Business Coaching Blog

What Stops Most Business Owners in Their Tracks?

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

This Growth Coach business coaching blog focuses on the common feeling that stops most business owners and entrepreneurs in their tracks. The emotion that prevents most professionals from seizing greater success and personal fulfillment. The mental state that derails most small business owners from making necessary changes. What's that prevalent feeling, emotion and mental state that often sabotages a better business and life? It's called being OVERWHELMED. The feeling of being overwhelmed is like engaging an emergency brake on your goals and dreams...you never really move toward them.

THE PROBLEM

As a business coach for over 18 years, I have seen the best of business owners mentally and physically check out and shut down when confronted and surrounded by the sensation of being overwhelmed. In fact, that's the time when small business owners especially need a coach to help them cut through the feelings of dread, fear, complexity, confusion, and endless details.

As the founder of The Growth Coach, a North American business coaching franchise system, I too have suffered from bouts of feeling overwhelmed, especially as we've expanded. Being overwhelmed is when the mind-numbing details of any contemplated and significant change immediately crush your appetite and motivation for that change. It's when the thought of making a significant change feels and appears MUCH too big, too complicated, and too involved to move forward. You never really get going. Haven't you felt overwhelmed at times?

Our Growth Coaches see this all the time with their new business coaching clients. These entrepreneurs are stuck by their feelings of being overwhelmed. When most small business owners seriously consider a major change and improvement in their business and/or life, they immediately dwell upon the countless details and action steps that will be required. Instead of focusing on the "pleasing outcomes" of the change, they focus on the "challenging process" of the change. Instead of focusing on the "why do it" (motivation), they jump ahead too far and too soon to the "how to do it" (methods).

As a result, even before establishing the right reasons and motivation for the change, they are buried by the methods and minutia of the change. They suddenly feel overwhelmed and freeze up. That crushing, suffocating weight of being overwhelmed prevents them from moving forward to a better business and life. Their brains overload and shut down. So does their will to change. Again, this is a critical juncture when they need a Growth Coach more than ever to get them unstuck, back on the track and moving forward.

Here's a typical business coaching example. When a small business owner is asked a simple coaching question like, "What's currently broken in your business?", he/she usually rattles off several areas they would love to fix and improve. However, without even taking a first step, their mind plays a horrible trick on them. It instantaneously creates a scary horror movie of sensory overload with thousands of evil and frightening action steps to be tackled...they are in the overwhelmed zone.

As such, the entrepreneur sees improving the business as a huge, complicated, exhausting, frightening and overwhelming undertaking. Why? They don't focus enough on the "why do it" but instead jump into the "how to do it." They end up dwelling on way too many details way too soon. They mistakenly believe that they need to know all the steps and all the answers BEFORE beginning. WRONG. Sadly, they get overwhelmed and paralyzed. Instead of working on improving the broken parts of the business, they play a game of denial and go back to their tension-relieving, status-quo routines...unless they have a Growth Coach to challenge them to march forward.

THE SOLUTION

Through my many years of business coaching, I have learned that highly successful and wealthy entrepreneurs see and think about things differently. When confronted with a major project, change or opportunity, they don't allow their mind to play a horror movie. They chose to see the significant project or change as a big adventure film. They focus on the big picture, its pleasing outcomes and benefits, and then start breaking the big goal down into very workable steps.

Initially, they focus much more on the WHY do it, less on the HOW to do it. They focus on the desired outcomes first, then and only then on the process. They establish the reasons why, the motivation, and the clarity of outcomes before doing anything else. Then they break the big project down into workable FIRST steps, start taking action, build momentum, and begin to achieve real progress. They do not get overwhelmed...instead, they get moving!

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you achieve dramatic success? One step at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by the size of the beast or opportunity, just focus on the desired OUTCOMES you want and start taking small steps...soon momentum will take over. Even your actions will reveal key insights, distinctions and the ultimate “how to” formula. Your actions will even reveal what NOT to do. Your actions will be your greatest teacher and show you the next series of steps. Don't believe that you need to know ALL the steps and ALL the answers before you begin. JUST BEGIN.

When contemplating a major change and improvement in your business or life, don’t settle for getting overwhelmed, get going!!

