Model how I, as an
unemployed, homeless and pregnant singleton morphed into
the entrepreneurial mother®
According to recent statistics in the Wall Street Journal from the Centre for Women's Business Research in the U.S.A and given the performance of my Mother of a Business prior to the sale, I was placed as one of only 3% of women-owned businesses with revenue of $1million or more…
(& I bet that percentage is a whole lot smaller again if being the only breadwinner was also taken into account)
Only 3%, is that all?
Me, are you kidding?
But, it's true... look…
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Build your Mother of a Business as an Asset too…
"What Am I Supposed To Do Then?"
The good news is - this isn't a problem. It's a HUGE opportunity.
I too dreamt of changing my lot. And change I did!
It all started back in 1997 when (to quickly recap if you're not familiar with my story)… within the space of two weeks; I resigned from my regular high-paying international management consultant job, I sold where I was living, and I had a pregnancy test confirmed.
So much to my surprise, at the ripe old age of 36, I found myself unemployed, homeless and pregnant, in a single kind of way!
Despite not only my shock, but also those nearest and dearest to me, I was forced to FOCUS on making a decision about DOing something because I basically had NO CHOICE!
The bottomline was, and still is, that I am solely responsible for the bottomline!
There was to be NO financial support coming my way from anyone or anywhere else other than me (except for a little from the government in the form of welfare, initially).
I was (and still am) the primary and only breadwinner.
Is it my preference to handle all this single-handedly? NO
But being a realist; it is what it is, so I've made the most of it.
As you can appreciate I had to work out how to survive when I found myself in the predicament I did, and low & behold much to my delight, my entrepreneurial spirit was well and truly ignited.
The time to start the Design of MY Life had arrived!
Talking to as many people as possible was the way I started; searching, searching... I wasn't really sure what else to do.
After many, many conversations, I was invited by an ex-Consulting colleague to set up the Melbourne office of the then Sydney-based aCE Resources (now aCE talentNET).
As good fortune would have it and as Daughter grew, so did the business.
After taking over aCE talentNET completely at a national level in 2000, I built this Mother of a Business to the point where it turned over 7-figures in 2009-10 and 2010-11; all in guilt-free school hours.
(Note: despite being Sold, this Mother of a Business is still going strong, just not with me now at the helm).
Part of #buildbusiness via #exitstrategy to #sellbusiness was to take on a business partner in 2004. The following is what she's had to say…
You have always been an inspiration to me, and also a coach, mentor, business partner but above all a friend. You are indeed inspiring… having overcome a lot of hurdles that may have sent some women screaming, you have faced them all head-on in your interminable style. This is a testament to that as it got me thinking… congratulations
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Then came the invitation to feature in the Secrets Exposed series of books, by Dale Beaumont...
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This book gets you up close and personal with thirteen amazing women, who share the stories of what got them to where they are…
I can't remember if I actually thanked you for sending me your book and sharing your story. I remember telling everybody else on the planet to read it for some inspiration, but I don't think I actually told the person who mattered most – you!! I was just looking at the book now and it dawned on me. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. You're just amazing. I so loved your story. I smiled throughout it because I saw so many similarities with mine. But you were far quicker to sort your shit out and get back up on your feet and make the most of it. You really are amazing – a lot of strength there. You must be incredibly proud of yourself. Honestly, your story rocks! And I know it has inspired anyone who has read it. You are one of those real people with real shit happening we can all relate to. Trish Morgan |
After that, the next exciting chapter was working out how to best CASH OUT, maximising its FULL VALUE, freeing me up to move on to my next Mother of a Business....
This was my third Mother of a Business that I built and sold. Granted, the other two were not as big but the learning was still equally as applicable. In fact the structure of the sale of Business#2 really helped my thinking with this one.
All of which resulted in aCE talentNET being SOLD in June 2011. Whilst 2 years in the making, the most favourable outcome was that it sold for 3x multiple (more on what this means at a later stage...). A fabulous result, given the particular market at that point in time.
It was definitely the largest Asset I'd ever sold!
This in turn has led me to my next "career move", that of not only assisting other businesses get ready for sale, but also to specialise in EXIT Execution Excellence.
In other words, by selling my Mother of a Business it has freed me up to work with you, and your "mothers group", on renovating your Mother of a Business ready for sale, and getting it SOLD…
#buildbusiness via #exitstrategy to #sellbusiness
Want to know even more about me… Linkedin is as good a place as any!
http://au.linkedin.com/in/denisehall
Go girl! I am so proud of you. Stet that. I am even more proud of you. It’s great to see you conquering the business world. Your unique, irrepressible optimistic personality shone through the words. Thank you. Blue Lime (New York) Innovation Ideation & Insight |