Throughout my years of coaching business owners, I’ve noticed that a lot of my clients have the same problems. In fact, there are three common business problems.
It doesn’t matter what business they run, how big their team is or even what industry they’re in.
Because these problems pop up in any business model. And if they aren’t fixed quickly, they can make your life even more stressful than it already is by slowly destroying your business.
The first type of common problem is to do with time.
They’re always busy or working nights and weekends but never make any progress.
They’re saying things to themselves like, “I’ve got too much to do and not enough time to do it” or,
“I feel like I’m just constantly just putting our fires” or,
“I feel disorganised, like things are slipping through the cracks”.
You’ve finally figured out that you are not going to grow your business by increasing your personal production. Working harder and longer isn’t the answer.
If you’re feeling stressed out around time or feeling guilty due to long hours and lack of family time. That’s probably your wake-up call that things have to change.
The second type is Team Problems.
They can’t seem to hire the right people.
Sometimes, they feel like it would be easier to do the work themselves than manage their employees.
This is about hiring the right team, getting the culture you want, getting the team focused on the priorities of the business, and getting whatever you need done at the level you need.
So, here’s an interesting question I often ask business owners struggling with team problems.
If you were to start your business again today, how many of your current team would you rehire?
If you have a team of 10 and the answer you gave yourself was 3, then you have team issues, and you might want to think about what I have to do with my team. The typical answer to this is around 5.
That typically means the bottom half of your team pissing off the top half. Or worse, the bottom half of your team pissing off your customers.
At any given time, on a scale of 1 to 10, I’d want to be at least an 8 to know my team was performing.
The third type is Money Problems.
They’re worried about cash flow and making payroll.
They always get paid last (if at all – because everything else comes first).
Even when more money starts to come in, it’s still never enough.
Money is an issue that usually has two dimensions.
One dimension is about being in control – having the necessary information – a dashboard, accounting, financials, reporting and KPIs in place.
So that at any given time, you can be in the pilot’s seat, and there’s a dashboard in place that gives you enough information that you know how well the business is operating and it is obvious what you need to correct or work on before it becomes an issue.
And, of course, the other side of money and more common is, I need more money.
I need better sales and marketing.
So, there’s good news and bad news.
The good news?
All of these are fixable if you take the right steps.
The bad news?
These are more than just business problems.
They end up becoming personal problems, too.
Especially if you’re always working.
You’re missing out on so much life with your friends, family and children.
How are you supposed to see your child’s school play or go to their sports games if you’re stuck in the office until 10 pm every night?
Look, it’s very easy for these to leak over into your personal life and cause a lot of stress outside of work.
If you know you aren’t going to be able to make payroll…
Or your team can’t perform how you wish they would…
Or you know you can’t pay yourself because there’s no money left over…
Then how are you going to be able to enjoy your time away from work and act like everything’s alright?
This is why it’s so important to fix these problems fast.
Because once they get too big and pour over into your personal life, it’s going to become even worse.
I help my clients fix these problems and become better business owners by working with them through the 5 Steps to Freedom.
You can learn more about the 5 Steps in my e-book: The Manageable and Valuable Business. Click here to download your copy.
Or if you’d like to take the fast track to building a better business, you can consider business coaching.
If you would like to learn more, book a complimentary 15-minute call with me at www.timewithshane.com
