 Welcome to the wide world of eSports, a show devoted to all things eSports. I'm your host, Catherine Noor. Today, we're talking about the business of eSports, Strategies for Success. My guest is Sharon Gill, Chief Business Strategist for Sharon Gill International. Welcome, Sharon. Thank you for having me, Catherine. So what does Sharon Gill International do? Well, we are a coaching and consulting company. We work with leaders and entrepreneurs to help them with strategies, their vision, mission, team dynamics, human dynamics. We help them really to get their company from one level to the next level. So I work one-on-one with CEOs and I also work with your teams, their leadership teams. It's really fun and challenging at the same time, and it's my life's work right now. So what's really interesting to me is for the past two years, I've been interviewing many business founders, CEOs, owners in eSports and gaming industry, and I've noticed that many of them started their companies during COVID. Have you noticed that? Yes. It's so funny. We haven't heard a good set of COVID, but there were a lot of millionaires made in COVID actually, because many people went online, and so it was almost like a great equalizer, because everyone was starting over. So even if you were a established company, you had to relearn the rules online. So a lot of new companies came online, and yes, it's been a real uptick in businesses since the last two years, and a lot of companies have been successful too. Sure, and so how much work are you doing with eSports and gaming businesses? Well, I came online with ESTA in 2020, when the COVID happened. So Megan Van Petten, the founder of the eSports Red Association, actually hired me because she also ran the Van Petten group. And so they were just getting online as well, and a lot of companies were trying to figure how to pivot to virtual. So Megan hired me to help with team dynamics, leadership strategies, strategic direction, and it just so happens that one of her main clients, which was ESTA, eSports Red Association. So I came on board, and I helped to establish the first official board, board vetting, board training, help with a strategic plan, help with their first event. And so that's how I got into the whole eSports business. It was through that job, through that hire from Megan Van Petten. So, and then through your work on that, have you been helping eSports companies with their business strategy? Yes. As part of the networking, I've been able to work with other eSports companies who, and let me tell you, it's the really, I don't want to come across the wrong way, but what I'm seeing in eSports is because it's such a new, it's fairly new. There are a lot of content creators who are becoming business owners without business skills, right? So that's a big, big, big, big issue. So the eSports companies who do hire me are people who actually have a business mind and realize that they need more help with strategy, with even their vision, their mission, their team, building out their team. Recently, I was working with a group of entrepreneurs in the eSports space. And in talking through their challenges, I realized that half the group almost did not have a business plan. So they never thought of a business plan, right? They never, and so I'm asking, how do you know how much money you need? They're just guessing. So I'm seeing this challenge in the industry where great ideas are being formed into companies and into businesses, but there's no business savvy. So that's where the opportunities are for people like myself. When folks get funding, maybe the investor wants to know what is your strategy? That's kind of how I get hired because I have to have them build out your strategy, build out your team, build out their leadership skills, et cetera. So one thing that ESTA has is in their conference, and I talked with James Hess about this last week, is the elevator pitch. And so the elevator pitch, they have to provide some of that business acumen and the numbers and kind of like what their goal and strategy is. Do you help them with that? Yes, so the elevator pitch is actually my baby. So I facilitated the workshop last year and this year as well. So, and this is a tremendous benefit that ESTA offers because it's offered free to members, right? So what I do through this eight sessions, eight, 75 minute sessions, and I work with them to get their pitches from 15, 20 minutes to two minutes. So we refine and refine and refine and refine until they get to the bare essence of what they're looking for, who they are, what are they trying to do, how much money do they need, what's the story and their why behind it? And it's a really cool exercise, but in doing that, yes, I have to figure out, do you have an executive summary? Most people never heard of that. Okay, do you have a business plan? We need a business plan and we need an executive summary. Do you have a deck? And so we help them to, okay, at least get aware of what they don't have and help them to get it. As a matter of fact, my last class, I had them all work on their mission statement and some people were advanced, some people weren't. Some people didn't have a vision statement or core value. So that was the exercise that we had in the last class. So I actually took all the admission and vision statements and I'm going to massage it a little bit for them and then present it back for them to prove or not approve. But it was the first time some of them were thinking through even stuff like mission, vision, values because it's all about getting that funding. But there's so much more behind getting that funding and beyond getting the funding is when you get the funding, how do you keep the money? How do you get the ROI for the investor? I teach them strategies and tips like stuff, how do it look solid? How do it look solid to an investor? And it's having some more business acumen. So do you feel, how do you think that those people