In July we’re talking about the new trend of reskilling, where you update your abilities for technology advances and market changes. Reskilling sounds reasonable, but tell the truth: Does it make you nervous? Are you worried you’re going to have to stretch higher than you’re able? Overcoming those problems is easier than you think—just use the soft-skill of self-confidence.
When we met Lara Merriken last week, she had a light bulb moment while out on a hike for a snack food made with whole, simple ingredients. The next step was to put big energy behind the big idea of LÄRABARs.
She spent the next three years experimenting and running informal focus groups before she hit on the perfect combination of flavors. During that time, Lara worked for $10 an hour at the first Whole Foods in Denver. Does a day job sound depressing for a solopreneur? Perhaps. But Lara didn’t see it that way.
It gave her insider access to the grocery business. Lara saw what manufacturers got on the shelves, and how they kept their products there through innovation, marketing promotions, and pricing strategies. And most of all, she learned the value of relationships.
Those relationships paid off one day when the regional buyer happened to stop by right after Lara clocked in. She seized the moment and pitched him at the loading dock. Then she persuaded a colleague to cover for her while she took lunch early and ran home to get samples, convinced she could overcome the buyer’s skepticism. Her instincts were right—he said yes!
There was just one barrier and it was a serious one: mass production. The first order of 500 LÄRABARs had to be heat sealed. So, she enlisted her friends and family to make the bars, cut wrappers and seal the product. By hand.
This stage of Lara’s journey is important for this month’s series, Reskill, Reframe, Restart because it shows that being receptive to reskilling is just one part of the story. Completing an advanced degree, learning a new technique, or getting your big break is a critical moment, but it’s only the jumping off point. It’s your commitment to doing something with that opportunity that makes the difference between an accomplishment or disappointment.
Lara faced this test in the early days of the business as friends and potential investors expressed their doubts. She remembered, “It was great that people questioned me…because it made me dig in more and recognize that I really did want to do it. I had found something that was important to me, and I just could not be stopped.”
This week, think about a new ability that might make a difference for you. But remember to equally invest in the soft skill that will light up your results, and that is your conviction. Consider how you can dig in and put that skill to work. Where will you say, “I cannot be stopped”?