a kiss?" My client and I shared a laugh because he identified her as OUR client. Magic, I agree start them young in the F
AMILY business and make it a prioirty to pass the knowledge to the next generation.
I will be front and center as my inspiration, Nakia Stith from Top of the Clock, receives her award from the 4th annual "Passing The Torch" ceremony at The Enterprise Center. This is my annual event as I watched with great pride as our friend, Sirena Moore from Elohim Construction Company received her honor last year. It is these events which continue to inspire me to build this company so that my children, Sahar Omar and Nasir will be standing next in line with a chance at being honored at the 24th Annual "Passing the Torch" ceremony....
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Nicole's Commentary 14 August 2009
I feel like I have not addressed this audience in quite some time. This is been a busy summer! I have been creating relationships and dissolving relationships that do not align with the mission of growing YOUR business. There are a couple of competing beliefs on how business is done. Newman Networks is in the midst of a hostile takeover. There is a belief that this is just a part of business but it is my belief that our clients and the services provided are relationships. Relationships can not be randomly traded. We do not sell inanimate objects, like widgets, that are bought and sold. We sell relationships and those relationships are the key to taking YOUR business to the next level.
DiversePhilly members, I have not forgotten about YOUR business. The Wealth Building Series at IKEA is back, the Breakfast With Fran series is back and soon your network and all associated jobs, events and new members will be back. This has been a learning experience and that IS apart of doing business. The key is to learn the lesson and modify the behavior so it does not happen again. I have gotten much stronger in the process and strengthened my belief in YOU and DIVERSEPHILLY. Special thanks to The Credit Woman, Zana Cakes, LifeSpirit Photography, Hackett Global Marketing, Mitchell's Accounting and Tax Solutions, The Enterprise Center Capital Corporation, Goldflam and Associates, UrbanPhilly, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful, IKEA, Arnez Exquisite Catering, ClientLink , Meleta Lambert Enterprises, Eatible Delights, Women's Yellow Pages, Urban League Entrepreneurship Center and Ultimate Concrete LLC for making sure I did not get distracted and keep focus on the mission of growing YOUR business. Special acknowledgement also goes to our website development company, JeterActive who once again stood by my side.
Looking forward to a continuing partnership, Nicole Newman.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)