Let Me Get My Coffee! Then We'll Talk Business: And The Lessons I Learned as an Entrepreneur

By Wendy D. Steele

We hear something like this nearly every day. On the job, in church, and from family and friends. Today, there are more entrepreneurial programs popping up in colleges across the nation and experts everywhere telling you to just do it! You probably know a few people who at least have side hustles or a small business. They’re generally easy

• Language: English
• Publisher: BluePrint Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781732712225

Book preview

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to the first book in my Coffee Series. Many people know me from the literary world as Stormy Steele (Behind the Screen 2004 a novel about Online Dating). In the business world, although some are aware of my other work, most know me as Wendy Steele, the founder of BluePrint Résumés & Consulting. You’ll see all of my business and career books under the name Wendy D. Steele.

Okay, so this started off as a self-help book, but I kept getting stuck and since I’m a storyteller, this is more of a memoir/self-help book. Just as the synopsis says, this book tells the story of how I started and grew my resume writing company to multiple locations throughout the U.S. This happened during the recession, which proves many service businesses are recession-proof. Product businesses are recession-proof too, as I found from one of the other ladies featured with me in the Good Housekeeping article: My Brilliant New Career (May 2009). She started a lip-balm business. The two of us proved you just have to have the right service or product and a need for the market at the right time. This is not my first rodeo as they say, but it is my longest and most successful. Why? Because I stuck with it the longest. This book is more of a continuation of the Good Housekeeping article, and a more detailed account. I know, the article is ancient now, so if you want to know why I waited years to follow up with a How To Be a Successful Entrepreneur book, I understand. The truth is, I was so busy running, growing and trying to figure out this business thing, till I just couldn’t find the time.

Included is my total experience with a company layoff, a little back history of how I got into writing in the first place, along with what I did to start my business, how I did it and why I chose this particular field. You’ll also see some of my ups and downs, things that I’m not too proud of and what it’s really like to run a small business. I’m not talking about one of those tech startups or a fabulous invention where you have a team of investors, or partners and go public. I started out alone…kind of. It’s like I’m taking you on my entrepreneurial journey.

Why This Book?

Because for a long time people kept asking, So you went from writing books to writing resumes? Looking at me dumbfounded they’d move on to the follow-up question, How? I know what they really wanted to know was, Why? I know, I know, doesn’t sound too sexy, right? Most just don’t understand the resume writing industry. Hey, I didn’t either! I actually grew my business to six-figure revenues and rising. You might be thinking, well it’s just writing resumes, which anyone can do from home or anywhere, right? And you would be correct. Or as one client snidely remarked once when she tried to get me in on some Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) mess, You’d have to write an awful lot of resumes to make… Fill in the blank with X amount or whatever Fantasy Five jackpot number she conjured up. Wrong. Also, I thought bigger and created a different business model. A business that you can scale up or down when you want, work where you want and one that makes good money, enough to live well or like a baller (almost) no matter what’s going on in the economy.

The way I started and grew my business is pretty similar to how many other small businesses are started. As a side hustle, from their kitchen table, garage or even the bedroom as I did when I started my publishing company back in 2003. I had the office in the bedroom, shipping in the dining room and receiving at UPS. I was on fire! And got my first book into every brick-n-mortar I wanted, Indie bookstores and libraries too. But that’s another story, another book. Since the eBook revolution most authors aren’t trying to do all of that anyway. But running that business prepared me with the thick skin I needed for my latest venture. And let me tell you, thick skin is a main requirement for any business.

Through the years, I have mentored or coached several writers on starting their own practice. Clients who were trying to start their consulting businesses or publishing companies, accountants trying to target a certain industry, attorneys ready to put on their writer’s hat, book editors, event planners…you name it, they ask me for advice. And this was during my startup years.

Why This Title?

It’s a phrase that I often use. In the mornings, whenever our admin. or receptionist calls to say my client is here for their consultation, it seems like I’m always heading straight to our break room for my first or second cup of coffee. So if they’re a little early I’ll say Great! Let me get my coffee and I’ll be right up. Or, if I haven’t gotten it yet, and they’re on time, after introductions and they’re seated in my office, I’ll offer them coffee. Whether the admin. already did or not, or whether they want a cup or not, I’m getting mine. So I say, Okay, let me get my coffee and we’ll get started. And we get down to talking business.

So, Who is This Book For?

If you’re thinking seriously about starting your own business, you’re tired of Corporate America, been laid off, you’re a new entrepreneur just getting started, and you’re struggling or both. This is for you.

If you’ve had doubts about making it as a small business owner and have thought about going back to your day job for comfort and security. This is for you.

If you’re a mom (or dad) who would like to turn your hobby into a business, and maybe you work for Corporate America and are trying to raise a family; you just don’t know how you’ll ever make it happen. Especially if you’re getting the kids off to school or daycare, toting them back and forth to after-school activities, helping with homework and you’re actively involved in the PTA or some other organization (I’m having flashbacks). This is for you. Don’t be fooled. Now, I’m not saying it was easy, but I did it and so can you.

