And just like that, Double to Sell, my two-day event featuring Cameron Herold, is over. I’m nursing a bit of an emotional hangover right now. Not gonna lie.

Between Covid-19 erupting back in March, to the live event’s postponement, changing dates from May to November, and switching to a virtual format, it was a challenge getting it done, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. It was such a fantastic event!

If you've been listening to “I’m a Millionaire! So Now What?” (and/or reading this blog) over the past few weeks, you’ll know I've been talking a lot about doubling revenue, doubling profits, and putting a focus on having a vivid vision to get you there.

Just like the interaction between Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat that I referenced last week, if you don't have a goal, if you don't have that vivid vision, any path you take will eventually lead you somewhere. But is that “somewhere” actually where you were heading? Is it where you dreamed you would end up?

Probably not.

Meet Eleanor Beaton

Eleanor Beaton is a precise example of a member of the Self Made Nation. An entrepreneur with a vivid vision, a clear focus, fierce discipline and deep awareness.

She’s an award-winning entrepreneur, podcast host, keynote speaker and women's leadership development mentor. Her work helps ambitious women in business develop the confidence, presence, political savvy and influence they need to smash the glass ceiling (Ugh. It’s 2020 and we’re still talking about that glass ceiling!) and take their seats at the tables where the big deals and decisions are made.

I absolutely LOVE IT when successful people help others become successful too! I’ve always said that I use “I’m a Millionaire! So Now What?” to do exactly that, which is why I was excited to have Eleanor guest on the show this week (caveat: the episode was recorded back in September).

She calls herself an “accidental entrepreneur” and shares her story of reinvention - how finding her niche and having the courage to stay hyper-focused – drove her eventual success.

I've interviewed a lot of guests that have a lot of different businesses. But I think in our world, we revere the “startup world,” the tech stories, perhaps a little too much. Don’t get me wrong, I love tech as much as the next person! It literally saved my Double to Sell event by allowing it to go virtual. My point here is that there are so many other ways to create real riches. To build a business, to take a “service” and scale it – that’s very powerful.

So how did Eleanor become such a massive success in the world of coaching and leadership development? She homed in on her vivid vision, her niche, and forced herself to focus only on that. Here’s a bit of her story.

Turning Brain Power into Sellable Assets

“I was starting to burn out. And I am very, very tired and exhausted. When I look back at pictures of myself from that time period, you know, every picture of me, I just have these yellow bags under my eyes, I was working so much. I was not making as much revenue as I wanted to be making. And, for me, that really is all about the degree of resentment - as soon as I start to experience resentment in any part of my life, I know I need to step back and evaluate, get very real with myself about what's going on, and then start to make changes, because resentment is basically like a form of powerlessness. And somebody told me that they thought I should take a look at coaching, because one of the things that I did in my consulting business was lead leadership communications workshops. At that time, I didn't have a sellable asset. I didn't have systems documented, I didn't have team members, what I had was my brain power. I made the call that I did not have a sellable asset. I had nothing to sell. I hadn't built my business in such a way that I had something to sell.”

Burn the Boats!

“So I stopped taking contracts, and I put myself through about an 18 month period of pain, burning the boats like Cortez - it's actually a horrible analogy, when you look back at sort of the history of Cortez - but anyway, Cortez allegedly ordered his men to burn their boats, so they couldn't retreat! And so that becomes like this entrepreneurial rallying cry not to go back. I burned my boats!! Before that, a lot of the consulting work that I was doing was in leadership, communications, advising leaders on their communication, strategy, crisis, communications, all that kind of stuff. I stopped taking on any contracts around those subjects. I started doing work specifically in my niche, and I needed to build it up quickly. I was learning how to sell and market, I was delivering a lot of that work myself. And that happened for about sort of a 12 to 18-month period, where it was essentially a brand-new startup. It required a commitment, a commitment and courage. To say that no to the things that you knew were there and maybe easy pickins, that low hanging fruit on the tree, as they say. To actually say no to that, and truly commit to this new focus - that's a whole mindset piece.”

Archetypes and Ecosystems

“My archetype is the ruler. And that helped me understand where I get so much fulfillment. For that sort of ‘ruler’ archetype, it's about creating a dominion, you know, it's about creating an ecosystem that provides process, provides an opportunity for prosperity and abundance for everybody in that ecosystem. I am a builder. And so where I get the most satisfaction, out of the work that I do, is this idea of creating an ecosystem, and that ecosystem comprises the things that we offer, the team that offers it, the philosophies and the teachings that, you know, ground of that stuff, and sort of the leadership of that ecosystem. It's creating this ecosystem inside of which people have an opportunity to grow and thrive. To me, just building the ecosystem itself is what is so fulfilling. Eighty percent of what I do is create the ecosystem. And then 20 percent of what I do is zone of genius work, where I'm working directly with women leaders and entrepreneurs. And I love to do that, because it's the ecosystem that provides the wealth and the impact.”

Please check out the entire episode if you have the time. It’s a fascinating chat! And I’m going to leave you with a book suggestion – you know I love to read! It’s called The Practicing Mind, by Thomas Sterner.

Here’s a portion of a quote from the book: “If you're not in control of your thoughts, then you're not in control of yourself. Without self-control, you have no real power, regardless of whatever else you accomplish. If you're not aware of your thoughts, if you're not aware of the thoughts that you are thinking in each moment, then you are the rider with no reins. With no power over where you are going.”

I think you’ll really enjoy it.

If you’re an entrepreneur looking to exit, or you’re at the helm of a thriving business or startup, I would love to talk with you about your stories! You can drop me a line here.

Plus, if you are craving like-minded conversation with growth-oriented business owners, consider joining me and eight other business owners, investors and entrepreneurs for our next editions of Elevated Conversations - watch this space for more details!