Posts Tagged ‘solopreneur’

The beginning of a new year is a great time to join or form a mastermind group. Most people are enthusiastic about the chance for a new beginning, whether for their personal lives or for their businesses, and are open to new ways of doing things.

If you are a solopreneur, here are 4 easy steps to determine if you should join a Mastermind Group:

1) Low profitability: Your bottom line is not where you want it to be. Every business expects to make a profit; you wouldn’t be in business if you didn’t. But, some business owners find their bottom lines just don’t add up to the effort they put in.

Get out of your rut by joining a mastermind group.

2.) Your business is stagnant: You can and should be doing better. As with most things in life, we may find that no matter what we do, we tend to fall into a rut: we do the same things day after day, without change or improvement.  (Didn’t someone once call that the definition of insanity?) Major corporations have Research and Development divisions that search for new ways to improve or alter existing products.  As solo entrepreneurs, we have no such luxury and our businesses can become stagnant.

If you’ve been offering the same services and/or the same products for a while, it’s probably time to make some changes.  Your peer group will help you to keep the business “fresh” in the public’s eye.

3.) You spend most of your time fighting fires: If you find yourself dealing with one problem after another, one crisis after another, something is wrong.

4.) You know what you need to do, but you just don’t do it.  Has your motivation and discipline fallen by the wayside?  Sometimes, we’re our own worst enemies. Do you procrastinate when you should act? Do you put off important decision-making? Do you find it difficult to hold yourself accountable to do what you know needs to be done? 

If you identify with any of the above, consider joining a mastermind group, of forming one of your own.

Several years ago, a fellow coach was addressing a group of solo entrepreneurs.  He said something that has always stuck with me: as a company of one, there are only two things you should ever be doing with your time: either serving a paying client, or getting a paying client. 
Take just a moment to ponder those words and I’m confident you’ll find them to be very powerful.  

Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur, a small business owner or an employee, how much time do you waste in a given day?  Some of us can answer that question easily, and some need to think about it. If you’re among the latter, here’s an exercise I’ve been giving my clients for years: track your time for two weeks.  It’s very simple and can be done on a sheet of paper – no computer required.  As you go through your day, every 15 – 30 minutes make a quick note on this sheet of paper as to what you’ve been doing.  Very dedicated clients have tracked their day starting with wake-up time and concluding with going to bed.  Others have tracked only their work day.  Without exception, discoveries are made.  One of those discoveries is often inaction.  That’s right.  Many individuals find themselves doing absolutely nothing for a good part of the day. Some of us can be experts at frittering away time. If you find that difficult to believe because you never waste time, I say bravo.  Keep up the good work.  On the other hand, if you admit – readily or reluctantly – that this is you, commit now to making a change.  Here’s why: businesses fail for all sorts of reasons: lack of capital, poor customer service, ineffective marketing, no clear direction, inadequate business, and yes, even inaction.

Here’s a continuation of my previous post.

1) Prepare New Year’s cards for your clients and vendors. Include a personal thank-you note.

2) Clean out your office: books, papers, files. Recycle what you can.

3) Clean out your soft files:first back up on to an external drive, then go through all your files and delete.

4) Do a technology check: cell phone or PDA, desk top, laptop, etc. Determine if you need to do any upgrades or purchase any new equipment.

5) Put a date on the calendar the week of January 11th for 2010 planning.