Why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your success?

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”
― Thomas Paine

Accountability.  No one wants to hold themselves accountable, but everyone else should be.  And you are the only one who can pave your way to success...or failure.

So why aren't you holding yourself accountable for your own success?

There are 4 fears that cause a lack of accountability:

Fear of failure -
Are you so afraid of failure that you cannot hold yourself responsible or liable for your own actions?  Do you lack trust or faith in yourself?  Fear of failure is a deep imbedded, nagging thought that can stop us before we even start a task.

Fear of success - 
Some of us are afraid of what would happen if we are successful.  Will we be able to keep up with family obligations?  How about a social life?  Will you be more scrutinized if you find success?  Fear of success is just as debilitating as fear of failure.

Fear of being thought of as a fraud -
Imposter's Syndrome impedes success.  The fear of being seen as not qualified enough by others, or not feeling like you know enough yourself can cause stagnancy.  Even when you have an MBA and 12 years experience, you can feel like you aren't enough of an 'expert.'

Fear of not being taken seriously -
Ideas and products die before they are even launched due to the fear that others won't understand or see value.  People are afraid to talk about their business plans or ideas, thinking that they'll be laughed at or ridiculed.

And all of these fears can be cured by one important resource: your business coach.

A business coach listens.  A business coach leads.  A business coach gets you from the current level, to the next, by teaching you to hold yourself accountable.

Clearing the 4 fears: failure, success, Imposter's Syndrome, or not being taken seriously, all happen with the right coach.  There will be a future post about finding a business coach and what other added benefits they add, but for now understand that before you start that next business, launch your next product, or decide to jump ship from a corporate life to an entrepreneurial one, check in with your coach.

Success is waiting - and it's not terrifying.  It's attainable.  Build your support network, and include a coach!

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

P.S. Be sure to sign up for "Become a LinkedIn All-Star!"  The Google Hangout will be held on Wednesday, July 23rd at 1pm EST - and a lucky attendee will receive 1 hour of FREE entrepreneurial coaching!

The Zombie Apocalypse and lessons in failure

“Sometimes you have to do something ugly so that something beautiful can grow.”
― Cedric Nye

Bear with me today, I'm taking a huge leap to make a few big points.

First of all, I'm not big into the whole idea of this zombie apocalypse phase.  I'm not a doomsday prepper,  I'm not a soothsayer.  I'm not Will Smith or Woody Harrelson.  I'm a business owner who understands preparing for when things go south.  The truth is, my business anti-fail plan is more thorough than my SHTF plan.  But I have a feeling that we can learn a thing or two from the other side.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31GHBl2wVfqKmXywVBHYWp82Nvw57zK_gcKbdnYnsrv-iHTziGoQP1iWMuR8VdR8uN5GOAVr-_uYdEgMtzJEr-6CQ0wGWjSVVDChtNAUX5lMjMgg_ZW4Kl0uqBTEPyjN27W_B8utQVZL2/s1600/tumblr_m4rs9asC2Q1rux18io1_r2_500.jpg

Let's start with some established rules of zombie survival (according to Zombieland) and swing them into business.  

Rule #1 : Cardio.  

Why is good cardiovascular health important in business?  Well that's obvious.  We've all read dozens of articles about the hazards of sitting too long at work.  So let's take this a little further - how does this impact your anti-failure plan?  Did you know that one of the contributing factors to burn-out is poor health?  Including a fitness plan and good diet are key to your survival in business so that you can keep on keepin' on.

Rule #2: The Double Tap.  

This idea can incorporate into business on so many levels.  First, the double tap may relate to editing your documents.  You write; then you edit.  Double tap.  Second, it may mean closing a deal.  You make the initial contact; then you ask for the sell.  Double tap.  And in our anti-failure plan, third, learn everything,  Get a mentor; then go to a seminar.  Double tap.

Rule #10: Don't Swing Low.  

When you're working on building a business, the last thing you want to do is swing low.  I'm not talking about taking things low and slow, I'm talking about your expectations.  One reason entrepreneurs succeed is because we just don't give up.  We swing high and swing for the fences every single at bat.  Yes, some ideas take time to develop, and some ideas just don't pan out, but our success isn't because our first business worked; it's because or third or fifth or twentieth idea stuck.  Tenacity is the key.

