What NOT to do in Business

It's not often that I see such a strong example of what NOT to do in business.

Yet, on the weekend just gone, this is EXACTLY what I was witness to.

I recently enrolled into my Open Water Dive Certification. I'm living in the Cook Islands for 3 months doing an Osteopathy locum to get my hours up for registration requirements, and so how could I not learn to dive while I'm here!

Little did I know that I'd have 8-10 hours of pre course study and exams to do prior to my first dive! Ekk. The way the dates aligned, I had 3 days to get this done. On top of running a webinar (a very successful one that made me $20K mind you) for my Nutrition program, and 1/2 days of Osteo patients every day.

I'm very good at putting my mind to things I commit to. I got up at 5am, and went to bed late 3 days in a row to get it done. In fact on Friday night, I stayed up til 11.45pm and finally finished the pre course work...with 92% in my final Dive Exam! 

I made it happen!

That is, until it didn't happen! 

Saturday morning, I arrived at the dive venue. Lunch packed, bathers on...ready to dive....

...and the course host told me "I emailed you last night and cancelled it".

Turns out, he emailed me at 4.50pm (which I didn't receive until much later the next day...hmmm), saying "you haven't done your course work". 

Prime example of poor communication. I was told I had to finish my course work BEFORE the practical component, not by 5pm on the Friday. Plus, he had my phone number, so in best business practice, he should have called me to double check I received his email. 

Then, he didn't even have it in him to take ownership and apologise. 

When I called him out on that, he said "Well, I'm sorry, but..."

I have to say...never, ever apologise followed by a 'but'. It completely negates the apology. 

So, what lessons can we learn from this experience to make us better in our businesses:

1) Communication is key. If you need your clients to do something by a set date, let them know, and make sure they receive your communication. 

2) Take ownership. If you mess up, it's ok... as long as you take ownership of it. If you don't, your clients will lose trust in you and look for someone else to help them. 

3) Never follow an apology with a 'but'.

And so on that note...I have an announcement!

I've tweaked my Business Coaching Program to make it more accessible and easier to get started. My full program is now split into two halves. BUILD and SCALE. You can now get started for 1/2 the price of what it was before. And if you have already built an online program you can jump in and join me for SCALE which is all the sales and marketing you need to take your online program next level. 

So if you are a health practitioner or coach wanting to stop trading time for money by building and/or scaling your own profitable online coaching program, let's chat! Book a complimentary Discovery Call to create true time, location and financial freedom: https://www.andrearobertson.health/wcs

Andrea :)