Develop Yourself to Develop Your (Small or Solo) Business
Many Solo Professionals like myself are in a challenging situation. (I'm a Recovering Solo Lawyer and a Solo High-Performance Coach). So often, we have to be good at so many things but we are many times strapped for time in our schedules. As the owner of a solo legal business for over 25 years, I know that most Solo Lawyers and other small business professionals have limited time, energy, and other resources available to spend on self-development. Yet, at the same time, Solopreneurs are in a position to gain perhaps more than business employees from improving their mindset, knowledge and skills. It’s a tough balancing act for a Solo, and one that must be managed well.
If you’re a Solopreneur, try these ideas to successfully undertake self-development projects that will make a difference in your business:
Carefully consider what you need to learn. Assess your needs and weaknesses and make a decision about what you need to learn. What will most add to your life or your business? Solopreneurs are short for time, so it’s important to make a wise decision about how to spend your self-development time.
Ask yourself, “What would most benefit my life or happiness?”
Then ask yourself, “What would most benefit my business?” Here are a few suggestions:
Closing skills. It’s hard to make money without customers or clients. Closing skills can be among the most valuable for a Solo Business Professional. If you don’t have all the income you desire, enhancing your closing skills might be a logical choice for your self-development efforts.
Marketing skills. If people don’t know about your business, you’re going to struggle. There are tons of inexpensive marketing choices available today for small business professionals. Maybe your business will benefit massively if you strengthen this important skill.
Social skills. Networking, gaining, and maintaining customers and clients is a big part of a Solo Business Professional’s job. If your social skills are subpar, your business will struggle. Everyone can benefit from greater social skills, whether they’re a Solopreneur or not.
Public speaking. Depending on your business, this can be a very useful skill. It can build confidence and comfort when dealing with people. Speaking at conferences can be a good way to market and sell your services or products to a larger audience.
Goals. Do you have goals? Many solopreneurs would benefit from having a set of reasonable and applicable goals to work toward. Setting and striving for goals is a valuable skill to develop. It’s a skill that will be useful in more areas of life than just small business.
Confidence, focus and perseverance. These are three qualities all solopreneurs could use more of. If you’re lacking in any of these areas, consider implementing a program that builds on one or more of these characteristics.
The ability to deal with stress. Solopreneurs are frequently pressed for time and stretched in many directions. Stress and overwhelm can be part of the fabric of the Solopreneurs’ lifestyle unless he or she gets good at being relaxed, present and confident. Meridian Tapping has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to reduce stress and overwhelm and it can be done on oneself. For more information on tapping: Click here
Health. Many small business professionals fail to care for themselves properly. (Is that you?) Too little sleep, too many skipped meals, poor food quality, and a lack of exercise are serious impediments to good health. Making your health a priority and building some healthy habits might be the best way to spend your self-development time.
Relationships. Solopreneurs are notorious for having troubled relationships. The time commitment of running a solo professional business and the stress that goes along with it can be a real strain on any relationship. Perhaps learning how to reconnect is the best skill you can learn at this time.
Now decide what area of self-development will best serve your business or life.
Solo Business Professionals are very often short on time, so they must approach self-development intelligently and efficiently. Do you mostly want more clients or do you want to enhance your health? Is managing your time the best skill for you to learn at this time? Take a few minutes right now and look at your situation and decide on how you will allocate your self-development hours for the best return given your priorities.
Joe Mitchell, Esquire is a High-Performance Coach and EFT (Tapping) Practitioner, who has logged over 35 years of in-depth study of personal and spiritual development. In his studies, he has done hundreds of self-development courses, spiritual retreats, and health-related workshops. Coach Joe is a certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher, NLP Practitioner, and a graduate of three coaching academies. Two years after he graduated from Harvard Law School, he became a monk for five years. In 2016, after over 20 years as a solo criminal and personal injury attorney, he decided to turn his heart's passion into a career as a Success Coach, Motivational Speaker, and Trainer. For information on Coach Joe’s programs, high-performance videos and to apply for a Free High-Performance Session click the following link http://www.activateyourgreatness.com/free-session