Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Gino Perrotte, Founder of Right Brain Journeys, located in New York City, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Right Brain Journeys is a Learning & Development Consultancy focused on public speaking and business communication skills and insights. We specialize in working with leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, and faculty.
More specifically, we help people develop deeper and more satisfying relationships personally and professionally by leveraging conscious communication as a tool that enables them to go inward to discover the authentic self and then relate outward in a way that is received as genuine.
We work on communication skills such as public speaking, confidence, values identification and articulation, nonverbal communication, persuasion and influence, listening, and leadership.
Our mission is to help people transform their work and lives through conscious communication.
Tell us about yourself
I am driven to help people know their worth and communicate their value. I created my business in 2013 at the time when I had a successful full-time teaching job at a university in Florida.
I had established a solid reputation as someone that people came to for mentorship, empathic listening, encouragement, and inspiration. I love helping others in these ways and attracting a large number of people. More than I could energetically handle, it turns out...
Because so many people were coming to me for help, I realized that I was offering something of value. At the same time, I was doing it for free because of my strong desire to be helpful, And after a while, it became exhausting. I was doing too much and not receiving what I needed most in return.
So, I learned to create a business around my services so that the help I offer could be sustainable over time and I wouldn't get burned out. I learned how to leverage my business as a pathway to creating healthy reciprocal relationships with the people that I serve where we both give and receive things of equal Value.
Creating my business took me on my own journey of learning to receive for the abundance that I so freely give to others. And I discovered my own relationship between giving and receiving and how I had learned during childhood that it was better to give than receive. Once I became conscious of this inherited belief system that wasn't serving me today, I was able to change it for the better.
Now I know that the best relationships for me are built on giving and receiving. What motivates me every day is to help people transform their lives by helping them become conscious of what they think, feel and do.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
By far, the most significant aspect of my work is that I help people to transform their lives. By improving the way they communicate with themselves and others, people are empowered to take responsibility for their lives by consciously choosing and creating life experiences that are satisfying to their souls.
I think my biggest accomplishment to date as a business owner is that I have created a brand that is a genuine reflection of my own purpose and core values as the founder. I have found a way to create a business around my purpose in life. So, I get to help people (which I love giving) and get paid to do it (which I love receiving)!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I have found it challenging to balance the possibility of unlimited earning potential with creating a work schedule that gives me the life balance that I desire. Basically, how much is enough? That's a very personal answer for each business owner.
As an entrepreneur, you'll likely have hundreds of people reach out to you, offering services and products to grow your business. What's made it easier for me to say Yes or No to these people is to get very clear on my answer to this question: "What's my ideal intersection of potential income and time/energy investment in the business."
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
My first tip is to get really clear about your purpose. What problem do you solve and for which people? And what DON'T you do/what AREN'T you?
Secondly, recognize the difference between Doing and Being. When we're starting something new, there often is a lot of doing involved. We learn and get better by doing something correctly over and over again. But at some point, you've learned it, and now you can just be it automatically.
This is important because Being is a major energy saver, I find. It speaks to the reality that you've really become an expert and now have freed up time to allocate to other areas of our lives or businesses. For example, I now get all of my clients either from direct referrals from my network or by them seeing me in action successfully being what they themselves want to become.
If I want to gain more public speaking clients, then I simply do more public speaking engagements myself. By allowing others to see me in action as a speaker and teacher, they are inspired to work with me to learn how they can communicate with confidence, too, as they see me as a role model.
Finally, think of your pricing as an exchange of Value (not of your time) with your customers. What is the value to them of the experience or transformation that you offer? How will their lives change for the better from working with you? Then, financially, what price reflects that Value to them?
Thinking of pricing as an exchange of value totally changed my perspective on sales for the better.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Put people first. And you'll need to think about what that means to you. How do you/can you/should you/could you put people first? Everything we do as humans is ultimately in service to other people. Don't lose sight of people.
And remember that you fit into that philosophy, too. You are a person. You are allowed to advocate for your needs and desires. Learn what you want and become confident in asking for it. Let people tell you yes or no when you ask for it.
In other words, is your business serving you as much as you are serving it?
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.rightbrainjourneys.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/right.brain.journeys/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginoperrotte/
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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