What can business owners learn from the global community about economics, the pandemic, social unrest, etc.?
It’s a very diverse picture out there at the moment. This is one of the few things in the world which everyone is experiencing at the same time. So, there are common lessons across the board. One of the lessons I’ve learned is that adversity is actually the necessity of change. And the one thing about business and what we’re really, really good at is adapting. We are able to reposition ourselves and still be able to thrive. So, as business owners, we’re exceptionally hard to kill off. How many are more things going to be thrown in our direction? But we are still able to adapt, overcome, and reposition. Hey, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows – I know that. But adversity is one of the big things which has really accelerated a lot of growth. “This interview series was birthed out of the adversity of the pandemic – really just trying to share that while there’s a lot going on, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming, we can whittle it down to just the things you need to know about right now.” It’s like the classic new year resolution when it comes to businesses still being enthusiastic about adapting and changing. You’re all hot, and you’re ready to go. And then, by mid-January, if you joined a gym, and before all this kicked off, you’d not be attending now. I do feel it’s a war of attrition. But this is a battle, not a war. There is life after this. And the people who can stand up now and are preparing to become an expert in their area, positioning themselves to take advantage in the future, I think will emerge stronger. We are not the same people now coming out of this as we went into it. Also, there’s quite a lot of stuff we didn’t want to run back to – the long commute, the silly hours at work, the non-work-life balance. It wasn’t perfect to start with, but there are lessons that we can take forward, which will, I believe, make the business even stronger. What’s one thing we need in business now? If anything, this has shown us the compassion that is now needed, not just for your employees, but for you, as leaders. You need somebody. Because you’re standing there and you’re picking up all the pieces, you need a support network yourself because you can’t fall over. Because there are people depending on you. Your customers are different now than when they went in. And you need to be able to make that connection with them. And communities are so important. And I really believe it’s now a cultural leadership that actually blends both the heart, which is passion, and the mind, which is the measurable left brain – but don’t forget the right brain. And I believe that they’ve come closer together than anything before. And being authentic as a business owner is really going to hit the right temperament, and we have to be the right barometer of what’s going on. “Being authentic not just in what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it and how you’re telling people about it is extremely important now. Businesses tend to want to show how they’re handling the pandemic or how they’re handling social injustice or economic crisis in their marketing. But when we don’t follow through with our actions, people see it. And they know they can take their dollars elsewhere, and they are calling businesses out.” It is now a consumer market. And I believe that business is a people’s game. People will do business with people they like, period. And if you can be like that, and you can respond exactly to what they’re talking about and get on the same wavelength that will interrupt the conversation they’re having already in their heads, you’re going to have to try really hard to screw that up. There’s always going to be adversity – and what do you think we can build and learn from over the next several years? I believe that where we are with the pandemic, we haven’t even begun to see the impact of the mental side. And I believe that’s an area no one’s talking about. And it’s no good to say, “Oh, well, I’m going to give it up now.” We need to be ready because the private sector is going to pick this up – not the public sector. So we, as business owners, need to be ready for this huge flood of people who are going to need our help at some point. I’m part of a really good team called the Core Mentors Association, which is basically a group of business coaches, coaches across the board, which can help you if needed. 3 Action Steps
Connect with Paul Rogers on LinkedIn. Please comment below. I would love to hear from you.
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If you’ve been to Momentum Live, you’ve had the pleasure of meeting the wildly wonderful Sensei Victoria Whitfield.
And if you haven’t been to Momentum Live…today’s the day to meet this incredible woman – because she (along with Brian Rassi of Enstigate) – will be one of the co-hosts for the upcoming Momentum Live: The CEO Experience taking place in Havre de Grace. What I love about Sensei Victoria is that she’s there to make sure we, as business owners, are always looking after our physical and mental health. She wants us to be successful, and we are most successful when our physical, mental, and emotional well-being are aligned. And, as you know, all too often, we let those things slide as we work to attain our goals. Not only that, we stop listening to ourselves, our natural intuition. But we can’t do that. Taking care of those needs is imperative – as is tapping and using our inner compass. If you find that you need to bring your focus back to you so that your business can grow – then you’ve got to see what she has planned for retreats! She’s offering 2-day and 3-day retreats (either in-person or via ZOOM) that will have you bringing your mindset and vision to where it needs to be. Trust me…while it may feel strange to focus on yourself and your well-being to grow your business – I promise that with this attention to your mindset and vision – you become unstoppable! And who doesn’t want to bring that to their business? Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. I have a question for you today: When was the last time you had fun?
