Time for a check-up?

When preparing for your journey to begin or grow your business it is essential to evaluate your skill set. Lack of knowledge in some areas is not necessarily a disadvantage as we will continue learning and gain experience. It is important to know what your strengths are and what skills you lack to fill in the blanks. It is a skill with a process that can be learned. Being able to foresee future needs and manage the risk wisely will help in creating a successful business. Part of it has to do with stepping outside our comfort zone and taking calculated risks. A business coach is able to guide you in checking how ready you are. A few questions you can ask yourself are:

• How much do I know about my business and the niche I am going after?
• What are my key skills that will help me in running my business?
• What is my level of management experience?
• Who has done this business model before and what could I get out of it?
• Who can I turn to for support?
• What kind of life experience will help me run my business?
• How capable am I as a leader of a team?
• What is my reaction under pressure?
• Can I afford to do this full-time or part-time?
• What is my contingency plan?
• What additional technology do we need?
• What legalities do we need to have in place?
• What actions do I need to take to increase chances of success?

Learning from the experts and seeing things from a different viewpoint will add to leadership skills; as we learn we increase our understanding, improve communication and learn to appreciate others' perspectives.