Michael Snedeker | A business firmly founded

Dear Business Owner,

Have you ever caught yourself holding back because you fear that in order to grow your business, you’ll have to sacrifice your family and personal life? The surprising truth is that the only way to truly scale and grow your company is to reduce its reliance on you, the owner. Done right, you get growth AND you get your life back.

Business Coach, Michael Snedeker helps his clients build a business that they can one day sell, scale, or even own passively — a business firmly founded on the stable base of sound systems, talented team, and intelligent internal controls.

How Successful People Work Less and Get More Done | Michael Snedeker

The study found that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours that there’s no point in working any more. That’s right, people who work as much as 70 hours (or more) per week actually get the same amount done as people who work 55 hours.

Successful people know the importance of shifting gears on the weekend to relaxing and rejuvenating activities. Like Spencer, they use their weekends to create a better week ahead.

Related: 10 Truths We Forget Too Easily

This is easier said than done, so here’s some help. The following list contains 10 things that successful people do to find balance on the weekend and to come into work at 110% on Monday morning.

1. They Disconnect

Disconnecting is the most important weekend strategy on this list, because if you can’t find a way to remove yourself electronically from your work Friday evening through Monday morning, then you’ve never really left work.

Making yourself available to your work 24/7 exposes you to a constant barrage of stressors that prevent you from refocusing and recharging. If taking the entire weekend off handling work e-mails and calls isn’t realistic, try designating specific times on Saturday and Sunday for checking e-mails and responding to voicemails. For example, check your messages on Saturday afternoon while your kids are getting a haircut and on Sunday evenings after dinner. Scheduling short blocks of time will alleviate stress without sacrificing availability.

2. They Minimize Chores

Chores have a funny habit of completely taking over your weekends. When this happens, you lose the opportunity to relax and reflect. What’s worse is that a lot of chores feel like work, and if you spend all weekend doing them, you just put in a seven-day workweek. To keep this from happening, you need to schedule your chores like you would anything else during the week, and if you don’t complete them during the allotted time, you move on and finish them the following weekend.

3. They Reflect

Weekly reflection is a powerful tool for improvement. Use the weekend to contemplate the larger forces that are shaping your industry, your organization, and your job. Without the distractions of Monday to Friday busy work, you should be able to see things in a whole new light. Use this insight to alter your approach to the coming week, improving the efficiency and efficacy of your work.

4. They Exercise

No time to exercise during the week? You have 48 hours every weekend to make it happen. Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a soothing neurotransmitter that reduces stress. Exercise is also a great way to come up with new ideas. Innovators and other successful people know that being outdoors often sparks creativity.

I know that a lot of my best ideas come to me while I’m surfing. While you’re out in the ocean, the combination of invigorating activity and beautiful scenery creates the perfect environment for an influx of creativity. Whether you’re running, cycling, or gardening, exercise leads to endorphin-fueled introspection. The key is to find a physical activity that does this for you and then to make it an important part of your weekend routine.

5. They Pursue a Passion

You might be surprised what happens when you pursue something you’re passionate about on weekends. Indulging your passions is a great way to escape stress and to open your mind to new ways of thinking. Things like playing music, reading, writing, painting, or even playing catch with your kids can help stimulate different modes of thought that can reap huge dividends over the coming week.

6. They Spend Quality Time with Family

Spending quality time with your family on the weekend is essential if you want to recharge and relax. Family time on the weekend is so important to Spencer Rascoff that he flies home for the weekend, no matter how far away he is, even if he has to be in the same city the following week. Weekdays are so hectic that the entire week can fly by with little quality family time. Don’t let this bleed into your weekends. Take your kids to the park, take your spouse to his or her favorite restaurant, and go visit your parents. You’ll be glad you did.

7. They Schedule Micro-Adventures

Buy tickets to a concert or play, or get reservations for that cool new hotel that just opened downtown. Instead of running on a treadmill, plan a hike. Try something you haven’t done before or perhaps something you haven’t done in a long time. Studies show that anticipating something good to come is a significant part of what makes the activity pleasurable. Knowing that you have something interesting planned for Saturday will not only be fun come Saturday, but it will significantly improve your mood throughout the week.

