Archive for the ‘Coaching’ Category

The Trouble With “I’ll Do It Later”

16
Jan
2012

We’re not here to admonish you for putting something off; it happens to the best of us and with crazy schedules, some “to-do” items get hustled to the side. However, how many times have you said, “I’ll do it later”, yet you never did? The next time you’re tempted to utter these words, pause just one moment and think if postponing that is just an excuse for not taking care of it now, while it’s top of mind. Think of one thing you should do for your business, but haven’t. Would it help if you put it in action today?

Your challenge: if it will help your business, commit to inking it and following through, both on your calendar and in your mind. The trouble with postponing beneficial things is they may never get done, and thus, your business never gets to enjoy the rewards. The other problem is when you really decide you MUST do it, there are usually a bunch of other things screaming for your attention at the same time. By putting it in writing that you are going to do it, you’re one big step from having completed it. You’ll be surprised how easy it will be to just finish it up, then get to that other thing you’ve been postponing. Running your business is really a series of little things, all put together to form the whole. With each piece taken care of, the entirety performs better.

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Choosing Your Words for Success

03
Jan
2012

Success in business depends as much on your hard and smart work as it does on your choice of words in defining or talking about it. Negative words surrounding it make it become more of a chore and bad experience. We challenge you to think about what you’re saying about your work and change some of the words to define, (1)a more positive outlook, and (2)step towards a goal to improve things.

Examples:

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Small Business Simplicity: Your New Year’s Challenge

30
Dec
2011

The year is drawing to a close and there is no shortage of great advice floating about the Interwebs or newstands on how to be your very best in the New Year. Personally, it’s easy to get crushed under the overwhelm of all the things we *should* be doing. Sure, we nod in agreement and make vows (silently, outloud and even in writing) that we’ll do better this next year. We’re super-humans, right? Quite the contrary: we can only do so much and what’s more, we can only do so much *really well*, especially when we’re charged with numerous commitments, demands and expectations. In our “gotta be the best” society, is it any wonder the best of intentions are left to ferment sometime around the end of January?

So here’s what I’m proposing for your small business: take it easy and bite off what you can chew fully and nothing more, at least until you’re ready. Be simple in taking on your challenges in the New Year and choose those things that you feel adamant about, those things that will be impact decisions in your business. Have you postponed getting an accountant, thinking you have a handle on your books? Maybe this year is the time to turn your numbers over to people trained and dedicated to handling accounting. Is this the year you finally formalize your brand? Sit down and go over the aspects of this and put a plan to have it done and rolled out by a certain date. Or maybe this is the year you finally embark on the social media journey. Look thoughtfully at what that will take, as well as how you can commit to this kind of marketing for the whole year.

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“Free” Costs Someone: 9 Ways to Show Your Love

01
Nov
2011

you rockAs frugal and savvy business people, we need to find information and tools for as inexpensively as we can, and free if at all possible. This kind of thinking prevents us from burning too much of our own resources and also keeps us in the “hunting” frame of mind, always on the look out for something to make our business brighter and better. There is, though, the other side of this coin: someone developed that free something for you to use. Was it a web app, seminar, blog post? Was it a workshop, podcast, newsletter? Or was it simply a useful link? Whatever it was, you benefited from the work and time of someone else, and have moved your business forward in some small, maybe even a large way. So read this twice: Someone else did the work and you benefited. How are you showing your love?

Here’s the reality: In order for them to continue to keep giving you useful free stuff, they must have enough paid work to make it happen. Just like you, they have overhead, bills, and costs associated with doing business. They juggle schedules, deadlines and demands. In order that they meet their obligations and continue to provide the free stuff you’ve come to know and love, they need to have the resources available to divvy up and slice some time away to work on that stuff that’s helping you. This means they need not only your thanks, but your support and recommendations.