feel when they realize, when you bring this to their attention and use acronyms and terminology that they've never even heard of? Good question. So the feedback so far has been very good. It's almost like a business class. It's almost like business 101 or business 201 or 301. And I can say in all truth, some people are really surprised about some of the things I'm saying because they really never thought of it. There was this one person that was in class and I said, do you have a business plan? And the person didn't have one. And I said, do you have an advisory board? And they said, yes. And the advisory board had CEOs and other business folks on it. So I said, go back to advisory board. Maybe you should fire them because they should tell you, you need a business plan. They're business people. But so I think there's a real missing opportunities, not opportunity for some of these new folks coming into the business because they just don't have the business sense. Great ideas. It reminds me of Justin Khan, right? The guy from Twitch who had sold Twitch. And he gave this story, Catherine, about how after he sold Twitch, he thought of opening another company because he wanted to be a unicorn or a CEO. He wanted to be a CEO that didn't badly. So he got $75 million in investor money. And in the end, it all failed. And he wrote this long letter on Twitter explaining why it failed. And in a nutshell, he said, I just am a content creator. I wanted to be a CEO, but I never had the knowledge. And I really burnt relationships, burned people, burnt investors because of his own personal ego, I wanted to be a CEO, but not having the CEO material. And so he said, I'm a content creator at heart. And I find that a lot of eSports businesses are, they have great ideas, but they're missing the business skills. And that's where my opportunities are to help them, put the both together, get the business skill, match with their creativity and their creative ideas. And so besides what you've mentioned so far, what tips would you give to an eSports or gaming business for them to level up? Well, first thing I would say is, if you look at your on your team, right? If you have a team and there's no one on your team with a strong business sense, I think you should get that person on your team. If you want to invest in yourself, if you think you have the bandwidth to both be the creative piece and also run it, then get a coach or consultant. Get involved with companies like eSports Trade Association because we have educational programs. We have great networking, great connections. Get into a network so you can brainstorm with other people in the industry and maybe how they're doing running your business is get some tips and strategies. Don't be a solo operator because sometimes you don't know what you don't know. And so I would say get in community, get into the eSports community because you don't know what you don't know. But most certainly if you're not from a business background, you are missing. You may get funding, but you won't be able to keep the funding. You know, that's kind of interesting that you say you don't know what you don't know. That also brings to mind this idea of being coachable and having an open mind listening to the coach because I would think that if you work with a client and they won't listen to you or they argue with you, that that doesn't help them that much. Great point. So before I work with anyone, they fill out a 15 page questionnaire. I do because I want to know if they're coachable, Catherine, right? So before I engage with any client, I have a discovery process. So we do a 30 minute call and we really talk. And I get to hear what your big issues are. But the problems are always in the granular. So my 15 page questionnaire gets to the granular. You know, I asked about their weaknesses, you know, why stopping them from success. What about your mindset? I, you know, I get into a lot of stuff, personal stuff because we take our whole selves to work, to our companies. So I want to get to know who you are. And that's where we start. We sort of the base mindset. Are you an entrepreneur really at heart? You know, what kind of leader are you? What are your values? Cause you're going to run your organization based on your own value system. So we get into all of that. You know, what are your beliefs? What's your vision for what you're doing? Why are you doing it? What's your why? That was a big trigger question I had recently in the elevator pitch class. I said, what's the why? And they never thought of it. Like, so they gave me, when I first asked a question, they answered what the mission was or what they did. I said, that's what you do. Why? And so it took us 75 minutes to really, the people really wrapped their head and think about why am I really doing this? Is it for your kid? Is it because some, you know, you're affected somehow? What is your why? Cause it's your why that's going to keep you there when it gets tough. Not if, but when it gets tough as an entrepreneur. Sure. And we do have a question from a viewer and the question is how much do you charge for consulting and classes and services? And so it depends on how many hours I have to work with your team. This has up your company. So if you're a solo and it's like, this is you right now. And you're like, Hey, I just need someone to help me flush, you know, flush stuff out. Then great. Then, you know, in our DiscoverCon, we'll talk through that. If you have a team and you say, Hey, I want you to coach me and my leadership team, then that's going to be different hours because it's some, you know, do they need individual coaching? Can I coach them in a group? You know, what are the issues? So the discovery process helped me to flush out what your needs are. And then I can quote you what my, you know, my, my, my project would cost you three months, six months, you need me for beyond that. But usually I find that the minimum time that I want to work