As a business coach for over eighteen years, I can declare with the utmost confidence that one of the greatest enemies of small business owners is BUSYNESS<\/strong>.\u00a0 As such, owners can be their own worst enemy.\u00a0 They are so busy scrambling, putting out fires, chasing distractions, getting interrupted, and getting lost in unimportant details that they don\u2019t see the big picture and don\u2019t spend the time and effort designing their businesses and lives to work better and to be so much more.\u00a0 This Growth Coach Blog will help you to get more out of your business and life \u2026 but, you must be willing to slow down and THINK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As a business owner, what’s your\u00a0greatest resource that costs you nothing to use? That\u2019s right, your brain.<\/strong> When\u00a0properly\u00a0utilized and focused, your brain can\u00a0transform your business and life for the better … like nothing else can.<\/strong> But how often do you fully engage and leverage\u00a0this\u00a0powerful resource?\u00a0 How often do you slow down and make the time to\u00a0think deeply about your business?\u00a0 To think, plan and write in a\u00a0quiet setting with\u00a0minimal interruptions or distractions?\u00a0 Probably not too often.\u00a0 For your business to change, that habit must change. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Odds are you feel that you are\u00a0too\u00a0busy, too frazzled, too involved, or too stressed to take the time to think and plan.\u00a0 But that’s the point!\u00a0 You are overworked, overwhelmed and feel like a prisoner to your business precisely because you don\u2019t take the proper time to think, plan and write. Since The Growth Coach<\/a> Franchise System serves several thousand small business owners each year, I can tell you with certainty\u00a0that most troubles and problems\u00a0faced by small business owners\u00a0are not only self-inflicted but come about because\u00a0owners are too busy \u2026 they do not schedule\u00a0enough time to THINK.\u00a0 They are simply too busy to be effective, strategic, focused and productive. <\/strong>That sad situation needs to change.<\/p>\n

Since your brain is your idea and solution factory, it should be operating at optimal capacity and producing a tremendous output of good ideas and solutions each and every week.\u00a0\u00a0However, because of busyness, distractions, interruptions, and constant fire drills, owners do not spend enough quiet time thinking\u00a0and as a result, their\u00a0production level of good ideas is suppressed.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face reality.\u00a0 When was the last time you scheduled time by yourself in a quiet setting to think without distractions and interruptions?\u00a0 To reflect and think without e-mails popping up, employees\u00a0asking questions, phones ringing,\u00a0a Blackberry buzzing, or countless other low-value distractions screaming for your attention? <\/strong>Maybe it\u2019s when you first planned your business or maybe once a quarter or once a year.\u00a0 That\u2019s no where near sufficient!<\/p>\n

For you and your business to be at your best, you need to schedule a weekly thinking appointment with yourself.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As an entrepreneur, your key responsibilities are to create and sell a vision, build systems and a team, lead others and keep them accountable, grow your business and simply THINK … think up new and better ideas and approaches, create innovations, and properly identify problems and solutions with clarity. You should be a major creator of ideas yourself and foster an environment where your employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, advisers, etc. generate valuable ideas for your company as well.\u00a0 After all, you are in the idea business.<\/strong> You compete in the arena of ideas.\u00a0 How are you doing?\u00a0 Are you generating plenty of profitable ideas each and every week?<\/p>\n

To help you generate and implement an abundance of money-making and customer-pleasing ideas, you must spend time\u00a0every week thinking, planning and writing \u2026 yes, writing.<\/strong> You must capture your ideas in writing so you and your team remain accountable for bringing them to life.\u00a0 Here are some business-coaching\u00a0tips to help you generate valuable ideas:<\/p>\n

