Got A Business Backbone?

If you are new to your own business or come from a corporate or a therapeutic practice background, figuring out the “new rules of business” can be confusing.

• You want to be pragmatic and have a heart at the same time.
• You find yourself trying to give away too much.
• You watch how other people do their business and decide you don’t want to do it the way they do.

Confusing!

How do you figure out what to do, especially when you’re just beginning or are frustrated with the lack of income and clients in your business?

Step 1- Find a coach or mentor who has done what you want to do. Experienced people who are successfully doing what you want to do in your business already exist. Their experience can help you hop over potholes that will limit you and slow down your business growth.

A great place to start with low- or no-cost coaching and mentoring is SCORE (previously known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives, but is now recognized as "Counselors to America's Small Business") and your local Small Business Development Center. These centers are often associated with community or technical colleges or universities and have programs to help you in all aspects of business.

There are coaches who offer programs on everything from money management to marketing and sales to productivity. There may be one (or more) that are right for you. If you do invest with a coach, make sure that you share similar values. Your coach will be influencing you and your thinking. S/he will be asking you to take actions and risks that may feel uncomfortable at first. Trusting your coach is essential as you learn new business skills and take actions that lead to success.

Step 2 – Decide what’s most important to you in your business.

What’s ideal and what’s a deal breaker?

Maybe your Ideal is having a lot of referral business so that you don’t have to do a lot of marketing and sales. (Frankly, this is what everyone in small business dreams of, but happens rarely. Running a successful small business involves a lot of work. It will ask you to learn and to do things you don’t like doing or feel uncomfortable doing. But that’s the game of business and stretching past your comfort zone is why it’s such a great teacher, personal growth accelerator, and wealth builder.)

A Deal Breaker for you may be manipulating someone to give you money. Yes, it’s been done forever and happens in business every day. But that’s not the way business HAS to be done!

There’s a New Way of Business that involves the head and the heart and comes from service. Many small business owners got into a service business to SERVE. Learning smart business practices and applying them in alignment with your values will help you serve more people and be rewarded for it.

Step 3 – Aligning Your Head, Your Heart, and Your “Home” Center will give you a more balanced approach to your business. It will help you become a better problem-solver and become more valuable to your ideal clients.

Here’s a simple exercise for you to try from the Art of Feminine Presence™ created by Rachael Jayne Groover. (I am a licensed Art of Feminine Presence™ Teacher.)

You can try it on your own or with a friend.

First Position – Think about a business challenge with your awareness in your Head on your thoughts and mind.

Notice what comes to mind. If you are with a friend, talk to her about what you are thinking.

Notice if keeping your awareness in your Head helps you find a solution to your business challenge.

Second Position – Think about a business challenge with your awareness evenly assigned to your Head, your Heart, and your “Home” Center. Your “Home” Center is in your pelvis about 3 inches below your belly button and in the center of your body.

Notice what comes to mind. If you are with a friend, talk to her about what you are aware of.

Notice if spreading your awareness to your Head, Heart, and “Home” Center help you find a solution to your business challenge.

This second position is what I call your “Business Backbone” because all of you is involved – your brilliant mind, your caring heart, and your wise body. With all three aspects of you represented in the problem-solving process, you get a much better answer than if your mind is the only part of you contributing!

Business is a game with rules. Using your Business Backbone and aligning your energy between your Head, Heart, and “Home” will help you know how you want to play the game, what you value, and how to be a better problem-solver for your clients. And that will make you more valuable and attractive to the people who want to work with you.

This week, practice your “Business Backbone” and notice the differences you experience in your business.