The last rule of the zombie apocalypse that we need to remember in business is:

Rule #22: When In Doubt, Know Your Way Out.  

This is highly contradictory; some entrepreneurs believe that if you have an out plan, that you're not 100% invested in your business.  I disagree; knowing where that line of failure is can be key.  If you know when your idea is failing and you pull the plug, you can save reputation, especially with investors.  Driving a train on an incomplete track will lead to failure.  Have an out plan; know what failure means; push that line if you have to, but stop if it's broken.  Failure doesn't mean failure; it means that you need to rework your thinking and planning for the next big idea.

Obviously, I cannot cover enough advice about failure plans in a blog post; especially because I was amazed at how many other of Zombieland's rules fit in business: #8 Get a Kick-Ass Partner, #16 Opportunity Knocks, #19 Break It Up, #20 It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint, Unless it's a Sprint, Then Sprint, #21 Avoid Strip Clubs, #29 The Buddy System, #32 Enjoy the Little Things, and lastly #33 Swiss Army Knife.  Maybe someday I'll cover more rules of the zombie apocalypse in business, or you can leave your Zombieland survival rule in the comments!  Take time to develop your own zombie apocalypse plan anti-fail plan for business, and let me know if you find some creative rules to follow.

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Another one bites the dust

Founder's Syndrome: a difficulty faced by many organizations where one or more founders maintain disproportionate power and influence following the effective initial establishment of the project, leading to a wide range of problems for both the organization and those involved in it.  - Wikipedia

Earlier this year, I was tasked with helping a start-up nonprofit gain some ground so that they could meet their goals.  They had been meeting as a board for nearly a year and hadn't had much progress.  No fundraising had been done.  No press releases were sent out.  Few locals knew about the organization.  It sounded like a great opportunity to be a part of something big, and I jumped at the chance to turn things around.  I knew I was the right person for the job.  And then, I found out why there was a lack of progress:  the founder was calling all the shots, and the blind was leading the blind.

Step 1: 

 I found out quickly after my contract was signed that there was no funding, no bylaws, and no business or marketing plan.  I found out after that that while the Articles of Incorporation were approved, they hadn't submitted said bylaws or a list of board members to the state, which may have been problematic.  Then I found out that the board of directors were not big players from the community, rather they were a hodge podge of friends of the founder's with varying levels of prior board experience, from none to minimally involved.  Oh, and on top of this, the founder and blind board decided that they were going to throw a gala-level event in 6 weeks as their first fundraiser and had spread that information to the few people in the community that knew about the organization.  Add that all up together, and you have a recipe for disaster.

http://shirahime.ch/2011/08/the-founder-syndrome-or-for-some-ethical-fashion-businesses-surviving-means-failing/

Step 2:  

I made a game plan.  Within 2 weeks, I had established a business plan, marketing plan, bylaws, policies and procedures, and had selected my first staff member.  I had secured 3 television interviews, a newspaper article, and several major meetings in the community.  I planned sponsorship and donor levels, ticket prices, and a budget for the over-the-top event.  I attempted to teach the board members about how to raise funds and gain support.  And then I did the most important, and telling, step of all, I informed the board chair that her involvement with the organization might be a conflict of interest and she had two options: step down as chair or run the organization as a for-profit business.

Step 3:  

Within the next month, I realized how little control I had over where the organization was going.  The founder stepped down, but still believe she was owed credit and notoriety, and treated the board of directors as puppets.  When I received several emails and phone calls about developing a "management plan" for the founder, I knew that the organization was going down the toilet.  Just two weeks prior to the gala event, the board voted to cancel.  And then shit hit the fan.  The founder erupted into a crazy mess, shooting off angry emails, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages.  The option of having the business run like a business went out the window.  She tried to rescind her resignation as board chair, she tried to get her boyfriend on the board of directors, she bullied and harassed those who were her friends, and me, about her slighted feelings.

