Do you need to refuel for your business?

photo by JamesDale10 

There are a lot of ups and downs to being a business owner.  There are times when you really appreciate the freedom and the opportunity that your business can bring you.  When you truly serve your customers the way you imagined you could before the whole thing got started – it doesn’t get much better than that.

However, there are also a lot of trying times.  The grind and the pressure associated with being ‘the owner’, sometimes making it up as you go and knowing that success or failure rides on your efforts and what you’re doing.

It’s during those difficult times that you need to refuel and since the plane isn’t stopping, sometimes you need to refuel during the flight.

What is refueling for you?

Refueling can be a lot of different things.  At it’s simplest, it can be a brief period of time where you can vent to someone that will listen, let your hair down and just take a couple of deep breaths.  Doing that once won’t help all that much, but being able to do that on a regular basis and knowing you’ve got something to look forward to can be very powerful.

Refueling can also be getting some new ideas and inspiration.  Have you ever had a situation where you are just flat out stuck on an answer?  Your mind gets trapped into a repeating pattern and keeps coming back to a single answer (and it’s not an answer you like).  Refueling can be that fresh perspective and a different angle on the problem you’ve been chasing around the last few days.

Refueling might be getting some inspiration and support when you need it the most.  Someone that reminds you that it can be done or that they’re hoping you succeed and they’re pulling for you.  When you’re worn down, even when things are going well, it can be incredibly important to hear from a support group that you’re doing a great job!

Where do you refuel?

Vacations are great for refueling, but sadly most of us aren’t taking monthly (or even quarterly) vacations.

Certainly family and friends can sometimes help out (did you know that 70% of business owners use family as their primary source of advice for their business?).  But it can be really difficult for family and friends to be candid (and sometimes it’s hard for them to be supportive).

I’m taking off this weekend to go to an annual Coaches meeting with the Professional Business Coaches Alliance (www.pbca.biz ).  As an alliance, a big part of our charter is to collaborate and work with the other coaches around the country, so I’m looking forward to learning (and sharing) ideas on how to help clients, what’s working from a marketing perspective and just hearing stories from a lot of interesting people.

A humble suggestion…

A peer group advisory board or a Mastermind group can also be a great way to refuel.  You meet regularly with other business owners (and a coach) and you have the opportunity to unload whatever you’ve been dragging around for the last week or two.  You get the chance to load up on candid feedback, support from people that just genuinely want you to win and a different perspective.

If you can find the right group (or create it) it can give you the extra edge you need to get you over the hump and cruising to the next level!

What do you do to refuel?  I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas.  Share them below.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach