Last weekend, I was trading emails back and forth with a friend from high school who is looking to start her own consulting firm in a rather obscure academic field. She was writing to ask if I would be willing to advise and mentor her during the process. I said I’d help where I could, but one thing she said kinda bothered me from the outset.

I have the idea to start a consulting firm within the next five years.

Why wait five years? My first piece of advice to her was to start building her consulting practice now, not later. Five years from now, someone else may have cornered the market for that very obscure thing you want to do. Five years from now, you could find yourself in a job that pays well, yet sucks the entrepreneurial life out of you. Five years from now, you could have three more kids and considerably less flexibility to juggle a day job and a side hustle.

Even if you don’t feel like you’re “ready” to announce your big consulting plans to the world, there are still some things you can do right now to move them forward.

• Start blogging
• Reject the lizard brain
• Test the waters

Ideally, your first clients should come to you before you even hang your shingle. That’s the only way you know if you have a viable service, anyway. Yes, things will be messy in the beginning, but when you actually get ready to do a full “launch” of your full-time business, you will have already worked out many of the kinks.

But whatever you do, don’t let time be an arbitrary excuse for not rolling up your sleeves today. What does five years represent anyway? It’s just a moment in time that is not now. Don’t be one of those people who say now it’s not the right time. You don’t have enough time. Maybe next time. The timing is off. You’re too young. You’re too old. You missed your time.

Or maybe you don’t have enough information. You can’t afford the seminars or the books that will give you the information. You have too much information. You need better information. The person with the information won’t get back to you.

There will always be an excuse not to do the thing you’ve always wanted to do. It’s so much easier to sit around talking about that Big Awesome Idea we never seem to be able get off the ground. But at some point you need to either jump off the damn cliff or just stop talking about that thing you know you’re never gonna do. We all have good ideas, but they’re pretty much useless if we don’t implement them.

Because when you do make the jump? Well, it’s like Sarah Susanka said in her fantastic book, The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters:

“Once you make the unequivocal internal commitment to do something – when you absolutely know this is the time and the place to act – the world around you will shift in all sorts of apparently miraculous ways to make it happen.”

The commitment comes first. But please, do it now, not five years from now.

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This is a guest post from Deborah Meehan, Executive Director of the Leadership Learning Community (LLC), a national nonprofit organization leveraging leadership by generating ideas, connections, and actions.

Working in the field of leadership I have heard many Executive Directors talk about the loneliness of leadership or ‘loneliness at the top’.  How curious.  Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum – it’s all about working with other people, so why the loneliness?  I heard Executive Directors talk a lot about being the ones who worry about everything. Is this what it means to be a leader?  It’s not so farfetched that our ideas of leadership would take on rather heroic proportions when you consider common leadership role models like Martin Luther King, Jr.

Luckily there is another point of view emerging.  According to “Next Shift: Beyond the Nonprofit Leadership Crisis,” by the Building Movement Project, younger leaders are not attracted to hierarchical structures and are “trying to find new ways to organize and structure work, ranging from entrepreneurial models to shared leadership and broader participatory structures.”  Instead of being heroic leaders, there is an opportunity for nonprofit leaders to think of ourselves as facilitators of a process that engages everyone in our organizations in leadership.

As Executive Director for the Leadership Learning Community (LLC), I constantly draw inspiration from young leaders and the collective leadership model.  Our entire staff is our leadership team.  We all have input in planning projects, setting budgets, conducting performance reviews, hiring, and actively learning from our achievements and mistakes. As a team, we come up with more creative ideas and tackle tough problems more efficiently than I (or any one individual) could alone.

Even though collective leadership empowers teams and eases the burden on ED’s, there are not a lot of nonprofit adopting this model, probably because it is not easy. In our case, we first erred in the direction of micromanagement. Now we distribute leadership and responsibility. It’s a balance, knowing when and what each of us needs to communicate to the team without overloading each other. It’s a messy business, but we continue to be amazed by what a handful of people can do when everyone’s leadership is tapped.

