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Fed up!!! Going back to a 9 to 5 life !

What should i do

  • hire immediatly an experienced coordinator

    Votes: 24 58.5%
  • keep learning and adjusting even if it costs clients and bad reputation.

    Votes: 17 41.5%

  • Total voters
    41

iAmTrade

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Cheesy response but true : Making a tangible difference in kids lives.....the mission statement of my company starts with " we shape futures".

Okay, now I know, and you know- why you are in this business.

Next question- is what is going on/the hardships, worth the gains? ... I want you to say that to yourself every single time something goes wrong. And just see it as a stepping stone you have to walk* over to get to the other side.

I say walk- not run, rush, skip, dash, jump- you have to make a logical attempt to take emotion away from everything and carry forth with your plan.

Wish you luck :) You can do this.
 
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jazb

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Go approach some colleges/ universites. go find those wishy washy girls. who would not mind a bit of part time work.
 

liquidglass

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Why not hire some education majors at a local university or even young teachers that are off for the summer? They're all experienced at handling kids or at least will try their best to be amazing at it. You might even be able to offer the university students some sort of credit if you would talk to the college.

Just a few thoughts :)
 

Bila

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Okay, now I know, and you know- why you are in this business.

Next question- is what is going on/the hardships, worth the gains? ... I want you to say that to yourself every single time something goes wrong. And just see it as a stepping stone you have to walk* over to get to the other side.

I say walk- not run, rush, skip, dash, jump- you have to make a logical attempt to take emotion away from everything and carry forth with your plan.

Wish you luck :) You can do this.

Thanks for the kind encouragements.

I identified some flaws in my character that i have to work on, one of them is that
I dont like to " walk " through the journey...i jump, unprepared. It has it's benefits as it forces me to adjust quickly and improve. But i would not advise the same "method" for everyone.

I read a lot in the forum about taking action .....it's more complicated than it seems. On one hand the market has too many variables and you cant be prepared for everything, so yes taking action is the only way to find out what the maket really wants but looking back, i think you have to have some skills before. Planning is one of them.
 
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GuestUser202

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My wife is a teacher and during the summers she used to work at a camp with 100's of kids. She always came home completely drained. Then she started tutoring during the summer. The first couple of years she started with just 1-3 kids per summer. Then she figured out the process and got up to 30+ kids in one summer.

So my advice:

Scale down. Start with less kids until you know how to manage it. Maybe 5, 10, 20, kids. Think in terms of class sizes or something.

Go back next time and say that you took on too many kids. But now you're adding a quota and lowering the class sizes so the kids will get the focus and attention that they deserve.

Parents eat this shit up. Whenever I looked a private colleges they always pitched class size to parents.

So you can then charge a premium for your service. My wife charges $95/hour to tutor. Parents will pay.

Then add more kids as you learn the ropes. Or keep class sizes small and add more "sessions" or whatever you would call it.

I don't think that you are the problem at all. I think that the problem could be the way that you're doing it. Just try doing it a different way.
Plus a limited class size tells people the NEED to register or they will miss out, adding a sense of urgency.
 

Member

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What was the problem exactly? We might be able to help brainstorm solutions. The more specific you are the more specific we can be.

Scheduling? Not able to control kids? Not enough activities? Kids getting bored?

I'm sure some people have worked at a summer camp before (I have).
 

Grok

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Hi Bila, You are very inspiring. The fastlane is not easy. YOU are doing a great deal of excellent juggling to
get this far. keep going strong!

Steve
 
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Tyler Ellison

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Bila - congrats on all the action you took and for taking initiative. That takes guts and hustle.

Every business goes through cycles of failure with feedback loops. You had a week with a lot of negative feedback, but the difference is that you're using that to course correct and improve the business.

The faster we fail in our businesses without giving up on them actually means you'll learn and grow faster.

I never would have chosen your branch of business but I'm glad people like you choose to do it.

Keep learning and correcting, accept the feedback objectively for what it says about your business without taking any of it personally about you as a person.

When people criticize it can sound like it's directed at us but just accept that it's directed at the business and it's pointing you to what needs fixing to keep the boat afloat.

I'm rooting for you, good luck. E-myth Revisited is indeed a good one for you at this stage.
 

Kevin Peter

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Welcome back! I did get back to the routine 9-5 after 3 years of my startup! Handed over the responsibility to my family and now am happy to earn something extra making time for both.
Bila, am flying to Calgary soon! See you in Canada then for the leadership program!
 

