Who's on your side?

It can be a lonely life as a business owner. If you came from an employed background you were probably used to chatting to people while having a coffee or across the office. When you work from home who is there to share the trials & tribulations, or to celebrate getting the order? Your disinterested cat - if you're lucky!

It's so important to have a supportive network in place when you work for yourself. Family and friends will usually try hard to understand - be sure to keep them in the picture if you know you can rely on them. There's nothing worse than pouring your heart out and hearing "If it's so hard, why don't you get a proper job?" I know - that's happened to me.

Networking with your peers can be an invaluable source of support but make sure you steer clear of the 'doom and gloom' crowd! They will suck all the enthusiasm out of you and leave you feeling like packing everything in. Misery loves company - but it isn't a club you have to join.

Search out people who will be your cheer leaders, who will encourage you to 'go for it' and motivate you when the going gets tough.

One of the biggest compliments I hear from my coaching clients (and one of the reasons I so love what I do) is that they leave our meetings feeling totally motivated and ready to take on the world!

Life, and business, are tough enough - but with the right support, the challenges are easier to deal with. Make sure yours is in place - ready to cheer you on to to success!

Networking - do offline techniques work online?

This week I've been asked to give a talk on effective networking at a Southern Entrepreneurs event in Havant on Wednesday evening. I'd love to see you there if you're in the area!

I started holding workshops to help small business owners network more effectively back in 2004. With so much emphasis now on online networking (via Facebook, Twitter, Ecademy, LinkedIn, etc), I thought that this week I'd take a look at some of the offline techniques I teach and see if they apply online as well.

At one my workshops, we discussed how to come up with an attention-grabbing opening statement, in answer to the question “What do you do”?. Speaking to a delegate after the workshop, she asked me why I recommended to focus first on the problem and not on the solution.

It’s all a matter of thinking about what motivates people. Some people are motivated towards pleasure or reward but even more are motivated away from pain or discomfort so that’s where you need to start.

The response you want is for someone to say “That sounds interesting, tell me more.” Or “How do you do that?”. Then you move on to talk about the solution you can provide (not the process).

You can use these motivators in your one-minute pitches too. First highlight the problem your typical clients have and then tell them how wonderful things will be with your solution. This is a really strong combination of motivators that will resonate with people who are in the market for what you offer.

I think this one passes the 'offline and online' test - what do you think?

It's great to put another tick in the box!

Like most small business owners, I struggle sometimes to get focused and make headway with projects. Even though I know all the tricks and techniques, sometimes they don’t work for me!

I’m ashamed to admit that I used to give in and do something easier or more pleasurable – like phone a friend for a chat, or even take the rest of the day off! What has really changed for me is working with a coach who doesn’t stand any nonsense! My clients will rejoice in hearing that I’m getting a taste of my own medicine!

The benefits of having a coach are many. There’s a desire to work harder, to achieve more in the knowledge that someone else is going to celebrate your successes. There can also be an element of discomfort if you have to report that things didn’t get done.

What I’m finding interesting is that I’m setting bigger targets for myself than before, and I’m really striving to reach or even exceed them! My motivation levels have never been higher and I am getting through an amazing amount of work.

Even though I already knew that coaching produces great results, it’s nice to have my recent experiences continue to confirm it!

Are you disappointed?

Another cause of loss of motivation is when results are disappointing. You put in all that effort and don’t get the payback.

If this happens to you, please stop doing what isn’t working, or you’re just going to get more of the same and feel even worse.

It’s a good idea to measure the results of everything you do. For marketing activities, you want to get the most business in the most cost effective way. Inside your business, you need to set up systems and processes that will make life easier.

I was working with a coaching client this week on systemising and prioritising her workload. She asked me if the new system would definitely work, because she didn’t want to put the effort in if it wouldn’t. I reminded her that her current system wasn’t working at all, so anything had to be an improvement! I expect we’ll have to make some adjustments once we have some results to measure.

Avoid becoming demotivated and make changes if what you’re doing isn’t working. Einstein said that it was a sure route to insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result!

Act to counter low motivation

I don’t know about you, but when I feel overwhelmed at how much is on my To-Do list or I’m not sure how to move forward with a project, it can affect my motivation for everything else too!

Now, one fact that I absolutely know for sure, is that time is so very precious to all small business owners, and we have to make every minute count or it’s gone forever!

So whenever I feel my motivation slipping because of overwhelm or uncertainty, I have learnt that the best antidote is action. Often it doesn’t matter what that action is, just as long as I am doing something to move my business forward.

