Debbie Waitkus, Golf For Cause, LLC

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Always an athlete, Debbie Waitkus played on the soccer team at the University of Arizona and after graduate school she went on to establish a thriving corporate career as president of a 37 year old, $130 million private mortgage banking firm.  She always attributed golf as one of her keys to success since she would take her clients on golf outings to establish and steward professional relationships and business deals. When the CEO of her firm implemented a new strategy that didn’t follow suit with her professional values, Debbie knew it was time for a change and what better way to plan her reinvention than to leverage the game of golf in a new business.

The Power of a Personal Coach

Debbie utilized the expert resources of a personal and executive coach, Silver Rose, whom she first encountered when she brought in Silver as a consultant on a project while she was still working at the firm. Debbie hired Silver personally and began exploring an exit strategy and new options for her career future.

Her professional reinvention began with weekly 1:1 calls with Silver and detailed homework assignments on self assessment and personal tracking. She conducted informational interviews with business peers and joined a mastermind group that works as an advisory board of sorts to provide motivation and accountability – all under the tutelage of her coach. Debbie also joined Toastmasters and a few networking groups for outreach, education and the personal growth opportunities.

Silver gave Debbie permission to explore and she realized that golf – her passion – was also an educational tool and a business opportunity ripe for developing. Her knowledge about how to generate business through golf empowered Debbie as a resource others wanted to learn from. She also saw a tremendous opportunity to build confidence in businesswomen through strategies incorporating golf.

Move Over Boys – Women Are Playing Golf, Too!

According to Debbie:

“It’s a known fact that women, as a group, don’t participate in the game of golf to the extent that men do. For the most part, they see the game of golf as a mystery to which only men hold the key. Yet, the message businesswomen hear today is that golf is a widely accepted playing field for conducting business and they are missing out on opportunities by not participating. The golf community has created women-only golf clinics targeting the female executive. Statistically, women are the largest new group coming to the game of golf today. Yet, often frustrated with their skill-set, they are also the largest group that leaves the game and does not return.”

So Debbie capitalized on demystifying this critical business skill that can be used successfully on the golf course. Her business – Golf for Cause teaches women (and men) how to use golf as business tool, to create opportunities, to forward relationships because it’s more than just about going out and hitting golf balls. Golf for Cause provides the keys and the tools to demystify the game.

In her new role, Debbie enjoys being 100% responsible for the success and failure of each strategic decision in her company. She has control over her schedule and her work product matches her integrity and is a more accurate and rewarding reflection of who she is and what she wants out of a career. Debbie also appreciates the opportunity to set a positive example for her children by doing something that makes a difference and by giving back to her community.

Making Money Playing Golf

While the new career sounds too good to be true, Debbie has learned a lot over the years. Her initial business plan was not realistic and included programming that does not fit her business model today. That took some tweaking and adjusting over time. With a small staff of only two (including Debbie) she doesn’t have a large team to rely on as she did back at the firm. Debbie has learned that she can only control so much and that delegation is not always an option. A perfectionist by nature, Debbie also learned that delivering the perfect program was unrealistic. “At some point you need to step up to the ball and hit it off the tee!”

Since golf is now her livelihood, another important lesson learned was to identify which programs work well and which generate meaningful revenue. The economy has also been a challenge and the meeting & events industry has taken a particularly hard hit. Many companies have cut training and professional development budgets entirely. Debbie learned quickly that she needed to stay flexible and open to new ideas and partnerships in order to grow her business.

A personal goal for Debbie was to keep her schedule free enough to travel with her daughter, a student athlete, to national tournaments and college recruiting trips. This was a liberty she gave herself with the new business that would not have been possible at the firm. She also set up administrative systems to enable the business to run smoothly in her absence.

“I set up systems such that I have an assistant who works remotely and maintains my database, follows up on various tasks as needed, brings forward ideas, keeps me on task, etc. Finding the right person was an incredible challenge as I spent a lot of time and money getting systems in place and then checking, redoing, and re-educating.  With the right person in place – I’m free to work “on” the business and not “in” the business.”

Mission Accomplished

The mission of Golf for Cause as an organization is to develop and deliver products and services that move others to use golf as a dynamic strategy to achieve their objectives, focusing primarily on business professionals new to the game, especially women.

While Debbie benefited from the expert counsel of her coach, Silver Rose, she also suggests that women seeking a career change develop a support network to help stay properly focused on goals and to provide a level of accountability.

She suggests that new entrepreneurs work with a good accountant from the start to better understand which strategies are effective and meaningful tax-wise for the business.

Birdies, Bogeys, and Business

Debbie’s repertoire of golf educational opportunities provides a myriad of topics such as:

• The secrets even successful business owners and managers don’t know
• Create an even more rewarding business environment
• See how your business success and your golf game are a reflection of who you are
• How to improve both your business and your golf score

Participants usually spend half the day in the classroom using golf as a metaphor to learn what differentiates being an entrepreneur, manager, or technician and the how this applies to the business world. After the classroom session, participants hit the course and play 9 holes of golf in a strategic format. All levels can participate, even never-played-before beginners. The day ends with a facilitated de-brief session, awards, and refreshments. An ideal group size is 6-40 participants and Debbie customizes programs to fit an organization or individual’s needs.

The reviews are in and Debbie consistently scores big with her clients!  The programs are experiential and golf anchors the learning. Debbie’s repertoire of golf educational opportunities provides a myriad of topics such as:

Mental Mulligans: A fun and enlightening team-building workshop for your group that reveals how you show up in and out of the office, on and off the golf course. Learn to understand different behavior styles on the golf course and how they impact your game and your success in business!

Get in the Game – Business Golf with On-Course Mentoring: A great way for business professionals to add golf to their business tool boxes.

Tee Off Program: A half-day outing designed to prepare the newer (or non-golfer) who wants to make a positive impression when playing in a charity or industry golf tournament.

Nine and Wine: A golf mentoring program offering a casual golf experience, designed especially for new golfers (men and women) to help them feel at ease on the tees. Golf up to nine holes with a mentor with facilitated debrief, networking and hosted happy hour after golf (“wine” not “whine!”)

Birdies, Bogeys & Business – Success On & Off the Course: a program that Debbie co-created and delivers with Joyce Friel from Peak Performance Consulting (www.peakperformancecorp.com).  This half-day program uses golf as a metaphor to learn what differentiates being an entrepreneur, manager and technician – and the implications for you and your business.  Explore your ownership mentality and create an even more successful business environment.   

All Golf for Cause programs are designed so that participants at any golf skill level can participate, even never-played-before beginners.  Ideal group sizes range from 6 to 40 participants and Debbie customizes programs to fit an organization’s or individual’s needs.

By discovering new fairways and approach shots for defining business objectives, relationship development, and marketing strategies, Debbie Waitkus has turned golf into gold.

Favorite Quote: “The bad news is - time flies. The good news is that you’re the pilot.” Michael Althsuler

Advice and Action Steps:

• For all the perfectionists – let go already and just do it!
• Consider a professional career coach and/or a resource team to assist you.
• Find a good accountant early on if you begin a new business.
• Really think about what you are passionate about doing – your next career may be right under your nose.

Resources:

Golf for Cause www.golfforcause.com

Silver Rose, Coach  www.silverspeaks.com