I’m not talking about hours of non-stop laughs at a comedy club or a night with popcorn and a good rom-com – although it could be those things. But when was the last time you moved your body with a nice walk? Or spent the afternoon playing soccer with your children? Or enjoyed a day out with your significant other doing something you both love? Because taking time for yourself – and for your family and friends – is FUN! You NEED to pause your brain. You NEED to pause social media. You NEED to pause the daily grind. It is truly a need…not just a want. And today…yes, TODAY…I challenge you to have fun! Now it’s a Saturday – and that means I want you to go all in! I’m not talking about 5 minutes of fun. Not even 15 minutes of fun. I want you to go and have at least 30 minutes of fun – doing something that makes you happy. · Reading a good book · Eating a nice meal · Spending time outdoors · Taking a yoga class · Listening to your favorite music really loud Whatever it may be – just do it! (Yes, you can use this as an excuse to not clean the house or any other chores that are on your list!) And then I want you to continue to have 30 minutes of fun EVERY DAY this week. That might mean taking 30 minutes off in the middle of your day or stopping work 30 minutes early – but make a commitment to me…NO! Scratch that! MAKE A COMMITMENT TO YOURSELF that you’re going to have fun! Because it’s genuinely going to make you and your business better. You’re going to see improved productivity and better results. You’re going to find you’re more focused and that your mindset is where you want it…because fun is essential. Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. The magic number is 50.
50 amazing experts. 50 informative and educational interviews. 50 takeaways to help you and your business. 50 new connections for you to make. And it’s all coming at you in ONE new book! Yes, that’s right – “What Businesses Need to Know Right Now – Volume 2” is available for pre-order! It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating the release of Volume 1 – and we were! But with so many fantastic entrepreneurs and executives – who so graciously gave of their time – it meant that a second book was a must! This second volume covers everything from lead magnets to guest speaking to setting boundaries to the user experience – and so much more. The interviews are engaging, relevant, and provide you with so much information! You can pre-order your copy today – and have this great resource as soon as it’s released this fall! As always, I appreciate your support of this project! Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. What is a PBC?
When people talk about incorporating, there are all kinds of choices that you can make about incorporating. And we are a B corporation. We have a B corporation designation on top of a C corporation. And that means, in addition to profits, that we can have a mission that drives our business. So we can be held accountable for our mission alongside any other corporations that are driven by profits. And that’s the main thing that we often get mad at corporations for – is that profits completely drive them. Well, this is to change that. You can have your mission and be driven by your mission and be held accountable to that – not just money. PBC stands for Public Benefit Company. We are accountable for supporting women business owners with financial services – both accounting and education. That’s our mission. What do we need to be paying attention to regarding bookkeeping, profitability, and money in general? There are a couple of big things that are coming out. At this moment, there are taxes. There are also the PPP loans, EIDL, and all of this money centered around the pandemic. And there’s a ton to know. So, we’re not going to spend all the time going through this stuff. But what’s important to understand is that these things are available and that there’s a ton of stuff and support available – if you can get to it. You need to have your financials together and know whether you’re profitable and whether you’ve made money or lost money over the last 14-15 months. A lot of folks have to scramble because they don’t have their financials together. They don’t know what’s going on. They’re not sure whether they’re profitable. And that makes a huge difference in knowing if you can apply for a loan or a PPP. Do you know what’s going on? Can you make these decisions? Do you know whether you can repay a loan if you’ve got one? So, all of that stuff is all wrapped up in – are your financials together? Do you know what’s happening? “This is really significant. We have all this government money, at least in the United States, that’s pouring in, and it’s important to talk to your financial advisor, financial planner, accountant, or bookkeeper because they all have pieces of this puzzle. We as business owners should really be on top of our numbers so that when these opportunities come up, or these challenges come up, we can make decisions from an informed place.” Why is financial clarity so important? If you look at the difference between folks who do their numbers at the end of the year and folks who do their numbers consistently, the difference is information. Do you have enough information to make accurate business decisions right now? So, people come to us, and they’re often like, “Well, we want projections. We want a budget.” And they want all this stuff. But you can’t do that if you’re not tracking your numbers. I can’t give you projections for the next year if we don’t know what’s happened this last year or the last couple of years. The more information we have, the more we can plan. We need to know whether that class you taught