Having your own small business can be a dream come true - you’re your own boss, you get to do something you love everyday, and you have the ability to make influential day to day decisions. On the flip side, being a small business owner (SBO) means assuming many responsibilities you don’t exactly love.Balancing all the roles as a SBO is no easy feat, but that’s where career coaching can help. Check out these tips for jumping off points to work with a coach.
Take a cue from Frozen on this one and learn to let it go. In a small business setting, there’s always more that needs to be done. Accept that with a small staff, or a staff of one, you can’t do everything.
Not sure what you can sacrifice? Creating a list of priorities. Bringing in an object third party, like a career coach, can help you realize where you need to prioritize your time, and what projects can be pared down to the bare minimum. It can be hard to believe for some, but your business will go on, even if everything isn’t perfect.
Small business doesn’t necessarily mean business of one. If you have the capabilities to hire help, even on an hourly basis, go for it. Identify pain point in your small business with a career coach and look to relieve that stress with a hire.
Working with a tight budget? You can still find help. Reach out to small business networking groups. Get involved in your local small business associations. Whether online or in person, there are tons of networks to join and connect with SBOs. Not only is this a way to expand your network, it’s also giving you access to a diverse group to help solve problems and learn from.
You started this small business for a reason, remember your roots. Often, we try to serve all people at all times, but focusing on your niche can benefit your small business. Work with a coach to help highlight why you started this business to begin with. Develop company principles to live by, even if it’s just for yourself.
Getting back to your core focus can help reveal what you might be wasting your time on, and create an action plan for future growth.
No one wants to make a mistake, but as a SBO, it can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. That fear of failure can bleed into your performance as an SBO, and negatively affect your bottom line.
With a career coach, you can focus on embracing mistakes and working to get past them. Remember things will go wrong, and it’s what you do to solve it that really counts.
As an SBO, you’re caught up in the day to day problems of your business, but you also need to be forward looking. Ace-up Career Coach James Lopata recommends creating a future “advertisement” for your business.
Create an ad or visualization for yourself about what you want your business to look like at different points in the future; in six months, in a year, or even in 5 years.
“I suggest they keep that image visible — perhaps as their computer screensaver, as their smartphone cover image, or as a hard-copy poster above their desk,” recommends Lopata.
“We know the power of repeated exposure to an image induces action toward acquiring what that image represents — that’s why corporations spend billions of dollars in advertising each year. It works! Continually advertising to yourself your own desired vision of your business is a low-cost, low-time-investment, high payoff way to help stay focused on what matters over time.”
Don’t let something you started out of passion become a stressor in your life. Check out Ace-up to find the right coach that’ll help your business thrive.