In this Expert Insight Interview, Michael & Kathryn Redman discuss a fascinating book that they authored called Fulfilled: The Passion & Provision Strategy for Building a Business with Profit, Purpose & Legacy. Michael & Kathryn Redman are the husband-and-wife team behind Half a Bubble Out, a marketing and business consulting firm.
This Expert Insight Interview discusses:
- The problems faced by every aspiring entrepreneur
- How exponential growth leads to more difficulty
- The need for leadership and structure for success in business
Growing Pains
The lead into Michael & Kathryn’s book is fascinating, dealing with the problems they discovered when they first started a business. This beginning stage was challenging, but it taught them valuable lessons about running a company.
They started their business in the spare bedroom, moved it into the converted garage, and finally moved into what they call their “real office.” They had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted to do during this period, but they realized they had to think about things like marketing, communication, etc.
The Big Break
Michael had always been a good salesperson, and Kathryn was also in sales at the corporate level. Still, suddenly, they realized that it would be challenging to balance working for their existing clients and going out there and continuing to sell their services.
This got to the point where they got overwhelmed and wanted to focus on just one of those things, and it usually wasn’t selling that they chose to focus on. Over time, as they refined their message and started gaining momentum, they got into the groove and finally hit that opportunity they had been waiting for, enabling them to grow exponentially.
Leadership and Structure
Unfortunately, they discovered that in the process of growing that fast, they made some really poor reactive decisions. They hired people who probably weren’t the best fit for the position, nor was the company the best fit for them, worked with clients who sucked the life out of them, etc.
This was all because they didn’t have the leadership and structure needed for such a rapid expansion. If your business goes above your ability to lead, it will most assuredly come back down, and if it has enough downward momentum, it could pull you down with it.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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