One of my favorite activities over the last few years has been to create a summer project list of small, and larger tasks, to complete in what some find to be a quieter time. There always are lots of project possibilities in the summer months. Have you considered:
Best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.
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In both the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack, I include four business philosophies which are critical to all types of virtual and remote professionals, and business owners today – Focus, Experimentation, Momentum and Reflective Pause. In my work with teams, and individuals, over the last fifteen years in my business I’ve seen that these make the difference between good and exceptional. With this in mind, over the next few weeks I’ll be taking a deeper dive into the realm of these four areas looking at:
A reminder that if you like these topics you may want to check out my weekly Facebook Live, where I put into voice quick planning ideas and activities. You will find it over at the PlanDoTrack Facebook page. Let’s turn our attention to the first topic of FOCUS. We live and operate today in what is often considered an era of distraction. Our ability to focus and keep our eye on what is important to us, and to our work, is key. Did you know that:
Focused work and attention are critical, and essential in order to create foundations, and grow a business. How To- Creating Focus:
Refer To - Focus When: The Science of Perfect Timing – Daniel Pink Atomic Habits – James Clear Outer Order and Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin Deep Work and Digital Minimalism – Cal Newport Check out my April 3, 2019 Facebook Live Wishing you all the best, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. Building a business can be all-consuming. While it may be important to “push it” at several times of the year, building a business sustainably also means building in blocks to renew, and setting boundaries in terms of when you are available and when you may not be. In this post, we’ll explore three areas you might want to consider in tightening up your boundaries in business. Boundaries in business can involve: Learning how to delegate. Consider the tasks that could be passed on to others. This might include posting your articles on social media, designing graphics for your work, laying out brochures or other.
Time at work – As a business owner the work will always be there. It’s important to remember that productivity does not always equal amount of time worked. Many of you took advantage of the Heart of Coaching Giveaway item I shared this year which was the 19 Productivity and Business Development Tips. I’ve now made this into a video-based program which also includes a series of bi-weekly live calls. You can join us here. Becoming more discerning. Check out the blog post I included over at the PlanDoTrack blog a short while ago on discernment. You can search out the PlanDoTrack blog posts here. Questions to help you with discernment:
Best, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. I’ve been a long-term blogger and writer for almost 15 years now. As someone who is always creating content, it’s interesting to go back and review some of the past posts I’ve shared. Here is one that I think many of you as business owners will find useful. I wrote it back in 2010, and it’s still relevant today: Six Tips for New Small Business owners – Originally published at the Biztoolkit blog in April 2010 This April marked my 6th year of business. I continue to be reminded of the excitement and emotions of new business owners through regular discussions with participants of the 90 Day BizSuccess program - some of whom are new business owners, as well as seasoned small business people. In running the program I often get asked, what are some tips for new business owners. Here are 6 tips which have kept business exciting, and successful for me, over the years. 1. Track it! Take notice of the impact of the activities you are undertaking, over both the short term as well as the medium term. What are you noticing about the money you have invested into different marketing activities? Notice what's giving you impact in terms of your activities, networking and relationships. 2. Create Systems so that you don't have to recreate things over, and over again. It's not surprising that even experienced business owners still " have not had time" to create simple processes for their businesses such as invoices, proposal formats etc. Ask yourself:
3. Build on What You Already Have, Have Done or Do: Many times small business owners fail to capitalize on what they have already created, designed or know. What can you build upon in your business? Do you really need to start off at 0? 4. Plan it! Time Management and Planning can be a major challenge for business owners. When was the last time you sat down to plan and strategize about your goals for the quarter or even the month? As we know from time management 10 minutes of planning can save an hour of unfocused effort. When will you spend time creating your plan for the next month? 5. Schedule It! What doesn't get scheduled, doesn't get done. What are your main business priorities right now? Have you scheduled them into your calendar? If it's not written down or blocked off chances are it may get lost. Activity: Take 15 minutes this week to identify one or two main priorities for your business and schedule in time in your calendar to get these things done. 6. Be strategic - We can't be all things to all people? Consider the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, which states that we get 80% of our impact from 20% of our efforts. What activities are going to give you the most impact this month? Best wishes, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder. For several years I’ve talked about the Six Factors of High Performing Teams. It's likely that many of you also coach teams, or work with them in team development programs. In recent months I have had a lot of requests from coaches to share more on the six factors, and I thought that this blog post would be a great place to start. Extending from the Team Effectiveness research, such as Hackman and Wageman, and Katzenbach and Smith, we know that teams which excel have a:
