10KSB Interview Tips

Someone asked my by email for advice with the 10KSB interview. I said:

  • Come in with a clear idea of why you want to be a part of 10KSB. Their goal is to help your business grow, and if you are not into that, itā€™s not a good fit. So be clear with them that you want to grow becauseĀ of specific reasons and what it would do for you/your customers/your staff.
  • Their entire goal is to find businesses with great leadersĀ that have not fully taken flight yet. So be confident and proud of your accomplishments so far and be clear to them why you are someone they should invest energy into. The program is judged by the return it generates for the companies that participate, so make sure they feel confident that you will take their lessons to heart.
  • I think they asked me the anticipated questions like specific challenges that I had faced in my journey and how I overcame them, and what my strengths and weaknesses are as a leader. I would make sure to be prepared for all those softball questions so they are easy for you to answer and you can save your mental energy for the more oddball questions.
  • Have your introduction down pat. I have a 60-second "commercial" that I developed with a branding person and honed with lots of practice. The general format is:
Hi, Iā€™m [name], the CEO of [company]. Weā€™re a [Type of company]. We help [type of client]. The problem they have is [the problem you solve]. The reason is [why they usually have this problem]. This leaves them feeling [type of feeling]. We help by [what we do].

The intro is key to projecting that confidence I referred to. Come in proud of your business and ready to take it to the next level. Speak clearly about the business and why it is great, what the problems are, and how the course will help you fix them.