It Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely At The Top

Which of these best describes your situation as a small or medium size business owner?

1. Ahh, I’m living the dream… working the hours I want, logging in at the beach, driving the new Merc, it doesn’t get any better than this!

or

2. I’m at the end of my rope! I’m working long hours but I never seem to get ahead, always a drama to deal with and I am struggling to cope!

I live not too far from the beach and I drive, walk, cycle along there, and I have never seen anyone relaxing on a beach towel with a cocktail in one hand and a laptop in the other. Plenty of Mercs, yes, but my guess is few are bought and paid for. For the purpose of this blog, I am going to assume that a lot of owners of small to medium businesses will lean towards the second situation I’ve described.

OK, so when you have a business challenge or a problem with an employee or you have to make a tough decision, when you’re stuck between a rock and a cold place, do you have someone you can safely confide in and share your burden(s) without fear of judgment or worry?

You could talk to your spouse – for those of you who have tried it, how did that work for you? For those of you who are still married, congratulations.

You could talk to your mates, but they’d rather spend time with the ‘fun’ you, not the worried you. Which bar-side chat sounds more interesting to you:

a) “Who’s going to replace Mitch Johnson when Australia take on the Poms in the Ashes?”

b) “Should I sign a new contract now or extend the current one until the new law protecting small businesses against unfair contracts comes into effect?”

You could talk to your staff, but unless your conversation is carefully crafted you might undermine yourself and cause panic and a sharp drop in morale.

You could talk to associates, but they won’t always have solutions. At best, you’ll hear war stories of how their problem was bigger/harder/costlier than yours is. At worst, they’re facing the same problem and they’re stuck too.

You could talk to your accountant, but they often speak in number-ese.

You could just bottle this up, keep it to yourself and just try and work through things. And this is why it can seem very lonely at the top.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. An experienced business coach will have the perspective and capability to guide you, and a great coach will genuinely look after your interests. They can shine a light and show you how to turn your business from nightmare into dream. Whether you’re in Melbourne or Sydney, Melton or Sydenham, most business coaches are happy to meet with you for a free consultation, so ring around, meet with some coaches and see what ideas they have. If you are curious to see what one of the world’s best coaching firms* looks like, then check out www.tenfoldcoaching.com.au

*Tenfold Business Coaching was ranked #1 across the ActionCOACH global network of 700+ coaches, September 2015.

Image credit: “Rescue in crevasse 2” by ryan junell from oakland, USA – My Dad Hanging in an Ice Crevasse in a glacier on Mt. Rainier. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons