Miss Congeniality seeks universal peace by managing for profitability

June 21, 2010 10:16 AM

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I was sprawled on the floor of a sunny Bainbridge Island living room, thinking about blindspots.

The occasion was the annual retreat of my Brain Trust, a master mind group of five coaches. We were looking at blindspots so our businesses could become more joyful, more prosperous, and bigger contributors to the well being of all sentient beings.

So I'm thinking really, really hard and coming up all sorts of spiritual-sounding things to work on, when Michael Bungay Stanier says to me, "How about managing for profitability"?

How dare he?

Miss Congeniality wakes up to reality
One of the ways I build my business is by making friends and influencing people. It's easy for me to find ways to contribute that lead people to believe I'm smart, credible, reliable. I've got a flair for creating free content--like this article--that people want and share with others. And lest I sound to flippant, I work hard at these contributions and love that they make a difference for people.

And I love, love, love being admired and appreciated. Yum. Seems like managing for profitability to me.

Then, along comes Michael (and the other kick-butt coaches who were there that weekend), and suddenly it occurs to me that I'd made popularity so important that it was actually in the way of profitability. If I had a choice between making a profitable decision and one that would make me look good, I'd take door number two every time.

Miss Personal Growth sees the light
You may be surprised to read this, but I practically invented personal growth. When I was seven I was having insights into limiting beliefs. By eleven I was shifting paradigms with ease. Chalk it up to being fascinated with people (mostly myself) and the workings of minds and hearts.

Add to that the fact that self employment is a personal growth carnival. Every time you turn around there's an attachment to release, a stressful thought to question, a pattern to shift.

It's no surprise that like a few others of my acquaintance, I began to think that working on myself WAS working on my business. When I faced a business challenge, I was more likely to ask what I needed to fix in me than what my business needed from me.

It felt really mature and spiritual. Sometimes it probably was. And other times it was a heckuva good way to avoid taking responsibility for the bottom line.

Miss Teach-What-She-Needs-To-Learn reveals all
Lately I've been ranting about under-earning. That's a direct result of working on my profitability blind spot. The more clearly I see how asleep-at-the-wheel I've been, the more passionate I am about sharing the wake up call with other Accidental Entrepreneurs.

Yes, it's important to have good, even great, relationships with clients and customers. But do you really have clients if you're catering to a fan base that isn't interested in or able to pay you what you want to earn?

And personal growth through business is still my passion. But IS it a business if you're not managing for profitability? Are you truly employed if you're not paying yourself a good salary?

Self-supporting through our own contributions
12-Step programs have a tradition of being self-supporting through members' own contributions. They don't accept grants or gifts from non-members, period. There's an emotional maturity and practical integrity that flows from this choice, and I think it is one that Accidental Entrepreneurs would be wise to entertain.

I know that since I took on the responsibility of managing for profitability I'm far more grounded, and not just in business. I make better decisions because my ego is less involved. I'm in a better position to be generous without losing my balance or burning out.

This is not about making money at all costs. It is about growing up as the creator of the rest of your life. It's like eating food that honors and nourishes your body.

It's healthy, happy, and wise.

Ack! I'm self-employed and I don't want to under-earn any more!
If you love what you do and are blocked from earning enough by fear and confusion, you need "The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur." That's a bold statement, and I offer it most sincerely. "The Way of the Accidental Entrepreneur" teaches you how to use three simple instructions to get clear, get clients, and get paid. You can learn more about it HERE.

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Comments

Thanks for this post. I can really relate to working on myself under the guise of working on the business. Sometimes it's worked wonders, sometimes it's been my way of ducking responsibility. Thank you for articulating it and best wishes for managing for profitability.

Posted by: Alanagh at June 22, 2010 4:18 AM

Reading this was a surprise, Molly. This after all the good stuff I have read from you about working with clients who feel right to you because of among others things, their ability to pay what you want. Asking for and getting that payment is another game, I suppose.

I have noticed you, Michael Bungay Stainier (I won a book of his :))) , Mark Silver and Robert Middleton give tremendous value through articles, ezines etc. Challenged by earning in a low income economy, I would have been in the wilderness had it not been for you guys. Your articles, books and programs have benefited me enormously. I have had more value than I paid for. Had you charged more for all that, I would still be lost! My gratitude to you all.

Another person I have benefited from is David Neagle. He is also good. Very inspirational and provides value. But at a much higher price. Every program evolves into a sales strategy for another at an even higher price point. You might want to explore his methods.

Posted by: Aamer at June 22, 2010 6:02 AM

Molly,

This is brilliant (of course). And something I've been thinking a lot about too.

Especially the part about putting popularity over profitability.

I think this is a HUGE seduction in the world of heart-centered, spiritually-oriented folks in the healing, helping, and creative professions. ("If I do things that make people like me, then maybe they'll buy from me and I won't have to, you know, actually sell.")

In fact, in the free report I'm just finishing, I have a point called "Popular doesn't mean effective."

Thank you so much for sharing your passionate take on this! I can't wait to see what comes next.

Posted by: Isabel Parlett at June 22, 2010 9:53 AM

@Alanagh: Thank you for your kind wishes. I still regard working on myself as part of working on my biz. And there's other work to be done, as well. In some ways, I think it is more accurate to say that working on my biz IS working on myself.

@Aamer: You are always so thoughtful! My feeling is that it isn't necessary to choose between offering generously of one's resources and making a profit. There are thousands of people reading my ezine who have never bought a thing. I'm fine with that. The problem comes in when you stop selling because you don't want to avoid the people who only want something for free.

Does that make sense?

@Isabel: Yup, popularity can sink a biz in no time. And keep you working double time with little to show for it. I'm more and more convinced that selling is, as Mark Silver would have it, a sacred transaction, one that we must embrace if we're to do good work in the world.

Posted by: Molly Gordon at June 22, 2010 10:46 AM

This has struck a cord with me. I just had a conversation with a friend/coach regarding my life's work and my work. My life's work is rewarding but sucks energy and time and leaves little time left over to do things that make money. Why is this, because I say yes to too many things that are good to do but are done for free. I am going to work on doing things a little different like yes I would love to help you grow your business or discuss business challenges, and my hourly fee is this $$$. How would you like to proceed?
Thanks for the reminder, Gayle

Posted by: Gayle at June 23, 2010 2:42 PM