Category Archives: The Business Coach

What they do and why you need one.

When Business Owners Ask, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”

Posted on by petergwaction

When a business friend of mine and I found ourselves comparing business to marriage, love came up. He snapped, “What’s love got to do with it” adding, “Business is business, my friend.  Marriage is hell.” Well, as most business owners know, business can be hell, too, and quite frankly, not all marriages are doom and gloom.

Still, let’s stay with the marriage analogy for a moment. Certainly, when two people first feel a mutual spark, things are wonderful and exciting. And when a budding business owner decides to try his or her hand at running a business, the buzz is equally electrifying.

Courtship:

Just as couples date, an entrepreneur “courts” an idea, weighing a lot of factors, including money, management, time, and commitment. All are important parts of the process.

Nuptials:

Marrying couples certainly hope to prosper, just as a new business owner hopes to prosper. And both must come to the moment of saying, “I Do”, cementing a commitment. Well, that’s the initial idea, anyway. But what exactly are they “I doing” to?

Ah. The “agreement”.  Yes. In business, it’s imperative, but what if I told you a lot of business owners have passion, persistence, patience, push (drive), and perseverance, but lack one of the most important “p”s of all: a Plan. In business, it’s important to have a clear plan and a business coach can help you build one.

Honeymoon:

For business owners, the honeymoon period may not be as exciting as bedding their bride or groom, but few new business owners I have spoken with have not felt a certain “high” after making the commitment. “I am terrified,” one admitted to me recently, “but in a good way.” And while the initial honeymoon is also a time to set up shop, get affairs in order (ah, ah…the other kind), determine roles and set goals, it’s a time of wonderment and giddiness, and then reality sets in.

Commitment:

As the honeymoon wears off and the “couple” starts looking more seriously at their future, often the topic of starting a family comes up. For the new business owner, this could equate to new product, or growth, or expansion. Ironically, when families start having kids, the husband often feels a little left out in the beginning, and when business owners expand, the spouse often feels a certain similar feeling of loneliness. A friend calls it “Ignorance” with the emphasis on the “nor”, yet it stems from a similar word of the same spelling, ignorance, with the emphasis on the “ig”. Few of us like being ignored, yet when the pressures of supporting a family, or supporting a business kick in, we’re often spending a good portion of our time “trying to keep things running smoothly” and not paying attention to each other.

7-Year Itch

And then “it” can happen. In marriage, sometimes it’s the seventh inning stretch, where we want a break and the grass starts looking mighty green on the other side of the fence. In business, we’re lucky to make it to five years, but the itch of envy and “wanting” can still creep in. My motto is “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” but the business friend whom I opened this article with has a different way of looking at it. He’s fond of saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder – of someone else.” In case you’re wondering, he’s no longer married. But the point is, a weakening in our armor, whether we’re male or female, can lead us to making decisions that may not be the best for ourselves and our “marriage” – whether we’re talking spouses or businesses.

Divorce

Then that day comes, when the thin threads of reason snap. Ending one’s marriage is at the top of the list of stresses one can go through, as is losing one’s business. It doesn’t have to happen in all cases, but in some it will and it does. The thing to remember here is that love and loss whether in marriage or business, follow Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s Five Stages of Grief:

Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance

There’s no getting around it, nor should there be. Everyone has to go through these stages when the unfortunate happens. But just as love is not always enough to save a marriage, a love for your business is not always enough to save your business.

That’s where a coach can come in. A business coach in today’s economy is almost a must to have on board to succeed. But one need not wait for the business to start showing cracks to seek help. As a matter of fact, introducing a coach right away can not only save one’s business, but can turn one’s business into an operation that allows you time to share with family, friends, and time for yourself. I cannot stress this enough.

So, back to the initial question, “What’s love got to do with it?” The answer is everything – including the ups and downs and in betweens of keeping one’s business and/or marriage prosperous. But in business, love is not enough.

