Your Path to Business Success: The Blueprint

 At my core, I believe running a successful business is one of the most satisfying professional actions a person can take. Hobbies are great. They are fun pastimes, can help you meet other people, and craft solutions for problems at a small scale. The only problem with hobbies is that they tend not to pay the bills, which is why we all need a job.  Having a job is work. You can earn an income, be part of an organization, and acquire new skills. However, the problem with employment is that jobs frequently require you to do work that does not align with your strengths. You do not have much power or control over how they operate, who they serve, or the organization's values, norms, or practices. This misalignment can grow into frustration, annoyance, and burnout. The solution for some is self-employment.

Building a business from scratch is the one time when you have total power within an organization. You get to decide who you will serve, how you will serve them, and who you will work with. Yes, others get a vote. You will not be successful if you develop a solution no one needs, provide poor service, or treat those you work with poorly, but all those decisions are within your control. The remainder of this article provides a blueprint for small business owners to design a business that meets financial, lifestyle, and personal fulfillment goals.

The Blueprint for Reducing Small Business Risk

Nine out of 10 small business owners fail the first time they launch a business. The top three reasons businesses fail are lack of capital, knowledge, and poor business model design. The incredible thing about this statistic is that when they launch a second business, 90% of them are successful. They are successful because they learn from their mistakes, gain wisdom, and do a better job the second time. Wisdom is the key to business success.

There is only one way to gain wisdom: to seek knowledge. Knowledge can be gained through personal experience or from the experience of others. You do not have to be bitten by a snake to know it is dangerous. You were taught snakes are dangerous as a child, and you use that knowledge to make wise decisions when encountering snakes. The same is true within business. Knowing the risks and dangers of running a small business can provide a blueprint for making wiser business decisions.

Learning from Others

Over the last 20 years, I have acquired business knowledge. Some of it has come from books I read while studying business and economics at Randolph-Macon College. More was learned from professors as I acquired my MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus. But most of my wisdom has come from reading over 60 business books and 1000 business articles, completing over 500 hours of workshops, and applying that knowledge towards a +20-year business career.  

I have been everything from a sales associate, store manager, marketer, vice president, and now a small business owner, executive coach, and business consultant. I have the metaphorical scars from every significant mistake I have made over my career, and they are the source of the wisdom I share in my writings, coaching, and consulting. One of the benefits of being an executive coach and small business consultant who works across industries is that I get to see how universal most business challenges are. I can take what I learn from one business or industry and apply it to another.

Build your Learning Plan

Over the last 15 weeks, I have provided visibility to some of the knowledge I have gained throughout my professional career. As I have written each word, I have become more aware of the complexity and simplicity of running a business.  If you are a small business owner seeking more knowledge and wisdom for running your business, review the 15 topics below. Each covers a different lesson that can help you run your business better.

Read the article that answers a current problem you are looking to solve and know that each topic is interconnected. Each business management skill or practice I share is maximized when combined with other skills. After reading the articles, if you need additional help applying what you learned, reach out. My mission as a coach is to help you acquire and apply the knowledge you need to be successful.

Crafting and Communicating Your Vision

Getting Your Vision On Paper

Communicating Your Vision

Determining if Your Vision is Viable

Three Fundamentals of Business: Service, Scale, Strategy

Generating Revenue

Converting Vision to Strategy

Setting Goals

Refining Your Product and Service Offerings

Finding Your Niche

Building a High-Performance Team

Building Trust with Your Team

Getting Your Team to Work Together

Attracting and Developing Talent

Reducing Team Conflict

Must have Business Tools

Balanced Scorecard

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

 If you have read this far, thank you for taking the time to review this blog. Running a small business is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you can do. If you would benefit from having additional support and guidance running your small business, please feel free to email Executive Coach Dorian Cunion at dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com or book a session to learn more about our services.

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Is Motivation Really the Problem?

Business Leaders are often looking for new and innovative ways to motivate their team members. In our recent Coaching Gold Podcast, Small Business Coach Erin Myers joined us for a discussion on motivation and how working with a coach can help leaders create environments that support employees in finding motivation and drive business success.

Understanding Motivation

Process over motivation.

The first point that Erin emphasized during the podcast is that motivating others is something that leaders spend too much time thinking about and not enough time doing. There is a myth that motivation is to be found before engaging in an activity. The reality is that the act of doing a task is motivation in itself. Psychology today explains that "motivation is the desire to act in service of a goal". Instead of trying to determine how you are going to get your employees excited about doing a task, leaders should focus on

1. Defining what needs to be accomplished.

2. Who is best capable of doing tasks

3. What support is needed for successful task completion

What needs to be accomplished?

One of the biggest derailers to motivation is a lack of clarity. Unclear tasks present four primary problems.

1. Unclear objectives and desired outcomes can make it challenging to pick the right employee to do the tasks. 

2. Lack of clarity on how you want tasks to be completed can be the cause of delays, overspends, and other inefficiencies.

3. Poorly defined goals can create anxiety for employees because they are unsure of your expectations.

4. Solutions can be over-engineered when the scope and key requirements are not defined.

Taking time to clarify objectives can help you pick the right person for the job, and ensure that that person understands what they are being asked to do.

Assign tasks based on Team Goals.

Once you have defined the business objective and desired outcome, it is time to determine who should be responsible for the task. With the Power6 Leader model, we teach leaders to use the ACES framework, which is a standard for assessing who should do the tasks based on the greater good of the team, communicating your expectations, empowering the employee to do the work, and supporting them along the way.