or the thing you did was actually profitable and whether you should run it again – especially for people running multiple service lines. It’s really common that they just don’t know if one of their service lines is not turning a profit. And it’s okay if you’re doing some kind of loss leader, where you’re having to take a hit on this and make money on the back end. But you need to know whether that’s true and whether that back end is making money. Yes, it’s so important to know if our back end is making money. “Oftentimes, we have a lot of different things going on, and we might be looking at the numbers overall. But we’re not necessarily looking at each piece and how it plays into that. And if we want to decide to say this will be a loss leader so that I can make money over here – without tracking those numbers – we can’t make those informed decisions.” Why do businesses fail when they are scaling? There are a couple of things that get in the way of scaling. One is people try to scale too fast, and they don’t have enough revenue. And that sort of topples their business over. So, one place to look for that is pricing. Most business owners, especially women business owners, need to raise their prices. When you come to us, we start looking at these things. We want to make sure that you’re clearly pricing things in a way that’s going to work for you. And that as you scale, that it’s going to continue to work for you. So, if you find out suddenly that you’re going to have to pay a bunch of staff people to do something that just you were doing, it changes your profitability metrics. Scaling takes some planning. And I know that people are like, “Let’s scale really fast!” But slowing down a bit and making sure that your planning is in place and your financials are in place, and that you can continue to check them and continue to “true” your planning to your actuals. And so that you have not just, “Oh, yes, this should go in this direction.” – but on month three, is that still happening? How far off are you from your planning? And do you need to make any course corrections? Because you don’t want to wait six, eight, or 12 months down the road and find out your $100,000 short because we didn’t notice that we have this cost overrun or we haven’t been doing “X,” that we would otherwise normally be doing. “Your plan needs checkpoints. It’s not a matter of what you will make through the year but more frequently than that. What are your numbers for month one? Month two? And know that it’s not always an even split. I think that’s a common mistake to just say, if we have 12 months, we divide by 12. But as you’re scaling, it might be hitting a small milestone in the next month, a little bit further along.” The big thing is, if you’re unsure in any way, get some help. And that really is the thing that can make the difference. Having a thinking partner who says, “Oh, I’ve seen hundreds of these businesses, I know what I’m looking at, and have you considered this, that, or the other thing?” That’s important, so you don’t have to guess. You can ask for help. When it comes to money, please ask for help. Because otherwise, you may get down the line and wish that you would have done this six months ago or have asked for help a year ago – and found that you would have been much further down the line. 3 Action Steps
Connect with Briana Cavanaugh on LinkedIn or at blissyourmoney.com to receive Brianna’s “7 Ways Your Bookkeeper Can Help You Get – And Stay – Profitable.” Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. Here’s a question for you: How productive are you?
I know, I know…if you’re like most people, your answer is: It depends on the day. I get that. You create that to-do list or check your planner or project management tool, and some days you’re ready to tackle it all. Other days, it looks like there’s not enough time in the day – and you wonder if you can get anything done at all. When talking with CEOs and entrepreneurs, they tell me this is when they start to feel overwhelmed by it ALL! Leading to a growing to-do list and a lack of action on your part. Can you relate? Have you been there? And we all know that inaction = lack of growth – which is not what you want. But what if I told you that small steps win the race? And what if I said that you could get a lot accomplished in just 15 minutes? Would you believe me? Take a look at your to-do list? What tasks can you do in 15-minutes? Are you saying, “15 minutes?! There’s nothing I can do in 15 minutes!”? Well, I’m saying there is! You can: · Respond to emails · Reconnect with your vision · Reach out to a lead · Connect with a colleague · Share a social media post · Write down what you’ve accomplished this week · Practice your pitch · Ask a client for a testimonial · Do some research · Congratulate someone on their accomplishments · Pay bills · Meditate · Proofread your latest blog or email · Set three goals for next week · Prioritize your to-do list · Celebrate a job well done · Take a break · Clear your desk of clutter · Outsource some tasks on your list See what I mean? I could go on and on, but 15 minutes is more than enough time to do many tasks! And when you divide your day into 15-minute increments, you’ll find that your to-do list doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Instead, these chunks of time make things manageable and will increase your productivity – and help you and your business move forward. This week, why not look at those things you need to get done in 15-minute chunks of time – and let me know what happens to your productivity! Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. I just wanted to share a great online event that’s coming up at the end of September!