Although the interest in collective leadership in the nonprofit sector seems to be increasing, there is a need for more models and tools that can validate this approach and guide organizations.  Last year, we made a small grant to the DataCenter, an organization that had recently adopted an entirely shared leadership model, so they could identify and share lessons from their experience.  For example, all of their employees receive the same base salary and their job is divided 80/20 between program and administration tasks.  This allows all the employees to learn about both aspects of the organization.

To build on these lessons, we launched a collaborative research initiative, Leadership for a New Era, with 20 partners. We hope to show how collective approaches unleash innovation, and identify tools to help organizations accomplish more (and have more fun) by tapping the full leadership potential of their teams.

Deborah Meehan is the founder and Executive Director of the Leadership Learning Community (LLC). In 1991 Deborah received a Kellogg National Leadership fellowship. She was also a 1991 Salzburg Fellow and returned to Salzburg in 2007 as a member of the Global Youth Leadership faculty. Deborah also conducts an annual Women’s Leadership Seminar for women law fellows. She has served as a consultant for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build an alumni association for the 700 leadership alumni of the Kellogg program. She serves as a board member for the International Leadership Association and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of MN. Deborah has created a consulting services arm of LLC and conducted evaluations for national and international leadership programs and produced leadership scans, literature reviews and made program recommendations on behalf of 30 foundations that include a broad range of small, large, regional, state and prominent national foundations.

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Yesterday, I shared a few research-based facts that, together, paint a picture of Generation Y as a whole. What the data show is that we’re racially diverse, highly educated and tech savvy. The research also reveals that we maintain a unique work ethic, suffer from massive debt and generally live a very different lifestyle than our parents.

What the data doesn’t show is that my generation is also visionary, passionate and committed to creating the world as it should be.

So today, I want you to meet Erica Williams.

(Yes, I’ve blogged about her before. She’s also one of 50 young nonprofit influencers you should be following on Twitter. What can I say? She’s just that awesome.)

Erica is a Washington, D.C.-based activist and commentator who currently serves as the the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress.

She is also one of the most powerful voices of my generation.

In this compelling 2009 Poptech talk, Erica talks about how Millennials are redefining civic engagement. Take 15 minutes out of your life to watch the speech in its entirety. Believe me, it’s worth it.

Lest you get overly caught up in all the research being done on Generation Y, I wanted to offer a more nuanced perspective on what members of my generation are doing.

Despite all of our job-hopping, we will be the ones to change the world. And what I hope is that we’re envisioning that new world not only for ourselves, but for all the generations that will come after us.

Related Posts

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More and more attention is starting to be paid to the working and spending habits of the biggest generation since the Baby Boomers: Generation Y. With all the potential of a new and hopefully more engaged workforce, it’s important to stay informed about who researchers say “are on track to become the most educated generation in American history.”

Here are a few things you may already know about Generation Y:

• Also known as “Millennials”
• Born 1980 to 2000
• 80 million strong
• Grew up with school shootings, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq
• Plagued with high levels of student debt
• Proficient with technology, often called “Digital Natives”
• Personality characteristics: confident, social, celebrate diversity, collaborative

But let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? Here are 36 facts of note (all based on research) about Generation Y. My generation.

Note: As I have said before, these generational characteristics are highly generalized and do not fully take into account variations based on race and class. Nonetheless, they do provide a useful framework in which to understand Millennials as a whole. A good companion piece for compare and contrast would be Pew Hispanic Center’s 2009 report, “Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America.”

Racial Makeup

1. Generation Y is more ethnically and racially diverse than older generations, with people of color making up about 40% of our population.
2.Half of all young people of color are Hispanic.

Source: Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next

Education

3. About 40% of all young adults ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in either a two- or four-year college in October 2008.
4. So far, 1 in 5 Millennials are college graduates. An additional 26% are currently in school and plan to graduate from college, while an additional 30% are not in school but expect to someday earn a college degree.
5. Younger whites are about twice as likely as blacks or Hispanics to have finished college (22% vs. 10% for both blacks and Latinos). But blacks are significantly more likely than whites or Hispanics to say they want to earn a college diploma.

