As a professional, do you ever find yourself getting a little complacent? Do you find that there are days when it’s easier just to stay in the comfort zone than to venture out and stretch your boundaries? Of course! We all do. But when we have too many of those days in the comfort zone – and they stretch to weeks or months (hopefully not years!), it can be difficult to re-energize yourself and move forward with goals, visions, etc. That’s why, it’s so important to have a written plan for your goals and to revisit it regularly. And that’s true not just for your business or professional goals but also your personal goals. How often have you said something like, “This is the year that I learn to speak French!” But then you don’t buy the books, or the online classes, or register for a live class. And at the end of the year – amazingly, you don’t speak French!
One of my goals during 2015 was to finally (finally!) fulfill my dream of developing a training program for accountants to assist them with generating sales and building their practices. I unveiled my “Jumpstart Your Rainmaking” program in late October, and am excited to put it into full motion (see below) in 2016! But to avoid some confusion for my clients and long-time colleagues, I wanted to share a little more.
Why was this a dream for me, and why did it take so long to get here?
- It’s been a dream of mine to share transformational type knowledge with others in my profession. I have a talent for taking a difficult concept and breaking it down into manageable pieces for my audience. I have had much success doing that in presentations related to multi-state tax – which can be confusing and boring if not presented correctly. There is no greater success than to know that your words, actions, or energy touched someone and moved them to positive action. I want to feel more of that.
- It’s a realistic dream to share Rainmaking skills with others in the accounting and finance professions because they are my people. I get it! I understand about busy season. I know that many of us in the profession are introverts and don’t really want to go out and network. But I also know that being good at Rainmaking will lead to success – both for those of you who want to start your own practices, or those who aspire to get promoted to partner in a firm setting. Yet many people don’t know where to start or how to work around the seasonality of the profession. That’s where I can help.
- It took me a while to get here because, for the past 14 years, I’ve been generating business and making rain for my successful multi-state tax consulting business, helping companies deal with sales tax and income tax issues in 50 states. I’ve weathered several law changes that have negatively impacted my business, a couple of recessions, and general business hurdles – including all those “marketing” things like defining (and re-defining) my target market, and determining (and re-determining) good referral partners. It’s hard work. And there are still just 24 hours in the day. So, maybe it’s crazy to want to branch off a little of my time to follow this dream. But there’s not one person that I’ve shared my passion with that has said, “Monika, you’re crazy. Don’t do this.” In fact, many have asked what took me so long.
So, welcome to Jumpstart Your Rainmaking!
What is it? And it’s not just one thing. It’s a lot of things all related to helping people who sell professional services to do it better:
- Jumpstart Your Rainmaking is this series of blogs that you can find here every Friday!
- It’s a 90 – 120 minute presentation that covers Rainmaking principles at a high level to get you thinking about steps in the right direction. (I presented it at the AFWA National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA in October 2015.)
- It is a 3 part webinar series that we’re kicking off in January to really get your creative juices flowing and help you to develop a Rainmaking plan for 2016, so that next December you can check off a few more of those boxes on your goal sheet.
- It’s a program offered to CPA firms who’d like to put their selected staff members through a multiple week training course, complete with milestones and interactive sessions to help them unlock some of the Rainmaking mysteries.
- It can be a combination of all of those, and then more. It’s evolving all the time.
So, I invite you to check it out. You’re already here, reading this. (Thank you, by the way!) So you’ve experienced part of it! The next easy entry point is to sign up for the Jumpstart 3 part webinar series in January. It’ll be held January 6, 13 and 20th. Click here for more information and to sign up. It’s a great way to experience the program, put a plan in place before busy season, and start the New Year off with a bang.
Go on, get out of your comfort zone. You’ve got plenty of time to hang out in the comfort zone over the holidays. Use part of your January to set the stage for all of 2016 – the year you make more rain. (And if you’re in California, you’ll be in good company, if all that talk of “El Nino” is really true. We should be stomping through the rain in 2016!)
Bonne Annee et bon chance! (See, I did take that French class too!!)
