By Cynthia McIntosh
Success With McIntosh

Do you think about your business first thing in the morning before you even get up?  Is your goal for the day what makes you get out of bed?  Then you're probably an entrepreneur.

Do you fall asleep listening to a ceiling fan and hearing a song in the sound it makes?  Do you hear music in every situation?  Then you are an artist.

And whether you are an entrepreneur, an artist, or a business owner, one of the hardest lessons to learn is teamwork.  I have the right to say that...I'm a self-employed entrepreneur, and I speak from experience.  Nowhere in school, at least not when I was in college (and granted, that was lightyears ago), did they teach students on the subject I am going to cover in this blog, and yet I believe it is one of the most important lesson one has to learn in order to be successful in business.  And it's worth repeating - regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur, business owner, or artist, this blog is relevent to you.  Artists don't always think of themselves as business owners, and that is something I have discussed with quite a few artists, but you are.  If your music is your career, then it is your business.  And as a business owner, this blog is important to you.

As entrepreneurs and artists, we are very passionate about what we do.  It's different than having a 9 to 5 job working for someone else and creating their dream.  Our work is who we are...it's what drives us.  It's what wakes us up in the morning.  It's what we talk about the most.  It is what determines what kind of relationships we have.  Many of, and sometimes ALL of our decisions throughout the day are made around our work.  And that's not necessarily a bad thing if handled in a positive way - but I'll save that discussion for another blog.  But it's not a bad thing.  In fact, I happen to LOVE to work with entrepreneurs and artists BECAUSE of that passion and zeal for life and work.  They are inspiring.  They are determined.  And they typically just don't let things get them down.  One thing for sure - you DON'T tell them "it can't be done"!

But, back to teamwork...
The very characteristics that I just described also often times become our greatest challenge.  The fact that we are so passionate about our work, the fact that we are so emotionally invested in our work, the very fact that our work is so much of who we are makes it very, very difficult for us to "share" - in fact, it can feel like it is almost impossible.  We have a hard time giving up the reigns.  It is incredibly hard for us to let someone else take over a segment of our businesses and to hand over control.  It feels unnatural, it feels like it goes against everything we believe in, and it is as scary as __________ (you can fill in the blank).  The hardest thing for an entrepreneur or artist to do is trust someone else with any aspect of their business.  And that is because that business is our dream.  It is our vision.  It is our baby!  If an artist writes a song, he has poured out his heart and soul into that song.  If an entrepreneur starts a business, he has probably set aside everything else, and even gambled with everything else, in order to make that business happen.  And nothing was more exciting than when that business or song came to life.  So now to trust a portion of it to someone else is really difficult.

But this is what I tell clients - you can't be an expert at everything.  If you tell yourself you are, you'd better be careful.  I don't want to go to a doctor who tells me that he is an expert at everything, because I won't trust him.  If I need to go to the doctor because I have a heart issue, you'd better believe that I am going to go to a specialist!  Well, we need to give our businesses the same kind of care.  If we hang on to all aspects of our business and insist on doing it all by ourselves and on retaining control of everything, our business is going to suffer.   It won't reach it's full potential.  It won't grow as it should.  It is really important to pay attention to your business by providing it the care it needs and deserves.  And the way to do that, while in principle is simple, putting it into action is not simple.  What I tell most clients that are having trouble with their businesses is this: "Take the time to build relationships.  Find people you really trust.  Hire experts you really trust, let them take over the things in your business that you are not an expert at, and you do what is your expertise and passion."  It is important to hire people with the mindset of getting to really know and trust them and let them take over areas of your business that you need help with.

Because I have seen this as a common problem among clients, I have created mastermind groups that are designed for entrepreneurs and artists and their unique needs.  Our mastermind groups are put together in a format that provides individualized guidance to each member, and creates strong relationships built on trust, a common mindset, and a desire to support each other's businesses.  The beauty of surrounding yourself with other business owners and learning to know and trust them, to share your expertise with them and have them do the same for you, is that you find that it opens up amazing doors.  Every person in the group will have a different background, different experiences, different training, and different strengths.  And so as you share your business concerns, every person in the group will consider the concerns from a different perspective.  In the mastermind groups, you will build a team that will focus on building your business and provide you with expertise that you don't have, and you will have the opportunity to do the same for each of them.  And that is powerful!  As entrepreneurs and artists, we tend to be "tunnel visioned" - we are so close to the problem that it is hard to see the right steps to take to overcome the problem.  So it is absolutely amazing and so exciting to watch what happens when you put a group of 12 passionate business owners together, sit one of them down, have him share is concerns, listen to the other 11 members give input, and watch everything come together.  So often you will hear "I never would have thought of that!" or "How in the world did I miss that?!" and you will always here "Wow!  Thank you so much everyone!"  12 heads really is better than 1!

So if you don't have a strong team put together yet to help you run your business, consider joining one of our mastermind groups that are starting up.  You will find the support and the inspiration alone to be incredibly empowering.  And even if you do have a strong support system in place, we'd still love to have you on our team!  Join a group, share your expertise, and be a part of the success of others.  If you are anything like me, that is the most fulfilling thing one can do.

And as always, if you have any questions, concerns, comments, suggestions...feel free to contact us.  We would love to hear from you.  And we look forward to helping you in any way we can.

If you need help creating a positive focus and vision for your life, we'd love to hear from you.  We are hear to help and would be thrilled to be a part of your success story.  Feel free to contact us, and we look forward to hearing from you!

©Success With McIntosh