“My vision for season 4 is to bring you great guests who will inspire and motivate you to thrive in business.“ - Nikki Rogers
Welcome to season 4 of the Women Thriving in Business podcast! I appreciate all of you for rocking with me over the last 3 seasons. And if you are a new listener - thanks for joining the WTiB family.
The Bladen Group is leveling up! I’ve learned so much from my clients, business partners, and coaches over the past 3 years that have helped the business mature and me grow into my role as a business owner. And there’s still a lifetime of lessons left to learn! That’s why I’m excited to be a part of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (GS10KSB) program. GS10KSB is focused on business growth and as a result, I have spent the last few weeks working ON my business vs IN my business. I started with setting personal and professional goals, identifying a growth opportunity, and digging deep into financial analysis. Spending time focused on financial statements and key metrics has been a game-changer in determining the health of my business. The most difficult challenge has been forecasting future revenue. First of all, I have some ambitious goals, and when I started mapping out my 5-year plan, I felt like I was trying to climb Mt Everest! As I refined the projections and began developing a strategic approach, the goals started to seem more feasible. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to get to where I want to go and this is why a positive and abundance mindset is critical for success. I have to believe success is possible, envision and plan for success, and then execute every day. Even when it’s hard and I don’t feel like it!
In all seriousness, I am more energized than ever to grow the Bladen Group, work with great clients and impact the world of business, one organization, one entrepreneur at a time.
One way to do that is to bring you great content and guests on this podcast, so I’m excited to kick off season 4 - I’m bringing you some fabulous guests that will help you “thrive in business”. Check out episode 401 to learn more about my insights from the last few weeks and to get a sneak peek of future guests.
Thriving Points:
- A key piece of this was not only thinking about these folks as competitors but also as potential partners or collaborators.
- I had to become intimately familiar with my current balance sheet, my income statement, and my statement of cash flows to better understand the current state of my business and compare that to where I want to be.
Other resources mentioned:
About the Show:
Women Thriving in Business features candid unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics aimed at contributing to business success. This weekly show provides interviews with business leaders who have built, grown, and are thriving in business. Nikki A. Rogers, host of the show, also discusses achievements, lessons learned, and advice for aspiring business owners to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, WTiB offers inspiration, strategies, and resources to help you THRIVE in business.
Connect with Nikki:
A Team Dklutr Production
Nikki Rogers: Your business is an asset that can support a thriving life. I believe this, and I'm committed to making this a reality for every entrepreneur and business owner who listens to this podcast. The Women Thriving in Business Podcast was created with you in mind, whether you were thinking about entrepreneurship or you're a business veteran, this podcast has inspiration, information, and advice you can use to thrive in business.
Women Thriving in Business features candid, unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics who will contribute to your business success. I seek out and talk with business leaders who have built, grown, and thrive in business. My name is Nikki Rogers, transformation coach, author, and the host of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast. I work with women entrepreneurs to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Join me and your fellow Thrivers each week on this journey of discovery and success.
Welcome Thrivers to this week's episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcast. I am Nikki Rogers, CEO of The Bladen Group and host of this fabulous show. This week's episode is a solo one where I talk to you all about what I've been doing between Season 3 and Season 4. And then we get a bit into what is happening for Season 4 and the guests I have lined up for you. Allow me to take a moment just to reintroduce myself. As I said, my name is Nikki Rogers. I'm the CEO of The Bladen Group where we provide management consulting services as well as small business coaching. And that small business coaching piece is why I'm so passionate and so excited about this podcast, and about all the guests that I bring on to the show. Because I believe that you can create a business that supports a thriving life. So Women Thriving in Business is all about setting up your business so that it supports the life that you want to lead. And that's why I'm so thrilled to be coming back to you for Season 4. There are going to be even more great guests than you've heard in the previous seasons, and just so many more insights to help you get started on building that thriving life and thriving in business.
So listen in to this episode and get prepared to have the best season of your life. Your time is now, and I'm so excited to be on this journey with you. Let's go.
Welcome Thrivers to this week's episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcast. I'm so excited because this is the first episode of Season 4, and I have a lot of great things to talk to you about. We're going to start off this episode by just sharing some of the things that have been happening since the end of Season 3. And then I'll wrap up this episode, giving you a preview of what is to come for Season 4. In September, I started the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Accelerator Program. And it is challenging all of the ideas and assumptions that I had previously about my business. I've been in business for three and a half years at this point as The Bladen Group in business full-time. But this program is really opening my eyes and expanding my mind and forcing me to pay attention to some really important aspects of my business. The goal of the program is that by the end of it, you will have developed a 5-year growth plan for your business. So in order to do that, we started off with getting clear about our personal and professional goals, defining our growth opportunity, doing a lot of detailed financial statement analysis, and then focusing on forecasting before we get started on working on our mission and vision. So yes, we did all of that before getting to the mission and vision.
