Australian Experiential Learning Centre

Over the Christmas/New Years break there has been some big changes to my business and direction. After listening to the market – to what they were saying, to what they were wanting, to what they expected from me – I started moving in a new direction.

I would like to introduce you to The Becoz Project which is focused on the physical and mental development of teenagers. My first program – The BAM (Body and Mind) Program is a ten week program to improve the self esteem of year 8 and 9 girls and is currently being piloted at 2 Perth schools.

I don’t really know how I got here – I was reading my past blogs, the steps and the many lessons learnt over the past year and one piece of advice from my mentor Tracey Hodgkins popped into my mind – You don’t choose your product, the market will do that for you – and that is what has happened.

As I went into schools with the after-school fitness concept of Gymbtween, they were much more interested in the self-esteem and resilience part of the program which was such a small part of the overall product. So I started to do some more research and found that self-esteem has a huge drop in the early teen years and from that I wrote the BAM program for young teenagers. It was the schools that told me what product they wanted.

I will be piloting the program for another 5 weeks and from there the BAM program will be available to all Perth Metro high-schools.

I finally feel in my element. I feel like my business – The Becoz Project – fits who I am.

Ok – so I have been a little slack with my blogging this month because I feel like I physically do not have 20 minutes to sit down and write about what I am doing. The last month has merged into a blur of meetings, deadlines and Christmas lights and I cannot believe how much business amps up before it shuts down for a week of eating, drinking and family.

I LOVE Christmas – I love the busy shopping centres, the city Christmas decorations, buying the perfect present for someone and having a few drinks at the work Christmas parties. In past years, I have relished the month of December as I wound down from Uni and had time to enjoy the many things that make Christmas the best time of the year.

This year however, with a new business on the verge of taking off and two great contract jobs that have very close Xmas deadlines – I am finding that we are already half way through December and I have barely had time to breathe in the Christmas cheer.

I don’t want you all to think I am the Business Grinch – I am buzzing with excitement at some of the fantastic opportunities, interesting projects and business contacts that have come out of this month – and for that I am thanking Santa Claus. But I can’t help but notice that this is a very different Christmas experience than the ones I have experienced prior to being a business owner.

Lets Ho Ho Hope all the new business owners can fit in a few pressies around their busy Xmas schedules.

http://thesaurus.com/browse/push

As much as it is nice to think you have the strength and ability to stand alone – sometimes you need an external force to get the momentum needed to lift a business off the ground. Like a weight lifter that can lift heavier weights with a trainer by their side or a runner that can run faster with a coach – I have found that it works the same way with a business. An athlete may have it in them to go the distance but they need the direction, the vision and the energy from someone else – someone with experience – to get them to that next level.

My driving force came in the form of a 6 ft 7 business giant who set me short and long distance goals, got me doing the right kind of business training and had a great vision to share with me. After every session with him I feel revitalised, focused and more driven than ever before. I know where I need to be and what I need to do to get there.

Your business coach can be in the form of a mentor, investor or friend but they need experience to be able to set you the right goals, passion about your concept and have a similar vision to you.

With a driving force behind me I know this business could be a slam-dunk.

It was the King in Alice In Wonderland that said “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” Sounds simple enough – but I think it is a safe bet that the king wasn’t a business man – or at least not a very successful one.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned this week is the benefit of having a critical time-line, of mapping your journey from back to front. If this is where I need to be in a year then what steps do I have to take to get there and therefore what do I need to do week by week.

Since sitting down and doing this I am so much more aware of my goals and of the steps I have to take to get there.

There is less risk of getting lost, of losing motivation and getting overwhelmed at what sometimes feels like an impossible task.

Of course there are always a few Mad Hatter tea parties that may distract you along the way or a Queen of Hearts that may force you to change your direction altogether if you want to keep your business head but on the whole a critical time-line will help keep you focused on what needs to be done.

What is curiouser and curiouser is that it didn’t occur to me to do this sooner when in fact this is something we do in life. Our goal is to go to Uni so we visit the career councilor, study the right subjects, apply for a degree.. etc. I think because starting a business is a unique goal, we cant follow the steps others have taken and therefore the pathway doesn’t seem as obvious. But when you sit back and look at the big picture, at your overall goal and important dates – the steps you need to take become much clearer.

I think if the King had been a business man he would have said “begin at the end, go on until you come to the beginning: then start.”

My latest speed-bump (well more like a completely wrong turn in which I had to turn around, drive back to where I started and go in the correct direction) occurred two weeks ago, and I am yet to make up the lost time.

After a month of consideration, discussion and debate with myself, my focus groups and my mentors – I decided to make a major product change to GymBtween. This change would mean more time, more hard work and a revamped business plan – but would leave me with a much more unique and superior product line.

I had always been told that a business plan was a fluid document that was constantly changing – in fact I met an interesting business man at a conference last month who laminates his business plan and puts it on the wall in his office so that he can cross out and write changes as they happen. At the end of each month, he edits the plan, re-laminates and starts the process all over again.

As I sat down last week to my now, old and out of date business plan – I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. This was not a few changes to sections of the plan – but such a big change that it had a ripple effect throughout the entire document. I would have to start from scratch.

Why didn’t I make this decision to begin with? Why didn’t I see the signs sooner?

Without going through the previous process of developing, testing and documenting my old product ideas – I would never have realised the need to make changes: changes that are going to make my business bigger and better and much easier to market.

I have to admit, my business plan has also improved and been written clearer the second time around. Kind of like when you lose a uni assignment on your computer and have to rewrite it. It is frustrating at the time – but often you are left with a better product because you have had more time to think about it and understand the content.

Now, whenever I open that ‘GymBtween Business Plan’ document – I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sensation of Déjà Vu.