Our discussion today revolves around a pivotal inquiry: what motivated you to embark upon the entrepreneurial journey? As we delve into the intricacies of designing your breakthrough year, we illuminate the significance of reconnecting with the very essence of your business's inception. Regardless of your current trajectory—whether you are striving toward the monumental milestone of a million dollars, propelling your enterprise toward the realms of five to fifty million, or contemplating an exit strategy—understanding your foundational purpose is paramount.
We share poignant narratives, including a heartfelt account from Coco, whose journey in founding a healthcare company was inspired by personal experiences and a desire to effectuate change for families in need of specialized care.
It becomes abundantly clear that articulating these stories not only fuels our passion but also serves as a compass during arduous times, guiding us through the proverbial messy middle of entrepreneurial endeavors.
Join us as we challenge you to reflect upon your own motivations and the transformative power of storytelling in shaping not only your business but also your life’s narrative.
Takeaways:
The pivotal question of why you commenced your entrepreneurial journey can illuminate your path forward.
Articulating your personal narrative is essential, as it empowers you to connect with your audience profoundly.
In the first days of business, your origin story serves as a beacon of motivation and resilience.
Creating a company can be a daunting task, yet it is often birthed from a desire to address a pressing issue.
The process of storytelling not only enriches your brand, but also fosters a sense of community among those you serve.
Embrace the uncertainty of your journey; sometimes the most profound insights arise spontaneously during reflection.
Chapters:
00:18 - Designing Your Breakthrough Year
00:53 - The Journey to Healthcare Innovation
02:05 - The Journey of Starting a Company
03:26 - The Journey of Entrepreneurship
04:46 - The Importance of Starting Your Story
05:21 - Designing Your Breakthrough Year
This episode part of the Force for Good Tool of the Week Series! Each week we feature one of the 100+ Force for Good Tools.
**These tools are free this week at https://aforceforgood.biz/weekly-tool/ **
*** The Full FFG Toolkit is available with A Force for Good, the Book: https://aforceforgood.biz/book/***
****Have questions on how to pioneer your 100 Year impact plan? Schedule time with Coco: https://calendly.com/coco-sellman/zoom-office-hours-clone **
** Follow the Force for Good Business show to install the unique system of perpetual growth into your company.
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Coco Sellman, the host of the Force for Good Business Show, believes business is a force for good, especially with visionary women at the helm. With over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, she has launched five companies and guided over 500 startups. As Founder & CEO of A Force for Good, Coco supports purpose-driven women founders in unlocking exponential growth and prosperity. Her recent venture, Allumé Home Care, reached eight-figure revenues and seven-figure profits in just four years before a successful exit in 2024. A venture investor and board director, Coco’s book, *A Force for Good*, reveals a roadmap for women to lead high-impact, high-growth companies.
Learn more about A Force for Good:
Website: https://aforceforgood.biz/ Founders Circle: https://courses.aforceforgood.biz/landing-founders-circle #WisdomOfWomen Show: https://aforceforgood.biz/podcast-wow FFG Tool of the Week: https://aforceforgood.biz/weekly-tool/ The Book: https://aforceforgood.biz/book/ Force for Good Business Show: https://aforceforgood.biz/podcast-ffgbr/
Transcripts
Speaker A:
Hey, dare doer, here we go.
Speaker A:
We are getting into the nuts and bolts of being able to design your breakthrough year, even tapping into why you even started your company and what got you to get in the energy of saying, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna build this, I'm gonna create this.
Speaker A:
Regardless of where you are right now in your business, whether you're building it to a million dollars, you're getting into $5 million to $10 million to $50 million, or maybe you're thinking about exiting your business.
Speaker A:
Tapping into why you started is probably one of the key stones of being able to design your breakthrough year.
Speaker A:
So the dare is why did you start your company?
Speaker B:
I love this question so much and there's so much power here in telling your story and helping you articulate it and get it out.
Speaker B:
My story with my healthcare company, Elume.
