Story:
Creating a Legacy

By Ann Andrews CSP

January 25, 2011 at 12:39pm

business growth

business tools

business ideas

HR/Training

Moonshots

Increase trust, reduce fear

Enable communities of passion

Retool management for an open and borderless world

Summary

I ran my own HR Company for over 20 years (still look after a few special clients); but decided I really needed to think about my next 10 years; to plan for those days when I was too old to keep doing what I was doing.

I wanted to do three things:

1. I wanted to hand over my knowledge to the next generation
2. I needed to create some form of passive income
3. I wanted a new adventure to keep me young and my brain active.

As an HR person I had always been saddened when organisations showed little or no interest in growing or developing their people. Training was a 'cost' where to me it was an investment.

And so out of my thinking processes, I came up with the idea of building an online business training website - The Corporate Toolbox (www.thecorporatetoolbox.com) where people like me could put THEIR knowledge on line; be paid for it and yet offer these products back to businesses large and small, at a really reasonable price, so no business need ever again say 'we can't afford to train our people.'

The Corporate Toolbox has now been live for just over 2 years; I represent over 200 'contributors'; trainers, authors, professional speakers, coaches and consultants; people like me who want to hand their knowledge over and earn a passive income.

It has been the most exciting two years of my life. I love the online world. The possibilities are simply endless.

Ann Andrews CSP
MD The Corporate Toolbox

Context

An aging owner (me); 20+ years of HR experience; no pension plan. A desire to put something in place so I could hand over my knowledge and start a new adventure

Triggers

I was endlessly saddened when working as an HR consultant that training and development were dirty words. Owners and managers employed people for their existing skills and talents and gave very little thought to what would happen to those people once those skills became obsolete.

The flattened heirarchy in most organisations is great, sadly it allows very little career development or advancement. So bright, ambitious people - who see no possibilities of growing in a particular organisation, leave, go elsewhere and take their talents and knowledge elsewhere.

Key Innovations & Timeline

I started this business with zero knowledge of the online world; I'm a bit of a technophobe really.

The learning curve has been immense. Fortunately I took on a young Gen Y'er who almost drove me insane at times - but she knew what she was talking about and dragged me screaming and kicking into the online world.

I now have the services of 9 Gen y'ers - they still challenge me - but without them my business would never have gotten off the ground

We are working on several leaps forward with the site - one part of the business I am opening to a few shareholders. This will give me a cash infusion and the ability to purchase some much needed technology in preparation fort the next stage of growth.

Challenges & Solutions

Challenges are always time and dollar. My time and finding the dollar to pay 9 people. though the site now pays them. My payment will come.

Every time I get a surge in income, I take on another person - people with online skills that I don't have - and skills I don't even want to learn. My belief has always been , work with the expert - pay them what they are worth and build your business fast.

Benefits & Metrics

Benefits for me are the love of what I'm now doing. I loved my HR work, but after 20 years was getting quite bored with the same old, same old challenges - managers not wanting to let go; employees often shirking accountability and responsibility.

Online businesses are SO measureable. Every week I get my google analytics and know exactly what happened last week. Whether we grew, stayed the same or slipped back.

Lessons

So many. I knew nothing; have been told I did everything wrong; spent a small fortune building the website; felt like giving up so many times, but I have amazing people around me who love what I'm doing and they keep me going.

I also took on a mentor mid last year and he has just been amazing. Every session with him he 'lifts' me. Never, ever has he criticised or rubbished what I've done (unlike a lot of other people) - and if I have an idea, he will support me to the ends of the earth.

Everyone should have a clone of this man

Credits

My team - 100%. They have challenged me every step of the way - but without them this online business would never have got past first base

Materials

I spent several small fortunes building The Corporate Toolbox, and I met an amazing man who had built his website for nothing.

He and I wrote an e-book together called 'Truth and Lies'. The lies I was told about how easy it was to make money online - that all you needed was a website and a product and within the blink of an eye I would be earning a mega-fortune. What a lot of tosh!

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