Source: Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next

Work Ethic

6. About 37% of 18- to 29-year-olds have been underemployed or out of work during the recession, the highest share among the age group in more than 30 years.
7. Nearly 2/3 of all Millennials have full- or part-time jobs.
8. 13% of all Millennials are students who do not work for pay.
9. Almost 6 in 10 employed Millennials say they already have switched careers at least once.
10. About 60% of younger workers say it is not very likely or not likely at all that they will stay with their current employers for the remainder of their working life. (In contrast, 62% of Generation X workers say it’s likely they will never leave their current employer while 84% of Baby Boomers expect to remain with their current employer for the rest of their working life.)
11. Only 1/3 of Millennials say their current job is their career.

Source: Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next

Debt & Financial Outlook

12. 36% of all Millennials depend on financial support from their families, including 14% of all young adults who are working full time. [1]
13. More than one in three young workers say they are currently living at home with their parents. [2]
14. 31% of young workers are uninsured. [2]
15. One-third of young workers cannot pay their bills. [2]
16. 7 in 10 young workers do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses. [2]
17. Roughly half of households headed by someone under 35 carry a credit card balance. [3]
18. 41% of younger households have auto loans. [3]
19. In 2008, 67% of students graduating from four-year colleges and universities had student loan debt. [4]
20. Average debt levels for graduating seniors with student loans rose to $23,200 in 2008. [4]
21. Only 58% of Millennials pay their monthly bills on time. [5]
22. 60% of workers 20 to 29 years old cashed out their 401(k) retirement plans — typically a big financial no-no because such a move squanders retirement assets and forces the recipient to pay a tax penalty — when they changed or lost jobs. [5]
23. On average, Generation Yers each have more than three credit cards, and 20% carry a balance of more than $10,000. [5]

Sources: [1] Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next [2] AFL-CIO 2009 report, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade” [3]  Demos 2010 report, “Risking Our Future Middle Class” [4] Project on Student Debt, Quick Facts January 2010 [5] USA Today April 2010 article, “Generation Y’s steep financial hurdles: Huge debt, no savings”

Technology & Online Habits

24. 93% of teens ages 12-17 go online, as do 93% of young adults ages 18-29. [1]
25. 75% of Millennials have created a profile on a social networking site. [1]
26. 1 in every 5 Millennials have posted a video of themselves online. [1]
27. 41% of Millennials use only a cell phone and have no landline. [1]
28. Over half of YouTube’s users are under 20 years old. [2]
29. 53% of the total blogging population is 21-35 years old. [3]

Sources: [1] Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next [2] YouTube via Danny Brown [3] Sysomos 2010 report via Mashable

Lifestyle, Civic Engagement, Family

30. Almost 40% of all Millennials have a tattoo (about half of those with tattoos have two to five tattoos and 18% have six or more). 70% say their tattoos are hidden beneath clothing.
31. 1 in 4 Millennials are unaffiliated with any religion.
32. In 2008, 66% of Millennials voted for Barack Obama for president, compared with 50% of those 30 and older, the largest disparity between younger and older voters in 40 years.
33. Just 2% of Generation Y males are military veterans. (At a comparable stage of their life cycle, 6% of Gen Xer men, 13% of Baby Boomer men and 24% of Silent Generation men were veterans.)
34. 61% of Millennials grew up in a two-parent household, a smaller percentage than the three previous generations.
35. 21% of Millennials are married (half the percentage of their parents’ generation at the same ages).
36. 34% of Millennials are parents.

Source: Pew Research Center 2010 report, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next

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Can you name a leader under 40 who is effectively solving a societal problem? Unfortunately, most young leaders cannot.

Independent Sector’s 2009 American Express NGen Fellows (a cohort of 12 under-40 nonprofit leaders) just released the results of its group project, a report that looked at how emerging leaders across sectors can work together to solve society’s most pressing problems. 

The final report is based on a survey distributed to more than 2,000 young leaders in nonprofits, government, and business that examined their perspectives on leadership development, cross-sector collaboration, and how to respond to major community challenges.

