In May, I did a Laser Coaching session with Heiner Schäfer of Eyendorf, Germany. It was just a 15-minute Skype conversation about his business (although I think we went over by 5 or so minutes), but it stands out for me because Heiner was so focused. He really knew what he wanted to ask me about, and that meant I could really be focused on giving him solid answers. It’s a great example of how much can be covered in these types of free calls, even though they’re so short.
I met Heiner on Facebook. He came across one of my videos, the one where I ask if you’re the bottleneck in your own business, and said he saw himself in it. He said he and his business partner/wife, Ute, felt stuck. So he sent me an email and we did the free session.
It was a really cool conversation. Heiner’s the kind of guy who lets you know then and there if an idea hits him right, and that helped me keep zeroing in closer so I could help him out. I love conversations like that – there’s a rhythm, a kind of dance, a back and forth – and thoughtful clients can really make a good coach or consultant even better. We did questions, answers, clues, information, clarification, fine tuning, aha’s, and even some destuckification, to quote Havi Brooks, based on the feedback Heiner gave me when I followed up with him a few weeks ago. (Except it’s not the exact same as Havi’s destuckification. I do not have a duck.)
The following is what Heiner told me was the result of our session, in his words.
“I first saw your video on Facebook, practically telling me that I’m the bottleneck in my business, and I found myself in that video. I know this bit of business, because early on I worked with someone who was the bottleneck, and I couldn’t get started with the jobs I should have done because he was holding things back, and now this is probably my position. Practically this is showing itself with quite a few unfinished projects that could bring in money if I ever finished them, – I’m working on a book, for example, and on a few videos — but instead I’m doing busy work for clients that’s not bringing in much money, if at all, and it keeps me from doing the really important jobs.
“You told me to outsource work if I could, and first I thought about employing someone but that’s not possible right now, so you told me to look for someone to do part of my work but not all of it. We talked about contracts, who would buy the software and those type of things. That was the first solution, the next step is to get it going.
“I hardly ever charge my clients for these little changes, they want the changes done free of charge and as long as I do it myself, they expect me to do it for free, but the moment I tell them I’ve got someone to do it, because I can’t do it myself today, the choice they have is, to pay and get it done, or not to get it done.
“So having someone work for me may actually bring me into the position of making more money than I used to and that was quite a surprise.
“There’s another surprise — If I don’t finish my book and my other important projects within the next year, it might even mean that my business will no longer be profitable. Today my clients are not willing to pay as much as they once were for corporate design and websites. So not doing new things and not finishing these projects might even cost the whole business.
“Actually, producing our new video was one of the consequences of the conversation I had with you. I knew we would have to solve some software problems before we could begin outsourcing, so my part would be to get my own business better organized and communicate my message better than I used to do, and if I send out clearly what can I offer, people might react more like I want them to react. And actually this is about to happen, we’ve talked to quite a few people who have seen the new video and they understand better what we can do, and some people want videos now — they say ‘I want the same thing, I want this video for me.’
“I had planned to do this video for quite some time, some of the footage is more than a year old, but I never got a grip on it. But after our coaching session, I said, well this is the next thing I have to do now.”
Can you just see Heiner’s bottleneck starting to loosen up? Gives me goose bumps. I love this stuff!
Check out Heiner and Ute’s work (including their video) at their Design On Location site. But first register for your no-cost Laser Coaching session. . . unless you’re getting to kinda like your own bottleneck and the way it keeps your business from growing.
Get my free special report "5 Power Shifts You Can't Succeed in Business Without" when you sign up for my PowerSmarts list.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad your newsletter caught my eye as I scanned a bulging “read later” folder of info-mails — this post is going straight to my little brother (in another field, but he’ll recognize himself without my harping), and it’s the first time I’ve seen this new site — or maybe it’s just the new (?) design/layout – just lovely… very accessible and appealing (your photo takes a lot of credit there!)
Well into my 12th successful year in my own business, I too can see the value of the Breakthrough Business insight –(just gotta make time to read/apply!)
Keep up the good works, Marcia (and have a restful thoughtful retreat ~ ! )
Hey, GirlPie! So good to see your elusive self here! And I hope the site is helpful to your brother as well. Maybe he’ll leave a comment and identify himself — BoyPie? BrotherPie? Something to do with cake, maybe?
Thanks for the kudos and please come back and talk to me some more, k?
Marcia