Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sylvia Henderson, CEO and co-founder of MindTeam Solutions, Inc., located in Silver Spring, MD, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement and monetize them are worth millions. We believe that when people come together, great things happen to move ideas to impact and income. Our business creates organizational cultures and integrates systems and processes to operationalize strategies, develop and grow leaders, and get things done.

Tell us about yourself

I come from many years of Fortune 50 corporate leadership, talent development, and management experience, where I learned and practiced the very initiatives we now implement and share in our business. I love ideation and then bringing concepts into strategic actions, creating key performance indicators, and developing accountability systems to ensure things get accomplished or make businesses profitable. What motivates me are the days I can facilitate "ah-ha!" moments that lead to income and impact.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Finding a business partner who complements my skills and personality and focusing on doing things only the business executive team should be doing, bringing staff together to operationalize our goals and scale the business.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Staying focused and not allowing distractions (including other people) to lead us astray from our vision and purpose. I am an idea person, a creative who loves developing content and speaking to people. Sometimes I need to be reined in (which my business partner does lovingly) to keep my energies and devote my strengths to that which brings in income or makes as big an impact with our clients as we can make. In other words, one of the hardest things is heeding our own counsel!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do the hard work upfront of planning, strategy, documenting agreements, getting legal and financial foundations in place, and having honest and deep conversations with stakeholders (partners, family, investors, first five employees, etc.) Just like a carpenter measures thrice before cutting once, so should a new business owner or entrepreneur.
  2. Realize that your family, friends who work for someone else, and anyone else who has not started, tried to start, or taken over a business mean well and have your best interests at heart (usually), yet are seldom the people from whom you need to take ANY business advice! After 20 years in business myself, I still occasionally hear, "Since you're not working, can you...!"
  3. Join a group of success-minded and heart-centered sister/fellow business owners. Read Napoleon Hill's seminal book "Think, and Grow Rich" and heed his guidance for engaging long-term with like-minded, motivated, helpful people. You will each move the other to success and greatness.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Keep your eyes and ears open to new ideas, legacy knowledge, and experience. Never stop asking questions. Listen (a lot). Accept input, feedback, and advice, and then decide what works for you. Research (a lot). Don't be afraid to make mistakes; fail quickly, then learn from the experiences and move forward to your next steps. Take care of yourself, or you won't be able to take care of your business. Know that there is no such thing as "life balance" when you run a business, there are simply energy and priority decisions.

Most of all, the satisfaction, independence, variety, joy, pride, income, and impact of being an entrepreneur and creating your own legacy overrides all the hardship, tears, sacrifices, and struggles you will encounter on your journey, and there is no other experience like it, long term. Be you, and be true to your vision.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://mindteamsolutions.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mindteamsolutions/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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