Shorten Your Path to Success

"A coach is part advisor, part sounding board, part cheerleader, part manager and part strategist.”~ The Business Journal In order to grow your business to the level of success that you want, you need to formulate a plan that will get you there with the least amount of resistance. How do you do that? Easy. You work with someone who has been in your shoes, and who is at (or past!) a level of success that you want to achieve. Your business will grow faster if you avoid 'learning the hard way', and working with a coach or a mentor will help you do that. They have already been where you are, and they can help you through the difficult places, often before you even get to them. Experience, as I'm sure you know, is the greatest educator. So why not learn from someone who has been where you are now, and who is sitting where you want to be? By choosing to work with a coach or a mentor, you will not only be investing in yourself, which is a key component of being a successful business owner, but you will also be cutting the learning curve way down, by seeking specific advice exactly when you need it. Coaches and mentors are very similar, but vary in that coaches are usually professionally certified and mentors are more like journeymen and women. A coach may not have worked at the same professional as you, but they are trained to ask the right questions to help you define your goals, step into your brilliance and to support you and motivate you. A mentor typically is a more successful entrepreneur than you are, has worked in your field and has usually taken the long way around, and learned what mistakes not to make along the way of the path to success. Mentors will also be able to ask you the right questions, help you define your goals, step into your brilliance and to support you and motivate you. Investing in yourself is also a very important part of getting support. It is an essential part of building a six figures and beyond business. Without reaching far ahead to where you want to be, you can easily stay right where you are, for lack of knowing the best way to go. Investing in yourself values you, values your business, and values your clients. Your coach or mentor will help you to get clear on your goals, and will help you with your strategies to get where you want to go. They will help you hold your vision steady while you work towards it. They will provide information you need, and help you build your professional networks. They will help you identify your challenging areas, and help you to navigate a path through them. They will provide you with trusted support when you need it most, and be your biggest cheerleader when you experience success. You can work with someone privately or in a group setting, it depends on what kind of support you are looking for. If you work with a group, you will get support from your group colleagues as well, but you will usually get less (if any) private time with your coach or mentor. However, the investment is generally less in a group setting because of that (look for someone who offers laser sessions along with group coaching for the best of both worlds!). For private sessions, you will invest more, but you will reap the rewards because every call will be just about you. The key piece of advice you will hear from most very successful entrepreneurs is to invest as much in coaching or mentoring support as you possibly can, because by doing so you will achieve the level of success that you want to achieve much faster. You can also find niche specific coaches and mentors, who will work with you on specific areas you want to improve: sales, marketing, mindset, social media, organization, finance and so on. The options are right there for you to get help where you need it most. Whatever you think is right for you, will be right for you, but never sell yourself short. Look for a coach or mentor who is where you want to be, and ask them for a complimentary consultation to see if you will be a good fit to work together. Start with a group program if you are new to coaching. Try some private sessions as well and see which format you prefer. But whatever you do, get started. You are standing in the way of your own success every day that you put it off!