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As a Vietnamese refugee, Lan Phan, founder Community of Sevenshe knew education would change her life. Her mother was a hairdresser who never earned greater than $15,000 a 12 months in Inglewood, California. She supported Phan, her two brothers and her father, who couldn’t work due to disability. Phan received a scholarship to Stanford University and studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“My life has been transformed by education. By accessing education and eliminating inequality, we can create systemic equality,” says Phan.
In 2020, Phan was Fortune the warehouse director was entrusted with a multi-million budget and a large team to launch a startup inside the warehouse. She then received the devastating news that she and her team were being laid off. After the breakup, she struggled with depression and anxiety Fortune, so she began posting each day on social media, mostly sharing profession lessons she wished she had learned. Her first audience was her brother and some friends. One day, one of Phan’s posts received 30,000 likes and was viewed by a whole bunch of 1000’s of individuals. Then the Community of Seven was born.
Phan is now on a mission to democratize leadership and development opportunities for purpose-driven leaders. Community of Seven provides group coaching, workshops and training to large Fortune 100 firms and technology startups. It offers free social media content, including microlearning and live broadcasts on it Youtube channel.
“I grew up in corporate America where the leaders didn’t look like me. I was often the only person at the table who was a woman of color,” Phan says. “Individuals identified as high potential, primarily white men, were given access to desired leadership and development opportunities. I, like many others, were never on these lists. I want to change that for the next generation of leaders.”
Here are three lessons Phan offers to founders looking to revolutionize the way they build firms.
1. Start with what’s most significant
“I didn’t gain access to leadership and development opportunities until I was in my 40s, even though I had been managing large teams since my late 20s,” says Phan. “Often I was good enough to build decks and write strategy documents, but I couldn’t present them. The company didn’t invest in me. I finally realized I had to start investing in myself.”
Given her experience in building businesses, Phan was approached by three enterprise capital funds with offers to invest in the Community of Seven. While some would have jumped at the opportunity, Phan refused. “I would like to have the freedom to build on my very own terms. I would like to stop chasing goals, including charging exorbitant membership fees. This is the most significant thing to me.”
Phan took money from her retirement account to fund her business. She also took contract work in marketing and other side roles. Her advice to others is to take your time getting financing: focus on explaining the problem you are trying to solve through your organization.
“If you start taking money too early, you may be forced into growth rates you can’t achieve and have less control over the products you create. Be strategic about raising capital,” says Phan.
2. Develop expertise in multiple areas
“Not accepting funding requires compromises,” Phan says. “I had to spend the money I had wisely. I learned to do a lot of things myself until I started bringing in enough revenue to be able to outsource them and get additional support.”
Phan became her own social media manager. She improved her skills in social media best practices and learned to create her own graphics, including brand logos. She learned how to create web sites, create social media platforms, invest in live streaming equipment, and film and edit her microlearning sessions. She learned the importance of balance and how not to over-hire too quickly or outsource things that may wait.
“By developing expertise in multiple areas, you can gain a deeper understanding of your company,” says Phan. (*3*)
3. Don’t be afraid to ask customers for feedback and adapt
Phan built her business over several years, testing and trying out different offers. She piloted small groups of originators and received feedback that others may gain advantage from the issues discussed. She took that knowledge and created workshops for Fortune 100 firms. She offered 60-minute workshops and received feedback that some of them may be too long, so now she offers more short educational moments. She had so much content on various platforms and her audience wanted easier access to it, so Phan published her first book, Do it every daycentered around the secrets to finding success, happiness and purpose in work and life.
“Don’t be afraid to ask customers for feedback and then adapt,” says Phan. “I see too many companies struggling because they are not willing to adapt or test what their audience wants.”
Phan continues to provide free resources as a part of its mission to democratize learning for all. She has amassed over 500,000 followers across her social media platforms and built Community of Seven into a six-figure business.
“You don’t have to look a certain way, have a certain title or be friends with the CEO to gain access to a coach, weekly leadership training or an exclusive membership-based community,” says Phan. “There shouldn’t be any goals. We should all have access to resources that help us become better leaders.”
This WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS® this text is a part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.