Dreaming About Starting Your Own Business?

Starting Your Own BusinessAre you dreaming about starting your own business? Many people who have a job working for a company dream about starting their own business. The majority of these folks do not act on their dreams. The story about why we should follow up on our dreams is a story for another day! Really – promise to send that one out soon!

For the few people in the minority, who do in fact take action on their dream to start their own business, the reality of starting and running your own business is a serious and potentially overwhelming endeavor.

For anyone currently in a job who is ready to take action on their dream to start their own business here are three main areas to focus on as you move along the timeline of your journey.

STAGE ONE – PLANNING

While you are still employed – which means you are bringing home the bacon – plan! The first part of the plan is a review of self. This would be begin with your mindset and personality. Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

The second part is what is the business – the actual way to earn money? Is this a product or a service? What is the competition? What makes you different? Will people pay you for what you are going to deliver or sell?

There are numerous other initial aspects to planning. Many of these may be uncovered by taking a few assessments such as to uncover your leadership skills and abilities. These assessment results should be reviewed with you and a certified coach. Other items range from creating a financial plan, securing professional support such as a Lawyer, an Accountant and an online expert for developing websites and more. A trusted advisor will be able to guide you through this process.

STAGE TWO – TAKE ACTION STEPS

In this stage you may still be employed for a period of time. Once you are ready to begin networking in person, advertising your new business and creating the legal entity it would be wise to double check your rules of employment. Often rules do exist which state you are not permitted to run your own business while being employed by your current employer. This would especially be the case if the industry is similar to the one you are currently working in. In either case, in a perfect world you would keep your current job until there is a predetermined amount of cash flow coming in from your new business. Therefore do not leave your job as long as you are able to keep working while you create your new business.

In this second stage you would begin to determine your niche, your ideal client profile, develop your brand, your website and your social media profile for your business. A trusted advisor will be able to guide you through this process.

STAGE THREE – PUSH START!

This is the stage when you are open for business. The initial part of this stage is to double and triple check everything you have done so far and make certain you are ready to start!

Typically items which were left to set up at this point are banking, online credit card processing, marketing consistently, your sales funnel and much more.

As you are able to see running your own business may be more work than having that job where your dreams first moved you to go in this direction. The best investment you will make if you plan to start your own business is to establish a relationship with a trusted advisor who will be able to work with you as you progress in this process. The last thing you want to do is try to go down this path all by yourself!

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive coach and business consultant who resides in Stamford, CT.

If you are considering starting your own business or already running a business speak with Mitch and potentially there will be an opportunity for you to work with him as your trusted advisor. –>> Sign up here for a free twenty minute call <<–

Values or Money Which Means More To You?

values-or-moneyThe other day it was cool enough outside to create a need for the heat to turn on in the house. The thing is there was a problem. We could tell something was not right, so we hit the emergency kill switch. Now when the technician comes into your house and starts poking around do you really have a clue what they are doing, looking at or what the end result will be?

When working with a client you see the solutions. You see the answers. The coaching process demands that the coach does not ‘tell’ the client what to do. The client must ‘discover’ their own answers from within. This is for meaningful growth and change to take place. Is this how you practice your coaching?

There are coaches who often step in and step out. This means they are requesting permission or stating, “May I take my coaching hat off for a moment?” Then they proceed to offer their client opinions, directions and statements of direction, none of which are part of the practice of coaching an individual. Does this describe your method of coaching?

Feel free to state your views and practices in the comments area.

The point of this article is if we are to add value to others we should want that value to stick. While we are there for our client we cannot force a client to change, to grow, or to act. A client must want to do these themselves with our support and guidance as professional coaches. Anything less is to cheat the client of the opportunity for true change, true growth, and taking real action.

Consider for a moment the consultant who works on a project for an hourly rate.

Is there an incentive to add value and provide solutions to the client or to continue to ensure there are more hours to bill to the client? The consultant who instead bills by the result and the solution will be paid in full as the result and the solution are worth the fee paid. The time it takes is not material to the conversation. It should not matter if the result and the solution takes one day or six months.

In a similar fashion a coach who designs their practice to where the coach becomes the crutch and the client always needs to use the crutch is setting themselves up for more hours to bill than to provide the client with true value.

It is when this is done by design the question is – values or money which means more to you?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

 

The World Cup Starts And The World Is Watching

worldcup

The World Cup matches began this week. The futbol games are all being played in Brazil. Thirty two countries teams are represented. For the majority of the sports watching world this is an event which halts productivity and work in general.

People go to bars, taverns, restaurants at all times of the day depending upon the time zone your country is located in. For example, during the last World Cup the host country was South Africa, which meant people in New York or Connecticut went to bars at 8 AM to watch the matches live.

In the USA, the people who are actually interested or even knowledgeable of the sport, let’s just say they are in the minority.

Some of the ways local clubs in Stamford have prepared for and attract the crowds are:

  • Obtain a permit and erect an outside tent with large screen TV’s,
  • Provide Brazilian Dancers to perform live for the opening day game.
  • Display the jersey from each competing team in the World Cup this year.

What they have done is prepare in advance for a crowd even though there was no guarantee there would be a crowd. They have created an atmosphere which will become festive and loud for the event just like you were there live. Well not exactly…

So what does all of this mean for you and your business? How many of your clients or customers are interested in the World Cup? Are they from another country and cheering on their team? You should know this and speak with them about their hopes and expectations. You should know the results of the games so you may engage your clients and customers on these matches.

