One of my coaching clients had recently experienced a string of failures. A business venture that had consumed a great deal of her time flopped. A new line of business she was attempting to market was finding little response in the marketplace. Several of her long-time clients stopped working with her.
How successful do you feel in your business?
Success has a certain vibe about it, one you can recognize and feel in your bones. And yet, it’s easy to live out of an outdated definition without realizing you’re doing it, making you feel unsuccessful. Have you looked at how you’re defining success recently? You might be ready to reinvent what success looks and feels like; updating your definition will do wonders for both your business and your psyche.
What’s your way to get things done? Do you feel you’re an achiever who enjoys checking off boxes? Or do you see yourself as more laid back, getting to things whenever you can? Whatever your style, the truth is, if you’re in business for yourself, you need to get things done, and chances are, no one else will jump in to save the day. Which begs the question: how do you do things most easily and in a way best suited to you?
What’s your style?
In working with clients, I see two typical categories of doers: 1) those who love making a list and working through it, some going so far as to draw their own little check boxes next to each to-do item in a notebook, or 2) those who take a looser approach, writing items on the backs of envelopes, on their hand, or random sticky notes. Both approaches have their merits.
We need to talk about your business. Not to be too crass, yet part of the formula for a successful business looks like this: Clients = Money
You need clients because you need money, because you want freedom to do things for yourself and others, both personally and professionally, which means you need to do something about that. About the getting of clients. That thing that’s easy to say, that you’re “supposed” to do, yet is easy to ignore. But. Something. Is. Always. (Seemingly) More. Urgent.
Taking good care of your clients means taking care of your business, and one of the simplest paths to taking care of both your clients *and* your business is by tracking the numbers.
It’s natural to become contemplative when one year ends and another begins, and look back at what you’ve accomplished over the previous year. Unfortunately, this can also become a time to look at what you haven’t accomplished, and feel regret, frustration, or even shame about it. This can lead to lowered self-esteem, decreased motivation, and even depression. These are not the best conditions for a strong start to the year!
I heard a story on the This American Life podcast about a man waiting on a subway platform, and in the crowd was another man walking up to people, saying, “You’re In. You’re Out. You, you can stay. You — gotta go.” The story teller found himself secretly wanting to be picked to stay, which was odd since what the man was doing was completely arbitrary.
There’s a revolution going on in the world of work, and it’s impacting all of us, self-employed professionals included. The Great Resignation, AKA the Big Quit, began in the spring of 2021, as significant numbers of employees began leaving their jobs. Surveys indicate that from 40-65% of the U.S. workforce is either considering quitting or already looking for a new job.
No doubt about it, it’s been a year…
As we approach year’s end, take a moment to reflect on how it started, and where you’re at now. Very likely it wasn’t business as usual, so what was it business AS?
What’s new or different? What did you try? How did things go? How would you like to finish the year?
Now that the world’s opening up, and you’re creating a “new normal” for your work, chances are you’ve got a vision that’s forming, one you’d like to bring to life. Which may leave you wondering… how are you supposed to do that, exactly?
