Most business owners set goals that are too small and refuse to take the very risks required for success.
I’ve owned a retail Financial Advisory business, serving individuals and families since 1981 and have been advising and mentoring other high-end Financial Advisors since 2002. I was a low-risk taker for the first 18 years of my career, then achieved great success.
Most successful entrepreneurs have coaches and I feel I had among the most elite and challenging business coaches helping me along the way. But what did they do that helped me succeed?
What did they teach me that made the difference between success and failure? Did I mention I almost starved for the first 2 years in the financial services industry? That my manager threatened to fire me every week for failure to acquire new clients, which was my sole job? So yes, I’ve tasted failure, and a lot of it. I recall one week when my electricity would have been shut off if I didn’t produce at least $500 in revenue that week (and even then I’d have to request an advance). Ouch.
So what was the coaching that snapped me out of my failure? There were 2 things my coaches said that changed everything for me. First, I was told my goals were too low. I laughed, explaining that I couldn’t set “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” when I’m struggling to keep my job, hanging on with my fingernails. Big Goals? No way.
But the advice was relentless. I was encouraged to set goals that, if achieved, would be life changing. So I set a goal that, if I could ever pull it off, was big enough to change my life forever. The goal I set was to move from last-place to first-place in generating revenue at my nationwide company, within 1 calendar year. As a result, I stopped thinking about small ways to increase revenue, and began thinking creatively. If I actually pulled it off, how would I do it? What are some big things that might actually work?
That leads to the 2nd piece of coaching that made the difference. Turns out that if I was to achieve my goal, I’d have to start doing things I’d always been uncomfortable with. I had to find ways to rub elbows with the most affluent people in our community. Afterall, those were the potential clients who could get me to my goal, but I was afraid to approach them.
The 2nd bit of coaching was to “go for it anyway.” I was encouraged and told that “what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” What? You think bumper-sticker psychology is going to work on me? Forget it. I’m an introvert with call-reluctance who should have never entered the financial services industry to begin with. What was I thinking? …or so I thought.
If only I had known that that stupid cliché was actually the primary difference between successful business owners and failures. The only thing that matters is taking action, solving the single most important obstacle between you and your goal. Then solving the next and the next. By the way, I did achieve my goal.
Responses