Part XIV - Look Behind the Scenes

When I started out as a young adult, I was full of idealism on how life should be and I was very firm on the rights and the wrongs! I suppose that this is no different to the younger generation who shares their opinions quite vocally.

Then, as you get older you start to realize that things are not always as cut and dry or black and white! So my idealistic views were replaced by more realistic alternatives and I started to understand the importance of choices, opportunities and circumstances.

Now looking behind the scenes of the political world, I was having one of those epiphanies where I experienced first hand the process of decision making and the real driving factors for some political entities.

My motto throughout my campaign was to serve the greater good of others, be honest and dependable and offer a channel for voices of the community to be heard. 

I know now what it is like to have your own press officer, to run a political campaign, the endless PR activities and public debates with the opposition. Canvassing door to door was something that was very scary at first! 

I suppose not unlike trying to do some prospecting in a business sense. You know your target market and you go and engage in a dialog to see if you can close the deal or win the vote in this case!

This experience has given me a lot of understanding and training in many aspects that can be translated into the business world.

One thing is for sure, stay true to yourself and focus on your model! The rest will come!

Part XIII - Family Bliss

The break from corporate life initially did me the world of good. And allowed for the opportunity to review our family ambitions. We decided that we would really like to try for another baby and soon enough I fell pregnant with my second son!

We somehow managed to live on one wage and strangely it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. By making a few changes and getting better control of our finances, it appeared that we had been dwindling away the second income on needless and lavish extras that we could quite easily do without.

Phew, one less thing to worry about!

Being a busy body, I threw myself into a whole lot of exciting alternatives such as my oldest son’s school community. Soon I became Vice Chair of the Parents Advisory Council, was elected as parent member of the School Board of Trustees and started a book club.

I rallied around campaigning for speed restrictions in the school zone and fought the amalgamation of two Elementary Schools in the district.

This raised serious awareness of current hot issues as well as the outstanding capabilities of Conny Millard. Soon one certain political party asked me to become their new candidate for election as MLA for our area.

And of course, my ego was flattered and my full resources required, so next thing I knew, there were posters all over the region saying “Vote Conny Millard” - “Conny Millard for Council”?!

To be continued....

Part XII - The Next Step

This one really wasn’t easy! By now I had become an integral part of the company, had a gorgeous company car, laptop, expense account and made a massive financial contribution to the family income but yet, the position was swallowing all my time and energy. However this time I was determined not to let it get in the way of my family life. 

When I approached my boss to discuss how I could cut back on my working hours so I could create a better balance, well lets just say the conversation did not go as I had hoped. I was practically laughed out of his office?!!! My working colleagues thought I was weak and couldn’t handle the internal competition! There was nothing else for me to do but tell them what they could do with all their perks! That’s right, find a replacement who cared more for that stuff than me.

That night I drove home worrying how to break the news to my husband. I had quit my job without another offer on the table or the faintest idea what I should be doing instead.  After many years of being responsible and dedicated to my work, I just left all that I knew for the complete unknown.

I felt very guilty and stupid but also unbelievably free and exhilarated. I knew there had to be a better way of doing this. Being a mom and a business woman had to be something that can be achieved without needing to give up anything. But first I had to try one more thing - becoming the ‘mom at the gate’. 

Maybe that was my true calling and I should be a stay at home mom, looking after the families needs, getting involved in the local community, prepare home cooked meals and wait by the front door for my husband to come home.

Needless to say that he was thrilled by the time I got back that day. Me? I was not sure if I should be celebrating or calling my boss to ask for my job back. What had I done?

Part XI – Corporate vs Entrepreneur

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you consider taking the plunge to become an entrepreneur.

Having done exceptionally well in the corporate world, does that automatically qualify you for success? Are you able to live with the trait offs? Do you have the courage to set it up and then hang on in there against all adversities? 

Are you a visionary? Do you seek solutions rather than worry about the challenges? Are you committed to see it through and work hard even in tough times? Do you know where to start and who to turn to for help? Do you have a plan all mapped out to help you stay focused on what the next logical steps will be?

All these questions should give you some food for thought! We will take a look at other start up stories before I continue to share my own. So lets hear it from the field and leave us with your comments!

