My aim for this blog is to provide YOU with ideas, strategies, tools and knowledge about how to market and grow your business. These articles provide answers around how you can grow your business - faster and more successfully. Simple, how-to-solutions that can impact both your business and life success, in an easy to read format.
It's about what you do every day, that will be the difference between business success and business failure. Be passionate and persistant each day.
In this week's Monday's Messenger, I talk with you about the importance of showing up each day and being persistant.
Click here to listen to today's Monday Messenger.
Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below.
Yours in success
Deb
Every entrepreneur must take the time to position themselves within their marketplace. To do this effectively you need to already know who your ideal clients are, as well as your competitors. In this week's Monday's Messenger, I provide you with two additional questions that will help you further clarify your position.
Click here to listen to today's Monday Messenger.
Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below.
This is an important change to make and when it happens you will never waste another minute! In a dollar sense - this means you are comfortable charging for your lifetime of knowledge, learning and experience - don't allow clients to take this for granted. You have invested a lot of time and energy and in life, we only get one chance with our time - we cannot go back and use the last 10 seconds!
2. Get the most out of your day.
Every now and then ask yourself: "Am I making the best use of my time?" If not, stop what you are doing , re-access what you are doing, and begin working on a project that will allow you better use of your time. If you are 'bogged down' or don't want to start a project, use the ten minute rule: set a timer for 10mins and start your project. If after 10mins you still aren't in the flow of this project -stop and move onto another project. If after 10mins you are in the flow of this project, then keep going!
3. Work with goals in mind.
It’s amazing how differently we work when you have goals to work towards. If you don't know what your goals are, stop now and spend some time working out what they may be. Use them as a road map for your daily 'to-do' list! Examples may be professional (project deadline, sales quotas, product development, etc) and personal (health, fitness, family relationship, financial, etc).
4. Handle every e-mail only once.
Use the '3 D' rule of Do it, Delete it or Delegate it. Use day-based folders to keep your inbox on track. Check your emails twice through out the day, and then either respond if that is needed, delete it or place it in the appriorate day-based folder. If you print a copy then use the '3 D' rule, for this as well!
5. Ask some one who is efficient - What their secret is?
Ask the most efficient person you know what their secret is and how did they develop these habits. Then see if it will work for you. Remember that productivity is a habit, so be prepared to give this new habit time.
6. Don't allow anyone to take your time from you.
Set up boundaries around your time. If you are constantly interrupted with phone calls - think about
forwarding your phone to voice mail, and then bundling your return calls at a certain time. If you work by appointments and someone is late for an appointment and hasn't contacted you - give them 15 minutes past the appointed time and then move on. It is up to you as to how you allow other people to use your time!
7. Build family and personal time into your day.
We all need to have the support of our family or friends - so make sure you build them into your daily habits. You don't want to get to the end of your working life and realise that you missed out on the closeness and development of your family.
8. Your health is important - isn't it!
Maintain your health and fitness because this is what will help you through in the long run. There are three things that I feel are valuable to us all - they are time [which we are talking about]; knowledge and energy. Take care of your energy and its levels. At the end of the day being overworked and stressed is only going to hamper your health. So take extra care of this - go for a walk, have a massage, spend time with your family, stop, breathe and smell the roses.
9. Dry clean the clutter from your office and home.
Take some time to remove the clutter from your life. The more you simplifier your office or life the more time you will have. Clutter zaps your energy and allows you to waste time on non-valuable tasks. So plug the holes today.
10. Work in your peak performance times.
Schedule demanding tasks to the part of the day that you work best, where your energy levels are at their highest. It maybe first thing in the morning or early afternoon - work out when it is and then see yourself moving ahead.
What are your favourite strategies for being productive? Feel free to share them with us here and over on our facebook page.
Taking time to survey your community is always such a valuable process, and I would encourage you to survey yours especially if you've not done one for a while. With the available free survey tools such as Survey Monkey, it really is an easy and effective way of finding out, not only what is happening within your community, but what they are wanting from you as well.
I want to thank you all for taking the time to complete the survey, and sharing with me what your biggest struggles were in marketing and building your business.
What you've told me was very revealing....
More than 46% of you said that you didn't have enough clients. As you know, lack of clients means a lack of cash; a business can't operate without clients. I know you are passionate about what you are doing, otherwise you would not have taken this leap into starting your own business. No matter how long you've been in your business there are always ebbs and flows, and with cashflow an issue, I'm guessing that you are working long hours and are more stressed now than what you want to be or need to be!
