small business Archives - Page 5 of 6

SBM #37- Limitations

Tagged as: ego, entrepreneur, hide, limitations, limits, small business, small business expert, Small Business Minute, success, weakness

Whether we chose to admit it or not, every entrepreneur has limitations and failure to acknowledge them can become an anchor that limits our success.

“Unfortunately, most of us never seem to shake our start-up attitude”

Granted, during the start-up years we must do everything to get our enterprise off the ground and there are many things that we aren’t very good at. Fortunately, we only have to be good enough at our limitations until such time as we can hire people that are better at them.

Unfortunately, most of us never seem to shake our start-up attitude, even though we’re not start-ups any longer. Is it because we don’t want to show any weakness? Is it because we let our pride and ego get in the way? Are we afraid of what people will think? Or do we just not know any better? I’m not totally sure.

“What I do know is that most successful people never hide their limitations.”

What I do know is that most successful people never hide their limitations. They acknowledge their existence and build their companies with either employees or 3rd party resources that fill those gaps.

My advice is simple. Identify your limitations, then concentrate on the things that you are good at, and let others do what they’re good at. This will move your company forward at a much faster pace.

You may also enjoy Want To Get Better? Work At It!

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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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #36- Innovation Starts at Home

Tagged as: cost reduction, customer experience, entrepreneur, expert, improvements, innovation, small business, small business expert, Small Business Minute

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

If you’re to believe everything you hear or read about innovation, you would be justified in thinking that innovation is an area best left to the big companies, but that would be wrong.

“Don’t let the status quo be

the reason you don’t try something new”

If truth be told, every company, regardless of size, has the opportunity to innovate. Although small innovations never make headlines, they never the less can make a dramatic impact within your company, and frankly that’s all that really matters.

What you need to understand is that most successful innovation comes from either borrowing ideas from other industries or reconfiguring your existing products or services to tackle new markets or customers.

“Simply changing some business processes to be more

efficient can be considered innovative”

A great example of borrowing ideas is Henry Ford who has been heralded for developing the modern auto assembly line, he actually borrowed and adapted the process from the meat packing industry.

Simply changing some business processes to be more efficient can be considered innovative, if it reduces costs, improves the customer experience or generates more profit.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to innovation is ”the industry doesn’t do that” attitude but to my way of thinking that’s exactly why it should be done.

Don’t let the status quo be the reason you don’t try something new. You just don’t know where it will take you.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #35 – Motivation and Inspiration

Tagged as: entrepreneur, goal, inspiration, motivation, small business, small business expert, Small Business Minute, success

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Everyone one of us needs to be motivated and inspired occasionally. Although successful entrepreneurs are inherently self motivated but none the less they still look for opportunities to keep themselves in the right frame of mind.

Being inspired or motivated is only half the required elements to achievement. The other half is action.

“Being motivated and inspired has little or no value if you don’t put anything into action.”

The biggest difference between successful and struggling entrepreneurs is action. Being motivated and inspired has little or no value if you don’t put anything into action. Spewing forth motivational quotes or inspirational stories is nothing more than a feel good exercise when you fail to take any steps towards accomplishing your goals.

“Turning your inspiration in to action is not always easy.”

Committing to doing something and actually doing it is the true test of being inspired. Wanting to do something and doing it are two entirely different things. Turning your inspiration in to action is not always easy.

The same applies for motivation. Alone, it will do nothing for you if you don’t have a plan. That plan should consist of all the steps required to achieve your objective.

Having all the necessary steps clearly laid out ahead of time will make taking those first steps much easier and will give you the momentum you need to launch yourself toward your goal when motivation and inspiration meet.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #34- Processes- Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat

Tagged as: control, interruptions, mantra, process, repeat, rinse, shampo, small business, small business expert, Small Business Minute, success, tasks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Many business owners complain that they never seem to get anything accomplished during normal business hours because they are constantly being interrupted to deal with relatively unimportant issues. As the business grows the interruptions just keep on multiplying.

This happens because when they first started out they were accustomed to doing everything, because they were it and only had to take care of themselves. They handled every issue. But as the company grew, they didn’t realize that they need to find an alternative, so they continue running the business like they’ve always done, only to see the number of decisions they need to make expand exponentially. And why not? Every other successful owner is doing the same. Right?

It’s easy to say that they should just delegate more. But before doing so you need to establish processes to ensure that regular, everyday activities get executed in a consistent and predictable manner.

“It’s akin to washing your hair – Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat!”

The purpose of processes is that once established, allow the organization to operate without the need for constant input or direction from the owner. It’s akin to washing your hair – Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat! Simple straight forward steps to accomplish a task in a manner that everyone can understand.

The first step is to clearly identify ongoing tasks. Then, writing a step by step process that can be executed by anyone in the organization and I emphasize anyone, so they need to be clear. Doing so establishes clear direction on how things are to be done in your organization.

The upside of establishing processes is that gradually you’ll regain control of your day and allow you to begin focusing on the long term priorities, instead of the day to day activities and you won’t be doing important after hours.

Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat are clear simple instructions that should be your mantra when creating effective processes.

You may also enjoy Want To Make It Better?

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #33- Responsibility & Authority

Tagged as: contradictory, customer service, entrepreneur, problem solving, profitability, selling your business, small business, small business expert, Small Business Minute

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

A common mistake entrepreneurs make is that they expect their employees to take responsibility for the job they are tasked to do but fail to give them the authority they need.

“It’s a little contradictory and more than frustrating for your team.”

This is particularly evident in customer service or customer facing positions. We tell our team that we want to provide the best customer service or experience, yet what typically happens is the individual is powerless to deliver on that promise without first checking with the owner or manager. It’s a little contradictory and more than frustrating for your team.

