Business Structure – Page 6 – Pauline Bright Business Coach

Intelligent hard working people don’t set out to fail; but some days it just all gets a bit much…

I can’t “gloss over” the facts – it DOES take HARD WORK to make a business work – and it takes passion and courage and discipline and determination and vision and sometimes sheer bloody “stick-ability”. Nobody I know developed a successful business without doing some work…

They have the willingness to do what other people won’t do.

I’ve discovered that there are two types of people in this world

There are people who fall in love with the idea of being successful
And people who roll up their sleeves and get on with the work to become successful

If you’re struggling right now, DON’T throw in the towel!

If you’re business is sound and you’ve got the fundamentals right then there will be a little “lag” time between now and the success you want.

Here are 7 Ways to effectively tackle overwhelm, stress and tiredness:

Practice the 3 “P’s” – Patience, Persistence and Positivity – be realistic. It takes time to build a good business – be prepared to give it your best shot. Celebrate each milestone of success and record your progress. Pat yourself on the back more.
Reconnect with your vision – what was it you went into business for? What will your business look like in 2, 5, 10 years’ time. If you wanted a lifestyle business hook back into what that means to you. SEE yourself in the future.
Work to a diary – not just an appointment book. Structure a weekly diary with set tasks and routines to cover all of the things you need to take care of each week or month. Separate them into PROactive and REactive. Make appointments with yourself in your diary – and keep them. Make set times to do the work, do some admin, check the finances, work on growing the business – any regular activity that you would like to do that is not getting done now, including a little rest and relaxation. If you find yourself getting too busy, ask yourself “Is what I’m doing right now getting me closer to my goals?”
Get clear on your role – don’t be the “dogsbody” or the “trouble-shooter”. Define your best talent and skill and work in that role. Being happy in your work is a BIG client magnet.
Outsource as much as you can – get that superhero suit off and give other people the opportunity to help you. Get a PA if you need one, a bookkeeper, a virtual assistant, technicians, salespeople, marketing people. Do whatever it takes to get other people doing the work of your business to free up your time.
Have you own personal “cheer squad”– surrounding yourself with people you can confide in; a coach, a mentor, your accountant, and great friends who believe in you and will cheer you on. Be around people who make you laugh and give you a “reality check” – and above all don’t be so serious! Having your own business is meant to be FUN.
Get physical to get rid of pent up stress – Yell and complain and bitch if you need to – get it out of your system, just don’t stay in negative emotion. Meditate, go for a run, swim, ride, get a massage, go to the gym… anything to break the state of feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

So, here’s to focusing on the days when you’ve reconnected, when you love your business and it’s so fantastic that you don’t even mind the time and effort it takes to build something worthwhile…

…it also helps not to take yourself too seriously. You won’t die of embarrassment from doing crazy things that don’t quite work – I haven’t yet. I guarantee you will make some mistakes, you’ll have egg on your face and things won’t quite go according to plan; BUT you WILL survive and you’ll get stronger and wiser every time.

…it helps to be flexible when things change. Just when you think you’ve got it together the rules will change – go with the flow.

7.5 THE BONUS TIP … it helps to have a sense of humour in BIG CHUNKS – See the silly side of things, invite people into your life who make you laugh more!

This may come as a revelation to you, especially if you’ve been running your Practice as a Business.

Here’s where things get much easier for you!

What’s the difference?

A specialist Practice is one in which YOU are the main player – it relies on you being the expert at what you do like being an accountant, a lawyer, consultant, coach, health care professional etc. You do the bulk of the work because that is what you like to do. You employ other people to handle the admin, bookkeeping, marketing and sales when you can afford them. Usually a Practice is bootstrapped by the owner that is, re-investing earned income back into it.

A Practice can feel like a job however if you love direct contact with your clients and seeing first-hand the impact your services provide to them, then it can be extremely satisfying. There are ways to use leverage in a Practice so that you are enjoying doing your highest and best work and someone else is taking care of the rest.

The value of a Practice is that the profit margins are a lot higher than a Business so you have a lot more disposable income. The challenge is not to spend all of that income but use it to invest in income-producing assets to provide for your future.

A business on the other hand is something that appreciates in value, can be run by someone other than you and unlike a Practice can be sold for a profit at a later date. It comes with its own set of challenges like managing people and suppliers and processes and stuff.

Business profit margins are generally lower than a Practice because the overheads are generally higher. It takes more resources to run the machine. In a business you are not usually delivering the technical services â you employ others to do that. The highest and best use of your time would have more to do with employing and training the best people you can find, sales and marketing, financial management and overseeing operations.

There are some cross-overs but, for the moment go with your gut instinct to decide which is the most satisfying and fulfilling structure for you. Which one uses your most valuable talents and skills and which one has the most enjoyment factor for you?

Of course you can turn a Practice into a Business later but it requires a different skill set and focus.

Evolutionary Business Design

Category: Business Structure

Business Overload – 7 Effective Ways to Re-energise When You Feel Like Throwing in the Towel

Are you running a Practice or a Business?