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Money-Making or Money-Wasting Tasks?

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

This brief Growth Coach blog will focus on a few practical strategies any business owner or entrepreneur can use to help re-gain control of their day, tackle critical priorities, and avoid those low-value tasks screaming for their attention.

Forget about time management and instead focus on priority management. Make sure that you focus on and finish the vital few tasks every day and NOT the trivial many. Priority management need not be complicated. It comes down to a simple formula...identify and then stop doing the wrong type of tasks so you can free up valuable time, talent and energy to focus on the right type of tasks. Stated another way, do more money-making and less money-wasting tasks. Here are 3 simple business coaching steps to help you get more focused, effective, and productive.

STEP ONE: IDENTIFY the "wrong tasks" you are handling on a daily basis. At The Growth Coach, we call these wrong tasks "clutter". Clutter is that low-value, urgent, unimportant tasks that you routinely, reactively and mistakenly handle each day in your professional and personal life.

Unfortunately, most business owners excel at doing the wrong type of work. For some owners, clutter can be e-mail, social media, needless paperwork, web surfing, employee interruptions, pointless meetings, bookkeeping, trivial administration, busy work, excessive socializing, personal calls, putting out fires caused by others, doing other people's work, etc.

Clutter is different for each owner. But it generally involves an owner doing a task well below their pay grade and a task that should be handled by an employee or outsourced to a cheaper provider. For example, instead of hiring a bookkeeper, an owner choses to do that task himself/herself. That's an example of clutter, doing a $15/hr task instead of a $115/hr task (leading, planning, innovating, marketing, selling, keeping others accountable, etc.). That's like stealing $100 from your bottom-line results.

What low-value tasks are stealing your time and energy each and every day? Realize that 80% of your results come from only 20% of your talents and activities. Therefore, wake-up to the fact that 80% of your daily activities are truly not important. That's your clutter. Identify it and own up to it.

STEP TWO: STOP doing the wrong kind of work. After you identify your clutter, by task, commit to either delegate it, delete it, or outsource it. Here's a simple Growth Coach strategy to help you. Instead of creating a To-Do List each day, start creating a 90-day Not-To-Do List. List down all of your clutter on paper as Not-To-Do Items so they are clear and remain top-of-mind. Then, commit to eliminate, delegate or outsource at least half of this clutter in the next 90 days. Once and for all, get rid of such low-value activities that produce minimal results for your business or career. Get them off your plate and on to someone else's plate or simply throw them out. Unless you eliminate the clutter, you can't free up time and talent to do more meaningful, strategic, profitable work.

STEP THREE: START doing more of the right kind of work. Again, focus on the 20% of your talents and activities that drive the vast majority of your results and success. These tasks should be easy to identify and you already know them in your gut. They are those meaningful and important tasks that produce money, save money, or improve customer satisfaction. Put simply, pursue money-making, not money-wasting activities. To keep yourself honest, simply ask yourself, "Is this task making me money or costing me money?" Work smarter, not harder!

Here is a simple Growth Coach strategy to get more of the important and meaningful things done each and every day. Before you leave work for the day, simply jot down the 3 most important tasks you need to accomplish the next day. Again, these should make money, save money, or improve customer satisfaction. Then put the three items in order of importance. If you accomplish only those 3 critical tasks, the return (greater revenue, happier employees or customers, reduced costs, higher productivity, etc.) will be significant.

The next day, whip out your TOP 3 list and go to work ONLY on item #1. Once you complete #1, then and only then move to #2 and then to #3. Do NOT do anything else in the morning until you accomplish your TOP 3 List. Do not answer phones, check email, have employees interrupt you, play with paperwork, roam the halls, surf the Internet, etc. Put your head down and go about tackling your top 3 vital tasks, in order. Even if you only complete the top one or two vital tasks, you will be better off.

If you accomplish your vital few tasks each and every day, instead of the trivial many, you will have greater success and balance in your life. Work smarter, not harder. Identify the wrong tasks (clutter) you routinely handle, stop doing the wrong kind of work, and start doing more of the right kind of work. Simple priority management, Growth Coach style.

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder, Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Are You Playing the Blame Game?

