Is your business at a point where you need that special “something” to propel you toward the next level of success? What is that “something”? For some entrepreneurs, working with a business could be the next step in your business and helping it grow.
How to find a business coach
If you’ve decided this is the time to get your own business coach, what steps can you take to find one? Here are my tips:
Ask colleagues if they use a coach and if they’d recommend him or her.
Do a search on Google for business coaches in your particular niche.
Find a coach that will offer a complementary session; you need to be a personality fit if your coaching is going to benefit you and your growth.
Know what you’re looking for in a coach. What do you feel you need? Where are you stuck? If you don’t have an idea of what you’re seeking in a coach, you will be spinning your wheels.
Make sure your personality is a fit. If you’re quiet and reserved, a coach who is loud and brash may not fit your style.
Set goals with him or her and have measurable goals along the way that show you you’re headed in the right direction.
If you begin working with a coach and you just don’t feel it’s of benefit, talk with him or her and let them know. Maybe you can reboot and get back on track.
Have you ever considered working with a business coach? If you worked with one, what was the outcome? I’d love to know.
Work-life balance is a phrase that has become somewhat cliche, but it is a phrase that resonates. If you’re an entrepreneur who has a family who also is helping out with an aging parent or even giving back to your community — it’s a lot to balance. How do you “do it all” and “have it all” without losing your mind and your health in the process?
Value your own time. If you let others dictate your time you are allowing them the access to do that and you’re showing you don’t value your time because you’re just giving it away.
Learn to say no. Saying no is important to your physical and mental health. Saying no is also something you need to do when you want to stay focused in your business. Don’t get off track in business or personal items because you say yes to everything.
Spend five minutes at the beginning of each day and at the end of each day to count your gratitude. Also, take five minutes at the beginning and end of each work day to make a to-do list and to then plan for the following day.
Don’t multitask. It’s a myth that you get more done if you do more than one thing at a time. The fact is, you don’t do anything well if you’re switching your thoughts between two tasks at the same time. Time block and work on one project at a time for X number of minutes. When you’re with family, be present. Don’t check work email or take business phone calls. Be with your family and turn off the office.
Take breaks and get up and move. Our sedentary lifestyles lead to obesity and other health issues. Set a timer if you have to in order to remind yourself to get up and move every hour. Walk around the house, do jumping jacks, walk on a treadmill. Wear a step tracker and shoot for 5,000 steps per day — work your way up to the recommended 10,00 steps per day.
Taking care of yourself will help you be a viable, happy entrepreneur and individual. How do you balance your work and your life?
Do your employees know what they are accountable for? Are they aware of the metrics by which they are being judge for work performance? If they don’t, how can they be expected to perform at peak efficiency and effectiveness? If you’re working with on site or off site staff you need to hold your people accountable — no matter their role within the organization.
Here are tips to put an accountability policy in place:
Make sure everyone understands their roles. Job duties should be written down and readily available for all employees.
Make certain every employee knows his or her responsibility. If the roles change, make certain responsibilities, accountability and reporting metrics are updated.
Have a clear plan in place for the chain of command. Employees should know to whom they should lodge complaints, ask for help or where additional resources could come from.
Be specific in what is required from each employee and when it is required.
Get buy in when you’re setting up new roles or putting new practices into place. Buy in may take time, and while you don’t have to wait until you have 100% buy in, you should expect that your employees get on board.
Make sure there is two-way communication all the way up the chain of command.
Let your employees know you are open to hearing their thoughts, compliments and complaints.
Reward top performers. Set metrics and milestones in projects and celebrate those with employees. If money is tight, look for non monetary ways to recognize and reward effort.
Make sure everyone understands the consequences of not meeting expectations. Write down the steps involved in the consequences and follow through if needed.
Do your employees understand what they’re accountable for? When is the last time you looked at the roles and responsibilities of your staff? Do they need updating?
Are you prepared for a business disaster? It could come in many forms — power outage, loss of customers, loss of suppliers for your goods, etc. The list goes on. The wise entrepreneur knows how to prevent a business disaster and if it can’t be prevented, he or she will have back up plans in place to get the business back on track once the disaster has passed.
Here are some business practices you should have in place to help keep your business viable in the event of a disaster or emergency:
Automate computer back-ups. Don’t leave it to chance or memory that you will remember to back up your computers. Losing the knowledge base that resides in your company computers could be disastrous. There are many automated back up systems on the market, you need to determine what is best for you.
Off site back up is also important. Keep copies of vital business paperwork that is not electronic in an off-site, secure location. In many cases you won’t have to worry about storing computer disks in an off site location because your automated computer back ups will likely take place in the cloud.
Keep your computers secure and virus free. There is no excuse to not have virus protection installed on your computers. When the license is expiring, renew before you have a gap. Run any computer updates and website updates to keep your site secure.
Set up remote access to your network. If you can’t get to the office to work, having remote network access will keep your business’s doors open.
Test your system. Don’t leave it to chance that if disaster strikes that your back-ups will function properly. Testing is crucial.
Have you ever suffered a business disaster? Did you have measures in place to keep your business operational? If not, what would you do differently now?
I’ve worked with coaching clients in the past who told me, “I don’t want to offer my employee that training… what if they excel at it and then they take that knowledge and leave me for a new employer?” I urge entrepreneurs to not be so short-sighted as to stifle the growth of an employee and his or her skills because you fear they may “abandon you” if they gain knowledge. Believe me, if they were going to leave, they will leave regardless of the additional training or not because chances are, they had one foot out the door.
Don’t stifle a great employees’ desire for self improvement — you will be the ultimate beneficiary of their success, after all. Here are some of the reasons you may lose a superstar:
You don’t offer feedback. They don’t know if they are performing at, or under, par. Offer constructive criticism. Schedule time to sit down and discuss performance and where they’re hitting, or missing, the mark. Don’t let them work in the dark.
Don’t overwork your staff. Yes, many companies are doing more with less, but that can lead to employee burnout and to your best employees seeking employment where they have a personal life. Schedule time off. Don’t make them feel as though they have to be on-call 24/7 — unless the nature of your business demands it and they should be made aware of this up front.
Don’t overpromise. If you bring an employee on board with promises of “sky’s the limit” promises and you find you can’t follow through, expect them to leave. Only make commitments to your employees that you can keep.
Share the big picture. Even if an employee doesn’t have to focus on the big picture because his or her job doesn’t require being “in the know” it helps bond the team and keep everyone’s focus if they know what the ultimate goal is.
You don’t offer room for creativity. Every job has the potential for individual creativity. If you have an employee that thinks outside of the box, let them explain to you how their creative idea will impact the company and its mission and if it seems it might fit, let them run with it.
What reasons do your employees give when they tender their resignation? Could you have addressed it, had you known? Do you need to revamp policies to help keep your superstar employees?
Work-life balance is a phrase that has become somewhat cliche, but it is a phrase that resonates. If you’re an entrepreneur who has a family who also is helping out with an aging parent or even giving back to your community — it’s a lot to balance. How do you “do it all” and “have it all” without losing your mind and your health in the process?
