8 Things Holding You Back From a Bada$$ Business & How to Fix Them
Contributed by Dr. Nicole, Integrative Growth Institute
As women entrepreneurs, we often start companies with passion, perseverance, and a strong mission to positively impact humanity. We realize we have a unique and powerful solution to a problem in the world and we hit the ground running.
We have he energy, enthusiasm, and drive, but often we aren’t sure how to grow the business UP as we grow revenue and our team. The result? We begin putting in extremely long hours, grinding it out, and working harder. We wear our “busyness over our business” like a badge of honor. Our effort keeps us from social events, family gatherings, and even personal care. Eventually, we become burn out.
And, then? We dust ourselves off and repeat.
Sound familiar?
This often leads to the demise of our business, the breakdown of our health, and even the loss of our relationships. The rate of divorce and poor health among entrepreneurs is astonishing.
We begin to ask ourselves, “what’s it all for?” We even start reevaluating if we’re still passionate enough to keep it all going. Some of us throw in the towel, and some continue the rinse-and-repeat model until our bodies and minds break down.
At the Integrative Growth Institute, we say NO to the “rinse and repeat” entrepreneur burnout trap.
We’re committed to giving entrepreneurs proven tools that help them grow and scale a company that can be known for its impact and profitability. A company that can give them financial abundance, precious time back, flourishing relationships, and fun.
Here’s 8 ways to overcome staying stuck & propel your business forward (all while getting your life back!)
01 Do you or does your business have an identity crisis?
I.e. your company serves everyone; you are technically the business owner but are operating solely as an employee inside of your business.
Think about the people you enjoy working with. Who benefits the most from your product or service? Who will buy at a profit?
Focus on 1 thing each quarter - stop doing 10 different projects
Stop implementing things for quick money or things that your competitors are doing. Start thinking about what you can create that will serve your customer based on their pain points and needs.
02 Do you have a vision? If not, it’s time to make one. If you do, does your team know what it is?
Have one meeting a week with your leadership team for a full hour and create a cohesive cascading message to the rest of the company
Have a longer meeting each quarter to map out the ONE thing that will move the needle and then reflect on it and refine it in the next quarter
As the business owner, cut a few hours of working in the business to work on the business. If you already do that, get out of the office and go somewhere alone where you feel creative and have the space to think.
03 Do you have an ego [consciously or unconsciously]? Do you let people with an ego run your company?
Evaluate how much energy is spent on drama and people issues - if it’s more than 20%, you have a leadership problem.
Ask yourself, “Would I enthusiastically rehire everyone on my team?” If not, it is time to re-evaluate.
Read the book The 5 Levels of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. Evaluate your team to acknowledge if you have a level 1 leader.
04 Do you have a strategy? If you do, does the team know what it is?
Take the Rocketfuel test - see who on your team is a visionary vs an integrator. Leaders should be visionaries and front line employees should be the integrators [get stuff done people] that bring the vision to life.
Once you establish who is a visionary vs integrator - reinforce that people “stay in their lane” or stay in their zone of genius.
05 Does your team have anything to measure? For example: Metrics or measurable goals?
Identify one measurable metric [also known as a key performance indicator] that is important for each role in your company. What will…
Move our company forward with its vision?
Cultivate a better culture?
Create a better customer experience?
Generate more money?
Elicit more referrals?
Build more trust?
Be transparent about the amount of money your company needs to make for everyone to keep their jobs and how much we want to make to be profitable and successful
06 Do you compete to be the best and not the most unique?
Let your freak flag fly, be the weirdo, be the outkast - LEVERAGE IT!
Set goals outside of your comfort zone that push your team and make you stand out
07 What is the guarantee to your customer that makes them want to work with you?
Step 1: Identify what you deliver on 100% of the time that your customer loves and appreciates?
Step 2: Build that into your messaging and your sales process.
08 Do you really know your numbers?
Audit the systems that collect your money
Audit your salespeople in charge of new customers
Audit your customer service experience
Seek out an entrepreneurial-focused accountant
We need to consider how our business can serve humanity, serve us, and our desired freedoms opposed to how we can serve the business. This shift allows you to make better decisions about your business which ultimately impacts your life. It is a great time to be an entrepreneur and the opportunities are endless. The key is to have strategy and tools to set ourselves up for success.
Let’s stop the “kill yourself” culture of entrepreneurship and become a master of our time. Time is just as much of an asset as money, and we must be more protective of it.
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You'll walk away from this event with all the tools you need to produce the growth and revenue you envision for your business. You’ll learn how to:
— Align your team
— Stop chaos in the workplace
— Establish your customer who will buy at a profit
— Build an offer for that customer
— Price your offer for profitability
— Create guarantees for a long-term customer
— Clarify your vision & confirm your team is on board
— Build a strong leadership team so not all aspects of business fall back on you
— Get clear on exactly where your company is going in the next 3 years
— Create a bold execution plan that everybody is
excited to be held accountable for
With a simple shift in your mindset and a clear roadmap,
you can transform your existing business, launch a new one,
or redefine your path.
About Dr. Nicole
Dr. Nicole is a self-made entrepreneur, integrative medicine doctor, Scaling Up coach, keynote speaker, CEO of a fast-growing healthcare company, and founder of the Integrative Growth Institute. She has mastered neurolinguistic programming, human behavior, and consulting through 10 years of working with chronically ill people from all over the world. As a practicing doctor, Dr. Nicole strived to find the root cause of people's symptoms and create a clear and personalized roadmap to healing. She realized that the same principles apply to business. She and Dr. Nick have mastered the ability to diagnose the root issues in your business while creating a roadmap to solve those issues while helping the company grow and scale.
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