New resume writers, or those of you who have a part-time (or full-time) consulting or freelance writing business, and you want to make enough money to live off of. This is for you.

Consultants, coaches and other professionals—whether you’re a business coach, career coach, health and wellness coach, life coach, accountant, IT consultant, website developer, book editor and the list goes on. As I mentioned earlier, many of these same people have come to me in the past. If you’re just barely getting by while building your own practice, yes this is for you too.

And for readers, who just want to know my story, this is for you. You are more than welcome to follow me on my journey.

How is This Book Different?

Well, first of all it’s my story. I know, everyone has one, but instead of just telling you how easy it is to start a business, or some rags to riches, slept in my car, took all my showers at the gym story that only tells you up to the point of success, this one goes a little deeper with my startup, growth, setbacks, bumps and bruises, near defunct and some of everything else. Don’t worry though, it’s not too long since this is really just the introduction to my future self-help books. This will however, give you an overall view of what it’s like to start, run and sustain a business while navigating the treacherous waters out there. As you read this story, please note that other than my family members, and one other person, many names have been changed to protect the innocent, or whatever the reasons are for doing this. I just figured I should change them. Okay, I’ve got my coffee! So, let’s talk business.

SECTION I:

2005–2012 FIRST THINGS FIRST

Chapter

Well I Guess I’m Outta Here!

It is with deep sadness that I have to announce that our department has been sold by…

That was John, our department manager announcing the closing and end of the video conferencing side of our telecommunications company, which had been bought a year ago, yet we were promised we would keep our jobs. He’s now telling us the company is restructuring and we had a choice to either move to Podunk, Alabama, and possibly take a cut in pay, or we would be laid off in six months. Immediately, one side of the office roared with anger and was about to go postal, complaining about how they lied to us, while the other side was ecstatic, ready to lay in the sun and get free checks for a few months. I was on the sun side. It was a no-brainer for me. After all, I was sick of the place anyway and ready to get back to my writing, so I could finish up my next bestseller.

Woo Hoo! Outta here! I had put my literary career on hold long enough for these vultures and with my severance package I would be just fine. So I thought…until I realized they didn’t give much for severance anymore and I wouldn’t get much at all. Unlike most of my coworkers whose time from the old company was combined with the new company that acquired us, mine wasn’t because I had quit, had come back as a temporary contractor, then was asked to stay and was hired permanently by the new company. So I was kind of…I guess you could say, screwed. I thought about finishing up my novel but getting my agent (or some other agent since she dumped me) to like it, then finding a publisher and getting it to press and out to the public…well, that takes a lot longer than six months.

And my husband, well, he was in the IT industry just as I was, only as a software trainer, and was liable any day now to be switched to contract work. This was at the height of when companies started switching full-time, salaried workers to contractors to save on benefits. Anyone who’s a W-2 or 1099 contractor knows it’s good when it’s good. The companies pay for your housing, car, healthcare (usually) and you get a big fat paycheck to go along with it. It’s why a lot of people in the San Francisco Bay area have been complaining about the skyrocketing cost of housing these days. They say in addition to the techies already there, companies are sending contractors and will pay handsomely to house them, which drives the price up for the locals. Anyway, when it’s not so good, it’s just…not. Such as when the contract ends, which can be three months, six months or even a couple of years. Or when companies don’t have their budget yet. Then you’re just sitting around waiting, or stalking recruiters on LinkedIn hoping one of them will ask to connect with you.

So much for being fine. I had to think quickly. When you’re trying to figure out how to keep eating on a regular basis, and remember the benefits of seniority, retirement and/or stock options (at the time), well Podunk, Alabama doesn’t sound so bad after all. Or, I was thinking…I could start my little independent publishing company back up and publish other authors if I had the money. I could launch a new tour schedule and continue promoting my existing novel if I had the money. Or, I could apply for another position with the same company so that I could stay in Atlanta and eventually get laid off again since that was the cycle now. Round and round we go I used to say. It seemed like every time a group of people would get laid off and transfer to another department, a year or two later they were going through the same song and dance, rat race marathon. I was determined not to let that happen to me. It just didn’t make any sense.

My coworker Jade, we’ll call her, who sat in the cubicle next to me had a side hustle going on in real estate. She had tried Pre-Paid legal (now LegalShield), then went on to real estate school and got right into it. The housing bubble hadn’t burst yet, and so far, she was pretty successful, so her plan was to continue that. In fact, half the people in our department had a side hustle. From selling Nonie Juice and Mary Kay cosmetics to DJ’ing and catering, everyone had something they could fall back on. Everyone except me. Hell, even my dear hubby Craig had a computer repair/lawn care business on the side. But we had gotten used to living off of two full-time salaries, so I knew I needed another income. We had a daughter in her last year of high school, on her way to college, a son in middle school, two cars and a mortgage. And these were just the expenses before dear daughter started college. Then we added an SUV for her to the mix,