Introducing: Marjorie Wharton, Transformational Coach at Breakthrough Performance Coaching

What is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.?The process of setting up a business?is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures (source: www.investopedia.com)

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Introduction

Today we feature the story of Marjorie Wharton.

Marjorie is a leadership development trainer, a strategic planning facilitator, a personal development and executive coach, a podcaster, and the host of LinkedIn Local Barbados.

She spent 20 years working at the UWI Cave Hill School Of Business where she developed programmes, conducted training, and provided consultancy services for hundreds of people, organizations and projects across the Caribbean. Born in Barbados, Marjorie was raised by her grandparents, which led to her love of reading and for learning.

Q. What events led you to this path and how long have you been in business?

A. The events which led me to this path are a little bit complicated. I always wanted to own my own business even before I decided to go to university. However after I went to university and completed my first-degree I took the option of looking for employment instead. And so I put the idea of owning a business out of my head for 15 years.

Eventually I attended a training program which included certification for becoming a coach. Part of the program was to create and establish your coaching practice as a business. So I did that in 2018 as part of the certification process and registered the business; for two years it was a side hustle which I did not put my full energy or attention into.

Fast forward now to 2020, in the middle of the pandemic and the business school took the decision to change my contract from full-time to part-time employment. What that meant was that my job was made redundant and I would then be hired as needed to do training or consulting. To my mind therefore I had no choice but to go into pursuing my business on a full-time basis. Thus began my journey into entrepreneurship.

I always tell people that I was pushed into it rather than jumping into it.

?Q. Who has been your biggest supporter on your journey?

A. For me it has not been any one person. Rather, I have a group of colleagues and friends who have been staunch supporters, mentors, peer coaches and guides to help me along in this process. The four that I would mention are Joan Underwood, Jeannine Comma, Sonia Layne-Gartside and Richard Blades. For me these four individuals have really been there to give me great advice, to give me support and guidance, to provide mentorship, to offer support and really make available, networking for opportunities.

I have found that at the beginning stages of running a business there is a lot that you do not know and a lot you do not consider. So I would recommend to anyone who is going through this process that they also get themselves a group of people who can support them.

Like I said, for me there are a lot more people who contribute and who pour into this journey and into what I am doing, but those that I have mentioned, are I think, the four that I interact with the most on an almost daily basis.

Q. What is the one biggest challenge you have faced so far and how did you overcome it?

A. The biggest challenge I would say is growing my business to the point of getting sustainable, dependable and consistent revenue streams. When you start out, there are always one or two initiatives that come along and you enjoy working on them.

However, the move to find and keep a cadre of clients who need your services on a continuous basis takes time and a robust sales process. That has not been a part of my skill set and so I have had to develop those skills. I cannot say that I have overcome it. Not yet. I am still in the process of learning and implementing the steps needed to get to a consistent and sustainable point of operating.

What I would say is the biggest take away or learning for me is to be willing to ask for the business.

So often I find that we provide the value, we offer the free coaching or training or other kind of service but we do not go on to say to the person that we would want them to also buy from us. Somehow directly asking for the sale feels unnatural and forced. However, I have learned that successful individuals are willing to ask for the business and they are also willing to accept when the answer is no because they recognize that it could mean not now rather than not ever.?

Q. Did the pandemic affect your business in anyway i.e. did you have to implement a Plan B due to Covid-19?

A. For me the short answer is no. That is simply because I was not pursuing my business full-time before the pandemic. I will say that my anticipation before the pandemic was that I would move forward with the business focusing on face-to-face training and online coaching. However, with the start of Covid and the big shift to doing online activities, I saw the value of implementing more online sessions into my business activities. This has meant that I deliver a significant portion of my corporate training or my free webinars using online methodologies.?

Q. What are your top 3 goals for the future?

A. My first goal -> I am launching an online course in September and my goal is to offer managers and leaders the opportunity to improve their effectiveness in functioning in their roles. I want it to be successful and with a good number of students in the first group.

My second goal -> to launch a robust membership group for persons who want to stop feeling stuck and start feeling empowered. To these members I will provide the information, tools, resources and support they need to accomplish their vision for themselves. I also get questions from people who are trying to decide what their next step should be; discussing the answers to these types of questions would bring us together as well for group sessions.

My third goal -> to work with more corporate clients. I believe that we have a lot of potential in the region.

However, many employees across organizations are frustrated, stressed and feeling burnt out. Many of them are complaining about the style of their managers and feel like their organization does not offer an enabling environment for work. My goal is to collaborate with more organizations to help them understand the needs of their staff, what it takes to provide a high-performing environment so that their staff can improve their productivity, and strategically decide how to position themselves to make the most of upcoming potential opportunities.?

Q. Name one thing that you currently do to go above and beyond your clients’/customers’ expectations.

A.My coaching clients always express their amazement at how quickly they were able to see a change in themselves and how they changed the way that they think in order to make it happen.

Our focus is always on results and I have found that my coaching appeals most to people who have an issue, they want to deal with it and then move on. So I focus on empowering them to take their win forward.

Q. What was the best advice you ever received and who gave it to you?

A. "Try something new." It came from a client who was working that out in her own life.?However, at the time that she said it, there was real resonance in my head and it really helped me to deal with a situation I was finding challenging.

Q. How do you spend your free time?

A. Reading books or watching movies. I am a fan of the Bridgerton series on Netflix.?I read the books years ago and it is exciting to see them brought to life through Shonda Rhimes’ eyes.

I also love super hero movies so I watch both the Marvel movies and those from DC. I thought that Zack Snyder’s Justice League was the best thing ever.

?Q. What is something most people do not know about you?

A. I am an introvert. It is true that I have a low score but I do see the tendencies in myself and I embrace it.?However, I am a talkative introvert. I used to get in trouble for talking too much when I was growing up. Also, I have a big voice which means that people in the next room can hear me even without shouting, so I always say that I was blessed with the tools for my profession. Now, if only I could transfer it into my singing voice.?LOL!

Q. What advice would you offer to anyone thinking of becoming a full-time entrepreneur?

A. Take your time. Do not rush into anything. Success is not a consistent upward climb. You may find that your business goes through "feasts and famine".

You will need to be multi-skilled especially in the beginning when you may not have money to outsource activities. However, if there is something that you love to do and you want to pursue, go for it. Just understand that most success takes time to build.

?Q. You mentioned your course earlier but you've also created other online resources, can you share a little more information for us?

A. Well, I created the course "Using Your Behavioural Preferences to Achieve More" because I recognized there was a need for it. Managers want to get better and they need to know that it starts with them understanding themselves, building their own skills, and then using those skills to sell their vision while helping others grow as they work to make the vision a reality.

I also created two ebooks. The first one, entitled “You Do Not Need To Be Perfect” is A Recovering Perfectionist's Guide To Getting Things Done. The second one, entitled “The Happiness Handbook” offers Guidelines for Improving Your Happiness Level. These are my dowloadable guides, in addition to the Adult colouring books. I see all of this as creating resources that can help users; it's a part of what I do.

?Q. What services/products do you offer your clients and how do potential customers find you?

A. My company provides:

• coaching services
• leadership training
• strategic planning facilitation.

I also present at conferences and provide free webinars. If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn (@marjoriewharton) you will be able to get in touch with me and access free content.

You'll also find me on the Instagram Live talk show that I host with Sonia Layne-Gartside, the Dollars and Sense Series that I host with Marcia Cyrus or any of the events for LinkedIn Local Caribbean.

You can also follow my company page on LinkedIn, Breakthrough Performance Coaching: https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/btp-coaching/

Feel free to reach out to Marjorie here ????

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