Heartache & Heroism In Small Business

  
Overwhelm

A recent discussion with a friend who is a life coach brought to my attention the plight of a mutual colleague. As is often the case, this person was struggling in their business, and especially struggling with a feeling of overwhelm and despondency, that is very common and yet is strangely missing from the mountain of articles and blogs written about small business each week.

There are a couple of things here that are interesting, not just on the circumstances of the distress, but in the actions to move out from 'overwhelm' - to reaching out for help. This is a small step with potential for big consequences, and it is in this pivotal moment sometimes, that action can lead to decisions that change lives. Sometimes for the better.
 


Getting Unstuck

What makes for the impetus to ask for help?

Sometimes it is the presence of someone who generates an air of 'approachability' and makes available the context for the person in crisis to feel able to confide. In this case it is certainly so. In the absence of such a person being available, many will just continue to 'bottle it up' and continue their downward spiral. This is a bit of a worry when looking at it from a strategic point-of-view.  Again others might seek help from someone without the ability to listen objectively, or offer constructive input.

Rather than leaving it to chance, a better approach might be to set in place a kind of 'early warning detector' to use.  When we are heading toward feelings of overwhelm, at the heart is often a belief that we sometimes carry around, that we should not ask, or not even need to ask, for help. Especially in business.

For our 'early warning detector' to be effective, we need to align it with the belief that yes, we can ask for help should we feel the need and that asking for help is a good thing to do.

Then of course, we need to have someone to ask, so preparing the ground for this, might be surveilling the environment and making a list of people who could be in a position to help in some way, should the need arise. Scoping them out while things are going well lets us be better prepared, for when we are not feeling quite so resourceful, or thinking quite so clearly.

Who do we know who can listen objectively?
(A sounding board sometimes is all that may be needed)

Who do we know who has knowledge around this matter?

Who do we know who has influence in a way that would help in this situation?

And if we don't have anyone like this who we know...

Who should we get to know who could be a help in this case?

People set up a business and very often put everything on the line in the hope that it will be successful. Sometimes the thing that is missing is having good support from outside the business to help when we face something that is outside our ability to resolve, or are just feeling 'stuck'.

There is help available. Finding and accessing that help is good for us to do and importantly, it is good for our business.

We can learn from these occasions and become more resilient and open up a variety of additional resources and skills that we can use to drive our business forward.

That's what heroism looks like in small business.





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What A Business Coach Isn't - Or Shouldn't Be

It can be hard to know how others see the things that we see. This is particularly so when the topic is something we are close to, like our work.

Over some time I have heard it said more than once, that it is hard to refer a business coach to another business. I'm not sure why. From my own perspective, it should be the single most easy business to which one can refer. So when I heard this said yesterday by someone I just met, a member of a different BNI chapter than that to which I belong, I was intrigued, and asked him what he thought the reason was for that difficulty. His response was quite brilliant, and heartfelt, and I thank him very much for sharing this with me, because it would not have occurred to me in a lifetime. He said "It's like your wife telling you what to do in your business..."

My initial thought when I heard that was bewilderment. As I thought about it more I realised I was not entirely surprised, because it forms part of that great misunderstanding around coaching (well deserved, probably), that some have, which goes something like "If I need a coach... then I must be bad at what I do and that means that getting a coach would mean I am a failure." Of course this is utter nonsense and the most likely business owner who will hire a coach to help them in their business, is very good at what they do, have - or will have - a very successful business and are clear and determined enough to do so. They are able to see very well what they do well,and importantly, what they don't do so well. Unlike "the wife telling you what to do" a good business coach will find out what it is that you want... and help you determine how to get that, and support you on the journey.

But it brings me back to the same problem that coaches face, namely identifying those people who are in a place where they know they have issues in their business they would like to improve, but don't know where to find the help they need to do so.

Friends, colleagues and business aquaintances who know them are in the prime position to help them to access the help they need. A referral to a business coach is one step toward that. Will the business owner hire the coach? Well that should depend on the result of any meeting they have with that coach. Coaching is a profession that requires some close work with clients and not all people are a match. Not all coaches are the same, and the help that the client is seeking needs to be a fit with the skills and knowlege and areas of experience of the coach in question. This fit is only something that the client (and the coach) can know when it is right. Referring a business owner for a meeting to find out if this is the match that is right for them, is a great gift to bestow on a friend.




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Lindy Asimus
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Coaches Do This.

“Just what is coaching, anyway...?”

Here’s the question that comes up all the time. From those who may need a coach, and for those who would coach them and are tasked with delivering a definition that has some meaning that may be understandable with those who might like to access such a service.

