All The Magic Tricks Are Hard Until You Master Them

Sometimes it's hard for me to recognize this competent amazing professional woman as she is today.?

The first time I met her she was a 14-year-old girl on her way to a Madonna concert with my daughter, both dressed in the style of the pop star's?"Like a Virgin" music video. I remember fishnet stockings, doc marten shoes, lace fingerless gloves, and shocks of hair gathered into pumped-up ponytails that sprouted from an off-center spot on their heads.?

Stephanie and my daughter were on the cheerleading squad in high school together, although her competitive nature found more fuel by being on the track and field running hurdles.?

Today, the hurdles are all business-related, and she is still sailing over the obstacles.?

Out of all women-led companies,?there are only 4.2% that generate more than $1 million in annual revenue. We are fortunate to be coaching a terrific woman on her journey,?Ms. Stephanie Konkel, owner and founder of?Kensington Valley Varsity?and?Image Pros Custom Apparel, located in Brighton, Michigan.?

Through an equal measure of grit, determination, and native talent, she has built a remarkable company that has grown from her solo-preneur days to the present, employing just under 20 people.?

Her business is described on her website as follows:?

Since starting in 2005, Kensington Valley Varsity has had one main goal: design and deliver high-quality apparel,?spiritwear, and?varsity jackets?to Michigan schools, businesses, organizations, and individuals, while focusing on providing exceptional customer service. Since then, we have partnered with our customers to bring their creative visions to life, making our initial goal a reality. We're experts in?screen printing,?embroidery, graphic design, and?vinyl transfer?for any project!

As we work with her and understand her challenges more clearly,?I appreciate that Stephanie's hidden assets are solid leadership and the ability to inspire and manage the employees she leads with compassion. Her style is fair but firm.?As a leader, showing up as fair and firm is a gift to the staff, as your actions indicate that you are trustworthy.??

And as any business owner knows, the hurdles keep coming.?An expensive computerized machine designed to improve efficiency sits idle, waiting for professional implementation and training.?The salesperson who promised "all the things" that would happen due to this purchase is long gone.

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As we move through our day-to-day routines, the lost opportunity costs of being willing to learn and adapt to what is new to us result in the lost cost of business growth -?a business, like any person, is either growing or dying.?

We are privileged as coaches to work with people who understand that the buck stops with them.?The entrepreneurs we work with are responsible, creative, hardworking people who create a wake of success in the path behind them that their employees can fold their lives into.?

Hats off to Ms. Stephanie Konkel for every hard knock she has learned from and her willingness to keep on setting a great example.?She makes it look almost easy.?

All magic tricks are hard until you master them.?Stephanie has mastered the art of entrepreneurial success.

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