I love talking to business owners. I’m talking about the ones so passionate about their business it just flows out of their pores. It feels like they are going to explode if they don’t tell you about how amazing everything is. I find myself getting wrapped up in their energy and wishing I could sit on their shoulders as they rocket to the stars while witnessing their journey. It is true life is all about the journey. The excitement of a new business idea is near the top of my list.

Fast forward a couple of years down the line, the business is successful. You, the business owner, have learned a ton about all the things you never thought about when jumping into a business you loved. It is a labor of love. Now, it is time to take the next step and stop doing everything yourself. It is time to make some tough decisions to move beyond this point. Is it time to take a vacation? Is it time to bring some full time employees on board? Is it time to find help with books? What is one big thing that you’ve been procrastinating? Did you purchase a CRM but haven’t had time to put all the names from your spreadsheet or stack of business card in it yet? Does your marketing strategy need a bit of a refresh or some automation to spread the word to even more people? Is one part of your business taking up way too much time or not profitable enough?

Congratulations, you have arrived. Take a deep breath. Review your numbers. Revisit your vision for the business.  Are there opportunities to make things more efficient in terms of time and money to help with the bottom line? There almost always are. What about some things to help drive even more business and help the top line. The gap between what is coming in and what is going out is what you can use. Does it go back into growing the business or flow onto your personal balance sheet?

I’ve found it is tough to find anyone that can truly identify with this situation. The percentage of people that have successfully launched their own business and taken it to that first level of success is pretty small. Therefore, finding someone who recently went through exactly the same thing and has time to spare to help give you guidance is understandably difficult. There are a lot of people looking to sell you products to alleviate your pain, but you don’t have time evaluate them. There are people promising to make you feel better by learning to relax or joining their support group. While they can identify with you, they aren’t rolling up their sleeves and helping you get things done right now. Your family and friends support you but there is a limit to what they can do.

What you want is someone who can identify with what you are dealing with and help you get unstuck or move past the grind?

• Someone to bounce ideas off.
• Someone to help find those inefficiencies and guide implementation of solutions.
• A catalyst to help you look at where you are and where you want to go, then push you to make decisions to take your business in that direction.

Help has arrived. Welcome to the Entrepreneurs’ Collaborative Network.

Leave a comment or reach out by email or phone.

Dan