Here’s a little brainstorm we thought might be fun to share.  I was planning to regularly post interesting small business stories from around the web here, but it would really be fun to post YOUR interesting stories.  Have a small business success story that you’d like to share?  Really enjoying your new membership inside KTC?  Just drop me a note that summarizes your story or provides a link here, it’s that easy.

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If you’re a solopreneur like me, you understand the struggles that every lone wolf goes through. You understand the responsibility that comes with handling every role within your business. This includes every thing from taking an idea from concept to implementation, packaging it so that it properly speaks to your intended audience, taking your prospects through the selling cycle, and delivering with the highest level of integrity and quality. Every decision you make and every step you take impacts the success of your business. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of risk. Yet, you stick with it because the rewards of owning something you are so passionate about is worth all the energy, time, and money you have invested into it.

For nearly three years, this has been the story of my life. Since I basically started with barely any financial support, I have worked very hard and hustled like crazy to establish a respectable brand in order to make a living as a personal/professional coach. You do a lot of pro bono work in your early years just to get your name out there. What really carried me was the generosity of others. I was very blessed to find many amazingly talented professionals who were willing to be a resource to me and informally act like an advisory board for my business. It is my belief that the wealth of knowledge and practical tools of success I acquired these past few years can be attributed to the people with whom I surrounded myself. The key was to maximize my ability to be resourceful since I had more time than money to invest into my business.

Fast forward to today, I have a credible brand and great clients. There are many new and exciting projects I’m working on to further expand the business. I’ve built a wonderful network of resources around me to support my growth. However, I’m at the cusp in my business where it is imperative that I work smarter since working any harder can compromise the integrity of my brand. As they say, you don’t know what you don’t know. This is where Kitchen Table Companies comes into play.

As a member of Kitchen Table Companies, I have access to an extremely amazing support system of small business owners and entrepreneurs who have all been there and done that. Why reinvent the wheel when you can have a high caliber of advisors who are willing to candidly and openly share their experiences and tools for success? Most of the questions I have regarding my business challenges have already been addressed in the discussion forums and contain very specific strategies and detailed feedback to support me. And if a specific topic or question has not been addressed, I have the platform to elicit laser-like feedback from all the members.

In this world where everything is constantly changing and moving at warp speed, I can’t afford to spin my wheels with activities that do not serve me. Time is money. In order to buy back some more time to do more of what I love and be a master of my craft, I have chosen to invest in a resource that will support me with the areas I’m not the strongest. If you could have your own small business advisory board comprised of hundreds of successful and creative people all over the world at your disposal 24/7 supporting you with advice that can both save you time and money and increase profits, what would you be willing to invest? Kitchen Table Companies is one of the best investments you’ll ever make for such a priceless resource.

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“It all started with an email in my angelwingsweb inbox. Joe Sorge, of Kitchen Table Companies was letting the subscribers know about a thread created by of one of the newest members, asking for advice to assist on how to pull out of a crisis for their company.

Joe’s appeal was to the point: let us share from our experience to provide help to possibly save a business.

I didn’t visit the thread until later the next day. I wasn’t sure I was qualified to offer any advice, because I am certainly not a seasoned entrepreneur, and my expertise is not in the financial field, but still, you feel like we are all part of a like-minded family, and you never know where help can come from, sometimes just showing up to support someone who has the courage to describe his or her demise is important.

Of course, I was curious too. I wanted to read about how other members, who had been contacted in the same manner as I had been contacted, had answered the call: it’s always very telling about a community to gauge their willingness to lend a hand – or in that case – some time from busy lives to spell out thoughts and advice.

And wow! did I find a pouring support!

I wasn’t really expecting to find lots of activity on the thread (what was I thinking?) and instead I bumped into so many great posts, filled with top quality – free – advice, that could certainly make sense to more than one single person. The wealth, and warmth, and depth of the answers impressed me very much. There surely was an awesome well of ideas, of which the member who had presented his case would find solutions, or at least would find the impetus that would allow him to create the necessary solutions to get out of his present mess.

What also struck me as extremely powerful was that Joe had initially called upon the community of contributors, in a true spirit of mentoring: no one can have the magic bullet solution, no one does exactly know what a described situation is – that may need a complete audit, background, retrospective, etc to be fully grasped. But the inspiration came from the addition of intelligent and wise contributions, shared from very different perspectives.

I am not sure in the end what will trigger the outcome. But what I am absolutely certain of, is the inspiration I received from such a forum. I am also thinking that being listened to, in a non judgemental manner, nor in a professoral – out of touch – way may have deeply helped this company to look at their demise with a better perspective, enlightened by so many ideas and open paths.

Working a company or small business from a kitchen table can be a very lonely experience, with many feelings that we are overwhelmed or doing so many things the wrong way. In a split second, and thanks to experiencing what went on that simple thread, I realized that I would probably never be that alone: fellows are listening and ready to answer, and offer their common expertise which is priceless.”

This was one of our proudest moments early on inside KTC.
Our first indication of the real community that was being built.
Won’t you join us? It’s pretty risk free to give it a try for 10 days.
Just click here.

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