Do you need to Fall-In-Love with your Business again?

I think for many business owners just the title of this Blog will be an ah ha  moment.  When things don’t seem to be going your way in business; you're having staff issues, cash flow challenges or complaints coming in,  it is easy to feel resentful.    You’re most likely exhausted, frustrated and even disappointed (in yourself and/or others)..... honestly, you’re probably not feeling the love you used to have for your business.    A business is like any relationship or marriage - you have to reflect at times and continue to work on it and yourself if you want to stay friends, married, or in this case a business owner!

Elaine and I had a good hard think about this challenge, it is certainly something that we have been through many times over the years when things were difficult for whatever reason.  We wanted to give you a few ideas that might get your spark back and help return that pep in your step. Why not try one or all of these ideas if you’re feeling a bit “over” your business - after all I’m sure you want to be an inspiring business leader who is passionate about what you do and why you do it!

IDEA #1 

To get started with the process of falling in love again, book a mini planning day with your business partner, business coach or a business mentor (if you don’t have someone to do this with you - we are only a phone call or email away).  Of course you can do this by yourself too, but make sure you get out of the office to do it!   For our clients we usually catch up every 4-8 weeks to review and reset to ensure they’re clear on their vision and the path to get there and they are nailing the steps along the way (and they’re accountable).  It’s all about taking the time to work ON your business, not just IN your business.  

Some of the topics you might want to put on your agenda, or to start thinking about:

• Why did you love your business at the start?
• What gets you excited about what you do?  Go on, write a list!
• Ensure you have a clear vision and from there you can create a plan to work towards that vision.  Again, write it down.  Often it can take some time to get a clear vision if it's gotten a bit blurry.  Give yourself the time to really think about what it is you truly want to achieve in the long run
• WHY are you doing this? It may be that you need to review and reset your goals.
• One of the best things our business coach said to us at the very beginning of our journey together was “If you could create a vision of your life, if money was not an issue, what would it look like - dream big!?” At the time this sounded crazy!  Money is always a factor isn’t it?  The funny thing is, that conversation was had around 10-11 years ago and I’m now truly on the path to that vision becoming a reality. I did not really know how I would make it all happen or how it would come together, but giving myself permission to do this was one of the best things I have done (it actually took a couple of months to create that vision and give myself permission to dream like that)!

IDEA #2 

What do you love doing in your business?  When are you at your happiest?  Can you do more of that?  Some things Elaine and I loved doing that we tried to do more of to give you some inspiration were:

• Giving back to our clients with no expectations in the way of an event such as cocktail party, movie night, information sessions.  Invariably we would get more business out of it, but we did it because it allowed us to connect with our clients on a personal level and we enjoyed that.
• Brining the team together for a few impromptu drinks, we found this re-connected them and us and had a de-stressing effect.
• Attend training sessions that we found of genuine interest.  Elaine and I did a number of Leadership sessions and courses.  This helped us handle staff situations better and therefore made running the business more enjoyable. 

• We are both passionate about quality customer service, so getting a positive review from clients was alway great.  To create more happy customers we spent time setting up really great customer service programs. Obviously this had a financial benefit too and we and our team were much happier when customers were happy!

Hopefully you get some inspiration from this Blog to take some time out and think, plan and dream.  You need this downtime or creative time to reconnect with yourself and your business.   We’d love to hear some feedback from you if you take up this challenge!  

Email us at: [email protected] with  your insights! 

Also, if you haven’t already taken our Leadership Archetype Quiz (takes just 5 minutes) you can click here to complete it.  It will give you some insights into one of your top Leadership Archetypes and give you an insight into your positive leadership traits, as well as the “shadows” that you need to be aware of when you’re under stress or pressure!