FROM FARM GIRL
TO ENTREPRENEUR:
WHAT I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY
IASourceLink Webinar
October 15, 2015: Noon – 1 p.m.
Brenda Clark Hamilton, MA Ed.
FROM FARM GIRL TO ENTREPRENEUR:
WHAT I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY…
HERE’S WHERE WE’RE GOING…
I. My
Entrepreneurial
Story
II. Key Lessons
I’ve Learned
Along the Way
I. MY ENTREPRENEURIAL STORY
The Short Version:
 From English teacher to
In Process, LLC, trainer
 From Professional
Development Consultant
to launching my business
THE ‘REST OF THE STORY’…
A slow start with lots of doubts…
January 2005:
“Let’s launch this thing!”
Small, non-intimidating
action steps
A mailing ready to go!
No “instant success”…
• Two very lean years working locally
• 1st statewide conference (Jan. 2008)
• Speakers’ bureau, website (May 2009; August 2009)
• Ongoing growth, more states, more industries and
opportunities, more speakers’ bureaus, networking with
colleagues around the nation, greater need for family balance!
II. LESSONS LEARNED
ON MY JOURNEY…
(INCLUDING FROM MY RURAL UPBRINGING)
“A journey of a
thousand miles
begins with a
single step.”
-Lao-Tzu
1. SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS ARE
SELF-STARTERS WHO ENJOY FORGING THEIR OWN PATH.
A lesson learned on the farm…
• My dad was his own boss.
• No one made him get up in the morning.
• No one assigned him work tasks.
• No one told him which way to go, or what decisions to make.
• No one make him learn ‘the latest.’
• I found out during my career that
I thrived on forging my own path.
• StrengthsFinder 2.0: Strategic
“The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and
find the best route…You cull and make selections until you arrive
at the chosen path-- your strategy. Armed with your
strategy, you strike forward.”
THE ROLE OF INITIATIVE IN MY BUSINESS…
• 2005:
No ‘how-to’
manual for
launching a
speaking
business
• Late 2007:
How do you get
asked to speak
at a statewide
conference?
• Early 2009:
How do you get
the attention of a
speakers’ bureau?
A part of everyday business for me…
• Willing to stir up/track down new leads
• Willing to research and develop new topics
• Willing to learn new industries/venues
• Willing to travel to new places by myself
• Willing to implement new technologies
“Success depends in a very
large measure upon
individual initiative and
exertion, and cannot be
achieved except by a dint
of hard work.”
“If you don’t drive your
business, you will be driven
out of business.”
- Anna Pavlova
- B.C. Forbes
2. LEARN YOUR BUSINESS
FROM THE BOTTOM UP.
“The best advice I think I’ve received as a new
entrepreneur, it was a mentor who told me to learn
from the bottom up. He basically told me that there are a lot of
people who have the wrong understanding of what an entrepreneur
is. ‘I want to be the boss and hire and fire people’ is the furthest thing
from the truth. So work hard and learn the business from the bottom
up, because you never know when you’re going to need to do it
yourself. And you don’t want someone holding you hostage to your
business, i.e., ‘You can’t fire me
because I know this and that.’”
- Daymond John
Once again, my farm upbringing was helpful…
• The farmers that I know well have definitely
experienced the ‘bottom’ tasks!
• Even if they have hired hands, they have
no hesitation to ‘get their hands dirty.’
• No matter how successful they become,
there is not a sense of a job being ‘beneath’
them.
“Great leaders have to be
able to delegate, but they also
have to be willing to get down
in the trenches and do their
part when the going
gets tough.”
-Wendy Stackhouse
“At my office, I value
the opinion of all, from
the lowest position to
the highest position.”
- Daymond John
I learned…
• To have knowledge of all aspects of my business,
even if the task would be delegated.
• That no job is beneath me.
• That my job is to serve
others, not the other way around.
IN MY INDUSTRY…
• “I hire out for everything except the
speaking itself. I don’t need to bother
with knowing about that other stuff.”
• “I only do opening session keynotes.”
• “I’m very demanding about my
accommodations.”
• “I only speak for Fortune 500 companies.”
LEARN YOUR BUSINESS FROM THE BOTTOM UP…
• Check your ego at the door.
• Be easy and enjoyable to work with.
• Deliver excellent work,
on big and small jobs.
• Be accommodating.
(Return calls promptly. Meet deadlines.)
• Treat all involved with kindness, courtesy, respect,
and appreciation…not just your ‘major’ clients!
• Be willing to acknowledge and
learn from mistakes/advice.
• Have knowledge of all aspects
of your business…and be willing
to ‘get your hands dirty’!
3. WORK YOUR TAIL OFF, TAKING PRIDE
IN DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB.
• The Sunday night siblings phone call
• To be successful, farmers have no choice but to
work long, hard hours, and at inconvenient times.
• The hogs need fed, even if it’s a blizzard.
• Instant gratification is rare.
• Pride in, and passion for, doing an excellent job:
a record crop yield, a clean bean field, buying a great piece of land
GOOD ADVICE FOR
BUSINESS SUCCESS…
“If you are under the illusion that you can start a business
and run it at your life's schedule, you are mistaken. The
business is like a starving puppy - when it needs to eat,
then it needs to eat, regardless of what you
have going on personally.”
- Robert Herjavec