And when you realize that, you’ll call a business coach.

If You’re Not Growing, You’re Dying!

Posted on by petergwaction

by Coach Eamon

This phrase–and it scared me when I first heard it–is taken from a Bob Dylan song and was being applied to business. It scared me particularly since I thought I’d learned all there was to know about my chosen profession. Yet, deep down I recognized that I thought that I’d been given a fixed amount of intelligence and a certain set of talents, and basically that was that. In short, there was no way to improve on what I was born with.

Though I felt uncomfortable, I went and did some research (Mindset – Professor Carol Dweck, Random House) and found that this thinking was typical of a fixed mindset and there were a few traits associated with it that I was uncomfortable to acknowledge – one of which was not expanding “expertise”. In this view, fixed minsetters don’t expand their world because they don’t like the uncomfortable feeling of not being good at something. They prefer to stick with what they know they’re competent at, even if many opportunities are lost as a result…

So, I was dying!

I learned about the other mindset, a growth mindset, where the belief is that learning is the secret to success in any field and happiness in life. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying” could easily be the growth-mindsetter’s motto.

The research showed that many of the greats of history were not actually born geniuses. They developed their startling abilities through monumental ambition and plain old hard practice. They worked for their greatness.

I’m sure as you’re reading this that you may be wondering whether one can change his or her mindset from fixed to growth. Well, the good news is that of course you can change, and like most things worth achieving, it will take focus, effort, and time. In fact, since you know these two mindsets exist, you’ve got one of the biggest parts of change handled.

The next task, if you want to become a true growth mindsetter, is to look at your life and make some plans. Ask yourself:

In what way would I like to improve?

How would I like to grow and change?

What would the “new me” look like? Feel like? Act like? Achieve?

Great questions to be asking for all areas of your life. And certainly in the professional arena, Education helps you expand your expertise that will help you to continuously grow. As does having a coach, someone who helps you overcome the roadblocks you can’t see and helps you perform to the best of your abilities.

So, what have you decided you’re not good at? Is it possible that the only reason you’re not exceptional at whatever you’ve chosen is because you haven’t worked hard at becoming so? What would life be like if you were excellent in that area?

Is it worth trying again?

If You Give a Girl a Freebee…

Posted on by petergwaction

Are you like me? Any time I hear free anymore, I freeeeak out.

Yesterday, for instance, I was offered a free sample at the store. The tiny paper cupcake mold that was put in the palm of my hand had a smidgen of lasagna in it, which I devoured in seconds. The server asked me how I liked it and I had to admit it was delicious. But I didn’t need to answer; my face said it all and she even handed me a second free sample. As I chewed, she pointed down the aisle to let me know where to find the assortment of lasagnas.

I thanked her with every intention of wheeling my cart down a different aisle, but that would have been rude, so “squeaky” and I rolled to the section that housed the luscious lasagna. What do you know! It was on sale for $9.99.

I came to the store for dog biscuits, yet here I was, buying not one, but two boxes of lasagna and a large box of doggie treats. My “freebie” just cost me upwards of $20 bucks. Sound like anyone you know?

Well,  it didn’t stop there. That night, as I waited for the oven to warm, I flipped the box over and scanned the ingredients, forcing my eyes to focus on the calorie intake.

The cheeses, sauce, meat, added up to 1500 calories. My daily…not mealy…daily intake should be around 1200 max.

Looking away, my eyes rested the gym membership notification that had just come in the mail. Only $20 a month. “But,” I rationalized, “why would I need to go to a gym when I can exercise right here at home for free?” I didn’t have a pool, however, and swimming was such good exercies.

I stared at the fish in my fishbowl, suddenly realizing one thing I had forgotten at the store was fish food. After stuffing myself with lasagna, I wedged myself into my car and headed this time to Wallyworld.

Fish food, it turns out, is clear at the back of the store, right by the exercise equipment.