Ubermensch

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In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.


"If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations."

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.

I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.



Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )

So, everyone loves your idea. They go crazy over it. You obviously have a solid concept. Nearly 450 registrations is no accident. You're definitely rockin' your idea...

Sounds to me that “what went wrong” concerns minion management. Minions (aka employees) are there to support you, the BO$$. The problem is, the minions... are minions. They screw things up. One second, everyone is rockin' to your idea... but with one bad move...


Your problem seems to revolve around hiring. If I read your post correctly, you hired ten minions, and then a main minion to manage the other minions.

Have you ever looked into job boards? Most people know about Monster and Career Builder, but most people do not know that these sites have a “back door,” something called a resume database. You can think of it like a people search engine. You can search for people based on an astonishing number of subsets. The top recruiters in any field use tools like this.

You probably already know about Monster and Career Builder, and there are extremely inexpensive – yet high quality – sources where you can find the best talent to fill your position.

You're right. Managing that many people is difficult. That's why you need to know HOW and WHERE to find the BEST talent.

Check out Zillion resumes
.


Before you spend a dime, try the "free demo search," so you can see if it's actually worth your time. You will be able to see the COMPLETE resumes of ANY candidate in their pool. Only their contact information is hidden. That's what you get when you pay, and you can download the resumes into a spreadsheet. The cost is very low, and you can target your searches down to a small radius around your zip code. Calling people from their resumes puts you in a position of power. Their cell phones – and home phones – are often on the resume (which also makes this a pretty sick prospecting tool, if you're clever). You can search for any type of person: people with security clearance, former or current c-suite executives. You can search for people with a specific type of skill set.

It really seems like you just hired the wrong person, and that created a chain reaction of bad events. Hiring the right person can cause the opposite to happen: a chain reaction of positive events.

Good luck!

Now, go find your King Bob.

 
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MJ DeMarco

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I had 447 registrations

Bila, this is what success looks like. When Home Depot calls and says they want a 20,000 units of your product (or 4 pallets) you don't say, "Oh well, time to go back to my 9-to-5". Entrepreneurship is about solving challenges, problems, and growing as a person. Sounds like you have entered this phase and are indeed providing value to the world. Congrats to you.

When I hear you are thinking about throwing in the towel despite your success, I think about @MTF 's avatar.

Anyhow, I was just hoping that you try to change your perspective on how to manage your success. Thread watched-- looking forward to seeing what you decide.
 

Bila

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So, everyone loves your idea. They go crazy over it. You obviously have a solid concept. Nearly 450 registrations is no accident. You're definitely rockin' your idea...

Sounds to me that “what went wrong” concerns minion management. Minions (aka employees) are there to support you, the BO$$. The problem is, the minions... are minions. They screw things up. One second, everyone is rockin' to your idea... but with one bad move...


Your problem seems to revolve around hiring. If I read your post correctly, you hired ten minions, and then a main minion to manage the other minions.

Have you ever looked into job boards? Most people know about Monster and Career Builder, but most people do not know that these sites have a “back door,” something called a resume database. You can think of it like a people search engine. You can search for people based on an astonishing number of subsets. The top recruiters in any field use tools like this.

You probably already know about Monster and Career Builder, and there are extremely inexpensive – yet high quality – sources where you can find the best talent to fill your position.

You're right. Managing that many people is difficult. That's why you need to know HOW and WHERE to find the BEST talent.

Check out Zillion resumes
.


Before you spend a dime, try the "free demo search," so you can see if it's actually worth your time. You will be able to see the COMPLETE resumes of ANY candidate in their pool. Only their contact information is hidden. That's what you get when you pay, and you can download the resumes into a spreadsheet. The cost is very low, and you can target your searches down to a small radius around your zip code. Calling people from their resumes puts you in a position of power. Their cell phones – and home phones – are often on the resume (which also makes this a pretty sick prospecting tool, if you're clever). You can search for any type of person: people with security clearance, former or current c-suite executives. You can search for people with a specific type of skill set.

It really seems like you just hired the wrong person, and that created a chain reaction of bad events. Hiring the right person can cause the opposite to happen: a chain reaction of positive events.

Good luck!

Now, go find your King Bob.


