Certified EOS Implementer® Lynda Martin

Certified EOS Implementer® Lynda Martin came from a whole family of entrepreneurs, but they called themselves “business people.” Although she spent a good portion of her adulthood running away from entrepreneurship, the bug had already bit. Coupled with her innate desire to help people, Lynda found her calling through EOS® to make a difference in people’s lives.

Roots in Business Family

Her uncle owned what is now a fifth-generation print shop. Around the time Lynda turned 11, summer vacation meant sorting and restacking papers in the shop – on a “voluntold” basis. Lynda’s first paying job was for her great-aunt’s medical practice, where she set up appointments and conducted pregnancy tests.

Bound and determined NOT to be a business person, Lynda went off to college to become a teacher. That didn’t last long after she decided she couldn’t confine herself to one thing, a recurring theme in her life. She switched to majoring in political science, thinking she should make a difference that way.

“After I read about how President Lyndon Johnson got the Voting Rights Act through Congress, I knew I couldn’t do that,” she said.

Long, Winding Road

It was then that she started her first foray into entrepreneurship as a joint owner of a natural foods restaurant in Boston. But before long, Lynda sold her share in the restaurant, dropped out of college, and went back home to regroup. Her desire to “do something different” and meeting an adventurous guy eventually led to her hitchhiking to Alaska.

During her many travels, Lynda worked different jobs at around 130 different companies and lived all over the United States.

“I learned the ins and outs of how to run a small business by watching all of the owners I worked for,” Lynda said, thinking about how she might run a company herself.

Then one day, Lynda felt called to go back home, join a monastery, and become a nun. (Didn’t see that coming, did you?) Still wanting to help others, she joined a teaching service order that focused on sacramental work and homelessness.

Lynda proudly points to the Raphael House centers in San Francisco and Portland that she helped found and that are still running today. Her life turned into an interesting blend of service and running businesses to pay for keeping their service organizations open.

Eventually, she left the order and opened a data entry business before enjoying a “fascinating” stint in marketing at a large corporation. To make a long story shorter, Lynda tried a number of other business ventures before deciding to go back to her roots with small businesses. She started working with a woman who owned a business coaching and development company.

Finding EOS

Lynda found the sweet spot where she could help people and earn a living. But she got frustrated by some of the cumbersome processes she encountered.

“I knew my clients didn’t need a 40-page performance plan,” she said. “I needed to help them simplify. So I did endless research to find things that could help them.”

One day, a business acquaintance showed her a two-page business plan: the EOS Vision/Traction Organizer™ (V/TO™). The colleague walked her through using the V/TO because they had read Traction and understood how to use it. Lynda started using it with her clients during planning season with great success.

When things quieted down, Lynda decided to sit down and read Traction herself over a Christmas break. She realized the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS) offered a complete system she needed to help her clients. Instead of collecting small nuggets from multiple methodologies, she appreciated a package that had been tested and proved. Lynda was so enthralled, she attended a Professional Implementer Boot Camp™ that February.

Entering the EOS Implementer Community™

Lynda threw herself into becoming more familiar with the EOS Model®. But she didn’t quite know how to take advantage of the help that other Implementers were offering her. Lynda appreciated a community that used one system and one language, and that followed one vision where they all had similar goals. Everyone she met seemed welcoming and interested in how they could help her do better. She found a lot of bright and curious people in the EOS Implementer Community and began to trust enough to be herself in it.

After signing up for a weekend retreat with a group of women Implementers, Lynda realized she’d found her tribe. She’d had a great time and made really good friends who shared her core values. They all wanted to help their clients and live The EOS Life® in their own ways. When she struggled to get her business up and running, her tribe supported her and gave her referrals.

For her, The EOS Life has continued to mean helping business owners, their employees, and their families live better lives. She also loves focusing on her own personal development, something she finally has time to do.

Her advice to anyone thinking of becoming an Implementer: If you feel called to help people, go for it. Anyone who feels up to the challenge will love it. But she said anyone looking for a quick way to earn a buck won’t do as well.

“Being an EOS Implementer, someone has to have their heart, mind, and soul into wanting to help people,” she said.