On LinkedIn, both Inspirent and I have recently been speaking about our Business Growth Club which is due to launch in the next couple of months.
We haven’t been deliberately cryptic, but our posts have given rise to questions from people we know, and some we don’t. That’s why today I want to share some insight with you – insight into where the idea for the Club came from, what we did to prove that the idea had legs, and how the Club will help its members.
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In September 2019 when I walked into the Chief Executive Office here at Inspirent and sat down at the desk for the first time ever, I suddenly thought “Wow. What now?”. I felt lonely, challenged, and apprehensive. The company was going through significant change,and from that point on, it was up to me to steer, guide and deliver success through that change. That was a truly scary moment, and I thought to myself – I can’t be alone feeling this way.
At Inspirent we work with business owners’ day-in and day-out, and it’s clear to us that often when businesses go through change, business owners and those at the helm feel exactly like I felt back in 2019. Change is pretty much the only constant in business, but when it happens in a big way, it can cause faltering, stalling and hesitation – none of which are conducive to success.
Change means reviewing strategies and reconsidering plans as well as deciding what direction to go in and how to get there. For me, it became clear sitting at that CEO table during a period of significant change, that change is really daunting, and can be an incrediblylonely place when the buck stops with you. This got me thinking – there must be others like me out there. And if there are, I need to help them.
To cut a long story short, a lot of research, knowledge application and market intelligence proved that I was far from alone. Lots of business owners MDs and CEOs were feeling just like I was. And the Business Growth Club idea was born, and thereafter developed.
The Business Growth Club involves small groups of no more than twelve business owners, MDs or CEOs working together to create a community where success thrives, confidence grows and loneliness fades away. They come together once a month, get to know each otherand support each other through their business challenges.
Each group is supported by a dedicated Inspirent Business Growth Partner who works with the group to help bring about the outcomes they desire. They also bring in experts to give the group tailored support in the specific areas they need it.
The Business Growth Partner is also responsible for providing one-to-one coaching, accountability, and support to help members turn their findings/learnings into intentions, and those intentions into actions that they can fit into their busy schedule. In short, the Club helps members get unstuck.
One of the biggest things our research told us was that business owners, MDs and CEOs aredetermined and committed to sustaining and growing their businesses, yet often find themselves feeling frustrated, fed up and alone. They’re desperately seeking someone to bounce their ideas off, to hold them accountable and to challenge them. They find that their confidence waxes and wanes, and they worry about growth and scaling. Things like digital creep up their back and they panic.
They know they need support, but don’t know where to turn, or who to trust. They get lightbulb moments and turn to Google in the hope of finding answers, just to find themselves disappearing down yet another fruitless, energy-draining rabbit hole.
Some have tried face-to-face and/or online networking events just to discover that they’re referral bandwagons that won’t ever help strengthen their business foundation. Others have toyed with a recommended “consultant” only to discover they’re more shmooze than substance.
The Business Growth Club overcomes these issues by providing a safe space for people whoare feeling this way to grow and develop. It’s a space where experts are on hand to take the guesswork out of finding the right solutions for your business. It’s also a space where you can benefit from peer-group experience. But surely sharing your inner business secrets in such a setting is risky, I hear you say.
To instill complete confidence, confidentiality is at the core of everything we do in the Club. To achieve this, each group has its own Confidentiality Charter, which is the cornerstone to creating this psychologically safe space to talk, to discuss, to explore and to help each other. There’s a kinship in the Club, where everyone understands what each other is going through.
Each group has its own dedicated Business Growth Partner to facilitate everything from the monthly meetings and the experts’ members need access to, through to providing the one-to-one business coaching they need.
This whole way of working is invaluable when it comes to reaching the point where YOU CAN see the wood through the trees. Members become able to see things through the eyes of others, can hear what their peers and experts in the room have to say, and come to realise that everyone is facing pretty much the same issues, just in different fields.
This type of community, where everyone is working together is synergy operating at its best – helping you manage your way to the success you want (and deserve).
One of the key aspects of the Business Growth Club is accountability. How often have you sworn – to yourself or to others – that you’re going to do XYZ, then your daily To Do list wins over? Yes. That’s what our research told us too. Left to their own devices, business owners, MDs and CEOs focus on what they need to get done in the ‘here and now’, and often leave the more difficult (but arguably more important/potentially more game-changing) strategic stuff at the bottom of their list.
Our Business Growth Partners hold you accountable, every month! They’ll help you to pull out of each of the sessions what you can take back and apply to your business. They’ll also hold you accountable to make sure you deliver to yourself on commitments you made to yourself. This means there’s action, there’s implementation, and this means the Club makes areal difference to your business – a difference you’ll be able to see after a period of time. You’ll be able to see the positive impact on your business that the tangible changes you’ve implemented have had.
In a nutshell, that’s what the Business Growth Club is all about. I’ll be sharing more information over the next few days and weeks but, in the meantime, if you’d like to find out more, just reach out by email LMcCutcheon@inspirent.co.uk or by phone on 0345 646 1770
I’d love to hear from you.
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