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Last week I got the chance to chat with Patricia Burgess. Patricia has been successful in many different aspects of business for the last 30 years, areas such as: Supply Chain Management, Consulting, Mentorship and so on. Not to mention she raised two now adult children and is grandmother to four girls ages 6 to almost 18 years old, which is very impressive, given her success. I wanted to ask Patricia how she was able to scale herself and her business to the level of success that she has now and, thankfully, she was able to give me some good insight.
How did you get started in business? What motivated you?
“It all started on a spring day in 2009 when I found out, for the third year in a row, that I would not be receiving a raise or a yearly bonus, along with losing my benefits, so I decided I had enough and went into business for myself. Having no college degree or experience of being my own boss, it obviously brought adversity, but I knew if I was going to have the life that I desired it was going to be because I made it that way, and not because someone else gave it to me.”
What is the name of your company?
“I am Co-founder of AnswerSpring, a membership community, primarily for independent consultants, where we are focused on connecting authentic people (consulting solutions) with real opportunities (client challenges).”
Do you want to scale your membership community?
“Yes, I want to serve more people in order to reach my ultimate mission.”
What is your ultimate mission?
“My goal is to grow my business revenue to be in a position to give back at least 50% of revenue, while on a mission to impact 1 million children by 2029 #10to1, so they not only survive, but thrive to make their own impact and leave a legacy.”
What are some ways that you can scale AnswerSpring?
“We need to continue to tap into our own networks, meaning, people we know and people that our people know – referrals and such. Then we need to increase our social media presence and start telling our story. Creating a movement to attract positive attention. This will help us grow a following and attract more members. Lastly, we need to work with our corporate clients to increase the number of available opportunities, utilizing our members to fill their roles.”
What are some ways that you find opportunities for your members?
“We use referrals, LinkedIn jobs, and other job boards.”
Do you normally do a onetime consultation, or do you usually have clients that you continuously work with on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis?
“Engagements with Clients (Opportunities) – are generally multi-month or multi-year in duration. Consultants maintain membership during duration of engagement and sometimes continue in between to maintain access to the tools and opportunities.”
What would you say to someone starting their own business?
“1. Master a skill that can be monetized.
2. Build a network that you can serve.
3. Save money to pay the bills until your business can pay you.”
Apart from your mission to impact 1 million children, do you have any other reasons why you push so hard to achieve success?
“I push so hard, showing what’s possible, so my children and grandchildren dream big and find the courage to go after their dreams.”
Do you like to read? What are some of your favorite books?
“Yes, I like to read, although listen more now than read. Some of my favorites are:
1. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
3. The Goal – Eli Goldratt”
What are some things you do to de-stress or recharge?
“I don’t stress about most things; I find that to be super draining. I manage most aspects of my life by living very intentionally. When I do need to decompress and recharge, beyond my daily routine of gratitude journaling, I like the occasional binge-watching TV, or grab my camera and set out for an adventure.”
If you could meet and talk with anyone, dead or alive; who would it be?
“Jeff Bezos, a big vision guy that also makes things happen! Being a big thinker with a bias for action myself, it would be the pinnacle of my career to collaborate on the next disruptive technology in supply chain management with Mr. Bezos.”
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