Finding Focus

I'm feeling a certain chill in the air recently on my morning walks that feels like autumn. And even though I've got a pile of books I still need to read (that never seems to change) I think I'm going to move on.

Recently, I've been talking to a young, small business/owner and he's agreed to open up a little bit and allow me to talk about his calls with me as we go through problems so many business owners of all size go through.

As much as I love talking books with all you lovely people on social media, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to share these problems in real-time and hopefully help those of you out there that are struggling with the same things.

For privacy purposes, we're going to not use his name, and avoid talking about what, exactly he does. But, we talked about it and he's willing to share this much: he's a creative working in the advertising field trying to make his own way. We'll call him Paul to make things easier for everyone.

The first coaching call

Last week, we had our first coaching call. For me, the most important part of that first call is getting to know Paul as a person, and understanding his struggle. Once we're both are on the same page about where Paul is, and where he wants to go, we can start building a plan.

This stage is usually 1-2 hours of discussion between my new client and me. Essentially, I leave judgement behind and let my curiosity run wild to help both of us understand what we're dealing with and what lense they view life through. Sometimes, a new client is dealing with problems they haven't confronted, and having that non-judgemental conversation helps them to open up so we can both understand. Other times, new clients have been stewing over the same problems for years, trying to find ways to get past it, and the answers come out easily, almost as if pre-rehearsed.

Though there's not often a lot of movement through the intake process, it's crucial to setting the foundation so we can know how the client needs to grow and also have a baseline to measure off. After the intake process and the first coaching call, I'll either have a good idea what the solution is and be able to boldy state a price or even timeline for the solution, or I'll offer to help them walk through the situation using information I've found through books or other people I've coached.

A problem of self-discipline

During the call, we discovered Paul had a hard time maintaining his focus and drive outside the traditional 9-5 office space. This is a problem I've heard from my clients again and again – especially those that are moving from a structured workplace, with business hours and a boss up top, to working at home, or from their own office.

But, it's not just constrained to new business owners. Many of my clients who have been running their own business for years deal with a similar problem, either because of burnout, being over-busy, or from personal matters.

I already have some great ideas that Paul and I are going to go over to help him hone his focus, and get his work life on track.

If you're dealing with a similar problem, follow along on our journey. Let us, and everyone else reading, know what works for you. And, if you have any questions, put them in the comments. The more people I can help with this, the happier I am.