What if, you could start your business all over again? What would you do differently? What do you like or dislike about your current business? What would you change?

Why Mess With A Good Thing?

These sound like simple questions and that’s because they are. As entrepreneurs, we seem to get ourselves trapped into doing things one way. And why wouldn’t we, if it’s brought us some success? Why mess with a good thing, right? Not necessarily.

One of the problems is that the longer we’re in business, the harder it is to make changes. We’ve managed to survive and maybe even consider ourselves successful or resigned ourselves to the fact that this is as good as it gets, even if deep down inside we know it could be better. But aren’t entrepreneurs supposed to work hard and overcome challenges? Of course, but not everyday!

It’s Not A Fair Trade

Didn’t you go into business to have a better life? I don’t believe anybody goes into business to sacrifice their life or their family for the cause. But so many do and all the long they know it’s not right. It’s not a fair trade, but they do it anyways, and many lose more than they gain.

So, what if you could do a “do over”? How would organize and operate your business differently than it is now? Should you have grown bigger or stayed smaller? Would you have a larger staff or less? Should you have targeted different customers? Should you have narrowed your product offerings? Wish you could have more automation or electronic processes?

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

The point is we all make mistakes and head down rabbit holes that take our businesses to places we wish we weren’t. Then, for some reason we lose sight that we absolute control over our destiny. We forget that we can change whatever we want and all it takes is a little courage and faith in our abilities. Don’t let fear stop you from something better.

Transitioning a business to where you’d really like it to be, is not a revolution, but more an evolution. The reality is we have existing commitments to clients, staff and suppliers. Refocusing our business should be done gradually, unless of course there is a crisis. Doing so, gives you the chance to monitor each change you make to ensure they are impactful and taking you where you want the business and your life to go.

Don’t Overwhelm Your Organization

Alternatively, the revolutionary approach risks alienating employees and customers and potentially overwhelming your organization with changes that can’t be managed. Doing too much too fast can leave you worse off than before.

So, what if you could do it all over again? What do you wish your ideal business would look like? Write it down. Don’t let the fact that you don’t know how to do something stop you. You can learn how or find someone who does know and get the help you need.

The objective is to get started down the road to reinventing the business you really want and it all starts with the simple question – What if?

You may also enjoy Define Your Own Success

An interesting read Shoe Dog

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2017

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

I often come across business owners whose sales style is to use scare tactics rather than a consultative sales process By scare tactics, I refer to that style whereby the sales individual attempts to pressure the individual into making a purchase decision based on world ending events.

An example of this would be a roofing salesperson telling the client that they can’t wait any longer because their roof is failing and if they don’t act now they risk a leak that would cause untold damage to their ceiling, furniture and flooring and may not be covered by insurance. 

Although all of this is technically true, the urgency of impending doom in the salesperson’s voice can create an emotional purchase decision that may be regretted later. Is this the kind of relationship you want with your customers? You see most people are trusting and assume you’re being honest {TWEET THIS} but once they find out that they misled or pressured, then you’re probably going to miss out on any referrals.

Using the same example, an alternative approach should be along the lines of “I realize that this is a big decision, however, I would like you to keep in mind that although it may be fine today, I wouldn’t wait too long as the potential and collateral damage could be significant. It’s better to be a month early than a day late.”

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

As business owners, we sometimes forget that every employee can have an impact on sales in our organizations. (TWEET THIS)

For example is the shipper receiver courteous to all who present themselves at the loading dock? Do those customers have a pleasant experience that reflects favorably on your organization? There’s nothing worse than going through the sales process only to drop the ball at the last step.

Are All Your Employees Motivated To Sell?

Are all your employees trained and rewarded for generating leads? Do they let you know about that new business that just opened across the street from their favorite restaurant? Is your delivery driver conscientious enough to be on the lookout for competitive products showing up at your customer’s place of business and advise your sales team?

Is your customer service team asking any type of probing questions before terminating the call other than the standard “ Is there anything else I can do for you today?” Why not change it up to “Before I let you go, did you know we have a complete line of …? And fill in the blank with your product or service. How about letting them know that you’re having a sale next month.

Once we step back and look at the interaction that each of our employees have with our customers, it behooves us to figure out how to harness that opportunity, because at the end of the day, everyone is in sales!.

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

One dreaded and often neglected aspects of being a business owner and managing employees, is the annual performance reviews. Although you’re well intentioned and sincere in your desire to perform this exercise in a timely manner, most of us just end up forgetting about them or, because we never get around to preparing the formal review, we just keep putting it off, much to the frustration of the employee.

Is this the right attitude? Absolutely not! But it happens all the time. So why is that? Well, as with many HR related issues, few of us are skilled in the area and not really sure how you’re supposed to conduct a formal annual review. There seems to be as many theories as there are days in a month.

The Solution

After many years of struggling with this issue, I came up with a simple solution. I told the individuals that reported directly to me, that when I’m pleased about their performance or how they handled an issue, I’ll tell them at the time and likewise if I’m displeased. I was no longer going to collect all the information over the course of the year and then dump it all on them at once at the annual performance review.

Once that system was in place, everyone knew where they stood and the annual discussion revolved around the coming year’s expectation and any increase. All very positive stuff for both parties.

 

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Sign up above to receive email notification of the latest update to this blog.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Being a great leader is about helping others achieve, it’s not a position, it’s an attitude and anyone can be a leader, no matter where you are in an organization.

Great leaders work hard and are humble.

Great leaders are empathetic and they have an uncanny ability to see around corners.

Great leaders engage and empower their people. Tweet this!

Great leaders act as coaches and mentors,

There is this great saying I once heard and it goes something like this:

“When I talk to managers, I get the feeling that they are important but when I talk to leaders I get the feeling that I am important”

True leaders, have your back, they create an environment of trust and they won’t be throwing you under the bus.

And lastly, true leaders take all the blame and give away all the credit.

A study by Leadership IQ showed that individuals who are engaged with leaders for 6 or more hours a week are

  • 29% more inspired
  • 30% more engaged
  • 15% more motivated
  • 10% more innovative

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take an inspired, engaged, motivated and innovative staff over the alternative, any day.

So are you a leader?

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Entrepreneurship is currently all the rage. It’s the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s the magic elixir that will fix everyone’s problems and so many people are spending hours daydreaming about the life they will enjoy once they get into business.

Unfortunately for the uninitiated, going into business is very hard work and for the most part the reality of being in business doesn’t come anywhere near your dreams.

So if you’re bound and determined that being a business owner is on your horizon, you need to have one important ingredient- Passion.

Passion vs Excitement

Now don’t confusion true passion with excitement. Passion is your secret sauce, your silver bullet. Passion will keep you going when all hope has vanished. Passion is that internal flame that keeps burning long after you would have normally packed it in and quit, excitement won’t do any of that.

Believe me when I say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming about being in business. I’ve started thousands of businesses in my mind and the beauty is, it cost you nothing, so go ahead and dream. But if you’re going to turn your dream into reality, just make sure you choose the right dream and that you’re passionate about it.

 

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.