We were lucky to catch up with Sharon Zimmerman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sharon, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.
By being deeply interested in how people think and feel. The way that people process information can be so very different. And there is almost always more than one way of solving a problem, or of explaining almost anything, it is worth it to try multiple ways of sharing and explaining to make sure that you include your entire audience. In my own way, this is how I listen more deeply and work harder to ensure that both I and my audience are understood and feel heard.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Running a small business is fulfilling, exciting, and liberating. At the same time, it is easy as a solo entrepreneur to feel isolated, or to wonder if you’re really on the right track. I started advising and consulting for small businesses to help entrepreneurs understand their numbers and the stories that their numbers tell. There is so much contrasting and conflicting information out there, I drill down on what’s really happening in their businesses, help my clients gain clarity, and shift from making reactive decisions to making proactive decisions, especially around money!
It is deeply rewarding when my clients go from feeling like they are flailing to finding clarity. I love hearing that they feel more confident making business decisions.
In my consulting and advising work, I help clients understand their cash flow, how it works, what they need from it and how to improve it. We can also work together to streamline and organize the processes in their business to keep everything humming along.
Solo business owners, product makers and more can look over my current offerings, or reach out about a bespoke project – https://www.sharonz-consulting.com/work-with-me
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1 – So. Much. Retail! And I wouldn’t have it any other way. It helped me with diplomatic communication skills, patience and an understanding of consumer psychology.
2 – Seeing the process and organization of other production businesses – production jewelry, food, or even marketing production gave me a sense of how an entire business could or should work as a whole.
3 – Excel. I know it’s unsexy but wow this software continues to be a core and powerful piece of my tech stack. Now in the form of Google Sheets so that I can easily share with clients and students who are not on the Microsoft platform, but still. I love a good spreadsheet.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
People who are passionate about what they do, and who need more guidance, education and systems for their business money. Makers of almost all stripes who are ready to make a living doing what they love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sharonz-consulting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonzjewelry/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonzjewelry/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SharonZJewelry/featured
- Other: https://www.sharonz-consulting.com/the-jewelry-guide/category/The+Business+End
Image Credits
Ryan Leggett Sharon Zimmerman