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

As your virtual business coach, let me ask you a simple question: "As a business owner, who or what is holding you back from greater success, wealth, and happiness? Please be brutally honest and courageous enough to write down at least 5 things, people or conditions that could be holding you back from greater professional and personal success.

Got your top 5 reasons? Good. Now, look carefully at your answers. What's really holding you and your business back? Any revelations? Were most of your answers external related? Related to politics, the government, the economy, the marketplace, credit availability, your competition, customers, employees, partners, vendors, suppliers, products/services, your spouse, parents or upbringing, etc.? Did any of your top 5 reasons include YOU...internal related? If so, hold that wisdom until later.

Look at your answers again. Are most of the externally related reasons real or just imagined hurdles and barriers? Aren’t most, if not all of them, merely convenient or comforting excuses? Are you blaming your lack of results on certain external conditions, things, institutions, or other people? If so, you are giving your power away and telling yourself comforting "excuses", "lies" and “stories”.

Are you assigning blame to others and to circumstances? If so, this brief Growth Coach blog is dedicated to the dangerous and self-limiting game most business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals play every now and then....THE BLAME GAME.

If the vast majority of your answers regarding the top 5 things holding you back DID NOT revolve around YOU (mindsets, habits, fears, limiting beliefs, decisions, thinking, actions, denial, etc.), then you are playing the blame game to some level. Be forewarned.

Sadly, human beings are experts at developing reasonable sounding excuses and comforting stories they tell themselves. It's far easier to blame others or certain conditions than to take fully responsibility. Don’t fall prey to that! Stop justifying why things are not working out the way you envisioned. Don’t settle for less and stop feeding yourself stories and excuses that make you feel better only on a very temporary basis about your current situation. Without question, believing in your excuses, stories, and the blame game WILL DEFINITELY HOLD YOU BACK.

Let this Growth Coach blog serve as your "blame game" wake-up call. If you are not happy with the results you are getting in your professional and personal life, blame no one but yourself and stop wasting time on fabricating excuses and telling yourself comforting stories. Accept the truth that YOU are the CAUSE of nearly every result, outcome, and circumstance in your life and business. For those entrepreneurs who accept total responsibility...great results always happen in time. Why? They are in control, making necessary changes, and not giving their power away to others.

Again, because of your thinking and actions to date, you have attracted nearly every result, circumstance and person into your business and life. For no-limit success, take 100% responsibility for your results to date. Own the good, bad and the ugly outcomes. Accept the truth and then decide to improve upon those circumstances going forward. If you accept reality and take responsibility, you can always change for the better.

You see, you can either make excuses or make money...you can’t do both. You can either put energy into making excuses or making a better business and life. Drop the word “excuse” from your vocabulary and exchange it with “challenge”. Any challenge can be overcome but all excuses are tragically tolerated.

Nothing is holding you back from a better business and life except your excuses and limiting beliefs. Stop playing the Blame Game.

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Business Owner, Be Careful What You Think About

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

As a business coach and leader of The Growth Coach, I am always reading, listening to CDs, and searching for strategies to help our business coaches and small business clients become more effective and satisfied as business owners. That is what we do at The Growth Coach. I just came across one of my favorite quotes once again. It's from Earl Nightingale, the father of personal development. He said, "You become what you think about." Let's repeat that. You become what you think about. If that's true, which I do believe with my whole heart, than as a business owner, you MUST be very careful about what you think about on daily basis. Your success and happiness depends on it!

As your virtual business coach, please stop and really examine this important statement...you become what you think about. You will discover that it truly dictates your level of success, wealth and happiness in business and life. Why? Because your dominant thoughts generate your feelings and your feelings generate your actions (or lack thereof). In turn, your actions generate your results. Notice, everything starts with your thoughts. Want to attract better professional and personal results? Adopt better thoughts.

As an entrepreneur, your success or lack of success can be traced back to what you habitually think about. Your thoughts begin the "chain of events" every time, whether you are consciously aware of them or not. With this Growth Coach blog, the goal is to simply make you more aware of your recurring thoughts and the CONSEQUENCES of those thoughts.