$159 dollars later, I had myself an exercise bench AND a packet of fish food. Eight months of gym membership was now packed into my trunk. Back at home, I opened the box and tried to read the directions (They were in French), I gave up and called my son to assemble the bench. He agreed to, but only if he got paid. He now owns his own successful business…but that’s another story.

The day finally ended, and I went to bed nearly $200 poorer – all from sampling a freebie.

The lessons I learned:

  1. Do not shop when you are hungry.
  2. Bending over and standing up is not only a good exercise, it’s cheap.
  3. Clear, concise, understandable instructions save time and money
  4. You get what you deserve. (Brad Sugars says his dad told him this. Brad’s the founder of ActionCOACH and clearly got what he deserved!)
  5. Accept that FREE generally operates like “Friends with Benefits”…you’re going to have to put out sometime, somewhere…for someone…so, why not let that someone be you?

I know a business coach would read my story here and would already be formulating advice on how to help me prioritize, make lists, be disciplined and save money. While I ultimately spent $200+ dollars on a free sample of lasagna, had I had a coach along, s/he would have showed me how to take that $200, invest it in something that would save me money AND generate capital and I’d be rich—er, smart—er, and enjoying something I can’t get back…time.

In business, there are many things that are basically FREE. These include:

A freebee is only as good as the one who can make it profitable. The coaching costs nothing for you to get an “outside look” at the” inside story”: Your business . And when, after receiving all that free mentoring , you realize you could use some help, the ActionCOACH service is guaranteed.

Here’s what other savvy business owners are saying:

When Sharon Mor and Ed Caballero founded Edventure More summer enrichment programs they began growing the business, but  realized they had no real comfort in dealing with their finances and how to manage their money most efficiently. So, they decided to hire a certified business coach with ActionCOACH Business Coaching. Their coach worked with them to help them squeeze their margins and to improve profitability. Since then the company has undergone a metamorphosis, working better internally and externally. Through restructuring their business model and improving their efficiencies, Edventure More was able to save and reallocate a quarter of a million dollars. Through their coaching experience Mor and Caballero have become increasingly confident in their business and thus their ability to be better leaders. As a result they have built a new level of trust and respect among their team.  ”I am most surprised by the ability we have gained in trusting our team in a genuine way and therefore successfully delegating tasks. Through working with ActionCOACH, we have gotten a better understanding on valuing our costs and when it is smarter for us to delegate,” says Mor. – Edventure More

I always knew what I wanted to do and knew that I had the potential, but I just didn’t know how to get there. ActionCoach is guiding me step by step toward my goals and I actually see them in front of me. I feel like ActionCoach has given me the key to open the door to my own house. My ActionCOACH is helping me unlock my dreams.-Eduardo Pintos Owner Pepito’s Restaurant

So, business owners, that’s my story. What’s yours? Is it a Grimm’s Business Tale? Three CEO Billy Blokes Gruff, perhaps?  Let us hear your “Grimm” stories and we’ll share them with our blog readers!

And sure to look for my next article: “What the Tech Are You Talkin’ About?”

What’s #1 On Your Business Bucket List?

Posted on by petergwaction

By Peter Williamson

Ask a Business Owner what’s the number one thing that would top their Business Bucket Lists and they might say, “Money!” or “Time” or “A Dream Team!” when in reality, they could have all of those things – and more almost instantly. Too good to be true? Not anymore!

Before I get into how, if I were to ask you if you’d be willing to spend $1500 this month on your roof, you’d probably say yes if it were leaking AND if I were a reputable roofer, right?

Well, guess what? You’re roof is leaking. Not your actual roof, perhaps, but the figurative roof over your business is starting to show some serious “stainage” and we all know what that means.

Drip, drip, drip. Grab the buckets.

