Hints & Tips - Julia Ngapo Coaching

3 Ways to Better Boundaries – How to Take Control of Your Time

20 September, 2021 by Julia Ngapo

3 ways to better boundaries Child palying while mother tries to work at computer - Julia Ngapo Business Coaching

How’s your work-life balance? For many entrepreneurs, it’s a constant struggle for domination between the “coulda”, “woulda” and “shouldas” of balancing family, friends, self-care, and, of course, work. But, with constantly changing demands in both work and life outside of work, what can you do to create better boundaries, whilst ensuring all the competing elements of normal life are served?

Whilst there are a number of tools, I use with clients to help them create better boundaries and to, ultimately, grow their business, whilst still maintaining a life outside of the office, I wanted to share this time management tool, which was popularized by Dan Sullivan, a Canadian strategic business coach. It’s a simple tool that allows you to divide your time into different types of days and allows you to ringfence your important activities and get things done.

Here are 3 types of day to help you maximise your productivity, have better boundaries, and make best use of your time both IN and OUTSIDE of work.

Focus Days.

As the name might suggest, “Focus” days are the days when you focus on the most important activities in your business. If, as the saying goes, 20% of your activities generate 80% of your income, then this is the day when your attention should be on that 20%! These days are dedicated to the activities that you know are most important to our business. These tasks are likely to be those which require the most attention, but that you also recognise as having the biggest impact on your business.

Buffer Days.

These are the days when you handle all the small, but necessary “stuff” – the days where you block out time for administrative tasks that need to be done for your business to run smoothly. You might also use these days to return phone calls, reply to routine emails, plan meetings, and read articles. You might also use “Buffer” days to continue your professional development.

Buffer Days are key to freeing up “Focus” days for your most important work. They are also a great way of getting back into the swing of things after “Free” Days.

Free Days.

These are the days when, as you might have guessed, you set yourself free from any work demands – no answering emails, no taking calls, no meetings, no “I’ll just do x” (Insert your activity of choice here)

As busy business owners used to work long hours, free days can be the most difficult to navigate.

We’re programmed to feel guilty if we’re not at least thinking about our business 24/7, but in allowing our brain this “space” we allow our creativity to flow and for our subconscious mind to be at its most powerful. It is during these times; the moments when we allow our brain to visualise our dreams that we can create a much clearer vision of our future goals. We disengage from the must-dos of present demands and allow our focus instead to be on creating the future.

We can’t do this if we’re too burnt out from work.

The beauty of this system lies in its simplicity and the ability for you to implement better boundaries around both work and home life. It is entirely up to you how you apply each day to your working time and allows you to take control of your schedule, and be more productive, yet allowing you to take time away.

Having adopted this system, you’ll find you are able to better manage your time; working to fit in with your lifestyle and out of work commitments, rather than the other way around. It allows you to have days where you focus on the most important areas of business; the reason why you started your business and from which you gain the most fulfillment, as well as days where you focus on the tasks that are the “small cogs”, allowing the smooth running of your business and giving you better control of your life.

If now is the time to invest in your business growth, there are a number of ways that we can work together.

1. With 1:1 coaching. With monthly or weekly sessions available, we’ll work together to create a sustainable, resilient, and successful business, banish the overwhelm and create success on your terms. Find out more here

2. If you’re starting out or have a young business then my Startup to Success coaching programme is for you. You’ll learn all the steps to creating strong foundations upon which to grow your business. Click this link to discover more

3. For those “quick wins” my Coaching Power Hour is a must. You’ll receive actionable steps to help you move past your blocks, gain clarity, and gain the momentum to grow your business. Book your Power Hour here

Do You Need a Business Reboot? 7 Steps to Business Recovery

20 July, 2021 by Julia Ngapo

Julia Ngapo Business Coaching - Business recovery

As the country gets the green light to resume activity, what steps can you take to aid your business recovery and ensure that you are ready to move forwards in the “new norm”?

It’s true that the world we knew pre-COVID is certainly not the same as the one in which we now find ourselves. Many businesses have lost key members of staff, have discovered that their market has changed and evolved and that their services are no longer relevant or their processes outdated.

