Changing Habits and selecting a Business Coach for Accountability

David Staughton B.Sc.(Hons) CSP CCEO Practice Consultant

How to change Habits and have more Accountability & better Results

  • Would you like to create some NEW Habits and better future?
  • Are you tired of doing the same old thing and getting worse results?
  • Is it time for a CHANGE?

 

 

Habits

Business Disruption has arrived

The world is changing at an astonishing rate. Think about how much mobiles phones, the Internet and the big five – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon & Microsoft (GAFAM) have become habits and impacted your life AND how fast that has happened.

Big Brother (GAFAM) is now watching you. Your every move and interaction with technology is being monitored, watched, tracked and ALL that data is being analysed and interpreted..

Whole industries are being wiped out and new ones created – Just look at your local street for stores that are closed or closing down – photo shops, video stores, book shops, solariums that are gone and all the dwindling retailers. Other service businesses are opening up– nail shops, barbers, cafés, restaurants, new fast food outlets and all sorts of digital businesses.

The Need to Embrace Change

Has your business changed much since last year?

Have you tried anything different or new?

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

Sadly, if you keep doing exactly the same things you’ll probably get diminishing results every year.

You need help to change some OLD habits! You need an accountability buddy or a coach.

I had a business coach for a year in 2000 – it changed my view of the world and my business. I read lots of business books and I went on to learn a lot about growing businesses and personal investments.

A Business Coach Can Help Changing Your Habits

For many years now, I have suggested that small business owners would benefit from hiring a business coach to shift their stubborn habits.

A Good coach can provide focus, clarity and most of all, accountability.

“Either you don’t know what to do or you are just not doing it”.

Mostly, you already know what you really should do, but you just don’t do it.

I recommended finding yourself a LOCALLY BASED business coach or mentor and asking your accountant for their help and suggestions.

Prior to the GST & BAS, your Accountant had lots of time to coach and assist the growth of your business, but nowadays they mostly focus on tax compliance, structuring, SMSF and risk avoidance. If you want business coaching you need to hire a proper coach.

You need to stop working IN the business and start working ON the business. Stop chopping trees in the business forest, sharpen your axe and take the time to climb a tree and have a look where you are going!

What a Business Coach Really Does about Your Bad Habits

I rang a selection of businesses around Australia that had taken on a business coach as suggested. I wanted to find out how they went changing bad habits.

Several multi-store owners had seen amazing results with a business coach providing some independent external help and guidance. And some hadn’t.

Local coaches had outperformed coaches that were online or at a distance. I feel that it is important to regularly get face to face with your coach to be held ACCOUNTABLE.

Most coaches will start by asking lots of basic questions to find out your motivations – What are your dis-satisfactions? What do you want to change? What would you like to achieve?

You probably aren’t ready to change until you start feeling some pain or desire for more.

Usually your coach will do a low-cost diagnostic business review to find out more about your business issues and see if you are a good fit with them. They will assess your personality and find out why your business is not working.

They will most likely examine your cashflow in depth and find out if you have a customer flow issue, a personal expenses problem or a workplace discipline problem. They will find out what you want from life and your vision for the business. They will offer you a 6 or 12 month program to help you get results.

Most business coaches charge AUD$2k to $5k+GST per month and some business owners think that is a LOT of money to spend. In fact, finding the right coach will be the best investment you can ever make.

The more you pay your coach, the more likely you are to do the things you know you should be doing. Remember – pub talk is just “pub talk” and advice from a mate is seldom implemented. You need to pay real money to get professional advice and learn the business lessons you need to learn.

Is the Boss an IDIOT?

The problem with being self-employed in a small business is that the boss is an idiot. You probably don’t listen to advice. NOBODY tells you what to do – except maybe the bank manager and the ATO when you run out of money or don’t pay enough tax.

You can pretty much do whatever you want that is quasi-legal. Sometimes you make bad decisions and do really stupid things. There are three key indicators that you are doing it wrong – Making NO Money $$$$, Having NO Time or having LOTS of Team headaches.

Business owners are stubborn! STUBBORN! And they have BIG EGOS too.

Perhaps you should listen to a coach – or at least listen your spouse. They have your best interests at heart and love you a lot. Forming new habits could be good for you.

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