Sometimes it's because you've come into your business as the technical expert, and the actually promoting of your business is something you're not quite sure of, or maybe you begrudge having to do it. I really understand that, because when I first started out nearly 20 years ago - I too came in as a technical expert, and also breaking new grounds into an industry that was just beginning here in Australia.
There's a saying: "You don't know what you don't know!". And at that time I didn't have any idea that to build a successful business, marketing and promoting was so important. I thought by delivering results that was enough! It was enough to keep the doors open, but it wasn't enough to grow and thrive.
40.2 % said you lack time.....which as you know becomes a cycle whereby you are always chasing your tail. This means you try to do the right thing by blocking out time in your diary to focus on getting more clients, and than become stressed when you don't have time for the other areas of your business.
The other interesting result was around products, 63% said you were not producing any type of information product at the moment. Does this mean you're stuck in a business model of working dollar for hour?
In the 'further input section', where you could write and tell us more, many of you said you want to build a successful business, but don't know where to start or who to get support from. You asked that we share articles and stories from other successful entreprenuers, and some simple tips to get you started.
I'm pleased to say that we have started to do this for you. I don't know if you've noticed but in our weekly Business Booster Inbox Magazine, we're gathering a panel of experts to provide you with informative articles that show you ways you can build your business, and look after yourself. Please let us know what you think of our new format over the next few months.
I also believe I've come up with something that will support you to get more high paying clients, and we will get to work together on this. Keep an eye out early next week for this announcement.
Best regards,
Deb
Ps., Thanks again for taking the time to complete the survey - I do really appreciate it!
I was reminded of an article I had written last year after sitting in on a Mastermind Call with Rich Schefren of Strategic Profits, who is very highly respected in his work with entrepreneurs in the area of The Theory of Constraints.
And wanted to share with you the following quote that I read within one of his report:
“The potential growth and profitability of my business depends on what I put into it. The actual growth and profitability of my enterprise will be determined by the things that limit or cancel my return on that investment. Only when I eliminate my constraints – the things that block my path – will my actual success rise to the level of my potential success.” Rich Schefren
He then goes on to discuss three types of constraints that you can have in your business. The first being Rational Constraints, the second is Procedural Constraints and the third is Self-Imposed Constraints. It is this third constraint that I want to touch on in this article.
Self-Imposed Constraints – necessary conditions and rules that exist only in your mind!
What are the conditions and rules that you have placed on yourself, and how do these conditions and rules stop you from reaching your full potential?
We all have our stories, some of them are there to support us, some are there to protect us, and yes, some are there to hinder us. Is there a story that you are currently telling yourself that is in fact preventing you from moving forward? That is stopping you from being that one barrier away from success?
What is your story? Take a moment to write down the stories you keep telling yourself that are limiting you from reaching your full business potential. Once you have written them down, notice how you feel and ask yourself the following questions: “Does this story serve me well?” What is the purpose of this story for me?” For example: If I don’t change my story, I can’t fail. Nothing ventured, nothing lost.
Then decide which stories you don’t need anymore. Writing them down is one thing, getting rid of them is quite another. Deciding which stories no longer fit you can be as difficult as trying to cull your wardrobe! You know you should get rid of some of your things, especially that white double-breasted jacket with big shoulder pads that keeps staring back at you when you open your wardrobe each morning. It’s the same with your story: you keep it when you don’t need it any more. Some stories may have been with you for years. Despite the fact that they may be holding you back, you find them comfortable and familiar and you insist on continually telling them. Although, it is worth acknowledging that your stories sometimes hold you back as a form of protection, they may be there to stop you from failing, from making sure you don’t overload yourself or from gaining true success. However, if you want true success then you need to change your story.
Make room for a new story - one that will support exactly what it is you want in your business and in your life. Just as deciding to get rid of your old stories can be like culling your wardrobe, taking on a fresh story can be like restocking your wardrobe with exciting new clothes. So take a moment now and write your new story. Write it as if you are living it now. Once you are clear on your new story, start to tell yourself this story everyday. How does this new story feel? Does it serve you better?
Remember, that we are really only limited by our own thoughts. The greatest battle we often have is the batte between our ears!
Let's continue the conversation on our blog or our facebook page, and please share with us your thoughts around your very own Self-Imposed Constraints!
