[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Every entrepreneur has their own stories of trials and tribulations — particularly from an operations perspective. In this series, I’m speaking with owner-operators to learn what makes them tick, along with some of their best advice for successfully running your own business.

My first interview is with Nick Kindler, Co-founder and Executive Speaker Coach at Talk Boutique, a full-service speaker representation, coaching, and event curation company. Nick and his business partner Andrea Sampson launched Talk Boutique in Toronto in 2016.

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Let’s start by learning a little more about Talk Boutique

Talk Boutique is an interesting beast because there’s nothing quite like it. We work with people to improve strategic communication, coaching, and performance; we run workshops and book speakers from diverse backgrounds including science, academia, and entrepreneurship to speak at corporate events.

We also curate events for all kinds of organizations like Singularity University, TEDxToronto, and Children’s Aid Foundation to name just a few.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Finish this sentence – Talk Boutique helps people…

Build stories, communicate messages, and translate their knowledge into powerful ideas, transforming them into thought leaders.

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How and why did you get into the business?

I’ve always been passionate about creativity and I love presenting and pitching. But I also love helping other people do a better job articulating their vision and their ideas.

I was working in the communications and event space and was often pitching and presenting myself. But I found that, more often than not, helping others develop their own content and seeing them succeed on stage was the most rewarding part of my job. I realized that coaching others was what I wanted to do.

I volunteered at TEDxToronto where I was reacquainted with my Talk Boutique co-founder Andrea Sampson. As we were collaborating, we realized the ten people or so who grace the TEDx stage experience incredible training that we helped develop and we thought, why don’t we bring that to the world?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What’s your favourite thing about owning your own business?

The thing I love about owning a business might also be the thing that is most challenging — the freedom.

You have this tremendous freedom, which creates opportunity. You can really go after things you would never pursue if you occupied a role within a large organization with specific job requirements and needs. For a business like ours, if we’re interested in something and identify its potential, we’ll go for it. Speakeasy Intensive, our intensive retreat for executives, is a great example of that. We asked ourselves, what if we took these programs that are typically 12 weeks in length and put together a three-day program that brought together leaders from around the world? A year later, we developed it, delivered it, and now we have other clients asking for it. So yes, the freedom is probably what I love most.

However, endless opportunity can also be paralyzing. Which direction do you take? How do you choose? Those questions can be challenging. Having an organizational compass is really important. Knowing what you stand for, your values, and what you want is key.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ut_parallax_quote quotation_marks=”no” quote_ins_font_weight=”bold” icon=”fa fa-quote-left” icon_color=”#5d4389″ quote_color=”#5d4389″]The thing I love about owning a business might also be the thing that is most challenging — the freedom.[/ut_parallax_quote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What’s the hardest part of business ownership and why?

I’ll answer this personally because I’m sure Andrea would have a different answer. As your business grows, the expectations you place on yourself are extraordinary. I’m almost certain that most business leaders would say they have this heightened expectation of what they should be delivering, which is why founder burnout is such a big issue.

The pace is the hardest part. Being able to manage an increased pace over a long period of time, and still feel fresh and vibrant and positive is a real challenge. I’m still really excited about the potential and all the opportunities, but it’s like that graph you see online, “A Day in the Life as an Entrepreneur”, where there’s a big spike in positivity one minute and “Oh, my God, what have I done?” the next. It’s a roller coaster, and that’s just one day — not even what a whole month looks like![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ut_parallax_quote quotation_marks=”no” quote_ins_font_weight=”bold” icon=”fa fa-quote-left” icon_color=”#5d4389″ quote_color=”#5d4389″]Having an organizational compass is really important. Knowing what you stand for, your values, and what you want is key.[/ut_parallax_quote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Image credit: Derek Halpern, Social Triggers[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

If you could remove one task or responsibility from your work, what would it be?

You know the term “the devil is in the details?” I avoid the devil at all costs. Contracts, hiring, anything operational — I’m probably not even thinking of it. Andrea is much better at it, which is great, but she also has other important things to do.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What are some of the more specific pain points for you when it comes to your operations? How do you tackle them?

