What It’s Really Like

Have I mentioned that I own and operate three businesses?

They are all run with virtual teams (real people who provide real services remotely from their homes) and deliver our services (mostly coaching & training) via phone, the internet and the occasional in person event.

It’s really pretty cool when you think about it.

I can do my businesses from anywhere and the structure of the businesses make it possible for the 12 people on my three teams to work flexibly on their own terms too.

Most of the time the multiple businesses thing works out pretty great.

Sometimes, it sucks.

This is one of those times.

Each one of the businesses on their own has the capacity to max out my creativity and juice. Over the past year, thanks to what I’ve learned about leadership and team-building and systems and mapping, I’ve generally been able to structure things so only one business is needing me heavily at a time.

What that means is that I can usually meet the needs of all the businesses, my kids, my online and offline relationships and my own needs.

This week that is not the case.

On Thursday, we are hosting a live coaching call for lawyers to show them how to use the client attraction system I implemented in my law firm that allowed me to not worry about where my next client was coming from.

I thought we had everything ready for the call, but when I went to prep for the call with Dave last night, I realized we didn’t have the right handout for the call.

That set off a chain reaction of events that took 7 hours (!) to deal with. Goodbye Tuesday night.  Kaia literally fed me orange chicken from Panda Express as I worked on a new handout for the call.  (The kids were really sweet about losing their evening with me completely.)

Thank God JoAnne and her kids are living downstairs and my kids had her kids to play with tonight.

Normally, I would have been able to deal with the handout issue in the morning, but Dave and I have back to back strategic planning calls with our 2010 Private Coaching and Mastermind members all day today for our other business.

And in the midst of all of this, my final content is due for the launch of LIFT to keep us on track for a late Jan launch and Dave and I have committed to hosting a call that will make 2010 your year of transformation on 12/31.

Oh, and did I mention I am moving January 1? To Colorado!

Life is funny.  Because despite all of this, instead of sleeping right now, I’m writing this post at 1am.

Why? Because I live to learn and I learn to teach and if I wasn’t showing you the real deal about what it takes to build businesses that make a real difference and make a great living while giving you control over your life, it wouldn’t be worth it.

So what is the big learning here?

1. I have some awesome systems in place that allow me to be able to do what I do without going insane (you simply cannot have a sustainable business without personal and business systems in place);

2. The support teams I have put in place around me and Dave and our 3 businesses are amazing, both at home and in each of the businesses;

3. I should always do what I teach and in this case that means create the script for the call first before anything else (had I done that, I would have been asleep hours ago);

4. It’s always easier to blame other people and that’s just where the mind goes when something goes not as planned, but it wastes a huge amount of energy that instead could go to resolving the situation (redirect the mind from blame into solution upon awareness);

5. The clearer your money map is, the less likely you’ll be scrambling last minute to get things done with time to spare;

6. The information marketing business rocks! In what other business could I work from home on my terms, make enough money to support two families (mine and JoAnne’s), have the time, energy and space to start two other businesses and maintain a bi-coastal long distance relationship all while maintaining a great relationship with my kids?

7. I love to teach and because I want to serve 3 diverse markets with my coaching (lawyers, business owners ready to make a big leap to a new level and help people on a bigger scale, and women who want to build real deal serious eyes wide open businesses) and I’m not willing to compromise and stop serving one of the markets I love (at least for now) sometimes I’m just going to have to suck it up and work a double. (hey, if i could do a 14-hour shift at iHop or Hooters back in the day, I can definitely do it working for myself and fulfilling my purpose.)

So, if you are a lawyer (or own any kind of a service business for that matter and need better marketing systems) be on my live coaching call on Thursday. You will love it. I just created the best content ever. It will rock your biz in ’10.

And then save the date of 12/31 at 9a because Dave and I are putting together something spectacular for you even if I have to stay up all night to do it.