Being a Business Efficiency Nerd (yes that is my official title. LOL) I am probably expected to say the most important thing for your business are documented processes or something along those lines. Yes, of course, I think that is important, but there is something even greater than this.
A Coach!
You need a mentor or coach, no matter where you are in your business success…well that is, if you want to do more and have your business grow and thrive.
Having a coach is important to not only be a sounding board and offer another perspective, but it also helps with accountability.
You need to make sure at the end of each call you have set defined goals for the week to ensure you are moving forward and not just venting.
So how do you find a coach? This doesn’t have to be expensive or daunting. For those just starting out it could be family or friends. It can also be someone in your extended business network.
It is ideal to be able to meet with this person on a regular basis so you can not only bounce new ideas off of them, but they should keep you accountable for the items you committed to completing.
The key with this is that you need to seek out someone you can trust to be completely honest with you and call you out when you are making excuses, not working to your potential or otherwise screwing up. Stealing a phrase from my coach, in situations like this you should choose someone who is “smart”…someone who will not necessarily have all the answers, but will listen to your situation, offer a different perspective and ask good questions; ones that will force you to justify your position or get you to think about things in a new way.
You also must be OPEN to this and not take personal offense. All suggestions, observations and critiques are given to help make things better for you and your business and you need to treat them that way.
Remember if you aren’t open to another way of doing things and continue on your path, you will continue to achieve the same results you’ve been achieving and nothing more.
I am blessed to have a fabulous coach and other incredible business minds to assist me in my journey. This has recently proved invaluable as I have started branching out in my business to an area that is new and exciting but mostly unfamiliar to me. I was extremely grateful that one of these people reviewed one of my new endeavors and bluntly told me that I not expressing myself in a way that made any sense for what I was trying to accomplish.
Yes, I admit, that is never fun to hear that something you poured your heart and soul into was a bit of a train wreck. However, I am eternally grateful that I received that PRIOR to going live and putting a mess out for the world to see…which would not have achieved the intended goal.
My coach also ensures that I don’t make excuses and stay on track to meet the goals I set out for myself as it is far too easy to get trapped in your routine and push what we consider “non-essentials” to the back burner.
That is just one example of what a coach can do for you. Even if you’re business is on track and doing well, a coach can help you stay the course (if you are content with that) or break out in the next level. Even the most successful people you can think of have coaches…this is why they are so successful.
Don’t be shy, your business deserves it, so get out there and just ask; you would be surprised how willing people will be to help you achieve your goals.