What does it take to be an effective small business owner? Susan and Claire have an animated discussion around what it takes to start, build and maintain a successful small business.
Susan Hamilton is the Founder and CEO of OffBeat Business Media, an organization dedicated to rebuilding American business influence locally, nationally, and abroad.
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S 03, Ep 01: A New Beginning
Hi and welcome to Coffee with Claire!
Today’s theme is going to be about resilience.
The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
At the beginning of anything new, there’s always excitement and an adrenaline rush as you build that something that has never been built before.You figure it out, you put processes together, and pretty soon, you have a well-oiled machine that you understand and know you can depend on.
Then, one day, you hit a snag–something completely unexpected, and out of your control. Everything you worked for is suddenly gone. You’re left standing at a crossroads. Which road do you choose?
Path #1 is easy. You quit. You throw in the towel. You decide that the thing that happened was a sign that you weren’t supposed to do it anymore anyways.
Path #2 is you pick yourself up, gather the pieces you can find, and re-invent and re-create those that you can’t. It takes time and it takes money that you didn’t think you had, but you find ways to make it work.
Not everyone will pick Path #2. It may not be feasible. But those who are successful know there’s going to be up’s and downs. You’re never 100% right, or profitable, or marketable or whatever other adjective you want to inject. However, it’s the people who have resilience in their blood that are willing to try again. Maybe do it a little differently this next time around, but it’s definitely worth it in their minds.
The resilience I am speaking about specifically is Coffee with Claire, and how I came to the conclusion that just because we hit a major bump in the road didn’t mean we veered off the road, took the wheels off the bus, and walked home. Would it have been easy? Sure. But I wasn’t done, and I wasn’t going to give up.
Stay tuned, and follow the path of our show to Coffee with Claire version “2.0”
On the first episode of Season 3 of the show, Claire Billingsley sits down with Paul Maynard, Claire’s Communications Director, to talk about this new beginning. But where’s the new show happening? What can you expect in the new season? And where in the world has Claire Billingsley been? Tune in to find out! -
S01, Ep 38: Robi Ley, Being a Clear Communicator
What does it take to be a clear communicator? Claire and guest, Robi Ley, have a spirited discussion of how to get your best thoughts out of your head and onto paper or into clear spoken words.Robi Ley is the owner and lead communication coach at WordCrafter Consultants. Robi believes that every person has a story. Her business is about helping people tell their story.
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S01, Ep 15: Paola Sabini, Using Technology to Your Advantage
Learning to communicate effectively and exposing the world to the real you is the subject of today’s episode. While IT is a key part of all of our business lives, we need to realize it is really only a tool to meet the goals we’ve set for ourselves.Paola Saibene, CEO of Neuropeach Labs, has years of experience in IT transformation and business Innovation, having held multiple CIO/ CTO/ CSO/ COO positions in government and in the private sector, including multi-billion dollar enterprises, including the State of Hawaii. She is a pioneer in transforming and innovating in organizations under tremendous scrutiny.