Put simply, what you think about (good or bad) eventually comes about. Whatever you focus on, positive or negative, expands in your business or life. Wherever your attention goes, results will flow. So my fellow entrepreneur, please be careful. Your mind is like a powerful magnet. Think negative thoughts and that is what you will attract...negative outcomes. Think positive thoughts and back them up with right actions and you will reap positive outcomes. Again, you become what you think about and what you act on.

As your personal Growth Coach, let me ask you some questions: On a daily basis, what are YOU thinking about? Success or failure? Solutions or problems? Goals or obstacles? Opportunities or risks? Your blessings or your challenges? What's working in your business or what's not? Thinking about today or yesterday? Plain and simple, the focus of your dominant thoughts will determine your results.

To reap better results, a few times each day, please pause and become aware of your thinking... the internal dialogue that's occurring in your head. Don't deny it. Everyone engages in self-talk. They real question is not IF you do it but whether your self-talk is positive or negative. Does your daily thinking move you closer to your goals or farther away? Does your habitual thinking support or sabotage your success? If you are like most business owners, you probably aren't sure. You are not fully aware of your thinking and self-talk.

There is hope. How? Listen carefully to the words that come out of your mouth on a regular basis. Your words reveal what you are thinking. Are you regularly complaining, making excuses, blaming others, and/or justifying why things are not working out? If so, that's all negative and victim thinking coming out in your words. As business coaches, we always listen to the words our clients speak. If they are stuck in negative ruts, we help interrupt that unhealthy mental pattern.

There's another easy way on your own to become more aware of your habitual thinking. Simply follow your emotions! That's right, your emotions reveal your thinking patterns. When your thinking is positive and supportive, you have positive and pleasant emotions (happiness). When your thinking is negative and destructive, so are the emotions you will feel (unhappiness).

Your emotions function as your internal warning system. The next time you feel a negative emotion, ask yourself, "What's the negative thinking taking place?" "What am I afraid of?" "What is bothering me?" "What am I focusing on?" Armed with that valuable insight, you are now free to select your focal point. You are no longer simply reacting to habitual thoughts. Simply becoming aware of your thinking (using your emotions or external words as a guide) will help you correct course. Once aware, you will be able to re-direct your thinking toward goals, success, solutions, blessings, and opportunities. In the end, only you can control your thoughts and determine your destiny. If you want better results, choose better thoughts.

Everything we do at The Growth Coach is to help clients improve their entrepreneurial mindset, thoughts, and habits. All of our business coaching services address the reality that, you become what you think about.

Thinking about becoming a business coach? Click here to learn more on how to become a business coach with The Growth Coach, the leader in business coaching.

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder, Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Business Owner, Your Comfort Zone Restricts Your Wealth Zone

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Wealthy entrepreneurs and other successful professionals have a key trait in common...they get comfortable with being uncomfortable. In spite of fear, discomfort, doubt and uncertainties, they still take action. They don’t let such uncomfortable feelings derail them. They dare to leave their comfort zone and take ACTION on a consistent basis. Do you?

Working with thousands of small business clients each and every year, The Growth Coach system has observed first-hand that smart entrepreneurs choose to embrace being uncomfortable so that they can pursue big goals, big opportunities and big rewards. These owners choose not to tremble in the face of obstacles and risks. Do they still feel the discomfort? Absolutely...but they still take action. In spite of fear, they get moving. Once moving, their fears dissipate. As an owner and leader, do you take action despite your fears and mental discomfort?

Specifically, wealthy entrepreneurs have figured out the secret ... a person’s comfort zone equals their wealth zone. To get to the next level of success, wealth and happiness, a person must continually leave their comfort zone (status quo, habits, limiting beliefs, knowledge base, skill level, etc.) and try new activities, learn new things, meet new people, take reasonable risks, and seize opportunities. That's The Growth Coach way. There is no financial growth unless there is personal growth.

Put bluntly, if you aren't willing to get uncomfortable at times, you are not growing and neither will your wealth. As we stress at The Growth Coach, your income and wealth will grow only to the extent you grow and challenge yourself. If you don't grow (your knowledge, mindsets, skills and habits), your business won't grow, your sales won't grow and our personal income won't grow. If you are not expanding your comfort zone, you are reducing your wealth potential.

