Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business and development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with David Cohen, founder of The David Cohen Group, located in North York, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We work with start-ups and business owners who struggle to get clients, manage and plan effectively. We get the challenges you go through each day. We are faced with rapid change personally, professionally, and on the planet, it seems these days.
We have developed coaching, consulting, and learning programs, products, and services that help you have success in this new business climate that we are in.
You will have our support and #commitment to you getting the purpose, passion, the processes, and practical hope back in what you do. The end result is that we give you the tools, the right coaching, learning programs, ideas, and strategies to succeed, grow and love your business!
Tell us about yourself
It started after a bad marriage break-up. I was hurting; I ended up in a chair at Landmark Education. I was about to do a weekend of self-exploration at what is known as the Landmark Forum. It is a worldwide organization that is about personal growth and transformation.
It was there that I claimed a new future where I would move out of a career in marketing and promotions and get into teaching, leading, and coaching. Even though I took that course (and subsequent others) at Landmark Education and even though I discovered a passion for teaching and coaching, I still was a few years away from doing that.
I remember it was February 1999; I lost my first ever job and went through a divorce, all within two months. To quote the movie Airplane and Lloyd Bridges, "I picked the wrong week to give up drinking." I joke, but life was challenging then. I remember reading the book "The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma, and it was about a lawyer who had to transform his life. In it, Sharma wrote about visualization. As bad as it was then, I would visualize myself teaching; the room had light pink walls...by April of that year, I put an application in to take a government training program that helped those unemployed to start their own business.
By May, I got accepted into the training program. It was a six-week journey but little did I know, it held the keys to my future. The woman the was the training program coordinator of that entrepreneur program I was in was the woman I approached about becoming a guest facilitator. An opportunity and need arose, and I asked to put forth a course pitch and outline.
This wonderful woman (Eileen Mac Isaac) hired me to teach in the next take of the very program I just graduated from. On September 7th, I taught "Marketing on a Shoestring." I had never taught, but the outcome was tremendous; the class went very well. Oh, and remember I said I was visualizing it back in February? Well, the room I saw in my visions had light pink walls, and the room I did my first workshop in had...light pink walls. Eileen hired me to coach and lead another program eventually (we used overhead projectors back then, PowerPoint didn't exist).
From there, I kept on working with entrepreneurs, teaching, coaching, writing two business books on Amazon, and also hosted/producing a weekly radio show for entrepreneurs for nine years. I have taught thousands and coached hundreds in the area of economic development and non-profit training programs for entrepreneurs, teaching women, youth, newcomers, those on social assistance (Welfare), and a diverse mix of people from all over the world.
I think the thing that motivates me is that I can make a difference each day and I love creating learning programs and events. Being creative, free, and making an impact is what drives me.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Oh, it is the radio show I did. I got to interview many teachers from the Secret. Like Jack Canfield, John Assaraf, Dr. Stephen Covey, Bob Proctor, Sales whiz Chet Holmes, Lisa Nicholls, and many more!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It is a mental game; some days, you can slay the dragon, and some days, the dragon slays you. You must manage the fears, doubts, creditors, customers, suppliers, people...and it is all on you.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Love yourself and know yourself.
- Know your ideal customer.
- Work it, but have balance; pushing harder doesn't guarantee sales...but having a balanced approach to life will make it happen.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Remember your worth, your value, what you bring to the table; know you're worthy.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: http://www.thedavidcohengroup.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067787902230
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoV2-o3wuqaYKT4JIpFPU8Q
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidcohengroup
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-cohen-477688/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
