I recently had the good fortune of celebrating the accomplishments of a former client. When Betty (not her real name due to confidentiality) and I first met she was overwhelmed, stressed, scattered, and didn’t know where to start to get her business back in control. As a single mom of a teenage boy, she didn’t have the luxury of taking time to put long-term strategies in place to grow her business. She needed to unravel the knots in her life and business, reduce her expenses, and generate more cash flow immediately. We started where we could have the greatest impact.
Betty felt that in order to provide excellent service for her clients she needed to meet them in their neighborhood. As a result, she was traveling all over Los Angeles, wasting valuable time caught in traffic. She also had the added expense of micro offices around the city where she could meet her clients. Although it was difficult, we combined all her offices into one that was located near her to make it more convenient for her. We also helped her realize that if she was a good fit for her clients, they wouldn’t mind the drive — especially when you consider people drive all over the city to attend sporting events, go shopping, etc. If it’s important enough to them, they’ll make the drive.
We also needed for Betty to see her value. When one is in over their head, it’s tough to see what one brings to the table that’s of value. We developed a strategy that allowed her to embrace her strengths and abilities. This also was instrumental in helping her raise her rates to one that was much more sustainable for her business. Prior to this, she was definitely underpriced — and underearning — with her “bargain” rates. Her lack of belief in her own value caused her to also implement a policy of providing the first hour for free. Now that she knows and embraces her personal and professional value in the equation of working with her clients, she has eliminated the first free hour. Rather than discounting her services, she now delights her clients instead!
And, she’s no longer growing her business alone. She’s learning to delegate.
What made the difference for Betty being able to make these needed changes in order to grow her business? Focus! With weekly conversations focused on developing strategies to grow her business, she could no longer sweep things under the rug and pretend they didn’t exist. We took the emotions out of the decision-making to make smart, strategic decisions. And, we stripped away the many myths she had about running a successful business.
If you’re curious to discover what strategic business coaching can do for you and your business, feel free to sign up for your free coaching call. The first one is on us!
