Short rant for this week… and yes, that’s a picture of me in front of the sink, going to do dishes after talking to clients and community all day. 🙂
I was on a call with the members of our Learning Community, and someone mentioned how they were in a free course with someone else. This other teacher was up-selling from the free series into a paid series, which is fine.
However, when someone asked “How much time will this course require?”
And he answered casually, “Oh, like 15-20 hours a week.”
Pause. Deep breath.
What?!?
If you’ve heard this from someone, I want you to know that this is a COMPLETELY UNREALISTIC expectation. I have a business in full-on momentum, and I still have to be vigilant to set aside 4-5 hours/week to work on my book.
I could *never* set aside 15-20 hours/week to work on a class.
This is exactly why so many people take business development courses and make very little progress. Because the person teaching it has no idea what are realistic expectations of students.
I talk about it some in my Don’t Buy Now! guide, on page 23, in the section titled: “Premise Four: A quality program means that a large number of people will achieve average results.” (You can get the guide here, without an opt-in.) https://heartofbusiness.com/2017/dont-buy-now-free-ready/Â
Here are many of the things people in our community have on their plate:
- Chronic illness.
- Elderly, ailing parents.
- Small children.
- Part-time jobs
- Full-time jobs.
- Anxiety.
- Volunteer or activist commitments.
- Past-trauma reactions they are still healing from.
- Actually running the business. Like, seeing clients and stuff.
- Friends who need help moving.
- A garden, or land, or animals that need caring for.
- Adult children who are getting married.
- Kids graduating from high school and going to college, needing support in the transition.
- A partner or spouse who is injured or chronically ill.
- Teens facing bullying.
- Teens with big projects and ambitions, needing support.
- Teens who don’t yet drive with lots of extra-curricular activities.
- Teens who do drive, but how many cars can one family have?
- Friends who need child care help, or other kinds of help.
Oh, and… cooking? Cleaning? Taxes? Laundry?
Hopefully you don’t have ALL of these at once, although several people have several of these. I myself have at least 3-4 at any one time.
When I support our community members around business development, meaning taking on things that make the business ultimately easier to run or more profitable, I suggest maybe 1-3 hours/week on those tasks. Or, if you’re more of an immersive personality, maybe a deep-dive day once per month, or two half days.
Regardless, I could, with a lot of planning, and a LOT of support from my wife, set aside maybe 15 hours in a week, one week, to do something on top of all that is regularly in my flow.
But, wow…
If anyone tries to tell you that you need to be putting 15-20 hours/week into their course, or other kinds of business development effort, then they are probably living a very privileged life, with no real responsibility outside of themselves.
Which is fine, and wonderful place to be, and something to celebrate. But it’s just painful to try and apply advice meant for someone like that, to any of the rest of us.
You *can* develop your business. Your business can develop and grow. You will do it, if you want to.
It’s just not going to happen in a few weeks, and it certainly doesn’t require 15-20 hours/week to do it.
As I just said to members of our Learning Community, “Okay, beloveds. Equal doses of gentleness and boldness. May this month be nourishing!”
I hope this little rant brings you some relief.
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
Learning Community accepting new members.
Twice per year we have an open enrollment for new members into our Learning Community. That’s starting now, and only runs into the middle of March.
We’d love to have you- a spiritually-based, completely practical approach tested with thousands of business owners over the last twenty years.
Priced at pay from the heart.
2 Responses
Very timely rant. I’ve been drawn into these (just looked at an offer yesterday) types of courses only to realize not only was it going to take much more time each week than I had, but I wasn’t at the place in my business where I could fully implement the material. My learning was about not getting sucked into these “buy now” emotions. Your article was validation that I can stop, take a breath, be more realistic about my time and my situation, and most importantly, let go of the guilt or feelings of not enough, which always follow not being able to keep up that pace.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. 🙂
Love, Love, Love this. I’m on overload right now because I have so many things on my plate . My mom is visiting and we preparing for a baby shower I’m hosting for her 9th great-grandchild. I also have a deadline for a major client today. And I’m sick. So many great things are happening, but I am sitting here feeling guilty because I didn’t do one fun thing with my 85-year old mom! I just put her to work, ha, ha. Need to be a little easier on myself because she loves working. Thanks for putting my feelings into words. Congrats on getting your dishes done, lol.