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When you work as a business coach as long as I have, you tend to see the common behaviors that entrepreneurs struggle with.  Time and priority management is a big one.

The ability to plan my work and work my plan is something I’ve been blessed with.  I never would have survived as the Festival Coordinator in charge of the largest, free outdoor festival in the Southeast if I hadn’t!

So, I want to share three project management skills that are essential to our success as business owners.  The third one might come as a bit of a surprise to you.

I can’t help myself.  As a business coach, I’m always observing other businesses … their operations, marketing, and especially their customer service … even if they’re in industries other than those I typically serve.

As many of you know, we’ve recently moved, and our former home has been on the market.  We’re currently in the due diligence period with a buyer where they get an appraisal and inspections done.

And during that process, they discover that the radon readings exceed safe levels.  Ugh!

Let me tell you about a mistake I made recently that I’d like you to avoid.

I had a lovely and productive complimentary consultation with a prospective client who felt just right in terms of fit.  Turns out she felt the same way.  She wanted to discuss coaching with her business partner and told me she’d get back to me by email.

Background:  The options I offer prospective clients are three calls a month at a certain price or two calls a month at a lower price. I also request a six month commitment.  I say “request”, but I will rarely work with anyone who can’t commit to six months, because you have to have at least that much time to get measurable results.

I always suggest scheduling a follow-up call instead of waiting for the other person to call or email you back.  But it was clear she wanted to follow-up by email.

She got right back to me in the timeframe she promised and said, “I’d love to work with you and would love to start with a set of three meetings.” 

I mentioned in our latest business newsletter that I’ve been doing more executive coaching in the last couple of years.

Here are the things that have struck me when it comes to interacting with these folks.  I believe my takeaways will provide insight for the folks I write this letter for … small business owners … solopreneurs … service professionals.

Sometimes business coaching leads us to focus on some very simple things.  So simple, in fact, that we might forget sometimes just how important they really are … like going the extra mile to make sure you’re treating people really well. 

Who would those “people” be?  Anyone you interact with … your clients, customers, employees, independent contractors, vendors, alliance partners … in other words, your “stakeholders.”

Case in point …

I’m a business coach, so when a highly successful CEO tells me the biggest lesson he’s learned as a leader, I’m tuned in and listening. 

And maybe it’s just serendipity … or maybe it’s the Universe sending me a message I need to hear … but it’s a theme that’s been smacking me upside the head multiple times in the last couple of months. 

Simple is good. Simple and powerful is even better. As a business coach, I look for the simplest possible ways to help clients implement the kinds of changes / improvements they want to make.

Well, there’s an extremely simple, highly systematic way of analyzing where you are and what you can do to improve your operations that’ll blow the doors off your performance.

As a business coach with a thriving practice, I can’t possibly do everything that needs to be done in my practice … not if I want to have any kind of life!  It’s one of the things I teach … the top 3 things you need to focus on in your business.

If you’ve been reading these messages for a while, you know I’ve been looking for new team members for several key positions.

Well, I took the leap and hired a Virtual Assistant, something I’ve been resisting for some time, because I prefer a personal assistant working in my office.  The reality is there are things that a VA can’t do … or can’t do easily … from afar.  But I decided having help on 75% of the admin stuff is a lot better than nothing!

The other day, I was working with my VA and I had a major realization … one that could impact your business. 

Here’s a story from my past that directly relates to your business today.

Years ago, I was selected to be the first Executive Director of Spartanburg Community Events, a non-profit created by the City to produce and manage their festival and events. There were two major events, and they were previously managed by different divisions within City Hall.

A big part of my role was to bring in corporate funding through selling sponsorships. I had no previous experience, but I knew I was smart and gutsy and could learn!

So, I did just that … talking with folks who had experience in fundraising and creating packages of different areas of the festival that could be “sold” to a sponsor. That involved designing a professional portfolio of articles, news clippings, and photographs I could present to potential corporate partners

It took some time to pull all this together. One of my Board members, who had previously produced one of the events and clearly had a strong stake in it, accused me of not doing my job and brought this to the attention of the whole Board.

I absolutely love being a business coach … and I have to tell ya, it ain’t gettin’ any easier to do my job. Why? Because I’ve lost so many critical elements of my support team!

When the world shut down last year, I had to do without my cleaning folks for the time being. In the interim, they went out of business.

I lost my in-office administrative support person, because he didn’t have the ability to work virtually. I was blessed to have my former assistant step in electronically … that is until things opened up in NC and his massage business took off!

My graphic and web designer wants to be home more with her toddler. I completely understand, but that means she’s no longer available. She not only served me, but my clients as well.

And then, two weeks ago my Speaking and Tour Manager died unexpectedly. I lost my friend, my buddy. But I also lost another vital leg of support … the one support person most critical to the success of my business.

How is my business going to recover from this? You don’t just go out and find someone who has the personality and skills to book your speaking engagements. It takes a certain package of gifts and a lot of time in training.

So, now what?