5 Effective Self-Coaching Tips for New Solo Business Owners

Do new Internet businesses really need the services of a
business Coach, even if they can afford it? Being that one
of my roles is as an Internet business coach I am somewhat
biased and would generally answer "yes" to my own question!
Nonetheless, it is possible to effectively self-coach
regardless of whether you have a flesh and blood business
coach or not.

While a student in the International Coach Academy
(www.icoachacademy.com) I also had a demanding full-time IT
career with a major investment bank. And during my own
transition from salaried employee status to that of startup
Internet business owner, I used the following 5
self-coaching tips regularly on myself.

1) Be Amenable To New Ideas:
One common outcome arising from the latent behavioral
training received in schools and corporate life is that
lots of folks seem to immediately resist even looking at
implementing new ideas. What could account for this? My
experience as both a schoolteacher and a generally (!) good
corporate citizen suggests that we learn through
sometimes-painful experiences not to upset the proverbial
applecart. Do you detect the scent of failure and potential
ridicule in all of this? You do? And you're absolutely
right!

The challenge for solo business owners is to
continually seek out new ways and means of boldly going.
Sorry, I mean of boldly achieving business objectives!
Realistically, if only 1% of these new methods end up being
successfully applied to your business, it could still be the
difference between ordinary and extraordinary success.
Which do you want?

2) Experience Life To The Max:
Here's a saying I recall that brings this into focus:
"there are people worrying about what they will be doing in
an eternal afterlife who have no idea how to spend a wet
Sunday afternoon."

The more richness and vitality you can find in the ordinary
aspects of your everyday life, the better equipped you will
be to handle the ups and downs, and yes the occasional
boredom, of running and operating your own solo business.
So, what are you going to enjoy doing on the next available
rainy Sunday afternoon?

3) Compassionate Accountability:
My most useful coaching has occurred when I helped clients
focus on raising their sense of ownership around two basic
issues: awareness and responsibility. As far as self
coaching goes, responsibility means accountability. Your
accountability.

And yet, even in the supportive and
non-judgmental privacy of a private coaching relationship,
some of my business coaching clients become apprehensive
when they first learn about exercising personal
accountability. It's almost as if they'd been ordered to go
give a public lecture entitled "My Personal Failings as a
Human Being and Business Owner"! And no one in their right
mind would enjoy doing that. But of course exercising
personal accountability is not like that at all.

The frequent drill of compassionately but directly
observing your thoughts and actions can result in increased
accountability and subsequent desire to make realistic
improvements. Just do it and watch how the regular
intention of becoming accountable begins to alter the very
object of accountability itself...

4) Get To the Point:
Getting to the point is in danger of becoming a lost art in
a corporate world where taking responsibility is sometimes
like being exposed to a highly contagious and career
limiting disease!

And that's probably why it surprises many new Internet
business owners when they comprehend just how many hours in
their already busy business days are being expended in not
getting to the point.

In this arena I have again found that self coaching works
well with simple acts of observation. All you have to do at
the start of each activity is to ask yourself : "what's the
point of this?"

Keep asking and you'll get answers. OK, so had you a
purpose in mind before reading this article? If not, get
one.

5) Good People Skills:
Perhaps these are the illustrious people skills so beloved
of Corporate HR Departments and Executive Recruiters!
Probably at least 95% of solo businesses do not exist in a
commercial vacuum apart from the rest of us. There are human
beings we sometimes call customers and vendors with whom it
is to your direct advantage to get along in a polite and
respectful way.

I suggest that the number one change you can
make for your own peace of mind and happiness in your solo
business is to create a formal courtesy system. There are
many ways to do this and a wonderful and highly successful
way is revealed by the Australian dentist Paddi Lund in his
engaging book, "Building The Happiness-Centred Business".
And yep, "Centred" is Australian English spelling! I highly
recommend this book. And say hello to the Solutions Press
people for me!