The only time you are really growing, learning, developing, stretching and living life fully is when you leave your comfort zone and its false sense of security. Don’t let your comfort zone box you in and limit your income and life! Like an apple tree, the abundance of your fruit will depend upon if you are growing or not. All things in nature have a desire to grow to survive. Why would you be any different?

The Growth Coach works with thousands of small business owners each year wanting to get more out of their businesses and lives. These entrepreneurs are already successful but simply want even more...to take things to the next level. They desire to work less, earn more and enjoy richer lives. To achieve that, they know they have to change. They have to be open to adopting new mindsets, strategies and habits. The Growth Coach business coaching and accountability process helps business owners continually stretch and grow their comfort zone, fulfillment zone, and wealth zone. Go for growth; get a coach.

For those of you not open to business coaching, be warned. If you think professional business coaching is not for you or too expensive, think about the true costs of the status quo...doing the same old things and getting the same old results.

If you make being comfortable one of your chief priorities in life, you can ensure yourself of mediocrity and average income. Why? Because you will not seize upon appropriate opportunities and take reasonable risks. You will play the game of business and life on the safe side. As such, you will not expand your risk tolerance, mindsets, knowledge, mindsets, and habits. You will imprison yourself in a limiting state of comfort. Your rewards in life will be restricted!

Consider participating in some business coaching or peer group and start looking for other opportunities to stretch beyond your comfort zone. Your wealth depends on it!

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

One of the Most Vital Skills for Your Success

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Selling is an essential skill for higher levels of success and wealth in your personal and professional life. To advance as an owner, leader, manager, or professional, at a minimum, you have to be knowledgeable and competent in this critical communication skill. Let's rate your skill level.

On a scale of 1-10 (10=excellent), how would you rate your overall selling skills? How would you rate your selling confidence? Your level of comfort? If you are at 7 or below in any of those ratings, there is much room for improvement and greater financial success. Whether you are an owner, executive, manager or salesperson, being effective at selling (with external and/or internal customers) is vital to your growth and success.

If you think about it, whether at home or work, you are always selling...your vision, ideas, beliefs, solutions, and your services/products. Selling is simply helping others better define and then achieve what they want. If you help others achieve what they want, you in turn get what you want. Since you are always selling, you might as well get better at this critically important communication skill.

Anyone can and should learn to sell more effectively. It's not that hard. Just be open-minded and willing to grow. Selling is simply an effective communication exchange with the focus on achieving a win-win outcome. Both parties should leave the situation better off than before.

Another way to think about selling is that it's a simple four-part communication process: 1) you need to establish rapport and trust with the other party, 2) you need to ask questions to gain meaningful information about their needs/wants, 3) you need to share relevant information about your solutions, and 4) you need to reach an agreement on how to proceed. Again, don't over-complicate it. Selling is a simple communication dance.

Here is an easy way to remember an effective selling/communication process, it's called the READ sales process – always READ the needs of your buyer or other party: 1) Relate, 2) Establish Needs, 3) Advance Solutions, and 4) Determine Next Step. Follow the READ process in any communication or selling situation and you will always focus on the other person and their needs first. You can’t go wrong. Again, selling is rather simple.

When done right, selling is a noble and helpful skill. Think about it, you are helping the other person to better define what they truly want in their personal or professional life. You help them define their current situation, their ideal situation (ideal future), and then bridge the gap. You help someone define and achieve a better future.

At The Growth Coach, we help all our clients (owners, manager, professionals) get more comfortable, confident and effective at selling...it's a part of our quarterly coaching process. Furthermore, we can go into any small business and help their entire sales team become more effective at selling with our Sales Mastery Program, on-going sales coaching and accountability. We teach each sales team a proven and structured selling process and then keep them accountable for using it.

Bottom line, for each small business we work with, The Growth Coach functions as an affordable, proven, guaranteed, and part-time Sales Manager for the company... driving lasting change in selling mindsets, habits, behavior and results.

Again, if you want to have greater success and satisfaction as an owner, leader, manager, or salesperson, the investment in sales coaching, for YOU and/or YOUR TEAM, provides a tremendous bottom-line return. Happy Selling!