Fully agree with you, unexperienced management with unexperienced employees is a recipe for disaster. ....I thought i could do better for my defence :)

Talking about the wrong person UPDATE :

Last week was fine, much better than the previous week. More structure, less downtime ( which was the main problem ) .....Until Thursday evening, i received two emails from parents complaining that during downtime, a supervisor has a game called `` petite pute ```little Hooker in English who has an STD and has to cath the other participants ( i cant believe i am writing this ) ......................the guy was terminated the day after, first hour of the day..... i did not anticipate the reaction of children though...crying the whole day, wanting him back, angry at me ( imagine 100 kids angry at you ) .....it was emotionally very draining to say the least.
 

Iwokeup

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Fully agree with you, unexperienced management with unexperienced employees is a recipe for disaster. ....I thought i could do better for my defence :)

Talking about the wrong person UPDATE :

Last week was fine, much better than the previous week. More structure, less downtime ( which was the main problem ) .....Until Thursday evening, i received two emails from parents complaining that during downtime, a supervisor has a game called `` petite pute ```little Hooker in English who has an STD and has to cath the other participants ( i cant believe i am writing this ) ......................the guy was terminated the day after, first hour of the day..... i did not anticipate the reaction of children though...crying the whole day, wanting him back, angry at me ( imagine 100 kids angry at you ) .....it was emotionally very draining to say the least.
Hahaha! Are you serious??. WHO in their right mind would think that game is appropriate for children???

Minion problems, definitely.

Keep rocking, @Bila
 
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Bila

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Bila, this is what success looks like. When Home Depot calls and says they want a 20,000 units of your product (or 4 pallets) you don't say, "Oh well, time to go back to my 9-to-5". Entrepreneurship is about solving challenges, problems, and growing as a person. Sounds like you have entered this phase and are indeed providing value to the world. Congrats to you.

When I hear you are thinking about throwing in the towel despite your success, I think about @MTF 's avatar.

Anyhow, I was just hoping that you try to change your perspective on how to manage your success. Thread watched-- looking forward to seeing what you decide.

Thanks for the encouragements. It means a lot to me.

When you are in the middle of action, having to manage 10,20 unsatisfied costumers ....It's a challenge to think about the 80 satified ones ( they dont make much noise, they dont send you 10 emails a day, they dont give you killer looks ..etc)

I am not a quitter, i will not quit. I am aware that this is what it takes. It takes sweat and tears ( a lot of it )
It takes adjusting my personality and acquiring new skills that 6 months ago would have thought impossible to do ( Be more practical about everything, which is VERY challenging for me, i am more of a '' concept person '' and analyzer )

Tomorrow, i have a guest speaker in my program, a professional athlete, to talk about perseverance.....I cant be teaching kids perseverance and quit.

There is this voice however, that tells me that life ( my life ) is now, is the today ....and my now, my today is a lot of work, and it's been like that for the past 3 years.
I dont listen to the voice often. I CHOOSE not to, and continue defying odds.
 

FastNAwesome

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Download a copy of "The e-Myth Revisited" (Michael Gerber) and (if you havent done so already) crank through it.

+1. I'd say it's a must read.

Congratulations on your success and you are a big inspiration.

Maybe you can see how others in your industry handle similar issues.

When you are in the middle of action, having to manage 10,20 unsatisfied costumers ....It's a challenge to think about the 80 satified ones

80% of satisfied customers sounds like you're doing a really good job, and just need to tweak and improve things now. Much better than having 20% of satisfied customers:)

And dissatisfaction of those 10-20% also has a good side - it's a valuable feedback for you which makes you think on your feet and find solutions asap. Which in turn will increase the % of your satisfied customers in the future.

Since they complain, it means they're still there, still wanting the service:)

I wish you much luck and success, and actually I think you already have it, so most of all I wish you strength to keep going:)
 
G

GuestUser140

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I like it that everyone here is encouraging one another! Great!
I had 447 registrations .
Bila, this is what success looks like
Agree with MJ.. this is the key thing here.
i am a teacher, i do know know how to manage 10, 20 but 100 is different
Is it? What if you hire 4 other teachers?
they become anxious ( i fully understand ) and even agressive
and even one threatning to call a local newspaper..!
No one got hurt, right? People these days...
my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious,
I was not expecting managing a big number of kids to be sooo challenging
and then a parent show up and witness that...it was just sooo embarassing
I was soooo surprised by their reaction.
Seems like it was pretty "sooo". Don't overreact. You were on the plate, took a swing, got 447 registrations and pissed a few off.

