The 3 Types of Support Structures You’ll Need as You Grow
Nov 25, 2024
Summary
- A support structure is any intentional investment of time, energy, or money designed to produce a desired result in your life
- Support structures fall into three categories: Personal, professional, and business
- Not all support structures need to be paid, but they do need to be sufficient to reach your desired goal
Bottom Line Up Front
The next version of you requires different skills, habits, and perspectives - therefore you will need the next level of training, support, and structure. This article is meant to support you in identifying what/who you need on your team.
Background
A support structure is any intentional investment of time, energy, or money designed to produce a desired result in your life. Support structures can range from a simple recurring calendar invite to a daily gratitude practice to a book to a course to a doctorate.
As entrepreneurs, our support structures generally fall into one of three categories. Below, I will focus primarily on support professionals - the people we pay to support a desired goal. These personnel can (and often do) overlap in categories, but my goal is to synthesize and simplify each bucket.
To be effective, the level of support must be equal to or greater than the desired goal. This equation is decided entirely by you. Only you will know what is sufficient for you and what you are willing to commit to and follow through on. A major investment to Person A may be a minuscule investment to Person B.
Support Structure ≥ Desired Goal
1. Personal Support Structures
These structures are designed to support and grow you. They develop your ability to be in relationship with family and friends, heal trauma, overcome fears or harmful patterns, or grow physically, mentally, or emotionally. It is impossible to pour from an empty cup - these professionals keep you filled.
Examples include:
- Therapist
- Personal trainer
- Functional medicine doctor
- Masseuse
- Chiropractor
- Life Coach
- Somatic, Spirituality, or Relationship Coach/Course
- Specialty treatment protocol for health or wellness
- Wellness retreat
- 12-step programs
2. Professional Support Structures
Professional support structures make you a better leader, add a new skill, or add another tool/certification. They expand your repertoire of functions to make you a more effective master of your craft.
This often looks like:
- Further training - team coaching, conflict negotiations, NLP, university certificate program, breathwork, etc.
- Further education - MBA, masters program, PhD
- Leadership or business coach
- Executive function coach
- Retreats or deep dive weekends
- Skill improvement - improv class, Toastmasters
- Speaking coach or training program
3. Business Support Structures
Business support structures are not about developing your ability to execute, they are about developing your business’s ability to execute. At a certain point, we realize that our business exists as an entity outside of us and we need to pay smart knowledgeable people for their expertise so we can focus on the activities only we can/want to do. There is an opportunity cost for becoming an expert in something you do not want to be a pro at.
Clayton Christiansen's Jobs To Be Done theory applies here. With these support structures, we are investing in another person to perform a critical function or complete a task for our business.
This takes the form of:
- Course or website creation services
- Professional design and brand services
- Marketing or social media support
- Automation or operational consultant
- Virtual or executive assistants
- Financial advisor or business manager
- Accountant
- Masterminds
- Referral programs - ex. Business Networking International
- CEO or entrepreneurial roundtables
- Videographer or photographer
Cost
Support Structures do not need to come with a price tag. Entrepreneurs will boast about how much they've spent in a single mastermind course to get a result. That may have worked for Person A, while Person B might have achieved the same result by reading a book.
I repeat… You do not need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to create an extraordinary result.
However, you have to be willing to creatively build a web of support in your business in your life that allows you to create those extraordinary results. There is no such thing as bypassing the inevitable work that you must do to reach the next level of yourself. At a certain point in delivery, you will need external help.
On the contrary, a professional, by definition charges money for their skill and time. Education, experience, and credentials do matter - they indicate the person you were working with is a professional. But ultimately, you must gauge if this professional is a fit for you and your business.
Framing these Investments
Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I would hire one of these people and defer my leadership to them. Now, I relate to each of my contractors as a teammate that I'm responsible for supporting and leading. I work for them and my job is to make their job (helping me) as easy as possible.
That means timely, communication, execution of shared tasks, and follow through and accountability on both sides. Enroll these people early on the way that you want to work together and ensure they are willing to play at the level that you are committed to.
Application
You do not need to have a paid support structure for every one of your goals - this might not be financially viable or even compatible with your life at this moment. However, it is foolish to think that you’ll make significant progress on your goals without having some form of action or structure.
If you find yourself in this position, focus on the minimum effective dose - the smallest unit of input that will move you in the direction of your goal. Start here. And then scale up when you’re ready.
Practices
- Create a list of your goals for the next year
- Document the support structures on your radar that you would like to participate in. You can create a copy of the Support Structures Wishlist here (see format below)
- Reach out to friends and colleagues and ask them for recommendations to fill in the blanks where you may need more support.
