3 Things I Learned Working with My Mate

Earlier this month, I accepted a freelance writing project from the Hubby. For years I’d been saying we should work together, let me work for you, how can I help you in your entrepreneurial endeavors – and none of those things panned out. However, this time, what he needed was exactly in my wheelhouse. Before I continue, let me put a few things out there: 1- I KNOW he’s an incredible business man (he closes million-dollar deals regularly); 2- Both of us have Masters in Business so we know our stuff; 3 – Our perspectives on business are very much shaped by our own personal experiences (me – education, arts, nonprofit; him – entertainment, corporate). In all of that, I still learned a few things in my encounter with him.

1.       Setting clear expectations to begin with eliminates heartache. In working with my spouse I think the pressure was on to perform well. That’s hard when it’s arbitrary. We started our work together with clear expectations on the project.  Some of the language that was used in our conversations:

a.       This is what needs to be done by this particular date.

b.       When it is completed, I expect the finished product to be…

c.       I will provide updates on the project at the following intervals...

d.       I need your attention to the following details for finalization…

And it worked! Yes, it was formal, but it worked so much better that way. It really was black and white for us.

2.       I am worth my rate. He asked me how much the project would be up front. I told him my typical rate and payment terms, and he didn’t bat an eye. He didn’t ask for a family discount or payment plan. In his eyes, business is business. That spoke volumes to me! Moreover, when the project was completed, I didn’t have to resend an invoice, ask or throw hints. He paid me!

3.       I have to know and respect my limitations. At the end of the project potential for more work came through him. However, that next project would have demanded more of my attention and require us to work a little more closely with him and his client. I had to respectfully decline the offer and provide an alternative resource for him to consider. Guess what? That worked too! There were no hard feelings and more work will come.

Now these may not seem like big deals to you, but they were major to me. It allowed me to see my spouse in the way that others see him. As well, it allowed him to see the back and front end of the way that I do business. As a result, I think that we have better understanding of one another. I can appreciate the work he does from another angle and vice versa.

Have you worked with your spouse or another close family member? What was your experience?

7 Tips Towards a Mogul Mindset

“As we think, so are we…”

No truer words have been spoken. What and how we think essentially becomes us. The power of our thoughts influences our speech and our speech creates our world. When is the last time that you did an assessment of your thought process? Does what and how you’re thinking align with what you are seeing in your life? Let’s go a step further: do your thinking habits align with where you’d like to see yourself? In order to develop the mogul lifestyle, we must develop a mogul mindset. By definition, a mogul is an important person with great wealth or power (Cambridge Dictionary -online). Other definitions also include talk of influence. It takes a certain mindset to successfully manage wealth and power.

1.       Get Organized. In order to be effective and influential, there has to be a method to your madness. The more you are organized, the greater your chances of achieving your desired results. You’ll also be able to communicate your ideas better to others.

2.       Believe in yourself. No one else’s belief in you can be greater than that in yourself. There’s not enough motivation in that. If you are not “confident in your competence” then others won’t be either. So go, take a look in the mirror and say “Self, you’ve got this!”.

3.       Shift away from the employee mindset. You’ve got to think like the boss to be the boss, even if you’re not the boss. Employees see their piece of the puzzle where bosses have the full picture in view. The decisions are made based on the panoramic views, not on snapshots.

4.       Be willing to lose sleep.  In being a mogul, you must be willing to lose sleep and make other sacrifices. Remember, that for every yes, you’re saying no to something else. It’s all about making the right trade-off to achieve your goals and still honor your values.

5.       Don’t be afraid to travel some parts of the path alone. Often times the path to success looks very different than those around you. Don’t shrink back from that. Just light your torch and keep moving forward. In order to make a significant impact it may require you to do something unorthodox or unheard of. 

6.       Network and partner strategically. Many times success is not about what you know but more about WHO you know. With this in mind, it is important that you make connections strategically. Every introduction, handshake and electronic information exchange could be the one relationship that you need to achieve your next level of accomplishment. As you’re building, think through the types of people you need on your team and the assets you bring to teams you serve.

7.       Think in terms of scalability and succession. Don’t limit the extent of your success. Instead, work towards ideas and activities that can be scaled larger. Look at the growth potential and pursue those angles rather than those that will likely plateau.  Likewise, don’t dive into your work believing that you can and will be the only one that does it. Plan to grow, train and transfer the elbow-deep details. I’m sure you’ll want to travel and reap the benefits of your efforts. You will also want to leave a legacy behind once you’re gone. You can’t do that if you don’t grow or have a succession plan.

Becoming a mogul starts in the mind. What are you thinking on?