Is It The Word Partner or Accountability That Scares You?

 

I spoke a bit about “Accountability Partners” a few weeks ago.  I know that having my own AP has help me gain clarity and reach productivity levels that I know would not have happened without her.

I began driving the point home about having an A.P. inside the PDTH Forum and one gal has reservations (actually she put up a bit of a  brick wall).

Let me clear up what an Accountability Partner IS Not!

An Accountability Partner is NOT a Business Partnership

You are not partners in business or in life. You may find out about your partners business model (what they feel comfortable sharing) and you might also find out some about their lives.

You may or may not be “in business” with someone else.  I’ve had business partners and this is very different.

A business partner is someone you are accountable too for all parts of your business. The reason you are in business together is crystal clear and you both have projects you are working on together, you also have goals that you are both personally responsible for reaching. You must both “Put up or Shut up” to make the business work. It never ends.

You are both “in” each others business every day – day after day… because you are “in” business together.

An accountability partner is a lot more “fun” in my opinion.

Why Is This Fun?

If you are anything like me… you have a ton of people in your life who have no idea what you really do. Nor… do they really care all that much.  Even my hubby struggles to keep up with everything I have my fingers on.

It’s fun to have someone who just “gets it”. It’s  fun to talk about each others businesses, ideas and even confusions or overwhelming times. All this talk is without any strings attached… did I say how much fun that is?

A business partner doesn’t have much time to have fun… not if you are each working to make 1/2 of the income and are relying on that income to provide for your families.

It’s great when you have a partner who covers your rear-end when you are on vacation or ill… or just need a break. You must always reciprocate and reverse those roles – take on the extra work load.

Accountability May Be A Word You Are Not Comfortable With

When you have a few goals that you have shared with your accountability partner – that partner will shout to the hills when you have accomplished your goals.

When you sell your first new product – start a new income stream and it looks like it’s going to work – have a problem you need to work out in your head… who is on the other end of a Skype call or short/quick email? Your accountability partner.

This partner has nothing (not one thing) vested in your business… and yet they care about all your successes and set-backs.

Won’t Having This Partner Take Up So Much Of My Time?

That depends.  You set your own ground rules. If it’s taking up too much time, share this fact and set some new guidelines.   You do need some sort of schedule to make this work, but schedules are never written in stone.

It also depends on how much you have to share… if you aren’t getting much done and aren’t setting up goals to meet… then you won’t have much to talk about.

Don’t waste each others time!  I find that I’m droning on at times with my partner and she is so nice  (never complains) and yet she knows how to rope me back into the conversation at hand.

Some Examples Of How My Partner and I “Work” Together…

We have one (JUST ONE!) Skype call per week.  These calls can last up to 4 hours… but we have a lot to talk about.

We do email each other. Sometimes it’s several times a day and then we might have 3 or 4 days where we don’t email at all.  These emails are much like a “chat” – I’ll ask a one or two line question and my partner might email me right back (or it might be the next day). I’m not running my business based on input from my A.P.

We question our business models (All of the different income streams we have each set up).

We talk about new ideas and if they make sense to work on now, later or never.

We have each read a few of the same books at the same time (business related) and talk about them – and what we are learning – and how it applies to our business models.

We have come up with ideas for each others business that I don’t think we “EVER” would have thought of on our own.

We have a monthly plan that we share with each other.

We have a loose (flexible) weekly set of goals. If we don’t meet our weekly goals it’s not a huge catastrophe.  We try to help each other figure out how we can “catch up”.

My A.P. found a few books that she knew I was looking for, these books helped to round out my latest public domain niche… and sent them out to me. I’ll be sending her something in return.

We Can Stop At Any Time

If this “partner” wasn’t working out for me (or I her) we can part ways and look for a better fit.

I look forward to my weekly A.P. calls – they are like a breath of fresh air and I am usually re-charged and anxious to get back to “work”.  I feel focused and not at all overwhelmed.

I have no idea why this works… but it does. Give it a try!