4 KEYS TO ENDING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ALONENESS BLUES

I’ve found myself guiding several of my clients this past week as they sort this out. Their aloneness stems from immersing themselves whole heartedly in their passion as they create their business. They have a clear Vision for what they want to achieve, and they’re stellar at keeping their attention on the goal.

My new client Mark commented that he realized he’d built a business model that had him playing nearly every single position on a football team. It didn’t matter how fabulous the touchdowns were, when he turned around in the end zone, no one was watching. And he keeps work and home life separate so even evenings and weekends when he goes home there’s no one to report to for a congratulations pat as he leaves the field.

And that’s not all!

Not only did he not have teammates to help get it done, there was no cheering from the stands, and no coach on the side lines to run ideas by.

Mark is not the only one living that “I’ll get it done alone” life.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners and professionals alike become so focused and driven that they are missing all the critical elements, the balancing aspects of team and relationship. As you read this you probably have images flashing in your mind about what they’re missing, and about what you’re missing.

And I mean ‘missing’ in more than one way. In fact here are just four:

I mean it first from the perspective of a coach. It pains me watching my folks do it the hard way when they don’t need to. When they’ve finally had enough of proving they can do it all on their own, we design their work so they can start handing portions of it off to others to ease and accelerate getting it done.

Then there’s the perspective of a business owner. If Mark keeps doing it all himself, then he is his business. That’s it. There’s no way around the fact that Mark is creating his key role as ‘single point of failure’ in nearly every aspect of the business! So we’re working to shift Mark from being the primary ‘doer’ through becoming a Manager of his business with others doing the lion’s share of the actual work, under his supervision. Over time, Mark will be come the cheering section for his team as they take the field to deliver customer delight.

And let’s not forget the perspective of a fellow problem solver. In my own work I encounter issues that need problem solving. When I rely only on my own ideas and experience I may miss even better solutions that others might come up with. The same holds for my clients. I’ve created three different mastermind groups for myself where I have colleagues that I run ideas by to get input. My clients learn to create the sounding board that enriches their decision-making. Nothing beats having others with experienced eyes standing close to the sideline with real time feedback and practical suggestions that support my efforts. Just as I’ve created that support system for myself, I’m working with Mark to identify peers he can build relationships with to exchange ideas with.

There is even the perspective of a customer. If Mark is the one and only person a client can turn to with a question, a need, a problem that needs solving, then the customer is at risk. Not only is Mark’s business at risk if a customer leaves, but the customer is at risk if Mark decides to take a vacation! Expanding the team means Mark will be able to assure his customers of the continuity of support they depend on for their own business safety.

Each of those perspectives leads to simple and straightforward solutions. Mark’s success will be strengthened when he fills in the missing pieces of people to delegate to, peer advisers to boost his own productivity and an organization structure that secures his and his clients businesses. All of these steps lead to High Payoff results.

So if you find yourself doing it all on your own, put a team in place and you’ll break free of the doing-it-all-yourself blues!