So far.

The fact is many people really are tired of the way things are (yay!), especially in their immediate circle, the one they interact with on a daily basis. So they express their dissatisfaction and desire to change but really are stymied as to how to affect that change.

So, what does it mean to "get out of the box"?

It means to be or do in a way that is not normative but is highly effective. That doesn’t sound so hard now, does it? But we all know it can be extraordinarily hard! This is because of a couple of things not mentioned in the meaning. One is that if one is to be simply different, it is easy–just act out of character. The unstated part is that it has to be in character (must be something comfortable and agreeable for you to do) to be effective. Secondly, it has to be effective. Just being different is not necessarily mean efficacy. 

Here’s my version of "getting out of the box": to be or do in a way that is not normative on a large scale but is consistent with your personality and the being and doing are highly effective on that large scale.

Sounds good, but HOW does one "get out of the box"?

You must forget about the box to get out of it! Simply doing the opposite just produces another box…the anti-box, which is still a box.

Forgetting the box itself is not easy at all because it is what we know. How do you forget the box? Ask yourself what would you like to do/be? What does that look like? This will get you started on the right road. You will find some correspondences within you to the box but that is ok. If you continue your exploration simply from your own perspective, you will find yourself in some pretty fresh surroundings. If you are unique (and there is little doubt of that anymore) then your "box" has to be in many ways also unique. AND it is completely in agreement with who you are!

Go ahead…if you are tired of what is there and want a change, design the change by asking yourself what you want to be/do and write it down. Then commit to taking one action daily to work toward the change. If you need help with this, hire a coach. A coach can help you make these changes so that you are ‘outta of the box’!

Here’s to you and no more boxes!!

Of course like all markets where there is a plethora of competing claims, the skill YOU need to have is the ability to discriminately choose the correct one for you.  And that can sometimes be more difficult than it would first appear.

It seems to me that THE most critical question you should ask yourself first is this: Are you looking for a Coach or a Consultant? There is a difference and depending on what exactly you are looking for one will be better than the other.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion around these terms and many folks use them interchangeably. This only adds to the confusion. Let’s take a look at the functions and characteristics of each so that when you need to make a decision you have something to latch onto.

The Coach

    1. The Coach is the individual whose primary function is to allow you to explore and identify what works for you.
    2. With a Coach, the agenda is always your agenda. The Coach should be trained and can be certified (as both are available to prospective coaches).
    3. With a Coach, you work on the methods and ideas that best fit you in your pursuit and endeavors.
    4. The Coach is neutral…nothing is preferred.
    5. The Coach will hold you accountable for doing, as inaction is an unacceptable way of moving forward.
    6. Coaches have and support a wide variety of techniques and methods because it is critical that you find what is compatible with you.

The Consultant

    1. The Consultant is the individual whose primary function is to tell you how to accomplish something.
    2. With a Consultant, the agenda is the Consultant’s agenda. There is no certification or training to be a Consultant.
    3. The Consultant usually has a lot of experience in an narrow field, and that experience has exhibited a high degree of successful results.
    4. With a Consultant, you are looking to put something in place (decrease operating expenses, increase productivity, improved vendor terms, etc.) and they analyze your business around the topic and put a plan in place. You are expected to carry it out.

Use the lists above when you are ready to hire someone to help you move forward or  to make a change in your business. 

Do you want someone who tells you exactly what needs to be done and exactly how to do it (consultant) or do you want someone who can help you explore and create a process that works for you (coach)?

They both have their place so make certain YOU know which one you need so that you don’t set yourself up for disappointment.

Recognizing how hard it is to keep current in a changing environment, my hat is off to you if you said your business reflects who you are as of today! If you are like the majority, however, your business more than likely still reflects the you of the past.  How do you know if your business still reflects the old you?

Here are some signs:

1. You have skills that are not listed on your website and your current clients don’t know about these skills.
2. You are being asked by your client to do things that are beyond your skillset and you cringe thinking about doing them.
3. You no longer like/want your current clients (or a majority of them)!
4. You have a static website rather than a dynamic one.
5. Your Welcome Packet hasn’t been updated since you opened your doors for business.
6. Your work seems like work – the thrill is gone!
7. Your clients no longer refer you.
8. You’ve entertained the idea of getting a J-O-B!

