This blog shares why “So what?” stories are so important in your resume and cover letter.

"So what?" stories help employers understand why they should care about your accomplishment. A well-crafted story detail what the issue was, how you dealt with it, and what you accomplished. Some people call this using the “SMART” method. I can never wrap my head around all 5 components of the SMART acronym. I prefer to illustrate important concepts and information using stories.

A “So what?” story that includes numbers (also known as metrics) and descriptive words (which can include adjectives) helps put your accomplishments into perspective.

Another way of describing this concept is that “So what?” stories share qualitative and quantitative evidence that what you accomplished is worth noting.

Resumes and "So what?" stories

Here’s a couple of examples, lightly edited to protect identities, from resumes that I’ve helped people refine over the last 4 years:

Original text "Safely operate skidder and chain saws"
Transforms to "Safely operate skidder and chain saws with zero accidents for a 3-year period"

Original text “Led the day-to-day trading operations for 5 funds, alongside other Managers”
Transforms to “Managed the day-to-day trading operations for five investment funds worth more than $350 million”
 
These samples are short on purpose, they each fit on a page as a resume “bullet” point. Stories can be as short as five words.
 
When drafting your “So what?” stories use your own words, to showcase what you actually did. Add numbers where you can like "4 years" or a percentage if that's appropriate. Numbers help tell a compelling "So What?" story.
 
Cover letters and “So what?” stories

The most important thing to remember about a cover letter is that it's not about you! Frankly many employers aren’t that interested in candidates’ dreams, passions or aspirations. They want to know how you can help them.

This is where research can come in handy. Invest time researching your prospective employer (see Job Search Tips #1, for hints).

Try to identify what is important to that employer. Are they proud of their safety record? Are they actively seeking a more diverse workforce? Do they value their employees volunteering in the communities where they have offices? Has the job you’re applying for been turned over 6 times in the last 3 years? Why might that be?

Once you have a decent idea of what is important to the employer, showcase your gifts (skills, experience, knowledge) using “So what?” stories in your cover letter.
 
For example, when I applied to become a PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise service provider as a Business Growth Advisor (BGA) my cover letter read in part:

“I love how inclusive PARO is, from your logo to programs tailored for women from all backgrounds and abilities. I strive to communicate with people in a way that works for them. For example, last week, I had a friendly and productive typed chat in Zoom with a deaf business woman, about creating inclusive online training programs. She connected me to Canadian companies that provide live closed captioning services, ASL Interpreters, and LSQ (French) Interpreters. I am also integrally bilingual, English and French.”

You’ll note, this “So what?” story doesn’t include any numbers, instead I describe that I practice inclusion, and that I strive to communicate effectively with people from many different backgrounds, something that I knew, from my research, that PARO was looking for.

When writing cover letters (and resumes) tell the truth, don't make stuff up! What you're doing in the cover letter is giving them a feel of what kind of person you'd be like to work with.

As an aside, I’m happy to report that I’m really enjoying my first month as a PARO BGA. I’ve already got a couple of new client intake conversations set up for August!

If you enjoyed reading this post you may also enjoy:

Job Search Tips #1 Research
Job Search Tips #2 Informational Interviews 

To get a free copy of my eBook “Networking: Identifying and Connecting with Friendly Forces” click here

To learn more about Career Coaching services click here

Last week’s blog covered two money related topics: Incorporation and Business Insurance. There were also links to several free resources that you can explore at your own pace.

This week’s blog covers finding the right business bank account, and introduces the concepts of cash flow and overhead.

Finding the right Bank Account

A common pitfall for people starting a home-based business is mixing up their personal and business finances, by trying to track everything in one bank account.

I strongly recommend getting a separate bank account for your business. It helps you track how your business is doing, in other words are you actually making any money? And it makes things a lot easier come tax time!

Shop around by visiting your communities’ banks and credit unions, you can even check out online banking options if that’s within your comfort zone. Explore and find out what type of account is the best for your business. Banks and credit unions all try to offer competitive advantages, find the one that provides an affordable option for your type of business.

If you’re creating a high-volume business, with lots of transactions, it may be worth it to become a member of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB). Membership benefits include lower banking fees with partner financial institutions.
 
