Everywhere I go I find that the biggest challenge entrepreneur's face is how to get more clients.
In addition, the stress involved with this is almost eating people alive as they struggle with this issue in today's economy.
The most common statement I hear is "I wish I had just one more day each week to get things done!" This actually makes me smile because I used to feel that way.
In fact, I used to FANTICIZE about how wonderful an eight day week would be and call day eight Playday! No work, just a full day of play.
But wait, isn't this what Saturday's and Sunday's are for? I didn't get that memo! I needed to get clients, and I needed more time to do so.
I quickly found myself caught in a trap where I was working ALL THE TIME.
My answer to getting more clients was simply to WORK HARDER.
So I did.
Until one day I realized that this was not how I wanted to live my life.
But this is something I see almost universally in entrepreneur's I meet.
They are frustrated and overwhelmed because they feel they are working their butts off and not seeing the results they need to see to simply stay afloat.
Or, they are getting good monetary results but they are sacrificing quality time and life by working 60, 70, 80 hours a week! But it doesn't have to be that way.
Here's what most entrepreneurs are facing: • They know they need clients but don't fully understand the best way to attract them.
• They work so much that they are too busy to even get the most basic things done in their business so paperwork is behind and simple maintenance tasks never seem to get done, let alone actually working on their business development.
• Marketing scares them.
They feel it's too hard, complicated, and too expensive to implement into their businesses.
• They have NO PLAN in place.
In fact, they never started with a plan; they simply said "I am open for business" and expected clients to show up.
I did eventually get to a place in my business where I was working four to five days a week, had a full clientele, and traveled to great places.
I am often asked how I made it happen and so I am going to share that.
First of all, I realized that I simply couldn't do everything myself.
There were not enough hours in the day and my eight day week fantasy wasn't a solution.
I also learned that there was so much more to being an entrepreneur than just being good at my profession.
But I didn't know how to connect the dots and fill in the gaps.
I needed help.
I needed to fix my problem while shortening the learning curve and CREATING more time for me.
And that is when I discovered life and business coaching.
It literally changed my world! My coaches showed me how to get out of my own way so that I could spend my time working IN my business and not ON it.
I learned how to be an entrepreneur by diligently learning about marketing, strategy, entrepreneurialism, networking, and so much more.
I read books, I participated in workshops and seminars and I hired my first coach.
How can this be of help to you? Ask yourself what kind of result you would love to have in your business if cost was not a factor.
Ask yourself what shortcuts to success you would love to see.
Ask yourself if having someone by your side instead of "going it alone" would be appealing to you.
Ask yourself if you feel you are WORTH taking every available step you can towards being the most successful you can possibly be.
These are questions that I asked myself and they helped me to take action and get the results I wanted.
That's my story and I am sticking to it! Your Action Plan For The Week: (This is what I did, and still do.
It's still working for me and it can work for you, too!) 1.
Read for 30-60 minutes every day.
Become a knowledge sponge not only in your particular expertise, but as a business owner and entrepreneur.
2.
Create a one-page business plan to get clarity about your overall picture, strategy, mission, tactics, and goals.
3.
Do something physical every day to de-stress and recharge your mind and body.
4.
Hire a coach.
Find a qualified coach who has been where you are and can show you the way to get to where you want to be.