It's the start of a new month which means two things:
1. It's time to do  your monthly planning and stocktaking! Be sure to head onto a new monthly section if you have a copy of the PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner. I did my own planning this morning during the Monthly Planning session I facilitate. Stay tuned for the end of September dates and perhaps you'll join me in 30 days!

2. A new month also means a new 1BizStepADay. This month's focus is on Virtual and Routines. September is often likened to the 2nd new year. What are your goals? What are the routines you want to adopt? 
I hope that you'll take a minute and download this resource, using it as a daily (or regular prompt) to move your ideas, business and/or work forward in 15 minute increments. 
AS I write in the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder - Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum. 
Download the 1 Biz Step a Day For September here.

Enjoy the resource and be sure to share your progress over at the Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub I host in Facebook or over at the Conversation Sparker Zone in Mighty Networks. 

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC, CHRL
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Pick up a copy of any of her books at Amazon.

Book Jennifer for a coaching session to explore what's next for your coaching business, or group and team programming.

PS - Have you heard about the one day virtual event I'm hosting this month on Thursday September 16th? It's called the Stand Out Virtually Studio Day/Masterclass. We'll be taking a deep dive into the virtual facilitation toolbox to support you in creating even more powerful virtual programming, while giving you time during the day to map it out. Learn more and reserve your spot here. Save 25% when you register with a colleague!

My hope is that for all of you reading this, that you and your loved ones are remaining healthy. As we step into the end of Q1, I think many of us have been struck that the new decade has been full of surprises and pivots for business.

Over the last few weeks as COVID-19 has impacted North America after sweeping the rest of the world, I've been hosting regular virtual lunchtime calls, bringing together coaches from all backgrounds for some connection, discussion around what it means to go virtual, support for clients as they go virtual, virtual facilitation skills, and also business pivot topics.

If you weren't able to join me for those calls, I hope you will take a look at some of the recordings here at the Virtual Lunchtime Playlist, including Thursday March 26ths  call geared to virtual small business.

It's an unprecedented time, which is encouraging all of us to step up and lead in our own way.

I will continue to take a lead in our work here at Potentials Realized around support for coaches as well as the larger cross section of virtual and remote professionals which continues to focus on support for virtual teams and leaders.  My 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, has been embraced by many organizations who are using it internally to guide their virtual meeting practices, virtual leadership, and also 
As some of you know, over the last year I've been training up a number of professionals who are also able to lead work around PlanDoTrack, which is a workbook and planner geared for virtual and remote professionals. I'll be doing another facilitator training for this whole body of work starting in a few weeks - it's a 24 hour course. Email me if you want to learn more.
Our focus at the Learning Lab and Design Studio in the last couple of months has been on virtual work and designing and leading programming that has the greatest impact. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month from 8 - 845 am ET or 845 - 930 am ET.
Another area of growth I've seen in recently months with programming has been attendance at the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program, which I call a virtual train-the-trainer. It's geared for those who want hands-on practice and learning about how to lead and design INTERACTIVE, VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS, based on my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations. Upcoming dates include a five week session starting on Monday March 30th, and one day offerings on Wednesday April 1 and 8, 2020. Click here to learn more and reserve your spot.
Business at the heart of any coaching business. With that in mind, I want to remind you of the regular community calls open to everyone and complimentary which  I will continue to hold on Mondays from 11 - 1130 am ET several times a month. Please drop in and see us. 
Join us tomorrow, Monday March 3oth, from 11-1130 am ET for a hands-on Quarterly Planning Hack, taking stock of where you want to go for Q2 and where you've been in Q1. Join us in my zoom room tomorrow.

I look forward to continuing to serve you.

Best
Jennifer

In moving a business forward, especially through inflection points, it can be important to add systems. Systems help us scale, they help us delegate and they also ensure systematization as we bring on different people. Systems ensure consistency in a business.

What are the systems you have in place that help you replicate and scale?

As I explore in Section 3 of the Coaching Business Builder, there are several areas coaches will want to explore as systems in their business including:

• Sales and Marketing – Promotion
• Customer and Client Supports
• Registration and Onboarding
• Financial – Budgeting
• Communication

​At this time of year it can be useful to go through your financial systems and check for revenue and expense patterns;  your budget for the office, learning and expenses; communication – internet/phone(s)/other systems, as well as customer and client supports which often also connect to registration and on-boarding. This can include:

• New client welcome kits and questionnaires
• Coaching agreements
• Registration links
• Website materials

Be sure to look at the End of Year Checklist if you haven’t done so already. You can download it here.

