Business Coach Firm

I speak with a lot of small business owners, and although they don’t all come out make this statement, most hint at it. After years of sacrifice and hard work, they can see no clear light at the end of the tunnel. In many cases they are reliving Groundhog Day-esque examples of the repetitious cycle of routine business work. They’re suffering from the “I have to get up and do it all again” syndrome. They have long lost the excitement and passion associated with the concept of starting a company. Another day seems more like a prison sentence than an opportunity. I call this feeling sleepwalking.

We are all guilty of some form of sleepwalking in our lives. Just go in your car and take a trip. If you are like me, most of what you see and experience while driving will be forgotten. The day-to-day becomes familiar, and we cruise through each week, absorbed by the urgent and too tired to be open to change. Sleepwalking and complacency walk hand in hand, leading us down a dangerous path. Your business is killing you, because there is no end, no goal and no exciting completion to all your hard work. And, that is just not a fun place to be.

It doesn’t have to be that way! Our business is a place designed by our imagination that has the potential to give us everything we need and want. I know that sounds like bull, but stay with me. You made a conscious decision to go into business, didn’t you? You could make a conscious decision to walk into a wall, but that would hurt, right? My point is that your decision was made because you wanted pleasure not pain. So, why are we so willing to accept pain as a result in our business?

The remedy lies in re-engaging with your vision. Go back to the beginning by asking yourself these questions:

1. What will my business look like when it’s done?
2. What do I love about my company?
3. What do I hate about my company?
4. What do I have to add to my company?
5. What do we offer that has little real value to our clients?
6. How do I want to interact with my creation time-wise?
7. What would more balance between work and life look like?

Sleepwalking is dangerous. For your sake and for the welfare of the entire company, wake up! Everyone wants to feel the owner has a vision, is excited and committed to the future. It’s hard to convey that passion if your sleepwalking through each day.

You go into a new small business and need help. Who can you trust? Your first thought is of your family or relatives. After all, they are the ones who love and care about you more than anyone else on the planet, right? Well, yes and no. Blood may be thicker than water, but it isn’t always thicker than money and envy. I have had numerous clients in family businesses, and unfortunately, most of these companies struggle with unique challenges.

There is a saying I refer to many times in my seminars and private practice, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Nowhere is this more true than in family-owned small businesses. The troubles that face this type of business are many. First and foremost, there can only be one leader in any company. Call them the President, CEO or King, someone has to make the final, and often difficult, decisions alone. The buck stops somewhere, or else the business becomes dysfunctional. Usually, in family-owned enterprise there are simply too many cooks in the kitchen.

Another point to consider is that you are not just dealing with a brother, sister or cousin; you are involved with spouses, children and all of the extended family that surround them. If it is best for the business that a relative be demoted, moved or even fired, the aftershocks of such a decision can affect every holiday and family gathering for the rest of your life. If the other family member happens to be your husband or wife, the situation gets even more intense. Not only are you suffering at work, but you take that angst home with you every night and your private life can be destroyed.

Here are some simple suggestions that may ease some of the stresses associated with having loved ones in your company.

1. Decide who is in charge, and stick to that decision no matter how uncomfortable the circumstances are.
2. Don’t have general discussions. Instead, assign specific tasks and responsibilities that are time and goal driven.
3. It is not my way, it is always the company way. Exceptions should not be given to people just because they are family.
4. Don’t be vague.
5. It is better to face uncomfortable issues daily rather than allow them to build into resentment and distrust.

Most of all, remember that your business is not you or your family. It is a living entity that has needs and follows rules that have nothing to do with your or your relatives needs. Always do what is best for the business.