with someone is four months because at three months, they're just getting it. By month four, they've kind of got it. So by six months, they're practicing it and I'm there as accountability. Sure. So what is the common myth about the eSports industry? I think one of the common myths, and I know for me that that's what it was. It's all gamers and they're all in their basement or it's kids who don't want to do their schoolwork. It's still, you know, that was a myth. Like eSports is gaming and basement. Now, opening my eyes, I see the opportunities. You know, it's a, it's a huge business. And the more I'm in it, the more I'm realizing how much it's taken over from even traditional sports in terms of the revenue. And it's still young. It's still a young industry. And, you know, so the myth that is gaming, gaming only, it's beyond gaming. When I speak to people like April Welch from IIT and hear about the educational piece that's happening in colleges and the opportunities, it's mind-blowing. Made me as a parent who did look at scans at my kids when they were gaming, you know, 10, 15 years ago. Now I have a granddaughter who's on roadblocks but now I don't look at it as negative as I did when my own kids were growing up. I'm seeing it as, hey, hey, you know, it could become a career. It could become something else. So eSports is not just gaming and in your basement and, you know, the loser thing. It's now really an established business and an established industry. And it's going to go really far with the last opportunities for everyone. It's a big tent. Sure. Yeah. The ecosystem is huge. And I've learned that from all of the amazing guests that I've had on my show, from a doctor, a psychologist to, you know, Jeff Weiss of eSports Circus. Jeffery, one of my favorites. One of my favorite guys. And you mentioned April and she was on my show about earlier in the month. She was on for Star Wars Day. So, yeah, and there's, you know, so many educational scholastic pieces. And then, you know, the one thing that, you know, people think of the gamer, but they don't think of that huge ecosystem that surrounds that gamer and what the potential is. I mean, whenever you have an industry, you need accountants. You need people that service them, people who provide the office supplies and technology creators. So lawyers, you know, you need lawyers. You need, you know, coaches and consultants. I mean, it's such, it's so huge. It's a really huge tent. You know, if you're on the outside looking in and saying, that's for the game. No, we need lawyers. You know, you need, you know, financial people. I mean, we just had that symposium with Mark and Stanley. They're getting into the eSports, you know, arena. So it's a huge, huge opportunity and it's still fairly new, fairly young. Sure. And I'm a member of the eSports Bar Association. So I can tell you that there's a lot of attorneys that are into it. But I'm, the niche that I ultimately will have, but it's kind of not, they're not ready for it yet is mediation and arbitration because I feel like whenever you have an industry, you need people to help you solve problems and mediate disputes. And, but I don't think that it's quite there yet, but I'm ready. That's good. That's a good area. That's a good niche for you. I think that'll be great. And I think it's coming, especially with the business that I'm seeing now, it is coming. So give it on a couple of years. Yeah. Yeah. Just a little early, but I'm ready for that. So what is one thing people don't know about the eSports industry? Well, I think, you know, like we just said, that it's bigger than they think. It's not just isolated to gamers that if you are, you know what John Davidson would say, you know, non-indemic, you know, the non-indemic folks, you know, as important as the endemic folks, I think they need each other, right? So we have what they call the people who are like the real insiders. And I would consider myself maybe previously an outsider, but as outsiders, like, you know, the lawyers, like myself, consultants and coaches, matters again is a real big pie. And I even look at in the coaching space that, gee, I wouldn't have, there's more business and I could even, you know, handle. So there's a lot of space in this industry for the non-indemnics to really get involved and plug in and learn and embrace and adapt to. Sure. And so what's the most important lesson that you've learned over the past couple of years? I think for me in business, it was you need to be agile. I saw what happened when the pandemic happened. Companies like ESTA, you know, Van Pen Group, they pivoted really quickly online. Megan, she hired coaching quickly, you know, and they adapted, you know, real quick. And I saw other companies really struggle with being agile, with being nimble. And it showed me, hell, you have to be prepared for anything, you know? And that don't get too comfortable with what you consider to be the norm. Because what is the norm now? The norm is being redefined almost every six months. You know, is it virtual? Is it hybrid? Is it, you know, in this, you need to be nimble. And that's the biggest takeaway. I just saw what happened when companies weren't nimble, when they didn't embrace technology, when they were still waiting for the norm to come back and didn't act quickly enough, didn't prepare their teams for what it's like to work in a virtual environment. Big, big mistakes were made there. Big mistakes. And trying to play catch up for a lot of companies were too late because they lost their employees in the great resignation, who went to other companies because of, they were more agile, they were more flexible with the hours. Their, you know, flexibility became huge during COVID and if companies weren't really willing and ready to change their mindset about how business used to be done and now how it has to be done, those companies really lost out. So that was the biggest takeaway I saw for the last two years. You