July 2021 « Confidence Coach

The Business of Marriage

The business of marriage is the idea of using lessons from your business life to help you in your marriage. And, using lessons and things you’ve learned in your marriage to help you in your business.

I love talking about this because Orlena and I have been married for 40 years and we’ve been in business and worked together for the last 10.

We have had many conversations about how we have learned different things from our business that we can apply to our marriage; and how we have learned different things from our marriage that we can apply to our business.

Business/Marriage

Here are a couple of things to think about that will help sharpen and make both your business and your marriage better.

In business you need to know your customer. You need to know their needs, what they like, and what they don’t like. You also need to know all the little details about them so that you can serve them well and they will stay a lifetime customer.
Well, that’s no different than what we’re talking about for a marriage. You need to look at your spouse and learn about them. You need to find out what makes them tick. Find out the things that are meaningful to them; the things that create value and build on that long term relationship.
How much time are you investing in your business? Let’s say you’re working 50-60 hours a week. When you do so, you expect a certain return, result or experience out of that.
So let’s flip that question around and ask how much time are you really investing in your marriage or your family? And are you investing in them with the idea that there’ll be a positive or good return out of that?

It’s a different way of looking at your marriage, and it’s a different way of looking even at your business result.

Where are you at in your business and your marriage these days? At Confidence Coach we are here to help business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs to grow in their business and work, but our lives are not one dimensional, we all have a life outside of work. Are you putting as much time and effort into your marriage as you are your business?

Reach out if you’d like to talk with us about this. Schedule a free appointment today.

by Scott Ballard , July 22, 2021

The Halo Effect

The halo effect is the tendency to think positively about a person based on just one aspect of their character. Which can lead the most successful people to get trapped by their own thinking.

Below are some ways the halo effect can influence you as a person or as a business owner in different ways in your life.

A couple of sayings around money: Money doesn’t make you smart; wealthy people can easily confuse luck with skill.
Prior success does not guarantee future success.
Intelligence is often situational and specific.
Highly Successful People rarely have anyone to challenge their thinking. They’re often times surrounded by “yes” people.

Just some thoughts about this. If you have customers, vendors, or partners, you have people in your life that you have put a halo over their head. It’s good to remember that we all put on our pants one leg at a time. And, each person, no matter who they are, struggles in at least one area of their life.

Remember this when you are talking to a potential huge customer or you’re trying to close a deal or you’re seeking advice from your attorney, accountant or coach. Everybody has things that they struggle with; we’re all equal in that regard. These people have an area where they’re struggling and maybe you have a strength. Or vice versa, you’re struggling in an area that is their strength.

The halo effect is something we all do with people. We put people on pedestals; think of American Idol, Survivor or some billionaires for example.

A good thing to always remember is that we are all equal in some areas, in other areas we have greater strengths, and in other areas we all share weaknesses.

At Confidence Coach, we are here to help and encourage business owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs to build a better future. Feel free to reach out for a free consultation if you’d like to learn more about how we help people build their confidence and hope for a great future.

by Scott Ballard , July 15, 2021

What’s Going to Keep You Curious and Interested for the Next 25 Years?

Today’s blog comes out of a conversation with an owner thinking about the long term future. She was thinking about her role and what she really wants to do that would be exciting, interesting and keeps her curious with the business, their product and clients.

This is what I did with her. I asked her “What isn’t interesting to you? What is boring or mundane to you?” I wanted her to get these things out of the way. Next I said, “What’s left?” She had five or six things left that she was actively doing in the business that she really cared about.

Then I asked her to rank those things from 1 to 5. By ranking them 1-5 we actually found that one and two really connected and were kind of the same activity or same type of work. That’s when she discovered that’s what she would like to do as her main role 70-75% of the time in her business over the next 25 years. These things would keep her engaged, interested and contributing at a really high level. It was a fun exercise.

It’s an exercise I think you should challenge yourself with. List out and eliminate all the things that aren’t interesting to you or that are boring and mundane. Then think about the one or two things in your business that would keep you interested, curious and engaged in your business at a very high level for the next 25 years.

Let me know what you came up with! We’ll talk to you soon.

At Confidence Coach we ask deep questions that help business owners, entrepreneurs, CEOs and leaders create breakthroughs. Schedule a free consultation today.

by Scott Ballard , July 5, 2021