Mentoring Archives

Jan 05

Embracing The Inner Imposter – The Psychology of Business (Pt.1)

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Coaching Mentoring No Comments

In a short series of psychology-related topics, I’ll be exploring how particular psychological factors play important roles in the characteristics of business owners and how they come to affect the decision-making processes in the running of their businesses.

The first part of this series will be based on the imposter syndrome, which I find a number of my clients having to face and deal with on a regular basis.

Ultimately, this cognitive bias affects the way that people perceive themselves, their skills and abilities in a negative light – which is why using it as a tool or weapon, rather than a deterrent, will go a long way in creating a strong, herculean leader.

What Am I Doing Here?! Surely I’m Not That Great.

Like with the majority of psychological, or sociological biases that are present in the world around us, there’s always a spectrum to consider. Some people sit on the deeper end of a spectrum with all of the features included in that diagnosis; some closer to the middle, with only a few; and some on the shallow side, with one or two of those patterns.

Not everybody has the most severe case of imposter syndrome, but many will certainly resonate with a number of the key attributes that come with having to deal with it.

In short, this bias refers to the belief of not being good enough to have the skills, talents and abilities necessary to be doing a great job in their respective field, regardless of the achievements, praise and positive feedback that they may receive; viewing themselves as fraudulent and carrying the belief that they shouldn’t be as successful as they are, even when they are completely amazing at doing what they do.

This can certainly be a scary experience or feeling to have, as it can cause damage to their own self-image and take away from the motivation that got them to that influential position in the first place.

But, if you’re someone that deals with something similar, you shouldn’t be alarmed, as it boils down to a defence mechanism that attempts to protect you from the unknown. It’s your own mind telling you that you’re better off in the comfort zone, free from risks or potential danger; simply, your fight or flight response being kicked into overdrive.

It’s common to find that people with this sense of imposterism often have stronger empathy and a great deal of humility, as they strongly care about the opinions and well-being of others first and will often distance themselves from their own ego and pride.

This doubt in their own ability to succeed in gathering new clients, asking for more money when it’s deserved, getting their dream job, or even launching that new and exciting business, is a bias that should be worked on to reap better outcomes in life.

Understanding The Barrier In Order To Break It Down

Through understanding that you might have imposter syndrome, you’re able to take the necessary steps towards slowly removing some of the obstacles that are impeding you from achieving all the great feats you’re capable of.

With lists of resources (especially online) that will help you chip away at that barrier to your success, you will most definitely find ways to ease your conscience and make a powerful impact, while still remaining true to yourself.

Some of the best recommendations are to: separate your feelings from the facts, by acting logically and rationally towards situations, rather than emotionally; condition yourself to respond in a more optimistic way to any failures or criticism that you might face, adapting and learning from mistakes instead of harbouring on them; and keeping away from seeking out too much external validation, as it often does more harm than good – find other measurement methods that prove that you are doing a great job and keep at it.

Having a little bit of imposter syndrome isn’t a bad thing; as I mentioned before, you’re more likely to carry a sense of humility and higher levels of empathy, which works wonders in developing stronger bonds and connections with people.

Adopt the positive attributes that it offers you, weaving it into your personal philosophy and try your best to not be overcome with damaging self-reflection, especially when you are as amazing as you are.

Understanding and using this bias or mental block as a tool to achieve greater things will be far more beneficial in the long run. Remind yourself that nobody out there is perfect, bulletproof and without their own faults and failures.

Not only the people around you, but also your business will be highly appreciative of the fact that you’re making the effort to find peace and fulfilment in yourself, rather than being at war with your own thoughts.

I sometimes feel like an imposter, like I’m a bit undeserving at times; But, I’m often reassured by looking back at all the amazing things that I have accomplished and the many people that I’ve helped over the course of my career as a business coach.

Tell me your story, why you might be feeling like a fraud or undeserving and I’ll help with a touch of guidance in giving your business some much-deserved vision, again.

You deserve it, your business deserves it – so reach out to a coach that cares:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

Apr 20

Love0

THE R50 AVOCADO. | Lockdown Lessons day 23

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Coaching Mentoring Motivation No Comments

spillly brent spilkin

20 April 2020

Dear You,

How are you doing coping, coping and surviving?

