Actioncoach Vanguard Business Coaching

09/08/2026

I was working longer hours than I ever had and somehow getting less done. I thought I was just tired. I was wrong.

Burnout is not a personal problem you push through. It changes how you think, how you lead, and how you make decisions. And the moment it starts affecting your team, your customers, and your cash flow, it has become a business problem.

If your business cannot function when you need to recover, that is not a discipline issue. That is a systems issue. A business built entirely on your energy will eventually run out of it. The fix is not rest. The fix is building a business that does not require you to be present for everything.

Comment READY and I will book you in for a free 30-minute business debrief.

09/04/2026

A business can have revenue, employees, equipment, and activity and still not be truly profitable. The quiet signs of a healthy business are not how full the calendar looks.

They are healthy cash flow, strong margins, money set aside for taxes, and an owner who pays themselves consistently. The biggest sign of all is freedom. Can you step away without everything falling apart? If the answer is no, that is not a busyness problem.

That is a business problem.

08/31/2026

The best clients I've ever coached have two things in common, and neither has anything to do with their industry or their revenue.

They come to sessions ready to learn about something. And they do the work between sessions.

The magic isn't in the meeting. It's in the thirteen days between meetings when they actually implement.

Coaching is like a gym membership. It only works if you use it.

08/28/2026

Try this at your next team meeting: a WIFLE ("What I Feel Like Expressing").

Everyone gets the floor, uninterrupted, to say whatever's on their mind. No fixing, no debating, just listening.

When people know they'll be heard, they talk, and what they say tells you more than any report ever will.

Run it this week. Just listen.

Comment READY and I'll book you a free 30-minute business debrief.
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08/26/2026

The moment most owners get busy, they stop marketing.

The phone is ringing, they're heads down delivering, and it feels fine.

But leads you generate today become revenue 60 to 90 days from now.

When they come up for air, the pipeline is empty and revenue drops. That rollercoaster is not bad luck. It is a habit.

Marketing has to be a non-negotiable weekly activity, not something you do when things slow down.

08/24/2026

If your business is busy but you still don’t feel like you’re getting paid the way you should, this one is for you.

Today at 4:00 p.m., We're leading the Ankeny Area Chamber’s Profit Academy: "Get Paid From Your Business".

We’ll talk about the numbers that matter, how profit and cash are different, and the decisions that help your business support your life instead of just keeping you busy.

It’s a virtual session, free for Ankeny Chamber members. Registration is required.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/profit-academy-your-cash-from-your-business-tickets-1979372730119

Presented by ActionCOACH Vanguard for the Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce.

Learn which numbers drive your business and improve your performance so that you can sell your business at its highest value.

08/21/2026

Most owners hire on skill and fire on attitude.

They get desperate, grab the first person with the right resume, and six months later that skilled person has poisoned the culture.

Before you ever post a job listing, you need three things: an org chart that shows where this role fits, a position contract that spells out what winning looks like in the job, and your company's rules of the game so you can hire people who actually fit.

You can teach almost anyone the work. You can't teach someone to care.

08/19/2026

I watch this pattern constantly: business owners hustle, get busy, and stop filling the pipeline. Heads down delivering, phone still ringing, feels fine. But leads today become revenue 60 to 90 days out.

So when they come up for air, the pipeline's empty. Revenue drops. They panic, market hard, get busy, stop marketing again. That rollercoaster isn't bad luck. It's a habit, and it's an expensive one.

The fix: make marketing a non-negotiable weekly activity, not something you do when things are slow. A system, not a mood.

Comment READY, and I'll book you a free 30-minute business debrief.
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08/18/2026

At ActionCOACH, we teach six stages every business moves through: Mastery, Marketing, Leverage, Team, Synergy, and Results.

Most owners are stuck at Mastery, doing everything themselves and wondering why growth has stalled.

The thing that has to change at every stage is the same: the owner letting go of the level below them.

Which step is your business on right now?

08/13/2026

The skill that got your business started is the one that caps its growth. Painting, books, sales calls whatever craft got you in the door, at some point you have to let it go.

Most owners won't. It's comfortable. But every hour on $25-an-hour work is an hour not spent building the business.

You have to fire yourself from your old job before you can start your real one. That's the hardest shift most owners make.

Comment READY, and I'll book you a free 30-minute business debrief.
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