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Imperfect Action is Better Than Inaction

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

This Growth Coach business coaching blog is about the value of action over inaction, movement over meditation. As an entrepreneur, just about anything is better for you than inaction. That's right, even imperfect action is better than perfect inaction. Inaction teaches you nothing. On the other hand, action reveals all the real-world feedback and lessons you need to make adjustments to be more successful.

After 25 years of helping small business owners (7 years as a CPA and 18 years as a business coach), I have seen first-hand that successful and wealthy entrepreneurs don’t wait for conditions to be “perfect”. When they smell an opportunity that makes sense, they take action. They don't wait to have 100% of the facts and answers. They don't worry about having incomplete information. They don’t ponder, over-analyze and procrastinate. In fact, they have a bias for action...even if it's imperfect action. They get moving! Do you?

The Growth Coach serves several thousand small business clients every year. As such, our certified business coaches get to observe that the most successful and satisfied entrepreneurs don’t worry about perfect opportunities or perfect circumstances. Those don't exist. These successful clients don't even wait for perfect information. They simply gather enough information to know that the opportunity appears legitimate and then they start taking action. And it's in the action that the rest of the information, resources, adjustments, and answers are revealed...not by sitting around. For them, the equation is simple: ACTION=FEEDBACK and ANSWERS=SUCCESS

Let's face reality, perfect opportunities don't exist. Most good opportunities come covered in a layer of problems and headaches...far from perfect but capable of providing substantial wealth. As such, successful entrepreneurs (opportunists) know that real wealth and success comes from intelligent yet often imperfect ACTION ... but real wealth NEVER comes from inaction. Again, value movement over meditation or procrastination. After all, when have you ever heard stories about the wealthy procrastinator?

Most want-to-be entrepreneurs and average business owners are caught up in an idealistic “perfect world syndrome”. That’s why they never create substantial wealth for themselves and their families. They wait for perfect conditions before they advance toward their bigger dreams and goals. Instead of mining all the gold around them and getting a little dirty in the process, they keep searching and hoping for the perfect industry, the perfect business, the perfect timing, the perfect product/service, and the perfect conditions and circumstances to materialize BEFORE they take action. This search never has a happy ending. "Perfect world" does not exist. Waiting for it is totally unrealistic and a bit insane.

Why do these otherwise intelligent people procrastinate? As a metaphor, why do they wait for all the traffic lights to be green before backing out of their garage? Simple, they are afraid of taking chances. Instead of managing reasonable risks, they are unreasonable and want all risks to be eliminated and all answers to be available. These unachievable, perfect conditions also provide people with wonderful excuses for not taking action and responsibility. Tragically, these well intended folks wait a lifetime for “perfect world” to appear and very often, take their big dreams to the grave with them.

What’s the solution? Get real! Take responsibility for your business and life. Stop making excuses. Get rid of the word “perfect” from your vocabulary and your expectations. There is no such thing. Look for “very good” opportunities to grow your business and build wealth, not “perfect” ones.

The key is to decide on what you really want in your business and life and then go after it – not next decade, not next year, not next month, not tomorrow. Take action on it TODAY!

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Business Owner, Do You Have a "Growth" or "Status Quo" Mindset?

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Are you a "know-it-all" or "learn-it-all" business owner? This simple distinction in mindsets will significantly predict your future as much as anything. The former mindset will yield stagnation, the later will bring you greater success, wealth, and fulfillment.

As a business coach for nearly 20 years, I can tell you with the utmost confidence that owners who have a "growth mindset" significantly outperform those who have a "status quo mindset". Which one do you want to be?

The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said it best, "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." How true, how true. But sadly, many owners think they know it all. Is it possible that your own level of arrogance, stubbornness, and know-it-all mindset are holding you and your business back? Are you "fixed" in your ways, beliefs, skills, knowledge and habits? If so, be warned...you are definitely holding your business back from greater results.

Sadly, many small business owners believe they have all the answers, don't need to listen to the ideas of others, have already "arrived", and have no need for personal growth and development. They stop reading, learning, and growing. Typically, they also reject any business coaching, peer group involvement, or best practices from outside their little world. Again, they are "fixed" and "inflexible". As a result, these type of owners and businesses stop growing...at best, they are stagnating, at worst they are losing ground. You are never too old to stop learning.