8. They Wake Up at the Same Time

It’s tempting to sleep in on the weekend to catch up on your sleep. Though it feels good temporarily, having an inconsistent wake-up time disturbs your circadian rhythm. Your body cycles through an elaborate series of sleep phases in order for you to wake up rested and refreshed. One of these phases involves preparing your mind to be awake and alert, which is why people often wake up just before their alarm clock goes off (the brain is trained and ready). When you sleep past your regular wake-up time on the weekend, you end up feeling groggy and tired. This isn’t just disruptive to your day off, it also makes you less productive on Monday because your brain isn’t ready to wake up at your regular time. If you need to catch up on sleep, just go to bed earlier.

9. They Designate Mornings as Me Time

It can be difficult to get time to yourself on the weekends, especially if you have family. Finding a way to engage in an activity you’re passionate about first thing in the morning can pay massive dividends in happiness and cleanliness of mind. It’s also a great way to perfect your circadian rhythm by forcing yourself to wake up at the same time you do on weekdays. Your mind achieves peak performance two-to-four hours after you wake up, so get up early to do something physical, and then sit down and engage in something mental while your mind is at its peak.

10. They Prepare for the Upcoming Week

The weekend is a great time to spend a few moments planning your upcoming week. As little as 30 minutes of planning can yield significant gains in productivity and reduced stress. The week feels a lot more manageable when you go into it with a plan because all you have to focus on is execution.

Michael Snedeker, Business Coach: How does a business become successful?

Michael Snedeker, Business Coach: How does a business become successful?: How does a business become successful? Is it about the quality of the product or service? The customer experience? The convenience? The loc...

How does a business become successful?

How does a business become successful? Is it about the quality of the product or service? The customer experience? The convenience? The local need? Building a successful company is about all of those things – but it all really comes down to SALES. You can have the best product with the most helpful team, but if you can’t close the deal, your business will still fail.

For this blog, I thought it would be a good time to talk about a common misconception – that sales is a department. Sure, you may have people who dedicate their entire day to selling your product or service, but every single person who works in your business needs to understand that sales is part of the job. Even if they won’t be putting sales on a resume, every single person a potential customer interacts with is involved in the sales process.

So how can you help your employees understand that selling is part of every job? It’s all about changing the mindset. If you can get your team to understand that providing an excellent customer services experience translates directly to improved sales and a stronger business, your products and services will nearly sell themselves.

If your sales people – or your entire team – could use a mindset adjustment, then it might be time to consider bringing in Coach Sned to work through his one year-long Sales Mastery program. Business Coach, Michael Snedeker will provide your team with the tools and experience needed to be successful. It’s about more than teaching professional skills, it’s about helping the members of your team grow personally.

Why hire a business coach?

As an entrepreneur, you like to do your own thing. But going at it alone is not always the best idea.

There comes a time when you need an expert opinion to ensure you and your business reach it’s full potential. And that’s where hiring a business coach becomes a smart move.

I’ve personally experienced the benefits of hiring a coach in my own business over the past year. Below are ten examples of how hiring a coach can make your business more successful.

1. Get Unstuck and Find Motivation

Without a doubt the best thing a business coach can do for your business is get you unstuck. As a business owner, you can get in our own way a lot, and spend a lot of time in your head. So you need someone to pull you out of the funk.

No matter how much self-motivation you might have, it seems nearly impossible to yourself to keep going. That outside push from a coach is what you need to get moving and get going. Even if it’s a confirmation of what you were already thinking, a coach can give you that extra jolt you’re looking for.

2. Challenge You to Try New Things

As an introvert who runs an online business, I can very quickly become enthralled in my own ideas and goals. This is a comfortable place because you can stay at home in your office all day “creating” and leave the outside world where it is.

If you’re anything like me, you know how hard it is to step outside your comfort zone and meet new people or try new things. This is one of best things about having a coach on your side. They will give you a gentle push to explore yourself and your ideas more, while giving you that tough love not to quit.

Everything we do in life is intertwined; our finances, our businesses and ourselves. For this reason I’ve worked with both a life coach and a business coach because I needed help getting over my mental and financial blocks.

3. Increase Your Creativity and Income

Once I was able to get past my (often self-imposed) roadblocks, my creativity was unleashed and I was able to start brainstorming ideas for better products and services for my customers. A coach will give you the courage to get out of your own way, so you can charge what your worth, start a line of products to make more money, or increase your prices.  

