When was the last time you realized you were feeling so unmotivated about the business you thought you were really passionate about?
A past client, a yoga teacher, was struggling with launching a new project that she thought she was really excited about. She had done something similar in the past and it boosted her revenue.
Yet with this project, weeks would go by and nothing would happen. Before long, she turned to me to explore why. That’s when she realized she had completely burnt herself out last time. Specifically, the marketing campaign had drained her. That had not been her forte and tackling that again didn’t exactly stir up a fighting spirit.
How many times has a similar situation happened to you? Maybe one part of your business is really holding you back from letting loose your strengths. Or perhaps you let a problem go on longer than you knew you should have. Sometimes you don’t realize why you’re stuck for the longest time!
Regardless, when you are running your own business, you no longer have an excuse. Only you can address these type of questions. But you don’t have to be alone. If you have the right coach by your side, you’ll get your answers.
Time
One of the biggest challenges you face, no matter what stage your business is at, is time. There never seems to be enough of it. This is especially true in the beginning when you are wearing multiple hats.
What do many business owners go through when they fight with time?
- Having to sacrifice their health to keep things going
- Being stretched too thin with learning and implementing all these different strategies
- Not enough time with close friends and loved ones
The end of the road there is serious burn-out. That is when your business becomes more painful than it is meaningful. But you know your dreams take hard work. So does it have to be this way?
Having a great business coach by your side will challenge your assumptions about your time. What if you are better off focusing on this one thing? What would actually happen to your cash flow if you outsource these tasks? How would your work life balance if you changed your priorities this way?
You may have learned certain ways of thinking about how your time is best spent. Yet sometimes, what you learned may not be the most useful for YOUR situation.
For example, if you assumed that a good leader micromanages, you’ll spend all of your time double checking your employee’s work instead of getting out there and winning clients. Or you may think that it’s too expensive to outsource this specific task you always do but it’s actually quite cost effective.
Your business is only as effective as your assumptions. A great coach will help you go beyond that.
People
Even if you are just starting off by yourself, you need to think about the human aspect of business. Whether it comes to warding off self doubt, forging strong relationships or negotiating, your people skills make or break your business.
After all, you can have all the technical genius in the world, but if no one wants to work with you, you’re finished. That is why a great business coach knows how to develop your emotional intelligence.
Beyond just dealing with other people, emotional intelligence also revolves around self awareness and self regulation. If you are lose perspective easily because of constant doubt and fear, then you will always be sabotaging your business. People you do business with will notice that about you. Is that the impression you want to give off?
A skilled coach will guide you in creating a mindset more aligned with your business goals. Countless people start businesses for the wrong reasons. So when push comes to shove, it’s no surprise that they give up and let their doubts win. You don’t need to be like them. After all, you got the grit to keep going, right?
The other half of emotional intelligence is empathy and social awareness. These are the abilities to keep your employees motivated and create strong sustainable connections in your network.
This is also necessary for sales. Imagine really knowing the needs of your target market. The problem is never how good the product is but how well it can serve needs/wants. When you can expand your perspective to really see from the eyes of others, there won’t be a limit to how much you can grow your business.
Note this doesn’t mean you have to be particularly extroverted or charismatic. Everyone has their unique leadership and relationship style. Hiring the right coach will help you find yours.
Money
The biggest driver for a business is revenue. When you aren’t making enough of it, there can be a myriad of reasons why. Sometimes, you may not even know where the problem begins.
But the right business coach will help you diagnose that.
- Why did you choose this particular marketing strategy?
- How can you translate your excitement about this to how a customer would see it?
- What if you took that idea further and deeper than what’s currently on the market?
Throughout this process, a skilled coach helps you brainstorm, acts as an objective sounding board and challenges your assumptions on what you think will bring in more revenue.
Just from working with my clients, I enjoy it when they are surprised from discovering options they didn’t know they had. These then often create more opportunities and creates a strong momentum for their revenue growth.
Not having enough cash is never the true problem. Your business reflects the thought patterns, emotions and behaviors that went into every decision you made. Now how do you know if one of those elements were working against you?
You guessed it: if you have the right coach, you’ll get you out of your head and into the right perspective.
And So…
Not everyone thinks about hiring a coach. And even for the ones who want to, finding the right one is crucial. A coaching relationship is a partnership and that requires the right rapport. Take your time and shop around.
But once you have that level of support, don’t be surprised when you find yourself having more time, people skills and money. Click here if you want to explore that possibility.