The most shocking part of the report for me was that the majority of respondents could not identify a single under-40 leader who is effectively solving a societal problem. Yes, you heard that right. Nearly two-thirds of the survey respondents were not aware of their own peers who are making a difference in the world every day.

How could this be?

Read the rest here.

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It’s summer. It’s hot. It’s lazy. It’s all vacation everything. People are blogging less, maybe working less, too. Which means that it’s the perfect time to invest in your personal brand. Specifically, I want to explore blogging as a tool to improve your life and career.

That’s the concept behind my new blog, Blogging for Branding. I’ve designed it as an experiment for me to see how best to help people learn how to use blogging to build their personal brand.

To kick off this new project, I invite you to join me during the entire month of August for a fun learning series. Think of it as a cool challenge to beat the heat and build your brand…

31 Days to a Brand New Blog

Inspired by Darren Rowse at ProBlogger, I will post a new tip each day in August to help you use your blog to build a better personal brand that will enhance your life and career.

Wanna join in the fun? It’s FREE and it’s gonna be a blast to learn with other people who are starting a blog or want to use the challenge to spruce up the one they already have. Sign up for the challenge so we can follow your progress throughout the month! More details here.

Wait, You Don’t Have a Blog Yet?

For shame Well, from now through August 31, I’m offering to help you set up a professional-looking blog with my Blog Starter Kit. Learn more here and let me know if you’d like to take advantage of this opportunity. I’d love to help you get started with a blog so you can participate in next month’s learning challenge! There are also options for those who just want a few tweaks here and there.

Now if blogging’s just not your thing, not to worry. This blog will still be focused on nonprofits, leadership and social change. All day, (almost) every day. The content here won’t change, but if you want to stay updated on all my Blogging for Branding posts, you can subscribe to my new blog here.

P.S. Check back here at about noon EST for a new post about young nonprofit leaders and why no one knows who we are. And don’t forget to tune in to today’s radio show about board service for young nonprofit professionals!

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August 1-31, 2010

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Young people are known for being more proficient with social media than our older colleagues, and it definitely shows up in the blogosphere. Recent research shows that 53% of the total blogging population is 21-35 years old. Cool, right? What I wonder about that statistic though, is whether we are blogging simply for personal reasons or if we’re really using blogging as a strategy to enhance our careers.

As a personal branding tool, blogging really serves so many different purposes that I’m surprised more of us are not doing it. Thankfully, networks like Brazen Careerist are out there to connect young people who are using blogging as a tool to advance and even shape their careers. The possibilities are endless.

So I asked my blogging friends on Twitter:

What’s the biggest benefit you’ve experienced with professional blogging?

This is what they said.

Blogging Helps You Become a Better Writer

Blogging Helps You Stay on Top of What’s Happening in Your Niche

Blogging Helps You Build Credibility in Your Field

Blogging Can Help You Get a Job

Blogging Can Help You Make Extra Money

Blogging Expands Your Network

Blogging Allows You to Share Your Expertise

Blogging Helps Spread the Word About Causes You Care About

Here are two more significant benefits I’ve observed in the blogosphere.

Blogging Can Help You Position Yourself as a Thought Leader

• Andre Blackman has been using his blog, Pulse + Signal to market himself as an expert in the field of public health and technology.
• Ian David Moss is widely respected as a go-to person on all things arts policy, in large part due to his popular industry blog Createquity.

Blogging is the Ultimate Marketing Tool for Jobseekers

• Jessica Journey used her blog to build her brand while she was still in grad school as a way to make herself more attractive to employers.
• Elizabeth Campbell is new to the nonprofit scene, but her blog, Will Work for Free, makes it very clear that she wants to work in nonprofit administration after graduating.

If you’re already blogging, how has blogging helped you in your career? If you’re not blogging yet but want to, what’s holding you back?

