Stephanie Gorton: How My Corporate Experience In Corporate Benefitted My Entrepreneurial Journey
Stephanie took the risk. In under two years, she created a 6 figure business with over 3000 Perth-based customers and 200 sold-out events and workshops. She’s now a business coach and mentor, and one thing that brought her success was her significant experience in the corporate world.
Complaining about your job and the excessive workload has become a common thing to do. However, suggested the idea of becoming an entrepreneur, you say: “That’s not for me,” which is another way to express that you are afraid because you feel unprepared.
What If I told you the skills you have as an employee are needed when scaling one’s business?
Let’s look at Stephanie Gorton. Stephanie crafted successful careers working in management for ALDI and Michael Page. She had a beautiful apartment in Perth, grand friends, and a superb job but lacked purpose and motivation. When her partner Tim suggested she start her business, she thought: “I’m not smart enough, that life isn’t for me.”
Becoming an entrepreneur never crossed her mind. “I had this view that being successful meant doing something extraordinary. That you needed some rare skill. Which I felt I didn’t have,” until she acknowledged how unhappy she was.
Guilt built up inside, telling her she should enjoy what she got: A job and financial stability. But how important is money when you are miserable?
Stephanie took the risk. In under two years, she created a 6 figure business with over 3000 Perth-based customers and 200 sold-out events and workshops. She’s now a business coach and mentor, and one thing that brought her success was her significant experience in the corporate world.
People downgrade corporate jobs, but having this experience is beneficial. Stephanie shares she developed empathy to understand her clients’ situation. She knows the fear of the unknown, the pain of the journey, the bitter truths untold.
One of the most critical skills Steph learned was team management, a crucial factor that helped her scale her business. “Once you have a team, be mindful of making them feel supported. Learn their love languages and connect with them so you can inspire and motivate them in a way that resonates, rather than just being a boss and dishing out tasks.” She says, “If you were managed poorly, you know it is important to work in a place you feel seen and heard.”
Stephanie learned to be resilient in front of an environment that shut down her ideas because they didn’t fit her employer’s brand. “In Corporate, management is often so terrible because they are hiring fast, sometimes there’s no training.” She learned what to avoid and ensured her team had a voice at the big table.
She also inherited the play-hard mentality, learning to strive and take no lazy shortcuts to get solid results. Hard work is everything to succeed. You need to get busy, eliminate excuses and make critical decisions. “Being in corporate allows you to see how beneficial being a small business owner is.” She detected the problems contaminating the workplace culture and made them better. “We can provide better customer support, a more personalized service, and better accountability than big corporate machines.”
Now that you know that you have some of the essential skills to take action, all you need is trust in your capabilities. One ultimate thing that can allow you to foster confidence and belief is chatting with people who already were in your shoes. You can schedule a meeting with Stephanie today for free.