A coach also creates a safe place for you to hash out ideas, test theories and ensure you showcase your work properly. For many of us creatives, it’s hard to brag on ourselves or share our accomplishments, but a coach will help you get past that insecurity. And once you get that ball rolling, it will be hard to stop you!

4. Find Support and Encouragement

You’ll be amazed at the things you can accomplish when you have someone who believes in what you’re doing. Having a support system around you or hearing a few words of encouragement can lift your spirits when you’re down.

With everything going on around you, it can get overwhelming, frustrating and even lonely at times. A coach will be right there with you the whole time, helping you take that next step towards success.

Of course, the point is to get to a place where you have all the tools in your toolbox to handle what life throws at you. But until you’re ready, the encouragement you get from a coach might be just the thing you need to do your great work.

5. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s easy to think that we know ourselves really well, and understand our likes and dislikes. But when it comes to bringing out the hidden talents and deep desires, you’ll likely surprise yourself.

It often takes an outside perspective of someone who knows you really well, to tell it like it is. A coach can identify patterns, and help you exploit your strengths while bolstering your weaknesses.

6. Gain More Confidence

 You'll never truly know what your capable of until you have someone who pushes you outside your comfort zone. After working with my own business coach for over a year, I’ve been able to build up a lot more confidence in my own ideas, thought process and even the way I approach my business.

If you’re like me, you know you have greatness within you but you aren’t always sure if it’s a good idea, or something that will get you rejected. It’s hard to convince yourself that you have the ability to accomplish your business goals, and that’s where having a coach is key.

They can help instill the confidence you need to accomplish your big goals, while offering support and guidance for your (sometimes not so great) ideas.

7. Establish Audacious But Realistic Goals

It’s not difficult to set goals and create dreams and I’m sure you already have multiple ideas for your business listed out right now. But will you ever attain them?

With a coach you can! And you better be sure you want to reach a goal because once you mention it, they won’t let you make excuses for not trying. Most times they expect you to reach for the stars, because they can see your potential.

As they challenge you to try new things, they will also strongly encourage you to think bigger, jump higher and really go for what you want.

Audacious goals are the ones that scare us to death, but for an experienced coach they know it’s closer within reach than you realize. Then once you reach those crazy goals you’ll feel invincible and your confidence will skyrocket!

8. Prioritize Your (Business) Needs First

As a business owner it’s easy to put your customers, clients and even your family ahead of your own needs. This is especially evident as a solopreneur or freelance who single-handedly keeps the business going.

A business coach will help you prioritize your business in a way that will enable it to be successful, without sacrificing the other parts of your life, including your mental and physical health.

Additionally, you could even work with your coach to seamlessly integrate your work into your life. With the technology available today, you have no excuse not to take care of yourself so you can give the best to your business and those around you.

9. Be Accountable to Someone

What did you accomplish this week? Are you making progress on your goals? These are standard questions at the beginning of each coaching session that will get you sweating if you haven’t put in the work.

A coach is a built-in accountability partner that nudges and reminds you of what you promised to do, and what you’re working towards. It’s all too easy to make promises to ourselves and then break them because we don’t feel like it, or it’s too hard.

When you’re accountable to someone else, you don’t have that luxury. If you really want to accomplish your big goals and take your business to the next level, hiring a business coach is the right step.

10. Harness Your Ideas

The entrepreneurial mind is a beautiful thing, but it comes with it’s fair share of challenges. One of them being the fact that we have so many ideas, we don’t know where to start. On the flip side, you might be clinging to an idea or direction a lot longer than you should. (Beating a dead horse and all.)

Having a coach on your side will help you gain a fresh perspective so you can harness your ideas. They will also allow you to pivot directions if it’s time to move on.

A Coach is the Best Investment for Your Business

Running a business alone is a tough thing, and I would say nearly impossible to do successfully. You generally need the support of friends, family and colleagues. But in my experience a coach is also a must.

It’s like having a best friend who also knows the ins-and-outs of the industry and can share trade secrets with you. They are a valuable resource you can count on and look to when you need guidance or even a friendly ear.

Are you having a hard time closing new leads? Hire a coach to help you revamp your marketing campaign. You two can sit down together and hash out your process. Two minds are better than one.