Why did you start your own business?  Maybe you got sick of working for someone else and being told what to do and how to do it. Maybe you thought that you could do it better yourself.  I know I did and that is why I started my MSP back in 2002.

Suddenly there you are, chugging along making a few bucks and then, BANG! you hit a brick wall. You just can’t seem to get past a certain level. For some of you it may be 150k to 200k in revenue for others it may be 1 million. No matter what it is, you find that you have hit a plateau.  When you get to this point what do you do? When this happened to me back in 2004 I hired a business coach. My coach helped me get to the next level and then the next and the next etc.

Now I know you may be reading and thinking, Stu is a business coach and this is just an advertisement for his company.  Well, yes I am a business coach but no, this is not an advertisement for my company. I currently coach 21 MSPs, I will max out at around 30. With Spring Training for Business less than a month away along with my other commitments I am not looking to grow too much more than 30 partners in 2010. Enough about me, what I am talking about today is about how some firms will make all sorts of promises and guarantee you the world. I am seeing a lot of hype out there and no doubt you are too. There are some that promise if you follow their blueprint of, “Do it this way” you will make millions” or “if you send out these 3000 letters your business will grow 300% in 6 minutes.”  Come on, do they really think you will buy into these promises?

The only way for you to grow your business effectively is to implement processes and procedures. You MUST implement the right sales and marketing processes, and then with the proper on-boarding and service delivery procedures your business will grow.

When I first started coaching someone said to me, “Stu the reason that people come to you is that you promise them the dream of becoming successful.”  I have been thinking a lot about that statement lately and I need to disagree. People come to work with me because I care about helping them in their business. I won’t let them slide. I keep them accountable. I put my partners on a road that they must navigate to succeed. But, I won’t and I can’t do it for them!

There is no get rich quick scheme in our line of business. You absolutely need to put in the time with your marketing.  You are going to have to strike out a few times in sales before you hit that home run. In all honesty you will make mistakes, but you will not fail if you keep pushing forward. You must believe in yourself and believe in your products and services. Once you do that 100%, you will find your own success.

All the best in success,

Stu