10 Keys for the Business Owner to Surviving the Holidays and Staying Sane

Entrepreneurs are naturally inclined to wear many “hats” and have more to do than they have time for…and during the holidays it can get even worse if you don’t plan ahead! These 10 tips will help you not only survive the holidays, but stay sane and balanced as the new year approaches too.

1. Cut yourself some slack and realize you don’t have to do it all perfectly

Are your expectations of yourself unrealistic? If you think you can run a growing business AND host three holiday parties AND do all your holiday shopping and cards and decorating, all without breaking a sweat, they are! Realize that during this busy season, even the normal flow of business will be impacted by holiday planning. Purposely schedule yourself lighter than usual so you have space for the seasonal activities. Then, give yourself a break and let go of perfectionism! Instead of the “perfect” gift, get one that will be appreciated but doesn’t take an inordinate amount of time to select or prepare.

2. Schedule time now for shopping, card writing, etc.

It’s just now the first of December, so block out time in your planner, Dayrunner, Palm Pilot or online calendar designated to shopping, writing holiday cards, and decorating. That way you can focus on the task at hand and enjoy the season – not be distracted or worried that you “should” be working! And while we’re on the topic of holiday cards, consider a service like http://www.sendoutcards.com that will create and even mail the cards for you once you provide a list – or do an e-card or otherwise streamline the whole process.

3. Two words: gift cards!

In many situations, gift cards can be an even better gift than one you went to 10 stores and agonized over to personally select. Not only are they easily obtained either at http://www.giftcertificates.com or http://www.giftcards.com – and they send the card out for you too if you wish! – but they give the recipient a chance to select something they will really enjoy. No exchanging or awkward thank-yous for something they already have several copies of. And there are even sites like http://www.buyerzone.com/marketing/gift_cards/buyers_guide1.html where you can customize a gift card that will be good for your company and build goodwill in the process!

4. Give your clients the holidays off so you can too (and use part of the time for your 2007 planning)

Knowing you are feeling pressed for time during the holidays, your clients or customers probably are too. So why not give them a couple of weeks off – from coaching or consulting or training or whatever you provide – so that both they and you can focus on the holidays, which only come once a year after all! You can use some of this time to do your 2007 strategic planning (you’ve been trying to get to that, right?). And the rest – rest! Enjoy! Vacate! Take some long-needed time off to recharge your inner batteries for a prosperous new year.

5. Do something for someone less fortunate – you’ll feel better!

It has been proven that there is a “helper’s high” from helping another person. Whether it’s reading to the children at the library, petting or feeding animals at the shelter, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or any other kind of service work, you will benefit as much or more than the recipient. Try it!

6. Defer big projects till after the first of the year

Nowhere is it written that you must complete all your big projects AND do your normal work, holiday celebrations, and new year’s planning during the month of December! Ask yourself what large projects or product/program launches can be deferred until after New Year’s. You are in control of your schedule!

7. Talk with your coach about life/work balance strategies!

If you are an entrepreneur that is committed to outstanding success, you have your own coach, right? (And if you don’t, get one! See the directory of coaches here: http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/coaches-directory.htm) Discuss with your coach a strategy for remaining balanced during the holiday season. My recently deceased friend, Roger Herman (http://www.hermangroup.com) coined the term “life/work balance” instead of work/life balance to convey that life comes first – work second! Set clear intentions and goals that will allow you to keep this in mind throughout the next few weeks.

8. Plan your 2007 vacations and self-care days now

Far too many Americans are taking vacations any more – and entrepreneurs are among the worst offenders! You think you are indispensable, that the business can’t run without you, right? If that is really true, set a goal for 2007 to get people and systems in place so that it can! And if you know you are fooling yourself – that you can get away but just don’t – then block out four two-week vacations during 2007 plus at least a half-day (or a full day if you are ready!) each week you are working that is dedicated to self-care. Get a massage, do some drawing, walk in the woods or park, go to the beach – just let yourself be nurtured and recharged. Believe it or not, your business will run better if you do this, and you’ll enjoy it more, than if you work 24/7, 52 weeks a year – and end up owning a job instead of owning a business.

9. Spend at least 1 hour each day working “on” your business

Successful entrepreneurs don’t let themselves get sucked into the trap of constantly doing the work “of” the business – and never taking time to plan for and prepare the critical work they need to do “on” the business. This means developing systems to save time or money or streamline; survey customers to find out what improvements are needed; plan for the next quarter; evaluate how your strategies are working; meet with staff to help them be more proactive and relieve you of daily responsibilities; meet with your coach; watch a webinar or listen to a CD about a new development in your industry; etc. Make a date with yourself to do this one hour per day, 5 days per week – you will have worked the equivalent of several 40-hour weeks by 2007 year end if you plan this (and do it) now!

