The Journey Within: How Accountability Partners Help Each Other

So, you’re not where you want to be in your business or personal life. You have goals, but you’re inching toward them. It feels like every step is a struggle and you’re just not seeing the results you want. You don’t feel motivated. You feel stuck and helpless to change.

You’re not alone. Many people experience feelings of being stuck when it comes to their goals. You probably started out with plenty of energy but within a few days or weeks, your energy fizzled out. Weeks and maybe even months have passed but you’re not any closer to achieving your goals.

An accountability partner might be the answer for you. An accountability relationship is a simple way to get back into gear and start moving toward your goals. It’s easy to set goals and make no progress when no one is watching over your shoulder. But when you have an accountability partner, it’s much harder to slack off because we usually work harder to honour commitments we make to other people than we do to ourselves.

Think of Weight Watchers. The weight loss program has accountability built right in. From the weigh ins to the weekly meetings, members are accountable to each other.

Here are a few instances how an accountability partner can be most helpful to you:

An accountability partner helps you shape your goals so you set ones that are achievable. For example, you could set goals to go back to school for your degree, start a side business and spend more time with loved ones. An accountability partner would gently point out that while those are good goals they may be difficult to achieve at the same time.

An accountability partner helps you break down your goals. It’s good to set ambitious goals, ones that force you out of your comfort zone and encourage growth. But ambitious goals must be broken down into smaller steps. That’s where an accountability partner comes in. A smart partner can help you focus on taking one step at a time until you reach your big goals.

An accountability partner helps you deal with roadblocks. Everyone struggles at some point when they go after their goals. An accountability partner can help you brainstorm ways to get around your challenges and find success. For example, if your goal is to launch an online business but the tech stuff has you feeling confused, your partner could offer both moral support and fresh solutions.An accountability partner helps you with brainstorming. Have you ever had an idea for a great project but you just couldn’t find a name that captured it perfectly? With an accountability partner, you can try brainstorming to come up with a title that you love. Together, you can brainstorm domain name ideas, marketing strategies, podcast episodes, webinar content and much more.

An accountability partner can test your products. Nothing’s quite as scary as launching a new product and no one understands that fear like another solopreneur or small business owner. One way accountability partners can help is by testing products before they’re officially released. For example, if you have a website with a shopping cart, you’ll want someone to test it for you. Your accountability partner tests your cart and shares their honest feedback. Your partner might tell you that your cart is broken or point out an area where you’re missing out on additional sales. 

An accountability partner helps you create a joint venture. If you have an accountability partner you’ve clicked with, it might be time to take the next step together—creating a joint venture. This approach works well when you have two partners who bring different skill sets to the table. For example, if you’re a copywriter and your accountability partner offers web design services, why not team up to create a DIY website course?

Accountability partners can promote each other’s products as affiliates. This allows you to introduce your customers to your partner’s products or services. If you’ve been accountability partners with another solopreneur or small business owner and you enjoy working together, consider other ways to support each other. Start by having an honest chat with your partner and tell them how you’d like to further your working relationship. Be sure to let your subscribers know that since you’ve already been accountability partners, you can vouch for their ethics and excellent customer service. 

With the support of an accountability partner, you’re able to escape the rut you’re in. You’ll also feel more energized and able to tackle your goals once again.