I absolutely hate it when I see smart people do dumb things!
Unfortunately, this happens all of the time in business. You see smart marketers who never leave enough time for a proper launch. Or the content provider who continually blows all their money by building out a product without any research or testing, only to find out it is NOT a sellable product. Or, my personal favorite, entrepreneurs who think they know it all and can go it alone. And to me the latter is the saddest.
Why . . .
Because so often their ideas are great. Plus, they work hard. But, they just don't know what they don't know. So, instead of being widely successful, their business fails. Unfortunately, I have seen this countless times over my 25 years of working and watching hundreds of entrepreneurs.
So I put together a list of . . .
The Ten Deadly Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make That Destroy Their Profits, Morale and Reputation
1) Do Not Have Clarity of Vision: If you do not understand why your business exists, than how can your customers, your team, vendor and joint venture partners. You need to create a mission statement. Your mission says why you do what you do. Your statement needs to pass the tee-shirt test. And you can never subordinate the mission in order to get money!
2) Do Not Create Core Values for Their Company and Employees: You see your core values dictate how you do business everyday. Remember never subordinate your core values in order to get money.
3) Do Not Understand the Need for an Org Chart: An organizational chart not only adds structure and efficiencies to your business but it clarifies who an employee should go to solve a problem or present an idea. I know so many entrepreneurs that have an entire office full of employees yet the chart below still represents their hands on work responsibilities.
4) Do Not Create Job Descriptions: Entrepreneurs tell me all the time that they need help. Yet, when I ask them what the person would do, they look at me like a deer caught in highlights. You cannot possibly hire the right person if you do not know what you want them to do.
So, before you can initiate your search, you have to write a job description. If you have never done this before, start by writing down everything you think you want your new employee to do. List their responsibilities. And next to each responsibility, write down the necessary skill. Be specific.
Once you know the characteristics of your ideal employee and can define the job and the skills that employee needs... you start looking.
5) Confusing a passionate idea for a sellable idea: When people ask for advise on what their business should be, I tell them two things:
• Something you have experience in
• Something you are passionate about
Once you have narrowed that down - you must confirm that your idea is sellable. Just because you love it, does not automatically qualify it as a good idea. Your idea must be sellable - meaning do people want what you are selling. Just do some simple keyword research. If you have at least 10,000 look-ups a month, then go for it.
6) Do Not Pay Themselves: Must entrepreneurs do not factor their income into their financials and business plans. They live with the attitude that they will take what is ever left at the end of each month.
7) Do Not Know Their "Keep The Doors Open Number": Most entrepreneurs have no idea of the "real" cost to run their business. This is a big problem because it leads never understanding the health of your business. So right now sit down and write out EVERY fixed cost you have, including paying yourself.
Once you have done this divide that number by 375. And there you have it - the amount of money you need to bring in each day to keep your doors open.
8) They Suffer from Shinny Penny Syndrome: If you have a tendency to bounce from one "cool" project to another, you are not alone. However, this will break your business fatser than anything else. You see when you have several projects 50% done, that yields you zero revenue. However, one project 100% done brings money in then door.
9) Don't Understand the Value of Giving Away "Ownership" of the Company: Now this does not mean for every person. It means for someone (or a couple) that will take the business to the next level. Think about it you can't get past that 2 million dollar level. If someone could come in and take you to 5 million the first year, it would make perfectly good logic to give up to 50% away. It's a numbers game my friend.
Just remember 100% of nothing is still nothing. Don't let your ego prevent you from having a real business.
10) They Avoid Confrontation: Too many entrepreneurs are way too concerned about being liked and have a hard time being proactive when it comes to uncomfortable situations in their business. If there is a problem confront it.
Better yet, if there is a potential problem, jump on it before it comes a problem. Letting problems fester tends to lead to:
• Bad Deals
• Bad Employees
• Bad Company Morale
Remember, it is business and there are always ways to handle even the most uncomfortable situation with tact and respect. If you see yourself in even one of these items, now is the time to bring in someone to help you work through it.
When you stop making these basic mistakes you will see a spike in your bottom-line, your company morale and people will want to work with you. Let's continue the conversation on our blog or our facebook page, and share with us your thoughts around these ten mistakes.
MaryEllen Tribby is the Founder and CEO of Working Moms Only the world's leading website and newsletter for the empowerment of the working mum. For further information on, please visit her site at www.workingmomsonly.com
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