There is a great German saying for people who are self-employed: Translated it is ‘selbststaendig’ also understood as ‘staendig selbst’, which means ‘constantly, by oneself’!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Conny

Part X – Growth Is Challenging

Working for a small family run business certainly had a completely different feel than being part of a multi national, large organization. Decisions can be made quicker and the ability to react to change is much faster. Certainly the dynamics of a small company seem to be more adaptable and vibrant. 

The individual employee really matters to the contributions in terms of skill set and expertise as well as any deals closed. You become part of a close knit team where everyone’s effort counts every day.

Another great aspect of working for a smaller concern is that your vote counts whilst your strategy and vision can make a real difference as long as it fits with the overall company plan.

I loved working for the software house! It was very cutting edge with a whole bunch of opportunities to expand and grow. This was certainly recognized by capital investors in London and once the company had raised vast amounts of money, it exploded with new members of staff, marketing events, PR activities as well as new layers of middle management to cope with all the new arrivals. 

A new operation in Chicago was set up and whilst all of this created huge excitement making for an amazing sales pitch to my key accounts, it also meant that lots had changed at a dizzying speed. In this situation communication is the most important factor to make sure, everyone is still on board and is up to date with all the changes. 

My role became a key component to the sustainable growth strategy and I was therefore very much under pressure to deliver significant results. So I was back in the same position as I had been in my previous company. Lots of traveling, participation at major trade events and my own targets ensured that I was working flat out. In addition due to the major expansion there was some pretty significant internal competition among staff to carve out their own positions - a tough environment if you are seeking the work/ life balance to reconcile your families happiness!

Part IX – Success to Follow

Family life is a wonderful thing as long as everything is working smoothly, the financials are not a worry, everyone is healthy, mum and dad get a lot of quality time together, jobs are good, the children behave well, the in-laws are good friends, living accommodation is acceptable, the relationship with the spouse is just right.  Can you see where this is leading?

Exactly, this is not life! This is an ideal set up that most of us strive to achieve and no doubt do we have many things in place that are just the way we want them to be. However it is the other things that throw us off track, make us grumpy and stressed and in turn, cause trouble with the people around us.

If I have learned anything in my time than it is that everything comes with a compromise. In our personal and professional lives we have to be prepared to accept the challenges that come with every opportunity. 

In my position as Sales & Marketing Manager for 3 countries in the previous company, I had been working for, I enjoyed financial freedom, a certain status within the company and among colleagues whilst reaching professional development goals. The downside was the divide it caused in my family.

Now, in the new position as Partner Manager, I had to start from scratch. The technology, the company had developed was in depth and new. Really something to get your head around. New colleagues to gel with, management to impress, new relationships to build with key stakeholders internally as well as externally and a much longer and more complex sales cycle.

Still working everyday and with the added stresses outlined above, it took some time before I could settle down a little better into the new job and in turn be more chilled at home.

So, finally! Surely now was the time to kick back and enjoy work and family.

I had left behind the flat out stress from the previous company and could now start over. Well lets just say, you can take the woman out of a company but you can't take the company out of a woman! Meaning that history started to repeat itself far too quickly.....

Part VIII – A New Beginning

With new priorities clearly set for our family, it was time for me to consider other options within my career. The most logical step was to look for a more local position in a new company.

I started to spread the word among my network and it was not long until I had a phone call from a head hunting company for a Partner Manager position in a software company based in Bristol, UK. The job description suited me down to the ground with an emphasis on major key account acquisition and management. I was responsible for creating new sales channels by partnering with IBM, Hewlett Packard, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Equifax.

The software, the company had designed, was a powerful data mining tool for Customer Relationship Management applications. Build on lasting partnership agreements; I was further trained in Miller Heiman techniques specifically designed for large and complex decision making processes within giant companies.

As employee number sixteen, I was working very closely with our management team to implement company strategies and I had an insight into the mechanics of running a business that was gearing up for a major venture capital investment. When the company finally floated, it had raised $74.000.000!

My personal life had settled back into a more manageable routine. Because I started very early in the morning, I was home at 5pm every afternoon which meant plenty of quality time for our family. Quickly the turbulences of the past had been forgotten about and we were looking into a much brighter and happier future….