(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, cause success to come to you easier and quicker.)


[As mentioned in last week’s issue the S3MC is ending this month. These three final issues will explain it all.]

It was a self-serving move. I had joined a business networking group 3 or 4 weeks prior. We were a group of non-competing small business owners and professionals. Each Wednesday morning, we gathered to share ideas and support each other. We aimed to understand each other’s businesses and identify opportunities for one another.

Along with individual table conversations during breakfast, one member would get the floor and the spotlight for 15-20 minutes. Doing the math, I could see I was only going to have a couple of times a year to tell the Coaching story. In mid-1995, Coaching was still very much an unknown resource.

I spoke with the group leaders and offered to start each meeting with a free 2–3-minute coaching tip. Ideas and models I got paid for in my Coaching practice. They said sure, let’s give it a try.

By the 3rd or 4th week, a group member asked if I could fax the Coach’s Contribution to everyone. (Fax was the high technology of the day!) The members shared it, so the distribution list expanded beyond our group.

Later, AOL came into existence and the Coach’s Contribution shifted from fax to e-mail. Each issue continued to be the length of a one-page fax. (Hey, stay with what works!)

What started as a way to gain visibility in our group grew into a list of subscribers from all seven continents. Including a woman at the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica.


Coaching Point: What could you give away that you know would have value for others? Can you imagine where that might lead?


Copyright 2026 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.