The problem is that you care too much what other people think of you. It's not personal.

They just want their needs better met.

Keep it simple.

Those parents are customers. Give them value and they'll make your wildest dreams come true.

Think of it this way.. they are giving you a gift, even if it's wrapped in angry-face-paper. They want your thing to be better, and provide free feedback, so that in a while you can handle 44 700 registrations.

You've been here long enough to know that - now go do it.

Also..perspective.. I've never even heard of your program.
Wouldn't it be cool if you improved what you have and one day we'll read about it here in Europe?

I read a lot in the forum about taking action .....it's more complicated than it seems.
It's not. You just do it.
You have to get to a point where you "could care less" about the outcome and just get out there and take swings. At that point it's fun!
On one hand the market has too many variables and you cant be prepared for everything, so yes taking action is the only way to find out what the maket really wants
Bullseye.
Having a clear plan will avoid you clouding your vision with emotions. Adjust as you go along.

All the best!
 
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norenberg

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In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.

If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations .

What went wrong then ??????

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.
I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

1- You think you are well prepared ?? Think again. I had unexpected situations ( a supervisor that seemed during the hiring process like a really good match, turns into a lazy slob, cellphone texter and very arrogant, which results in complaints from parents that we are not delivering because kids are bored during the day.
I was not expecting managing a big number of kids to be sooo challenging ( i am a teacher, i do know know how to manage 10, 20 but 100 is different. Sometimes it was chaotic and then a parent show up and witness that...it was just sooo embarassing. When parents witness that, they become anxious ( i fully understand ) and even agressive, the worst part is that they talk to each other and it becomes like a snow ball effect......So far i have 10 people asking for reimbursment ( yes it was that bad ) and even one threatning to call a local newspaper..!

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.

Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )



Congrats for trying. Don't give up. Really, I think you are courageous for have started that... dealing with kids and parents is the picture of a nightmare, it is the latest thing I would want to do in my life and I admire people who can do it. Having said that, I think you are giving up just to early. This is part of to process of learning and perhaps better days would come.
 

Bila

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Update : week 5 ( 3 more to go )

-last week, i had my first re-registration ...instead of reimbursements, 2 families wanted to extend and take 2 additional weeks...... Let me tell you that it felt great ( that was the first time i felt the word " success " )
-I see clearly now that one of my mistakes was in the hiring. I freaking do everything. From cleaning to supervising. I have established systems but it takes time to "routinize" them.


Thanks @Esquire for the book recommandation, have been reading it for the whole week' and cant put it down. Should be on the must read for every entrepreneur.


Women entrepreneur and numbers :

Have you ever heard a woman saying " i am not good with numbers " .... Let me guess .. A lot . Something to do with left brain/ right brain blabla. I am no different. I am not in any way saying that women CANT be good with numbers, i know a lot of women who are....anyway ...i had a meeting last week, 2 guys, and me.

I was the one writing a big check ( 5 figures ) for renting a facility and pay some suppliers. It started ok, everything felt under control, then complicated calculations....it was like they were speaking mandarin. I did not understand A THING . I wrote the big fat check nevertheless.
I sat there and thought this was the first and last time something like that happens. Not sure how others handle that.
 

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VERY WELL Done to go that far so please don't go back to the hated 9-5! ... ~ Based from the Fast Lane Advice: If it doesn't work, stop what you're doing and reinvent or innovate. Business is indeed very tiresome if the business is not a real fast lane business but a camouflaged job. The result? You'll always go back to the comfort of traditional 9-5 job as it violates the five commandments especially the commandment of time and scale.07---7-Traits-All-Internet-Millionaires-Have-In-Common.png
 
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H. Palmer

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Bila,

You didn't fail, you only learned.

Next time you will be better prepared for all the complexity that comes toward you, that is a result of your being successful.
 

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As someone who has worked with (literally) hundreds of thousands of kids I kind of giggled when you said you had 100 kids to manage yourself (plus a bunch of teenagers who are usually dee-dee-dees as well).

It takes a lot of skill to be able to manage that many kids at once and a tremendous amount of energy (and planning) to make something like that go well.

I started teaching martial arts at age 12 but even then for years and years I only worked with one... MAYBE two young students. It wasn't until I was around 14 I was able to lead a small class (3-7 kids).

From there it took many more years before I could run a solid class consistently but it was still 30 or less.

