St Petesburg Fun with BirdsThis Is For the Birds!

a bird's eye view

Three Ways To Get A Bird's Eye View Of Your Business

Solo business owners primarily work on their own, which is a great advantage in some ways. One of the dangers, though, is that working alone makes it difficult to pull one's self out of the business. And pulling one's self out and up for a broad review, or a bird's eye view, is critical for evaluation, growth, and finding new opportunities.

I recently went to Maui for a personal business retreat, which is one effective way to get a bird's eye view of one's business. One day, I stopped on the way to Haleakala National Park to shoot a marketing tips video for my You Tube channel. At that particular point, one could see the narrow neck of Maui and easily see the ocean coming up into the neck on both sides. It it a wonderful visual for illustrating how business opportunities can be coming toward us from more than one direction, but if we aren't taking a broad view we will miss that entirely, only seeing the "water" on one side.

I recommend taking a 3 day personal business retreat at least twice a year. Go someplace away from your home and work, turn off your mobile phone, give yourself some time to catch up on rest and sleep, and then dig into your business. Bring along your laptop, your financials, and a notepad. Keep the notepad with you all the time - walking, hiking, sitting by the pool. Respite kicks up creativity, so you'll find yourself having fertile ideas no matter what you are doing.

A second way to get a bird's eye view for your business is to join or form a mastermind group. Pick 3 or 4 other business owners who are serious about business success, and see if everyone will commit to a periodic meeting. This can be in person or by phone, so the members don't have to live close together. You might meet someone at a conference or workshop who would make a great member of your mastermind group. Set up your meeting times quarter by quarter, and use each other to bounce ideas and issues around. A good mastermind group is a balance between offering support for you and challenging you.

A third way to get a regular dose of "broader view" for your business is to work with a coach. Coaching can bring you both personal and business development, which often work hand in hand. Find someone who will listen to and help you with day to day concerns, but also force your attention to the longer-term, broader view of your business.

Learning to focus your eyes "on" the business instead of down "in" the trenches is a skill that all financially successful solo business owners must have. You will find new ideas, discern when to change things that are not working, and see new relationships and opportunities clearly and quickly from your perch over the top. Just like my view on the way to Haleakala, you may find the waters of opportunity coming at you from a whole new direction you'd never thought to look!

(c) Sue Painter

About the Author

Sue Painter spends her time working with people who want to create a working life rich in spirit and profit. You can find Sue's business resouces and tips at http://www.confidentmarketer.com . Sue's marketing expertise and strong insight leads her clients to call her a marketing therapist. She can help you build your business from the inside out. Her tips and views on creating an amazing life are at http://www.suepainter.com .

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