The Savvy Entrepreneur

“… a great, uplifting story for anyone about what you can do to overcome obstacles in your life with some grit, humor, fierce will and determination.” — Pam Slim, of Escape from Cubicle Nation

In addition to my Coaching Week blog interviews, I interviewed fellow Canadian, Glenda Watson Hyatt, author of I’ll Do It Myself, as part of her “40 Blogs in 40 (Business) Days” book tour. I thought Glenda’s marketing strategy of promoting her self-published autobiography virtually was an ingenious idea, so I jumped on the opportunity to interview her.

Today, Glenda and I discuss specific challenges she faces as an entrepreneur, wife and author. Her love for life and passion for what she does truly is an inspiration.

Oh… and by the way, Glenda has cerebral palsy. She typed her entire book (and this interview) with her left thumb!!

How did you juggle client work, the huge project of writing an autobiography, household responsibilities, family time and still having a life?
Balance is definitely not one of my strengths! When I dive into a project, I put my all into it. And, unfortunately, other parts of my life are neglected. I have had to rewash a few loads of laundry because I didn’t swap them over to the dryer soon enough. My sweet husband Darrell frequently makes supper so that I can continue working or writing. When I was working on a paying project, my book writing was put aside. Constant juggling is required so that the most important tasks aren’t dropped, while the least important tasks do get dropped.

Glenda, I remember first “seeing” you on IVWCC membership forum. Your dynamic participation at online networking events, actively answering members’ questions, posting questions about your own projects, and so much more… Now this is going to sound shallow of me… but I’m being honest… When I finally clued in that you’re disabled, I was really taken aback. I assume (and certainly hope) I’m not the only one to have this sort of reaction, so how does it affect your business and how do you deal with it?
This is one awesome benefit about the internet, online networking and such – my cerebral palsy and all of the misconceptions, misperceptions and misunderstandings that accompany it aren’t part of the conversation, unless I chose to make it so. I can be Glenda with all of my knowledge, skills, ideas and opinions, without people getting caught up on my disability. We can focus on the topic or task at hand. Some of my clients don’t know the extent of my [cerebral palsy]. That is not to say I intentionally hide my disability; I’m fairly open and forthcoming when people ask me about it and I really don’t mind people asking questions. But, by working virtually, my clients are interested only in my experience and if I can do what I say I can do. My disability, for the most part, is not an issue. It is a liberating feeling. The internet truly levels the playing field for me.

I’ve been following your book tour with great interest. What strikes me most is your passion and focus. How do these strong entrepreneurial qualities help keep you on track? Do you experience loss of momentum? If so, how do you get unstuck?
Because I have limited energy and because everything takes me longer to do, I really need to consciously choose the tasks and projects I undertake. Thus, I tend to chose projects that are most meaningful to me; that I am most passionate about. This helps me to turn down the distractions and to really focus on what I’m most passionate about.

At times, I do lose my focus and momentum. That is when I take a break, do the laundry, clean the kitchen and attend to other parts of my life until my inner voice speaks again and tells me which way to go next.

During your audio interview with Penny Haynes, you said once you actually finished writing your book, you were worried it would be less than perfect. I coach a lot of entrepreneurs who use perfection as an excuse to stall… sometimes stemming from fear of not succeeding (or fear they WILL actually succeed!). The truth is nothing will EVER be perfect. So, what was happening for you? How did you turn that voice off and just get on with it?
Once the editor had finished her part with the manuscript, I went through it a couple of times before I was to send it to the printer. I became scared. I was scared that it wouldn’t be perfect and that I had included things I shouldn’t share with the whole world. Another part of that fear was my book was something I had dreamt of, planned for, prepared for, researched and worked off my left thumb for, for thirty years, and I didn’t know what it would be like on the “other”. Would reality measure up to my dream? That dream had been my guiding light for thirty years. What would I do without it? Would another dream take its place?

When I was able to be quiet within myself, I realized that I had written I’ll Do It Myself for readers, not for critics. Readers wouldn’t mind the occasional typo as long as my story and my message captured their attention. I had seen perfectionism paralyze people and kill great ideas; I had come too far, worked too hard, to stop at point. I took a deep breath and sent the file to the printer.

When the boxes of books arrived and I saw my book for the first time, it was such an emotional feeling: a “fall on my knees” moment. My book is beautiful! All the work was worth it!

You bet!! Glenda, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and answer my questions. We’ll be following you with great interest, seeing what dream you accomplish next!!!

I had TONS more questions for Glenda, but as you can imagine, her left thumb could only take so much typing… I promise to follow up with her and share with you our future conversations.

Follow Glenda as she continues her virtual book tour “40 Blogs in 40 (Business) Days” on her blog.