Help for Your Small Business & You

When you own and operate a small business or are thinking of maybe starting one the act of hiring others to assist you in defining, fully understanding and growing your vision can play a crucial part in its future success.  Let’s face it, many small business owners are driven to succeed and spend much of their time in one or two areas of their business where they feel comfortable or excel at, like sales or operations.  Not paying needed attention to all areas like strategic planning, marketing, process improvement, pricing, finance, accounting, matching the right people to the right job function or motivating your employees can cause your business many additional challenges that simply can be avoided.

You may have built your business to where it is today by focusing only on certain key areas, but time needs to be spent on the other areas of your business as it grows, but it does not have to be your time.  Bringing in an outside set of eyes can get some of these activities done right away and bring a new perspective to you while helping your business succeed and grow to another level.

A qualified consultant, mentor or coach can listen and privately discuss how they see your business running and growing as a whole or in one of the areas you, as the owner, may not have time or the skills to spend developing.  They can act as a sounding board for your thoughts and should understand how you see your business working while playing devil’s advocate and brainstorming new ideas to help you create innovative ways to grow your business.  By using this type of professional person periodically you should be able to execute more strategic plans, accomplish more of your goals and increase your probability of further success while staying competitive in your market.  Have you thought of using someone like this as an avenue to further your business growth or fix some of the challenges your business faces?

There are many qualified people that can provide many different levels of professional help to you and your small business.  As a small business owner, you owe it to yourself to use these outside sources to assist you in perfecting your business processes and give you additional perspectives to consider.  Some of these professionals also will assist you with balancing your personal life as well as your business.

Below are some well known sources and organizations offering consulting, coaching and mentoring to individuals and small business owners:

Anthony Robbins is well known as a world authority on leadership psychology, successful entrepreneur and business strategist, philanthropist, award winning speaker and authority on peak performance and life coaching.  You might consider looking into his programs under Business Results Coaching. You can learn more at http://www.tonyrobbins.com/biography/

Michael Gerber is the well known author of the E-Myth as well as 13 other business coaching books.  He is considered to be one of the “best small business guru’s” assisting small businesses grow and prosper.  You might consider looking into one of his offerings called “The Dreaming Room”.  You can learn more at http://michaelegerbercompanies.com/web/about-michael/

Dave Ramsey  is well known as a trusted voice on money and business.  His four New York Times best-selling books – Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover, and EntreLeadership have sold over 7 million copies combined.  You might consider looking into his seminars on building and growing a business.  You can learn more at  https://www.daveramsey.com/careers/about-dave

SCORE  (Service Corp of Retired Executives) is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small business get off the ground, grow and achieve the business goals through education and mentorship of the owner.  With nearly 11,000 volunteers who offer you the business owner, real life experience and mentorship FREE, just for the asking, they are a great place to seek out qualified advice to start and grow your business.  They have been around for 50 years.

LifeLongU™  is about helping individuals and small businesses develop, grow and share with others while learning to chart your course and live your dreams.  LifeLongU™ helps you work on understanding and improving yourself, using your time wisely and developing additional income streams through small business development.  Their unique coaching approach may work well for a business owner to bring growth and balance to their personal and professional life.  You might consider looking into their programs at https://lifelongu.com/coaching/.

Local professionals in your area may also be a great source of help to you in areas you may not have time for or feel you are not qualified to run.  Many of them can bring unique knowledge from your local market and provide you with new insight if you simply give them a call.  These local professionals cover all types of areas including life and business; don’t be shy about calling several of them and discussing a challenge you may be facing.

This blog is intended to offer a business owner and entrepreneur some sources of outside help they may not have previously considered from like minded professionals interested in personal and business growth and development.  I look forward to your comments below…

Gary J. Kiecker

LifeLongU™