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1. Schedule at least one meeting each week (90-120 minutes) with yourself away from your office. <\/strong> Go some place where it is relatively quiet and\u00a0peaceful.\u00a0 Go to a coffee shop, restaurant, park, lake, your back deck, a pool, library, bookstore,\u00a0your home office, or a garden, to name a few.\u00a0 Get away from any chaos, complexity, and confusion.\u00a0 As the leader of The Growth Coach, I\u00a0schedule at least\u00a0three hours\u00a0each and every week to do nothing but reflect, think, and capture\u00a0ideas and plans on paper or the computer.\u00a0 This is some of the most profitable, creative\u00a0and satisfying work I do.\u00a0 Engage your brain and its incredible creativity.<\/li>\n
2. Keep your\u00a0agenda open-ended and very simple … spend quiet time THINKING about creating a better\u00a0future for your business and your life. <\/strong>As well, think about improving the lives of your customers and employees. \u00a0Update your vision for your ideal business and lifestyle.\u00a0 Mentally paint a picture of how your business\/life will look in 3 years.\u00a0 Unleash your creativity. For example, come up with ideas, insights, and innovations; clearly define problems and\u00a0develop solutions;\u00a0assess what is working and what is not; leverage your company’s strengths and minimize\u00a0its weaknesses;\u00a0identify your company\u2019s opportunities and your dangers\/threats; improve your sales and marketing;\u00a0grow revenues and reduce costs; increase customer satisfaction; and decide on the strategic changes that need to be made.<\/li>\n
3. Arm yourself with only a\u00a0pad of paper and a pen or pencil \u2013 unplug the electronics. \u00a0Yes, go old school. <\/strong>Leave your laptop and smart phone behind \u2026 or, at least silence the e-mail or phone components. To achieve\u00a0effective thinking, planning and writing, you must minimize your distractions.\u00a0 Again, you want uninterrupted time to slow down and do some deep thinking.<\/li>\n
4. To generate ideas that are worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, elevate beyond your routine way of thinking.\u00a0\u00a0Assume new roles to expand and open up your mind. <\/strong> For example, think of yourself as a business coach or business consultant<\/strong> and your company as the client.\u00a0 How would you now view your business?\u00a0\u00a0What would\u00a0you see through\u00a0such\u00a0objective eyes\u00a0about your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?\u00a0\u00a0Or, think of yourself as a competitor<\/strong>.\u00a0 What vulnerabilities would\u00a0you now\u00a0see and attack?\u00a0\u00a0Or, think of yourself as a prospective\u00a0investor<\/strong> examining your company as a potential investment.\u00a0 What would\u00a0excite you and scare you?\u00a0 What would\u00a0you see as hidden profit areas or new revenue streams?\u00a0 Costs to be cut?\u00a0 Or finally, think of yourself as a customer<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0What would\u00a0you like to see improved or changed?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

   The Growth Coach strategic-focusing process helps our clients on a quarterly, structured and consistent basis\u00a0to slow down, face reality, think, write, decide on changes, create action plans, and then receive on-going accountability to stay on track and achieve significant results.\u00a0 Please click here to learn more about our business coaching programs, coaching services, and solutions.<\/a><\/p>\n

   Additionally, as your virtual business coach, I\u00a0urge you\u00a0to schedule the most important and profitable appointment you can have each week … with yourself \u2026 to slow down and think.<\/strong> Thinking is some of the most important, strategic, difficult, and valuable work you do as an owner.\u00a0 Shouldn’t you do more of it?\u00a0 Think about it.<\/p>\n

   To help you think about improving your business and life, here are some more resources.\u00a0 Here is the link our popular monthly e-newsletter, \u201cEarn More, Work Less\u201d<\/a>.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a link to our e-book, \u201cBecoming a Strategic Business Owner\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

   And here is a link for those wanting to know how to become a business coach and make a difference in the lives of others.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

   As a business coach for over eighteen years, I can declare with the utmost confidence that one of the greatest enemies of small business owners is BUSYNESS.\u00a0 As such, owners can be their own worst enemy.\u00a0 They are so busy scrambling, putting out fires, chasing distractions, getting interrupted, and getting lost in unimportant details that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[855,857,876,1105,858,860,861,863,897,864,935,865,937,867,962,963],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-coaching","tag-benefits-of-business-coaching","tag-business-coach","tag-business-coaching","tag-business-coaching-guarantee","tag-business-owner","tag-business-owner-mindset","tag-business-systems","tag-entrepreneur","tag-growth-coach","tag-leadership","tag-marketing","tag-small-business-management","tag-strategic-business-owner","tag-strategic-mindset","tag-strategic-thinking","tag-strategic-time-out"],"yoast_head":"\n