Strategic Business Tips from Kim Beasley

Posts Tagged ‘change’

While I was watching a commentary regarding the psychology about the persona of Bruce Wayne/Batman, a thought came to me that as a business owner there is a dark-side we have to deal with too. The dark-side consist of anything that is negative or fearful.

As a business owner, we have to be careful that the dark-side doesn’t rule us and cause us to run our business unwisely. So what are some of the dark-side issue? Glad you asked. Below are a few of the things that I consider as the dark-side of business.

• Stealing clients
• Adding extra time to client projects
• When bartering or exchanging services, you intentionally make sure that you get more than what your barter is worth
• Lead new clients to believe that you have more experience than you actually do to win their project (this means that you don’t let your client know that you are outsourcing their work to someone who does have the skillset and then you take the credit)

Sharing about the dark-side of business which is something that I’ve experienced first-hand, is something that I feel strongly about. Conducting business on the dark-side will catch up with you someday just like Batman always catch his nemesis. I want to encourage all to be truthful in conducting business and making sure that your business is ethical and that you are not only after the money.

Have you experienced someone dealing with you from the dark-side of business? I would like to hear about your experience and how you dealt with it.

When making habit changes, sometimes we run into a “hump” that we feel is blocking the way of success. Yet some choose not to the press on past the hump and get stopped in their tracks. Others choose to fake it and make it look like they have gotten over the hump and drift along on a wing and a prayer. Then there are the successful people who actually choose to deal with the hump by defining what it is and determining the best way to beat the hump.

Where are you in dealing with your “hump”? Have you identified what it is and created a solution to getting past it? My hump has always been hidden procrastination. This means that I start big and then I say that things are going as planned but in reality I’ve run out of a plan and I seem to loose the unction to continue.

So to help me get past the “hump” I decided to face it this time and press through to success. What’s making it different this time is that I am putting things in place that will ensure success which is something that I hadn’t done before. Below are the things that I’ve put into place that are helping me get past my “hump”:

• Define who will mentor me and have regular meetings
• Get at least 3 accountability partners who will check-in on my progress
• Determine a plan that is doable for me to successful
• Be open to change regardless if it is small or big
• Walk out the path that’s best for me and not one that is meant for someone else
• Choose my actions wisely
• Use tools that are beneficial to your business makeover process (click here to read the first post in this series for more details about the tools I’m using)

Some of these I am always able to complete successfully while others have been missing from my attempts to getting over the business makeover “hump” in the past. Do you have additional points that I can include on this list that will help me and other to get over the “hump”? Please feel free to add your comments.

Yesterday I made a business decision to ask for accountability partners as part of my business makeover. I sent a request out to Twitterville* and three of my tweeples** answered back to let me know that they would hold me accountable. The three who will be my acccountability partners are Latara (@LataraHamYing), Christine (@neosoulsister), and Dee (@deegospel).

Why did I ask for accountability partners? I did this so that I will have someone who would check on me to make sure that I’m following through with my plans. It is always important that you not only have a mentor, who will guide you in the right direction, but you also need accountability partners, who will hold you accountable to what you have decided to do. Having accountability partners is not something new but if you don’t have at least one, you are doing yourself a disfavor.

When determining who your accountability partner should be, you should keep the following thing in mind:

• Have a plan first that you have created with your mentor
• Choose your accountability partners wisely
• Make sure that you trust your accountability partners
• Make a S.M.A.R.T.*** accountability schedule
• Be open to constructive feedback from your accountability partners
• HAVE FUN!

As I continue on my business makeover journey, I’m looking forward to having your feedback. If you have additional determining factors that you include with choosing an accountability partner, please share them. Also I will be creating an accountability list with my partners that we will all agree to. Do you have suggestion regarding what should be on this list? Please feel free to leave a comment containing your suggestions.

*Twitterville: the environment for those who use Twitter
**Tweeple: your friends on Twitter
***S.M.A.R.T. = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely