The one who goes through a lot is the one who has a lot to share with the world. Coming from a humble background is Danny Creed, a business coach, consultant, and mentor to many. Danny started his career after his father passed, compelling him to leave college and join the workforce as a farmer. Over the years, he had numerous mentors that showed him and taught his life lessons, tools, mindsets, and concepts that he continues to carry to this day. “One of these is the value of hard work. I might not be the smartest guy, but I will make up for what I don’t know with acquired knowledge and old-fashioned hard work,” he shares. The awareness of the value of lifelong learning is another concept dear to Danny. Acquiring the love for learning and finding relevant text to gain more knowledge about a certain subject and stepping out and applying it keeps him going. A positive attitude was the more important value that Danny held on to. He says, “Written in 1928, Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich says that whatever you think about most of the time, you become. If you believe that things are terrible, they will be. In turn, you will have incredible opportunities if you think anything is possible, no matter your situation.”
Due to his positive attitude, Danny always sees an opportunity as a test to master his craft. In his own life, he applies this thought and says, “I feel as if all the twists and turns of my past have led me to my career as a master business coach.” Though being a farmer in southern Kansas was tough, he changed his career path and became a media person, working in broadcast radio and television. Working with the media prepared him for the life of advertising, marketing, and communications that lay ahead of him. In the late 1980s, Danny joined his first entrepreneurial start-up and was in 15 different ventures throughout his professional life. By learning the tips and tricks early on, Danny understood the value of learning from successes and failures. “I recorded that new knowledge. I would brush myself off and then do the task again, this time better. I’ve seen firsthand what good and bad leadership can do to people and companies of all sizes,” shares Dr. Danny.
In 2006, one of Danny’s trusted mentors suggested that he take all of this acquired business knowledge, both the successes and failures, and work with other businesspeople to help them both personally and professionally grow faster than they ever could on their own. The path led him to the emerging business of Business Coaching, and he started his company in 2008. Since then, he has logged over 15,000 hours of coaching, working with entrepreneurs, business owners, corporations, and executives from around the world and helping them to learn to thrive rather than survive. “The great Zig Ziglar once told me that real success comes from helping others get what they want, and in turn, with this attitude, I would then be rewarded with what I wanted. I am passionate about my clients’ success and honored to be a trusted business mentor and leader who uses experience and passion to make a difference in their lives, their families’ lives, their employees, and their world,” says Danny.
Not All Roses
The last few years have been tough for many. Businesses were down, and the whole world was in a crisis. Danny understood that starting a business in this climate was not easy, with the turmoil and chaos we see on the news and in our daily lives. His biggest challenge is always to help his clients acquire and maintain a possibility mindset. Though most are in a ‘survivor’ mindset, opening up your mind to an array of possibilities is important. According to Danny, the key is to help them understand what they can and can’t control. “I help them understand the WHAT IS versus the WHAT IF. I try to be a lighthouse of hope and possibility,” he says. In the last two COVID years, Danny learned that many businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and executives had zero positive input in their lives. Many told him that he was their only exposure to possibility and hope. With that in mind, he proudly states that all his clients’ businesses were thriving and witnessed significant growth in 2020 and 2021. “One additional challenge I face with many clients is that they have simply forgotten how to dream. When I say dream, I mean that they have never had or have lost their VISION for their company and their life. I work very hard with small and large clients to learn how to get back to dreaming. When they learn how to do this again, everything changes. They have Clarity in their lives. Their goals are more specific and have a renewed purpose,” Danny shares.
Though Danny is very proud of his client’s success, he, more importantly, reminds himself of the ones that had to struggle to make it through. Each client is encouraged to do the work. When they do, they usually far exceed all of their expectations and dreams. When businesses don’t work out, Danny continues to apply his positive attitude, allowing them to reflect and work on their business and themselves to find new solutions and ideas. “Every person or organization I work with understands from our first conversation that our prime task to begin our coaching journey will be to set some metric on everything we do,” he says.
Danny has learned that personal and professional success is not always based on profitability. So, he applies this thought to his failures too. In fact, Danny believes that coaches and consultants that weigh all they do on improving profitability are wrong. Profitability is just one of the areas where metrics should be set. Areas for metrics can be everything from improved profitability to tracking improved productivity, reducing staff turnover, sales closing ratios, or growing the average sale. “We always set metrics, so everyone involved has a precise and clear barometer for the effectiveness of our work together. Great metrics also show us where to make change and improvements,” opines Danny.
Bespoke Solutions
Every entrepreneur, every business, and every client is different. Danny’s coaching program structure is customized to best suit each company’s goals, vision, and needs. After reviewing the client’s health based on the time-honored personal and professional foundational Success Recipe, Danny finds out what the client needs by finding the missing ingredients. “One of my personal mentors is the legendary Brian Tracy. He has repeatedly said there is a Foundational Recipe for personal and business success. And that the ingredients of that recipe are the same for all types of businesses and professions. The recipe does not change,” Danny shares. Using this concept, Danny helps any type of business, anywhere in the world, in any economic condition. This Universal Recipe of Success includes business clarity, written goals, priority and time management, Communication skills, sales skills, and so forth. By focusing on the fundamental areas, Danny finds the greatest opportunity for growth and new prosperity in the fundamentals themselves, be it a new entrepreneur or a multi-billion dollar client.
Being in the business for over 20 years, Danny knows the importance of the art of listening. So, he begins and maintains every engagement by asking questions and then actively and intently listening to their needs, opportunities, challenges, and issues. Based on that, a customized coaching plan is formed, utilizing every resource available to build a flexible program with one goal: to help them get a big ‘win’ early. By attacking and solving issues head-on, Danny allows clients to embrace opportunities as quickly as possible. “I also have a policy of being “rigidly flexible.” That simply means that when necessary, we will make adjustments as we go to briskly solve new issues and challenges and to take advantage of new opportunities as swiftly as possible,” he explains.
Achieving Recognition
Good work never goes unnoticed. Danny’s is no exception. Through his hard work and dedication to the growth of businesses and entrepreneurs, he won multiple awards and recognitions in his career. He won the FocalPoint Coaching International Brian Tracy award for Sales Excellence seven times, where he and his clients found each other and had short-term and consistent long-term success. Other milestones include the very special mentorship and leadership that Danny had from some of the top experts in the world on personal and professional growth. “Many client successes stand out. One, in particular, was a client on a serious downward slide. Working together with some very specific strategies and techniques, we took them from USD 1.7 million a year to USD 43 million in just three and a half years. That kind of change will change a family tree,” shares Danny.
Unlike some speakers, authors, and trainers, Danny’s initial goal is to consistently deliver immediately actionable steps that a client or reader can apply that day. “I want to “sell” HOPE. ” No matter how bad a person thinks their world might be, that maybe, just maybe, I might be the one person that gives them the hope and skills so that they can and will make changes to adapt and prosper,” he states. Danny strives to be the proverbial “Pebble in the Pond.” and hopes that the impact his words or teachings might impact the world through the clients, then their families, employees, companies, communities, region, country, and then the world.
Leading the way forward
Leadership was always seen as a series of acts that dealt with authority, telling people what to do, someone they feared was cold and uncaring. But, today, things are different. People want and need people in leadership roles to guide them and work more effectively. They place their trust, confidence, and hope in a leader who can reflect their emotions and thoughts. “Today, the key to leadership is to ACT like your listening; ACT like you care; ACT like you understand; Pay attention and be accountable,” says Danny. He wants to share this advice with other business executives looking for a successful career. People wish for leadership and direction. They will take visual and auditory cues from their leader, both positive and negative. “Being a successful leader is not about authority, position, and title. It is about being a person worthy of being followed. When everyone you lead is comfortable with you, they’re always more open to “helping” you get what you want for your company, the team, and them,” he further explains.
Danny has a goal to reestablish his live speaking practice. Before COVID, he did many events across the US and internationally. Though Danny has maintained a speaking presence via ZOOM meetings, it’s not the same as the energy that can be generated with face-to-face events. “My speaking topics are all based on “street-fighting” and “real-world” entrepreneurial and business experience, and it’s different than many speakers present today. I have written six books, and I have outlined three more that I would like to complete,” he shares. Now, Danny wants to spend more time with some specific charities he supports. Danny also does prison seminars and workshops for inmates interested in business and self-improvement.
For More Info: https://www.businesscoachdan.com/