Building Prequal: Laying the Foundation | Vol. 02
By: Andrea Mac | June 28, 2023
If you can only take me in small doses, here’s what’s new:
What I am working on this week: I hosted a pricing webinar, Submitted a proposal for a new client (fingers crossed emoji), and am spending tomorrow in a full-day strategic planning meeting with my team. Those are the highlights.
What’s stressing me out: Google ads- seriously, we are quickly trying to learn everything we can and testing, but nothing has worked brilliantly so far.
What I am reading: How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. Just some light summer reading.
Building Prequal: Laying the Foundation
As I embark on narrating the evolution of Prequal in real-time, it's crucial to establish the groundwork for how I arrived here. So, let's start at the beginning—why did I venture into establishing a consulting firm?
When I experienced my existential awakening (check out this blog post for an in-depth explanation), I refused to settle for another job or start a random business. My next step had to be intentional and purposeful. Even if I lacked a concrete plan beyond leaving corporate America, I knew that whatever I pursued next had to accomplish two vital objectives: providing financial stability for my family while simultaneously making a positive impact.
Like most people in this situation, I resorted to a trusty tool: a fake Excel spreadsheet. I jotted down every business idea that crossed my mind on a loose leaf of paper. And when I say any idea, I mean it—I even considered starting a soup food truck (tangent: I make delicious soup).
I evaluated these ideas based on several parameters:
Was it financially feasible to start?
Did the work hold significant meaning and ability to impact?
Could it scale effectively?
Was there an opportunity to involve my children in my professional life?
Two standout contenders emerged from this exercise: becoming a writer or a consultant.
After careful consideration, I realized I could pursue both paths. However, given the tools I possess, the expertise I had accumulated, and the methodologies I had developed throughout my 20+ years of experience in sales, marketing, business development, and client relations, I felt an obligation and a duty to help others. Ultimately, consulting emerged as the victor. (But feel free to ask me about the book I plan to write...)
When you leave your job, something peculiar happens. Your network becomes aware of your availability and starts associating your time with a price tag. Everyone has ideas about your value and the type of work you can undertake, leading to a flood of different projects and job offers. This situation grants you the privilege and opportunity to explore a variety of endeavors. That was my experience, at least. So, despite my faux Excel spreadsheet nudging me toward consulting, my journey had only just begun. The next challenge was determining the focus of my consulting efforts.
In my first year as the founder of Prequal, I initially believed my purpose was to assist women in launching businesses and optimizing operations of those same businesses. Female entrepreneurship holds a central place in my heart and had been an ongoing theme throughout my life. However, it wasn’t 100% on the mark.
It was during a flight home from a family trip to Vancouver, cruising at 40,000 feet above ground, when clarity struck me.
According to Peter Drucker, a business should always address a social problem. The social issue I care about most is creating equity and equality for women and marginalized groups. Thus, I began working backward. For women to achieve greater opportunity, there needs to be both political and economic empowerment. While I haven't tackled the political aspect yet, I possess knowledge in economic development. I understand sales and business development. I know how to help women sell; when women excel in sales, they can increase their earning potential.
That became, and remains, my mission.
However, a business cannot sustain itself on mission alone. I had to devise a viable business model.
And that brings us to the present moment. (Hello. Thank you for being here and sticking around.)
We have three avenues through which we generate or plan to generate revenue:
Consulting: We provide sales training and coaching, tailored to individuals, companies, salespeople, and sales leaders seeking to educate and align their teams effectively.
On-demand Learning: Leveraging the Prequal sales methodologies, we have developed an e-book, a mini-course, and a sales masterclass (with more courses on the horizon). This grants us a passive revenue stream and allows individuals to learn from Prequal at various price points and on their own schedule.
A Media Ecosystem: This aspect, for now, resides solely within our vision (though we have a comprehensive strategy and plan in place). Our ultimate goal is to establish a hub for professional women—an ecosystem where we can leverage our influence to create valuable content. Picture something along the lines of Goop, but with content specifically catered to ambitious, accomplished, professional women.
You've caught us mid-story here: revenue generation within the first avenue is thriving. It has been tried, tested, and proven successful, yielding profitability. We have honed our consulting expertise to a science. As we prepare to launch our first mini-course in a few weeks, we have only just begun to dip our toes into the realm of on-demand learning. While we eagerly anticipate the eventual creation of our media empire, it is not our primary focus at the moment.
Once we establish the viability of this business model, I intend to shift toward helping individual women increase their earnings. Revenue generation and client development are not skills everyone needs to possess. Many professional women would benefit greatly from enhanced access to opportunities and negotiation skills that boost their own bottom line, not just the companies they work for. I want to double down on investing in other women and assisting them in building their legacies. Think of it as Mission 2.0. To be continued...
So, there you have it. In more words than I initially anticipated, that's why Prequal exists and where we are headed.
Here's to your sales success,
A.