Fab 5

If 2020 taught us anything it was you can't do this (life) alone. No man or woman is an island. You need a group of people that understand you, your life, and business. The people who really know you, excel in honestly, and are trustworthy are gifts. Let's call this group your "Fab 5". They are going to be your lifelines. They will be your first call when stuff hits the fan. Notice I didn't use the word "if". It is better if you just know and prepare for the fact that owning a business is tough and there will be HARD and HARDER days along this beautiful and amazing journey.

Here are my suggestions for your Fab 5:

The Optimist- You need someone who will always see the glass half full no matter what. Call them when you know it is going be alright eventually (meaning a long term solution to your current crisis is in place) but you are having a series of tough days.

The Realist: Most times after the initial jump into any life change you will run into a cross roads where you will have to re-evaluate. Call the realist when you hit that crossroad. They should have general understanding of you, your business and how it works, be a good listener, and most importantly solution driven. If you are making changes to your business model, personal brand, or target market include them in early stages of that process. They will give you a honest opinion and sometimes you need that outside look to balance the data and your bias.

The Listener- You need someone who will allow you to vent about the crap that you can't anticipate or explain in life or business that frustrates the heck out of you. Call the listener when you have a moment where you believe Ashton Kutcher is waiting with the film crew of “Punked” because of an unbelievable issue or obstacle that has come up. Believe it or not most of time things usually work themselves out with very little action on your part. The Listener will let you get all of that out in a venting session, you will feel 10 times better and you can avoid a quick or emotional response.

The Fixer- You need an “out of the box” entrepreneur who always has great ideas. The Fixer can help when you run into issues or problems that can be solved with a quick brain storming session, but you are too down in the weeds with the problem to see other options. A quick call to the Fixer will help you come up with Plan A, B, and C and most of the time it is your ideas, but you needed help getting back in that innovative, proactive, and creative thinking space.

The Warrior- If you haven't wanted to give up yet, it is coming. You need someone to talk you out of it. In my case because I am Christian this is a Prayer Warrior. I need someone who will go to God with me and pray when I am not strong enough to do that on my own. The Warrior will help you with the consistency of your prayers and take some of the pressure off keeping your faith at pinnacle levels at all time. It is not that you stop believing, but when you are in the thick of a life or business storm it can be hard to see the other side and speak beyond what you see. This person can help you get there. If you don't believe in God or Prayer think of the person who you know has been to hell and back and got the t-shirt and still smiling...Call them!

My fab 5 has literally saved my life and business on many occasions. Knowing who to call and when to call them has been clutch for me in my journey to success. Take the time during the next week to survey your circle, and mentally assign your “Fab 5”. You will not regret it!