We all start somewhere different.
(Finding our way in what works in our own business rarely looks the same as what we thought it would in the beginning.)
It is our mission to strengthen solo business owners from where they are to where they believe their business can be. Be it battered and bruised or bubbly and brand new, we back their business belief* by growing their (actually useful) assets that are (literally) on the same page and actions that can (again, literally) be linked by lines drawn between their vision and any decision on any given business day.
Strategies are stronger for it. Efforts are enjoyabler for it. Owners are lovin’ it.
We wholeheartedly believe that the more business owners can see themselves as a part of their business (a business which is contributing to something bigger than the business), then the probability of both what is possible will proportionally improve and the sense of choice in their experience in getting there will be hella more enjoyable for everyone.
*We ask a question not normal to most, “Do you want to keep going in your business?” This question is clever on many levels and frees up the flow in each conversation. And yes, some say, often for the first time, words they have not spoken aloud, until now. And yes, as they feel feels, together we navigate the moment to find where to from here.
LLM* began under the banner of different names, however, she was always working to be here. From the very beginning there was a clear focus towards supporting clear, congruent, and connected thinking processing and experiences to help us to enjoy our days in real-life in real-time.
It took many an error and trial to find what was missing and how it could best add value to evolving the business-ing experience for solo businesses. The gap was clear for many years, something was missing between starting a business and starting to trade on business day one. The gaps and cracks tended to typically grow and show in the business after all the initial doings were done.
This is when suggestions and recommendations tend to flow and focus on one of the three business Ms — money, marketing, or mindset. While these are great services for a specific purpose, they are an example of diving deeper into one element with one lens at the expense of others.
We had a hunch and growing evidence supported that we were onto something.
There has been a long time silent presumption and assumption in solo businesses — they will do it all.
Now, this is true, all of our clients can do (and often must do) everything in the business. And, it is also true most business owning humans we work with can do exactly what we work with them to do…if they had time.
Nope, this is not one of those moments we promise productivity hacks. Instead we asked aloud, “What if you had someone who didn’t know exactly your destination, but knew how to get you there and when you had arrived, would that be helpful?”
“Yep”
And since we first asked this question aloud, we have noticed a growing shift. The difference is we no longer assume each business owner knows what they need or want (yet) and we no longer presume the work will be done between sessions. We have an idea of what is needed, find what is wanted and work from there. Then, we do to done together.
We found that be not being fancy and working in good old fashion back and forth conversation way works best — the difference is what we do with the words.
Yep. What we do here has nothing and everything to do with the words we use.
(yep, that’s a 6’1” human working hard to fit into the smallest space.)
We are proud to be a sustainable solo.
It is important to know something you may not or may have noticed yet and to learn a little of how it’s a big help here.
To be clear and kind to the minds which may be asking, ‘So who is the we behind LLM?’ The ‘we’ is ‘me’ Kathy Rast, Language-In-Use Consultant. We don’t want you to think we are bigger than we actually are as we actually love looking and growing new ways small and big business can be sustained a solo business owner — LLM* is proud and loud to operate and deliver as a solo business structure.
The ‘we’ is a language thang that has transformed the solo-ing business experience. Knowing that we humans feel safer and stronger when we are part of a team paired with the ever evolving experience of how creative our minds can actually be, we have constructed a frame that is kind-to-the-mind to support a continued clear separation of Kathy working within LLM* and Kathy in other parts of her human-ing. (And yup, writing in the third person is so much more fun!).
While some may see this method a little mad, we’re here for it — it is just one way we’re living and breathing our core belief that there is always a way it can work.
Some describe LLM* Kathy as a…