Act 3: 6 More Months in 60 Seconds
Once again, I have proven incapable of creating a discipline to write reflections of our work. In a small way, this is a similar problem that faces our clients — so much to do, little time, with priorities constantly shifting. As we say with our entrepreneurs, this isn’t a failure; it is an opportunity to learn.
The lesson for me is two-fold. First, reflecting continues to be important. Second, it requires me to develop a practice for it to become habit. To develop a practice, I need to create accountability. That is where YOU come in. I am committing to writing 7 stories over the next 90 days. Can you comment, message, text, troll, etc. if I do not post a new story every other week?
For a refresher — Act 1 and Act 2 of the 6 Months in 60 Seconds here:
- Prior to launching our new JETA (JUST Entrepreneur Trust Agent) leadership program, we spent 2 months developing and testing the program internally
- We developed 8-weeks of games that offered a lesson wrapped in an experience
- January 10–the leadership development program begins —72 entrepreneurs sign-up to become JETAs
- First of four weekly sessions: 6 attendees enrolled, 1 showed up late, and 2 had to leave early… rough first session
- The next three sessions get progressively better, a routine emerged
- 8 weeks with 4 classes per week — each session has the same structure
- BREATH — 1-WORD — “NOW WHAT” — GAME — 1-WORD
- There are two primary goals of the leadership program: 1) develop a learners mentality and 2) instill a sense of confidence to facilitate group conversations
- Lessons, lessons, some more lessons, and even more lessons learned along the way
- GRADUATION!
- Here we go! The next test is to see if JETAs will actually invite entrepreneurs they trust.
- And so it begins… We add 80 new clients in 1 month
“Wait, this actually might work.” said by Steve, Ivonne, and Erika on a near daily basis.
- WAIT — we have a problem. It works.
- A classic “good problem to have”, since our new, more efficient model works, we need a lot more money to be able to lend to more entrepreneurs
- The good news, there is a clear path to sustainability. Now it is a matter of raising the capital to get us there
- We launched The Great Fundraising Experiment — we asked the question to 11 friends of JUST
How do you build trust with someone you don’t know?
The answers continue to roll in.
- The JUST train rolls down the tracks
- We need money.
- No seriously, we should probably have more money.
- Seriously, I wasn’t kidding. We need more money.
- Cool.
- While we are worrying about money behind the scenes, let’s not forget to have fun and connect our clients.
- 85 clients show up for a morning of coffee and camaraderie, thanks Whole Foods Market
- BINGO! Salt Lake City friends come through to finance our growth!
WE ARE IN BUSINESS!!!
- Let’s do this! The team starts to prepare to add new JETAs
- New capital allows us to think big while continuing to act small
- We begin to build the infrastructure for efficient and effective growth — technology, capital, and process
- September 6th, cohort 2 of JETA leaders begins
