Now I have come to appreciate the summer slowdown. In fact, the past few years I have actually given myself permission to get into full on “summer mode.” When I’m in this mode I still coach my clients and get my monthly administrative tasks handled, but I take a break from most everything else.
Instead I focus on “life stuff.”
For example, in the summer of 2005 I spent a lot of time in New York with my mom who was battling cancer. She died a few months later and I was so grateful that I was able to get in so much quality time with her.
In the summer of 2006 I had ACL replacement surgery on my knee. By making my healing and physical therapy the top priority I enjoyed a full recovery and was skiing that winter.
In 2007 I got engaged and was so happy to have extra time to plan the wedding and take a nice long trip back East to introduce Adam to my family.
Last year the focus was house-buying. I looked at 72 houses that summer and ultimately moved into a beautiful home in the Oakland Hills in the middle of September.
Despite the fact that I have taken a lot of time off the past five summers, my business has steadily grown each year and my client base always ramps back up each fall.
If you’re like me, the constant pressure to grow your business can become daunting. Even when business is going well, it seems like there is always more you could do.
Now, don’t get me wrong, as long as you are in business you need to do marketing and business development. You just don’t need to focus on it all the time – especially when you have automated systems in place so your marketing can work 24/7 even when you are on vacation.
Isn’t having the ability to take a break from business and focus on “life stuff” one of the big reasons we got into this profession in the first place?
Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared in the August, 2008 Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. newsletter.
“My coaching business before the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. system wasn’t really working, especially with my approach to services. I didn’t have a clear strategy on marketing, packaging and pricing my services. The materials helped me to narrow my business focus and my target market. I feel more confident talking about my business and working with others now. The Packaging and Pricing module and the Client Consultation components really helped a great deal. It also gave me the confidence to charge more for individual coaching and to create some lower-priced/ shorter-term coaching products.
“Before I learned the Coach & Grow R.I.C.H. system I was unfocused. I felt like I was all over the map. I only had a few clients, no groups and no plan to increase my revenue expect to work harder.
“I hired Michelle when I first launched my coaching business. I appreciated her sense of humor and fun, and was impressed by the CAGR system and Michelle’s marketing knowledge. One of the biggest benefits of working with her learning how to adapt the CAGR marketing principles to my specific business needs.