Do You Run a Business, or Does Your Business Run You?
Imagine:
You’re on a beach, somewhere tropical. Shades on, feet up, and sipping cocktails like you haven’t got a care in the world.
Your phone pings on the table next to you. You lean over, peering down at the screen over the top of your sunglasses.
It’s the monthly sales figures.
You smile smugly to yourself and without checking the message, relax back on your sun-lounger and close your eyes.
There’s no reason to scrutinise the sales results whilst you’re on holiday, after all, you left the company in capable hands.
Are You Living the Dream?
Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?
It’s interesting that many people desire to become their own boss because of the freedom and flexibility they believe it will provide.
Ha!
The harsh truth is, for many leaders (self-employed or not), the dream of swanning off for a no-interruption, work-free holiday, is exactly that: just a dream.
I’m here to tell you, that it doesn’t have to be.
We are Agents of Change
Paul Starbuck & Associates is a coaching and mentoring service with decades of experience in leadership and the development of people. Throughout our leadership careers, we led many ambitious transformation initiatives which both enhanced business performance and empowered the people involved.
We now utilise our expertise to help other managers, directors, and business owners become great leaders. With our help, many clients have seen improvements in profits and team efficiency - without having to forfeit their own work/life balance.
“Success is doing what you want, where you want, with whom you want, as much as you want.”
Anthony Robbins
It’s a Journey of Self-discovery
Okay, that sounds a bit hippyish; there’s no yoga involved, we swear (unless that’s your thing).
Coaching provides a safe, non-judgmental environment for clients to discuss their desires and fears. We help people discover what they really want and empower them to overcome anything which stands in their way.
Being short on time and having issues with managing a team are common obstacles for leaders - but on occasion, we find that it’s actually the leader who needs to get out of their own way.
“Get out of your own way. Often, we’re our own worst enemy when working towards our goals.”
Robert T. Kiyosaki
It’s not unusual for clients to come to us with confidence issues and their heads filled with self-limiting beliefs:
“I’m too old.”
“I’m too busy.”
“They won’t listen to me.”
“That’s just the way it is.”
“If I want something done properly, I must do it myself.”
Achieving a work/life balance may require you to have a great team, but great teams have strong leaders. Sometimes you must work on yourself before you can develop others.
We work with clients to bolster their self-belief and create a solid foundation on which to grow. Your coach will stretch your thinking, develop your skills and help you to better manage your time to enable you to create a dependable team.
Planning
We all understand the importance of planning… but the pull of Netflix is strong…
Stop! Think about that beach! It’s time for you to start planning how to get yourself there.
It won’t be easy; the right people need to be recruited and then you must develop, inspire and empower them. Thankfully, we can be in your corner for the entire process.
We’ll support you in creating a plan to achieve your goals and help you to mitigate risks along the way.
Accountability
How’s your resolve?
Do you remain resolute in the face of distraction, or do you have the breaking strain of a KitKat?
If it’s the latter, you’ll be delighted to know that clients often use our services to hold them accountable for their plans.
Accountability, however, isn’t just about making sure you do what is needed, it’s also about abstaining from what you shouldn’t be doing.
Productive Avoidance
Being busy and being productive, don’t always go hand in hand.
Have you ever buried yourself in the day-to-day grind, just to avoid doing an important job that you really don’t want to do?
We’re probably all a little guilty of this sometimes, but the path to achieving a dream isn’t always smooth and pleasant. Sometimes, you’ve just got to bite the bullet.
“You’ll never accomplish the results you want until you are willing to do what you don’t necessarily want to do.”
Trish Blackwell
Our coaches will work with you to figure out how to best approach difficult tasks, encourage you as you navigate them, and support you as you deal with any fallout.
They’ll hold you accountable for overcoming bad work habits like productive avoidance, ensuring you are always on track to achieving your goals.
Fire-fighting
Perhaps productive avoidance isn’t your biggest issue. Perhaps, you are genuinely too busy fighting fires at work to find the time to be productive.
“There is only one way to look at things until someone shows us how to look at them with different eyes.”
Pablo Picasso
Picasso may have been talking about art here, but this philosophy applies equally to your business.
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘unable to see the wood for the trees'; sometimes, we can be too close to or too involved in a particular task, to see that there is an easier way of doing it.
Coaching offers clients the opportunity to confidentially discuss challenges in their work-life.
A coach has a non-bias, outside perspective and can therefore help you to spot opportunities for improvement and growth that you may have missed. Often, through a coach asking the right questions and the client talking openly about a situation, new, more efficient ways of working are discovered.
Time Management
Whether the fires you’re fighting at the office are self-created or not, at Paul Starbuck and Associates we can help you to analyse and better manage your time.
Using tried and tested time-management tools, we will help you to identify any time thieves in your midst and encourage you to focus your energy in more productive places.
Trust in Your Team
Ultimately, if your goal is to achieve a work/life balance, you’ll need to gradually devolve yourself from responsibilities and empower members of your team to take ownership and accountability. That can be tough, especially for business owners who often see the company as ‘their baby’.
Trust in your team is so important, which is why it’s key to ensure that you not only have the right people in your employ but that they are all playing to their strengths and working towards the same goal.
Your coach will be on hand to help you to manage that challenging process and ensure you feel as relaxed about releasing your grip on the reins as possible.
Don’t just take our word for it:
“I would really recommend going on this journey with Paul Starbuck and Associates. The combination of empathy, coaching expertise, and business acumen ensured that I was able to explore all aspects of my potential with a realistic outlook on achieving my new set goals. It has been truly transformational and enlightening.”
“When I started coaching, I was really low on self-confidence and couldn’t imagine I could possibly succeed in my goals. Paul worked patiently with me and provided me with the right tools to dig myself out of the hole I found myself in. I have now become much more grounded and focussed on what I can achieve and would recommend his services to anyone.”
“Paul helped me to identify issues within our business that were holding us back, then held me accountable for dealing with them. I was supported by him through the entire process and after a period of guided self-reflection, felt empowered enough to restructure my team. They became a closely-knit, high-performing team, resulting in me being able to entrust them with some of my workloads. I was finally able to take some time (2 days a week!) to concentrate on new business ventures. First, though, I took a much-needed month off work!!”
So, there you have it: relaxing on an uninterrupted, work-free holiday is achievable! Get in touch and we can plan your journey together.
For more information:
Phone: 07799474776
Website: www.paulstarbuckassociates.com
Let us help you to be all you can be, in 2022.