10 Years of conversations

Ali and I met 10 years ago when we had both just embarked on very new journeys leaving our corporate roles to set up our own businesses. Meeting at a networking event we both connected given our similar passion for learning and development and starting out on this new adventure.

Over these 10 years we have stayed connected and shared the highs and lows, twists and turns of developing a business. Recently we got together to reflect on some of these and how these experiences have led us to where we are today.

How did you make the decision to make the leap and set up your own business?

Ali - I always knew that I wanted to run my own business since the age of 27 and I really believed that it would happen. In 2011 an opportunity arrived, I was starting to feel that my corporate role no longer aligned with my personal values and this prompted me to make a change. After a conversation and nudge of encouragement from my husband asking the question so ‘What are you going to do?' I took the plunge and decided to set up my own business and Purple Pebble People was born.

Meg - Meanwhile at a similar time I had also made the decision to leave the comfort of my corporate job role. For me the situation was a little different, I loved my job, I loved the company and the people I supported in my role but I had worked for the business for 15 years and there was a niggle that I needed to broaden my experience more by working for different businesses. The opportunity was a restructure – I didn’t see it like that at first though, it was a wrench choosing to take voluntary redundancy and push myself out of my comfort zone. Like Ali though I needed a nudge of encouragement from my support network to do it and it felt pretty scary leaving the security and stability of a leading organisation to join my husband in Cube Learning & Development.

What was the biggest learning in the early days of our businesses?

Ali - I remember how at the beginning there was a lot of learning and I was very na?ve and didn’t realise how challenging it would really be. I was optimistic and excited during the first year but didn't realise how much harder it was than I thought it would be. From learning about the financial challenges of income and cashflow through to how to find clients and business development. I thought I would be able to get work through my existing network and didn’t realise the networking that would be involved to grow the business reputation.

I remember some of this too - some key learning would be around the type of work that I said 'yes' to and also having never been the most extroverted person in the room I quickly realised that I had to go networking and ‘sell’ my offer. This felt pretty alien given I had previously always been the L&D Manager choosing external companies, so it was strange to be on the other side of the table. I hadn’t really given much thought about needing to do business development to grow the business and it wasn’t something that I thought I would be any good at.

What changed as our businesses did start to grow and develop?

Ali - I got a unique opportunity to work on a long term global project with a client which gave me the opportunity to work internationally in Europe, the Nordics, Far East, Australisia and the Americas. It was a hard decision to take the role - it meant a lot of travel and working away from home but this time felt like my diploma in world culture as I got to work with people from different work cultures, exploring how different the world really was, observing the nuances across the different countries and truly appreciating the diversity of people and seeing first hand kindness, generosity, humility that connected with my own values. This was a significant high point in my journey and the learning I took from this experience is still central to my business approach today.

For me, a few things changed – I made some brave decisions, looking back I have grown hugely in confidence, I started to build a really strong professional network and realised how important that connection with others was to me. I was also surprised by the opportunities that often came from the least expected places. I started to recognise my strengths more, know the work that energises me and when I am at my best. I also gave myself permission to invest in myself and embarked on an executive coaching qualification. In 2016 I then set up Meg Burton Coach as a separate website to run alongside Cube – it's still connected but career coaching talking directly to the coachee rather than organisations - and this felt really good and has grown ever since.

What have been the bumps and challenges along the way?

Ali - There have been some difficult times too. Sometimes it has felt really hard to balance the need to earn an income whilst remaining focused on what I want to do and the kind of work and people I wanted to help. I started to recognise the power of conversations and how through building relationships and finding my tribe of people to create a support network helped me to both navigate these ups and downs in business but also to discover new opportunities too. I really enjoyed meeting people working in the same space and saw the chance to support, collaborate and learn from each other instead of seeing each other as competitors. I believe in abundance!

I agreed with Ali - the challenges around deciding what work I wanted to do and playing to my strengths versus the need to earn an income to support my family sometimes clashed. One particular challenge was a decision to take a longer fixed term contract working 3 days a week. I felt I needed to do this for financial reasons to help support some family pressures but initially I struggled with thinking I had failed and wasn’t good enough. However, this role was such a great learning – I got to work with a group of really talented people and a great boss and it helped to re-build my confidence and self-belief.

We also talked about the recent pandemic and how this put an immediate pressure on both of our businesses but how grateful we are for the support and kindness of our loyal clients that has helped us to survive this challenging time.

How does this journey shape who we are now?

Ali - Conversations have become central to my work in learning and coaching. I feel a lot better at listening intently, being actively curious about people and now I am more able to identify the right people that fit with me. I am much more aware of how to show up in conversations. I've also learnt to set clear intentions - I think about my intentions for a meeting or networking event and what I want to leave people thinking about me.

For me the last few years in business have been really enjoyable, I have been lucky to work with such a diverse range of clients, organisations and individuals. Together with Chris, I have been able to grow our team of trusted associates to extend our capacity and work with even more people. ?I have loved coaching such a different variety of people, listening and supporting them to navigate the challenges in their career or leadership. I am grateful to my support network – all playing a different part in my story and for me I think the learning has been around resilience and grit – its been about appreciating that I can come through challenges and get over the bumps.

And what about looking to the future, what does this hold?

We both agreed that 10 years is a significant milestone and is a point of reflection to look back on the rollercoaster journey, think about the achievements, progress and highlights and learnings along the way and to look forward to the next adventures that are still to come.

Ali - For me the future is about my mission to put kindness on the agenda in the boardroom and ensuring I say 'yes' to the right things that enables my abundance thinking.

For me this about continuing to shape the future of Cube, growing our team of excellent associates and working with clients that we love. We are excited about the next decade and what this will bring.

In summary, the learning we want to share with others who are maybe thinking about making the leap;

1. It takes courage
2. It’s hard at times – often harder than maybe you think it will be
3. Relationships are crucial to success – develop a support network
4. Listen intently to learn and know others
5. Know yourself well – know what you do and don’t want

A big thank you to Ali for sharing – if you want to know more about Ali’s leadership programmes, intuitive coaching, art of conversation and kindness agenda work please get in touch with her at Purple Pebble People and if you want to get in touch with me for leadership and career coaching support, you can find me at Cube Learning & Development or Meg Burton Coach

If you have been in business for a decade we would love to hear your thoughts on your journey and how it has shaped who you are today – let us know in the comments.

Be kind

Meg & Ali