Another item of interest regarding these high level futbol matches. Each team represents their home country. This means the roster is filled with the most successful players in the world. The superstar players are often treated just like rock stars or given Hollywood level status. With as good as these players are – they are the best in the world – each team has a coach who runs the practices, the games and more. A coach! Every single team has a coach to guide each player to become a part of the team and achieve victory.

Why then, when stuck running your own business, do you feel you must figure out the solutions all by yourself? Are you not worthy? The best in the world have a coach to guide them, why not you?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced, certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Feeling down? How do you show up each day?

Feeling DownYour state of mind and your mood reflect to each person that you meet, and come in touch with, what you are about and who you are. This is not just in networking settings, it is everyone you meet, anywhere, and your family. It is how you are received when you present a workshop; it is how you are felt when you speak to an audience; it is how you are felt when you give someone a hug. How do you show up each day?

You might be saying, “But Mitch, you don’t understand…”

You are correct. Mitch does not understand your excuses. Want to know why?

Check out this YouTube link: Nick Vujicic

Does this have you thinking a bit differently about your personal troubles, your personal situation, your personal obstacles that you need to overcome? Do these now seem a bit insignificant?

Why do we get stuck? It is partially how we live our lives through habitual behaviors.

We get comfortable with our sameness. The regular routine is familiar to us. We do not want to live in discomfort. We oppose being challenged. When we are challenged after all, we may face failure. No one wants to fail.

Unless. Unless we understand that to fail is how we actually continue on a road toward success. Consider for a moment Thomas Edison. It is a well known fact Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879. It took him ten thousand times to discover how to create a light bulb which actually worked. He failed nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine times! When Edison was asked how he handled failing so many times, he responded, “I do not think I failed at anything, I learned nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine ways how not to make a light bulb.”

Here are a few items for you to consider. Watch the video link again. Consider the statement from Thomas Edison. Then ask yourself, “How am I showing up today?”

Whatever it takes, utilizing positive affirmations, thinking of Nick Vujicic or considering people like Thomas Edison, no one has achieved their goal and their success without failing first, and sometimes multiple times. If you feel you need more to get you out of your personal slump, work with a coach to bring you into your most effective and positive state of performance.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Are You A Coach? Part Two

Business CoachIn the previous article we discussed the business of saying you are a coach.

An excerpt from the previous article:

Everyone is saying they are a coach for anything. This is what has become of the term coach. When starting my own practice as a Business Consultant over ten years ago all that came to mind was my interest in adding value to others and mentoring type of work is what interested me. At that time, in my part of the world, if you said you were a coach to someone, the assumption was you were speaking about your volunteer work and they would ask you, “Good for you, Little League or Soccer?” The concepts of coaching were at that time very California or Boston based. Yes, there were books and a few coaches around here and there, it was not a mainstream topic and certainly not a fully recognized profession for someone to undertake for a living other than Major League Baseball or the National Football League or the NBA and other similar sports teams.

In this article you are taken a step further as we discuss, how are you better than your competition? How about what differentiates you from everyone else in your field?

There are multiple levels to consider when answering these questions. For example, Many people would speak up about their responsiveness and customer care. Other people may refer to how many years they have experiencing their area of expertise.

The key point here is the list has to be authentic and be about you and what you deliver. Here are three items you might consider or not. The point is to get you thinking about your three key differentiators.

Listen to my client.

Honestly, ask yourself, when is the last time you worked with someone who fully and intently were only focused upon you? Your needs, your interests, are the only things they cared about? This is how I work with my clients.

My Network Becomes Your Resource

One of the resources I have developed throughout my years of experience in a variety of business and life adventures is my network. When we work together my network is there to go to work for you.

Return On Investment

Many coaches are asked immediately, what do you charge per hour? We are not having that discussion. First we must meet to determine what your needs are? What exactly are you seeking? Then we need to determine your time frame to meet these goals? Once we determine these answers the investment decision will be clearly be yours to make.

What sets you apart from the pack? What are your three key differentiating attributes?

Why not begin by posting these as comments right here?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.

Are You A Coach? Part One

Business CoachIf you are saying to people you are a coach be ready for a sideways glance or two.

Everyone is saying they are a coach for anything. This is what has become of the term coach. When starting my own practice as a Business Consultant over ten years ago, all that came to mind was my interest in adding value to others, and mentoring type of work is what interested me. At that time, in my part of the world, if you said you were a coach to someone the assumption was you were speaking about your volunteer work and they would ask you, “Good for you, Little League or Soccer?” The concepts of coaching were at that time very California or Boston based. Yes, there were books and a few coaches around here and there. It was not a mainstream topic and certainly not a fully recognized profession for someone to undertake for a living other than Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the NBA, and other similar sports teams.

Today there is a proliferation of people who will say they are a coach. This will be from gardening, to your home décor, to dating and as in the ad, your pet. A coach for your pet!

What does this mean for you in your specific area of expertise? My suggestion is to absolutely focus on your specific area, skill or value you add. Consider leading with this term or these terms when describing what you do for people or businesses. For Example if you are a Marketing Pro and possibly call yourself a Marketing Coach – A few years ago “Marketing Guru” was perfect. Not so much any longer. “Explosive Marketing Genius”, “Marketing Made Easy Pro” or something which works for you, your personality and will speak to your audience.

The point is that you cannot just say you are a coach with or without a few words before or after the word coach, and assume this means anything to anyone. This is almost like announcing, “Yes, I am a living and breathing person.” Uh, okay, tell me a bit more please?

What else might you do? How about what differentiates you from everyone else? In fact, let’s call this article Part One and the next article we will cover that topic in Part Two!

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.