When I started doing classes with hundreds of kids at once? It presents all new challenges and you need a completely different way of thinking. I even taught summer camps for around 300 disabled and handicapped children (which was an amazing experience) every summer -- can you imagine?

Anyways. If you need some advice or tips, feel free to hit me up, I'm around. This is kind of my expertise :)
 

Bila

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As someone who has worked with (literally) hundreds of thousands of kids I kind of giggled when you said you had 100 kids to manage yourself (plus a bunch of teenagers who are usually dee-dee-dees as well).

It takes a lot of skill to be able to manage that many kids at once and a tremendous amount of energy (and planning) to make something like that go well.

I started teaching martial arts at age 12 but even then for years and years I only worked with one... MAYBE two young students. It wasn't until I was around 14 I was able to lead a small class (3-7 kids).

From there it took many more years before I could run a solid class consistently but it was still 30 or less.

When I started doing classes with hundreds of kids at once? It presents all new challenges and you need a completely different way of thinking. I even taught summer camps for around 300 disabled and handicapped children (which was an amazing experience) every summer -- can you imagine?

Anyways. If you need some advice or tips, feel free to hit me up, I'm around. This is kind of my expertise :)

Thanks a lot, i will pm you.

UPDATE : the program is now done, yesterday was the last day.
Here what happened in the last 2-3 weeks :
1- Negative media attention .....Check.
2- Firing 2 minions on the spot .....Check.
3-Continue providing a safe, good service for the kids ......... Heck yeah, check.

I have a bittersweet feeling about the whole experience, on one hand, i am proud of having found a " hidden " need ( will give details about that later ) and following my intuition that this is what parents want and they are willing to pay for it.
I am proud of my fearlessness to go ahead and actually act on my ideas ( my friend called this,unnecessary thrill seeking )

I am more aware now more than ever of my flaws as well and the necessity to have the competent people around. Attention to details ? Definitely not my thing. I need somebody to help with that. .... And a lot of other flaws :)
 
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Mattie

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I dont like to " walk " through the journey...i jump, unprepared
Sounds like what I tell most women on many occasions. Women like to fly over the mountain and get there fast, and men usually like to walk the trail and go through the process.

I was wondering too if you gave yourself enough time to find appropriate people to help you, or really interviewed the a few different times to get a better picture of them and there character.

And yes I agree, if there is a business college around the area, there are usually people needing internships and the serious ones will do their best because their degree counts on it. I know out of three schools in my area, I was complimented because I was trained better than others. So, that's something to look into. I know even the ones who are going for teaching degrees, or psychology, business, social work all could get a great experience from your program and add value.
 

Bila

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SEPT 2015 UPDATE :

What happened the last weeks of the program and the negative media attention : a kid fell and had a concussion. The parents were not happy that we did not call 911 right away ( we ( my team and i ) did not call right away because all vital signs were there, he was consious and speaking, walking ..etc ....after 20 mn we saw that he was not feeling well, we called )

It was a traumatic experience for everybody ( curious to know if @Kung Fu Steve you had to deal with similar situations )
The kid is fine ( the most important thing ) and apparently i looked good on camera ( kidding )


The whole experience was such a learning curve:woot:

CHANGES :

1- Dissolving the current company ( sole propriétor ) and creating an LCC ( not sure if these are the legal terms in English ) in case this ( or anything else ) happens in the future ( liability wise )
2- Focusing on the programs that work $$$ and once i am done with the paper work for the LCC, expanding geographically to an English speaking market ( i operate in the French speaking side only now )
3- I was offered a position as a consultant ( 3 days a week ) with a departement ...and accepted, it's different from what i have done before and i am sure it will be a good experience.
4 - The remaining 4 days of the week will be spent on the company, new design, new name, new marketing....new beginings. Wish me luck :)
 

Jon L

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SEPT 2015 UPDATE :

What happened the last weeks of the program and the negative media attention : a kid fell and had a concussion. The parents were not happy that we did not call 911 right away ( we ( my team and i ) did not call right away because all vital signs were there, he was consious and speaking, walking ..etc ....after 20 mn we saw that he was not feeling well, we called )

It was a traumatic experience for everybody ( curious to know if @Kung Fu Steve you had to deal with similar situations )
The kid is fine ( the most important thing ) and apparently i looked good on camera ( kidding )


The whole experience was such a learning curve:woot:

CHANGES :

1- Dissolving the current company ( sole propriétor ) and creating an LCC ( not sure if these are the legal terms in English ) in case this ( or anything else ) happens in the future ( liability wise )
2- Focusing on the programs that work $$$ and once i am done with the paper work for the LCC, expanding geographically to an English speaking market ( i operate in the French speaking side only now )
3- I was offered a position as a consultant ( 3 days a week ) with a departement ...and accepted, it's different from what i have done before and i am sure it will be a good experience.
4 - The remaining 4 days of the week will be spent on the company, new design, new name, new marketing....new beginings. Wish me luck :)


I read through this whole thread. Impressive recovery!