I’m not an economist and if you are reading this, my guess is neither are you. Good. Let’s continue. There is a deluge of information being pushed into our conscious at the moment that speaks to the global depression, global recession, socialism vs. capitalism, universal basic income, the green movement and even minimalism. All of these ‘isms’ are stratospheric in thinking and don’t relate to yours and my everyday existence. The question that I’m now looking for an answer is “How does this affect me, my family and my bank account?”

Let me unpack some of the bad news, the way I see it, which hopefully will lead us to a silver lining. WARNING: This is not a motivational piece; it’s a DE-motivational post that should give you awareness so you can act accordingly.

All this talk about a V-Graph, a U graph and flattening curves is mute. What is significant to me is how long this economic downturn, curve and flat line will last. Looking back at the 2008 economic crisis that was spurned by poor banking regulations and some fairly dishonest business leaders, is no-where near the size of this global setback brought on by the pandemic at hand. After the 2008 crisis South Africa lost approximately 850,000 jobs, which took 11 years to claw back to the 2009 numbers. The current unemployment figures are sitting pre-Covid at 38%. Some smart people are estimating this will slip to roughly 50% in the coming months. During the 2008 crisis and aftermath we also had the joy of experiencing the Zuma administration and its cronyism that has also pushed us to the brink exacerbating the entire situation. Covid pulled the proverbial trigger on an unstable situation.

The American government has allocated what looks like close to 10% of the annual US GDP to the financial relief and support efforts. That means that if every single person stopped producing work and every single business closed down the package could sustain everyone for 36,5 days [10% of the year.] This is not accurate as not everyone will stop working, the unemployment rate is nowhere near SA’s and some businesses will actually increase in size and add jobs to their payroll. Some of the European countries are allocating about 15% of GDP to the effort. Unfortunately South Africa does not have the resources of these developed countries and by early counts is only able to allocate 1% of our GDP to rescue efforts – 3,5 days in total. [Again, not an accurate number, but you get the grim point.]

Take these numbers and add a Dollar exchange rate of 18,9 [correct at writing] and the economy is going to strain massively under the leash of reduced consumer demand [less people with money to spend], retrenchments and expensive imports. So, what does this mean for us? If you are fortunate enough to walk away from the lockdown with a job that pays what you were earning before this trauma, then consider yourself lucky but be aware that your disposable income wont go a far as it did back in first quarter of 2020. It may be a few months before the current imports hit the shelves of your local store so don’t be fooled that things cost the same in the coming weeks as retailers and importers have hedged the last imports at pre-corona rates.

The best way I can explain the pain the top few percent of South African earners will feel is as follows; those beautiful Spanish Avocados that you buy from Woolworths will cost upward of R50 each. That’s going to make for an expensive Avo on toast.

So what you can you actually do now to prepare for this decrease in your buying power?

With the forced #stayinside you have undoubtedly seen a saving in fuel, gym memberships, double almond cappuccinos and those social dinners that cost 3 bags of groceries. According to change management theory a habit takes 21 days of repetition to gain traction. If you have seen a similar trend in your own household and can keep this habit going you can save a substantial amount of money of the coming years. Now this is not a lesson on wastage and rampant consumerism but perhaps buying local seasonal food and cooking a few times more a week could put a few thousand Rands back in your cash flow. Reduce your medical aid packages, downgrade your Internet connection and don’t upgrade that iPhone

Be ruthless with household cost cutting. Set a budget and treat it like the 10 commandments. Turn your sieve into a bucket and save money for the second wave of this pandemic. This will not only allow you to make it through the coming months but perhaps will even see you save for an early retirement filled with R50 Avos!

Thank you,

@Spillly

for further info please feel free to contact me

Nov 17

Love0

How I Built This: Brent Spilkin, your business is successful when it serves the owner (You) #podcast

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Coaching Entrepreneur Mentoring Motivation No Comments

Listen to this interview to find out why I believe: “Your business is successful when it serves the owner in the way the owner wants – whether it’s to build a bigger team, leave a legacy, gain more exposure in the media, make more profit, or even to play more golf.”