When I became a veteran, one of the first things I did was to shop around for a bank for my business.  In one bank, the Small Business Accounts Manager was more interested in telling me about his upcoming vacation than in telling me about the services his bank offered. In another bank, I ended up talking to the Branch manager. She asked me about my business, which at that time was a vague idea of doing what I loved best in the military, speaking, training and writing.

I planned to help others learn strategies and tactics to help them, their communities and organizations thrive. Based on what people kept asking me to talk about in my last few years in the military, I thought my target audience might be women in search of work life balance. I didn’t have a formal business plan, just a vague dream of a business idea. The Branch Manager liked what I shared, and ended up offering me a line of credit and a credit card to help me launch my business!

It’s worth shopping around for a financial institution. Tell people what you’re interested in. Sometimes, people will offer help before you even realize how useful that can be.  If you ask for what you want, you might just get it!

Bonus Tip: For some timeless advice check out Carol Ann Budd’s article “Tax Tips for Business Owners.” 
​
Bonus insight: Take some time to reflect on who your ideal clients are. I was wrong in my initial thoughts on this. Over time, my ideal clients revealed themselves to me.

Cash Flow and Overhead

I have several entrepreneur models in my family. My mother-in-law ran a business selling natural products out of her home for more than 30 years, my sister-in-law is a serial entrepreneur with many creative based businesses, my dad started two engineering consulting firms, and my husband started his business 5 years before me. I also have two uncles who are entrepreneurs and an aunt who put in decades as an incredibly successful Mary Kay saleswoman.

One of the lessons my family taught me was to keep my overhead low, until my cash flow is going well. In other words, don’t rush to buy a new desk, fancy giveaways, a brand-new car, etc. They taught me to keep my initial expenses low.

My biggest expenses in my first 16 months of business were buying a laptop, getting incorporated, professional insurance and buying some business cards from a local printer.  I decided early to shop local whenever possible! Did I mention that one of my uncles runs an incredibly successful printing business in Saskatchewan?

Overhead is the name that accountants and bankers use to describe recurring costs that must be paid on a regular basis, whether you have any sales or not. This can include, but is by no means limited to: rent, insurance, payroll, and software licensing fees.

I still haven’t bought any pretty branded things to give away like pens or USB sticks. I use as many free resources as I can, such as free LinkedIn. I have not spent a penny on marketing or advertising. My marketing is word of mouth (in person and on social media) and/or done by strategic partners. I even built my own website, which for several years was basically an online business card.

Last year, when I was ready to start scaling up, I began investing in getting outside help and paying for software to help me reach a larger audience for a new series of online courses. This included my website getting a professional makeover – while still using the cost effective Weebly platform that I know and love.

Cash Flow is literally the cash coming into and leaving your business. This “cash” may all be electronic, it’s anything that counts as money. For example, if you sell 100 stickers at $5 each, you’ve got incoming cash flow of $500.

You also have expenses, for all the materials used in creating those stickers, from the electricity for the machine that prints the stickers and the printer (overhead) to the paper used for printing. The bills you pay to cover those costs are cash flowing out of your business.

Continuing with the sticker example, it’s important to allocate some of your cashflow to materials, and some to overhead. Calculating what you’re going to pay yourself is also important. If you end up with zero cash after paying for the materials and other overhead, and you don’t pay yourself anything, then you’re not making money with that part of your business.

And that’s OK, as long as the stickers are a loss leader, that is a way to get the word out about your business, to attract clients to buy your higher priced products and services.

Consultants and other service providers may offer “free” services and resources, to help attract clients. For example, my free offerings are generally related to networking. It occurs to me as I edit this that my blog is also a free offering!

I’m curious, what’s the best financial advice you’ve followed so far?

If you enjoyed reading this you may also enjoy:

The Power of Team Work
​Digital Bread Crumbs

You’re welcome to access my free mini course “Networking: Identifying and Connecting with Friendly Forces” at https://courses.empoweredpath.ca/

Running a business out of your home can be appealing for a number of reasons. As more people start contemplating the benefits of creating their own career by becoming entrepreneurs, it’s likely that they’ll have a few questions.

One of the things that people don’t like to talk, think or write about is money!

I’ve been an entrepreneur since the fall of 2012, the first few months were all about figuring out what I wanted to do, and setting up conditions for success. This included a few financial matters.