One thing I missed, though...is this just a summer program, or is it something that can continue year-round (maybe a couple hours after school?)
 
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Bila

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Thanks @Jon L and yes, it's a summer program only.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE

1- The importance of a support network/system : I found that in dark moments, a pat on the back with a " you are not alone " or a " i know you will go through this and you will become stronger " makes a huge difference in a day. It gave me energy to show them they were right to trust me.

2- The importance of proper planning and put contengency plans in place, well in advance.

3- Life is short and everything or anything can happen in a fraction of a second .... I knew already this but it was a confirmation .....things turned out ok but it could have been not the case. Enjoy the moment, take ( calculated ) risks, make mistakes, recover .... And have fun while doing it.
 
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Jon L

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Thanks @Jon L and yes, it's a summer program only.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE

1- The importance of a support network/system : I found that in dark moments, a pat on the back with a " you are not alone " or a " i know you will go through this and you will become stronger " makes a huge difference in a day. It gave me energy to show them they were right to trust.

2- The importance of proper planning and put contengency plans in place, well in advance.

3- Life is short and everything or anything can happen in a fraction of a second .... I knew already this but it was a confirmation .....things turned out ok but it could have been not the case. Enjoy the moment, take ( calculated ) risks, make mistakes, recover .... And have fun while doing it.

awesome list.

what if you did something related to it during the year? It would keep you in people's minds for next summer, allow you to work out more details with fewer kids, and reduce the amount of money you need from a j.o.b.
 

Kung Fu Steve

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SEPT 2015 UPDATE :

What happened the last weeks of the program and the negative media attention : a kid fell and had a concussion. The parents were not happy that we did not call 911 right away ( we ( my team and i ) did not call right away because all vital signs were there, he was consious and speaking, walking ..etc ....after 20 mn we saw that he was not feeling well, we called )

It was a traumatic experience for everybody ( curious to know if @Kung Fu Steve you had to deal with similar situations )
The kid is fine ( the most important thing ) and apparently i looked good on camera ( kidding )

Oh dudette, all the freakin' time. You've gotta remember I had kids punching each other in the face all day or breaking boards or bricks or doing other equally dumb things.

I've been at it long enough to see how things are going to turn out before hand so I'll make subtle changes no one else would even notice (separating clumsy kids for seemingly no reason, tying shoes, moving obstacles, picking up anything on the floor, etc. etc.)

Surprisingly the worst injury any of the the kids ever had was a broken collar bone... some broken wrists or hands once in a while (children's growth plates around certain joints are weak points so that's not too uncommon)... but poor Dominic had his collar bone snapped clean in half.

It was kind of funny because I was yelling at him at the time...

"ARE YOU CRYING?"
No sir!
"WHAT'S WRONG THEN!?"
I..sniff... hurt my arm...
"WALK IT OFF!"
Sniff.. sniff hehe, Yes sir...
"Good work! Now, can you move your arm? No? Alright let's get you figured out."

Number one rule to injuries is distract them.

1- Dissolving the current company ( sole propriétor ) and creating an LCC ( not sure if these are the legal terms in English ) in case this ( or anything else ) happens in the future ( liability wise )

Oh my... you NEED to have protection. You will be sued for everything you own and everything you will own unless you protect yourself with proper structures and insurance

Most of our serious injuries were with adults. Concussions, broken ribs, and more.

Protect yourself. ALWAYS. Do the right thing but ALWAYS protect yourself.

P.S. It always helps if you look hot on camera.

Seems to work for me.
 
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Bellini

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@Bila - I just re-read this and I love how you just picked yourself up, dusted yourself off, learned from mistakes and are starting again.

I think that's a winner's attitude and very much in line with the whole "How well can you take a hit" thread. Kudos, girl.

Thanks for keeping us updated.
 
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