As a business strategist, I have the honor of providing private mentoring to my top clients. These are dedicated and passionate entrepreneurs for whom their business is not a job or a hobby – it’s an extension of their life’s mission.
Recently, two of my clients had a stressful challenge weighing them down. And while each was completely different, they both involved looking at a legal document for guidance.
In one instance, my client (we’ll call her “Alice”) had sub-leased part of her work-space to another professional, a situation which had been working fine for a couple of years; until her tenant started slowly squeezing her out, in more ways than one. Alice was beside herself – she wanted to avoid a negative confrontation but she knew she didn’t feel good about what was happening.
We worked together on a resolution that involved having her attorney review the lease agreement. But a bigger law was being broken here – Alice’s Mission, Vision, and Values were being squeezed out along with the work-space. She couldn’t provide the stellar experience for her top clients that she had promised them. And this situation set her miles back in achieving her 5 year Vision. The Law of Alice’s Business Prosperity was being compromised – and we acted carefully to remove this compromised situation. Working together, we now have a plan to regain full control of her space, her peace of mind, and her plans for growth.
In the other instance, my client (we’ll call her “Ellen”) had a new client who had been referred to her by someone she trusted and admired. But this new client very quickly went against Ellen’s contract stipulations in favor of her own ill-conceived process and continued to behave negatively in a variety of ways. She had pre-paid for services and Ellen wondered – “can I fire her as a client? Do I need to return her money?” (the answers are yes, and most definitely NO).
We worked through the details of the situation, and once again, beyond the simple contract violation, Ellen’s toxic client also pushed against her core values, mission, and vision. As in Alice’s case, Ellen was losing sleep worrying about the best way to handle this challenge. Working together, I first advised her to check in with the person who referred her, and this conversation eased her mind about not allowing the situation to continue. Now, she’ll be going through an attorney’s advice on removing this client because of contract violation – and NOT refunding the money paid, because Ellen’s team already worked on the project for days and hours. Most importantly, Ellen’s Law of Business Prosperity, of working with integrity, will not be compromised, and she’ll tighten up future processes to be prepared for this type of shenanigans.
Working your business success plan is NOT just about making a lot of money. It’s not even only about making clients happy. There’s a Law you have to answer to: the Law of Business Prosperity. What good is it to create a Mission, Vision, Core Values, and Unique Proposition if you let others walk all over your plan and push your own beliefs aside? That behavior makes you feel like a failure even as you collect the money because you’re failing your own mission and derailing your vision.
Take the time to work on your mission, vision and values, your immutable laws and prosperity plan. They’re not just words on a paper or a pretty poster on your wall. They make up The Law of your Business Prosperity and provide guidance every step of the way. Every question you have, every choice you have to make is easier when you check in with your set of laws.
If you feel that working on your own is simply not allowing you to move forward in the time and manner you hoped for, please reach out and work with someone. Interview a few people to see what is their process. What is their mission, what are their values and do they match up with yours?
I would be delighted if I were one of those whom you interviewed as a possible mentor and strategist. Please reach out to me and we can see if we’re a good fit to work together.