Elizabeth Saigal

As a coaching entrepreneur, you want to invest wisely in your business. However, your success strategy depends on your stage of business development. There are seven stages of business acumen (student, intern, apprentice, practitioner, master practitioner, teacher, leader).

Your time, energy, and resources will be better spent when you align with the needs of the stage you are in. Working on more advanced stages is ok, but will likely only deliver into the stage that you are on. In addition, a mismatch may actually prevent you from gaining traction.

Each stage provides a foundation for the next in terms of the value you provide and context for marketing. Your progression through each stage forms your business story. Over time, this allows you to naturally acquire a certain level of authenticity and credibility so that people want to do business with you.

The stages are student, intern, apprentice, practitioner, master practitioner, teacher, and leader. Knowing what stage you are in has many benefits. It provides a guide for your experience and growth as a coaching entrepreneur. It allows you to enjoy the stage you are in without worrying about aspects that are not relevant to your stage. Focus on mastering the stage you are in and only compare yourself to others in this stage.

Maintenance tasks are all those that you do on a cyclic basis for upkeep. They are not sexy, but they make you sexy! Getting these tasks down is often the foundation of your success and happiness and what is sexier than that.

It could be anything with a recurring need – groceries, cleaning, organizing, exercising. Tasks that might be checked off for one cycle, but you know you will be doing them again next week, month, or year. For entrepreneurs, there is also any number of repetitive tasks such as outreach, marketing, accounts, and taxes.

You can manage your maintenance tasks better with a range of different practices. The first thing that will make follow-through easier that you may overlook is getting clear on the purpose these recurring tasks serve and your boundaries for implementation. A second key to accomplishing these tasks is setting yourself reminders. The third source of support is automation. The fourth aspect is to actively plan which allows you to manage the load on your time and energy. A fifth method of managing maintenance tasks is to batch activities together. Last, but not least, you can develop your systems for meeting these needs.

Irrespective of your career choice, being connected with people who have similar goals to you is a great way to optimize your long-term progress. Meeting regularly with a mastermind or focus group provides opportunities for authentic sharing, learning, being of support, accountability, and lasting friendship.

If you want to become a professional coach, a mastermind group provides a sounding board for every stage of growth and development as a coach and in business. If you are not already part of one, think about who might be a great fit for such a group from your connections, training, or through social media. Decide what you would like to get out of it and how it might be run. Many meet monthly and provide each person an opportunity to take to the floor and talk about current goals, challenges, and discoveries.