I can’t possibly imagine what you can do to help me. I’ve been in business for 18 years”. Two weeks after this woman told me that she had a going out of business sale and closed her doors forever. Yikes. Talk about fear of success? Or some other type of fear. But, you know what? I’ve got some of those same thoughts going through my head at times and I’m wondering if you’ve ever had that voice in your head telling you that you could be and do it all alone? There’s something about letting someone else in to share your “baby”, isn’t there?
If you’ve ever found yourself in this place, you’ve probably felt the overwhelm of trying to do it, but maybe wishing you had a better handle on what to do to get the best results — more money, more clients, more time … whatever it is that’s on the top of your wish list for your business. You probably also know that when you work with others you find yourself with more ideas, better strategies, thoughts that you probably would never have had on your own, or reassurances that thoughts you do have are the right direction in which to head. Does any of this sound familiar?
So, what do you do? I can recommend a few different things. Things like finding a good coach/mentor, or joining a mastermind program, or even joining a peer advisory board. But. what do these things do to help? Regardless of which program you join, one of the main aspects is that there is no judgment and that all thoughts are honored. As well, there is usually a strict code of confidentiality involved so that when you share something, it stays strictly within the group. That should make you feel safer about sharing. All too often I’ve heard people complain that something they’ve said or written has appeared verbatim on someone else’s Facebook or website. For the most part, this doesn’t happen in these groups and if it does, it’s dealt with immediately. So, deep breath — you’re in a safe space.
The next thing that such programs can do for you is to give you new ideas and to validate those that you might already have been thinking about. For instance, you may have decided that you want to start a monthly promotional program where someone receives something for signing up for a newsletter or buying a product, etc. You share this idea with the others in the group. What will happen? They will tell you one of three things — that’s a great idea, perhaps it needs to be redesigned, or they might share their own examples of similar programs and projects — telling you how well or bad they had worked for them. Now, it’s your responsibility to be open minded enough to “think about it”. Don’t just sit there and say, “Nope. Been there, done that, not gonna do it again.” But truly think about what they’ve said. Perhaps you really DON’T want to do it. But look at why, what’s wrong, good, or lukewarm. You work it out with the help and support of the group. Now, isn’t that better than trying to figure out all sides by yourself?
A third, and perhaps unexpected benefit of these programs is that you get to support the others in the group as much as they support you. It becomes a great feeling when you know that your thoughts and advice are actually helping another business grow. Your caring and consideration for these others starts to build a relationship where you become eventually much more than business colleagues. You find new business partners, vendors, clients, all kinds of things where the people KNOW YOU, LIKE YOU and TRUST YOU. Heard that before? It’s true and comes from a natural place — not one where you’ve artificially gotten someone to get something from you.
All in all once you get over your fears of “letting go” and allowing others to help, you will find your business and yourself, growing and becoming bigger and better. You will Soar Higher. I can feel those wings growing as we speak.
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