How many times have you said “I’m going to do that” and didn’t do the thing you said you were going to? It just kind of fell off your to-do list and was never to be seen or heard from again. Sound familiar? You’re not alone!

When you’re running a wedding business, there’s no shortage of ideas. I bet you come up with great ideas all of the time! What’s less common, is actually taking action on those ideas to bring you closer to your goals. Maybe that’s because you got distracted, clients took up too much time, or you’re just not sure how to execute on your ideas so they get shelved. No matter why you didn’t take action, its something that having some accountability can help. Here are 5 ways that accountability can help you in your wedding business.

1. They hold your feet to the fire

One of the best ways you can build your business is by being accountable to someone other than yourself.

Why? It’s harder to lie to someone else than it is to yourself. It’s why having a gym buddy makes you actually get up and go to the gym.

You can convince yourself that you’ll get to that great idea or important task next week, but if you have someone holding you accountable, they’ll point out that you’ve said that for the past 3 weeks and ask you why you keep putting it off. The freedom and flexibility that we have as business owners is amazing, but it also makes it incredibly easy to just sort of drift without any real direction.

Without someone to hold your feet to the fire, it can feel like there are no real deadlines and that your commitments to yourself don’t really matter. The person who is holding you accountable should be prepared to be brutally honest with you and call you on your BS excuses (we all have them) as well as help and support you.

2. They know your business well but are outside of it

Do you ever get that tunnel vision in your business where it feels like you can’t see the forest through the trees? When you’re in a business, it can be hard to have an accurate external perspective. Even when you do get an external perspective from someone who means well (like your parents, siblings, friends, etc) it may not help because they don’t know your business.

I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced this in my own business and one of my business friends that holds me accountable will say something so simple like “Well why don’t you just do this?” and :BAM: problem solved. Those are the “Duh Heidi” moments that remind me that being in business for yourself doesn’t mean you have to do it all alone. Sometimes you just can’t see solutions that are right in front of you because of your vantage point.

Getting an outside perspective is important but it can’t be from just anyone. While your grandma may have some ideas about what you could do in your business, chances are she doesn’t truly understand what you’re going for and what you need. It is important that the person holding you accountable understands your goals, your ideal client, and your business model.

3. They make your goals real

There is something very different about writing down goals for yourself and telling someone what you’ll accomplish and when. When you do that, shit gets real. Because they’re checking on with you, you can’t let those goals slip to the back burner. You know you’re going to have to face them on a regular basis and if you didn’t take action on your goals, they’re going to ask you why. Nobody likes having that conversation when they didn’t take action, so guess what? They take action! Sometimes wanting to avoid an uncomfortable conversation is enough to push you into action.

4. They help you spot your patterns

If you just can’t seem to do what you said you were going to do, your accountability partner is going to notice, and they’re able to see your patterns in a different way than you can. They might notice that you’re putting too much on your plate and that’s why you can’t seem to get things to done or that during weeks that you have a lot of client work, maybe it’s best to not work a lot on marketing activities so you need to batch those. These are things we typically don’t notice about ourselves that are clear as day to your accountability partner.

5. They can help you move forward

An accountability partner can help you brainstorm, make a plan, and troubleshoot it as you go. They’re familiar with your business and know what you’re working on, so they’re more able to help you course correct when things go wrong. Your accountability partner can make suggestions about how you should go about taking a particular action so that it’s easier for you to accomplish and they can help you with strategy. Perhaps most importantly, they can ask you why you’re doing things so that you’re forced to stop and evaluate yourself to be sure you’re taking action on the most important things in your business instead of just the bright shiny objects.

Accountability can be a game-changer for business owners, especially those who are prone to distraction by new ideas and bright shiny object syndrome. That’s why I’m introducing a new way to work with me as part of The Wedding Business Collective.

The VIP Level

The Wedding Business Collective is a great fit as-is for some people, but some people could really benefit from some one-on-one help so they can make focused progress even faster. If you’ve felt the need to accelerate your progress, this is for you. I’ve also noticed that many of my one-on-one coaching clients are in need of educational resources so I’m merging those services together into the new VIP level. Combining personalized strategic advice, goal setting, and accountability the VIP level is designed to accelerate your success with my support and guidance.

In this new, very limited VIP level, you’ll get….

• A private one-on-one strategy call with me each month. We’ll spend an hour each month diving into whatever it is you need help and you’ll leave the call knowing exactly what you need to do next to move forward on your goals.
• Weekly accountability check-ins. At the beginning of each week, I’ll check in with you to see what your goals are for the week and at the end of the week, I’ll check in with you again to see if you achieved your goals. If not, I’ll be able to help you figure out why and what you can change! You’ll be able to choose whether you prefer text message or email check-ins.
• Priority Member Makeover. No need to submit your website and wait for your turn to come. As a VIP member you can submit your website and within a week, you’ll have a Member Makeover recording full of feedback on what you could improve ready for you to watch. If you make big changes to your website, you can submit your site again as well (up to once per month).
• You’ll also have access to everything else included in The Wedding Business Collective now in addition to this added one-on-one support!

The VIP level of The Wedding Business Collective is for you if….

• You need help making progress in your business and you’re sick of doing it alone.
• You want more accountability to make things happen in your business.
• You want to get laser-focused and make some serious progress toward your goals.
• You want dedicated strategy advice and feedback specific to your unique business.

The VIP level is not for you if….

• You’re not prepared to devote the time and energy required to taking action.
• You’re looking for someone to do it all for you. This is added support and strategy, not a done-for-you service.
• You’re looking for a magic potion to make your business instantly successful.

There are only 6 spots available in the VIP level so if you’re interested click here to claim your spot!