As I listened to my client, who we will call Jane, struggling again with all the reasons why she couldn't find the time to focus on the steps to generate more revenue, it dawned on me.
Obviously somebody, somewhere in her industry has done this well. So I asked Jane, "Who is already successful in making good money in your industry?" She rattled off a couple of names.
Then I asked, "What are they doing that works?"
Well, they aren't a writer at all; they are just a good business person. They have a staff of people who do all the writing, they have clients coming in droves, etc, etc.
"STOP! Back up." I said.
"Did you just say that the key to their success is that they aren't focused on being an excellent writer but they are focused on being an excellent business owner?"
Wow. This is good stuff. Want to know why? Because I know that hundreds of thousands of really good (coaches, consultants, authors, service professionals, whatever you do fits here) don't make good money because they don't focus on the business - they focus on being the best at what they do.
Furthermore, they make decisions as a (coach, consultant, author, service professional - you get the picture) who isn't making good money and feels desperate!
Luckily, I understand this situation first hand. I spent two years being an under-utilized, well-trained coach who was committed to being the best in my field. Problem was, I didn't have any money and I wasn't very happy. Please don't misunderstand me - it is really important to be good at what you do. I take great pride in being a highly educated and trained coach and it is important. But it isn't the key to making a good living.
I realized somewhere in my second year of struggle and overwhelm that successful people with time and money freedom have a million-dollar business owner mindset - whether they have already created their millions or not!
So if this is your situation, what should you do?
Start thinking like a six (or seven, or eight) figure business owner right now. To see what that might look like, let's take a look at Jane's situation again.
When I dug into who was successful in her industry making a million dollars in revenue each year, here is what we found out.
1. They make decisions based on how it will help them grow the business vs. if you will be able to get more than 4 hours sleep (return on investment.)
2. They have a team of qualified writers who complete the work in a timely manner (leverage other people's time.)
3. They have a well-oiled marketing machine that drives people in the door (marketing systems.)
4. They know that outsourcing means "good enough" instead of perfect and charge accordingly (focus on packaging.)
5. They invest in long-term strategies that position them for growth vs. short term cash flow fixes (strategic thinking and foundation building.)
What I have learned from coaching hundreds of people is that when we build a business around what we love to do it can be very hard to shift gears into what makes good financial sense for the business.
The bottom line is: if we don't have a financially sound business, we can't do what we love anyway. The more money you have, the more "good work" you can do in the world.
(c) 2006 Melanie Benson Strick, Success Connections. All rights reserved. Reprint rights granted so long as the article and by-line are reprinted intact and all links made live.
Melanie Benson Strick, "The Entrepreneur's Success Coach," offers keynotes speeches, mentoring, training and products designed to get people out of overwhelm and onto the success fast-track. For more information about Melanie and her upcoming live event visit
http://www.ultimatebusinessbreakthrough.com
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