Over the years I’ve picked up a few more strategies and tactics shared by colleagues, family and government funded resources to help entrepreneurs thrive.

This blog covers two money related topics: Incorporation and Business Insurance. There are also links to free resources (from many sources) that you can explore at your own pace.

Incorporation: Yes, No or Maybe?

One of the first money related matters to sort out with your business, is how to structure it. Are you going to be a sole-proprietor, form a partnership, or incorporate?

There are benefits to all 3 models. I chose to incorporate my business because I started late, and wanted to protect our family’s assets, the money invested in our home, my military pension and my RRSPs.

If I had known how low risk my business actually was, I would have waited, and run it as a sole proprietor for the first few years. That way I could have written off several of my start up costs, on my personal taxes.

My accountant tried to get me to do that, but I can be pretty stubborn, I insisted on incorporating. He did persuade me to incorporate in Ontario instead of in Canada, saving a lot of paperwork especially come tax time. As my accountant explained it, unless I planned on setting up shop in other provinces, I didn’t need to incorporate outside of the province I lived and worked in.

Be very careful if you’re going to start a business partnership. Invest in getting separate legal advice. Too many friendships and families go through tough times when they realize that they made a bad decision by starting a business together. Formalize your partnership in writing, and have it witnessed.

To learn more about whether or not it’s time to incorporate your business, I recommend a one-hour video from the WE CAN Project at Queens University “Is Incorporation Right for You?” 

Business Insurance

It’s worth looking into additional insurance for your business. If something happens to your home, and all your products are damaged, will your home insurance cover that loss? If not, consider requesting a change to your home insurance, or purchasing business insurance.

If your business is in a service-related industry, check your professional association for insurance discounts and/or talk to a few Insurance brokers.

Once I started my business, I began researching insurance. My husband had a 5-year head start on me as a business owner, I’d heard him speaking about how expensive insurance was. He’s an HVAC Refrigeration mechanic by trade, and his business is classified as being part of the construction industry. 

My business is all in my head, and in my home office, it’s about knowledge, which is a very different matter when it comes to insurance.

My insurance rates are about a tenth of what my husband pays and I get a really good rate because I’m a member in good standing with the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA). The Insurance broker I spoke to explained that my business insurance was so low because it’s almost unheard of for a Human Resources consultant to get sued!

Remember when I wrote about incorporating earlier than I needed to? I learned how low risk my business was about a month after it was incorporated. Once you’re incorporated, it’s a real pain to stop. Lots of paperwork!

Bonus Tip: Find a few trusted resource people, like a lawyer, bookkeeper, accountant and insurance broker when you start thinking about setting up your business. Paying up front for professional help can save you lots of financial heartache later on. Leverage your network to find the resource people that can help you!

Free Resources

When I started learning how to be an entrepreneur, I accessed free resources to figure out how to set conditions for success for my business.

I'm still learning new things, and I am grateful that many programs share their knowledge freely with their target audiences. Here’s a partial list of resources you may find useful, with a note about the geographic regions each covers.

All Entrepreneurs

• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) - Canada
• Chambers of Commerce – Canada (if your current organization or your professional association is a member you can attend Chamber events at member rates) Many of the annual Small Business Week events (October) are free
• Your local business development corporation – Bay of Quinte region
• Your local small business centre - Bay of Quinte region

Women and non-binary Entrepreneurs

• NWAC #BeTheDrum Entrepreneur Program – Canada
• PARO Centre for Women Entrepreneurs – Ontario
• WE CAN Project at Queens University – Greater Kingston Ontario region

​Why did I suddenly decide to write about money and home-based businesses? Well, all the marketing mavens I follow and learn from recommend showing your value by providing useful information to potential clients for free.

And, I just joined the PARO team as a Business Growth Advisor (BGA), which means that my company will get paid for me to do something I love: helping people learn how to start and grow a business. Best part, this makes my services much more accessible to those with a small budget, because PARO client’s access BGA’s for free!

In an upcoming blog, “Home Based Business: Let's talk Money part 2.” I’ll be covering the topics of Bank Accounts, Cash Flow and Overhead.

If you enjoyed reading this you may also enjoy:

Making Your Virtual Meetings Work and/or
Ask for What you Want, you Might Just Get It!

You’re welcome to access my free mini course “Networking: Identifying and Connecting with Friendly Forces” 

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