The co-stars of the upcoming Amilya Antonetti show in Prince George will be local business people she has worked with to grow their business.
Antonetti - celebrity entrepreneur, author, media personality and key advisor to some of the most successful companies in the world - has taken a special interest in Prince George. After coming to the city last spring she has taken on a mentorship role with a collection of local entrepreneurs to do what she does for Fortune 500 companies: spot the weaknesses, fill in the policy gaps, chart smoother routes to success.
She is returning in person for a public town hall meeting Friday to talk about business development, then she will bring to the stage a panel of familiar faces. They are the local people who have been boosting their business, Amilya style.
"I'm so excited. I have fallen in love with about a dozen people I've been helping move along since I was there last," said Antonetti. "They have done wonders with the tools and information I've been using with them, and we can highlight how easy it is to do whatever they've wanted to do and then some, and so this is more a celebration of them."
Antonetti will be the keynote speaker at a Friday "power lunch" at 11:30 a.m. The title of her address is Six Keys To Success. She will hit on interconnected philosophies tied to health, communication, time management, your relationship with money, and your network of people and resources. As one of the western economy's leaders in business startups and corporate turnarounds, she is uniquely positioned to take Prince George's goods and services sectors to new levels.
"If you're looking to get to your next level, whatever that is, then let me help you fill in those blanks and get you there," she said. "These people I've been working with will be speaking for themselves. It also helps your relationships, the way you're there for your kids and your coworkers, all those things that move your life along. It's all interconnected, and it's about making sustainable plans. Seeing these Prince George people take these tools and already have results really makes me smile out loud."
It's not magic, it's not a scheme, it doesn't require some token sacrifice. Antonetti said all the information was out in the open, but some things you can only learn from experience and as she experienced the inner workings of some of the sleekest small businesses and ubiquitous huge corporations in the world, she gathered the lessons up and wrote it all down, then ran these ideas past many a peer and mentor of her own. Now she can pass them on to anyone who knocks on her door.
Prince George came knocking. First, a few local people took some personal development courses she provides online. Then she got invited by them to a hold a public event here, which she did in April. From that meeting emerged a number of entrepreneurs who tapped her on the shoulder for one-on-one distance education. And although a lot of the work is done remotely by email and skype and video conference, Antonetti is personally involved in these conversations.
"I've done it (remote mentorship) in a couple of different ways," she said. "I took a look last time at what your area was needing. It ends up being a series where each week there is a homework assignment, with webinar and skype conversations to work through the material. I give feedback on what you've done, and we have discussions about what it all means in your family or in your marketplace, and that becomes the game-changer."
Antonetti operates these lessons as a business, but the client-provider relationship is a built-in aspect of the learning. What she provides is vastly discounted from going through a formal business school because, as a self-made success, she remembers daily the sensations attached to working at a daily grind job, or slogging to operate a small business that barely gets by, and all the while juggling your family and your personal interests as best you can.
She also remembers the mentors who helped her in business - a number close to zero. She met many of them after her business success was secured, and she had some good role models in life. But business leaders were not present in her formative business life, and she doesn't want today's aspiring entrepreneurs to lack those key teachings at the start of their careers.
So now, she wants to give back to those people just like herself not long ago - the ones wrestling through all walks of life, trying to stay afloat and maybe one day get ahead. You absolutely can, she said, but it is much more difficult without strong planning.
"Most people just jump into their daily routines and pivot as things happen," she said. "Most people set out maneuvering around different obstacles - everything from staffing decisions and inventory decisions to how dinner is going to get made and how the oil is going to get changed in the car and how the kids are going to get to hockey practice. Highly successful people do not do that: maneuver aimlessly. They set out a route, and move towards the end goal with focus. They set a plan. This is what I'm going to accomplish for this year, this quarter, this month, this day.
"There is always a need to be flexible and accepting of the changes that can and do occur, but it is done based on the plan," she continued. "Most people do their day and hope they'll get to the goals and dreams one day, someday. Successful people don't hope, they plan. They plan all the way down the pipe. So in Prince George, together, lets define what the goals are, what you want life to feel like, then why you want it, then how you want it to happen."
Tickets to attend Antonetti's public discussion are available online at the Eventbrite ticketing website. Search for Amilya Antonetti and follow the prompts.