Personally, I am a bit ‘over’ the sporting analogies and frankly think the name is actually a bit inconsequential, since the coaching role can cover such a wide variety of contexts, and because each coach may cover within a specific niche and in some ways, may operate in a way that is slightly different from other coaches, and indeed, differently depending on the client, it may vary from case-to- case as different scenarios demand. I am given to understand that some coaches don’t vary the way they coach, but I cannot speak to that. In my own work with clients, I have a range of tools that I have developed that address certain issues within a business and still others that I custom-create to fit the need. Since I work with businesses in different sectors and with different products and presenting dilemmas, this seems to work well for us.

Coaching as a vocation is an interesting business. Like any business owner knows, there is providing a product, and then there is running a business...Two very different ‘animals’.

Today the topic came up as several of we coaches held a meeting to nut out some issues in putting together a network for coaches in the Newcastle and Hunter region. It is an interesting bunch of people, with interests, and expertise across a wide spectrum of topics. The coaches are quite different as are their respective focus areas and work with clients on issues ranging from personal/life stuff, through couples, family relationships and different shades of business, large and small, family businesses, corporate business, employee coaching, and more. With clients ranging from individuals facing transition in their lives, business owners looking to develop their business to the next level, or just plain get organised and shed some unnecessary stress from their lives. All good people all facing their own particular challenge.

Perhaps our greatest challenge as coaches is in creating an awareness, that we’re here. We’re here for the business owner who wants to finally get some systems in place and run their business like a ‘real one’. For the single mother looking to grow and raise her personal esteem and be a good model for her children. For the newly divorced man who finds himself on the outer and no real skills to move forward toward a loving healthy next relationship – with himself – and later with another.
What do coaches do? Well that depends. What do you need? What is it that you want to do that you haven’t been able to manage alone? That’s what coaches do. Help you achieve whatever it is that you want. Sometimes, it begins with helping you understand and articulate, just what that is that you do want.

As simple and as complex as that, is the answer to what coaches do.

The real point, perhaps in our coaching network, is to create a focal point, so that those looking for help – of whatever kind – can find the starting point to connect with someone who can help them to do just that thing they have a desire to do. I hope they find us.


I think that’s quite a good start... Don’t you think?



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What You Do - And How You Do It. Product-ification!

I've been considering the different ways that busineses operate, some selling tangible, hold-them-in-your-hand products that are a size to compare, quality to compare and price range that you can compare with another at another store or website. Then I'm thinking about services, how do we make that as seemingly easy to buy, as easy to compare and importantly, how to package it up to make it easy to buy?

Australia Post must have been thinking along these lines with their recent poster campaign...



Well services aren't products, and while there may be some comparison in some industries, it is essential in order to qualify that value, to know that one is comparing like to like. For example, in many coaching, business development services, the coach/consultant will work with you to determine what is your next action to take... and leave you with it! In my experience, that is often where the wheels fall off, because the business owner doesn't already have a strategy to use, in order to DO that! That's precisely why they have stalled and not taken care of addressing that very issue!

Speak to anyone from the insurance industry and they will tell you "it's harder to sell intangibles..." Well, I'm not so sure that is true. Some people buy a drill just to have drill. For others like me, they buy a drill so they can stick a screw in the wall to hang something on. Now I don't much care about drills, or screws, or masonry, but if I want to fix something to that wall, then you can bet that I'm going to buy a drill to do it. The drill is a means to my end, not an end in itself. Products and services are not so different. We buy insurance, not because we love insurance, but because we love our family and we know that we have enough to contend with, just making ends meet at the best of times. We also know that we may not have enough in the case of an emergency of crisis proportions - or if we do, we might prefer to spend Someone Else's money at that time - not our savings!

Business coaching is like that. Marketing is like that. Business resources are like that. We don't necessarily want to spend the money, but if we know what spending that money can give us as an outcome... a good result... then we understand what is a priority and what is not. To us. As it must always be, a value according to what is important to us.

It really is up to us, we brave souls out there pushing our imaginery barrow full of intangible benefits, to communicate that value, to those who would seek it.





Thinking Of Getting A Business Coach?
Lindy Asimus
http://www.designbusinessengineering.com

Picking A Business Coach

I started a new Squidoo lens recently highlighting some ways to select a business coach. It seems that for many people, understanding when coaching can help is difficult. Then the question: "Well, I think I need a business coach, but which one?"

Sometimes struggling with money is a sign that a business coach can help. For other people it might be struggling with time and life balance issues. Whatever the area that is not quite working as you know would be better, then it is worth considering getting the help you need to ensure that the business - and your life as the owner - gets the attention it deserves.

Here's the link to my Getting A Business Coach lens on Squidoo