How're you feelin’ now that you’re your own boss?

June 3, 2014
Do you get outta bed in the morning, excited to get started, or are you facing another grind? Granted, change ain't easy, but it's necessary. People who join business groups, or get a coach, or hire a consultant are eight times more likely to succeed than those who don't.  

Yep, how are you feelin'? Not just, “How are you feelin' today?” but, “How are you feelin' now that you've been one of them fancy-schmancy entrepreneurs for a while?”

Are you still experiencing the thrill of the first days of being your own boss, or has some of the glow worn off? Maybe a lot of the glow? Dang, maybe there ain't even any glimmer left!

Do you get outta bed in the morning, excited to get started, or are you facing another grind? Let me say the following in the most gentle way I can: “If you've been in business for a year or more, and you're not still passionately excited about your biz, then you're simply and unequivocally a loser.”

Is this you? Do you even want an answer to winning? Or are you fooling yourself? Do you think like this? “It's a grind now, but it will change tomorrow.”

Uh, hate to disappoint you, Bunky, but, no, it won't. It won't change unless you change.

"Well, hell, I don't want to do that. I'm my own boss. No one's goin' to tell me what to do. I'd rather stay mediocre, poor, and miserable than change!”

Fine, stay there. I've written about this before and you've either taken heed and made some changes or you haven't, in which case the rest of us will be truckin' along picking up the money you leave on the table. By the way, those of you who still think money is "evil" should phone Bill Gates right away.

Granted, change ain't easy, but it's necessary. Fact is, there's an old saying, “I won't tell you change will be easy, but I will tell you it will be worth it.”

Let's play “What if?”

  • What if you could double your income stream today and not worry about losing customers?
  • What if you could make enough money each day so you had more time?
  • What if you could reduce your worries by half?
  • What if your business made you as happy as you first thought it would?
  • What if you could join a business improvement group and still keep your individuality?
  • What if you could do all the above easily and cheaply?

There's more but you get the point. How do I do all this? Ah, I have the answer. Join. People who join business groups, or get a coach, or hire a consultant are eight times more likely to succeed than those who don't.

I've done my homework and you should too. Find out where I got that statistic about eight times more success in groups rather than goin' it alone. Maybe I'm full 'o malarkey. Get out of the mire. Get out of the muck. Get your passion back. Become successful. At the very least, do some research into getting help.

I'll give you some starter help for free. Here's an offer. (It’ll be interesting to see if anyone takes me up on it.) I'd like to form a group for free. I'll front the software. All you'll need is a telephone. The idea of the group will be to help each other with me as the facilitator. If after a month you don't want to belong, well, adios and good luck. After a month it will cost, but very little. This group will take one hour each week of your time. Period. E-mail me if you’re interested: [email protected], or call and leave a voice message at 415/453-2291. I'll keep it to 10 participants. First come, first served. Are you ready, or will your cynicism and fear get in the way?

It is so important to get inspired, and even more important to stay so! To do that, it be my un-humble opinion, we should all follow the advice of an old acquaintance and role model, Zig Ziglar: "Folks complain motivation isn't permanent, but, then, neither is bathing. That's why we recommend you do both regularly."

I'll leave you with that.

Ed O'Connell is a business coach for the smaller contractor and a regular Service Round Table contributor. He is the founder emeritus of O'Connell Plumbing Inc., and he can be reached at 415/453-2291 or at [email protected].

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