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4 Business Coaching Conspiracy Theories That Might Actually be True

22
Sep
2011
A Private Place When you think of business coaching, what comes to mind first? Rah-rah sessions? Feel-good moments where you get a pat on the back and validation for all of your ideas and decisions? If you believe this is what business coaching is, we have some news for you: it’s not. We’re here to dispel some notions you’ve come to know and set the record straight. If there was ever a doubt, be clear that your business coach is conspiring…
  1. We will tear apart your ideas. The truth is good coaches will tell you when you’re wrong and will help you avoid pitfalls in every way possible. Sure, we’ll let you keep and refine the good ones, but the bad ones, the unprofitable or ill-conceived ones will get promptly kicked to the curb.
  2. You won’t be able to hide behind excuses. Sorry, but you’ll need to share your excuses with someone who wants to hear them, it’s just not us. Reasoning, yes, excuses, no. We want the truth why something wasn’t done like it should have been. We want your accountability to be first. Excuses fix nothing. Excuses are the anti-fixer.
  3. We will prove that you don’t always know best. You hired us to be an adviser to you, to help you. Fighting sound ideas we develop for you, or not implementing them is not helping your business. Let us do our job. We want you to succeed.
  4. We will make you uncomfortable. It’s really part of the job description to make clients squirm a bit. The reasoning is simple: when things are too much the same, complacency cannot be far behind.
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3 Dangerous Trends That Can Destroy You and Your Small Business

12
Sep
2011

Does your business own you or is it the other way around? Some business owners we know are working harder than ever, logging more hours, but seemingly never catching up. Others are trying hard to control their businesses, but instead are being controlled by it. Still others seem scattered, frantically running from fire to fire. What’s the problem? Business ownership should be fun and it should be profitable. We see some dangerous trends with businesses and while many will point to the economic climate or other issues, the truth is, this hasn’t just cropped up. It’s time to stop and make a couple adjustments to some deadly business trends.

  • Trend One: Running on Empty. “Getting up and working earlier all the time means I’ll get all my work done and I’ll get all caught up.” This is pure folly. Our bodies and brains need rest and need to have time away from work, so constantly starting at the crack of dawn and working past dusk does not cut it. Statistically, people will perform poorest when they don’t get adequate rest, plus solutions for nagging problems can’t surface if the brain is exhausted. It’s hard to be on your game when you’re sleep-deprived and stressed to the gills.  Here is a great article on ways to help your brain. Bottomline: Get away and get some sleep! Make a commitment to keep yourself refreshed so you bring your very best to your business.
  • Trend Two: Fear of Delegation. If you are a “gotta do it myself all the time” kind of person, take a step back and be honest with yourself: Are there some minor admin chores of your day eroding billable time that you could be devoting to bringing in business? An easy way to move past this roadblock: delegate small tasks and be very clear on the expectations you have. If you’re a small shop, hire someone for only a few hours at a time and let them prove themselves. Over time, their worth will be shown by allowing you to work more efficiently, making your hire an asset, rather than a liability. Rule of thumb: get rid of whatever you can do, but really shouldn’t be wasting your time on.
  • Trend Three: No Plan for Marketing. When’s the best time to be marketing? All the time. When a business is busy and flush with customers, it’s easy to think things are okay. This short-sighted comfort can kill your business. Why? Because you need to keep the pipeline filled at all times, let the business begins to dry up. Customers can come and go, so if you’re marketing consistently, you won’t really experience the downturn some businesses face when there their marketing goes flat. A solution: make a concerted, written-down plan for marketing for just the next quarter. Commit to it and let nothing stand in the way of doing it. By taking it in quarterly chunks, you can make adjustments when some marketing isn’t getting the results you need.
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How to Start Your Own Blog

11
Aug
2011

{205} Blogging again A blog can be a great way to delve into social media or it can be a the centerpiece to an established social media campaign. It is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with customers, showcase your expertise, increase visits to your site, and create a friendly persona for your company.  You can add photos, how-to videos, whatever! The opportunities are endless. Plus blogs are easy to update, as it’s not abnormal for blogs to have multiple contributors posting throughout the week. More so than anything, blogs are interactive, allowing you to solicit feedback from customers and engage them in conversation. Great, right?! But now you’re probably wondering where to start.

First thing’s first. You need to select hosting, a domain name, and a blogging software platform. Our platform of choice is  WordPress, but there are many options out there that might suit your needs. What you use to create your blog isn’t necessarily the important part. Rather, you should make always make sure you self-host your blog. What does this mean? It means paying an annual fee to a service for hosting your blog. By doing this, you control your domain and the content, plus get the benefit of the traffic to your site.

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