“Entrepreneurs are
willing to work 80
hours a week to avoid
working 40 hours a
week.”
- Lori Greiner
IN MY WORK…
• A lot of effort goes into making speaking look effortless!
• Some long hours, very long days,
especially during ‘crazy’ times
• Delayed gratification is common
• Your heart will energize you through long work
hours, if it’s something you love to do!

“Sweat equity is the most valuable
equity there is. Know your business and
industry better than anyone else in the
world. Love what you do
or don't do it.”
- Mark Cuban

PS—LISTEN TO YOUR HEART,
AND FIND THAT SWEET SPOT…
Clues Along the Way…
 My Teaching Niches:
Speech and life lessons
through literature
 The Road Less Traveled
 The Scholastic book box
4. BE MONEY-WISE.
•Dad and “Big Hat, No Cattle”
•Be wise/frugal with your money!
•Save during the good years.
•Reinvest in the business, not on
personal or professional luxuries.
•Keep overhead costs low.
• “If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have
to sell things you need.”
• “Whether we’re talking about
socks or stocks, I like buying
quality merchandise when it
marked down.”
- Warren Buffett
is
“The co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers (Chuck Feeney) has
donated more than $4 billion to disadvantaged children and
public health initiatives, all while going to great lengths to
remain an anonymous donor. ‘He has no ego . . . He always
chooses the second-cheapest wine from the wine list,’ according
to his biographer, former Irish Times journalist Conor O’Clery.
‘When we traveled together he was always dressed like
a down-at-heel American tourist.’”
- Julie Zeveloff & Gus Lubin
• My home office with my
Certified Attitude Trainer, C.A.T.
• “You really should become more diva-like…”
• Reasonable accommodations; Coach airfare;
Watching for deals (whether I’m paying or
the client is); No lavish meals;
Travel by myself, etc.
5. BE A PERSON OF HONESTY,
INTEGRITY, CARING, AND GENEROSITY.
 A huge part of my upbringing: Be honest, trustworthy, kind,
friendly, hard-working, and generous; Do the right thing
 Develop long-term relationships with
clients/customers, speakers’ bureaus,
and other speakers…due to these qualities
 Never sacrifice integrity for profits
 Give back!
“Somebody once said that in looking for
people to hire, you look for three qualities:
integrity, intelligence, and energy.
And if you don’t have the first, the
other two will kill you.”
- Warren Buffett
“I don't think you ever stop giving. I really don't.
I think it's an on-going process. And it's not just
about being able to write a check. It's being able
to touch somebody's life.”
- Oprah Winfrey
FROM FARM GIRL TO ENTREPRENEUR:
LESSONS FROM MY JOURNEY…
What is one
point that will
stick with you
from this
session?
CLOSING THOUGHT:
SO YOU’RE THINKING OF BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR…
Can you live
with not
knowing?
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LINKEDIN: BRENDA CLARK HAMILTON