Thanks to Charles at Flying Kite for the opportunity to be on his new podcast.

“When I can eliminate limiting self-beliefs in a person and put a structure in place for them to measure growth, make money, and have fun – I get great satisfaction from it!”

If you just wanna engage or want more info on this podcast, contact me brent@spillly.com

Oct 22

Love0

Get. Shit. Done.

By Brent Spilkin Business Business Coaching Coaching Entrepreneur Mentoring Motivation No Comments

The single biggest contributor to success in a business is your attitude towards everything and everyone and your ability to Get Shit Done.

As a business owner you are responsible for multiple tasks and responsibilities and GSD applies to every aspect of your business. Getting Shit Done entails asking questions when you are unsure and learning from the process and your mistakes. Getting Shit Done is believing in urgency, excellence and delivery. GSD is often referred to as “Hustle” but it’s more than that in your business. It’s the grit, the mental toughness, your emotional capacity and your passion to be recognised for greatness, recognised for always delivering what you said you would, on time, on budget and without fuss.

Constant improvement and putting in the extra effort with suppliers, staff and clients alike will pay off in more than just dividends; you will attract and retain better quality, higher paying clients and MATTER to the people your business touches.

Set your goals, push the boundaries, and achieve success and always over-deliver. Copy Paste. Copy Paste. Copy Paste.

Getting Shit Done means you do the work you dread, submit the taxes your hate, have the hard conversations with your stakeholders, the harder conversations with your clients and the most difficult conversations with yourself.

Your talent will only take you so far, but the ability to learn the skills required to grow an organisation of one, that will get the important tasks done professionally, deal with clients maturely and communicate effectively is what will set your business apart from your talented peers.

Having a high GSD factor will allow you to work on the big picture and vision in small bite-sized achievable chunks, looking at the long road ahead and never feeling that it’s too far to go. Building your GSD factor is work. It needs to be developed and exercised like any other muscle in your body. If you keep pushing yourself to do the hard things, the hard things become easier and you build tolerance to them and this will allow you to grow through the mental barriers you had subconsciously set yourself. Achieve more.

Getting Shit Done means you question everything. Question your processes. Question your clients. Question your prices. Question yourself. Will power ebbs and flows and your motivation levels will never be at 110% every damn day so stick to a schedule. Be regimented in everything you do and avoid distractions that are shoved in your path every minute. Get off Social media. Stop reading rubbish and only consume for improvement. Get off social media. Learn from the best that have done it and have the most valuable lessons to learn. Get off social media. Set small habits and expand on them over time. If you want to cheat then make it part of the habit and routine. Cheat only when your calendar says you can.

Consistency is the fuel of getting shit done. Pick a pace and tone that works for you and your clients and be consistent in everything you do from the way you answer your phone to the automation and frequency of raising your invoices.

Starting a business is easy. Growing a business is painful. Growing a great business is extremely tough and takes resilience. Getting Shit Done is Godly. Your clients, suppliers and consumers will not remember the work you delivered in the months and years to come. They will remember the way you delivered the work, your level of professionalism, the way you presented yourself and how you communicated with them at all touch points in their business.

Getting Shit Done is what will make your business a success. Getting Shit Done is what will make you a success. Get. Shit. Done.

Apr 23

Love0

Business, Bikes and Breakfast – a Radical Accountability Program. Jo’burg April 2019.

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Lifestyle Mentoring Motivation Motor Bikes Photography No Comments

This month 10 business owners shared insights into their big ambitious business goals and how to start with a strategy to deliver this.

Some of the tools used included a Value Proposition canvas and a customer window matrix.

Unsure what these are? Contact us to find out more brent@spillly.com

All pics with love from Brandon.hinton.jpeg

Feb 04

Love0

Business, Bikes and Breakfast Radical Accountability Program #BBBRAP 1 Feb. 19

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Mentoring Motivation Motor Bikes Public Speaking No Comments

Business, Bikes and Breakfast Radical Accountability Program #BBBRAP 1 Feb. 2019

After months of planning and building the methodology, the first Business Bikes and Breakfast Radical Accountability Program was held on 1 February with 14 delegates each riding their motorcycle our from Parkhurst, Johannesburg to Parys in the Free State.

