Do You Struggle With These 5 Areas?

Posted on May 08, 2013 by Cindy Hillsey, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

I’m noticing a theme with not only my coaching clients, but potential clients as well. Below are five areas that seem to really rear their head in January as we start to make plans for the year. It doesn’t matter what type of market you serve, the challenges and struggles are the same. Let’s talk a bit about each of these areas (these are not in order of importance because they are all important!) and some things you can try if you find you are struggling with any, or all, of them.

1. Time Management – This is a biggie! It seems we never have enough time to do what we say we want to do. Why is that? We all have the same amount of time, but why do some people manage to get everything done and others can’t seem to get anything done? It’s called Time Management. Those who get stuff done, tend to stick to a schedule. I can hear you groaning now about a schedule, but without one things don’t get done. Things happen to you rather than you making things happen. When my clients take the time (pun intended!) to sit down and plan out their schedule, and this includes planning wiggle room, they feel more empowered and in control of their business. Not only do they get more done, but they discover a new level of excitement around their business.

There is no one correct way to write up your schedule. It depends on you, your clients, how you serve your clients, and what you want to accomplish. Here is a suggestion: split your day and/or week into thirds. Here’s what I mean: spend 1/3 of your time on marketing; 1/3 of your time on doing client work; 1/3 of your time on your business to-do’s.

You might also find one of the following helpful:

Evernote – www.evernote.com
OneNote – www.microsoft.com
Listhings – www.listhings.com

2. Ideal Client – You all know this is the first question I ask, “Who is your Ideal Client and why?” If you don’t know who (Ideal Client) you are doing what (the service you provide) to then how can you do it? You’ll find it difficult to get your business going. Marketing will be a struggle. Content for your website will not be clear and concise. You’ll feel frustrated with the type of client you are attracting, and the client probably isn’t going to be all that thrilled with you either!

If this is your area of struggle, take a few moments, head on over to my website (www.virtualpartnering.com), and sign up for my free Ideal Client ebook. Then schedule some time (see above on Time Management), and sit down and go through the ebook so that you can once and for all, see who your Ideal Client is and why. smile

3. Fear of Success – Sounds crazy, right? But it happens all the time. We can visualize what we want, write down the steps we can take, walk through the entire process in our mind, but when it comes to taking that first step we freeze! Our thoughts then turn from, “I can do this!”, to “I can’t do this.” “What was I thinking?” “Who will listen to me?” and so on and so forth. Then the next thing you know, you’re scrapping those plans and ideas and going back to what was comfortable. Is it comfort you want or do you want that vision? If it’s the vision, you need to get support in helping you over, under, and through the road blocks. Find a coach. Find a Master Mind Group. Find an accountability partner. Find someone who has been where you are. Invest in yourself and your business. You won’t regret it.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already downloaded my Fear of Success ebook, now would be a great time to do so. You’ll find it on my website at: www.virtualpartnering.com And if you have already downloaded it, but haven’t taken the time to work through it, now is a perfect time!

4. Marketing – Yikes! If your thoughts run along the line of, “I’ll do anything, just don’t make me market” then you are going to want to work on changing your mindset. You can think of marketing as friends you’ve not yet met. Sometimes that makes it easier to talk about what you do, who you do it to, and the benefits of working with you. Marketing doesn’t have to be hard or feel icky. When you know who your Ideal Client is and the benefits they receive from working with you, it makes it much easier to market your business. Marketing can range from face-to-face to phone to online only. How you market will depend on not only your personality, but your Ideal Clients. (That is why it is so critical for you to know and understand who your Ideal Client is.)

5. Your Big Why – What does this mean? It means ‘why’ are you in business doing what you do? You need to have a really big ‘why’ so that when things get slow, or difficult, you have a reason to keep going! Without a big ‘why’ chances are most anything that comes along (good or bad) is going to derail you and send you off in a different direction. With a big ‘why’, you can maintain your focus and say yes to the things that support your ‘why’ and no to the things that do not support your ‘why’.

Money is not enough of a big ‘why’. Really. You need a reason. What gets you all fired up? What are you so passionate about that you will do what it takes to make it happen? That’s what I’m talking about for a big ‘why’! If you haven’t thought about this question, then now is a good time to do just that! Take a moment, or better yet, schedule time and get crystal clear on your ‘why’.