Entrepreneur Support
You may be a solopreneur, but you don't need to go it alone.
Being an entrepreneur often means being a solopreneur - it can be a lonely road. Most of your friends will probably not understand why you’re working late when you don’t have a boss, your partner won’t get why you can’t just “clock out” and leave your work stress at 5pm, and more often than not, these well-meaning people end up encouraging you to put off what you’re driven to do to come have fun with them instead.
This is where networking, support, community - any and all that you can get your hands on - is so vitally important. When you start a fitness journey, many people opt to join classes or hire a trainer or coach to get them started and keep them going. Why should business be any different? The key to success in literally any endeavor - fitness, business, self-development, lifestyle changes - is consistency and persistence. And what better way to stay motivated to keep showing up than by finding a mentor, joining a mastermind, or hiring a coach.
I may be biased, as I offer one-on-one business coaching and business-oriented group coaching calls. But I am also lucky enough to have my own coach, a mentor, and even several friends that also own businesses. Heck, one of my businesses is a partnership between me and one of my best friends. I offer support as part of my coaching business, and it’s because I have that kind of support by the bucketfuls in my own life. I know first hand how valuable it is, and how much it has contributed to my own success in life and business.
When groups of business owners get together, they share ideas, strategies, clients, and even work. When you meet with people weekly, you come to know them, trust them, and keep them in mind for referrals and projects, and they keep you in mind too. And when you’re led by a qualified facilitator, connections can be made that you weren’t even thinking of, and the conversation can go in really interesting directions so everyone learns something from the problem you brought to the table. Everyone wants everyone else to succeed. There’s no competition, only support and encouragement.
Groups can be multi-industry, but they can also be totally niched. You would think a bunch of health practitioners couldn’t or wouldn’t want to share notes with each other - but here’s the thing: There are SO MANY people who need help out there. More than even thousands of experts could handle. The best selling author Ryan Holiday said it best: “As writers, we’re not competing with other authors. We’re competing with people who don’t read.” So get more people to read, and everyone benefits.
Groups offer support, and facilitators of groups offer guidance, but the most beneficial bonus to joining a group or hiring a coach is accountability. Especially when you have a comfy, high paying corporate gig, and it’s the very thing you’re trying to leave. It can feel really safe to just cuddle up in the comfort of that W2 - there is very little, besides threats of a lay off, that might motivate you to actually take steps towards your own business to do what you love. Groups and coaches can offer that extrinsic motivation: accountability in the form of social pressure. When you meet with your coach or group on a regular basis, whether monthly, weekly, or somewhere in between, you get the chance to commit to a task for that time period that you must complete before the next meeting, or risk the shame of telling everyone you failed at working on your task.
It was one such group that propelled me to quit a horribly thankless job to start my very risky and uncertain coaching business exactly one year ago. I do owe quite a bit to the magic of accountability groups, so I encourage you to try one out to see if it can be magic for you too.
If you need accountability or coaching through this process, I offer one-on-one and group coaching, specifically for people looking to change careers or start a business to do what they love. Reach out at bw@barbaraproject.com if interested.