Launching Training Dynamo
Hello everyone,The last few months have been a blur! I finally have a few minutes to stop and give a quick overview of what I have been up to the last few months and my plans moving forward.
Part 1: I thought I was just going to ask for a raise...
Over the last few years, I have really made an effort to increase my knowledge of GP and various GP add-on products. I decided to make a list of my accomplishments and meet with my boss to talk about where I was and where I wanted to go. In the meantime, I read a blog post that mentioned using a "Passion Planner". I decided to buy one to start planning for 2016. One of the first exercises was to plan out a vision for the next year, next six months, lifetime goals, etc. As I sat there linking where I was with where I wanted to go, a tiny spark was lit...and I knew there was no turning back.
Part 2: The Vision
I realized that there were parts of my job that I loved, parts of my job I tolerated, and parts of my job that were making me crazy. I also knew that I could help a lot more people if I could find a way to take the lessons I have learned after training users in Microsoft Dynamics GP for over 15 years and some how turn that into a methodology for other GP Professionals. I realized that my absolute 100% favorite part of a Microsoft Dynamics GP project is training users. I wanted to find a way to take that passion and turn it into a company that I knew could revolutionize the GP community.
Part 3: Should I Stay or Should I Go...
As I mentioned before, I really did think that I could find a way to merge my vision with my responsibilities as a GP Implementation consultant for my current (now previous) employer. We had a great team and lots of amazing customers. I met with my boss and it became clear to me that if I wanted to make my vision happen, I had to make a leap of faith and give 100% to my new company. Making that decision made me feel nervous and guilty! How could I turn my back on 10 years with the same GP Partner?!?! I went crazy and worked extra hours to finish tasks, get clients updated and transitioned to new support people, documented client info, and more. I wanted to leave things as best I could. I wanted to show respect to the people who helped me grow and become the GP person I am today!
Part 4: The Jump...
It still amazes me how everything came together! In the middle of trying to figure out if I should quit or not, I had a couple people reach out to me (old co-workers from California, etc.). All of my referrals were great opportunities that allowed me to respect the agreements I had with my old GP Partner. (That was super important to me!) I still am so thankful to the people who have sent customers my way! It has been amazing to see how many people I have been able to help already!
Part 5: Naming My Company
You should see the page in my planner with different business name ideas! In the end, I decided to merge a few things together:
- Training (pretty straightforward: I love training, I wanted to focus on training...)
- Dynamo (I didn't want to put the word "Dynamics" in my name...but I wanted to have an homage to the word/idea. All the sudden, I thought of the word Dynamo. It made it personal. It made it about the person doing the training!!
Dynamo: Someone who has a lot of Energy!
Part 6: Helping the GP Community
The last few months have been really exciting and really crazy!! I reached out to some folks in the Dynamics Community (GPUG and The Association of Dynamics Professionals). I was so inspired by the people I met and the sessions I attended at GPUG Summit last year. I was able to do a session at the event and a session for the GP Academy. I wanted to give back! I appreciate how much the members of the GP community do for each other and I wanted to be a part of it! Since the beginning of the year, I have been a speaker at 2 GPUG Chapter Meetings, presented at several GPUG webinars, submitted several GP Tips to the GPUG website, helped as a member of the GPUG Amplify Planning Committee, took over the GP Tips session at GPUG events (HUGE, HUGE, CRAZY, AMAZING, RIDICULOUSLY OUTRAGOUS HONOR), did a 4 hour Sales Order Processing training session at GPUG Amplify, joined a GP Credentialing Subcommittee as an Item Writer, wrote an article for the GPUG magazine, and MORE....If you want to checkout an interview I did at GPUG Amplify, click here!
Part 7: What's Next?
I have had the chance to work with some amazing clients! I know that I will always make time to help GP users! My goal is to get them to the next level and help their partner build a better GP system! I have worked with a couple GP partners to train their clients. I am writing GP training materials. My goal is to start releasing training materials before GPUG Summit in October. I have talked to a couple partners already that are very interested in working together. I would love to help more GP users! If you have any questions or would like to schedule a GP system assessment or training, let me know! I will be speaking at GPUG Summit this October in Tampa, Florida. I also have more webinars, GP Tips, and GPUG Chapter Meetings planned. Follow me on Twitter or checkout my new website for the latest!
