More on Teach for America, those phone calls, and my Master Plan!

So why start a business, when Teach for America seemed to be the logical next step?

As excited and passionate as I am about TFA, I don't believe it is my destiny. Without a doubt, it will remain a cause near and dear to my heart. I fully intend on supporting, promoting, and doing my little part to ensure the program's continued success. I just don't believe that my role is to actually be one of their teachers, especially if you consider that the application process is nearly a year long, and though you can select preferred cities to be placed in, there is no guarantee that you will be offered a position in your desired locale. Looking back on my passions and self-truths, especially the part about my love for the City of Angels, I knew my path was not leading me to Teach for America. But I truly look forward to the day they come and hit my business up for a donation, and I can say, YES!!

Let's get back to those phone calls for a moment. After I received the news from my boss, I was of course, upset. But there was also a strange feeling of relief battling for position with the uneasiness. There was an underlying calm, and little voice that told me not to worry. I was not scared. Then the fact that I was not afraid started to scare me. Go figure! HOLY CRAP, life would never be the same as I knew it, and yet I was not worried. Is there something wrong with me?

The best I can liken the feeling to is the day I moved to Los Angeles from Indiana. I was about to begin my freshman year at USC. It was mid-August, 1999, and I was a few days shy of my 18th birthday. I arrived in California, and my big brother picked me up at the airport. We were waiting at baggage claim for my luggage, and he asked me how I felt, whether I was excited, scared, or what? I told him calmly that I was happy, and ready. "That's it?" he asked, almost disappointed at my lack of enthusiasm. "Yeah, and I'm a tired," I responded. He laughed, and commented that my life was about to change, and he couldn't believe I didn't have more to say about that. I just smiled, and looked for my bags. It was then that he gave me the nickname Mellow Yellow. That's the first time attention was ever called to my gift.

Maybe I should have felt something more. Maybe my brother knew something more. Whatever the case, this inner calm has served me well in life, and it's only recently that I've begun to understand where it comes from: Logic, respect, and confidence. At times I've lost touch with the calm. We all do. But looking back on life thus far, I can honestly say my greatest victories have always coincided with my ability to summon the calm.

After I hung up with my boss, I almost immediately called my rock, Jeannine. She provided the first, positive words of encouragement, and dabbled in the realm of new options. She suggested that we open a restaurant, because people will always need to eat, and we both love food, and what could be more trustworthy than a business partnership with your best friend? Joking, or not, I felt better for talking to her, and the idea of having my own business was refreshed in my mind. It was not the first time I had considered doing my own thing, not by a long shot. But it was the first time the idea was proposed when I didn't have a stable day job to fall back on. For once, I would not have to walk away from anything to pursue my own business, but I was not yet sold.

A few hours later I spoke with my neighbor, Shawn. He encouraged me not to rush into making a plan. Instead, Shawn recommended that I begin taking notes on my passions, strengths and things that bring me happiness. He wanted me to think about following my heart, and not my wallet. I drove around that afternoon, pulling over every time the inspiration hit. I took pictures, dabbled notes, and slowly made my way home, all the while enjoying the calm. I looked, listened, and followed anything that caught my attention that day. I ended up sitting on an old cement bench and wrote the following:

The next chapter. Literally and figuratively. Today I open my eyes and begin the rest of my life. With the support of my friends, business associates, alumni connections, and my own self-determination. I set forth with more confidence than ever before, and I will succeed, and I will impact other people's lives for good. I have the tools and motivation to be the best me and extract the best in others. I will become richer in experience than money could ever afford me and through that expereince I will bring value to the world. To become complacent is human. To transcend the here and how is the challege. I accept wholeheartedly. And I know the power of my words. Written here, right now... I pledge to take action. I will do this. You'll see.

I was not sure what to think of all this. Rather than try to make sense of it, I promised myself to embrace it and listen to my inner voice, and be constantly looking for ways to put it all into action. As I wrote, I began to think that someday I too, could write an inspirational book, like the ones I've been reading lately. I've never had aspirations of becoming a writer, but as I considered the impact my words and story could have on someone else, the idea didn't seem like such a longshot. Next step, go out and make myself a huge success so that people want to read about how I did it!

