MY BUSINESS PLAN

When first asked for my “business plan” by someone for whom planning does not mean picking up Chinese on the way home, I had only five principles at the ready:

1) Be conscious;
2) Be teachable;
3) Be of service;
4) Always say “yes” to a mediation request; and,
5) Be the exception to the rule.

That was it.

Well, and Also, I . . .

. . . gave my new business a name (duly registering it with the proper authorities), “bought” it business cards (free at Vista Print) and built it a web-site (with Yahoo’s free web builder).

Then I dove off the cliff by (gasp) quitting my day-job and

• joining every professional organization where my market was likely to congregate; 
• sticking out my hand to say “hi, I’m Vickie Pynchon” whether I wanted to or not; 
• taking every mediation class that intrigued me; 
• volunteering my mediation services – mainly on the Los Angeles Superior Court Pro Bono Panel – so that I could practice my skills before rolling them out to former colleagues; 
• talking passionately about mediation whenever asked; 
• writing articles about my new profession and submitting them to publications (which always need content); 
• asking seasoned mediators if I could observe them in action and for tips on commencing a mediation practice; 
• offering to be of service whenever I could to whomever I could; 
• speaking about mediation and negotiation skills to attorneys free of charge; 
• speaking to local business groups about matters of interest to them;
• attending law related and mediation conferences and workshops; 
• taking people in my market out to lunch; out for coffee, etc.; 
• becoming engaged in community activities again; 
• liberating my frustrated inner ad-executive by making post-cards about my new practice and filling them with catchy slogans and useful information; 
• being of service to the organizations I joined (they always need volunteers); and, 
• making too many plans, so that when some of them didn’t pan out it was ok with me.
  

BUILD A NETWORK

To build my network I simply paid attention to what people were interested in and offered to hook them up with others who I thought might be able to satisfy their interests. As more people introduced me to other people who might be of assistance to me, I connected them up with other people who might be of assistance to them.

$$$$$$$

Financing the whole thing, I not only lived on my savings, I also bartered a lot of my services in exchange for others.

LEARNING

Speed-learning my new profession, I kept a journal of my mediations. Not only did it allow me to second guess my own performance before I was strong enough to actually ask my clients how I was doing, it also supplied me with material for the articles I began to write.

ENDURANCE

Keeping my spirits up, I surrounded myself with “winners” -- with people who said “you can do it; of course you can do it!!!” I smiled nicely at people (the vast majority) who told me I’d never be able to build a practice because (pick one) -- the field is full; I hadn’t been a judge; the pro bono panel was ruining free market enterprise; better people than I was had failed, etc., etc.

I treated these people kindly, thinking that most people simply don’t believe in the powers of imagination, faith and audacity. I also reminded myself that I became a pretty good lawyer at an age when I was still afraid of the dark, my own shadow, and anyone who’d been over thirty when I was eighteen.

PRACTICING MY PROFESSIONAL PRINCIPLES IN ALL MY AFFAIRS

And, with everything that needed to be learned about resolving rather than escalating conflict, I began to practice peace-making in all my affairs.

TO REITERATE

Be conscious

This is sometimes called “mindfulness.” Author and mediator Ken Cloke has described mindfulness as

the capacity to be present and aware of what is happening inside you, while at the same time developing awareness of what is happening inside others. It includes the experience of relationships as malleable and subject to transformation at any moment. A mediator exercising mindfulness practices a type of concentration that gives rise to insight and creative intervention techniques. Whenever we allow ourselves to hear at a deep level what the other person is saying, credit it, discover its meaning, and give ourselves permission to present that meaning in the form of a question to the parties, we are using mindfulness to inform the mediation process.

Be teachable

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!” “Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”

Shaseki-shu in Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

Be of service

Mediation is a helping profession. When I show myself able to be of assistance to people, I build a reputation as being a willing, cheerful, attentive and useful helper.

Always say “yes” to a mediation request

The answer to any request for assistance with mediation is simply “yes.” Yes, I will help set up the chairs, make the coffee, print the flyers, clean up the conference room. Yes, I will introduce you to attorneys I know. Yes, I will speak about mediation at your gathering. Yes, I will contribute an article to your newsletter. Yes, you may observe my mediations. Yes, you may have the number of my (pick one) web guy, accountant, assistant, teacher, friend, confidant, personal trainer, marketing adviser, etc., etc., etc. Yes, yes, yes.

Be the exception to the rule

Whatever else I am, good, bad or indifferent, I am unique. I am the exception to any rule that guarantees my failure.

That's it. 

I'll be commencing my third year of mediation practice in June and it is working.  It has been a lot of work and a lot of fun.  There's no reason in the world why you can't do it too!  After all, there's more conflict in human affairs than water in the ocean or stars in the sky.  Turn around and take a look over your shoulder.  There's a dispute waiting to be resolved right over there.   All you have to do is to let them know you've learned how to help them negotiate that contract, settle that lawsuit, or make peace with those neighbors.  Mediation is the better mousetrap.  Join us!

Tomorrow I'll provide you with links to resources that have been useful in building my practice.