Speaker B:
I started the company because I have a stepdaughter, Amelia, who is now 24 years old.
Speaker B:
She is medically fragile.
Speaker B:
She was born at 26 weeks rather than the regular 40.
Speaker B:
Her life has been transformed by her early birth.
Speaker B:
She has cerebral palsy, she's in a wheelchair, she's quadriplegic, she's non verbal, she eats through a feeding tube, she's technology dependent and requires around the clock care.
Speaker B:
And she is absolutely a regular kid, regular wonderful person who has dreams and hopes and has purpose and meaning.
Speaker B:
She's been my life teacher, one of my strongest wisdom, kindness and patience teachers.
Speaker B:
When she was 8 years old, she had 16 hours a day of nursing covered by our health insurance.
Speaker B:
And I was thrilled, my husband was.
Speaker A:
Thrilled, we were thrilled.
Speaker B:
We went to find a nursing agency that would do this care for us and found out no one would take us because this was such a specific niche in home health.
Speaker B:
So I said to myself, this is crazy, right?
Speaker B:
We've got to get access.
Speaker B:
I decided to start a company from scratch that did this exact work.
Speaker B:
I didn't know what I was getting myself into.
Speaker B:
It was incredibly hard.
Speaker B:
It took me two years to even get all the licenses and accreditations and it cost so much money, I thought I was going to run my family bankrupt.
Speaker B:
But putting that together and being able to make it possible for other families who needed this care was the reason I started Illumie.
Speaker B:
What was extraordinary for me is we grew really fast once we were able to get our licenses and accreditations.
Speaker B:
The thing that I loved so much was hearing other people tell my story, you know, so, like there would be.
Speaker B:
Oh, it was started by this woman and she had this has this daughter and that's why she started it.
Speaker B:
And she cares about the families and she cares about the nurses.
Speaker B:
And we grew really fast.
Speaker B:
It all came from telling this story.
Speaker B:
So one of the most important elements of creating Breakthrough is being able to tell stories and have reasons.
Speaker B:
In those days that we were talking about before Stacy, where you're in the trend, the messy middle of a long, hard project or growing a company and you have to get up and keep going, it's those days that the story keeps you going.
Speaker B:
So I'm dying to know from all of you, why did you start your company?
Speaker B:
What was that moment?
Speaker B:
Was it a moment of joy, pain, discovery?
Speaker B:
Frustration?
Speaker B:
What happened?
Speaker B:
Tell us the story of why you started the company and what was the problem you wanted to solve?
Speaker B:
What was the way you wanted to make the world better because you thought, I'm going to go do this, so good.
Speaker A:
Oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:
And feel free to not know exactly what you're going to say until you start saying it.
Speaker A:
Because sometimes just the power is and you just saying it out loud and then letting yourself process through it.
Speaker A:
That's what's so powerful about me and this experience, experience with us and on this quest is that you might be saying things for the first time that you haven't thought of, you know, ever.
Speaker A:
Feel free to use this time to do that as well.
Speaker B:
I love that.
Speaker B:
Please don't try to prepare.
Speaker B:
Please don't try to pre write.
Speaker B:
Just turn your recorder on or start journaling or take an audio recorder and tell us why you started your company.
Speaker B:
When was that moment?
Speaker B:
I was sitting in my kitchen and I was talking to my caregiver and we discussed how cool it would be if we could do this thing, which is what happened with Elume.
Speaker B:
We want to hear that story.
Speaker B:
We want to know it.
Speaker A:
I'm so excited to know what happens in the group when this dare comes out, but also what happens from being able to now say this dare in your business and how that now amplifies things and gives you a breakthrough year?
Speaker A:
Just this one dare alone.
Speaker A:
Like, I just see it right now with my eyes.
Speaker A:
You're so brilliant, Coco.
Speaker A:
I love this.
Speaker A:
So the dare is why did you start your company?
Speaker A:
I dare you.
Speaker A:
You can type the answer audio, record the answer, go live with another, and whatever feels good to you.
