Would your business be more successful if someone else ran it?
One of the frustrating things about being self employed is lack of perspective.
This is what happens when you lose perspective. You get stuck in the catbox of your own thinking.
We can’t read the labels on our own jars; we can’t see the entire picture because we’re stuck inside the frame.
This makes it hard to put the distance in place required to make an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses in order to locate the issues and make a plan to fix them.
This is one of the biggest values that a coach/consultant can bring to your business: the ability to see what you can’t. (And if you ARE a coach or consultant, you’ll be familiar with the very real struggle of being able to easily do this for clients – but not for yourself.)
Without perspective, you’ll find yourself running around in the same circles over and over again. Thinking the same thoughts, doing the same actions, getting the same results.
Which is FANTASTIC if things are working…and less fantastic when they’re not.
Considering what someone else would do can give you perspective and ideas
What would the most successful business person you know do?
Consider the following people:
- The “star” of your industry
- A colleague you admire
- Someone you can’t stand or don’t respect (often surprisingly enlightening!)
- Someone in a different industry
- Your mom, dad, sister, brother or best friend
Ask yourself: what would they do differently if they ran your business? What skills would they bring that you don’t have (yet)?
For this question to be useful, you can’t cop out and chalk up their success to “money” or “fame” or “connections” – instead, consider their strengths, their skills, their actions.
Ask yourself: How did those successful people get so darn successful?
Jot down some notes and ideas.
What patterns do you see? What’s missing in your own business?
Aw crap. I knew it! They’re organized. They’re consistent. They work harder.
When I asked these questions of my own business, here’s what the super successful people I admire were doing:
- Publishing content on a consistent basis (Seth Godin publishes a blog post every day – I’m averaging less than 2 per month)
- Being opinionated, showing personality, really taking a stand for something
- Making more offers, drawing more attention to paid services (like the people in this article)
- Showing up and interacting frequently on social media
While I do all of these things (at least sometimes) the differences come down to consistency and volume.
And from those notes….
What changes could you make?
Why does the right answer always have to be something I don’t want to do? Why can’t it be “eat more chocolate” or “take more naps” for a change?
The message for me was loud and clear: do more…and do it on a regular basis.
And like most obvious answers – it comes in a box labeled “the thing you don’t want to do.”
Consistency has been a long time struggle for me – by nature I’m a creative idea generator – basically the polar opposite of someone who is regular, predictable and consistent.
I also believe that:
- Lack of consistency has negatively impacted my business
- It’s a skill that can be learned (and I can find some creative ways to make it easier)
- Having some habits and consistency will support me to be MORE creative
So that’s the challenge I’ve laid down for myself this coming year: to build habits, to develop consistency, to take more action.
What are you going to do differently this year?
The power of transformation is in your hands. Make this year your best ever!
Digging in deep and figuring out where the real problems lie can feel discouraging – and the solutions can feel daunting. (Which is why we often avoid this in favour of easy quick fixes.)
It can also be very empowering – because once you see what isn’t working – you can make changes and get different results.
If you didn’t achieve the financial success you wanted last year, “getting better and more consistent at sales & marketing” might be a good change to make.