If you found yourself nodding your head yes to any or all of the above questions, it’s time for you to spend some quality time working ON your business and giving it a new lift! Put some business bounce back into your business!

Here are some things you can do:

1. Take an honest look at your skillset. See what still works and what you still enjoy doing. Purge the rest.
2. Make a list of new skills you would like to acquire. (Hint: If you find yourself putting the word ‘should’ in front of a new skill, ask yourself this question: Is it because *I* want to learn more information about this particular skill OR is it because I think I *should* know how to do this because everyone is doing/needs this?)
3. Update your Ideal Client profile! (This is also a good exercise as it helps you to determine what skills to keep, what skills to acquire, and what skills to purge.)
4. If you can’t create a new website yourself, put on your CEO hat and find someone who can capture the new you in your new website.
5. Do you still need a Welcome Packet? If so, update it and keep is short, sweet, and simple! Only collect the information you need.
6. You may want to consider hiring a business coach to refresh, refocus, and re-energize both you and your business.
7. If your clients no longer refer you, see the above 6 items and begin to work on them now!
8. If you are considering looking for a J-O-B, you really need to hire a business coach to figure out if this is really where you need to be or if you are just feeling dead-ended in your current incarnation.

It is important to continually adjust and tweak your business as the environment changes. If you don’t, you risk becoming out-of-date and obsolete. You’ll be like the food item in the pantry that has an expiration date stamped on the bottom – Best if used by xx-xx date!

What a Focus Day is and why I chose the name are very closely related. To me, this is an opportunity for you to spend a period of time (3 hours or 6 hours) focused on your business – hence the name Focus Days! What all of these terms have in common, though, are the following:

    1. Short period of focused time.
    2. Can be done virtually or in-person.
    3. Devoted to generally one or two topics.
    4. Results oriented – focused on actions that produce specific outcomes.
    5. One and done! No long term coaching commitment is required.
   
Recently, I’ve spent a great a deal of time promoting my Focus Days. The reason I’ve done this is that I have always found that taking the time to get really focused on the coming year reaps huge benefits! I recently had a 6 hour Focus Day with my coach (although she calls it a Virtual Retreat – LOL), and I can’t even begin to tell you how beneficial it was for me! We discussed marketing strategies and laid out a marketing calendar for the next 6 months. We also discussed and evaluated a number of ideas I had to see if they fit in the overall scheme of my business, and we discussed my financial objectives.

While there are only three different items here, it took us the entire 6 hours to lay all this out. Now you might think that I took a ton of notes and wrote like a mad woman during this time, right? Guess what? I didn’t! I recorded the entire 6 hours so that I could go back and listen again to the various sections as I begin to implement them. Gotta love Audio Acrobat! LOL

This captures the essence of a Focus Day – highly interactive, narrow focus, and is centered around specific actions that are designed to yield specific outcomes.

Is there Focus Day in your immediate future? If not, you should consider giving yourself the gift of focusing ON your business. Imagine if you had spent some time last year doing just this – where would you be today?

The real marketing opportunity for this lies in providing them with products and services which will get their businesses up and running successfully. Only at this point will they become a market for all those looking to provide them with enhancement and additions to their business.

In this perspective, for all of us who provide products and/or services for small service-based businesses the success of these emerging entrepreneurs is vitally important to our successes. Those who provide business essentials as part of their offering are the ones who should be actively engaged with this market as it emerges.

This brings me back to the Ideal Client and why it is so darn important that any business knows who they are doing what to! Without this basic knowledge, the emerging service-based entrepreneur is going to flounder because s/he doesn’t have a handle on who they are doing what to and why. The same can be said for you and your business. If you think that this emerging market is ripe for your products and/or services then you need to be crystal clear on who in this group is your Ideal Client and why!

©2010 Cindy Hillsey, CPC

Here are the programs and products you’ll see me rolling out between now and the end of September:

1. Free 30-min call around the Ideal Client and WHY you need to know who your Ideal Client is. On this call you’ll:

• Discover the difference between target market, niche and Ideal Client
• Learn why the Ideal Client is key to your marketing success
• Learn how to attract and retain quality clients

I recorded this teleseminar because it’s hard for everyone to make it to a FREE call. This way you can download and listen at your leisure. Click here to get the recording.

