From Precious
April 10, 2008
Nana A Darkoa Sekyiamah | Coaching
Compelling Success: Position: Director
www.compellingsuccess.comPrecious: How and when did you come up with your business idea?
I was inspired to set up Compelling Success after reading The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen. At the time I was a Director of a
Social Enterprise, a Communications Trainer and had various other roles in
the voluntary sector.
I came to the conclusion that to effect positive change in the world one
has to focus on individuals to enable them to achieve their full potential,
to enable individuals to be successful (however they defined success).
Compelling Success was thus set up in conjunction with my business partner
Farouk Haruna with the goal of making it possible for one to compel success.
Precious: Tell us about the business planning stage.
I did the business planning stage in the reverse order. I was so eager to kick
off that my business partner and I came up with various ideas and projects
that we wanted to do and just started…If I was to do it all over again
I will spend more time on developing a good marketing plan prior to launching
the business.
Precious: Did you encounter any setbacks?
In a word ‘Yes!’ My most disappointing encounter was when I had to cancel my very first event which I had been organising for months. The great thing I have learnt though is what distinguishes successful people from ‘failures’ is the art of perseverance. I do think perseverance is a real art. You have just got to learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up and keep going
Precious: What funding options worked for you?
Self-funding from my business partner and myself has worked for me. In the past when I run a social enterprise I had access to funding from various funding bodies but at the moment quite happy to self-fund.
Precious: What do you love most about what you do?
That’s a tough question. There are several things I love about what I do. In
no particular order I love the fact that my profession is a learning one
in which you need to continuously develop yourself, in my opinion the best
way to learn is to teach and share knowledge with others, which is what being
a coach allows me to do.
I especially love the results I see in the lives of my clients. It is very
gratifying to work with individuals and watch them grow, develop and achieve
success in their own lives.
I love the flexibility of what I do. As a coach you can work from any part
of the world and in the next week I shall be setting up base in Ghana whilst
still coaching people from the UK. The joy of technology means it is possible
to coach over the telephone, via the Internet and email. I shall also be
flying over to the UK occasionally to run workshops and events.
Precious: Are your family supportive of you?
I have a great family who are supportive of everything I do. My parents especially are real rocks in my life who are there for me through thick and thin. I can always ring up my Mum or Dad and say ‘What do you think about this situation?’
Precious: Looking back on your business decisions, is there anything that you would have done differently?
I mentioned earlier about writing a marketing plan and sticking to it. The other decisions I would have made differently would have been to give myself more time to plan and market events.
Precious: Where do you see your business in five years time?
Five years from now Compelling Success is an internationally renowned coaching company providing affordable coaching to personal clients whilst running workshops and delivering on a global scale
Precious: What's your advice to potential female entrepreneurs?
Get yourself a personal coach - working with a professional coach will enable you to achieve more in your career and business whilst still prioritising a good work life balance.
Network – take time to build and maintain relationships with people from all walks of life.
Commit to your personal development – Read books on business, marketing, and success, attend workshops, events and seminars. Always look to learn, develop and stretch yourself.