 When assessing who to assign tasks to, we encourage you to understand employees' strengths, competencies, and frustrations. The Working Genius Assessment can be a helpful tool as you strive to understand better what type of work your employees find motivating. Both Dorian and Erin use this tool to help leaders better understand their employees and how realigning roles and responsibilities can unlock greater productivity.

Employee motivation sours when employees spend more time working within their strengths. The increased motivation comes from their needs being fulfilled. Humans desire safety, community, recognition, and purpose. When you can design and assign work to employees that allows them to meet their financial objectives while also fulfilling other needs, you tap into the full potential of your employees.

Providing Support

After you have defined the objective and expected outcome and delegated the task to an employee, it is vital to remember to provide ongoing support to your employees. Support is going to look different based on the employee's experience and competency. Experienced employees may only need guidance and occasional check-ins. New employees may require training and ongoing counseling. Partnering with the employee to define the type and frequency of support they need can create trust, support effective communication, and improve the odds of the employees delivering on expectations.

How Coaching can help.

In 2022, the International Coaching Federation surveyed over 10,000 people and asked them about their primary reason for participating in coaching. 37% stated improving communication skills as the primary reason they sought coaching. Motivating employees comes down to communication first, because listening to employees, understanding their strengths, passions, skills, and experience is vital to putting them in a position where they are doing work that is intrinsically motivating for them. Second, your ability to effectively communicate what needs to be done, why it is essential, how you want it done, and by when can provide the extrinsic motivation employees need to support them in doing a task. Getting work done is all about combining an employee's internal motivation with your direction, support, and guidance (communication) to complete the task.

If you are interested in learning more about Erin Myers and her coaching program, you can find her on LinkedIn. To learn more about Your Path Coaching and Consulting, visit our website at www.yourpathexecutivesolutions.com or schedule a free consultation using this link.https://yourpathcoachingandconsulting.hbportal.co/schedule/635fe8e75275fb003103425c

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When Summer Ends: How Back-to-School Can Derail Adults with ADHD

The end of summer brings a familiar shift in rhythm: shorter days, a crispness in the air, and for many, a significant change in the daily routine as the school year begins. For parents, caregivers, and even those without children, this season signifies a considerable shift. From altered commutes to a household buzzing with new schedules and responsibilities, this isn't just about kids getting back to class. For adults with ADHD, this transition can be a significant source of disruption, subtly undermining your focus and productivity at work.

The ADHD Brain's Summer Break

For many with ADHD, the relaxed pace of summer offers a much-needed break from rigid structures. The absence of school-related schedules like morning bus runs, homework supervision, or juggling extracurricular activities can feel like a weight lifted. The greater sense of calm is because executive dysfunction, the term for the brain's struggles with planning, organizing, and managing tasks, is less taxed when you have fewer things you are responsible for doing. The routine, or lack thereof, fits your brain's natural tendency for spontaneity and flexibility.

However, this period of low demand can make the abrupt return to a highly structured back-to-school schedule all the more jarring. It's like going from a gentle, meandering stream to a fast-flowing river; the change in current can be challenging to navigate.

The Back-to-School Disruption: Identifying the Impact

The start of the school year introduces a host of new variables that can throw off your internal equilibrium. These aren't just minor inconveniences; they're triggers for ADHD symptoms that can directly affect your professional life.

• Morning Chaos: The morning rush is a prime example. The need to get kids dressed, fed, and out the door on time adds a layer of complexity to your pre-work routine. Added complexity can lead to increased time blindness and feelings of being rushed or overwhelmed, causing you to arrive at work flustered and disorganized.

• Mental Bandwidth Depletion: The mental energy required to manage new school schedules, creating space to help your children adjust to being back in school, and planning for school holidays leaves less cognitive bandwidth for your job. You may find yourself more easily distracted, making more careless errors, and struggling to stay on task.

• The Procrastination Spiral: Without a stable morning routine to anchor your day, you might experience a surge in procrastination. Tasks that feel overwhelming, like starting a new project or tackling a complex report, are pushed off, leading to a backlog of work and increased stress.

• Increased Emotional Dysregulation: When your external environment feels out of control, it can be harder to manage your internal emotional state. You might find yourself more irritable with colleagues, more sensitive to feedback, or experiencing a general sense of unease or anxiety throughout the day.

Rebuilding Your Structure: Strategies for the School Year

Navigating this transition requires a proactive and compassionate approach. You can't control the school calendar, but you can control how you respond to it.

• Establish a "Launchpad": Create a dedicated, visible area near your door for everything you and your family need in the morning—keys, bags, lunches, and homework. Organizing minimizes the risk of losing things in the morning rush.

• Digital Is Your Friend: Use digital calendars with shared access for family schedules. Set reminders for key events, like parent-teacher conferences or early dismissal days. Calendarizing externalizes the need to remember every detail.

• Pre-emptive Planning: The night before, pack lunches, lay out clothes, and prepare as much as you can. This simple habit can dramatically reduce morning chaos and emotional strain.

• Communicate and Delegate: If possible, divide back-to-school responsibilities with a partner or friend. Even if it's just alternating pickup or drop off duties, it can free up valuable time and mental space.

• Be Kind to Yourself: Understand that perfection is not the goal. Some days will be smoother than others. Acknowledge the challenge of the transition and celebrate small victories, like getting out the door on time or finishing a difficult task at work.

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