Entrepreneur Coaching - Small Business Coaching

In school, you may have learned how to spell "entrepreneur", but did you learn the language of sales? Did you learn how to read market demand? Did you learn the history of building customer relationships? Did you learn the geography of a target market area? Did you learn the math of cash flow and receivables? Did you learn the science AND art of small business success?

According to a 2003 Federal Express survey, 56% of Americans think about running their own business and about 10% already do. Yet, even if you went to Business school, the business they teach about is BIG business, not small business.

Whether you are considering starting a business, or you have already crossed that threshold, having the right tools, information and road map is the difference between succeeding and not.

I worked with Susan for a number of sessions, and she did an excellent job at helping me to clarify and focus on specific goals for my business. She had a wealth of tools, exercises and resources at her disposal to help me transition from vague goals to specific courses of action. She is also very kind and gentle in her approach.
- Hugh Groman,
Chef and Owner, Hugh Groman Catering

Susan Urquhart-Brown, principal of Career Steps, not only has a Master's Degree in Career Development... not only authored The Accidental Entrepreneur: 50 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Starting a Business... not only teaches and speaks on Small Business... not only authored the "Going Solo" business column in the San Francisco Chronicle... but has also successfully started and grown her own small business.

Susan uses her insight and experience to assess, facilitate and inspire your business and personal success.

I was stuck in a dead-end job. I knew what I wanted to do, but didn't know exactly how to get there. Susan helped me to focus on a realistic goal, develop an action plan, set a target date -- and I did it! I'm now in business for myself, happier and more fulfilled than ever. Susan is friendly, warm, very supportive, and she's a great listener!
-Coleen, Graphic Designer in Oakland

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation
Call (510) 654-4352

Do You Wake Up At Night Hearing The Call?

If you are tempted to answer the call of entrepreneurship, your critical first step is to make sure the label fits. You might be the best judge of your skill, but do you know if that skill is marketable? Do you know if you have a personality suited for entrepreneurship? Is owning a small business aligned with your goals, priorities and values?

It's about you... your life... your fulfillment... your happiness.
If entrepreneurship is for you, you are not likely to satisfy the urge working for someone else.

Thank you for all your assistance and support during the time I was deciding whether or not to start my own business. Two and a half years later, my training business is thriving -- and I'm loving it! I can't imagine going back to a 'real' job -- the money is good and the variety and challenge of going to different firms keeps me from getting bored. I couldn't have taken that first step without your support.
- Cathy, a Training Consultant in Walnut Creek

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Have You Already Taken The Leap?

So many demands and challenges to running a business seem to make time your biggest foe. Working with a small business coach, who doesn't just "get it", but also lives it is one the wisest business decisions you can make.

Poor planning is the biggest reason why small businesses fail. How can you plan when you can't see the forest for the trees? When you may not know all the skills necessary to successfully grow a small business, much less have mastered them?

You need to control the critical strategies of running a successful small business:

Whether you're a procrastinator or a foaming-at-the-mouth over-achiever, Susan will work with you to open and optimize your potential.

You will define realistic business goals, assess and clear any obstacles to those goals and boost your productivity, allowing you to realize results that are eluding you now. Reach your goals faster with less confusion and effort.

I met Susan in about my 3rd year of entrepreneurship She coached me to develop workshops, encouraged me to write a best seller, urged me to add products to my consulting services, invited me to speak at world class venues, and made countless numbers of incredibly important introductions. Thanks to Susan's advice (and an occasional kick in the butt), we have built The One Page Business Plan Company into a global "best practices company", complete with books, seminars, workshops and software.
- Jim Horan, President, The One Page Business Plan Company

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Do You Want To Accelerate Your Business Growth AND Save Time, Money And Resources?
Join The Business Success Team

Designed for business owners in their first 5 years of business and facilitated by business coach Susan Urquhart-Brown, this is a unique 6 session workshop held in Oakland, CA.

As a small business owner, isolation is more than the absence of water cooler chit chat. Who can you "bounce" ideas off? Who can give you a little extra push when you need it? Who can illuminate your path? Who can honestly understand your hard won successes and even encourage you to brag?

Susan has a wonderful way of helping small business people change their dreams into reality in a way that is both fun and insightful!
- Sara Rankin, Alma Acupuncture

The Business Success Team is a small group of 6-8 small business owners in their first 5 years of business. The Team meets for 6 sessions, Mondays 8:30-10am to jump start your week.

Not only are these sessions information packed, but they also give you the opportunity to meet and share with like-minded business owners. Powerful relationships that may well extend beyond the program.

In just a few weeks, I was able to produce a brochure and fine tune my one-minute introduction statement and now I can really imagine a successful career in ART.
- Regina Gilligan, Artist

The Business Success Team will accelerate the growth of your business while saving you time, money and resources.

One thing I achieved in this group was more confidence that I can make things happen. Another thing is clarifying the uniqueness of my business which makes it more marketable. I also got 3 new clients and 5 teaching opportunities!
- Darshana Weill, Nutrition Counselor, InsideOut

Call (510) 654-4352 to sign up for the next program

Susan, you helped me realize my real passion was to start a new creative project. You helped me turn that passion into a new business venture-beautifully elegant bags for brides. There is no way that I would ever have done this without your assistance."
- Shannon Presson, The Elegant Stitch

"This Thing Called Entrepreneurship, You CAN Handle It"

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation
Call (510) 654-4352

Do You Wake Up At Night Hearing The Call?

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Have You Already Taken The Leap?

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Do You Want To Accelerate Your Business Growth AND Save Time, Money And Resources?
Join The Business Success Team

Call (510) 654-4352 to sign up for the next program

"This Thing Called Entrepreneurship, You CAN Handle It"

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation Call (510) 654-4352

Do You Wake Up At Night Hearing The Call?

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Have You Already Taken The Leap?

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation

Do You Want To Accelerate Your Business Growth AND Save Time, Money And Resources? Join The Business Success Team

Call (510) 654-4352 to sign up for the next program

Set up a FREE twenty minute phone evaluation
Call (510) 654-4352

Do You Want To Accelerate Your Business Growth AND Save Time, Money And Resources?
Join The Business Success Team