How many of you feel very alone in your business? Your family doesn’t have a clue what you do. Your friends think you’ve ‘lost it’. And there are days when you feel so isolated and lonely that you, too, wonder if it’s worth it.

I know – I’ve been there! The first year I moved across the country and worked from a home-based office, I thought I would lose it. Being an entrepreneur can be a hard, lonely, journey – but we can change that.

Everybody needs somebody, sometime. And when it comes to running your business, I would say you need somebody all the time. I know from experience.

At the recent Chick-Fil-A Leadercast conference, there were many speakers who had powerful messages. Dr. Henry Cloud spoke about necessary endings, and I loved his analogies about monkeys. Dr. Cloud spoke about some research that had a monkey in a cage. This monkey was by himself, and subjected to all kinds of loud sounds and flashing lights. He was freaked out, and his cortisol, or stress hormone, was off the charts.

The researchers then kept the lights flashing, the sirens wailing but……. added another monkey into to the cage. The first monkey’s stress level went down by half. And why? Simply put, he was not alone anymore. He had a friend to be there for him. Even when the other monkey couldn’t stop the sirens and flashing lights, his mere presence was calming.

That really stuck with me, as I came to a deeper understanding of why it is necessary to be part of a master mind group and to have accountability buddies. I will now refer to them as my monkeys…

That is a powerful and successful strategy for all entrepreneurs.  You must not ‘go it alone’ – the benefits of having a buddy are phenomenal.

1)      You can no longer hide. It’s easy to go through life being ‘busy’. By the end of the day, it’s easy to wonder just what you achieved. With a ‘buddy, you’re accountable for action.

2)      Someone ‘has your back’, all the time. Just imagine the feeling………someone cares, really cares about you and what’s going on in your world.

3)      You have someone to celebrate with. It can be mighty lonely – especially at times when you’ve just closed a sale, you’ve booked a speaking engagement, you succeeded in a tough coaching call with a client. Your buddy is there to cheer you on. There’s no feeling like it!

4)      You learn from each other’s mistakes. You can try different things – share what worked and what didn’t work – and learn from each other. Masterful.

5)      You make greater progress on a daily basis. When you are accountable to someone else, on a daily basis, you tend to get things done. We are often weak when it comes to the power of our own word – but more often than not, when we commit to someone else, we follow through.

6)      It’s fun! We don’t have enough fun in our lives these days. Getting connected with an accountability buddy and strengthening that relationship can make all the difference in your world. You can end up with a life-long friend!

Many entrepreneurs plug away, each and every day, all on their own. As Dr. Phil would say – ‘how’s that working for you?” We are human beings and we need to be connected – we need to feel connected.

When you do connect with an accountability buddy, it’s important to express your expectations. I have been known to fire my buddy in the past because of disappointing experiences – when it doesn’t work with one particular person, have the courage and clarity to make a change. It’s well worth it.

I would not be experiencing the level of success (and connectedness) that I do, without the relationship with my accountability buddies and my ‘circle of 5’ when it comes to my professional friends. That is why it is so easy for me to succeed, to attract ideal clients, to make lots of money and create a financially solid business and life.

And I want that for you too. Reach out today – hire a coach – get into a master mind group and get yourself a buddy. Then, you, too can join me in song: “Hey, hey, we’re the monkeeeeees so let’s go monkey around!”

What benefits do you see by having an accountability buddy when it comes to growing your business?

Please share your thoughts!