Have you ever just sat back and observed the world? It seems like in today’s age, if you look around, it’s almost like there are a lot of blind people wandering around in the woods. People seem lost, they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to manage their time or finances. People seem oblivious to what is necessary in order to move towards a solidified goal. Most people don’t even have goals. They just wander through life aimlessly and end up somewhere on accident. As a business coach, when I initially connect with most clients, this accurately describes how they feel in their business. The fact is that 9 out of 10 businesses fail. Out of those businesses that don’t fail, .00133 of them actually become a viable business. Clients come to us as business coaches because we know the proven path to stay on in order to help business owners achieve their goals.
…in a room with 1,000 people, only one person is right.
With this foundation of understanding that most people are wandering aimlessly, hoping to stumble upon success, it always amazes me when a business coach client will push back on the advice that we give them as a business coach. I mean, if you have a proven path before you where someone has literally dug out the ground and laid a foundation and put each and every brick in its proper place so that it will lead you to your desired destination, wouldn’t it be wise to follow that path? I sure think so. However, in the business coach world, we see time after time how as we’re walking a client down the proven path, they want to step off the path because their friend told them that there might be a better solution on the other side of those trees, or their mom doesn’t like something about that bush over there. Let’s be real for a minute. If only .00193 businesses become a truly viable business, then that means that in a room with 1,000 people, only one person is right. Only one person knows what they’re even talking about when it comes to business.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks that I find my business coach clients moving off the proven path in order to pursue, is a fixation over inconsequential and minor details about their website. They get so passionate and so convinced that if there is anything even remotely “wrong” about their website, then it will destroy their business. Nothing could be further from the truth. Business and the ability to grow a successful business has very little to do with the look of a website and everything to do the diligence of following the path that we layout. I had a client the other day harping on minor website edits. Jonathan Kelly, my manager, walked into the room and gave me the opportunity to observe how he handles these kinds of situations. His response to their website edits was brilliant. He looked up at the owner and said, “we can definitely make those changes for you, however in order to make the most of your time, this week, make a list here on the agenda of all of the edits that you want to make, and we will submit all of them to be changed at one time.” Do you see what he did there? Instead of fighting the clients on the fact that they wanted to make edits, he validated their feelings, assured them that we can provide a solution, and put the work of going to the website and finding the edits back on them.
This may not be a complete shock to those of you that are reading, but still to this day, my client has not come back to a meeting with their list of edits. Every time they bring up another edit, I am able to say to them, just added to the list of edits that you are putting together, and as soon as that list is complete, we will submit them all at once. There are some valuable lessons that I, as a business coach, learned through this encounter. Number one, validate the client’s feelings. If you help them know with confidence that you understand why something is important to them, then it puts them at ease and helps them to trust you. Number two, Assure the client that we can handle whatever they need. A Client wants to feel confident to know that they can come to us with their problems, and as a business coach, we can find them a solution. Number three, for things that are not part of the proven path, put the work back on the client. Unfortunately, most people are not diligent enough to do the hard work. They allow their schedules to control them instead of controlling their schedules. When we do this, it allows us to return the focus to what really matters, the proven path.
No matter who you are or what kind of business you have, focus on what matters. Your website edits, while sometimes necessary, are not the biggest limiting factor for your business to be successful. We have a proven path that can help you gain the time and financial freedom that you want. Your business is intended to be the vehicle that helps you get to your goal. Don’t be the owner that thinks their business is an off-road vehicle. Your business is meant to stay on a proven path. It has been paved by Clay Clark, Jonathan Kelly, and thousands of other entrepreneurs before you. Let us help you stay on the path and win.
