Action is the foundational key to all success.  ~ Pablo Picasso

How many of us have heard the old familiar phrase, “The shoemaker’s children always go without shoes?” This phrase has become synonymous with almost anyone neglecting his or her own business. We are all guilty of it now and again. We get so busy working in the business that we forget to ‘mind the shop’ in meaningful ways. Unfortunately, in the process, we wind up losing one of the best experts we have on staff – ourselves! So, take a step back, and hire someone with superb expertise – you.

Let’s say, for example, you are a financial planner, but your finances have become a mess. Or perhaps you are a professional organizer, but your office is in complete disarray and you can’t find anything. What type of image does this project to your clients, and the world at large (assuming anyone knows about it!)? Not a very good one. But more importantly, you suffer because of it. You spend all of your best time and energy on your clients, and don’t take your own advice. This is not a great model for running a successful business. You should ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’ when it comes to the business advice you dispense to others. You should be a role model for your clients and other like-minded entrepreneurs. 

In the book, Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor (fabulous book that is really about life, not only cancer), author Kris Carr writes about how a good model for healthy living has been established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): wear your seat belt, don’t smoke in the bathroom, and if the plane goes down – put YOUR oxygen mask on first! Great advice in general, but also for an entrepreneur running a business. If you aren’t taking care of business inwardly, you can’t expect to succeed and exude a positive, productive image to the world. 

So, how do you avoid the shoemaker’s shoes trap? Start treating yourself like a prized client! You must start doing the inward focused work that you often neglect to do in order to move forward in your business. 

• Audit your business based on your particular area of expertise. All of you have a unique area of brilliance that you excel in. Don’t give it all away to others! Save some for yourself. Audit your business based on your area of expertise and figure out what is lacking, what needs improvement, etc. Couldn’t you benefit from hiring you? Most likely, yes!
• Set aside the time for a private boot camp or corporate retreat. You probably advise your clients to take time for their businesses, but when is the last time you booked uninterrupted time for your business? Every year, I book a boot camp or “corporate retreat” for my business. I write an action plan of what I want to focus on, and then I go to town and get it done. It is a great way to pump out projects that have been lingering, brainstorm what the direction of my business will be in coming months and years, and develop a future action plan. It is a time to both be productive and plan ahead.
  
• Put your business through any checklists, systems, or processes that you put your clients through. You all have them: those great systems, approaches, and processes that you develop and share with your clients. Now, take some time to put your own business through the same systems. Not only will your business benefit, but also you will understand the systems more, see if there are any holes that need to be plugged, and any ways the systems can be improved upon. Therefore, you benefit, but so do your future clients.
• Continue to hire yourself as needed. Once you’ve done the inward work necessary to keep your business running in tip-top shape, don’t neglect it again. If you start to see the shoemaker’s shoes trap rear it’s ugly head in the future, hire yourself to keep it at bay!