I not a chef and in fact, I actually don’t like cooking!! However as a mother of 2 and a wife, cooking family dinners fell on my shoulders for 30+ years. So I guess it gives me the ‘right’ to talk a little about recipes and cooking as an analogy to building your successful biz.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to cook up a successful business:
INFORMATION — Information is abundant and as small biz owners it’s often difficult to figure out which information you should pay attention to. You can get information simply by ‘googling’; by searching youtube; by asking friends; books, videos, and the list goes on. So how do you know what information is important for your biz right now? How do you know what information is valid? What if you had a library of curated information? Information that was organized and vetted by someone who was already successful in biz? What if you you were given just the right information at the right time? Would that be helpful? (If you are anything like me, the answer would be a HELL YEAH!!!)
STRATEGY — Strategy is how you arrange and implement all that business information. How do you know what you need to do each day? You think about it; you put it into action; then you second-guess yourself; and then self-doubt sets in. You start spinning your wheels! It’s tough being a solo-entrepreneur — you’re by yourself and it’s darn lonely. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who give you a knowledgeable course correction so that you stay on track? (That’s why I just hired a new business coach to give me feedback and help me stay focused and on track!)
INNER GAME — You’ve heard me talk time and time again that building a successful business requires both a successful inner game (mind game) as well as a successful outer game (strategy). Each one of us has an inner voice (that itty bitty shitty committee) that sometimes drives our decisions. It takes work, continuous work, to keep from letting that committee run our lives and our decisions. (It’s been my experience that as we continue on our business journey … it seems that as we cross each new level in our business; we encounter a new devil!!! )
SUPPORT — ‘We need a place to be a learner, so we can go out and be a master”! Being a small business owner is a continuous journey of learning. The fact is that the strategies that you used as a newbie aren’t the ones you’ll use as a CEO! So who is your support? Your community? (That’s why I’ve recently joined a community of like-minded business entrepreneurs led by a wildly successful business woman who runs a $1m+ biz who I totally respect and honor!)
So those are the 4 basic ingredients required in your recipe to cook up some success. As with cooking, it’s often the QUALITY of the ingredients that are important to the outcome of the recipe. So be sure to have the best quality ingredients possible — because your business and you deserve the best.
So you might ask … why did I write about these 4 ingredients this week? Well I just hired my new business coach and there were lots of things that I had to consider including the above ingredients. Yes… I might a business coach for many of you BUT I also need to stay on top of my game; I need to keep learning; I need to keep improving! So I’ve hired someone who is ‘just a little further down the entrepreneurial path than I am”!!
Here’s some of the other things I had to consider when hiring my coach (perhaps they will help you when you hire yours):
1. Don’t just hire a well-known name; hire someone who fits with your goals and who you respect. During my research I found that that one of the coaches I was considering wasn’t really ‘available’ on a regular basis — it was her team that would be available. That wasn’t what I was looking for even though I know she is a great coach.
2. Consider the amount of your investment compared to … not your current income but the revenue you intend to create!! If you intend to create $100K revenue in 2017, then investing $20K isn’t a bad return on investment. What income are you intending to create in 2017? Over the years, I usually invest somewhere in the vicinity of 15-30% of my intended revenue for the coming year. What are you investing in yourself and your business for 2017?
3. Just as important as the type of coaching and is whether it fits your personality and your needs … will it be group, online, face-to-face, private; how often; etc. What skills do you need to focus on? Last year I had 2 coaches (one for mindset and one for speaking). Those were particular skills I was focussed on improving! What skills do you need help with? What are your biggest business challenges and what areas of your business do you need help improving?
4. The personality of the coach probably is often as important as the knowledge. If you truly don’t like the person or the methods, then you aren’t likely to listen or to implement — totally a waste of time and money.
So those are the considerations and the ingredients I was looking for these past few weeks while I was hiring my new business coach for my road trip to entrepreneurial success.
If any of these ingredients are something you might be looking for, please connect with me and let’s see if we can help you find the right ingredients for your business success recipe! Head over to www.dianalidstone.com/apply and you’ll find out how we can get together on a Clarity Breakthrough Session!
Here’s to your wildly amazingly successful 2017!
In gratitude,
Diana
PPPPPSSS. There is still time to register for the upcoming 1 1/2 day BEST-YEAR-YET Virtual Planning Sessions — more here! I want you to have your BEST YEAR YET and it can be yours when you work with a stress-free money-making plan!!