The Sappari Group is getting together with Pitchwerks (You’ll remember Scot MacTaggart from his interview on “What Businesses Need to Know Right Now”) and Booxmart to bring you: Name of Event: Smart, Scalable Business Location: Online (ZOOM) Date: Sept 28 – 9am-12pm ET Registration:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/smart-scalable-business-tickets-168872966589 While leaders know that there is a balanced experience to be had when it comes to work life and home life – all while trying to get to the next level – too often that balanced experience is never fully attained – and both work and home suffer. At this event, we’ll be sharing our best practices for this, and the keyword for the day is: REPEATABLE. Specifically, repeatable processes and practices that allow you to grow and reach those goals without sacrificing what’s important to you. We’ll be talking about: · Designing repeatable processes and practices · Automation with tech · Outsourcing wisely · And so much more! New tech and practices are changing business faster than ever – so join us to learn more about how you can use these things to make your business grow just as fast! Thanks so much! Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. How is this relevant to business?
COVID has forced these two worlds that we’ve kept separate – personal and business – and blurred those lines and meshed them together. And it’s not only impacted business owners and managers and bosses but it’s really impacted us who work at home. And with those blurred lines, I think a lot of people felt as if there’s a great opportunity to work from home and not take that ride. But all of a sudden, all these problems start coming up within the home because you’re on top of each other 24-seven. So that’s where a lot of these behavioral issues – which were maybe small – start triggering something much more significant. “We’ve got this new dynamic of all the family members home all the time. And communication, which was shoddy at best before, is now down the tubes impacting both work and relationships within the family. It’s creating a tinderbox of opportunities for flare-ups and bad experiences. And all of these resources that were once available are now not accessible anymore.” How do we think about boundaries and communication in a time when we are living and working together? I think when the pandemic first started, we thought this would be a quick thing. And then I also believe that right now, we’re thinking that when it’s over, it’s going to fade back to what we once were. But the reality is that this is a great opportunity for businesses to cut costs. So why wouldn’t they keep a structure similar to this? And when I look at the reactionary environment that we were in earlier, for example, a kid runs through the door, and the parent says, “Get out!” Well, does a kid quite understand why they’re getting kicked out of the room? They’ve never seen their parents work at home, quite possibly. And what they see is a computer, and to them, computers are video games. So, these reactionary elements then put a kid in a defensive position, and it also makes us feel like the bad guy – when there really are solutions. There are some simple ones that I’d like to go over which help set your physical boundaries – which are the doors in the house. But the doors in the house are not good enough. The one thing that I always promote within the families that I’ve worked with is putting signage on the doors and starting each day off with a family meeting. Even if the meeting is just for five minutes, spend time going over what each thing means. For example, you can put a sign on the door that says, “In Zoom Meeting,” and then explain to your child what you would like them to do. And that’s the second part of it – which is to create a system for them. Maybe there’s a note under the door system, or maybe you have a little doggie door they can put it through. “We have set up a system for communicating in our home. It’s a magnetic board with three options – live recording, meeting, and working. Each of these things explains to my children whether they can come in or if the door must remain shut, or if they need to wait five minutes until I have a break or reach a stopping point. Jeff helped us make this board, and it’s been transformational in our communication in the family. It brought us all onto the same page.” Yes, and I want to point out how positive that board looks. You see, there are the magnets on there with flowers. The outline is welcoming, and it’s not saying, “I don’t want you here,” – it’s just simply a boundary. It’s like a fence with a neighbor. It’s not saying I hate my neighbor. It’s saying let’s have a little space between each other, and space is good. What tips can you offer people regarding boundaries? Because we have been in these separate worlds, we’re not used to this blurred world. And, maybe we feel like our bosses, our managers, or the person we’re selling to is going to be upset if a kid comes in and something happens, but they’re in the same situation. They’re in the same boat. We need to welcome our family and children into our work environment and even partake in some of these things. For example, bring your child in if you’re going to post on social media and have no idea what to do or how even to download something. They know how to do it. And the look on their face, how proud they are, and how far they will go, they will be your best worker. Bringing