Running a business is a big thing. It takes many kinds of skills such as market understanding, good contacts, technology understanding, forward thinking, team management, financial management, corporate governance, constant learning, communicating, presentation skills and so forth.
Some individuals are a natural; they start a company of their own and immediately there is a perfect fit. They adjust themselves to the flow and succeed. Financial rewards and satisfaction follow.
On the flip side, there are some geniuses, which may be exceptionally good in certain skills, but they get into this entrepreneurial ship and find that they are probably in the wrong direction. They feel burnt out and quit bitterly.
That was the situation Ruth Schwartz was in many years back. She was running a music distribution business worth millions of dollars. She felt great about it, but that industry was declining, nothing was going right for anyone she was staring at an uncertain future, feeling very exhausted.
Today, Ruth meets such exhausted business owners and executives every day. She tells them, ‘I have been there, done that, I will help you come out of this situation, it is much easier than what you think. Let me help you!’
Ruth Schwartz is a very successful business and executive coach, based out of Nevada, California. She runs a popular and useful website called “High Performance Advocates” .
How did Ruth Schwartz make the transformation from a distribution field expert to the business and executive coach? Aren’t they two different industries?
‘I started my entrepreneurial journey in my college days itself’ says Ruth Schwartz, ‘I worked with partners to produce a number of successful radio programs, then we ran an international magazine, a record store, mail order business, even a private records label.’
All these may sound as different industries, but there was a common thread. Ruth Schwartz liked thinking ahead. She constantly thought of doing things differently and uniquely.
After finishing college, she joined a company working on music distribution vertical. After few years, she decided to quit her job and start something on her own.
That was a great decision. She spent next twenty five years creating a ten Million Dollar company. At the same time, she created a high performance company. People loved working for her. They were standing in a queue to join her company, which had a great work culture, attracting everyone.
However, an industry meltdown forced her to sell off the company she loved creating. There was no other option.
What next?
Twenty five years is a lot of experience. Ruth Schwartz can easily use it as a base to work for someone else in the distribution business, or create a new company distributing something else.
But, she was very exhausted at that time. She wanted to do something different.
While trying to choose a new business, she thought a lot about her previous company, and what went right, and what went wrong. What she could have done differently to get a better result.
That’s when she thought about this, ‘There must be many executives having similar problems, Why not help them by sharing this with them?’
Entrepreneurship is a very hot topic today. With the invent of internet technologies, anyone and everyone can start a company easily. They can build a good product for few years, and sell it off to a bigger player, making millions. This unique combination of money plus satisfaction drives many people towards this.
However, not every entrepreneur sells out and becomes a millionaire. Even those who do need to cross a difficult journey before getting there.
On the way, there will be exhaustion; there will be days when they feel burnt out; they want to throw everything and go join somewhere else.
This is the difficult pat that Ruth Schwartz helps them overcome. She helps them understand the situation and handle it in the best possible manner, with a new viewpoint.
So, how Ruth manages this? Is there a secret sauce?
‘The secret sauce is that there is no secret sauce’ laughs Ruth Schwartz. ‘Many times when these businessmen call me; I don’t know anything about them. I need to start from the very basic questions on what went wrong, understand the pain points and carefully think of the alternatives.’
This is where resources come into the picture. Ruth Schwartz believes we have many resources at our disposal when we are in a bad situation. But many times, we don’t realize that they exist because the situation has made us momentarily blind.
That’s when Ruth Schwartz throws her guiding light and asks them to think about the possibilities. This happens when they look at things in a different way. Traditional thinking won’t help much in this situation.
‘I realize that most of the times the problem is that they have lost their purpose’, says Ruth Schwartz. ‘Once you make them understand it and connect them with that, this reestablishment makes them take a harder look at their team, their industry, their business strategy, goals and plans. That gives them the tactical understanding and vision.’
Of course, it is not a magic solution. It is a slow and detailed process, as long as the clients are open and forward thinking; Ruth Schwartz makes a good match and the transformation happens very easily.
In some cases, companies as well as people want to think traditionally only. In those scenarios, Ruth Schwartz feels coaching won’t help much. ‘You have to be open to possibilities!’
Business and executive coaching is not a new field. There seems to be one coach in every corner. How Ruth Schwartz differentiates herself and what are her tips to the new professionals out there?
‘The word coach is often confused with a therapist and a consultant’ Ruth Schwartz says with a laugh. ‘This is a difference that coaches should understand first. You need to think about what you can offer, what is your strength and focus on that, instead of trying to do something good for everybody!’
‘In my case, I am very strong in two things: Coaching people who are young or not-so-young in business aspects, and building great, high performing, energetic teams. I decided to make both of them my strengths, and I could make a genuine difference to my clients. They respect this and the journey is great for both of us!’
To learn more visit http://www.highperformanceadvocates.com