Questions to consider:

• What needs attention right now?
• What are the things you want to focus on tightening up?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Systems are the heart of any coaching business. One of the more popular articles I wrote this year for the Coaching Tools Company is entitled “Five Systems at the Heart of Your Coaching Business”. It can be found here.

In the article, I explore five of the areas I’ve consistently seen coaches benefit from putting attention around:

1. Financial systems
2. Client Systems
3. Marketing
4. Content
5. Sales

Let’s look at each one of these right now, and consider which of these could use more attention:

1. Financial systems – How are you doing with things including invoicing, accounts payable, receivable? What makes it easy for people to do business with you? What do you find challenging? Is it time to get some advice in this area, or renegotiate your terms?
2. Client systems – What are the things clients receive as they become a client of yours? What message does it send? Is there anything you’ve been wanting to create for your clients which doesn’t yet exist? Consider welcome letters, questionnaires, agreements etc.
3. Marketing – Marketing is at the heart of a coaching business. Whether we are marketing via relationship building, content marketing, in-person or via social media, what are you doing to let people know about what you have to offer, what coaching is and how you provide support? What could use an update? A refresh? Look at your metrics? What’s working? What’s not?
4. Content – Content marketing may be a tangential part of a coaching business, however, over time, it’s likely that you may find yourself blogging, podcasting or creating content for reading lists and TED talks you recommend around the topics you coach around. For those that are going offer more than coaching services, this may be a significant part of your work. If you have a copy of the Coaching Business Builder, check out the Content Development Tools, including the Content Daily Trackers. Note what content you have created this year, OR spend time thinking about the top 3 areas you would like to develop content around for the new year.
5. Sales – What do you have in place around sales? Is it time for a web update? How clear is your call to action? What do you want people to do on each of your webpages?

Reach out and set up a one-off coaching conversation with Jennifer to review your coaching systems or where you want to take your business in 2020. Check out upcoming 45-minute call options here.

If you are looking for more extended support, consider joining us at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab during 2020 for ongoing conversations. Join now and benefit from being part of the group through to the end of 2020!

Have a great week!
​Jennifer

I opened my doors here at Potentials Realized on April 7, 2004. Having celebrated 15 years in business earlier this year, I continue to be thankful that the fruits of my labor continue to pay off.

While it is possible to build, and grow things quickly, building a sustainable business that will weather economic ups and downs (think 2008 economics, current flux, and…)  usually needs more than the initial meteoric rise.

This is where things like VISION, Systems and Business Foundations come in.
If you have a copy of the Coaching Business Builder OR PlanDoTrack, check out the different activities and reflections in Section #1.

It’s our work around creating clarity and alignment around our values and behaviors, clarifying our vision, and creating exceptional offerings which create a sustainable business.
​
Questions to consider:

• What values is your business grounded in?
• How are your behaviors translated into action and behaviors?
• How clear is your vision?

Creating a sustainable business is also about you as the business owner. In the medium term, our own leadership and endurance may be what helps the business move to another inflection point.

Questions for you to consider:

• What’s going to help you be at your best?
• Grow or refine your skills?
• Develop the endurance needed to run a business?
• What fuels you?
• When do you work best?
• When do you need to take a break and/o renew?
• What else is important for you in the short term? Medium term? Long term?

Sustainable business is also about doing things for the long haul. What is the work you really love to do? How does it capitalize on your strengths? What taps into what you uniquely do well?

I hope that you will enjoy this week’s questions and exploration,
Jennifer

Each month I share a daily calendar of prompts to support you in reflecting and taking action on  your business.
The August 1BizStepaDay is focused on Systems Check. Systems help us replicate things, and scale. They also leave us time to focus on tasks that require more energy or new thinking. As i explore in Coaching Business Builder, and PlanDoTrack, we may want to develop systems in areas including Marketing, Clients/Customers, Communication, Programming and financial.

As with other months, I hope that you will take 15 minutes each day to review the prompts and get into action around your work.

Download this month's 1BizStepaDay here.

Check out past month's 1BizStepADay posts here


Enjoy the focus,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018), Effective Group Coaching (2010), From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching,
Host of the Coaching Biz Growth Lab(TM)  - a coaching group for coaches
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416-996-8326
Check out the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series of daily prompts for your work and business over on  Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder.