Hello and welcome to this week’s Monday Minutes. Each week in this series I am going to share simple tips and advice that you can implement quickly to help your business become more successful.
This week’s tip is all about accountability, because when you run your own business, who holds you accountable?
Think about that question for a minute, when you have a job, your boss and your coworkers rely on you to get things done in a timely manner. And when you don’t follow through, it affects them, the business and maybe even your long-term employment.
But when you work for yourself, there is no one to hold you accountable!
No one calls you or emails you and asks if your new book is ready, or wants to know when you’re finally going to record that video, or questions why you haven’t posted to the blog in three months.
On the surface, that sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? After all, not having a boss is one of the biggest reasons people are drawn to the idea of self-employment, but here’s the problem: When no one is depending on you getting your work done, procrastination lack of focus and time sucking distracting (hmmm Facebook) can quickly take over and bring your business to a screeching halt.
The answer is simple - Find someone you'll have to answer to for your actions.
You have several options, from your spouse to automated systems such as stickk.com, but smart business owners have a secret weapon and that's a coach.
When you think of a business coach, you probably immediately think of someone helping you solidify your branding or create a plan for launching your new product line. But a good coach is much more than an idea factory. They will also cheer your successes and hold you accountable if you aren’t making progress.
With a business coach, that accountability works better than with your spouse or accountability partner simply because you’re paying for their advice. Imagine how bad you’d feel paying a coach a few hundred dollars (or more) a month and not taking action on their advice. If you’re like most other business owners, that investment is a huge motivator!
One-on-one coaching isn’t the only way to go, either. You can also join a mastermind group and get some of the same benefits, including help with business development and accountability.
Mastermind groups come in many different styles, including groups of friends and colleagues who bounce ideas off one another and costly paid plans that match you up with business owners who have similar goals and product offerings.
Both coaching and masterminding are proven techniques used by successful large and small business owners for years, and virtually every entrepreneur can benefit from one or the other or both. But just like any tool, it only works if you use it well.
So before you enter into any coaching or mastermind agreement, be sure you:
- Have clear goals for what you want to accomplish your coach can help you set goals in your first meeting.
- Work with those who have similar businesses or products it would make little sense for a veterinarian to work with a mastermind partner who is an Amazon FBA seller.
- Avoid the trap of being too understanding accountability means not giving people “a pass” just because they’ve had a bad week or got distracted.
Final tip: It’s OK to change coaches and mastermind groups from time to time. You’ll only grow as a business owner if you stretch, and you can’t do that if you work with the same coach for too long.
In case you missed this little gift last time. It's a printable worksheet that you can use to help gain more confidence, get more done and attract more customers for your business.
Download it here: Worksheet-Find-Confidence-Get-More-Done.pdf
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Thank you for reading,
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