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This Monday, July 26, I invite you to tune in on your lunch break to my internet radio show, All Nonprofits Considered on BlogTalkRadio! Join me for a live discussion with Alexis Terry of ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, Gen Y Nonprofit Blogger Anh Phuong Tran, and Erin O’Connor Jones, a consultant with the Nonprofit Professional Advisory Group and career advisor for the Jobs for Change blog on Change.org as they offer insight and information and talk about the benefits of board leadership experience for young nonprofit professionals. Remember, this will be the last show of the summer; All Nonprofits Considered will return the first week of September, Monday the 6th.  Don’t miss it!

July 26, 12:00-1:00pm EST
Alexis Terry, Anh Tran & Erin O’Connor Jones Discuss the Importance of Board Leadership for Young Nonprofit Professionals

Alexis Terry is director of diversity and inclusion at ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership in Washington, DC. In this role, she works with staff and volunteer leaders to advance diversity and foster a more inclusive association community. In addition, Alexis serves as the senior staff liaison for ASAE & The Center’s Diversity Committee. Prior to joining ASAE & The Center, Alexis held a variety of roles at BoardSource, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing the public good by building exceptional nonprofit boards and inspiring board service. In 2005, Alexis worked as a Consulting and Training Associate to engage nonprofit boards in the many educational programs and benefits the organization offers. For four years she generated revenue and cultivated and managed relationships with national nonprofits, foundations, associations, and corporations.

Alexis is the author of BoardSource’s 2008 Next Generation and Governance Findings Report and served as project manager of BoardSource’s Diversity and Next Generation Initiative, a multiyear program designed to reach and prepare diverse, next generation leaders for board service. In this role, Alexis led an internal taskforce through the creation of a three-year operational plan for this initiative, which included a goal of advancing BoardSource’s commitment to becoming a model organization on diversity and inclusion. She also worked with a team to launch Board Life Matters (www.boardlifematters.org), which is the first national blog designed to reach and inspire the next generation of nonprofit board leaders.

Alexis graduated from Pepperdine University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and holds a certificate in Nonprofit Management.  She is pursuing an Executive Certificate in Diversity Strategy from Georgetown University. Alexis is a Steering Committee Member of the Next Generation Leadership Forum with American Humanics and an Advisory Committee member to the board of the DC chapter of Young Nonprofit Professional Network (YNPN).

Anh Phuong Tran is the Empowerment Manager at IMPACT Silver Spring in Silver Spring, MD. In her current position, Anh directs several empowerment programs to build community assets, including microenterprises and workforce efforts for diverse immigrants and low-income residents. She is devoted to a career in public service, having served as an AmeriCorps director, and member, previously teaching math and science in Los Angeles with Teach For America. She is a writing coach with the University of Maryland, University College for the graduate program in management. In her free time, Anh enjoys practicing yoga and cooking 30-minute meals. She currently serves on the board of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, DC chapter, the Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association, and recently joined the board of LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics ). Anh graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Economics and Mass Communications and a minor in Education.

Erin O’Connor Jones manages a portfolio of nonprofit searches and oversees candidate consulting services on behalf of nonprofit job seekers currently in or new to the sector at Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, a niche consulting firm. Throughout her nearly 20 years career leading and managing large and small entrepreneurial nonprofits, Erin has been committed to mentoring candidates from resume writing to final negotiations in their nonprofit job search. She works directly with job seekers, including those transitioning from the private sector, to understand the distinct language and complexity of the nonprofit world. In addition, Erin is featured as one of five career advisors at www.change.org, where she leads their Jobs for Change.org sector switcher blog. Prior to joining NPAG, Erin served as the Executive Director of the Family-to-Family Project, a Boston-based agency committed to ending family homelessness. She was formerly the Vice President of Communications and Business Development at Youth Alternatives, a statewide child welfare and mental health agency based in Portland, Maine, and was the Director of Program Development and Evaluation at the Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. Her diverse background includes management, mentoring, program development, communications and fundraising in the areas of child welfare, mental health, homelessness and housing. Erin earned her Master’s of Public Administration from Suffolk University and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Keene State College. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy from Boston College’s Program for Women in Politics and Government, now a program of the McCormack Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston.

Don’t Forget to Join the Live Chat Room!

