As I continue on my business building journey, I’m reading and exploring what it is that experienced coaches need to keep growing their already successful businesses.  A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon an amazing new take, written by Melanie Benson-Strick.  If you don’t know Melanie, she is the “Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach.”  Melanie has some awesome resources on how to build an effective team and she’s very experienced at working with coaches to help them build successful businesses.  Let’s face it, who DOESN’T want a million dollar coaching business?

Anyway, let me get back to the point.  Melanie has written a new “The CEO Factor Manifesto” that is extremely valuable for any coach who is looking to build a 6 or 7 figure business.  As I read through this manifesto, I noticed all the permissions it gave me to be creative, do what I want to do in business, and keep building my business “as if” I was already at that 6 or 7 figure mark.  Not only that, she gives some great ideas on how to build a team that is effective for you, where you can sit back and do what you want to do, instead of spending all your time managing.

My favorite part is that Melanie really gets to the heart of structuring a business to support your lifestyle and who you are.  It’s so important that we remember life comes first and business comes second when we are so passionate about our business and it’s so close to our hearts.  I really love the way Melanie takes the idea of outsourcing and helps you grasp the mindset needed to create an effective team.  I will probably read that pdf 100 times over.  Honestly, I think any virtual business owner needs to read this manifesto.  Go download it at http://www.theceofactormanifesto.com.

Let me know what you think!  I’d like to hear what you, as a coach, gleen from this incredibly helpful piece of information!

If you are like the majority of coaches in the world, this is a busy time of year.  There are holiday festivities and presents to shop for.  There are end of year business things that need to get done.  Not only that, this is the time of year a lot of people HIRE a coach.  So, where does your marketing fit in?  Ugh!

Marketing needs to happen, whether you are busy or not.  I can’t say this enough…consistent marketing brings in consistent income.  So, how can you market consistently when your schedule is all over the place?  Plan, chunk, ask for help, and be flexible.

1)  Plan - Take some time to look at your schedule and look for days that are light.  Mark off those spaces and plan to use them for marketing.  Look for an hour at a time, or even a half hour would get SOMETHING done.  Find the holes and fill them in with marketing.

2)  Chunk - Now that you have designated times for marketing, USE IT!!  Sit down and create your blog posts for the rest of the year (like I’m doing as I write this!).  Do your newsletter early.  Get them all into their respective places and pre-schedule them to go out at their usual time.  Put together your marketing promotions for the month and have them ready to put out to your networks, so all you have to do is copy/paste.  Use whatever time you have for marketing to get as much of your routine marketing done first!  If you have extra time and don’t need it for other personal or business related activities, then do some of the extra, non-routine tasks.

3)  Ask for help - If you have someone on your team that can help you, USE THEM!  That’s what they are there for.  Ask them to take over once you’ve done your part.  Let them take on a little extra responsibility if you need them to.  Plan with them, so that both of you are on the same page and everyone knows what to expect, so things get done when they need to.

4)  Be flexible - Sometimes life DOES get in the way of accomplishing things as we want them.  Be nice to yourself and be flexible.  You can skip one week of your blog.  You can be a day late on your newsletter.  Be transparent and let your readers know that you made a choice.  Share with them the process and how they can be nice and flexible too.  Use it as a coaching opportunity…why not?  You are a coach!

Enjoy the excitement and hustle/bustle of the month of December.  Get as much done as you possibly can ahead of time, so you can relax and be present when you want to be.

Delegate.  For some this is a word that brings fear.  For others it brings relief.  Which one does it bring for you?  This is something I have worked on since I was in college.  I like to control the important projects in my life.  It took me a long time to realize that delegating means I need to let go of getting things done “my way.”  As long as the finished product is what I was looking for, then there is no reason to take on more work than I can handle.

The same goes for running your business.  The time comes when there is more work than any one person can handle.  As a Coach, I’m sure you are very aware of how that feels.  You are also very dedicated to your work and you want to make sure that your business runs well.  It’s very admirable to want your business to be in excellent working order.  You don’t have to do it alone.  When the time comes, delegate.  Where to?  Here are some suggestions:

Ask someone who believes in your business as much as you do, to help out.  A friend, spouse, family member or Colleague maybe.

Create a support team that will help you accomplish your business goals.  Who do you know with Marketing, banking or writing skills?  See if they’ll help you when you get swamped.

Pay for services that automate your business so there is less to do.  Get that software program that will do the work for you once set up.  Better yet, higher a VA, CPA or Web Designer to work with you.

Going it alone is great for a while but when it’s time, find people you trust to delegate the work to.  Talk about establishing relationships!!  This is an excellent reason to create a business around the relationships you make.  You’ll already have those trustworthy people in your business life.  So, where can you delegate?  Let go and allow someone else to lighten your load.

Hey everyone!

Quick post this week and late, even.  I’ve heard many a time that a blog must be consistent to be worthwhile.  Well, you know what?  This month, consistency is out the window.  Why?  Well, I and my clients became a priority over the blog.  I made a choice and I stuck to it.  The best part is that I won’t be posting for 2-3 more weeks.  May the blog Gods strike me down!  You see, I’ve been gearing up to be away from my business for two weeks while I move into a new home with my husband.  I decided that it was more important to get my apartment ready to move and my clients taken care of so they’d be okay while I was gone.  To me, that’s more important than keeping up with my blog.  Yes, I care about my blog readers and I want to continue spreading information amongst the Coaching community.  So, as soon as I am settled and ready to gear up for the next round of blogging.  I will return.  Until then, I wish you all great success in your business.   Allow the inconsistency.  Breathe, relax and enjoy your time with your business!!