My first 5 years
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🎉 Earlier this week I celebrated 5 years of being in business! I had a post on LinkedIn that talked about a few things that I learned last year, and all of the comments are humbling and a big boost to me. Here's more background on the first 5 years of Kinkou - most of this I haven't shared... I heard someone say recently that when you take a big leap like starting a business, people hold up mirrors to you. And those mirrors reflect their fears and insecurities, seeing themselves in your shoes, asking you all sorts of questions that low-level second guess your plan. I experienced all of that. The first few years were full of 1:1 Leadership / Executive Coaching, helping a few startups as their acting CISO for 3-6 months, and delivering the Multipliers Leadership Development curriculum. It was all new, representing myself, experimenting as I went, and learning about myself as a business owner. During the last 2 years, I've jumped head first into Team Coaching, certifying with Team Coaching Studio through their 10-month intensive, and then qualifying and passing the Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ICF). It's been intense, but awesome. My supervision coach, back in 2021 said "Welcome to a profession where you'll never stop learning about and working on yourself." He's totally right. It's been non-stop, really hard but energizing, and I want it to stay that way so I can do this work for the rest of my life. On top of the academic learning, there were some big "aha's" that hit me: Taking time for yourself after a big change is really important.But, I didn't do that unfortunately. The only time I took between being a leader at Starbucks and a solopreneur with Kinkou was a single weekend. I didn't take any time to sit in that liminal space - the "in between" - where I could detach from a different professional life to my new one. I didn't realize I did that - not taking time for myself - until years later. Sure, I had lots of time like everyone else to think more because of the COVID lockdown, but I didn't intentionally take time to recover, to reflect on what I had come from, and deliberately plan for what was ahead. I might have eased into it more if it weren't for COVID, but that's not what happened for me, I jumped right into doing. I was figuring out how to develop and run a business, securing health insurance for my family, delivering work, saying fees out loud for the first time, sending invoices, trying to buy our first home in Seattle (and getting denied), and trying to stay healthy and sane together with my super supportive wife through all of it. If I did it all over again, I'd take time between the old and the new. There are going to be big peaks and super-low valleys.One thing I wish I had known in my first 2 years of business - pay attention to times when there's more and less demand for what you do. "Well DUH", you might think, but when you're IN IT every day, it's hard to pay attention to what's happening around you. "What's water?", said the fish. Business peaks are such a rush, juggling demand, and figuring out how you're going to deliver everything, but the valleys or ebbs - oooo boy, they can be crushing. I experienced one ebb last year that felt like a 5-month test of resilience. "Just keep going.", was something I told myself almost every day, and having the support of my "others" - people like me doing work like me - to help me keep going, was invaluable. Celebrate the peaks during something new, and take time to reflect and process the lowness of the valleys while you're in them. Build skill in noticing.As a coach, I'm trained in helping people with change - and all change starts with yourself - specifically, the skill of noticing. Taking time to purposely notice more and study myself - if I were starting from the beginning - is what I would build into every week. I take time to reflect almost every day now, and work on it as a skill to get better at. Sometimes I challenge myself to pause and notice what's happening when my emotions spike for some reason, or there's a reaction from someone else that I'm with. Noticing is a skill. If you're a leader, or a pro in any way of work, learning how to notice more about yourself and others around you could be the most impactful skill you ever develop - as long as you do something with what you learn. No matter what happens in the future, these first 5 years of learning through Kinkou have transformed me in a lot of ways. This past year has nudged me to do more of what I love in facilitating workshops and team offsites, public speaking, and even releasing a book about human-focused risk management at the end of March! And with whatever comes for you in 2025, I hope you give it the chance to transform you a bit too. If there's something I can write more about, or even help you with personally, send me a note and I promise to respond with something useful. Here are a few related resources that I've enjoyed recently and have been sharing: 1 // Why you should plan to get less done. (3 min read) 2 // "The capacity to tolerate minor discomfort is a superpower", among other things that Oliver Burkeman suggests for fulfillment. (3 min read) 3 // "What's the thing you think you cannot say?" (20 min podcast) ​ If you enjoyed this, would you forward it to 1 friend who might like it too? Subscribing is easy, below.
​ That's all for now, I'll see you again in 2 weeks! With gratitude, Jason ​ P.S. - There are 3 ways I can help you when you're ready: working with you 1:1 as a leader, helping your team "team" better, and learning as a group how to manage Accidental Diminishing tendencies with the Multipliers Leadership Development program. You are receiving this email because you subscribed at https://kinkou.org. Did you make some changes or no longer want to receive these emails? You can update your profile or unsubscribe below. |