them into that world, maybe taking pictures of you for social media, and they could be your little mini photographer after school. So it’s like a little mini job for them. I remember, as a kid, I always wanted to be part of my dad’s world or my dad’s business. And I feel like this is a great opportunity to allow that. Of course, communicate that to the person on the other side as well that you’re working with, and let your boss know, or your manager know, or your prospect know, “Yeah, there might be a kid coming in, and they’re young, and they might start crying – so, I might press pause for a bit.” But that’s part of that communication, once again – boundary setting with clients and co-workers. “I think this pandemic has given us all a great opportunity to reevaluate our boundaries and improve our communication. We don’t have the luxury of just walking down the hall and explaining what’s going on. We have to be clear in our messages about what is actually going on.” What’s one thing we can do to help build relationships within the family? It’s taking those moments out of your day and spending time with them. One of the most important elements that you can do, even for yourself, is to get outside. And yes, there’s a report that came out that said three hours per day and of course, researchers like to go to the extremes and act like we have all the time in the world, but a half-hour per day, and going outside and making it a fun experience or making a peaceful experience. One of the things I like to do is bring a Bluetooth speaker, and each person gets to pick the next song in the playlist while you go for a walk. Your neighbors aren’t going to be able to hear, and it brings you together, but then it also gives an opportunity for the kids to go off and do their thing. Or you get to spend time with your spouse – which is the last part of this. If you are married or dating or living together, ensure that you do have moments with your spouse. This is something that is very important. When you are energized, and you’re on the same page, and if you feel good together, that will exude upon the kids as well. 3 Action Steps
Connect with Jeffrey Allyn on LinkedIn, at Dream It, Live It or on Instagram. Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. Did you catch the subject line of this email? The subject line said: BE STUBBORN
Yes, you read that correctly…I want you to be stubborn. And let me tell you why. I was on LinkedIn and ran across this quote: Be Stubborn About Your Goals, But Flexible About Your Methods (Cited in the book Managing Interpersonal Conflict by William A. Donohue) And I loved it. We always talk about setting those big goals…those goals that might make you a little uncomfortable because they’re so audacious that we’re not quite sure how we’re going to make them happen – but we know we’re totally capable of achieving them. And then we sit down, plan and strategize, and set those smaller goals that are going to get us there. We know that this plan we’ve laid out is going to work and that success is on the way. Until it isn’t. Then you’re left feeling disappointed, frustrated, and maybe even lacking in self-confidence. You may even consider scrapping the goal you set entirely. But you shouldn’t. This is the time to be stubborn. After all, this is something you want – so now is not the time to give up on it. It’s the time to see if there’s another way to get there…to be flexible about your methods. Too often, we get hung up on “the plan” we’ve set up, and when things go wrong along the way, we think that there might be something wrong with the goal. Maybe it’s not achievable. Perhaps it’s too big. Maybe it’s just too much. But I bet it isn’t. You just need to reassess. Look at your plan and the strategies you put in place. Think about what worked and what didn’t. Reach out to others who can offer you guidance, insight, or their expertise. And then come up with a new plan and strategies. “Do not give up on the goal. Be stubborn.” Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. Now that Labor Day has passed, I guess we have to say goodbye to summer.
And yes, I love summer. I love the slower pace. I love warm days. I love having my kids home from school. And I love the time spent with family and friends – especially on a relaxing vacation. But there’s something special about autumn, too. For me, I love the transition to preparing for Momentum Live: The CEO Experience. I love connecting and reconnecting with people who have been doing their thing during the summer months. And I love talking with clients who are gearing up for new events and new ways to add to their bottom line. If increasing your revenue is one of the goals you’re getting ready to tackle, then I want you to check out the Productive Profits System. It’s the system I use (and so many others), and it was created to help you use that expertise that sets you apart from the crowd. You’ll attract your ideal clients in a way that’s simple and repeatable – all while ditching the overwhelm. Be sure to check it out! And if you have questions after watching the three short videos – just reach out to me! Please comment below. I would love to hear from you. |
AuthorBeing an entrepreneur and business owner is hard! Once you have your business up and running it's not uncommon to hit a few snags: scalability, staff retention, launching growth projects, getting enough sleep! Archives
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