Business Start-Up – on being an entrepreneur

By: Sue Thame (Trustee)
Category: Entrepreneurship
On: 16 January, 2025

If you have thoughts of going solo as an entrepreneur, or of creating a business start-up with a colleague or two, my story might be of interest.

Starting out.

Before becoming a self-employed entrepreneur, I was very happy employed by the UK’s national newspapers in Fleet St, London, England: first by the Financial Times*, and then by the Daily Mail**. By chance during my time at the Mail, I came into contact with the Alexander Technique*** and as time went by I realised I wanted to train to teach it. Qualification would take three years.

To make ends meet during training, I undertook a variety of projects in UK businesses. They were invaluable, giving me the chance to see inside a variety of companies in the UK. My understanding of how people inside companies work together was enriched - particularly about the habits and routines of thought people used... what now we sometimes call group-think.

Start-up ONE: as self-employed Alexander Technique teacher

When I qualified, my start-up as a solo entrepreneur-teacher of the Technique was made easy because I was listed on the UK national register of Alexander Teachers. Individuals, from all walks of life, turned up for lessons in my studio in London - which was actually a spare bedroom, without a bed, carpeted, and with just the basic teaching equipment I needed.

RECOMMENDATION ONE: Tapping into a network of potential clients is essential when you are starting out.

What I enjoyed most with my pupils during these early years was the process of raising their awareness of how they physically moved in everything they were doing. As I used to say to them, “It’s all about how you think”.

Being located in central London, there were plenty of people who wanted ‘lessons’ in the Technique; for example professional actors, musicians and athletes, people with physical difficulties and folk who were just curious and wanted to explore something new. I earned a modest living and engaged with some fascinating people in the world of the ARTS, London being such a hub for them.

Start-up TWO: Joint entrepreneur in a new training organisation

Two senior colleagues in the world of Alexander teaching roped me in to a new training Centre they were founding in Old Street in the City of London. I was recruited as a lead teacher and Treasurer i.e. I looked after the finances. Working alongside some 20 highly motivated and idiosyncratic colleagues was an extra-ordinary experience in itself. It knocked a few corners off me and taught me that good collaboration needed far more than just mission-focus. I made significant discoveries about my own character, through debate, argument and disagreements with my teaching colleagues as well as from the wisdom of the students who came to our Centre from all over the world, many of whom had a lot of life and work experience.

RECOMMENDATION TWO: Being connected with colleagues who are in the same line of business grows your experience. You learn from each other.

I taught for four years at the Centre. What came next was serendipity, giving me an answer as to why I had had so many disagreements with my two Founder colleagues at the Alexander training school. While the Technique has a sophisticated language about bodily movement it has no conceptual language of the mind to untangle our different ways of thinking.

Start-up THREE: Effective Intelligence partnership

I met and married Jerry Rhodes, who was starting his own business based on the research into ‘how we think’ sponsored by Philips Eindhoven, the international electronics firm. I was a bit slow catching on to what he was doing…he had created a language for thought in order to teach very highly qualified managers and engineers in Philips Eindhoven ‘how to think better’.

RECOMMENDATION THREE: Keep growing your self-development.

If you think a university degree is adequate for learning how to think really well for business, you might be surprised if you try Effective Intelligence at effectiveintelligence.com/yourthinking

The Alexander Technique and Effective Intelligence are two different, complementary approaches to understanding how you think.

 

1. The Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique teaches the way you use your body in physical activity.  When you are learning the Technique, you become aware of the kinds of habitual ways you move, the tensions in your body when you do everyday things like getting up from sitting in a chair, how you eat with your knife, fork and spoon, how you walk up-hill, how you do your daily exercise run (if you do), how you use your mouth, tongue and jaw to talk, how you gesture with your body and limbs when you are talking… and so on. This exploration of thinking about movement is deeply embedded in the Alexander Technique.

two people in exercise clothes walking

2. Effective Intelligence
Jerry Rhodes’ research, which he had conducted in a joint team with Philips Eindhoven, revealed an entirely different way of understanding how we think BEFORE we actually do something of any significance: And if you also view what you have done both before and after, it further increases what is called meta-cognition. It certainly shone a new light into my mind. In fact, it shone the rainbow of a Colour-code: Green, Red and Blue in the light spectrum.

The Research team chose this Colour-coding to differentiate the three fundamental thinking operations we all use, everyday.

The Three Colours-code
Green - aiming your thinking towards being imaginative
Red - aiming to find out information that is accurate and true
Blue - aiming to come to a decision in order to take action

Notice how the word ‘aiming’ is used. It implies a deliberate choice of direction - like ‘aiming a dart’, aiming an arrow.

archer aiming at a target

What did I discover about my Three Colours of Thinking?

Hmmm... revelation time. I am strongly oriented towards Blue.

I do like to get on with the action. Over the years I have somewhat tempered my Blue haste, encouraged by colleagues who are oriented towards the Red thoroughness of getting the information in place to provide relevant knowledge. Fortunately I have become more tolerant of colleagues who just love to explore ideas in their Green to the point I can enjoy it and join in.

Just to advise you: Inside the Three Colours are successive levels of differentiation, through to 21 ‘Thinking-Intentions’, nick-named ‘Thunks’. See effectiveintelligence.com/yourthinking

Start-up FOUR: Rhodes Effective Intelligence Trust

For succession planning, Jerry Rhodes founded this educational Trust now run by the CEO, Jay Canning.

We have noticed over the years that many entrepreneurs have a strong Green orientation… and we have advised them to build a support network with Red and Blue colleagues who can provide a natural balance. In our Trust among our principal colleagues we have two who are strongly Red, one who is very Green, one Blue, and one who acts as a Balancer. Among our Associates are all the Colours of the Rainbow. See these links:

effectiveintelligence.com/master-trainers

effectiveintelligence.com/effective-intelligence-associates

A Parting note

May we suggest: plan your meeting Agendas with the relevant Colours of thinking in mind. For example:

What items of the meeting are for ideas generation,

Which are for information gathering,

Which for making a decision?

And if none of this is clear at the start of the meeting, keep alert!

  • Too many Green colleagues can lead you astray
  • Your Red colleagues will take up huge amounts of time (most meetings spend most of their time in Red information exchange which is necessary and useful, and because people feel comfortable and important contributors when they are telling what they know)
  • Any final decisions might be taken too quickly because the meeting is up against the clock.
Photos on all blogs under licence from Canva unless supplied by the authors.

*Financial Times (now owned by Nikkei Inc.)
**Daily Mail (now owned DMG Media)
***Alexander Technique Lists of qualified teachers are available at alexandertechnique.co.uk/no-section/find-a-teacher