Most people who start a company do it because they love the work itself. For me, I love coaching, I actually love helping people. When you are successful at it, your business grows and operationally, you begin to realize there’s sea of opportunity you can’t get to, because you haven’t put things in place.

It’s actually one of the more important aspects of the business that many of us don’t want to do. Specifically, I would say hiring the right people is a challenge. If we invest in this person, what’s the potential upside? What’s the potential downside?

Contracts and billing too. We coach hundreds of people. For each of them, we need a contract and statement of work. When I’m really busy, I may forget to hand that info over to the Controller and they don’t know to expect it. We have meetings as a failsafe, but mistakes can still happen.

Keeping everybody apprised of what’s happening can also be a pain point.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ut_parallax_quote quotation_marks=”no” quote_ins_font_weight=”bold” icon=”fa fa-quote-left” icon_color=”#5d4389″ quote_color=”#5d4389″]It’s actually one of the more important aspects of the business that many of us don’t want to do.[/ut_parallax_quote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What would you say your biggest fear for the business is?

That no one is buying all of a sudden. But then I look at the likelihood of that happening and I would say it’s pretty low.

The other fear would be that we don’t have the capacity to deliver because we haven’t resourced or planned properly. We’ve been pretty good at it so far, but we started with just two of us. Now there five of us and as we grow, we have to revisit how we think about the structure.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned as a business owner?

The business is you, and it isn’t you. You’ve got to put everything into your business and make it your own and drive it forward, but its success and its failure isn’t who you are. This may sound contradictory, but you have to allow yourself to define the business, but not let the business define you.
You also have to experiment and give yourself permission to fail. If you aren’t failing a little here and there, you aren’t innovating.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ut_parallax_quote quotation_marks=”no” quote_ins_font_weight=”bold” icon=”fa fa-quote-left” icon_color=”#5d4389″ quote_color=”#5d4389″]You also have to experiment and give yourself permission to fail. If you aren’t failing a little here and there, you aren’t innovating.[/ut_parallax_quote][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What’s your favourite piece of tech for the business?

Zoom Video Conferencing because it’s robust and helpful, it’s better than Skype. We’ve tried a bunch of different video conferencing software and it has the fewest issues. I also love Calendly — our self-booking calendar. It allows our clients to book with us directly and takes the admin away from our side.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Favourite book?

I really like Daniel Pink’s, A Whole New Mind. I recommend it pretty often. It helped me look at creativity and innovation in different ways.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What are you reading right now?

I just started reading a workbook on scenario planning called What the Foresight, by Alida Draudt and Julia Rose West. It’s a light, easy read.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What are you most excited to read?

Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence, by Lisa Cron. We do a lot of work on story building, so I’m always looking for new insights to share.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Any other resources you would recommend?

If you don’t have the capability in-house, I recommend hiring a firm to help with digital marketing. We’ve been working with Marketfuze and they are doing some great work. Together, we’ve run lots of very successful campaigns, including two successful webinars.

I would also recommend not doing your finances all by yourself — hire a bookkeeper. We have a freelance bookkeeper and she has been fantastic.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1536290844738{border-radius: 3px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_message message_box_color=”grey”]

Workshop: Storybuilding and Performance for Presenters – September 28

Be sure to check out Talk Boutique’s upcoming workshop, Storybuilding and Performance for Presenters, on September 28, 2018.

Do you love to watch TED Talks? Do you marvel at the ease with which some speakers present complex information, making it easy to understand? Do you find yourself presenting or speaking in public from time to time and wish you were more confident in your performance ability?

Learn how and when to move around your stage, communicate body language confidently, use gestures and vocal intonation to powerfully engage your audience in this full-day workshop.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

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Connect with BeachHead Strategic

Struggling to grow your business? BeachHead Strategic works with small and mid-sized businesses to build a strong foundation to thrive upon. If you would like to talk about what we do, please contact me at rdrynan@islamicfinderweb.com for more information.

Know someone we should interview for our series? Send me an email.

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