Step 4:  

After the true colors were shown and the board realized that the founder would always want absolute control, they decided that it was not ethical for the organization to continue as a nonprofit, and left the option to continue as a for-profit to the founder.  The board were (mostly) innocent bystanders - friends who truly wanted to do good for the community.  Friends who blindly followed a misled leader.  People who saw their time squandered away for months upon months by meetings that didn't amount to a hill of beans.  Most of them saw the big picture; how huge the organization could be for the community.  And so they did the only thing that they felt was right: dissolved the nonprofit.  Pissed away all of their efforts.  After just three months of a roller coaster with what could have been an amazing organization, I was left with nothing: no pay, no work, and no business, all because of founder's syndrome.

What did I learn from this experience?  

Most of all - know who you are going to be working with.  Had I done more research, I would have known that no amount of work could have fixed the issues that existed with the board and founder.  I would have found out that when someone is so blissfully ignorant about realistic business ideas and goals, that you can't convince them that they won't work.  I would have known that even the best business or nonprofit coach in the world couldn't turn around the nonprofit of someone who was doing it for all of the wrong reasons; selfish reasons at that.  


Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur

Like a phoenix rises from the ashes...

“Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”
― Roger Von Oech

Some of my favorite lessons over the past over 10 years in business for myself have been learned through failures.  Failure can be a blessing in disguise.  A dying business can bring new ideas, innovation, that wouldn't have happened otherwise.  Failure forces you to reassess your skills, knowledge, and goals, which most don't revisit often enough.  By failing, you learn better how not to fail in the future.

Once upon a time

 I was wading through a vast pool of government bids and start-up businesses.  This time was about 2007.  Connections were easy to make in the military contractor business, and I found myself in a position to sell some of the most innovative, useful, and life-saving products to the government.  It was nice work if you could get it.  2007 was a good time for start-ups, and I worked to build businesses all over the United States and Europe, taking ideas and pushing them through the grueling process on business planning and investor meetings, grant proposals and lead generating.  Then something happened.  The bottom fell out.  The stock market crashed.  The government contracts froze immediately.  The start-up businesses dried right up.  And I was not prepared. 

The biggest failure I had in my business was not preparing for the uncertain future.  Being successful so quickly in business clouded my better judgement and left me in a tough spot when I woke up one day and didn't have a back up plan to save my business.  So what was one to do in the face of a failed business?  Innovate, of course.

http://www.chcp.edu/blog/sharing-your-failures

I didn't immediately seek out more work.  I took time to reassess.  I thought about the needs in the region.  I thought about my strengths, weaknesses, and knowledge.  I thought about applying to every job available in a quick moment of panic, but then I relaxed and decided that was the worst idea of the bunch.  I came to a conclusion:  I needed to find a line of income that would cover me until I came up with a better plan.  That was it - I needed a bandaid.

2 days later I had ordered a home-study kit from the top fitness training company, chock full of books on becoming a personal trainer.  I also ordered a home-study kit from a yoga teacher training company.  And lastly, I started taking classes to become a nutrition coach.  Within a week, I had my bandaid - I was going to become a personal trainer, yoga teacher, and nutrition coach.  I was not going to build a business for someone else.  I was not going to take a low-level office job to tide me over.  I was going to learn new skills that matched my interests to "re-brand" myself so that I could control my income.

The band-aid lasted me a few years.  In the time where I was learning and testing, I put 100% effort into my new materials.  As soon as I had passed my tests, I got to work.  I took on clients and started making money.  And in my free time, I read everything that I could about starting a business.  Wait...why would a start-up business professional read about how to start a business?  I decided to literally start from scratch.  I decided to reforge my business in the heart of the dying economy.  I decided to try to get ahead of the next unseen entities that would interrupt my plans.  I met with mentors.  I read books and blogs and magazine articles.  I listened to podcasts and radio shows.

How did this help me?

It taught me that failure wasn't an option.  It taught me that while failure can be scary, it's the perfect time for learning, reassessing, and building new skills.  It taught me that failure doesn't mean failure - failure now affords us the chance to do it better next time.  And more than anything, failure taught me to be innovative.  Six years after running my own business into the ground because I wasn't prepared, I am better than ever. 

Nicole
The Restless Entrepreneur