Over the last 35+ years I have had the pleasure of working with thousands of business owners. Less than 1% of these I would classify as highly successful businesses dominating their niches. Yet all of these business owners had one thing in common: Every extremely successful business owner has a laser-like focus on taking action.
They understand that successful businesses occur when the owner makes consistent improvements.
They start by making a list of their long-term business goals. Then they figure out what they have to do this year in order to reach them. What do they have to do this quarter, this month, this week, and today to reach those annual goals?
Successful business owners know that the secret to massive profits is the combination of good ideas with a laser focus on monthly action. This is the mantra you must follow. I believe it is so important that I have made the slogan “Good Ideas + Action = Massive Profits” the motto for our magazine and our coaching programs.
Think of how much better your company would be if you committed to working four hours per week on improving your business. Do that for 50 weeks this year, and you will have worked 200 hours on improving your business. How many of your competitors are making this kind of investment? Worse yet—what if one of your competitors does and you don’t? How far behind will you be?
But they not only have a focus on taking action, they also schedule time monthly to plan and implement the good ideas that move them toward their goals. We recommend three steps to our coaching clients:
- Use our Perfect Monthly Growth Tool (see the article and the form we use in our August 2013 issue).
- Use a monthly process to plan and analyze their marketing and promotion activities.
- Use weekly delegation meetings to ensure their employees are working on those items that move the business toward its profit goals.
Finally, every successful business owner hires a coach to keep them accountable. I have a personal coach who is helping us with our online marketing funnel.
An accountability coach helps you:
- Set a realistic timeline to reach your unique goals.
- Flesh out a strategic action plan designed to reach those goals.
- Measure your progress.
- Stay focused! Business owners who have a focus on growing their business very often get tempted by the newest shiny object. An accountability coach reminds you why you should finish one thing first before moving on to something else.
- Find encouragement and motivation when you feel like giving up.
- See a fresh perspective based on their experience with multiple companies in different industries.
- Challenge yourself to go beyond what you are comfortable doing on your own.
The end result is usually a massive increase in sales and profits. Why? Because the coach pushes you past the places you have sabotaged yourself in the past.