Michele Dugar is a dynamic entrepreneur and strategic thinker with a diverse background in business, art, and education. As a seasoned marketing consultant, she began her journey by providing strategic branding to small business owners, utilizing her unique blend of analytical and creative skills. Michele's entrepreneurial spirit has led her to teach as well as to open two of her own businesses throughout her career.
Michele recently shared with us her experiences with starting a company, navigating growth, overcoming the fear of failure, and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable as an entrepreneur.
Describe your founder journey.
In my entrepreneurial journey, I've navigated various paths within the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Initially, I began as a marketing consultant, specializing in strategic branding. My unique blend of analytical and creative skills, honed during my double major in business and art, allowed me to excel in both strategic analysis and creative execution.
Transitioning from a marketing consultant, I delved into teaching, serving as an adjunct at USC in the marketing department for 12 years. My role involved training future business leaders, a role that laid the foundation for my subsequent move to Benedict, where I continued shaping the business minds of tomorrow. Simultaneously, I became a certified entrepreneurship trainer, conducting sessions for the city of Columbia, and guiding business owners through the intricacies of developing comprehensive business plans.
In the pursuit of broadening my impact, I sought to engage with corporate entities. Recognizing my entrepreneurial spirit, others encouraged me to explore this avenue further. Besides my roles as a business strategist, marketing consultant, and educator, I embraced entrepreneurship firsthand, founding my own ventures.
One such venture emerged from a personal need. Over two decades ago, inspired by my daughter's fascination with princesses, I noticed a gap in the market for personalized gift items featuring characters with diverse backgrounds. This realization led to the creation of Ginger Snaps Baby; a venture dedicated to crafting personalized gift items inspired by children of color. The venture aimed to fill a void in the market and provide representation for young girls like my daughter, Madison, who is now 23.
Through these diverse experiences, from marketing consultancy to entrepreneurship training and creating my ventures, my journey within the entrepreneurial ecosystem has been a dynamic exploration of innovation and problem-solving.
In the course of my entrepreneurial journey, I faced the challenges of managing multiple responsibilities as a founder. Realizing the need to streamline my focus, I decided to pivot, concentrating on marketing consulting and entrepreneurship training. Along this path, I was prompted to infuse creativity into businesses, including corporations.
Recognized for my dual identity as an artist and entrepreneur, I grappled with the question of how to teach companies to become adept creative problem solvers. This quest led me to the discovery of design thinking, a methodology emphasizing empathy, defining parameters, ideation, testing, and embracing the unknown. As an educator, I recognized a gap in how we prepared future business leaders, often fixating on past data and control.
Design thinking, with its customer-centric approach, encourages innovative thinking by fostering experimentation. It reshapes our perception of failure, emphasizing its integral role in the growth process. Now, within the entrepreneurship ecosystem, my role revolves around empowering leaders, teams, and students with the tools for innovative and creative thinking. I stress that true innovation goes beyond novelty; it's about creating value for customers. As I navigate this evolving landscape, I acknowledge and embrace the transformative power of a mindset shift toward experimentation and a healthy perspective on failure.
How did you overcome your fear of failure?
Confronting my fear of failure has been an ongoing journey, and the irony is not lost on me. As someone who advises and guides others, I often find myself grappling with the same challenges. Recognizing that this fear is fundamentally a mindset issue has been a crucial step. Understanding it as a manifestation of the very human fears of rejection and unworthiness, deeply rooted in our primitive instincts, provides a valuable perspective.
Psychology underscores that our two strongest fears are the fear of rejection or abandonment, linked to our survival instincts, and the fear of inadequacy or unworthiness. Acknowledging these fears and their origins is vital, allowing oneself the grace to navigate them in a modern context where they may not be as applicable.
For me, mindfulness has played a key role in this process. It involves making intentional decisions not to let the fear of failure hinder progress. Reframing failure as an opportunity to learn, viewing it as a speed bump rather than a stop sign, has been a transformative shift. The meaning we attach to setbacks is crucial—whether it signifies personal inadequacy, the worthiness of a product, or simply a need to adjust course.
This perspective aligns with the ethos of design thinking, encouraging a rapid, cost-effective exploration of ideas and a continuous process of iteration. Embracing the notion that mistakes are valuable lessons, I've adopted a mindset that values the journey of experimentation and learning over the paralyzing fear of failure. It's an ongoing process, but one that brings growth and resilience with each iteration.
What resources did you tap into along the way?
I do a lot of reading and am intentional about investing in training for myself. This investment serves two key purposes: enhancing my skills as an entrepreneur for effective business development and sales, and honing my expertise in strategy and facilitation, which aligns with my role as a strategist and facilitator.
As a business owner, my goal is twofold: to advance my business and to equip myself with the tools necessary to fulfill my mission. This involves not only taking my business further but also ensuring excellence in delivering services and products to my clients and customers.
One notable example of this commitment is my venture into design thinking. Recognizing its potential impact on both students and companies, I invested in training from Jake Knapp, a renowned expert who authored the definitive book on design sprints during his tenure at Google. This strategic investment aligns with my broader mission and empowers me to bring innovative solutions to both educational and corporate settings.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned recently about entrepreneurial growth?
Recognizing the limitations inherent in juggling multiple interests has been a crucial lesson for me. Despite my attempts, the reality is that you just can’t do everything at once, especially without a dedicated team. This realization has led me to understand the importance of patience and strategic growth – acknowledging that trying to do everything at once can dilute the impact, akin to spreading light without focus.