1. Shared purpose or mission (Your WHY) – Why do you exist? What do you take a stand for? 2. Shared behavioral norms - How you do things? What is acceptable and unacceptable on the team? 3. Shared commitment - What are you as a solopreneur committed to? What will you make sure you do, no matter what? 4. Shared performance goals (How are people measured? How do your goals align? Overlap? 5. Shared team practices - Teams that work together effectively share common practices such as a Monday morning huddle, a Thursday night out or some other regular event. 6. Clear Roles - How our roles overlap, align and connect? (Originally posted November 3, 2014 - https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-307-revisiting-the-six-factors-of-high-performing-teams) Facilitating discussion around these areas helps with the alignment, and clarity, required for teams to excel in today’s ever-changing environment. I hope that you will take a few minutes today to write out or capture the Six Factors of your business and/or team. For more on these, refer also to my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, pages 349 – 355. How might conversation and focus around team effectiveness benefit the teams you are working with? As you grow your team, what's important to keep in mind? Enjoy your week! Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Join me this spring for some virtual learning! In addition to the Coaching Biz Growth Lab annual group coaching group, I offer a range of ICF CCE approved programs including the Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program (8.75 CCEs) - geared to "set you up for success" with virtual programming, as well as a 10 hour Mentor Coaching Group for ACC and PCC candidates. As we step into the month of February, our focus is going to shift to the realm of relationships. Collaboration in all its forms is essential to a thriving coaching business. On the client level, we are always partnering, and developing deep relationships with our clients. In fact, this partnership is the foundation for successful coaching. If trust and connection is not present, it’s unlikely that a client will be open to discussing their ideas. While prospective clients may first find us on social media, the next step is usually a call to check for “fit” and that we are the best support for their needs. Consider what you are doing to build trust and connection with your clients, and prospective clients. We may also be partnering with others in our industry – with other coaches who we might work with in a variety of ways. This might entail designing and co-leading programs together or bringing others on board through a sub-contracting relationship. Consider how you are partnering with others in our industry, or related industries this year. Make a list of this. If we are a solopreneur coach, enlisting others to help us round out our skill set helps us accomplish tasks me may not have skills in – from accounting to graphic design. Who are the service professionals you’d like to build relationships with to help you with your business? As a solopreneur, relationships are critical for success. Consider these ways we may be working with, and through others:
Enjoy! Jennifer PS – A reminder that this month’s 30 days focus in the 1BizStepaDay series is around Relationships. Download a copy of the 1BizStepaDay series here. What are the daily actions you are taking to build your relationships during this month of February? Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Looking for daily prompts to support you with your work? Join me over on Instagram for daily questions to get you thinking about, and taking action on, your work and business. Check out the @CoachingBizBuilder feed here. Check out the November 2018 CBB Book Club Call entitled "2019 Planning. Already?". You can view it here. “Tasks expand to the amount of time we give them” asserts the Parkinson’s Rule. I remember first reading about this in the Four-Hour Workweek from Tim Ferris. Think about it - what tasks have expanded to the amount of time you have given them? Whether you are a solopreneur or work with a VA or other freelance members, having a variety of tools to manage projects is key. These tools are likely to be virtual so you can share them with others, and you may have different tools for different purposes. In selecting a tool consider:
What are the tools you want to start incorporating into your work this year, to make projects flow more smoothly? Enjoy your week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author multiple books including the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010) Potentials Realized Phone: 416-996-8326 Looking for some daily focus around your work? Join me over on Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder for a daily question or prompt as part of the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series. Check out the November 2018 CBB Book Club Call entitled "2019 Planning. Already?". You can view it here. With the last full weekend of summer officially behind us, many coaches are starting to kick it into high gear with clients, as clients start looking to "year end" already. Today's post gets you thinking about three productivity hacks YOU can implement for yourself. These can help to boost focus and get things done, without necessarily spending more time in the office. 