Now, I’m not a roofer, but then again, you don’t REALLY need a roofer since this is a made up scenario, but I am the one to call to patch up those growing holes in your business AND to help you apply some much needed strategies that will increase your profits by – are you sitting down – 200 . . .350 . . .700% if not more. Seriously, we have clients who attest to it.

We are SO SURE your profit margins will increase, your processes will be better, and you’ll have the dream team you’ve so badly wanted and needed, that we offer a NO-RISK GUARANTEE. Sorry for the all caps. I don’t want you to feel like I am shouting, but who wouldn’t want to shout something as great as that?

Now, here’s the deal. We can’t give you all the benefits you’ll receive or we’d run out of cyberspace. Plus, our services are customized to your specific needs.

So, do this:Go to www.actioncoachcalteam to see our team of experts ready to serve you from all over California. Click on your region. Give the coach a call and let him or her know you saw this promise. Yes, that’s what it is – our promise along with our guarantee that we will work out a plan with you that’s doable, affordable, and profitable for you.

In doing so, you you’ve just topped your Business Bucket List with a benefit that will actually afford you all the other things you “wish” you could put on it!

#1 benefit: Your own Business Coach!

Then roll up your sleeves, because we have some work to do. Start planning that vacation you’ve been working too hard to actually go on. Or pick out those treasures you’ve wanted to buy but just didn’t have the money, and prepare yourself for finally being at the right place at the right time.

Your success is a phone call away. Don’t wait. Let us help you turn dreams into realities.

ActionCOACH means BUSINESS. No games. No gimmicks. Just results.

Think Outside the Sox

Posted on by petergwaction

We’ve all heard about thinking outside the box, and unless you’re “Jack”, who lives IN a box, you know that this means coming up with ideas that aren’t necessarily traditional or “the way we always do it.”

So, what exactly is thinking outside the sox?  Simply put, it’s thinking quickly on your feet.

Business Owners are in a constant state of decision making. Some decisions are deliberated over a period of time, but others need to be made instantly.

5 barriers for making effective decisions include:

  1. A lack of significant information. One can’t, for instance, make a decision on whether an ad campaign is effective if one does not have analytics tracking the success of the ads run. Metrics and Measurements offer facts and facts are what good decisions are based upon.
  2. Identifying the real problem(s). If a problem needs identifying, you have a decision to make, but sometimes business owners THINK the problem is one thing, when it’s really about something entirely different. Case in point: The roof has just caved in. Is it because it snowed heavily? Or because the construction of the roof was inadequate? This allegorical example can be applied to a failure in a business. Are you identifying the correct reason for the failure? Did you, for instance, in the example above say that the snow was at fault? It is the cause. Not the fault, so yes, snow is part of the problem, but the real problem is with the construction of the business.  What will crumble in your business if pressure is applied? Being able to identify the real problem area will help ward off the causes of the problems.
  3. Information overload. The Internet is a wonderful vehicle, packed with information beyond human belief, but business owners are faced with the challenge of discerning which information is accurate and credible versus information that is pure fluff and ineffective.
  4. Not having a solid plan. One might think a plan is a plan is a plan. Strategic plans outline extensive goals. Operational plans break goals into smaller parts. A strategic plan might cover a ten-year period of growth and expansion, whereas an operational plan might cover what’s happening in the next 90-days or 12 months. Business Owners will want to develop the Strategic plan (perhaps with the help of an advisor), but may choose to delegate the operational planning to their management team.
  5. Fear of failure. Making a decision means one might make the wrong one, but a savvy business owner will learn from his or her mistake(s). Thinking outside the sox means having the flexibility and the wherewithal to know your options up front, and to have an alternative plan ready, if the one you tried didn’t work.

Use this form to help you determine ways YOU can think more quickly on your feet–outside the sox–and become the jetsetter you’re meant to be.