10. Set big goals – then break them down into smaller chunks and clear intentions

There’s an old saying that if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. The new year is an opportunity to set your sights higher, to have door-busting leaps in revenues and profits, to serve more customers than ever before – and you know the specifics (don’t you?) if your business was really growing the way you want it to. Set those goals now! Don’t worry about whether they’re “realistic” or “possible” – they’re all possible. But first you have to clarify what you want to achieve – and powers greater than yourself (God, the Universe, the Universal Force) will take care of the how. Yes, you will end up taking action on those goals – but you don’t need to let the fact that you don’t know what the action is yet, or how you would possibly achieve what you want – before you set the goal, along with a strong intention and emotional commitment to achieve it. Tom Watson, Founder of IBM, is said to have formed a vision very early on of what the company would look like when it was finished – and to compare each day’s activities to that vision until it happened. You can use this same principle to create the life and business you want next year!

Marcia Bench is Founder and Director of Career Coach Institute, LLC, http://www.careercoachinstitute.com, which trains and certifies individuals and staff groups in career coaching, entrepreneurial coaching, executive career coaching and retirement coaching. She and her companies are committed to “making work matter”™ through training coaches and their clients to express their authentic selves through work that is fulfilling and makes a positive contribution to the planet.

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If you do what you love, will the money follow?

It was Marsha Sinetar, back in the 1980’s, who popularized this notion in her book, Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow. Is it always true? Or ever true?

Many people I have coached or spoken with over the course of my career have expressed disillusionment with this idea. They think it means that they think of the most unlikely prospect for earning a living, state their desire, and sit back and wait for it to happen. But that is not the way it works (and I think Marsha would agree!).

At Career Coach Institute, our mantra is to “make work matter.”™ That means that whether we’re a coach or client (a worker in any of thousands of professions), our work meets four criteria: it is (1) fun, (2) meaningful, (3) allows us to contribute our uniqueness, and (4) meets our financial needs.

Sometimes we try to do what we love and the money doesn’t follow. That can be a sign that we haven’t thought creatively enough about it – by combining other skillsets, working in our own business doing that instead of working for someone else, etc. – or that we have chosen a field whose rewards are more psychic and emotional than financial.

Today’s creative workers may have a “portfolio career,” in which they do several different things, some of which pay the bills and some of which are simply for the satisfaction of doing them. There is no law that says our “day job” has to meet all of our emotional AND financial needs – but when we get clear on our Authentic Vocation,™ as we teach it at Career Coach Institute, then BOTH financial and emotional/spiritual needs are met. And it has met the Business Reality test so that it also meets our financial needs.

To find a coach to help you define your Authentic Vocation, visit our coaches directory at http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/coaches-directory.htm

And to learn to coach others to find theirs, visit http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/our-training-program.htm OR plan to attend (or listen to) our live Training Update on the latest trends in coaching, coach training, and creating a more fulfilling future. This forum will occur Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 3 pm Eastern time – register here: http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/forum.htm If you register at this page, you will receive access to the mp3 file of the forum too, along with a special gift, “20 Ways to Double Your Income This Year.”

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Live and Work Authentically

One of the biggest needs people have today is to find meaning in their life. And many people eventually want that to incorporate their spirituality so that they can live authentically – in their work, their relationships, their parenting, their health, and throughout their life. CCI graduate and Professional Certified Career Coach Ann Ronan, Ph.D., suggests there are at least 10 ways to live authentically:
Top Ten Ways to Live Authentically

1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.

2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? List your top four needs and get them met!

4. Know your passions
Honor those things that make your heart sing. Whatever it is, do more of it!

5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind.

6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths.

7. Take time to play
Give yourself time to recharge doing things you love to do or by just doing nothing.

8. Be aware of your self-talk
Are you blocking your potential? Check out your first thoughts when you wake tomorrow. Are they supportive, encouraging or positive? Choose the kind of chatter that’s goes on in your mind. Become aware of the negative messages you give yourself. Gently catch them and turn them into positive affirmations.

9. Surround yourself with inspiration
Keep a success journal. Write down your four or five greatest strengths and post them where you can see them. On the last Friday of each month, write down all your accomplishments both big and small.

10. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others - your spirit – your essence.

Ann is facilitating an information session, “Discover How to Help Clients Blend Their Spirituality With Their Work” on Wed. Nov. 30 at 6 pm Eastern time. If this topic resonates with you, we invite you to attend. It’s certainly a core reason why I founded Career Coach Institute and why we continue to include the spiritual perspective in our programs.

Also, so you know, Ann offers a FREE e-course on the Top Ten Ways To Live Authentically. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and content packed teleseminars, visit www.authenticlifeinstitute.com ©2004 Ann Ronan

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“Don’t Worry, Be Crappy”

At the recent International Coach Federation conference in St. Louis, MO, keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki, former product evangelist for Apple Computer, challenged the coaches in the audience as he talked about the Art of Innovation.

Two points that struck home with me were these:

“2. Don't worry, be crappy. An innovator doesn't worry about shipping an innovative product with elements of crappiness if it's truly innovative. The first permutation of a innovation is seldom perfect--Macintosh, for example, didn't have software (thanks to me), a hard disk (it wouldn't matter with no software anyway), slots, and color. If a company waits--for example, the engineers convince management to add more features--until everything is perfect, it will never ship, and the market will pass it by.