It rained. It rained a lot. Let’s be clear, it was wet but the riders were in good spirit even after half the crew took the wrong highway off ramp and got lost on a dirt road that was not ideal for Harleys and Ducati Panigales.

Breakfast and coffee was served at the Dog and Fig Brewery just outside of Parys whereafter the group coaching program was facilitated by Brent Spilkin, aka, Spillly.

The program started with a fun introductory and memory exercise and some deep reflection on 2018, the year gone by. After this some perspective was given on the highs and lows of their year, we ran planning and deliberation on what 2019.

Using the #BBBRAP redline worksheet, each biker looked at their personal lives and business life and devised 4 crucial plans to improve these over 4 periods. These were shared, under no obligation with the rest of the participants, leaving pride off the table and vulnerability in the open.

It was a new experience for all with friends and memories being made as well as driving away with some clarity and purpose for the coming months.

Here is what a few delegates said:

“Over all a really open and vulnerable experience. Spillly also has a way of communicating in a way that makes sense to me plus invites me to get to down to the ‘nitty gritty’ if where the challenges lie…in me!!! Great way to meet new people. Often those people are a mirror to your own experiences, both personally and professionally, so you kind of all help each other out.”
_______________________
“Spillly helped me finally put a strategic plan-to-action down to paper on things that had been dwelling in the back of my head for months – such a refreshing and inspiring way to start the year. That’s for not only being a good coach Spillly, but a friend in this process too.”
_______________________
“This platform allowed me to reevaluate aspects of my life from a personal and business perspective and in turn, opened my mind to making positive changes. Best of all, I was able to do it with like-minded business people.”

Each Biker walked away with some insight into themself and appreciated taking the time out the office to focus on growth and improvement across all elements of their life! They also had a working document to reflect back on, as well as a few stickers and a unique BBBRAP poster for the days ride.

Friends were made and bonds of trust established – all crucial for the next ride out on 1 March 2019!

“REFLECT | WRITE | PLAN | SHARE

Here are a few images of the day thanks to Joe at Bonafide Studios.

May 21

Love0

The top 8 things advertising agencies should be doing to build their business models around freelancers

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Freelance Mentoring No Comments

Not too long ago, agencies hid freelancers behind the curtain as they quietly pumped out work. Today, success requires you to view freelancers as strategic assets. With the growing gig economy and technology making it so easy to work remotely, it is becoming irrelevant whether
a worker is a freelancer or belongs to permanent staff. Clients do not care who does the job — they want to know you have the experts available to produce quality work on time and within budget.

Here’s why you need to create a freelancer strategy

Many agencies look to freelancers to provide cost-effective, quick labour. However, if you do not manage freelancers appropriately, they can cost more time and money than you realise. It takes time to find them, manage them, and to fix their work if something goes wrong. These hours add up and take away from your margins.

When you hire freelancers correctly, i.e. build them into your business model, your bottom line will benefit from the consistently superb quality work they produce. Freelancers add value. Most projects need a team of experts, and few (if any) agencies can have them all on their staff. Additionally, the best talent for the project may not be available locally.

Freelancers help you reduce overheads, increase specialisation and improve service levels. Providing higher-quality output and lower costs to clients is why you should be gearing your agency towards operating via freelance talent.

Developing an arsenal of trusted freelancers, who are well-coached in your company culture, and creating systems for scaling, can help your agency grow without straining your budget or sacrificing quality. Here are the top 8 things your agency should do to build your business model around freelancers:

1. Have a wide bench of talent

Instead of the same teams hiring the same freelancers, ensure you have a wide choice of freelancers on the bench which any team can access when they need specific talent.

2. Consider their rates, as well as their ratings & reputation

Thoroughly vet talent until you can trust their work is up to scratch and that they know how to deliver what you expect. Contact your peers to chat to them about their experiences with some of the freelancers you are considering adding to your bench of talent, or use online freelance resources where they are rated by the companies who have hired them before.