know, it's interesting that you talk about this change so recently. And I have a pretty huge business and other, you know, a lot of, a big library, let's just say. And I look at my books and I think, you know, if they weren't, if they were written before COVID, how relevant are they? And do you, when you think about like business books or books, do you have any that you would recommend that would stand the test of time that you think would be helpful to this audience? Yes. So there's a couple. There's one that I did, it's a team that's got 17 laws of teamwork and that was a John Maxwell book. I really liked it because it doesn't matter if your team is in person or virtual, we still need great communication, right? Whether we're using Slack or email, you know, Zoom, you still need to have great communication skills. You still need to collaborate with your team. You know, you still need collaboration. So team dynamics is even to me now even more of a big, big need because there's so many opportunities for miscommunication, misunderstandings that you have to double down on effective communication in this virtual world. So I like that book, The 17 Laws of Teamwork. It's a book I'm reading right now called Traction. Traction. And it's about how to tie your business really into results and how to give everyone ownership. I really like it a lot. That's about scorecard, having a scorecard, having everyone in the company responsible for some number, whether it's a financial number, number of calls, number of customer complaints, number of whatever, but getting everyone on your team responsible for some number in your company. I'm really learning a lot and I'm passing that on to my clients as I go because I can see the benefit of just having, you know, what's gonna give you traction in your organization? So all these things like, you know, how do you deal with issues? How do you deal with financials? How do you deal with, you know, goals? How do you deal with working in 90 day, you know, slots? It's just, I'm gonna enjoy that one a lot, traction. Good to know. So what does your ideal client look like and how do you help them? Well, my ideal client, if you're an entrepreneur, if you're a CEO, if you are a leader and you feel like you've either plateaued or you don't know how to get to your next level or you're really having issues with your team or you just want another partner who has been maybe in your shoe as a CEO to strategize with. I'm a sounding board for a lot of my clients. I help you navigate all of that, you know? I show up at my clients team meetings and help run them, you know? I do leadership training in groups for my clients. I observe and give the CEO feedback and where he or she could tweak, you know, their method, their action, their behavior. So I really become a friend to that CEO and really help to co-lead and co-run their organization from the background. Sure, and every entrepreneur, every CEO has strengths and weaknesses and do you think it's important for people to identify what those are and then have people fill in and handle those areas where they're weak? Yes, and that's the reason why like my questionnaire before I work with anyone, because I asked, what are your weaknesses? And if you put none, I mean, you know, I'm gonna ask in that first call because you're right, all of us, I mean, I have my weaknesses and this is the reason why leaders need to be trained how to hire right, hire people in your weak area. Okay, so that you don't have to worry about it. Hire and delegate in your weak area. So yes, it is important that you know what your weaknesses are. Being self-aware is huge. You're not smart in everything. There are certain things only a leader can do that's 5%, is what I was told. 95% everyone else can do. Sure, yeah, you know, it's interesting because my partner for North Sports Risk Management, we talked about that when we started to kind of revamp our organization and identify that I'm the creative person and she is the left brain person and that we would, you know, essentially divide tasks according to our strengths and weaknesses. That's a smart strategy, Catherine, because I call it lanes, right? Know your lane, master your own lane, right? If I'm not creative, I don't want to try to create something, right? If you're not the person in the numbers, don't worry about it. Let the numbers person handle it so that you can be the best, 100% and 100% in your respective lanes. It's the best way to work if you're working with a partner. So do you have a productivity hack for an entrepreneur? Couple, so one is what I call Monday, right? So Sunday night before the week starts to really look at your week and plan it out, you know, put your goals down on a Sunday night. So Monday, when you get into work, Monday, you're ready. So that's, I really do like that, Monday planning. And the second thing I like is get your mindset right. What do you need to do to get your mindset right every morning? Because we go to work and issues happen. So I like, I have a morning routine. So I get up, I do my quiet time and I want to spray or meditation, whatever. I go for a quick movement, you know, run jog. I'm a journal and I'm gonna do some meditation. It gets me ready to face whatever's gonna come at me in the day. And the next morning I get up and I do it again. Mindset is everything. Fantastic. So it's been great hearing all about what you do, Sharon, and I'll give you the last word to let people know how to find you. So I'm on LinkedIn at Sharon Gill International and I'm on my website at Sharon Gill, my person last name dot com. And I'm available for a discovery call, free 30 minutes. Anyone who has an interest. Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Sharon. And thank you to our viewers for joining us today. Make sure to tune in next week. My guest will be Dexter Card Jr. Love G Haven Esports and game for good. See you then. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.