We business coaches so much believe in the critical importance of a "growth mindset" to business success that we named our business coaching franchise system with this in mind ...The Growth Coach. To us, a "growth mindset" is the key foundation to greater success and happiness. In fact, our primary focus is to help business owners, executives, managers, and self-employed professionals to GROW...grow their mindsets, knowledge, skills, and habits. After all, there is a little known but powerful secret...that a business will not grow unless the owner grows. An owner cannot grow if they have a "know-it-all", "fixed" or "status quo" mindset.

Again, do you have a "growth mindset" or a "status quo mindset"? The first one reflects that better days and results lie ahead. The second one reflects that your best days and results are behind you. Your choice. Again, this mindset distinction will greatly influence your future business success and personal fulfillment.

Can you change your mindsets? Absolutely. At The Growth Coach, we coach thousands of small business owners every year throughout North America and see the transformation up close and personal. Our proven coaching process helps them adopt more effective mindsets for greater success and personal fulfillment. But one must be open to change and admit that they can't possess all the answers. Are you ready to do that?

To help you, please click here to read our Growth Coach business coaching book. Click here to locate and talk to one of our certified business coaches. Click here to subscribe to our "Earn More, Work Less" Growth Coach e-newsletter.

Here's wishing you much growth and development. However, you need to take the first step.

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

Growth Coach Survey: Small Businesses Make Noticeable Post-Recession Changes

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

This Growth Coach business coaching blog is dedicated to the "lessons from the recession." Posted below is a current News Release containing the actual results from a recent Growth Coach 'Business Barometer' Survey on how small business owners have changed the way they think about and operate their companies as a result of the recession. Our certified business coaches reported on the actual post-recession behavior modifications they observed within their small-business client base. As such, these survey results should be insightful and educational for any business owner, entrepreneur, or self-employed professional.

Growth Coach News Release

Media Contact: Brooke Highline, Fishman Public Relations:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Survey: Small Businesses Make Noticeable Post-Recession Changes
The Growth Coach Franchise `Business Barometer’ Points to Specific Behavior Modifications

CINCINNATI, OH – A majority of U.S. small business owners have changed the way they think about and operate their companies as a result of the recent recession, according to a survey conducted by The Growth Coach, a business coaching franchise system which serves several thousand small business clients annually in more than 150 markets across North America.

Based on survey responses of The Growth Coach franchise system, 95 percent of business coaches reported that their small business clients (defined as less than 100 employees) have made overall expense reductions, while 80 percent implemented a workforce reduction and/or a hiring freeze.

Other post-recession behavior modifications were highlighted. Another 80 percent of survey respondents reported that their small business clients were now more focused on achieving better results and receiving a higher return on investments (ROI). Owners are questioning every expense and demanding better ROI validation before spending their cash.

Other indicators that small business owners have learned their lessons, modified their mindsets, and implemented noticeable changes to their day-to-day business operations include:

• Wiser sales and marketing investments (77.5 percent)
• Better focus on all-around productivity (77.5 percent)
• Better budgeting and planning process (70 percent)
• Changes to leadership and management approach (67.5 percent).

In addition, 85 percent of business coaches surveyed reported feeling that the recession has fundamentally changed the way their small business clients view and think about their businesses, while 75 percent believe the recession has had a positive effect on the way their clients now think about and operate their small businesses.

“As a fast-growing, prestigious business coaching franchise, it’s important for us to periodically take the pulse of the small business community that we serve,” said Daniel Murphy, President and Founder of The Growth Coach. “This survey validates our theory that the recession has created humility among small business owners and opened up their minds, making them more receptive to working with business coaches to grow their businesses and stay ahead of the competition. Given all the recent challenges, small business owners are searching for better ways to manage their businesses and lives as they want greater success and fulfillment. That’s a very positive outcome.”

The Growth Coach utilizes its signature Strategic Mindset® group coaching process, one-to-one coaching, telecoaching, and other related services to help clients reach success in business and in life. All initial coaching services come with a 100 percent money-back guarantee. The coaching process helps clients gain clarity, strike a balance between their personal and professional lives and close the performance gap with ongoing action plans and accountability. For more information, please visit www.TheGrowthCoach.com.

