In the last two weeks I have been watching my children go through the process of reviewing their exam results. For both of them the objective of their exams, in the bigger scheme of things, was to transition to the next stage of their education but, as with every young person, the grades per subject mattered to them in their own measure of success. Success with exam results has become more about the number or letter combination and we too easily forget to see the growth and the achievement over time and celebrate the effort in this endeavor.
Building a coaching business has parallels in that it is easy to measure our success as simply our turnover in a spreadsheet and the associated earnings year on year with not enough attention paid to the growth in other ways. Of course, we should all set ourselves targets with numbers that matter financially but I would also encourage us all to review the year-on-year growth and other measures of success. In a coaching business this could be an improvement in client numbers and subsequent testimonials that show our coaching growth. It could be the number of new sectors worked in or the number of hours of delivery or it might be about an improvement in your working lifestyle through efficiency in your operations.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we can measure success in many ways that reflect on the year on year learning around the build or maintenance of our coaching business, Can we set ourselves goals to achieve the more mundane tasks so that we can celebrate the success of their completion – separately from the financial return. I was asked recently in a webinar if I have ever needed to call on legal support or my insurance with the question – “have you ever been sued?” As a result of updating my legal documents and annual insurance (as part of my overheads), I was proud to say “No” but it got me thinking that it should be a measure of my success as a solopreneur that I felt safe and secure in knowing that I had support in the times when I might have come close to difficulty.
In the reviews you may be doing of your business this summer I do hope you take time to see what you have built beyond the numbers and traditional metrics of success and are proud. Simply having the bravery to live your purpose well and move into the next phase of your growth as a solopreneur is a reason to measure your success in new ways and I hope you are celebrating the effort. Kate
Comments