On this month’s group coaching call, I was surprised to find that most of the participants were not cube dwellers getting ready to leap, but rather seasoned entrepreneurs who were overwhelmed with the amount of details they were juggling in their thriving businesses.
Michael Port, who I have mentioned many times and interviewed for my old radio show, has written a very thought-provoking and useful follow up to his first best-seller, Book Yourself Solid. The book is called Beyond Booked Solid : Your Business – Your Life – Your Way – It’s All Inside. It covers how to plan for the inevitable "good problem" that happens when you work diligently to build up your business: before long, you are overwhelmed with details and the quality of your life (and business) suffers.
This graphic, which came with the preview copy of the book and I hope is included in the final version, sums it up nicely (click on image to enlarge):
If you were to replace this business guy with a woman in jeans with two kids hanging off her hips, this could be me.
To put it bluntly, if you want to grow your business without systems, you are screwed. There is simply too much to plan, do and remember to do it all yourself. And this is the case even if you want to stay extremely small.
If you want a little free taste of the book as well as listen to what promises to be an interesting conversation, tune in Monday, April 28 at 12pm Eastern to hear Michael, my good buddy Rich Sloan of StartupNation and Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks discuss the book. Even if you miss the live conversation, sign up here to get the recording.
I really enjoyed the book and hope you will too. If you read it, please share your thoughts here!
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Update 4/28:
Since this post went out late, my friend Elizabeth Marshall of www.AuthorTeleseminars.com who hosted the calls was generous enough to share the download link with everyone. I just listened to it here and it is a really interesting conversation.
http://www.marketingmarshall
Note: this link will lead to a blank page and open a pop-up box
for you to click save and download the mp3 to your computer
I may have a controversial opinion, here, but I believe that when you look into the future and think about the costs associated with converting from one corporate entity to another, you also need to look at your immediate resources, prioritize your energy, and keep the idea of “cost” in context.
Hi Pam,
Great stuff! I am a big fan of Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall. I am speaking at Elizabeth’s business group in June.
I listened to the teleseminar this morning. It was outstanding!
Of all the great points they made, I am especially impressed with what Howard Behar said: the business is ultimately about our soul. That is what I believe, and discuss at my blog all the time — business as a way to live our purpose.
I felt so validated — I ran to Starbucks to have lunch after the call.
Years ago, I noticed that of the people I had met who were EX entrepreneurs with service businesses, not one had gone out of business because they went broke. I met person after person who had grown the business to the point that they were either overwhelmed with clients and no longer able to serve them or burned out.
I left personal training because I was bored and burned out with the repetition.
I believe that when a person begins the planning for a business, they should start figuring out the direction of the passive income. For example, as a personal trainer, I could have gone the direction of creating information products, selling or distributing products, or launching a studio that employed other people.
In addition to creating a better lifestyle, these options enable the business owner to advance in her knowledge and to serve more people more deeply.
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Good points Barbara. I think planning for a new biz should include a plan/vision of systems and info products so you don’t reach the point you and your friends did, of overwhelm or burnout.
Have a great week!
-Pam