Cathy owned a kitchen supply store and read my newsletter regularly for years. She told me how she loved many of my tips and suggestions.

I asked her to tell me about one of them and its impact on her business. There was a brief silence, and then she shared that she had never seen them through.

I asked her why. She said she was often too overwhelmed to get started, and when she did, everybody, including her, just went back to doing what they had been doing.

Cathy isn’t alone. I was also like that until I learned the “secret” to successfully integrating growth and change into my life and business.

I find there are three elements to successful growth:

1. Keep it simple.

2. Three to four weeks of singular focus.

3. Having some accountability.

And that’s what I did with Cathy. I told her I wanted to be her coach for one month—nothing longer—and I was positive she would make 10x or more than she paid me.

So, we went with one change. For her team, it was always showing two products at once. She believed it was something she did well, but her staff usually only showed one at a time. Not surprisingly, it was also the lowest-priced product.

She got started. Or she said she was going to. After checking in with her after a few days, I learned she was still getting “ready.” I reminded her that only action grows her staff and results.

Then she really got started.

She invested time each day to work with whatever employees were on that day.

She set new expectations. She started holding them accountable.

She coached them with praise and instructive feedback.

Then the success started to happen.

The store’s average ticket started going up.

The daily sales increased.

So did her conversion rate.

By the fourth week, her team naturally showed two products at once.

I checked in with her months later, and they were still going strong. Even better, they had added two new customer engagement elements.

Cathy told me she had made far more than a 10x return on her investment. She said working with her staff made her a better leader, coach, and owner, and the best part was that it reduced her stress.

Cathy finally saw the change in her staff and herself because of the three “secrets” of keeping it simple, having a singular focus daily, and being accountable.

You can achieve anything you want with those three elements.

These are also three foundational elements of my new Learn, Coach, and Grow. Along with the 24/7 TimeFlex Coaching digital platform, I can quickly, efficiently, and affordably help you improve yourself and your store.

I will help you increase your sales without a store visit. Without regularly scheduled calls. We’ll do it with QuickStart Learning strategies, TimeFlex Coaching, and the RapidImpact Growth approach.

I would be honored to be your coach.

So let me ask three questions:

1. What's the funniest cooking fail you've experienced? (Mine was the time I tried to grill tofu. I mean, that was bound to fail.)

2. If your brain had a theme song while trying to focus, what would it be? (Somedays, mine would be Highway to Hell by AC/DC. On other days, it would be Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift. On the best days, it’s Can’t Touch This" by MC Hammer!)

3. What is the one thing you can do over the next month to grow yourself, your staff, and/or results?