Building an Army (Intro)
March 2016
In March 2014 I left nearly a decade of business ownership (With very high highs and very low lows through the Great Recession) behind when a digital agency on the rise made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I arrived on a Monday morning in July 2015 to be told I was one of 8 middle managers that was being laid off that day. (The same agency closed its doors recently.)
It took about three months to receive an offer for a new position with a very stable digital design and consulting firm back east (I live in SoCal). All was well until I was unable to relocate my family due to health issues with my oldest son. So as of January 2016 I found myself unemployed yet again.
Two solid “career” opportunities that came and went in the course of less than a year. The moral? There is no such thing as job security. (We claim to know that, but how quickly we forget while basking in the warm glow of a new relationship with Mr./Ms. Right company.)
It’s been three months and I’ve once again applied to hundreds of job postings (having actually read them and only applying to those I was qualified for…you know, the right way). I’ve reached out to my connections and stalked new ones on LinkedIn. I’ve exhausted Indeed, Glassdoor, Jobber, and a number of sources to the extent that now when I check in to see what’s new they tell me, “I’ve got nothin for ya.”
Meanwhile my long suffering wife and five sons root for me from the sideline, deserving an award for grace and patience under pressure.
It should be noted that my challenge comes not from inexperience or lack of qualifications, just the opposite. I’ve literally provided insights, strategy, direction, executive level management, and creative services for SMB and Fortune 500 companies alike since 1993. The challenge is I’m not entry level and therefore a “flight risk” for positions I am overqualified for, but I’m also an unemployed executive with no immediate “who you know” openings available for me to step into.
Having done (and doing) all I can to secure a guaranteed income via employment, I’m left with essentially two options:
1. Continue to “spray & pray”.
2. Get busy living.
As I stand staring down two roads diverged in a yellow wood, I choose #2 and have decided to journal this stage of my journey for the benefit of those who will inevitably come after me, or who find themselves at the same choice now (but might be leaning towards option #1).
…
I am first and foremost a creative talent. I have been writing creatively since childhood. I am an accomplished amateur musician & songwriter. And following my service in the US Navy, I started my professional career as an “on air” personality in radio (following in my mother’s footsteps).
I never intended to become a business strategist & consultant, but creative success led to promotions, promotions led to management & sales, and it turned out that the business side pays the bills more consistently with a more proven path to success than there is to “being discovered”.
Being a starving artist while paying my dues was never an option as I was married young (19) and my young wife and I unexpectedly became “prego” not long after our nuptials making me a father by 20.
The good news is that my creative and communications skills have served me well in winning friends and influencing people. In fact, my ability to understand, connect with and inspire others has been my primary differentiator from peers and competitors in my field who may be well-trained sellers, but struggle to get beyond the pitch to establish trust at a core level.
Why do I share all of that?
Because knowing who I am, what my gifts and passions are, and ultimately, what my purpose in this life is are vital to my success if I’m going to build, live and leave a legacy. (And if you’re still reading, you’re either curious to see where this goes, or you’re wrestling with the same life choice that I am.)
I’ve spent my career building other people’s businesses, even when I was doing it as a business owner from 2005–2014. Had I chosen the path I’m now venturing down back then, my story would look very different today.
I have no deep regrets because I’ve learned and have grown significantly from my experiences, and will use that knowledge to be successful going forward …but “Est. 2005" sounds much better than “Start up 2016" when you’re unemployed at 42 with a wife and five sons to support while bearing the high cost of living in sunny, Southern California.
Armed with the perpetually evolving knowledge of how to build a tribe of brand ambassadors in the digital age, there are two approaches to traveling the entrepreneurial path:
- Build a business for the sake of making money.
- Build a legacy based on the passions I share with countless others knowing that doing it well will bring inevitable financial success.
Most aspiring millionaires I know have and are opting for the first. I note that they are aspiring because this approach leaves almost all “money makers” in an aspiring state because those you wish to reach and do business with are driven by “What’s in it for me” — not what’s in it for YOU. In fact, if all you are “making” is money, without a shared passion, established trust, or existing report, you’ll be overcoming the prevailing skepticism that you are (in fact) only interested in what’s in it for you.
…True, if you put the time into building an effective mousetrap and aren’t oppossed to misleading people while playing on their desperation, then you can make money by convinving them that you will help THEM to make money, but we all know how that ends for most people, don’t we?
Meanwhile (apart from these relative few who have made a volatile fortune by selling a pipe dream to people in my current, financially-challenged situation) the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners have built success on identifying a social need that they are passionate about filling, and then doing that …and it’s common knowledge that the happiest professionals on earth are the ones doing what they love every day because they “never have a day of work”.
…
Which leads to:
Step 1: Identify your passions
In my personal life I am passionate about writing, music, movies, gaming & tech, and learning more about the people, places and things that I like most.
In my charitable, volunteer and cause-driven life I am passionate about rescuing human beings from slavery, providing them with support to live in freedom, and to proactively prevent/eliminate the paradigms and causes that lead to slavery in all of its vile forms.
Are these passions relatable and shared by enough others to be a viable foundation for a new venture?
I believe so. In fact, I know so.
I’m confident that I can find a few hundred thousand others who like movies, music, games, tech, entertainment, current events, history and who think slavery is bad and are willing to say so.
Are there others already playing in this sandbox? Yes.
Is there room for another? Absolutely.
So I’ve identified my passions and determined logically that there is a realistic demand (and need) that I could be passionate about filling.
It seems simple but for many, this crucial first step is neglected or ignored outright in the pursuit of profit. In fact, it’s the number one challenge I’ve coached and counseled my clients on over the years.
Knowing…
Who you are.
Why you’re relevant.
Who you need to reach.
How best to reach them.
What to say when you do.
…are the keys to sustainable growth and brand advocacy (fans who will tell others about you).
Those are the goals of every business, charity, church, entreprenuer & sole proprietor in the world today (with the need for effective communication growing larger the smaller you and your budget are).
As I wrap this introduction, it should be noted that it’s taken me significant time and serious thought to reach my own conclusions about my passions …largely because I was pursuing profit while simultaneously longing for purpose in my largely unfulfilled professional life.
My advice to anyone who is serious about building a legacy while living their dream is to first, “quiet the mechanism” and do the soul searching required to know what you really want so that you can determine what it will take to accomplish it, as well as learning how badly you want it when the reality of having to work for it hits you square in the face.
With this intro out of the way, I’ll tackle the next step of Building a Plan in the next installment of this impromptu journal of my journey towards building an army.
I hope you’ll follow along and join me.