3. Develop relationships with them

To improve work consistency, shorten ramp-up time and minimise costs, build relationships with your go-to freelancers and ensure you always have a reliable pool of talent on hand.

4. Let freelancers know they are assets

You are hiring freelancers to add value, so treat them like they are valuable. To benefit from cost-effective, high-quality results, your freelancers must feel that their talent and experience are beneficial to your team.

5. Give them all the information they need

When a freelancer is empowered with all the information they need for a project, they become more dedicated and willing to collaborate on making said project successful. You can further assist them to develop a deeper understanding of the client and project by including them in relevant meetings and connecting them to the right people to answer their questions.

6. Communicate expectations clearly

Be upfront about what the work entails, what the deliverables are, and what success looks like for you. On the other side of the coin, invite the freelancer to express their expectations too, so that you know what they will be billing, have an idea of their availability, and any other essential details which may affect the project.

7. Bring contractors onboard earlier

Before your pitch to a new client / for a new project, bring your freelancers onboard to help shape the project scope with their specific expertise and assist in defining what success looks like, as well as to better estimate the rate your agency will charge for the work you are pitching.

8. Give them access to your tools

From day one, give your freelancers access to your collaboration tools, such as Asana or Slack. This promotes open communication, which helps them resolve issues efficiently and hold each other accountable.

The bottom line for agencies hiring freelancers is to find the best possible talent and use them wisely. By building a contingent workforce into your business model, you can increase your agency’s immediate margins and ensure that the value of what you are offering grows over time.

Feb 17

Love0

The Sunday Morning Media Show with Ashraf Garda + Spillly

By Brent Spilkin Books Business Freelance Mentoring Public Speaking No Comments

Last Sunday morning, I was given the pleasure of speaking to Ashraf on SAFM on his freelance career and the challenges he faced and often still faces as an independent professional.

The conversation covered aspects of the current economic situation is SA and how the education system is letting people down in the entrepreneurial space.

For more info on our topic and the WTF Freelance MBA that is being run at Vega School click here.

Oct 26

Love0

Change your goals from Success to Significance

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Mentoring Motivation Public Speaking

This week I had the privilege of hosting the launch event for Mike Saunders‘ book, The Five Year Mark. The book is about all the lessons learned in the first five years building Digitlab, a digital agency. You can read my review and my learnings here but those are not the most salient points for me. It was what Mike said when I asked him about the next 5 years and his level of pride in what he has built in the past year, that stuck.

What he said was [in much better English than this] when he started the business, his view of success was to take from the world as much as he could [money] and measure his success against this metric, but over time he has moved the needle of achievement from “Success to Significance.”

Mike wants to be significant. That can mean a legacy business. That can mean helping people grow in their own lives and businesses. That can mean helping someone who is desperate on the side of the road make it through another week. Significance is different from person to person and from interaction to interaction but if Mike is significant to you, then that is his new definition of success.

I like this outlook. A lot. I also believe that if he is significant in peoples’ lives and in business that the old metric [money] will come, in spades as the byproduct. Its not often you meet people who say things like this that you actually believe. Its often just a marketing message, but I believe Mike. You should too. Buy the book.

Oct 01

Love0

Are you becoming a Betterman?

By Brent Spilkin Business Coaching Lifestyle Mentoring Public Speaking No Comments

About a year ago I was fortunate enough to coach Erik Kruger from Betterman and have remained in contact over the past few months, watching his business grow and define its position in the market.

Betterman is a website dedicated to the thinking man. The man who lives with intention. The man who takes action. It’s a gathering place for those who seek influence and those who seek to make an impact in the world.

Under the Betterman umbrella is the Apex Club, an event that happens for dapper men who want to learn about life, entrepreneurship and leaving an impact. Last week I was asked by Erik to tell my story and share knowledge and learnings about my businesses and experiences. It was a pleasure to have 35 men who genuinely cared about the organisation engage with me and each other at the Maxim Lounge in Sandton.

Here are some pics taken during the event, where I was seen in a jacket [a rare thing indeed!]