Marketing What’s Working Not Working New Plan Evaluation
     Targeting
     Advertising
      Referrals
     Promotions
Sales
     Conversion Rate
     Repeat Business
Management/Team
     Business Mentors
     Team Building
Money
     Cashflow
     Margins
     Profit
     Sales
     Total Revenue
Team
     Prioritizing
     Delegation
     Ownership
     Accountability
Time
     Family
     Vacation
     Balance
Fun
     Have it
     Don’t have it

10 Challenges Business Owners Face and Their Solutions

Posted on by petergwaction

by Peter Williamson

All business owners have challenges. Here are some that can make or break a business and what one can do to ensure success . . .

Change: One would think that a small business could change quickly, if need be, but that is seldom the case. One, as humans we are creatures of habit and will sometimes stick to something we know not because it is the best solution, but because it’s familiar to us. Change involves risk and risk involves confidence. Confidence in oneself may be shattered if one’s business is faltering, so it’s important to find mentors that can give you the advice and strategies you truly need to succeed without worry that they have a hidden agenda.

Hiring: Okay, so you know you are a great company and that a great company should be able to attract great employees, but if you’re a small business, it’s hard to compete with the larger corporations that offer full benefits and perhaps larger paychecks. So, how can you compete? The answer is in looking closely at what you have to offer your future employees. Will they have a better chance at promotions in a smaller company? Will they have access to more hands-on training? Are they in a culture that’s supportive and attractive? Have you created a work environment that will attract the very people you want to work for you? Create an environment that you like coming to, and they will, too.

Asking: Believe it or not, asking for help is one of the top challenges facing owners of small businesses. If you’re struggling, then asking for help feels like you are inadequate and unable to keep your business afloat. But, the fact is that those business owners who recognize that they need help and set their egos aside long enough to get competent coaching excel not only as individuals, but as a company. The challenge in asking is in knowing what to ask for, and when to ask for it. That’s where a coach can help.

Leadership: As business owners, we are good at something. We must be. We own businesses! That’s no small task, but what tends to happen in ANY industry is that we may be good at some things and less strong in others. Maybe, for instance, we can crunch numbers right up there with the best accountants, but we can’t manage a team to save our lives. Leading by example is common advice for business owners and managers, but if you don’t know how to do something then you may just lead your team down the wrong path. The solution? Put a team together that can most complement one other, even you. Respect and reward those working with you for skills they possess that you may not have, and if they are struggling in an area that you have strength in, build their skills in those areas so that they may be strong leaders as well.

Leads: Any business owner that is worth his or her salt will recognize that nothing sells itself. Effective lead generation is possible through better advertising, having a proven and successful system in place, and turning promising leads into loyal customers. Know the: who, what, where, when, and why of your advertising campaigns to maximize the impact of its success. Who is your target market, what is your promise to your potential customer, where is the best place to place your ad for maximum exposure, when is the best time to run the ad, why should someone choose you over some other product or service? Answering these simple questions will put you on the right path to generating instant leads.

Employees: Hiring the right people is only the first challenge. Perhaps more important is what to do once you’ve hired them in terms of training. Oftentimes, small businesses fail because they have no training programs in place for incoming (and existing!) employees. Today’s environment is fast-paced and ever-changing with new technology constantly present. Offering training is not only vital to your company’s growth and well being, it’s vital to your team. Think of training like food. If you don’t feed your staff, they’ll wither away and perish! If you don’t have training tools in place, consider ways you can establish some training and define what, exactly, you want your employees to learn. Or ask them what they want help with. You might be surprised at their answers!

Networking: Small business owners share a challenge with large corporations with regards to networking. As a matter of fact, they share many challenges, including security and privacy issues, effective lead generation, lack of effective metrics and measurement strategies to monitor and track results, time constraints – the list goes on. The key is selecting the networking venues that will effectively and efficiently market and promote your services. You might have a terrific blog, but if you can’t get anyone to link or click on it, it’s useless.