About 10 minutes before the show begins, I open up the live chat room that appears right below the audio player. Be sure to log-in to the chat room during the show to share your questions and comments. Talk live with me, my guests and the other listeners! Remember, you can both listen online or call in – this is a LIVE show! And it’s going to be AWESOME. Can’t listen to the live show? No worries – each show is archived for you to listen to later online or you can subscribe to the show in iTunes and get it in your iPod.

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This is a guest post by Tracy Wright, a crusader and advocate for the anti- sexual violence movement at the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault

Recently, I celebrated my six-year anniversary working in the anti-sexual violence movement and with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (please hold all applause until the end). In addition to being excited about this milestone of sorts, I began to reflect on how and why I continue to do this work. The answer is simple: sound mentorship.

For the purpose of this blog, the conglomerate of allies, visionaries, advocates and survivors who serve as my mentorship circle will be coined as investors. Essentially, that’s what they are. They cultivated a relationship, believed in a product’s potential, invested time and resources and took risks. Although they don’t anticipate fiscal gains, these investors do require a sound return in work product, ethics, advocacy and sustainability. Keep in mind that working with these investors is no easy feat because they can be overbearing. However, as a product, one has to grasp that their tactics are coming from a place of wanting to see kinetic energy transform to potential energy and that energy manifest into social change. If you, as a product, are in a place where you want to seek investors and their buy in, here are five things I think are key in merging investor and product.

1. Time Commitment. Just as anti-oppression work is a lifelong process, so is mentorship. Both entities have to enter into the realm of mentor and mentee with an understanding that ideals and needs shift but time can’t be a factor in doing the greater good.

2. Critical Thinking. Don’t be misled that mentorship is an utopian relationship. For me, most of that time is spent correcting mishaps, shaping thoughts and sharing information all of which are vital to leadership development. Challenging questions are the core of preparing the product to respond to mistakes and streamlining processes.

3. Push Past Personal Boundaries. Six years ago, to say I was timid and shy would be an understatement. Today I present, spearhead projects and even write articles. Never bragging but indeed humbled by the turn of events. With every opportunity afforded me, I enter into it knowing that I would not be in a place to be receptive of it without my investors. They pushed me my past my constraints through esteem building, access to professional development and believing in my brand.

4. Honesty. My, aren’t my investors honest! When I do something right, they are the first to praise. When I make a mistake, they are the first to correct. That consistency is appreciated. At first it was a tough adjustment because I took their constructive criticisms personally. As I grew as a person, I became more receptive to my investor’s firm hand and insight to do and be better.

5. Willingness to Grow. Investors, or at least the good ones, want to see their product grow and flourish. This is the same for mentors. The relationship is entered into with growth at the forefront. Growth in the form of a willingness to learn, take risks, make mistakes and be the best product possible.

I am no household name. I am sure I won’t end the epidemic of sexual violence. What I do know is that my product is sound and I am in a good place to do good work. Now that I think about it, that is all my investors wanted from me initially. Now I have the task of seeking out products, ensuring they are planted in good ground to change the world; that in itself exceeds anything money can buy.

Tracy D. Wright is the Technical Assistance Provider and Women of Color Leadership Project Coordinator with the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA) for the National Resource Sharing Project. Her current work provides technical assistance and training to 16 state and territorial sexual assault coalitions. In this capacity, Tracy works with national entities to create a coordinated response to ending sexual violence, addresses emerging issues and carves out initiatives specifically for women of color in the anti-sexual violence movement. Tracy’s initial work in the women’s anti-violence movement began as a project intern with NCCASA where she compiled an analysis of over 75 sexual assault service providers in North Carolina. Fully committed to a life of service, Tracy has served on the boards of the Wake County Commission for Women and the Achievement Academy of Durham. She regularly lends time and talents to Wright Interactions and Reaching Your Goals, Inc. Ms. Wright holds a BA in Mass Communications from Shaw University and a Masters of Science in Print Journalism from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. She was also a graduate of the North Carolina Center for Women in Public Service Summer Institute.

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