Spotlight on Success: Yoon Cannon, Owner, Paramount Business Coach
By: Brian J. Odelli
Discipline and work ethic are traits Yoon Cannon, owner of Paramount Business Coach, developed at a very early age. Cannon is a Montgomery County native, sort of. Yoon is the youngest child born to Korean immigrants and her family came to America when she was just 4 years old. After high school, Yoon set out for Syracuse University and earned a degree in the Performing Arts. In fact, her original dream had nothing to do with owning a business or becoming an entrepreneur. In order to understand her story, it’s important to go back to the beginning.
“In the Korean culture, a tremendous amount of focus is place on work ethic and excelling. There was a lot of pressure placed on my older brothers to succeed. The expectation for me to succeed was much less. However, my parents did encourage me to play the piano at a very young age. I would practice for hours and hours on end. At the time, I remember just wanting to go out and play, like other kids. My father would always lecture, “Get your work done and then you can go out and play. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine children sitting at a piano for 4 hours a day, every day.”
The long hours and hard work paid off. By the time Yoon was 9 she had a scholarship to study piano at a private music school. She was also offered a music scholarship at 14 to leave mainstream high school to focus on her music; at 16 she earned an early admission college scholarship. Her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in at 14 and she started her own piano studio, giving private lessons to 25 children. “I did it so I could have my own spending money”, said Cannon. Little did she know how far her talents would take her or in the direction they would eventually lead. “My dream was to move to New York and land a role in a Broadway musical. While I was performing nights and weekends in theaters I was also working during the day at a market research firm working on new drug studies. I got more and more interested in business, submerging myself in whatever sales and leadership books and tape cassettes I could get my hands on. I studied Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Steven Covey, Ken Blanchard, Thomas Connellan, John Maxwell and others. For me, my music success was nurtured; whereas my business success was more nature (plus, a steady diet of ongoing learning). Eventually, I started my own marketing business.
In fact, my marketing business ended up growing so quickly that I hired and trained a team of 30-80 sales people while grooming an inner circle team of managers. In 7 years I opened up 7 branch locations training and coaching those branch managers who ran the other locations top to bottom. At our peak, we had a combined total of 400 sales reps to motivate and manage. I loved it!
Cannon’s entrepreneurial spirit didn’t stop there. Yoon then went on to start 3 other companies -- a world class performing arts center with 35 top notch faculty including internationally renowned names like David Fink (famous symphony composer & adjunct professor at Yale University), Metropolitan Opera’s seasoned star, Gwen Geyer, plus casting directors featuring films with Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks and more. After 10 years of growing the center, plus a successful production company and cabaret restaurant, Yoon finalized her exit plan and sold all 3 companies.
Today, Yoon Cannon is President of Paramount Business Coach, LLC. She has established herself as a business growth expert coaching other entrepreneurs and top executives not only throughout the Philadelphia region, but also internationally (thanks to Skype). “As anyone who has ever started their own company will tell you, it’s often very lonely at the top. There aren’t many people who understand the challenges an entrepreneur faces on a daily basis. My clients appreciate my 20 years of entrepreneurial experience. However, they’re not looking for a business coach who thinks exactly the same way they do. There’s danger and mediocrity in that stale “group-thought” syndrome. They're glad that I’m going to bring a different and fresh perspective and ask the questions they may have never asked of themselves before.
“Through an in-depth discovery session, we identify the key issues my prospective client is facing. Three of the most common issues for which we are engaged are: 1.) Their company is struggling to stand out among increased competition 2.) They’re overwhelmed managing the high growth of their company 3.) Their business growth has hit a plateau. I help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, but the business I’m really in, is growing people.” says Cannon.
When asked who are the types of people she helps the most, Cannon replies, “Presidents, senior management and business owners of small and middle market companies primarily in the B2B industries, Healthcare & Bio Technology.”
Cannon employs three core methodologies on behalf of her clients:
Business Coaching - Yoon serves as an important sounding board for clients in making key strategic decisions. She holds clients accountable to the actions that impact their key result areas. Tom Cockley, long time President of Gulden Opthalmics (one of Yoon’s clients) shares that “the investment has been worth every penny because Yoon’s coaching and fine tuned method has helped me think through problems and get answers.”
Business Consulting - Yoon provides a step by step strategic plan designed to take the client from where they are to where they want to go. Attorney, Michael Eisenberg shares that “Yoon’s guidance has helped all aspects in planning for his firms’ continued growth from Marketing Strategies to Business Planning to Client Referral Development Strategies and more.”
Training - Yoon also works closely alongside executive management to help you develop your key people. Yoon trained and coached Michael Huboky from Voorhees, NJ to develop his key people which he attributes has helped him achieve his $50 Million milestone with his direct sales company.
In addition to 1-on-1 clients Yoon is also a frequent speaker for Association events and conferences, CLE seminars, webinars and workshops. You can hear Yoon on radio show interviews and read her published articles in Philadelphia Business Journal, ASI's Counselor Magazine, JP Morgan Chase Ink Magazine and more.
If you are a successful business owner looking to take your business to the next level, you can call Yoon Cannon to schedule a complimentary discovery session.
Plus, as a special gift to Entrepreneur Forum members and friends Yoon Cannon is offering a complimentary recording of her 60-min webinar on
HOW TO FIND YOUR WOW FACTOR. Simply email your request to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (215) 292-4947.
