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I was appalled.  As a life and business coach, so much of my work is about connecting with people and helping them connect with others in a meaningful and impactful way.

So, what I saw was pretty disturbing.  The incident itself was of no real consequence, but what it implied for the way society is shifting was troubling.

When and how do you follow up with a prospective client … and how do you decide when to stop pursuing a prospect?  Good questions … ones I see my business coaching clients struggling with fairly often.

You wanna know the sad part?

Many small business owners end up leaving money on the table, because they don’t follow up with folks in a timely manner.

You’re avoiding something, aren’t you?

How do I know?  Because almost everybody is!

As a life coach, I work with folks on their goals … the actions they need to take to reach those goals and what’s stopping them from taking those actions.  And guess what?

Almost everyone has something they just can’t bring themselves to do.  If you’re one of us, don’t beat yourself up.  It’s a human thing.

Yeah, it seems there are about as many different reasons to avoid doing what we know would be in our best interests as there are people on this planet.

Not exactly a revelation.  So why do I bring it up?

Because recently, I came across one simple statement that resonated so deeply with me that it helped me move past that “safe” place of inaction.

You is.

Sounds funny, doesn’t it?  You is.  But I’m not talking about you personally.

I’m talking about the pronoun you.

Too often, business owners fall into a trap … quite unconsciously.

Human beings, corporations, countries, and entire civilizations can be thought of as operating in one of two basic modes … growing and expanding or static and complacent … maybe even declining.

What does that have to do with you? 

To everything there is a season … and a time to every purpose under heaven.

It’s funny, we all know this bible verse from Ecclesiastes, because of a pop song.  But I’m thinking of it now in the heat of July, because it definitely relates to your business.

It’s summer … time to take some time off and have some fun, right?

Absolutely … but for how long?  That’s the question.  I see clients who really hurt themselves by really throttling back in the summer for an extended period of time.

Coaching isn’t a one-way thing.  I get a lot of insight and shared wisdom from my clients … and I wanted to highlight a particularly brilliant question a dear client of mine asks herself on a regular basis.

I recently had the honor of speaking to the Greater DC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners … or NAWBO … and I came away with a heightened appreciation for a critical success factor in business.

It’s one I’d always given a lot of weight to, but hadn’t talked about much, at least not exactly in the way I want to in this newsletter.

We just got back from a two-week trip to Italy.

We’re blessed to have had the opportunity.  We don’t take it for granted and will treasure the memories.

We had a great time and learned a few things along the way.  Here goes, in no particular order, stream of consciousness.

It’s so easy to think in either/or terms … black and white.  But sometimes there are ways to get a little creative and find a way forward that splits the difference.  What am I talking about?  Something this longtime business coach has recently figured out for herself.

I often hear service-based business owners say they don’t offer prospective clients a complimentary consultation.  “I’m not going to give away my services for free!”  

I get that.

And, I’d like to give both newer professionals and seasoned professionals some perspective on this.  This applies to you whether you’re a coach or any other service-based professional who’s selling the results and benefits of your service.  (It’s not so focused on those of you who are product-based.)