A few days went by and my ideas were hitting a brick wall. Other than painting and sketching, teaching art, playing tennis, coaching, travelling to exotic locations, becoming a dayspa or food critic, spending time with friends and family and miraculously figuring out a way to train Jeannine's dogs... I had no concrete idea what the heck I wanted to do.

There were a few business plans that I had considered in the past:
1) Starting an after-school tennis program for kids in South Central with the endorsement of the Williams sisters, since they are from here. Alternate options included getting the support of long-time philanthropist and my first tennis hero, Andre Agassi, or somehow pursuading Maria Sharapova that her involvement in something like this would do wonders for her popularity and public perception... as if she needs it.
2) Taking a lesson from my friend Oli's book, and pioneering an Emagine program of my own. Again, a seriously lofty goal, for which I don't really have the proper training... and more than anything, I think I like the idea of it, and the end result is obviously desirable. But without any background in education, I don't think this is what I'm meant to do.
3) Going the complete opposite end of the spectrum and designing the most frivolously high-end luxury country club for Marina del Rey, so the residents of this wonderful place don't ever have to battle traffic to get to Mountaingate or Bel Air, or Brentwood, or Beverly Hills Country Club, or anywhere else. Aside from the fact that this last option is so ridiculous and unneccessary, I decided that it did absolutely no good for the community, and thus, would get me no closer to leaving my positive mark on the world.

Back to the drawing board. Next plan was to tap into the various social, professional and personal networks I've built over the years, get myself another regular job. But this time it would be different. I would keep considering what I wanted to do that would make my heart sing... later on, and make the move when I knew what I really wanted.

I called my old contact, the recruiter. She asked me questions about my area of expertise, and I told her that I was interested in trying to get into sales of something other than O-Rings. I explained to her that now, since I had outside sales experience, I should be well qualified to sell anything. Her take was, you should stick to selling what you know about. I obviously didn't like her feeling, but she is the recruiter, so I agreed, because I did not want to show her any disrespect.

As soon as I hung up with her, the wheels started turning, and my Master Plan was born. I didn't need a recruiter to get me another job I'm not passionate about. Hell No! I would heed part of her advice, and follow my strengths. Let's see... I have a business degree, solid sales experience, a strong network of contacts, at least a handful of past customers who believe in me enough to offer me jobs, even in this crappy economy. As the recruiter brought to my attention, I know O-Rings. But more than that, I have an idea how O-Ring distrubutors do business. What if, rather than working for one of my old customers, I could provide value to ALL of my past customers? What if I could provide them with more economical ways of running their business, while still maintaining the integrity of their core beliefs? What if I could build myself a team of allies to support the areas I don't have expertise in, and focus solely on what I am good at? The answers were all Yes.

I will be a business consultant! Not only that, but I will be a different kind of consultant than anyone had ever seen. I will offer my services for free, at least until I have built up enough of a customer base to sustain the business on referrals, and then I will consider charging an up-front fee. I will target small businesses that are struggling in this economy, and I will be paid solely on a percentage of the projected money I will save the business. There is zero cost to the business owner to have me take a look. After thorough analysis, I will submit my proposals, with due respect to any elements the owner deems non-negotiable and intrinsic to the nature of their company.

I called my brother. I was not planning on mentioning anything about my business idea to him, but then the words just started spilling out. The feedback was positive, complete confidence in my idea, with only one question. Will I be able to sustain myself until the money starts rolling in? A very good point, and certainly one that must be considered thoroughly. In the end I decided that if I had to, I could take on a part-time bartending job at night. That would keep my days free for appointments and phone calls, while bringing in enough to live on, with the added bonus of additional networking opportunities with the people I would inevitably meet at the bar.

We said goodbye, I got out a notepad and began frantically writing down all the words, ideas, alliances, potential roadblocks, possible criticisms, and any other random thoughts that came to mind. Yes, it's all happening...