Reflections On My Entrepreneurial Journey
Updated: Feb 8, 2022
Written by: Rachel Marie Paling, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Most of my life I have worked for myself, as a freelancer and over the past nearly twenty years as a business creator and entrepreneur. When you work for yourself, there are so many things that, through the years, you learn not only about how to run a business but also how to evolve with a business. So many things unveil and reveal themselves through experience, so many times you have to pick yourself up when something doesn’t work! It is a never-ending learning curve and I would like to share the top 10 “lessons” through these years.
1. Evolution is key
When I created the concept and method of Neurolanguage Coaching, it became very clear to me from the beginning that it had a “mind” of its own. As the creator and pioneer, it then needed nurturing, honing and developing. I think it is essential when you create something to really understand that this may morph through the years and we should constantly be thinking about how to take care of it and how to “tend” or “nurture” its evolution. Nothing is static in life!
2. You should know about everything, but not DO everything
During the first years of running the business, I had to do everything. The one delivering the service, doing the banking, the accounts, the marketing, the invoices/goodness it was a never-ending list of to-dos every day and every month. The best advice I received was, if there is something you do not like doing, get someone else to do it. Well, that is often easier said than done, but if you think out of the box, you may find ways of getting people to take over those tasks. For example, marketing students, or a virtual secretary or even teenagers taking over your social media. Freeing up golden time is essential as an entrepreneur.
3. You have to know how to surf the waves
Any business will have to ride the waves or tsunamis that may hit them, whether market or business trend changes or even dips in clientele or facing competitors. There should be a strategy to face these waves and definitely never just put your eggs in one basket. You should strive to have a mix of clients or customers and spread your portfolio of services or products, so, if one falters there are others in the basket.
4. Personal Equanimity is key
How we react to anything happening on a day-to-day basis will affect the running of the business and the delivery of the services. Learning to become stoic and to not let things affect you is one of the most important tests of the character of the entrepreneur. Meditation really does help to bring in this equanimity.
5. Put your hands up and say “mea culpa”
I have really learned that running a business also means we have to know when to put our hands up and say “I am sorry”, even if it was something that was not directly connected to us. As business leaders and entrepreneurs, we are responsible indirectly and I try to say I am sorry as much as I can, sometimes just to say I am sorry I had not realised or I am sorry because I really should have known about this and handled it differently. Compassion can make all the difference.
6. Old fashioned barter exchange
Money may not be the payment for everything! Sometimes you may find that one of your clients could exchange services with you. You offer your service and as payment they offer their service. I have often done this and even with one client who wanted help to prepare for an interview, I asked her to pay me in “candles” and she bought me the most beautiful expensive scented candles, I was thrilled to receive this in exchange for my services.
7. Be gentle to your brain!
Learning to stop, learning to rest, learning to give the brain what it needs, actually helps to optimise your performance. For many years, I had the headless chicken syndrome, until I really started to learn to listen to my brain’s needs and I started to power nap, take breaks, bring shorter focused periods to work on something key and learn how to eat, rest and nurture my brain.
8. Learn how to play chess
Being an entrepreneur is not a linear process with a start and an end. Understanding there may be strategies you could think about, contingency scenarios, almost like you are looking at a chessboard and thinking about what could be the next move and what could be the outcome of that move and all the different scenarios that may ensue. This will really help to develop your resilience and definitely prepare you for a “black swan” event.
9. Be available and of service
Over the years even if I am extremely busy and swamped with work, I will always say that I have time and I am available if people need me. There is nothing worse than giving the impression that you are unapproachable and you are far too busy for anyone. That is not my philosophy, I refuse to ever be too busy. I always think it is about “making time”.
10. Positivity, passion and optimism as the motor
If we are always negative and focus on the negative, that may in fact be what we attract, almost like the self-fulfilling prophecy! I really love the hermetic principle “Energy flows where attention goes” – the more focus and attention, the more I reinforce those neural networks. As a pioneer, my business is absolutely my passion, and through the years, continued focus on positivity and optimism really has reflected back to me.
I do hope these ten tips will help you forge your pathway forwards, onwards and upwards in the business world.
Rachel Marie Paling, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Rachel Marie Paling is an International Game Changer in Education, in particular, the education of languages. She has created the method and approach Neurolanguage Coaching, which incorporates professional coaching and neuroscience principles into the learning process. She coaches and trains teachers worldwide, transforming them into certified and ICF accredited Neurolanguage coaches and has created the Neurolanguage Coach network with over 1000 NL Coaches in just over 100 countries worldwide and is now bringing the approach to schools and institutions over the world through her licensed trainers and in nine languages. Rachel started teaching language at 17 and has a BA Honours in Law and Spanish, MA in Human Rights. She is a qualified UK lawyer, MA in Applied Neuroscience, and a PCC ICF Life Coach. She is the author of the books Neurolanguage Coaching and Brain-friendly Grammar and has written numerous blog articles about learning, coaching, and neuroscience. She has spoken at many international conferences, and her company was awarded the Bronze Award at the Reimagine Education Awards 2019 in the Science in Education category. She is dedicated to the shift in education and is currently establishing an educational foundation to bring coaching, neuroscience, and heart science into educational processes.