Background on The Growth Coach
Founded in 2002, The Growth Coach is the only pure business coaching franchise system with the single purpose of helping drive the success and balance the lives of business owners. Their goal is to help clients gain greater focus so they can work less, earn more and enjoy more fulfilling lives. Clients include small business owners, franchisees, self-employed professionals, high-end sales and financial services professionals and managers from businesses of all size. Through an expanding national accounts program, The Growth Coach serves franchise systems, dealer networks and associations. With a presence in more than 150 markets across North America, The Growth Coach encourages diversity within its franchise system, as well as the development of small business and franchising worldwide. Currently, The Growth Coach is a member and/or affiliated with the following professional organizations: International Franchise Association, SBA Franchise Registry, VetFran, Minority Fran and is listed in Bond’s Minority Franchise Guide, 2010 AllBusiness.com AllStar Top 300 Franchises, and Entrepreneur’s 2010 Franchise 500®. For more franchise opportunity information, visit www.TheGrowthCoach.com.

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Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder, Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America

My Prediction: Not Much Will Change for You in 2010...Unless...

Resources@TheGrowthCoach.com — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

I hope it's not too late for one last Happy New Year greeting! This one is quite different, however...it comes with much tough-love business coaching. Here it goes. The Growth Coach organization and this business coach in particular wishes you much health, happiness, prosperity, and fulfillment in 2010. Doesn't that sound good? Sure it does. However, let's be honest, all my wishing doesn't mean squat if you don't think differently and act differently in 2010.

As a business owner, your success and happiness are 100% up to you, nobody else. As a business coach for nearly 20 years, I can promise you this... if you think the same ways and do the same things you did in 2009, you will get pretty much the same results in 2010. Also, if you don't allow yourself to be held accountable, achievement of your business/personal goals will fall way short. Is that what you really want in 2010? I think NOT.

If you want your 2010 to be much bigger, brighter, better, and different than 2009, then you must make some changes. For your business and life to change for the better, YOU must change...otherwise, nothing will change. That's The Growth Coach philosophy. If you aren't careful, you will get the same old, same old results in 2010 as you did last year. To avoid that, you must be willing to look to the past for lessons and in the mirror for a reality check. Time to look back in order to move forward intelligently. Don't throw away, ignore, dismiss or deny 2009 too quickly. To have a better NEW YEAR, you must first take full ownership and responsibility for the results from LAST YEAR.

For a better 2010, you need to sit down, reflect, face reality, and do some planning. In short, you need to take time and do some deep thinking. What was good, bad and ugly about 2009? Quiet and uninterrupted thinking is the best gift you can give yourself and your business in early 2010. What were the new ideas and strategies you should have learned from 2009? What were the valuable lessons from the global recession?

To help you, let me ask you a few business coaching questions. What didn't work in your business in 2009? What facets of your business were broken or performing poorly? If someone were to think about buying your business today, what issues or conditions might worry them? What problems did you fail to confront head on? What tough decisions did you put off at a cost to your company? What worked great in 2009 that you need to leverage and duplicate in 2010? What is broken in your personal life that needs addressing? If you could change one thing in your business and one thing in your personal life, what would they be? The Growth Coach process helps you tackle such issues every quarter.

As your virtual business coach, however, please do me a favor. Do NOT make any New Year's Resolutions? Why? They are a waste of time. Again, they are similar to making wishes...all fluff and no substance. They simply don't work. Without specific goals, action plans and most importantly, on-going accountability, not much in business and life (dreams, goals, desires, weight loss, smoking cessation, etc.) ever gets accomplished. Bottom line, for your business to grow, YOU must grow! An effective coaching and accountability process will allow that critical growth to occur in you and your business. There are no short-cuts to great performance and results.

If you really want to escape the trial-and-error approach to running your business, make huge improvements in your performance, and put some enjoyment back into being an owner, do yourself a favor and get some business coaching and accountability help. Only through on-going accountability will you achieve lasting changes in your mindsets, behavior, habits and results. Take the first step and click here to take The Growth Coach 3-minute, confidential, business coaching assessment quiz. I promise you it will be highly valuable and revealing.

Again, best wishes from The Growth Coach for a great 2010...now go make the necessary changes to ensure that happens.

Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches throughout North America