current customer attraction strategy). And that scared us. What if this new model is not a success? What if we create an amazing free online workshop, but nobody shows up? What if, even at a much-reduced investment level, we don’t see the expected growth in the number of coaching clients? What if all the work we put into building the Stratigro brand, is wasted? What if we fail? There’s a lot at stake here. On the other hand, if this works... • We get to work with entrepreneurs all across Canada • Tiring and expensive business travel is eliminated (we get to work from home) • The cost of working with us comes down exponentially • We get to connect with and help WAY more fellow entrepreneurs • We’re not scared of losing what we have. We’re scared that we may not get what we really want. How this applies to you Look, we’re not telling you to go out and take crazy risks just so you can feel scared. And the truth is that many small business owners settle for less than they really want, simply because they can’t overcome that fear. But before you decide to settle, ask yourself two simple, but important, questions:
keep the business going, but lack the courage to take their business to the next level. We’re not talking about size or money here. We’re talking about getting the things you really want from your business.
Why?
Because we’re scared. The more we want something, the more we fear that we won’t be able to get it. Stratigro’s case study We have a thriving coaching business. We truly enjoy working with our fellow entrepreneurs, making a differ- ence in their lives. But it’s an old school model. For many of our clients, the cost of the coaching is subsidized by local economic development organizations (it’s the only way they can afford it). We spend a lot of time, and money, finding those clients. It often involves delivering free in-person workshops. There is an almost unlimited number of small business owners that would benefit from these workshops, but getting a group of them, especially in rural commu- nities, to come together at one time is not so easy. And getting to those communities involves a lot of travel. Now we both love travel... when we’re on vacation. But eight- hour drives, or plane trips across Canada, for work… not so much. And to top it off, this model pays well, but really limits the number of small business owners we can help in any given year. We’ve known for quite a while that we wanted to change that. What if we delivered the free workshops online? There are so many advantages. Participants can join in from anywhere in the world (our initial focus is Canada). The workshop itself is much shorter. A half day live workshop has been condensed down to 60 minutes of content and a live Q & A session. And, follow up coaching can easily be delivered in a virtual world (we’re used to doing that already). With much-reduced expenses at our end, the cost of the coaching is far more affordable, within the reach of any small business owner. It ’s a no-brainer, right? Not so fast. Putting this new model together required a BIG investment of time and a fair sized investment of cash. We’ve invested in software and tools that are needed to market, and deliver a killer online workshop. We invested in back office tools that will save us time and allow us to coach exponentially more clients. We had to learn how to build an online client attraction strategy. All this while at the same time continuing to run our business.
What do I really love about my business and, What would I like to change?
Focus on the things you’d like to change. Start visualiz- ing what your life would be like if you could make those changes. Ask yourself what would need to happen to make that a reality. If it’s something that you really want, you’ll start to feel a tingle in your belly. Nervous apprehension. Instead of giving in, make a list of things you could do today that will start you on that journey to ultimate success.
In our world, that’s what being an entrepreneur is all about. We wouldn’t have it any other way!
But here’s the thing. In order to prepare for Stratigro 2.0 we had to stop delivering workshops (the backbone of our
11
SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker