Has your ambition ever gotten you into trouble?
When combined with too much self-confidence, and naiveté it can be dangerous.
Especially to someone on a mission.
Unfortunately, this trifecta of doom has gotten my butt kicked once or twice along the way.
Like that time a few years ago, when I decided I was going to complete my first triathlon.
“I can swim, I can bike, I can run. How hard can it be?”
Turns out, very hard. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
When I showed up for the race, I soon realized my naiveté and over-confidence in my own abilities had gotten me into a situation my ambition might not be able to get me out of.
First off, the swim dealt me a nearly fatal blow. Although I knew how to swim, I was not prepared for how different swimming a long distance in cold, dark, open water would be.
Next, I had no idea how to work a transition area. Thank God for my guardian angel who took me under her wing and gave me a crash course in the basics.
Then there was the fact that I didn’t do any strength training in advance. So after finishing that grueling swim, my legs felt like mush when I desperately needed them to pedal the bike. I had to plead with them to just. keep. pushing.
In the end, I completed the race. Battered, scarred, and ego utterly bruised. I accomplished my goal, yes. But it was soooooo much harder than it needed to be.
What ambition really needs
I needed someone to show me the basics of how to successfully complete a triathlon. At its core, it’s only three elements: swim, bike, run.
But making it through to the end requires much more than just being able to do these tasks.
And because I didn’t know that, I could have used someone behind the scenes to tell me how to transition, how to nourish my body before, during, and after a competition, and that I needed to do strength and endurance training so my muscles would be able to make it through the entire race. And for the love of God, I needed someone to force me to practice open water swimming!
Had I had someone like this in my corner along the way, both my race experience and performance would have been orders of magnitude better.
I needed a coach.
Someone who’d been there. Someone who knew what I didn’t know. Someone who could see beyond my current situation to appropriately prepare me for what was to come.
But I didn’t have a coach.
Because I was too naive about what it would take physically and mentally to complete the race.
Because I put too much weight in my own abilities, and didn’t do what was necessary to improve the performance my body was capable of delivering.
And because I was too cheap to invest in getting the help I needed to support me in reaching my goal.
Thankfully it was just a triathlon, and the stakes weren’t higher.
Unfortunately, too many business owners approach their business the way I did that triathlon. They think that expertise in their craft is enough, and they’ll be able to “figure the business stuff out.”
But often, that approach just doesn’t work. Not in triathlons. And not in business.
Why the greats are so successful
All the great athletes have coaches. LeBron James, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams all have coaches working behind the scenes helping them reach peak performance.
These greats have realized that a critical component to their success is having people on their team to help them get where they want to go.
Coaches aren’t just limited to sports. Singers have vocal coaches. Speakers have speaking coaches. Business executives of all levels have executive coaches to help them navigate their careers and become better leaders.
And lots of entrepreneurs get business coaches to help them become better entrepreneurs.
I’ve got a few coaches that I turn to for guidance for my own business. As a result of working with them, my skills have improved and my growth has been accelerated. The money I’ve invested with my coaches has been worth every penny, and then some.
So as you work to build your dream business, skip the treacherous path of the trifecta of doom, and give your ambition what it really needs. Follow the lead of many others who are great at what they do, and get a business coach.
I’d be honored to join your team as your coach. Whether it’s once, or in multiple sessions over time, I can work with you to help you get the results you’re looking for in your business
Conrod Kelly
Founder and CEO, Stages LLC
Going to business school, everyone envisions being a CEO and always running somebody else’s company. And then here it is working with Sonia, and after about three or four weeks, it’s “Oh wow, I’m a CEO now.”
It’s given me a whole new level of energy and excitement. I wake up passionate about the business and looking forward to our next sit down conversation to really think through the choices that are ahead. I’ll say that [working with Sonia is] inspiring, motivating, encouraging, and enlightening. It’s all that I thought it would be.
One of the most terrifying things anyone can do is try and start their own business. What I love about the TRY Business approach is that the first couple of meetings is just you sitting down and talking to your friend about all of your crazy and wild ideas. Sonia is able to capture the “essence” of what you want to do and translate it into a workable plan.
You should get coaching if you need help creating:
- a business strategy that will make you irresistible to your customers
- a marketing strategy that gets your customers to want to be your customers
- an experience that keeps your customers coming back again and again.
Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail.
Set your business up for success with a strategy that works
Have you seen this scenario before?
Sasha’s products are in high demand and her business is doing really well. Everything she does is a hit, and people can’t seem to get enough of what she has to offer.
Jordan’s products are even better than Sasha’s, but for some reason his business just hasn’t taken off. He’s tried almost everything he can think of, and nothing has really worked.
He’s frustrated. But he keeps working, hoping that one day things will change for the better.
I’ve seen this situation a bunch of times.
Far too many brilliant people with awesome products and a whole lot of talent never quite realize the dream they have for their business.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
So what’s the difference between thriving and frustration? What’s the key difference that propels the Sashas of the world to build a booming business, while the Jordans continue to struggle?
In many cases the answer is simple: strategy.
Those who have a good strategy for how to succeed with their business tend to do well. And those who don’t, struggle.
You don’t have to struggle.
Once you’ve got the right plan to get where you want to go, you’ll be in a much better position to succeed.
If strategic thinking isn’t your thing, there’s no need to worry. It’s mine. I’ve created and executed strategies to grow both small and multi-million dollar products around the world.
And I can help you create the right strategy for your business.
Here are a few common strategic focus areas we can work on during our sessions:
- defining your business’ mission and areas of focus
- clarifying your customers’ problem and the optimal way for you to solve it
- choosing what makes your business the one your target customers will find irresistible
Christina M. Griffin
Founder and CEO, Splendorlust Designs
Our work with TRY Business School was aimed at clarifying the mission of and customer segments for Splendorlust, as well as providing insights on key market elements to inform our business model. The ideation process and final product that Sonia and TRY Business School provided was invaluable to shaping the Splendorlust vision. What we appreciated most about working with Sonia was her responsiveness, strategic agility in distilling the unique, competitive landscape and delivering the expected results and beyond.
Make marketing work for your business without working your nerves
As an entrepreneur, there are more marketing tools at your disposal than ever.
But tools on their own don’t do the job for you. They have to be utilized in a strategic way to get the results you desire.
While there is a degree of art involved, much of good marketing is a science. There are certain marketing principles and techniques that when used effectively, have proven themselves to work time and time again over countless types of businesses.
And they’ll absolutely work for your business too. You just have to apply them. Strategically.
Marketing strategy is essential to the success of your business. Since marketing is all about getting your customers to want what you got, you can’t afford to not have a plan.
That’s a sure way to keep you chasing after customers. It can also cause you to waste your precious resources on tools and tactics that don’t bring you the results you’re looking for.
As a business owner, if marketing isn’t your area of expertise, it can totally be overwhelming figuring out how to apply proven techniques to create a marketing plan that will work for you.
So if figuring out how to effectively use marketing in your business is a source of frustration for you, don’t worry. I’ve eagerly studied and applied marketing theory, tools, and techniques for more than fifteen years.
And I can work with you to create a marketing plan that gets the customers you desire to want to be your customer.
Here are a few common marketing focus areas we can work on during our sessions:
- identifying the customers you are best suited to reach
- creating a plan that gets your customers’ to pay attention to you
- clarifying what you should say to your customers to get them to want you
Deidre Downes
Managing Partner, BDFS Group
We were very pleased with the level of service that Sonia provided to us. We are a small construction company and Sonia took the time to meet with my partner and I multiple times to gain an understanding of our business and our goals. She helped us to tailor our marketing brochure in a manner that was likely to resonate with our target market. We really enjoyed working with Sonia! Her upbeat personality, creativity and attention to detail helped to bring our brochure to fruition. We are excited about the business opportunities that are bound to come our way!
Ready to accelerate your business’ growth with a personal coach? Here are some ways we can work together
Get clear and focused about your path forward
Pick my brain about a particular challenge you are having in your business
Get feedback on a specific plan or tool you are using or would like to use in your business
A personal guide to help you through multiple phases of your business growth
A strategic partner who knows your business, and works with your business in-depth to help you get from where you are to where you want to go
Help connecting the dots between the big picture strategic elements and smaller tactics to help you get the results you are looking for
Here’s what some other clients had to say
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I reached out to pick Sonia’s brain because I was struggling with a business challenge and couldn’t figure out what I should do. Sometimes with all of the moving parts required to run a small business, it’s easy to get stuck. We talked for about an hour and by the end of the call she’d helped identify the steps I needed to take to move forward. The next day I took the steps we talked about and was able to resolve the problem immediately. Even though I’m used to wearing many hats and handling any and all issues that arise with my business, it’s great to have someone on my team that understands marketing and business and can give me an outside perspective. I’d recommend Sonia as a personal business coach with no reservations.
Anthony Sills, Founder and Lead Copywriter, Professional Pen Copywriting
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I knew I needed serious guidance as a brand new entrepreneur. There was so much information and so many things I wanted to do and to try and consolidate it all without having a plan was overwhelming. Because I was starting off and funds were tight, my biggest concern with moving forward with a coach was the cost. The coaching package I purchased was very affordable and it gave me enough information and guidance to allow me to move forward with my business venture with more courage and confidence. What I loved most about the coaching was having one-on-one time with Sonia. I was able to ask questions (even if they were dumb) because I so new to the game, I needed her experience and expertise to help me better focus on my vision and what strategies I need to consider for by business to thrive. Other benefits to working with Sonia are her expertise, her gentle nature, and her passion to help others. Her business is to create a valuable resource for people like me. I ABSOLUTELY recommend Sonia to anyone building an enterprise. She has a wealth of knowledge from the corporate standpoint and also as an entrepreneur. She is an avid learner who provides current and real world strategies, along with a growing network of resources who share their knowledge.
Naomi Fota, Co-founder, Bring the Noise
Don’t make the journey to building your dream business any harder than it needs to be. Accelerate your growth with a personal business coach. Book your sessions today.
P.S. I take on a limited number of coaching clients each month. So if you’re ready to get to work making that dream business of yours your reality, don’t delay in reserving your time on my calendar.
*30-day money back guarantee