In terms of personal and professional growth, I've learned that sequential efforts often yield more significant results. It's like concentrating light through a magnifying glass – intensifying efforts in a single direction can be more powerful. This lesson has prompted me to approach my endeavors with a strategic, step-by-step mindset.
On a deeper level, there's been a spiritual aspect to this journey. I've shifted from feeling compelled to pursue every idea that comes my way to trusting in the process of saying no or postponing endeavors. This trust in the universe supporting a sequential approach has been transformative. It's about understanding that opportunities won't vanish if I choose to tackle them one at a time.
Currently, my focus is divided between ongoing projects, including the development of My Zoom Box,
and my consulting role, where I'm increasingly involved in facilitation work. As an innovation coach and workshop facilitator under the banner of Blaze Training & Facilitation, I'm emphasizing the power of focused, sequential efforts, embodying the belief that such an approach will yield more sustainable and impactful outcomes.
Any advice for founders who are in danger of burning out while they scale up?
You have to ask yourself, "Why am I doing this?" It helps you determine whether you’re overwhelmed due to self-imposed expectations, tasks, and responsibilities. Embracing the power of saying no is also crucial, acknowledging that overcommitment might be a result of our own design. It's a reminder that growth doesn't always have to adhere to a predefined pace; sometimes, a slower, more intentional approach is necessary.
In addition to embracing the power of no, a second strategy involves leveraging other people's time. This applies to both personal and professional realms. In personal life, it might mean outsourcing tasks like laundry. In a business context, especially during the startup phase, the inclination is often to handle everything internally. However, the most productive use of time might be engaging in conversations with potential clients rather than getting bogged down in operational details.
You also need to take breaks. Even in high-intensity situations, continuous full-force effort is unsustainable. Just as racehorses aren't built to go at maximum speed indefinitely, humans also benefit from building in breaks. This strategic approach to time management not only prevents burnout but also allows for a more sustainable and productive use of energy on higher-value activities.
framing exercise allows for a more constructive mindset, steering you away from the pitfalls of overwhelm and fostering a healthier, solution-oriented perspective.
Take charge of your mental state by making a decisive declaration: "I don't do overwhelm." Redefine your identity around this principle, setting boundaries that deter overbooking and activities that lead to overwhelm and burnout. This proactive stance lessens the likelihood of reacting impulsively to situations.
Revamp your approach by posing better questions and challenging assumptions that contribute to overwhelm. Instead of fixating on problems, shift your focus to solutions. This reframing exercise allows for a more constructive mindset, steering you away from the pitfalls of overwhelm and fostering a healthier, solution-oriented perspective.
What are you looking forward to in 2024?
From a business perspective, I’m looking forward to expanding my facilitation work, particularly in aiding leaders to empower their teams. I’m also gearing up for increased business development activities. I’m ready to move forward with my newfound mindset that acknowledges the importance of embracing discomfort, especially in the realm of business development.
I've been fortunate that projects naturally came my way, and marketing myself wasn't a primary focus. I realize that this doesn't really allow for proactive control over growth. Now, with a fresh appreciation for focus and a willingness to step out of my comfort zone, I'm prepared to engage in more intentional business development efforts.
My newfound comfort with being uncomfortable also extends to
actively promoting and selling my services—a dimension that I'm gradually becoming more at ease with. Looking ahead to 2024, my aim is to make a more significant impact on companies and teams by not only delivering services but also proactively engaging in business development to reach a broader audience and create a more deliberate impact for other entrepreneurs.
What would you do differently if you could?
Transparently, one of my strengths lies in identifying opportunities and creatively solving problems. I thrive on strategizing and generating ideas—it's the most enjoyable part of the process for me. However, reflecting on my experiences, I realize a pattern: when faced with difficulties or unexpected challenges, I tend to lose focus and divert my attention to new ventures, which ultimately means spreading myself too thin.
In hindsight, if I were to approach things differently, I would resist the urge to pursue numerous ventures simultaneously. Acknowledging that challenges are inherent in any journey, I would commit to maintaining consistency through difficulties instead of being sidetracked by the allure of new beginnings.
A key aspect of personal growth would be recognizing that facing challenges is an integral part of the process. I would aim to become more resilient and consistent when confronted with discomfort, understanding that enduring the uncomfortable is a crucial element of the entrepreneurial journey. The goal would be to embrace and grow comfortable with discomfort earlier in my entrepreneurial journey, fostering a mindset that welcomes challenges as opportunities for growth.
Michele B. Dugar is both an instructor and practitioner when it comes to marketing, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving. She has over 20 years of experience as a business professor at the University of South Carolina and Benedict College, where she also leads the college’s Student Innovation Hub. As an SBA advisor and certified instructor of entrepreneurship, she has guided many entrepreneurs as they launch and expand their businesses.
Michele B. Dugar, Founder
Blaze Training & Facilitation
www.BlazeTF.com
michele@blazetf.com
803.766.4538
LinkedIn
Her award-winning firm, Vibe Marketing Solutions, provided strategic plans as well as creative execution to clients that include Wachovia Mortgage and Salvation Army. As a design thinking expert and the lead facilitator at Blaze Training & Facilitation, Michele currently helps leaders to increase innovation and team collaboration within their organizations.