1. Build in regular planning time. As I have written in the past, ten minutes of planning can save 2 hours of unfocused effort, according to old project management adages. When are you building in time to plan daily? Is this something you want to do at the start of the day, or the end of the day? Would it be useful to build in a quick end of week review (either Friday afternoon or over the weekend)? This is what the Month In Focus tool is geared for - taking time each week to pause and note your key priorities, successes, enablers, derailer, lessons learned and commitments for the next week. There are 12 months of Month in Focus tools included in the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner. Already many coaches are making it a regular end of week activity! 2. Tap into a community for support and regular action - As coaches our work can be very solitary, especially if we work virtually. Connecting with a community of others can be really powerful in terms of getting things done, sharing resources and gaining inspiration. Last week I jumped into an Instagram Video 5 Day Challenge with the wonderful Denise Wakeman, and was reminded of how motivating it can be to be in a group! I've seen this in my own programming, where last month at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab we did a 31 Day Challenge to take regular action on social media. The traction, and habits created, have carried forward as well. I also saw this play out on Friday with the launch of two different fall programs - the Mentor Coaching Group (for ACC renewals, and PCC) and my Virtual Facilitation Essentials programming. What communities would you like to join this fall? 3. Notice where your time is really spent and track where your results are coming from. As solopreneurs our time is limited. It's useful to regularly take stock of where your time is really going. How much time are you spending on client support? Proposals? Preparation or Design work? Marketing? Social Media? Learning? Connecting? Revenue Generating Activities? If you don't know how much time you really spend, or haven't really seen this in a while, you may want to use the Monthly Daily Tracker to capture these numbers. As coaches our work can be very seasonal, with ups and downs throughout the year. If you have been in business for a few years now, notice where your ebbs and flows are. And as a BONUS - Does everything have a place in your office? Having moved between two different offices for the better part of the last 6 months I have come to realize how streamlining items, and dedicating a home to each, is important for me to focus on work when I am there. The movement between locations has also helped me tackle some of the paper items which can get really overwhelming if you liaise with a variety of clients and partners. While my northern office is now closed for the year, integrating the resources from both happened quite seamlessly this past weekend. Carving out regular 10-15 minute blocks to tackle a set of files, or drawer or area, can put things back into order. Doing this regularly starts to have an impact. What's the part of your office which could use some organizing? As you put these quick hacks into practice, what do you notice? Enjoy your week, Jennifer Jennifer Britton Email: info@potentialsrealized.com Phone: 416-996-8326 Coach and Author of Effective Group Coaching and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching Interested in more on this topic? Join me for the fall Virtual Business Planning Retreat - this Thursday from 1 - 5 pm ET. Over the course of 4 hours you'll be able to do some planning AND take some action on key activities (perhaps getting started on your tracking, or clearing, or systems, OR....?). Reserve your spot in Thursday's 4 hour Business Planning Retreat below. If you are interested in growing your coaching business this fall, join me for the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, a coaching group for coaches. We meet the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month from 3 - 4 pm ET, providing you the space to focus and accelerate your business actions. More information and registration here. Reserve your spot in Thursday's Virtual Business Planning Retreat - Fall 2018 (Thursday September 20 - 1 - 5 pm Eastern/10 - 2 pm PT)- $97 US: |
Upcoming Programs:
Mentor Coaching Group for ACC/PCC -Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET: June 7 - mid-September - Reserve your spot. ACC and PCC for ICF Credentialing Program Design Hack - 45 minutes - $97 - Sketch Out Your Next Program in this Facilitated Process! - Click here to Register Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) - Next group will start Tuesdays on July 6th. Fridays 10 - 1135am ET: June 4, 11, 18, 25 (4 weeks) Virtual Facilitation Essentials (8.5 CCEs) - Join us for an upcoming one day program! Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - starts - Tuesdays July 6th (5 weeks) (10 CCEs): Focused on providing you with virtual practice and feedback around your group coaching skills. Team Coaching Essentials for the Virtual, Remote and Hybrid World. Kicks off Monday June 14th 60 Day CBB Accelerator - Now as an On-demand Program.Bonus! This month's 1BizStepADayAuthorCoach Jennifer Britton has worked with entrepreneurs across a variety of sectors since the late 1990s, even before she was in business herself. From supporting micro-entreprise and eco-tourism businesses to working with service based entrepreneurs and coaches, her PRACTICAL and TACTICAL approach to business coaching is ACTION focused, with emphasis on AWARENESS as well. Jenn is the author of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and planner, and 3 others books related to group and team coaching and virtual conversations. She also hosts the Coaching BIzGrowth Lab, an open-enrollment group coaching program for coaches. Jenn founded her business - Potentials Realized - in April 2004. Archives
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