Goals: Sometimes business owners have what are called “misplaced goals”. They THINK one thing is their goal, when in fact it their focus and attention should be somewhere else. Think of it like someone who’s unhappy and they blame something for their unhappiness, when in fact their mood is really a result of something else. Goal-setting is imperative in business. They key is to have both short-term and long-term goals. Some business owners are highly skilled at seeing the “whole” picture, but miss all the important smaller “parts” that will eventually make up that larger picture. Others are great at seeing the “small parts” necessary to carry on day-to-day business but have no real visions for the future and the growth of their companies.  Ask yourself what your ultimate vision for your company is, then try setting smaller, reachable goals that can be the stepping stones toward reaching that higher goal.

Efficiency: Owners of small- to medium-sized businesses often suffer from burnout. They try to cut costs by doing everything themselves, only to find that other areas of their lives suffer, including family relationships, sleep deprivation, increased stress and other “symptoms” of work overload. The solution? Well, for one, learn to prioritize. If you find that you are handling busy-work tasks that you could have someone else do for significantly less, delegate. If you find that you are running in circles, take a closer look at what strategies you have in place that could minimize inefficiency and stress and maximize production. What efficiency often impacts is time. Time is something you can’t get back, so learning the techniques to make time work for you rather than against you is imperative.

Sales: Selling is easy if someone wants to buy whatever it is you are promoting, right? But sales is less about the selling and more about the enthusiasm with which someone is promoting a sale. Think of it this way: When you stop trying to sell something, you start selling something. Have you ever noticed that you may have gone somewhere with no intention to buy whatever it is at the store, but a very enthusiastic sales person will convince you that you can’t live without that very thing. Then what? You buy it! To understand selling, one must understand who the seller is. Are they someone who waits for people to ask about a product or service? Are they a product pusher who talks of nothing but the product? Maybe they’re the person who asks what you need and then bends over backwards to find it for you. Or how about the person who promises the world just to get you to buy? Which one do you want working for you? Determine that and that’s who will be attracted to your company! Trust me, it works.

THE BLISS OF A REVERSE COMMUTE!

Posted on by petergwaction

traffic

by Bob Britz (robertbritz@actioncoach.com)

Remember the last time you drove down the freeway at rush hour – in the other direction against traffic? That feeling of, “I’m sure glad I’m not stuck in that mess every morning and night.” That’s how it feels every day to a successful business owner. And it’s not just the fact that they own the business, or that they may open at 9 rather than 10 am. It’s the ability to manage their calendar and time effectively that makes all the difference in the world.

All of us know a stressed business owner who is working from 5 am to 8 pm every day fighting themselves and the traffic each step of the way. It doesn’t happen that way by accident. Generally it starts by trying to save a few bucks and not hire that extra – engineer – bus boy – designer – assistant. They figure that they can pinch a few more dollars out of the business by waiting a little longer. In reality, their day begins to start earlier because they are doing the job that one position would fill, albeit usually more haphazardly in the end because time is tight. The reality is that most business owners by their role earn from $100 – $1,000 per hour they work for the business – whether in delivery or building the business. In reality, most owners I work with find that hiring a $14 – $45 / hour employee will do the job and give them back that effortless commute in the morning while increasing capacity for delivering service and more profit.

The opposite end of the spectrum of the over-worked is the business owner who says, “Every day the day is gone and I couldn’t tell you where it went.” Ok, first I check to be sure there’s a clock or a watch available because time does have a way of getting away from us unless it’s metered and planned. ActionCOACH uses several concepts to help owners manage their time use. The first is a targeted concept of identifying Important and Urgent items vs. Unimportant items. An example of urgent is a customer that walks in the door and requires immediate attention. Something that’s not urgent would be for an owner to retrieve the mail and then rifle through it in front of their $12 / hour reception person. It’s like selecting the right lane on the freeway. The lane leading up to the accident might be entertaining but oh so slow in terms of getting you anywhere. Choose tasks that need to be done and will make you the most money – long term.

