Self-employment

Professional adviser will speed learning and revenues, entrepreneur says

Business is booming thanks to coach

With so much to do when launching a new business, it's easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

ROGER PIERCE -- www.bizlaunch.ca
[ 2007-11-21 ]

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Mark Drager has a new multimedia business and a new daughter.

"You've got to do a lot of things yourself in the early stages, but a coach will help keep you focused on your goals," business owner Mark Drager says.

Drager is president of Phanta Media (www.phantamedia.com), a Toronto-area multimedia design and development company providing a full range of video, graphics and interactive marketing services. It helps businesses to communicate with prospects, clients and staff.

Tired of working in a corporate job, Drager took the bold step of launching his media communications firm late last year ... at the same time his daughter was born. "Becoming a father really changed my outlook," he says. "I wanted the freedom to set my own schedule so I could see my baby girl grow."

He took another bold move by raising startup funds from "Bank of Mom." "My Mom took out a line of credit on her house and we used that to finance the business," Drager says. "Borrowing money from family members is very motivating because failure is not an option ... you have to pay them back!"


Drager compares running a business to riding a rollercoaster. "Sometimes you're riding high with everything going really well and other times you're down in the dumps, riding low and feeling very anxious about things," he says. "I try to spend more time up than down."

To keep him riding high, Drager made the smart decision to work with professional business coaches. "I knew where I wanted to go but I didn't know how to get there," he admits. "My business development coaches help me to stay on strategy and not get lost in day-to-day business activities. With their guidance, I have tripled my revenues and significantly shortened my business learning curve.

"I really recommend a business coach to any new entrepreneur," Drager says.



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