2. Focus Days — Here’s an opportunity for you to work with me with a high degree of focus around topics that are applicable to you and your business. I offer 3-hour and 6- hour Focus Days. Curious? Click here for more information.

3. 1:1 Mentorship Program — This is your opportunity to work intensely with me. We will spend 6 months focused on you, your business, and your vision of success. Click here for more information.

4. Ideal Client Work Group — This group will meet for 3 sessions beginning October 5th. We will do the work around discovering your Ideal Client, why it’s important for you to know who your Ideal Client is, and how discovering the Ideal Client can help you with your marketing. Enrollment will begin early September. Watch your email!

I’m also putting the finishing touches on my signature product. This product will be called Business-In-A-Box: The Four Essentials for a Successful Business. The first module is currently available and is called Uncover the Key to Your Marketing Success: Your Ideal Client. You can read more about the module here. The other three modules will be: CEO Perspective: Who Is Running Your Business?; Marketing/Sales: Getting The Word Out; and Vision: Seeing Your Success, Seeing Your Future. In addition to the self-study version of each of these modules, I will also be offering a Work Group around each module. Stay tuned as we move forward for details!

These programs are in addition to my current offerings. Rather than list everything here I’ll let you just go directly to the page with all the information: http://virtualpartnering.com/programs-products/

My philosophy is to provide you with multiple entry points to my services so that you can choose the most appropriate program for you and your business.

On the horizon is a group coaching program. If you are interested in participating in the program, won’t you please take this super short survey so that I can put the program together to best meet your needs: http://tinyurl.com/VPsurvey

Thank you for being a part of the Virtual Partnering community. I appreciate each and every one of you, and couldn’t do this without you!

Have a fantastic day/weekend.

©2010 Cindy Hillsey, CPC

What this really means is that the selection process, for both the coach and the prospective client, is not just a preliminary activity, but a critical activity. How do you go about picking the "right" coach? Here are some steps you can take to make sure your fit with your coach is the right one:

1. Seek referrals from those who’ve had success! Talk to the people who’ve had that success. Ask them why they chose that particular coach. Was it because the coach had experience working within a particular niche or segment? Was it because the coach had received coach training? Was it because they resonated with one another? What was the reason?
2. If you don’t know anyone who’s had a coach, don’t do a general Google search. The results will boggle your mind! LOL I would suggest you to go to ICF’s website and do a search for the type of coach you’re seeking and start here.
3. Research the prospects you’ve acquired. Go the their websites and take the time to read about who they are, what kind of experience they have, and most importantly why they’ve chosen to be a coach. There should be a passion around coaching. How did the site make you feel? First impressions (whether online, face-to-face, or phone) are important! Did the site make you feel comfortable? Did you feel the coach understood your challenges and would be able to coach you through those challenges? Take the time to read the Testimonial page and see who is giving the testimonials. Are these people in the coach’s niche market? What type of words do they use to describe the coach and the coaching process? Do these words resonate with you?
4. Narrow the list down to two (unless you’ve had several people recommend the same coach). Contact these two coaches either via email or phone. Most coaches offer a 20- or 30-minute complimentary session. Take advantage of this! It’s a great time to see if you connect with the coach and to see if the coach connects with you. You can also discuss how the coaching process will work during this session. Now, if you reach out to a potential coach and they do not get back to you within 24 business hours (unless it’s a weekend) then you need to decide if this is the coach for you. This is the conversation that will tell you if you want to work with this coach. Have your questions ready.
5. After the session, take 10 minutes to record your thoughts: Did you feel a connection with the coach? Did you get your questions answered? Did the coach connect with you? Write down how you felt. Put aside for a couple of hours.
6. Sit down and pull out another piece of paper. Record now how you feel. Answer the questions above again. Do you still feel the same way? Compare it with your original sheet.
7. If you have additional questions at this point, reach out to the coach and get clarification.
8. At this point you can confidently go forward. Invest in yourself. Hire the coach!! Then relax and get ready to grow.

Want to comment on this article? Have a thought to share? I’d love to hear it!

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©2010 Cindy Hillsey and Virtual Partnering