Randy is a one man show. He started his architectural practice about 2 years ago after being laid off when his former employer went under. He’s managed to stay quite busy with a few clients that followed him, but never took the time to develop a real plan of what he wanted his business to look like, what he wanted to achieve or how to get there.
With no procedures in place, he finds himself reinventing the wheel over and over again, which is sucking up his time and stressing him out. Randy hasn’t sent out an invoice in 2 months and is quite concerned that a certain client will surely balk when he see how much money is owed.
He knows he has to take some time out to “re-group”, but has been saying this to himself for over a year already. Randy’s wife is livid because he seems to get home later and later each night, and despite his promises to her, he can’t seem to stop long enough to get things under control…
Jane runs a small interior design firm. She had a great assistant last year, who quit because the work-load and stress was too much for her. Jane has been trying to find a replacement, but she has gone through 3 people already and still hasn’t found the right one. She knows she has to stop and try to figure out what to do, but can’t seem to get out from under long enough to think…
Maggie is an attorney in private practice.. Her phone rings night and day with calls from clients who want all kinds of advice, which Maggie dispenses freely, and usually forgets to bill for. She barely has time to file her legal briefs since she’s so busy dealing with client crises and phone calls. Although she’s about to adopt a baby, she can’t seem to get home earlier than 10pm, and her husband is beginning to think they’re making a big mistake…
In each of these cases, we have professionals who feel trapped. They’re smart, they’re skilled, they’re talented. They know there are problems they need to address, and have the facility to solve them; but can’t seem to stop long enough to get out of their own way, and find the realistic solutions they so desperately need.
Are you standing in the way of your own success? Please step out of the way…if you can’t give me a call – I can help.
Susan Martin, Business Coaching
