You can’t see the spot you are standing on

I’ve been in marketing and sales forEVER.

Or thats what it feels like anyway!

And since those skills are at the core of what I do everyday, and a big part of what I teach to my clients, surely there’s no need for me to turn to anyone else for help with these?

Surely…..?

Let’s look at the evidence.

My first job was selling advertising space at the Manly Daily way back when I arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed from New Zealand in 1988.

With confidence and a winning accent, I quickly mastered the art of telephone sales and was moved into the role of Sales Trainer, recruiting and training other salespeople. At 19, this was a huge coup for me – I thought Australia was Nirvana!

Other sales positions followed whilst I began to study marketing at TAFE at night. I moved across into the promotions department of News Ltd and then began to look after sponsorships and events for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph and Australian Newspapers.

Pretty strong track record there – launches, negotiations, brainstorming, marketing, branding, events….. tick, tick tick.

So after I had my first child and decided the corporate life was no longer for me and launched my own business, a small business marketing agency, in 2003 at my dining room table, it didn’t occur to me that perhaps it might be valuable to tap into some outside advice and guidance.

After all…

Didn’t I know how to market?

Didn’t I have the piece of paper to prove it?

Over time my business grew as my brand developed and I found myself with part-time and then full-time staff. We were attracting wonderful new clients and as I expanded my team and purchased and moved into a “real office”, the demands on my time and skills increased. Substantially.

But it still didn’t occur to me that it might be valuable to tap into some outside advice and guidance.

After all…

Didn’t I know how to market?

Didn’t I have the piece of paper and now, a fair amount of experience as well to prove it?

Fast-forward a few more years and the business is doing really well. In fact, my team and I now generate that magical “multiple six-figure turnover” with clients in three states. All should be good, right?

Well yes, except for one thing.

It wasn’t!

I was miserable and stuck and burnt out.

So WHY did it still NOT occur to me that it might be valuable to tap into some outside advice and guidance??

Because I had internalised the beliefs over the years that “a job worth doing is worth doing yourself” and that investing in that intangible “coaching stuff” was just plain silly. And yes, I can now see where those messages came from – thank goodness I have let them go at last! I really had no idea how much of a disservice they were to my growth.

It took a few more months, but I finally broke through my self-imposed misbelief about the value of investing in yourself.

I finally accepted that not only did I not have all the answers, that it was ok not to. I finally realised that asking for help was not weakness, a chink in my entrepreneurial armour, that it was actually one of the biggest, brightest and best decisions I could make.

Because no one can possibly have all the answers.

And you simply cannot see the spot you are standing on.

Fast forward to today and I am glowing with the enthusiasm and excitement that comes from creating and growing a wholehearted business, a business that aligns with my values and passions, utilises my strategic brain and is supported by a healthy self-belief. And this is due in no small part, to the women I worked with once I finally recognised the value of investing in me.

My first wonderful coach helped me to see that the business I was in was no longer the business for me. I had changed and so my business needed to change as well.

And I am over the moon delighted with my current Coach and Mentor who is helping me to expand my current business into a whole new chapter.

My advice to you if you are focused on building, growing, expanding your own wholehearted business is to not take as long as I did to invest in yourself! Ms Google, books, seminars and your peers are all fabulous, but they can only take you so far…..

What are the biggest benefits I’ve found from having a Mentor and Coach?

Perspective and vision:

Your Mentor or Coach will stretch your thinking by providing you with a fresh perspective to your own, as well as examples and insights from their own wider experience.

A sounding board

Working with your Mentor or Coach means there is now someone who has your back and cares about your business development, dreams and plans just as much as you. You can discuss your ideas with someone who can view them objectively and give great feedback and guidance.

Improved performance

Investing in yourself changes the state of play completely – in my experience the corresponding increase in confidence you will experience is immense. You begin to vibrate at a whole new level and your clients can feel that and they, in turn, respond with their own confidence and trust.

Escape from overwhelm

Your To-Do List will be cut in half at least. It quickly becomes clear what the most important things are to be working on…. when someone else is also looking at that list.

Accountability

Things get done. All the time. It’s not that I was inactive before, but knowing that I’m having that call at a specific time on a specific day seems to put a whole new level of deadline awareness on me! Combine that with the fact that I am now focusing on the most important things that will move my business closer to my vision (not just the bright shiny things that excite me) and the results become extraordinary.

And the very best thing? Everything I learn I get to pass on. Just as my Mentor does for me.

Yep. I’m a happy customer and am now a complete and total believer in the value of investing in yourself 100%!

So, I recommend if you’ve been thinking about investing in yourself by hiring a Mentor or Coach, do your research and then… LEAP!

Angela Raspass Business and Life Mentor for female entrepreneurs

Angela Raspass

Angela Raspass is Business Strategist and Self-leadership Coach for female business owners.

1 Comment

  1. Sonya on July 7, 2014 at 9:08 pm

    WOW – what an awesome post Angela! Thank you so much for sharing your journey and personal experience. Am enjoying watching you expand your business into a whole new horizon. xx