One great benefit of working with a coach is that you report in regularly on what you’ve been doing. It’s easy to forget just how much you have achieved when motivation levels are low, so writing everything down is a good reminder and encourages you to take more action. Taking action and celebrating achievements are both vital elements to staying motivated.

Do new ideas re-motivate you?

Yesterday’s meeting with my coach was just as re-motivating as I had hoped and I’ve come away with loads of exciting ideas to work on! Sometimes fresh ideas are enough to get the motivation flowing again.

With most of my business coaching clients, their motivation comes and goes, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason…. to them at least.

Think back to when you first started in business. Think about why you made that bold move; what you wanted to achieve – for yourself and for your family. Reconnecting with your original vision and reaffirming your goals regularly is really important. How else can you expect to stay motivated when things get tough?

If your motivation is low, you will struggle to quiet the voice that says “This is too hard, perhaps I should look for a job.” But when your motivation levels are high, that voice will say “How can I deal with this? What do I need to do?.”

I’m off to revisit my long term plans and see what I can add or change to make it more compelling and more exciting.

Is your motivation flagging?

This week, I thought I’d look at the subject of Motivation for small business owners, especially as I had some classic ‘I don’t want to do this’ moments last week and then felt guilty because I hadn’t done as much as I thought I should have. Has that ever happened to you?

When I explored in more depth why I should be feeling like this, I uncovered the following 3 factors:

1. Over the previous 4 weeks I’d been working 14 hour days, mostly hunched over the computer.

2. I had worked every weekend since the beginning of the year.

3. I was just plain tired!

Was it really any surprise that my motivation had taken a dip? I had to do something. First, and most obvious, I needed to recharge my batteries, so I took the whole weekend off. OK, so I did turn the computer on for a couple of hours yesterday to check emails, but that was all. I rested, I read a book, I caught up on sleep, I switched off.

I know that it will take more than one weekend off to put things right – but it’s a start. This morning (Monday), I am getting on with things. I’ve got a meeting with my coach later on and know that I’ll be fired up afterwards. But how long for? .....

Motivation can be hard work!

How do you get a small business owner motivated? No it isn't a joke question, unfortunately! I've noticed a distinct lack of motivation in some of my coaching clients lately. They're comfortable with what they're making and they don't feel the urgency to get out there and hustle. It's really difficult for me to find out what their future goals are.

Anthony Robbins talks about needing a 'big enough Why' and he's absolutely right. Unless you have overwhelming reasons to go for something (either in your personal or business life), why should you bother? Far easier to stay in your comfort zone and go with the flow.

At the end of this month I'm running a workshop all about Motivation for Entrepreneurs. Apparently it's sold out already. I think the business owners I'll see there will be looking for ways of rediscovering the motivation they felt when they first started in business. It seems to me that, unless you nurture that motivation, it starts to wilt under the every day pressures of being a business owner. Before long, it's all too much effort (we start to think fondly of being a salaried employee!) and we look for a way out.

I firmly believe that it is possible to reconnect with your motivation - and I'm going to prove it to my workshop delegates! It's all to do with thinking big, very big......

Try a bit of goal setting

Another month, another set of goals! I have to admit that sometimes they seem a bit daunting, but without them, I’d find it harder to stay motivated and on track.

The interesting phenomenon that happens when you write down your goals, is that your subconscious gets to work. Try it and see! Write down some goals that you’d like to achieve for your business (or in your personal life) this month. Put the sheet of paper somewhere safe. At the end of the month, look at what you wrote down. I bet that you will have achieved at least some of the goals you set at the beginning of the month.

Don’t ask me how it works, just believe that it does.

Now, imagine how much more you could achieve if you worked towards those goals consciously as well!

Let me know how you get on.

Why Business Coaching is so special

As the result of an unexpected phone call request this afternoon, I’m busy putting together a special workshop all about motivation for business owners and entrepreneurs. It’s called, rather unoriginally, ‘E-Motivation’ and is going to be full of really effective tips and exercises that really do work. I’m looking forward to it already.

A meeting with a coaching client today highlighted that a business coach has many different roles. Today my client was really not himself. Things were going wrong and he needed to get some frustrations out of his system. While we didn’t get any measurable work done, I think I may just have saved some of his staff an ear-bashing.

When I worked in the corporate world I used to apply for promotions and different jobs on a regular basis. I get bored easily. I’ve been coaching for 7 years now and can honestly say that boredom isn’t an issue. I never know what coaching clients are going to present – which is both exciting and sometimes a little scary! But I love it. I love not knowing what the next coaching session is going to bring. It certainly keeps me on my toes.