Ever set out to get somewhere and just as you go to hop in your car to take off - you find something is in the way?  Maybe you forgot it’s the day they’re repaving your driveway and you can’t get your car out of the garage.  Of course, this is an analogy for a lack of goal planning.

You get a passionate idea of something you want to do and jump into action without more careful observation of your current situation.   Here’s some simple questions to start with asking yourself before you launch into action:

1.  What resources will I need to accomplish my task?
2.  What’s my timeline?
3.  What needs to be taken care of first, second, third?  (organize your action steps) 
4.  What possible obstacles might I run into that I’ll need to address and how will I do that?
5.  What support will I need and  who can I expect it from?

Coaching helps you look at your current and future situation and make sure you have the know-how, skills, time, financing, energy, support and resources to get where you want to and expect a high success rate.  Whether you hire a professional to offer guidance and focused action steps or not, take the time to stop and do your prepatory work.

If there’s a cement truck in your way, you don’t need to drive up on your lawn and ruin the axle in your car as you go down on the curb, just to get around it.  You don’t need to miss your appointments or get angry because your actions have been stifled or you feel a loss of momentum for your change.  That’s because you’ve had the foresight to plan your trip at an optimum time and safeguard your journey by knowing when it’s best to take action and how to best go about it. 

Is there a goal you’d like to pursue where you’ve asked yourself these startup questions?

Like most entrepreneurs, there are times you’re aware of  low client action, probably because you’ve become too invisible  in the comfort of your home office and day-to-day busyness, and you need to reintroduce more networking into your business strategy.  You feel you’ve been there done that; those large chicken luncheon network meetings weren’t for you.  Well here’s some ways I’ve found networking to be enjoyable and effective:

1.  Talk to the masters.  If you’re beating your head against a wall and forcing your hand at what isn’t fun or bringing results,  find someone in your industry who does it better to help you improve at it.  Take them for coffee and pick their brain for how they make it work.  Why reinvent the wheel.

2.  Stop networking in ways you don’t want to anymore.  For example, if  formal network business meetings aren’t for you, join a group that is doing something you like that gets you out of your home office, like a hiking group.

3.  Try saying yes to invitations when your automatic is to say no.  I was recently invited to join a female friend with her group of friends.  It meant traveling across town and staying out later than usual on a work night.  Heh – big stuff.  But it was at the Hollywood Bowl for goodness sake, and it included fireworks.  How stuck on invisible must I be to pass this up, right?!  I had no sound reason to say no, so I said yes, and am looking forward to the evening.

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