Good Leaders: What are you celebrating this week?

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This week Americans are celebrating National Small Business Week! As I gaze into my own bloodline, I see a steady stream of business owners: farmers, a funeral home, a newspaper, a florist, a diversity and inclusion consultant, a panting/handyman, and a veterinarian. It’s no wonder Melinda and I are building a business.

Today, it’s easier to get started as a business owner than it was for my predecessors. Technology has reduced the cost of entry and increased the playing field. But some things never change; we still need stubborn independence, faithful courage and dogged persistence…now that’s something to celebrate!

What is small?

A “Small Business” in the USA is defined as: an independent business with less than 500 employees. While ‘big business’ catches most of the headlines, the small businesses continue to weave together the fabric of hope and prosperity:

• 50% of the US population now works in 28 million small businesses
• 2/3 of all new jobs in the past decade were created by small businesses
• With a steady decline in corporate employee populations, 540,000 small businesses are started each month
• Half of those businesses will survive 5 years, a third will exceed 10 years, and a quarter will endure 15 years
• Only 1% will sustain more than $1M in annual revenues
• The hottest category is “Micro-Businesses” – with 1 – 4 employees. This category counts for 75% of the employees and 17% of the US Gross Domestic Product.

Seven Fs meet the Two Vs: vision and values

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No one starts their own business to defend the status quo! It’s about taking action on your instincts to make things better for more people. It all starts with your leadership Aspirations: that magical space where our vision and values ignite!

But after the honeymoon is over, isolation is one of the enemies of business owners in the modern economy – more than 50% today work from their homes. That’s one reason we need the Seven Fs to help us stay emotionally, physically and spiritually resilient. I’m convinced that’s one of the reasons for the success of the Good Leadership Breakfast Series. Our intention is to help business owners learn to blend together their faith, family, finances, fitness, friends, fun and future to stay positive.

Who is coaching you?

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On May 29, we are doing our part to encourage and support the growth of business owners. Our speaker at the May 29 Good Leadership Breakfast is Justin Hanratty, a wonderfully successful small business owner who is now the leader of his family’s business.

The Business Owner Forum

Following the breakfast, I will be facilitating a three-hour peer-group workshop for business owners. Shaun Irwin, from the Anderson Agency, is our sponsor – he is an exceptional business owner who radiates goodness!

We will be using the Good Leadership coaching tools in a program designed to provide a booster-shot of positive growth energy. If you attend you will:

• Clarify your aspirations for the next 3 and 7 years
• Discover how your values can make you more magnetic
• Build a Personal Development Plan to increase your resilience
• Develop a new network of people who will help you get to the next level

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I’ve invited a panel of successful small business role models to help you grow. Joining Justin Hanratty will be Teresa Daly, CEO of Navigate Forward; Dan Balach and Liz Lang, proprietors of several Jimmy Johns franchises; and Jim Sheehan, CEO of Power Objects. The enrollment fee includes attendance at the Good Leadership Breakfast, with workshop and lunch at Golden Valley Country Club.

Good leaders often find their purpose in life by starting a business fueled by their aspirations. And they seek out coaching and camaraderie in peer groups to help them stay positive and growing.

Please share with me: what is fueling your aspirations?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]