Two weeks have been super hard. First, two weeks ago, we spent a lot of time working on our financial forecast. And so, I was working on a forecast for the next five years. And when I started putting these numbers down and really thinking about what my goals were, it was scary. I have some big revenue numbers that I'm looking to hit by that 5-year mark. It took a lot of confidence and a bit of prayer to start mapping out what each year needs to look like in order for me to hit my 5-year goals. I had to craft assumptions about the industry, about the economic and political environment that I thought would actually support me being able to hit those goals. And in thinking about those assumptions that I'm writing down, I had to dig into the industry report, economic reports, trends about where the state of public policy is going that would impact my business and my industry. And in looking at those trends, what are some of the things that are actually going to indicate that I can really recession-proof my business? Or make sure that a change of administration does not impact the funding for the organizations that I am supporting within the government. Those were the types of things that I had to dig into in order to crack the assumptions that are supporting the revenue projections that I'm making.
The second part of that was that I had to conduct a competitive analysis. I had to identify a few companies that are in a similar space and dig into their press releases, their announcements about contracts that they've been awarded. Any announcement or any press that talked about their expansion efforts or expansion plans, if they receive an award, those are all the types of things that I was digging into to look and do this competitive analysis. And I think a key piece of this was not only thinking about these folks' competitors but also, as potential partners or collaborators if we are going after similar clients. There's likely something that I can add that is a value add to the business that they're already operating. So I looked around and again, folks who are doing similar business to me are potential competitors, but hopefully, they're more likely to be partners or collaborators. And looking at both the competitive analysis, as well as my forecast, I had to think really critically and deeply about how it was going to meet these key milestones. And what metrics I was going to use in order to measure my progress. As I was going through this, I was becoming intimately familiar with my current balance sheet, my income statement, and my statement of cash flows. And I had to do that in order to really better understand the current state of my business, and compare that to where I want to be in order to create a plan to know how to get from where I am now to where I want to be in business.
In this last week, we have been focused on our leadership style in articulating our mission and vision. So it's probably no surprise to anyone who knows me that my leadership style is an analytical one. But what was surprising was that in times of stress, the go-to behavior for an analytical style leader is often avoidance. And so that was interesting to note that that was a potential coping mechanism for an analytical style leader. The other thing that was surprising is that people who have other styles can perceive analytical as intimidating or lacking empathy.
So that was a great insight to have when working with team members, employees, partners, and collaborators who may have different leadership styles than mine. It's just to be mindful of the way that my leadership style can come across to them. And also, to be more understanding when they're communicating or leading in a style that's different from mine, and not to perceive that as a threat or anything personal but really just being about a matter of style. And when we understand our leadership style and understand the leadership style of others, we can adjust. And not necessarily change who you are, but it's about understanding where someone else is coming from and they understand where you're coming from. And it reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation or miscommunication.
Now, the last thing we did during last week was to develop, articulate the document, our mission, and vision for our business. And I reflected back on some of the ideas that I've been writing down, that I wrote down that were part of, what I would say, my manifesto for starting my business. And this exercise helped me make it a bit more concise and compelling. And so, I'm very, very clear on my mission but I'm still working to articulate my vision in a way that truly reflects the impact that I want to have on the world. And the real point of having a clear vision is that I'll be able to articulate that to employees, partners, other folks who are coming in and being involved in my business. When that vision is clear and I can articulate that, that will make it so that others who are coming to work with me have very clear marching orders about what we're trying to do here. And when that happens, I think the other piece about having a very clear vision is that it attracts the people who are willing to be a part of that. And it will actually repeal the folks who are not, so I think for me, that's the real key to having a clear vision for my business.
So that is still in process. I'll still be working on that. As we go through the rest of the time in the program, a clearly articulated vision will be a part of that growth plan that I have at the end. I also realized that my mission and vision can change as the business matures and as I mature as a business owner. And I don't necessarily have to be doing the same things that I started off doing. So that mission and vision can change. And in fact, I think it's a best practice to periodically review your mission and vision in order to make sure that they are still true and they're still relevant to you and your business.
As I said, you can evolve and your business will evolve as well. So one thing I'm very clear on though is my vision for Season 4 of this podcast. And that is to bring you great guests who will inspire you and motivate you to thrive in business. Some of the guests I have lined up for you this season include a writing and communications subject matter expert. The CEO of a women's sports equipment manufacturing company. A licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, a wealth manager, and also a branding expert. Those are just a sample of the great guests that I have lined up for Season 4.
Listen in each week to get some great advice and hear the stories of entrepreneurs who are already thriving in business. If you love it, like it, or it has been helpful to you in some way, I asked that you rate, comment, and subscribe to the podcast. Definitely, I want to hear from you. What are your key takeaways from each show? What is it that you want to hear from the Women Thriving in Business Podcast guests? Drop me a line and let me know. So until next week, keep thriving. I look forward to sharing all of my great Season 4 guests with all of you. So until next week, keep thriving.
Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcasts. If you like this episode, share it with a friend. You can also join us on social media to share your feedback and comments. We'd love to hear from you. Be sure to like, review and subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode. Until next week, keep thriving.