Picture this; Molly is a vibrant business coach who has enjoyed a reign of success in her coaching business for many years. She could do her job on auto-pilot, and most days, that's exactly what she does. She enjoys the income and freedom her professional success allows, and happily spends her days "doing what she's always done."
Eventually, however, she starts to notice a big drop in both clients and sales. While she is stumped about the reason for the sudden drop, she does nothing to correct the problem and opts for a non-proactive "let's just wait and see" attitude. It doesn't take long before Molly's once successful coaching business is in dire straits.
It's natural for our businesses and our client's businesses to morph and change over time; so when we are busy "doing what we've always been doing," we often miss the boat and fail to see opportunities and trends that will help our businesses continue to grow in a positive manner rather than getting stuck, stale and off track. Business professionals who are in a position of complacency tend to take the biggest hit when changes in life or economy occur. All entrepreneurs and business owners need to continually adapt, evolve, and re-evaluate. Roll with the punches, so to speak. They need to adjust, regroup and grow... or get left in the dust.
It's natural for businesses to morph and change over time. They need to adjust, regroup and grow, or get left in the dust.
Molly's main issue was that she started taking her once loyal client base for granted and ignored the need for change in her professional life and business. After years of coaching one-on-one from behind a computer screen, and never really making the effort to network or become visible in the social media world, or support her business by attending offline events relevant to her target market or industry, she found herself becoming invisible; lost in the noise and hustle of coaches who offer similar services. The difference was that her competitors were the ones willing to be seen and heard online, as well as hustle and engage face-to-face with potential new clients. Molly had become as elusive as Bigfoot. Her clients knew she was "out there somewhere," but the sightings were few and far between. Soon her clients succumbed to the lure of something bigger and better... elsewhere.
Does Your Coaching Business Have Gaps?
Not unlike Molly's, most businesses have "gaps." Gaps are the areas or weak spots in your overall business plan for success that have been overlooked or neglected. Maybe your "gap" is a lack of social media presence and powerful relationships with your clients, or like in Molly's case, both social media and the opportunity to actually be seen and physically accessible not only to potential new clients, but to her existing ones. The lesson to be learned here is; when you have gaps of any kind in your business, you are opening a door and making it easy for the competition to slide right on in.
So, what are the gaps, or loopholes, in your brand or business? Is there room for improvement? Are there things you could be doing to excite your clients and solidify relationships? Now is the time to identify your gaps and what you need to do to change with the times. If your "gaps" are areas caused by limited time and knowledge to effectively maintain and grow your business, take the necessary steps to get the help you need to close up those loopholes ASAP.
There are times when we all have to take a step back and take stock of what we are doing and where our businesses are going (or not going). Sometimes life events force us to change quickly, while some changes are more gradual. Some changes are good, some are bad. But in the long run, change should always challenge us and make us take a closer look at our businesses in a new light.
Where are the "gaps" in your business; and what can you do to close them?
Terry L. Green, President of BizEase Support Solutions, and her team of qualified online support specialists, provide seamless online marketing implementation, technology and administrative support solutions to speakers and business coaches worldwide.