However, even if your business has survived relatively unscathed, the post-pandemic vista still presents a great opportunity for you to press ctrl, alt, delete and conduct your own business reboot.

Here’s how to build business recovery after COVID:

Revisit Your Vision and Values

The first step and I believe this should come before you even look at your business, is to give yourself a personal audit. We are hearing about how businesses are navigating the post-covid landscape, but, of course, behind each business is an owner who needs to be in flow and alignment with their business. Take time to re-evaluate where you stand. Are you still in love with your business? Is it still something that you feel passionately about and something that you wholeheartedly believe in? Does it still align with your values and does your vision still ring true?,
If not, then it may be worthwhile having a read of my blog here.

Assess Any Changes

What specifically has changed for your business during the past 12-18 months? It’s a good idea to take each product or service in turn and, by applying SMART objectives, identify where each product or service falls. It’s important to look at all other areas of your business also – for example, your customers, suppliers the current skillsets of staff, your capabilities as a whole, and your competitors, for example.

Once you have this information, you will be able to identify those areas which need work and how this affects your overall strategy, organisation, and operations. At this stage, it’s vital you take a holistic, strategic approach to business recovery and to understand how each area of your business may interconnect, rely on and inform other areas.

For many organisations, a shift in their target market has occurred, so in doing this exercise, you’ll be able to see your strongest offerings to hit your market with, as well as those that you can safely get rid of entirely. Whilst cutting out any dead wood can be a scary prospect, it’s a vital step for the forward momentum of your business.

Having said this, it’s also a good idea to try and understand whether any changes are likely to be permanent or temporary and to diarise to review again in six months’ time.

Rebuild Business Awareness

Next comes your marketing. Don’t make the mistake of believing that your previous target market has the same needs and requirements as they once did. As the world has changed, so has your market! Similarly, don’t expect your previous customers to stay loyal to you. As the country reopens, so all businesses will be lining up on the starting line with many vying for YOUR audience. On this “even playing field”, it’s vital for business recovery that you rebuild awareness in your products and services with clear, consistent messaging.

Your marketing needs now, more than ever, to be a two-pronged approach – that of re-attracting your existing customers, whilst, potentially attracting a new audience, too.

At a time when everyone is desperate for a sense of normality, now is your opportunity to communicate what sets you apart from your competitors and why your audience should buy from you.

But how about your existing audience? How can you re-engage them and persuade them to remain with you? Certainly, don’t wait for them to make another purchase but instead be proactive by offering, perhaps a loyalty scheme, offering a discount code upon repeat purchase, or by sending an email detailing exclusive offers. Remember also that it costs something like five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to sell to an existing one.

When we consider a new audience, it’s all about providing value and being relatable, displaying your authenticity, and demonstrating compassion in all your communications. Remember the world is just a little bit sore at present, so demonstrate these qualities to persuade them to do business with you.

Processes

It may be that your standard processes will require a tweak, post-pandemic, as part of your business recovery. Particularly if your products or services have had to change or adapt to a different market. Pay particular attention to your digital processes here – is there a quicker, more streamlined approach that you can take that will benefit your customers, but also show that you are keeping ahead of the game? Of course, the benefit of adopting a streamlined process is that you can cut down the time working IN your business and spend more time working ON it, attracting clients and servicing existing ones.

Happy Employees Make the Company

A happy employee is a company’s greatest advocate and, with increasing importance placed on staff wellbeing, make sure you are ever mindful of your employees’ needs. Not only is this imperative for happy staff, but also impacts the long-term success of both your strategy and the ultimate success of the company itself. In a recent survey, 80% of employees felt they were more productive when working from home. Ensure that your processes are updated and include remote and flexible working and that you actively demonstrate that all channels of communication are open between you and your employees.

Rebuild Trust

We have all become a bit more safety-aware in recent times, so ensure you are rebuilding trust by providing customers with safety guarantees and communicating the measures that your business is taking to ensure their safety.

Procurement

Although your customers will naturally expect full speed ahead as you return to the marketplace, that may not be the best course of action for your business. Instead, be mindful that you cannot and should not try to go faster than the pace of recovery. The most resilient businesses will not only anticipate and meet demands but will think strategically about their procurement process, ensuring as best they can, that supply meets demand.

I doubt there has ever been another time where so many businesses have been lined up, ready to get back to doing what they do best, but the key to success is surely going to depend on how flexible you are in adapting to the changed (and ever-changing) business landscape. Is your business ready?

Did you know we offer a focused Business Reboot Mastermind? 3 months of 1:1 business recovery coaching helping you ensure your business is back and ready to take on the world. Each session is guided by your individual needs and is ideal if you want a fresh pair of eyes to undertake a business review, looking at your systems and processes, your marketing, and redefining your goals. If now is the time to reboot your business, follow the link to find out more and book a call with me today!

How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others – 7 Top Tips

30 March, 20212 February, 2021 by Julia Ngapo

Comparing yourself to others - Angel fish in bowls

Is comparing yourself to others your “thing”? When you fall into the rabbit hole of measuring yourself against others achievements, you’re never going to win. In this blog, we’ll look at how comparing yourself to others could be blighting your own progress without you even realising it and how you can build your own road to success, instead.

When I first started out in business, I made a big mistake. I fell victim to that killer of any sense of achievement. I became a pawn in the age-old game of comparison. The thing is, I didn’t even realise I was doing it. I was working on establishing my business and striving to attract enough clients to really get my business off the ground…and then I started. Started comparing myself with others. Except, this was never an even playing field.

‘Comparisonitis’ is a thing, right?

My chosen targets had all been in business far longer than me and were already established. How could I possibly compare? In addition, I was attracted to the people who had no problem in blowing their own promotional trumpet – they would happily post on social media about the number of clients they had and how busy they were, triggering me on two different levels – one, because I hadn’t yet managed to attract my ideal client and secondly, because I found it all acutely cringey to have to do the whole “look at me” thing on Facebook. After all, that meant I had to be visible – Eurgh!

How do you measure up?

Let’s firstly look at the ways in which you might be comparing yourself to others without even realising it.

Social media – The perfect hatching ground for some comparisonitis! How often have you scrolled through your feed and seen something that makes you feel bad about yourself? Perhaps it makes you feel that you’re missing out, that your life is somehow lacking. But consider whether this is a true image of that person’s entire life or just the edited version that they want you to see?
Pandering to others expectations. It’s easy to get swept along with others success and believe that your goals need to align with that other persons or with other expectations of us. But what if your idea of success is different to theirs? What then?
Taking a one-sided view. If you compare someone else’s strengths to your weaknesses, you’ll always come off the worst. That’s bound to lead to a drop in self-confidence and self-esteem.

“Stay in your lane. Comparison kills creativity and joy.” Brene Brown

Break the comparison habit

So, how can you break the habit of comparing yourself to others?

Awareness – Be aware of the triggers for your own comparisons and avoid them as far as possible. Social media, as we have seen, is a biggie. Approach your social media use with intent. Instead of scrolling aimlessly through your feed, be focused on why you are there and what you want to achieve – and leave once that’s done!
Be clear on your values. By understanding your values, you’ll be able to define what your version of “success” looks like. Keep reminding yourself that others are walking a different path to you with different measures and different milestones. Stay in your own lane and focus on your own achievements, even if they feel small in comparison.
Be Ok with Imperfection – No one is perfect, and it is the imperfect you that gives you your inimitable character and facilitates your connection with those around you; your tribe. We are none of us perfect, so learn to be OK with that and celebrate those imperfections.
Count Your Blessings – Every day, write down a list of 5 things that you are happy for. This will help you to focus on your “haves”, rather than your “have nots”.

How to stop comparing yourself to others – Summary

Now, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes comparing yourself to others can be a good thing. It can give you the blueprint and the impetus to bring about change. The danger, however, comes when we lose perspective and forget the differences between us and the person with whom we are comparing ourselves. Stay true to yourself and remember that your authenticity, your value, and your essence are the things that make you, you and they aren’t found in perfection or anyone else.

If you would like support in running your business, then why not invest in a business coach? With 25 years of owning and managing a variety of businesses, I can provide the practical tools as well as the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual support you need to grow your business and achieve success. I offer 1:1 and group coaching, as well as business breakthrough days where the day’s focus is on you and your business as well as Book a call with me here.