Dreams Become Reality with Action: An Inspiring Business Culture

Hayley Paige
Nov 7 · 7 min read

It sounds almost like a frilly, nonsensical, without-any-real-substance kind of statement to make, but this a true-as-the-sky-is-blue fact: If you want to make your dreams a reality, all you need to do is implement action; specific actions geared towards your desired reality.

As those who know me know (and as I discussed in my first ever Medium post), I have dreamt of opening my own publishing house since being a child — since being five years old, in fact — and now my reality reflects those dreams; I own an incredible publishing house, complete with three additional imprints, and it’s doing some really wonderful things, and although it’s taken a lot of time and a lot of hard work to reach this point, every single one of my actions in mind of that dream were outlined, mapped out, given serious consideration, and then implemented.

What is it they say? You can transform a dream into a goal by simply making a plan (or something to that effect!).

This past week has seen another of my dreams start to come to fruition, and honestly it has been both amazing and surreal to watch because, although my publishing house dream has become this very real, larger-than-life thing, it isn’t the full dream; there are additional layers, extra components, those little cherries to go on top. And it’s those cherries I am steadily working towards, right from planting a tiny sapling through to watching it grow, nurturing it, and admiring its blossom before fruition.

You see, for me, Notebook Publishing is something very special, and I want that to be seen from every angle, from every perspective, from the outside and then right inside the machine; right where the cogs turn. I have imagined building a team of wonderful people who, all with their passions, amazing attributes, talents and vision, will want to work with me to build this company into something memorable — something industry-changing. A big goal, yes, but all that means is the need for a more in-depth plan with a larger number of actions and more perseverance.

It means finding only the very best people to work and grow with us. It means nurturing a business culture that echoes throughout our brand. It means shaping and growing our team so that we all have one voice, one mission, one vision. It means communication and reward, showing our team the same dedication, loyalty and appreciation they show us. And it means not only being a company we are proud to be for our clients but one our team is proud to work for; one they believe in and want to stay with.

The first step I took in this direction was, arguably, a few months ago, when I came across a really wonderful editor, Marni, who is not only the loveliest and sweetest person to work with, but is also passionate, professional, and so well-equipped to be undertaking the role of Senior Editor that I feel completely at ease having her work on our manuscripts. Although I spent 11 years as a Copy Editor of two editing businesses and could have continued working on our clients’ books myself, the workload, in line with our growth, reached a point of being so beyond excessive that there was the need for that expansion. Since then, Marni has been so incredible with our authors, allowing me to focus on what sometimes feels like the millions of other tasks at hand.

After Marni — who was joining myself, our Ops Director, our Cover Creation Specialist, our Head of Cover Design and main Proofreader — my attention was focused on something a little bigger. I knew there was a need for another Publishing Consultant — someone I could trust to speak to our clients, to answer questions, to take them through the entire enrolment process; someone who could allow me even more time to focus on service and product design, launch and implementation; on growing our company. But I knew exactly the time of person I wanted to find — and it seemed impossible, like seeking out a needle in the haystack that is this vast world; quite simply because I’ve had my sights set incredibly high.

You see, over the past ten months, I have been working with the most incredible business mentor, and while with her at a private event in Australia in June and then a large event in the US in September, I came to see the type of team she has built over the past 3 years. Her team are of such a high calibre, with each one of them focused on performing their role to the highest possible degree, and all with one goal in mind: taking as much pressure off their boss as they possibly can. I was not only in awe but also felt a little pang of jealousy, thinking I might never reach that stage and asking myself how I could ever facilitate achieving that position. I thought it would take years and years of endless searching, but that isn’t at all how it has happened…

For one, I wasn’t actively searching. I had previously looked at hiring someone but, after investing a lot of time and effort into training her, she flaked. I found I couldn’t trust her to show up for work, to be proactive, and alarm bells were ringing. And then, as I could have predicted, she completely disappeared, allowing relationship problems to stop her from working at all. The experience had me questioning whether I would find someone of the calibre I needed, and doubt was slowly starting to creep in. But then the stars began to align.

In my business circle, I have come to know some of the most fantastic, intelligent, proficient and successful female entrepreneurs, and one day I was having a conversation with a group of them about how I was hoping to find someone with x, y and z traits and experience. One of the women — notably, someone I have felt connected to for a long time — then told me that her sister was looking for a new role and she would be ideal for me. I was excited — a recommendation from this woman was honestly like gold dust — but I tried not to get my hopes up. Nonetheless, we set up a meeting and, a couple of weeks later, jumped onto Zoom for a casual interview.

Everything changed at that moment. Based in PA, USA, I recognised immediately that Daria is exceptional in her field. She is a professional of a We’re All Unworthy standard —and I honestly couldn’t imagine ever finding someone better. In just the first few minutes of the interview, she exuded intelligence, drive, focus, commitment, and experience in our industry, and has the very same vision and excitement we do — and I couldn’t help but wonder: how likely is that? How can a business owner ever reasonably expect to find someone who is just as excited about their business as they are? After all, this is my baby, what I have grown and loved and tended to, and yet Daria also showed 100% inclination to growing, loving and tending to Notebook with the same passion and standards as we are.

And as if all of that wasn’t amazing enough, she then went on to say that one her key goals would be to take as much of the workload and burden off my shoulders as she could — and surely that was a priority…

Fast-forward a few weeks, another interview and more communication, Daria has officially joined us, intending to work with us full-time from January. I am still in that stage of disbelief, of pinching myself, of wondering how we’ve come this far in such a short period. Daria is determined to help us achieve our goals and is so completely focused on maintaining our reputation, vision, mission, brand and integrity that I know 2020 is going to be an incredible year:

A year of Notebook Academy (our Writers’ Training portal, filled with courses and guidance); a year of writers’ retreats — the first of which is taking place in Asheville, North Carolina; the year Onyx Publishing (our non-fiction, entrepreneur/business-centred imprint) will be grown and scaled; and it will be a year of many more publications and an ever-increasing wealth of happy, successful clients.

Daria is, without question, a cherry atop our Publishing House cake. She is set to be a true asset to what we are building here, and I know she will direct her creative, passionate and perfectionist efforts into everything she touches. I am so excited for our future and for all that’s to come with shaping the business culture I have imagined creating, and I look forward — with anticipation and, as always, the highest of standards — to what 2020 will bring.

Hayley Paige

Written by

Founder, head publishing consultant and ghostwriter at Notebook Publishing. Combining self-publishing rights and creativity with a traditional stage.

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