Networking Now

Virgin likes to think it has a personal touch but i bet you can't get in touch with mr branson at 23:30, life is all about balance with work and spare time, doesn't mean you have to be a slave to your clients, think about that hourly rate, that pays the bills, no point running your own company for £1.79 an hour for eighty hours a week just to think you are independant, and your own boss, i'd rather get paid £5.80 stacking shelfs for 40 hours and enjoy my family and not have the stress, my personnal balance is i split my day up, as i work from home i spend time with my children( i'm currently in lounge with them now whilst they finish breakfast) work inbetween, my time spent with clients is limited as only can manage upto twelve in a week ( my choice) so i do around three aday (don't do wednesdays much as wife has day off), i sort lunch out do some house work, tea, then settle down in evening to do work, the web allows me to research issues at anytime. my past life meant i missed alot of my older childrens younger days and i missed alot, i don't intend to do that with my new ones. My work works around them, i know i'm lucky to be able to do this, but i made that possible by not taking on too much and planning what i wanted in life.

Could not agree more Colin, I get so much done in the daytime relating to normal life, and a lot of work is done in the evenings, seriously dented a site last night, due to pure mania! :)

I think balance is key

Assuming most people on here are tiny, tiny and probably quite happy.

What's the best stage to be coached from, for the following:

a) Homeworkers
b) Sole Traders
c) Companies with no staff other than Directors
d) Partnerships similar to C where the collective bring the work in

And what's the main benefit you would deliver...bearing in mind they would be spending their time on coaching too.

If you are tiny you really need help! If you are not retired yet or financially able to be retired, you need help, I know that some of the largest companies in the world use business coaches, ever heard of Tony Robbins?

That's so not true.

People talk about small business like it's a disease. People don't need help. They are usually quite happy having worked very hard to get where they are.

Not everybody has the same aspirations in life.
Not everybody wants to be a millionaire / not working / etc.

They day you stop working is the day you'll slow down...seen it / heard it / not for me thanks. I'm happy to work as long as I can. Anyone looking for quick fixes is likely to burn out...!! I've seen this too. No point burning out.

People choose to work for themselves and choose how they operate. Small Business is not a disease it is not forced either. It is chosen.

To me, tiny, tiny could be 2 Directiors and £ 150,000 turnover. Or could be 2 Partners similar turnover and 1 member of staff as a book keeper. It could also mean Sole Trader...who choses that route because they want to work for themselves.

On that basis, what can coaching do for them?

Everybody needs a coach, i use one. It doesn't matter the size of the business that you run, whether you want global domination or happy working through life and selling up and living off want you've earnt. Coaching is all about finding a balance and helping you to remain focused enough to acheive want you want in life, its not for everyone, but everyone could benefit from it.
If you think back to the time you started your business, what did you dream about that night, about what you wanted your business to achieve and how your life would be improved.
Now think about the answer as you are, are you there yet, if not why not, do you have a plan for how your going to get there. Everyone who starts there own business is a entrepreneur at heart, and who wouldn't want financial security for there retirement and there families.
A plumber might like being a plumber at the start but as he gets older does he really want to be doing it at 65. A coach is there to help improve your performance by making you think about your decisions and to remain focused on what you want.
I'm a fanatic cyclist, i'm no lance armstrong but i could get close if i had his coaching team, who help him to train, remain focused on his training and pushing him to the limit of what can be done on a bike. A coach in business is no different.
My main client base is made up of small businesses with less than a £250000 turnover, in time they won't be in the frame anymore, buts thats not down to any fantastic solutions to there business that i've told them, its down to me asking them questions about where they want to be and how they intend to get there, i'm their nagging wife, their ears, their point of contact if they just need a confidence boost to make that important decision that could really make a difference.
plus how many people do you know who say their don't want to be a millionaire but still do the lottery, if they can all stop my chancing of winning might improve.

regards

I think that any company/person that does not look to improve your company is not the kind of company that I would work with. But that is just my personal experience.

Without improvement we would still be using a horse and cart to get about, it means lots of things, and when you get to the real nitty gritty of it we all need to improve.

That's all interesting stuff.

I like what you say Maxim, I think it's great.

In terms of the Lottery. I don't do it. In terms of companies I work with, I like them to be stable and able to delvier. Don't want them changing too much. Too many lose cannons is never good for business. The Email Marketing Suite at Digital Stationery was a big investment. It's from a stable and reaonable sized company I can rely on.

I'm liking what I hear.