It’s easy to lose sight of everything you have accomplished, especially when you’re laser-focused on a goal. Going into Q3 of this year, I made it my mission to “grow” my business and focus on moving the needle a little more.
When I talk about growing my business, I am referring to increasing my business’s content production side. I am currently at max capacity for clients, and the next step for me is to grow my brand. The side of my business that includes content and information for all of you guys! I want to have resources available to everyone, no matter where they are in their marketing journey. I’d made little steps toward this goal at the beginning of the year but was really able to progress this last quarter.
Here is why I recommend joining an accountability group, my experience with hosting one, and what I learned along the way.
Why I Decided to Host an Accountability Group
Last quarter I had three goals in mind:
- Post 2 blog post each month
- Launch my newsletter and promote my email list with an enticing lead magnet
- Document the most used process in my business so I can begin hiring when I am ready
It is hard finding time to carve out for your business when you’re already working a full forty hours per week on client work. It’s basically like adding on another client. All of these goals are working towards the larger goal of having another source of income from my business that I don’t have to worry too much about. But it requires quite a bit of start-up effort.
This was when I decided to reach out and see if anyone wanted to be a part of an accountability group. We met every Thursday at 7 pm and discussed what we worked on last week and our goals for the following week. We were all in similar industries, so we were able to work out any issues we were having.
Benefits of an Accountability Group
The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%.
I don’t know about you, but if committing to an accountability group increased my chances of achieving my goals this much, I would join one.
How to Start Your Group
When I began building the group, I posted my outreach in a few Facebook groups with a form attached. Here is an example of the message I posted:
“Hi Everyone! I just mapped out my Q3 plan and am looking for an accountability buddy/small group to help keep each other on track for the next 12 weeks (maybe longer if everything is going well!) A little about me I am a content strategist, and my focus for Q3 is all about setting a solid foundation for my business and focusing more time on my actual business marketing. I have a full client load and want to begin working on what the other side of my business will start to look like. I’ve never done this before but I’m hoping to set weekly check-in times via zoom or google meet. I have created a form to make the process easier. Thank you!”
The form was short, including the following questions:
- Email address
- Tell me a little about yourself and your business
- Are you open to a small group of 4-5 women?
- Which time works best for you?
To be honest, I didn’t get that many responses, only five! But I made sure to email everyone who was interested. Only three women responded to my email and those are eventually who the group was made of!
The Results
So I’ve talked alot about the benefits of joining an accountability group, but you’re probably wondering – “did she even accomplish the three goals she talked about in the beginning?” The answer is yes. Here is a list of what I accomplished last quarter:
- Hosted an accountability group (I know I sound like a broken record)
- Published 6 blog posts
- Posted on IG 25/90 days
- Began running FB ads (this was huge, especially after having my ad account shut down!)
- Started promoting my free lead magnet (social media strategy template)
- Added a new client
- Transitioned to an s-corp
Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments below if any of these tips helped and if you want to know more about how I became an online business owner? Read my full story here.
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