Most entrepreneurs are self starters. It’s tough to get a business off the ground without a good bit of self reliance. That said, I think it’s important to keep the pressure to learn and grow on. I don’t think you ever can turn that off. Learning is essential to growing your business and career.
I recorded a video about learning and growing a little while ago, but it’s important enough to revisit. Today we are talking about Coaching and Peer Groups.
Every Sunday I head to the gym for a cycling class. Most Sundays I’d rather hang out in bed or chill on the couch all day, but I’ve built a routine to go to class every week. I frequently only get up out of bed and go simply because I signed up. I suspect if I never signed up and just tried to show up when I felt like it I might come 10% of the time. Then while in class, my numbers show up on the screen for everyone to see if I’m slacking or not. I doubt anyone actually cares, but dammit, I’m not going to let my numbers slip. I’m not going to be the one person mailing it in. I showed up, I might as well work hard.
There’s a bigger benefit from me coming to this class. I often write my scripts for the videos in the hot tub after class, and most weeks do some amount of recording after I leave the gym. The whole thing has become a solid routine. It’s good for my physical health, and I move forward on my personal goals just because I come to class.
How does this relate to Peer Groups?
When you sign up for a Peer Group you get much of the same benefit as I do in my cycle class. You have a place to go, people to interact with that have similar goals, and accountabilities to show that you aren’t slacking on improving your business.
Also, coming to regular peer group meetings forces you to do unplug from the chaos of regular life for a few hours or days depending on the meeting. That’s all before you have a chance to interact and participate in the meeting. Learning from others, teaching others what you’ve learned, and just spending time working on your business is huge!
Then you leave the meeting and usually take some action to put what you’ve talked about into practice.
This all comes from just signing up and showing up.
What about Coaching?
When you hire a personal trainer you have regularly scheduled sessions where you work directly with your trainer to improve your fitness. You have accountability to show up on time, and work hard in your session.
The same things happen when you hire a business coach. You have regular sessions that you need to attend. When you’re there you give your full attention to your coach and what you’re working on together. It’s likely that you’ll have some sort of homework to complete. The homework becomes critical as that’s where you put in the work on your business.
Get the most out of Coaching and Peer Groups
A couple of things to be mindful of when you join a peer group or jump into a coaching relationship:
- Don’t fight the best practices shared with you. Don’t assume it won’t work in your business because you are somehow more special than others. Sure you have a bit of your own special sauce, but I’ve seen plenty of folks resist making smart changes when advised to by someone who had been there and had already earned that T-Shirt the hard way. Maybe don’t implement the practice exactly like someone else did, but don’t just dismiss it.
- Be prepared for your sessions. Not being prepared slows down your growth. From my own experience, this is REALLY hard to do. I was nowhere near perfect in this, but put focus on preparation and you will get more out of the engagement.
- Don’t go crazy and try to do everything at once. This is easier to avoid in coaching, but there will be a temptation to solve 15 problems at a time. This is a bad idea. You don’t want to bury and overwhelm your team.
Joining a Peer Group or engaging with a coach can be transformative to your business. Make sure you are putting the time and effort in, and you will see those returns maximized as your company growth takes off.