Geneal Christensen helps businesses bring focus to chaos — Focus 

When Chelsea Terry was laid off as a project coordinator for Rocky Ridge Homes in Meridian – a victim of a slumping housing market last June – she turned to someone who had coached her through tough times.

She first met Geneal Christensen in 2003 when she was working as executive director of the Idaho Association of Chiropractic Physicians. Christensen had coached her to work through issues she was having with what Terry calls “an incredibly difficult board.”
While Terry was out of work last summer, she had picked up a few jobs in bookkeeping, planning events and marketing. She had always wanted to start her own business but was apprehensive.
Then she ran across the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Web site and noticed that Christensen was teaching a class through the Small Business Success Center called “7 Steps to Entrepreneurial Success.” She signed up for the class, developed a plan of action and launched “The Jane of All Trades, LLC,” a company that uses the talents she had developed. She now works with startup small businesses, those in transition as well as community organizations.
“Geneal’s coaching is very insightful, practical and chock full of wisdom,” Terry said. “Her coaching emphasizes careful planning and research before jumping in head first.”
Terry said not only does Christensen give real life examples to illustrate lessons, she provides the resources to help guide and build a business.
While the seven-step program allows entrepreneurs a chance to think and plan out a strategy for launching and growing a business, as Terry did, Christensen uses her VILA Consulting and Coaching business to help fix existing problems.
In her regular consulting business, she takes people through a series of self-discovery sessions aimed at discovering a company’s strengths and weaknesses, strategizing about how to plan around weakness and determine an implementation schedule, then launch those changes.
She said one issue small businesses struggle with is they usually hire employees and add responsibilities as the business grows. That’s not necessarily based on the employee’s ability but on the company’s immediate needs.
Christensen coaches them on how to create a flow chart of skills needed for each job then re-aligns the staff to match employees’ talents with the skill sets for each job.
Her coaching method emphasizes getting the business owner to do the total evaluation of the business and implement the changes.
“If they do it themselves, they figure it out,” she said. “That way, it’s easier to keep them on task and for them to sustain the change.”
The self-assessment helps determine the strengths and weaknesses of each employee, including the owner.
But she doesn’t leave it there. She understands that making long-term change can be difficult.
“People are creatures of habit,” Christensen said. “We will go back to the way we were.”
Christensen married her high school sweetheart, Jeff, who became a framer and eventually a house builder. She went to real estate school to learn to sell his homes in Las Vegas. When her father became ill in Salt Lake City, the two moved there to take care of him. In her spare time, she helped builders with their office management organization systems.
In 1998, Hewlett-Packard hired her as a project manager to help spin off a major component of the printer industry and moved her to Boise. She briefly left HP, then went back, all the while picking up consulting jobs.
On Labor Day 2002 in Seaside, Calif., she realized she had enough small business clients to go it alone. Ironically, the next day, HP laid her off.
She immediately launched Vila, a mythological term for something that makes things change.
Some of her classes are geared to meet the needs of people who find themselves in a new business. She offers classes for real estate agents and brokers, one for people who own construction businesses and even one called SOS for businesses that help people bring focus to a chaotic work environment.
Many of her classes are taught through a partnership with the Small Business Success Center, an affiliate of the Boise Chamber. After launching Vila, she agreed to teach classes and manage the SBSC in August of 2005. She has since stepped out of that role but still partners with the Chamber’s program by offering specialty classes.
“Geneal is a proven small business owner and start-up expert who has excelled at coaching others to success,” said Ben Quintana, director of the SBSC. He said her “passion for helping other businesses start, grow and succeed has made a tremendous impact on hundreds of small business owners in the Boise region.”
Christensen works with many clients who know the trade side of their business, but don’t have the business skills to complement those trades. And oftentimes, they turn to her to help them get out of a crisis.
“If you think your business is in crisis, it probably is,” she said.
And, it may be too late.
Christensen said the key for most business owners facing a crisis is to tell themselves the truth and get help as early as possible.
“One thing I appreciate about Geneal is her willingness to be completely honest with you,” Terry said. “She asks the hard questions and does not sugarcoat or tiptoe around issues.”
Terry said Christensen gave her the confidence to make one of her most important decisions – to go into business.

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