Planning your day and your week in advance is the cure called a Default Calendar. It’s like Google Mapping your entire week, the stops, the starts, the distance between, all laid out and hopefully fairly fixed for the week ahead. I use red blocks for networking, blue blocks for group meetings, and green for personal, gold for my clients and black for the kids I mentor. Looking at any given week, I can see by color where my time is being spent. If I see too much Green personal time, I may need more of other activities to balance out the week. By blocking in re-occurring appointments, I am at less risk of double booking and my clients appreciate knowing through the quarter when we are working together. Default calendaring provides the sanity I need to keep up to 25 appointments a week straight as well as my personal life including my wife, two kids and my dog Brodie – who by the way, likes his walks in the late afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

True success in life is mastery of time. Time can be mastered in part by using a default calendar and offloading tasks to appropriately paid and engaged staff. If you are able to work hard, play hard and be with your significant others with two and four feet on a fluid and regular basis – you have arrived.  That 2011 Mercedes c500 may look good in the opposing lanes, but they’re still stuck with the 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass and the rest of the traffic as you buzz on to your next thing – unhindered.

Is the Writing on the Wall?

Posted on by petergwaction


IS IT TIME TO CLOSE YOUR BUSINESS? HERE ARE FOUR TELL-TALE SIGNS
(AND THEIR CURES)

by Bob Britz (robertbritz@actioncoach.com)

Most small business owners have struggled at some point in their business to make ends meet. They find themselves working 24/7 to keep the enterprise afloat, and while sometimes launching the business requires this kind of dedication, it isn’t the course that a healthy business should follow. You can take two paths when you resonate with the four points below: Either close up shop, or get an outside visionary like a business coach or consultant to help you get back on track.

1.Profitability: If you are not profitable by the fifth year, you need to look carefully at whether or not the endeavor makes sense. You need to be breaking even by now, and if you’re not, it is likely better to eat your losses and be grateful you are not throwing good money after bad.

Cure:

There are several different ways a business can increase revenue (and not scare away customers by just increasing your prices). At ActionCOACH, we focus on the following and tweak them until you start to see some real growth in profit: Lead Generation, Conversion Rate, Average Dollar Sale, Average Number of Transactions and Profit Margins. We call these the “Five Ways” and they really do work!

2. Time Management: When you started the business, you were probably eating, sleeping and breathing the business. Yet working like that without an end in sight is simply unsustainable. If you can’t take a sick day, for example, your business is fundamentally in trouble.

Cure:

An ActionCOACH coach can help you determine where your time is getting sucked away, and whether it makes sense to hire an employee to help you. As the business owner, you need to be working ON the business, not IN it, and ActionCOACH has proven strategies to help you get to that position.

3. Personal Satisfaction: Are you happy? Most people kind of know in their gut when it isn’t feeling right anymore. If you aren’t feeling fulfilled, it’s a critical sign that you are on the wrong path.

Cure:

Often times, this problem is attributable to the fact that you aren’t weighing your personal goals as carefully as your business goals. In fact, at ActionCOACH we believe your personal goals always come first. Why? Because that’s why you’re in business! Your business is supposed to support your dreams, not the other way around. This is one of the most important principles at ActionCOACH.

4. Strategy: Do you have a truly reasonable chance at making your business work, and do you have a plan to get there, or are you just giving it last-ditch effort? You need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and make the tough choice if you know in your heart it’s the latter.

Cure:

Goal planning is at the heart of this problem. ActionCOACH runs an all-day business planning workshop once per quarter called GrowthCLUB, where we put a plan into action to make your goals attainable.

It’s important to recognize the difference between commitment and loyalty, and inertia and stubbornness. The sooner you are clear on this, the better. Often we simply lack the tools and the outside perspective that can really help make it or break it. That’s what an ActionCOACH Business Coach is here to do. Please give us a call for a complimentary consultation:925-270-1790, or visit us at actioncoach.com/robertbritz.