"3. Churn, baby, churn. I'm saying it's okay to ship crap--I'm not saying that it's okay to stay crappy. A company must improve version 1.0 and create version 1.1, 1.2, ... 2.0. This is a difficult lesson to learn because it's so hard to ship an innovation; therefore, the last thing employees want to deal with is complaints about their perfect baby. Innovation is not an event. It's a process.”

We launched the first Career Coach Institute web site in January 2001, just 45 days after the “moment of inspiration” hit me to combine my then 15 years of career development expertise with my just-completed coach training. How did we launch in 45 days? By using the “don’t worry, be crappy” principle. Not that we released bad content (at least not on purpose!). The point is that when you have the basic outline and structure of your widget (in this case career coach training course) prepared and the initial “beta” chapters ready for use, LAUNCH! Write the rest as you go – and let your students inform the content by their feedback.

What I didn’t expect is that I’d spend the next 4 years writing and rewriting content, developing new niche programs (we now offer spiritual career coaching, retirement coaching, executive career coaching, practice-building for coaches, coach as strategic partner, and more!) – and that the same principle would apply each time.

THEN, once it was released and the content written over the 12 weeks of the course term, it was refined, updated, and then version 2.0 was released for the next term. And people have loved it!

To see the full Top 10 list for the Art of Innovation (and other cool top 10 lists too), visit Guy’s blog at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_art_of_inno.html

And to see Career Coach Institute’s latest innovations (released November 14!) in streamlined coach training programs with maximum value (now including FREE admission to our Sept. 2007 LIVE in-person Career Coaching Conference!), visit www.careercoachinstitute.com and check out the drop-down menus at the top to peruse all of our offerings. You’re sure to find one that works for you!

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Global Coaching Survey Continues

The ICF international conference is over, and what a conference it was! Nearly 1500 coaches from over 30 countries gathering to learn how to give even more to their clients. We will be sharing a few more insights from keynoters over coming posts.

But first, just in case you are a coach and didn't know about the Global Coaching Survey that is currently being conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, we want to be sure you do! It is open to all coaches and is designed to provide a snapshot of who coaches are and how they work, what specialties they choose, education level and other demographic information, and more. You can sign up to complete the survey at https://www.pwcresearch.com/uc/coachingsurveyregistration/.

At the conference in St. Louis, some of the preliminary findings were shared. And I was personally quite surprised by one of them: over 70% of coaches responding to the survey (over 3000 to date) expect to stay in the coaching profession for at least 10 years!! With the average job lasting less than 2 years today, this is an amazing statistic! I've often made the comment that I have yet to meet a coach that says to me, "Man, if I could just find something else to do, I'd get out of this coaching business." On the contrary! Coaches LOVE what they do - and their enthusiasm is contagious, spreading willingly to their clients, associates, and others in their life! No wonder they want to stay for 10 years of more...

Other findings included:

• 70% of the respondents are female, 30% male
• 51% are educated at college level or above
• 46% have been coaching for 5 years or longer
• 58% of respondents coach part-time (this is likely to change as the industry matures we suspect)
• 66% of respondents have received coach-specific training through anm ICF accredited coach training program (like Career Coach Institute, www.careercoachinstitute.com)
• the leading coaching specialties are leadership, executive, and life vision and enhancement

The full report will be out in February 2007. But if you want to participate, you must complete the survey by November 20 at the above link.

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It takes a new mind to work effectively today

I'm writing this from the annual conference of the International Coach Federation (www.coachfederation.org) in St. Louis, where I and many of the students of Career Coach Institute are attending to learn from and share with our fellow coaches. Over 1300 people are here, it's a record gathering! And already the energy is high (it's only the first day!).

Tomorrow's keynote speaker is a fellow author, Dan Pink, speaking about "A Whole New Mind" (his latest book). Having read his book and heard him speak previously, I have to enthusiastically recommend it as containing valuable insights about what's changing about work today. Say goodbye to the "knowledge worker," say hello to "a whole new mind" - which requires the use of BOTH left and right brain, along with six key "senses" that are absolutely critical to success in work today and tomorrow.

Skills that we have in the past thought were frivolous (play, imagination, meaning, etc.) are now becoming more highly valued, and the linear skills of organizing, analyzing, and evaluating are giving way to them. For more about the book, see excerpt here: http://www.danpink.com/excerptwnm.php

What I find most compelling about Dan Pink's latest work is that it moves us as workers to become more wholistic, more complete, more integrated as we approach our work - regardless of what kind of work we do. Authentic Vocation (the model of career design we teach at Career Coach Institute) indeed does this too: it inquires into life purpose as well as skills, desired work environment as well as motivators. And it asks the worker-in-transition to tell stories about times they felt highly motivated, as well as complete checklists about key values. Integration and wholism is truly the key to successful career design as well as work in the future!

Marcia Bench, CCI Founder/Director

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