There’s a magic benchmark in business, which is reaching the “one million dollar” mark in revenue. So many owners try to get past this number, and at our recent San Diego CEO/Executive Panel Forum we heard from two amazing women owners on how they reached $1M and then some!
We asked our two panelists, Lee Anne Davis of PromoVentures and Dawn Parks of The Wild Thyme Company what they specifically feel were the key ingredients to success in getting past the million-dollar marker in building their business enterprises. Each of our panelists had some incredible slices of advice, but these were my favorites:
1) Have “Fusion” Meetings: Lee Anne Davis started bringing all her employees together regularly to have a no-restrictions type conversation about what needs to be improved throughout the company. Lee Anne shared that, at first, the ideas were a little slow to come about, but after a bit of time and nurturing……employees felt they could bring up almost anything that they felt “fused” the company together for success……and then the ideas started to flow! Lee Anne calls these meetings “fusion meetings” and they have extremely successful to getting employees and the team center-focused on growth and profitability.
2) Show Gratitude: Dawn Parks shared that one of the keys to success for her in business growth and success was to show massive appreciation to her team. She shared that she would spend some dough taking her entire team to the industry shows and allow her people to have a great time building rapport and camaraderie with each other, which in turn became a huge benefit to the business in employee ownership and results. She admitted that she didn’t always feel like they had the budget to spend this kind of money on their annual trade show, but when she saw the results that came from employee bonding, she couldn’t NOT put forth the money!
3) Surround Yourself With the Right Support: Very clear among both our panelists, we identified that coaches have been a key to their success. From staying focused, to having a sounding board for decisions, both panelists gave testimony to the power they have experienced with their coaches in business. Dawn Parks stated, “We are not superwoman, we can’t do it all. In order to succeed, we must surround ourselves with the right support to make it happen.”
There’s always great dialogue, conversation and shared experiences at our monthly breakfast panels! If you are a b2b woman who leads…..people, teams, projects or companies……why don’t you join us and experience the exchange of powerful ideas for advancing in business among peers who ‘get you’…….and who strive to find opportunities that support you professionally?! For more information on our CEO/Executive Panel Forums, check out our upcoming event calendar.
About Your Columnist
As the CEO and Co-Founder of Connected Women of Influence, Michelle Bergquist is a passionate advocate for women in business. At Connected Women of Influence, we believe that more women need to lead in business and everything we do is center-focused on designing platforms, programs, connections and collaborative opportunities for b2b women to prosper, succeed and lead the way in business today!
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