Additionally, by giving them the authority to solve the problem immediately for the customer, you’ve just increased the overall efficiency of that area and thereby reduced your costs. How so? It’s simple math. Think about it this way; a customer calls with an issue. The team member listens to the problem but even though they most likely know what should be done they don’t have the authority to remedy the situation because they need to check with the owner.

So they take down the information and tell the customer they’ll get back to them. Now they need to track you down and most likely to be told the exact same thing they were thinking of in the first place. How much time got wasted? How often during the day, week or month does this happen? I repeat, how much time was wasted?

“Giving them the authority to go along with the responsibility, everybody wins!”

Most employees with any tenure know their limitations and will usually stay on side with your wishes and for those rare occasions when they get a little too generous, let them know and provide them with alternatives. This would be another teaching moment.

By giving them the authority to go along with the responsibility, everybody wins!

Find out more about Teaching Moments here

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM#28- Worry Without Action=Stress

Tagged as: control, entrepreneur, priorities, progress, revenue, small business, stress

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Being the creator of our future is part of the allure to being an entrepreneur, however one of the costs of doing so is the increased stress we experience while chasing our dreams.

The thing with stress is that although we all experience it, how we deal with it can be far different. Some even look upon it as a badge of honor and fool themselves into thinking that stress is a great motivator and therefore they’re making progress, when in fact they could be more effective if they could just reduce their stress.

Get Things Done

Funny enough, one of the easiest ways to do that is to get things done. You see, stress is not a result of having too much to do, but of never finishing anything. As entrepreneurs we always seem to have far more priorities or ideas that we want to implement than we have time.

Just like the proverbial plate spinner who can never rest, for fear the plates will come crashing down, we always seem to have far too many priorities that never get completed. Over time these unfinished priorities accumulate to the point that we feel we are overwhelmed and now stressed.

Decide What’s Important

The best solution I’ve found is to make a list of all outstanding projects. This alone will reduce your stress. Next decide which are the most important to move your company ahead. Typically, revenue generating activities should take priority and not pet projects and then get them done.

This simple approach will go a long way to reducing stress and give you a feeling of control

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM # 25 Teaching Moments

Tagged as: Mistakes, performance, reputation, screaming, small business, stressed, teaching, team, yelling

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Let’s face it, employees will screw up. But how we manage the situation can have greater importance and do more damage to your business than the actual mistake.

It has been my experience that most mistakes occur because the information or directions issued were not clear or detailed enough yet as managers we assumed they understood.

Too Little Information

In many situations, we’re so busy or stressed that we’ve issued just enough instructions to get the item delegated without considering whether they have ever done the task before or are clear about the end result. The employee on the other hand may not want to look foolish, or frustrate you any more by asking questions all in an effort help you out.

Of course, these mistakes only happen at the most inconvenient time that just adds to your stress or busyness. Although mistake will always happen, how can you reduce their frequency?

Create A Teaching Moment

Since screaming and yelling rarely works. The most effective way that I’ve found is that once the crisis has been averted, is to take a few minutes and create a teaching moment with the individual or team members. In a calm manner, explain what you had wanted, ask what information was lacking and then let them know what impact the error may have had on the company’s finances, reputation or product quality all without laying blame.

It has been my experience that once people understand the expected result and have been given clear instructions, the same mistakes rarely reoccur. The added bonus is that they begin to ask for clarification when necessary, but just remember, it all starts with you, not them.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #18- Delegating Is Easier Than You Think

Tagged as: delegating, enlightenment, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, expert, freedom, high value, projects, small business, tasks, training

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Entrepreneurs are notorious for not delegating duties and responsibilities within their organizations. A common reason for this that they figure it’s just easier and quicker to do it themselves than to take the extra time required to train someone. So instead, they just figure they’ll work a little harder.

Delegating Is Freedom

For those lucky few who do find enlightenment, they quickly realize how learning to delegate can be a revelation in freedom that, over time will allow to become a better manager and allow you to focus on the long range plan of your organization, instead of being stuck in the moment.

Contrary to what most people assume, delegating is easier than you think. Instead of trying to delegate a whole task start by breaking it down into bite size pieces. For instance, if a task requires ten steps to complete, start by delegating the first few steps. That may be as simple as getting an individual to collect some of the some initial data.

By delegating those couple of items is the beginning of the training process. Once you’re comfortable, you can delegate a few more of the steps and before long you have effectively delegated 70% of the task, thereby freeing you to focus on higher value activities that really do require your attention and possibly gaining some additional freedom.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM # 11 – Passion

Tagged as: business, daydreaming, entrepreneur, passion, professional speaker, Self- employment, small business, small business expert

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

SBM #7 – Growth For The Sake Of Growth

Tagged as: Canada, cash, credit, growth, Ottawa, revenue, small business, small business expert, staff

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Growth for the sake of growth is a dangerous strategy for most small businesses. By making revenue generation the prime mission of the company, it fails to take into account how the rest of the organization will execute the product or service delivery of the increased sales.

Risks

Assuming that everything else in the company will expand naturally as revenue grows, is wishful thinking. A small group of people can do amazing things when necessary, but as a company grows the need to add additional staff. This risks destabilizing a cohesive group as new personalities are added to the mix.

Additionally, the added requirements for cash or lines of credit may not be readily available when you actually need it most.

Sacrifices

Lastly, how much of a sacrifice are you prepared to make? To be sure, success demands sacrifices, but the trick is to acknowledge what these sacrifices might be and who they impact. Then have a conversation with all those affected to ensure you have their support and understanding.

Taking your business to the next level requires a full 360 degree assessment of your current business resources, identify any shortcomings and then put a plan in place to correct them. But above all else make sure this is what you truly want.

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.

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.

ORDER HERE

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Tag: small business

SBM #37- Limitations

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #36- Innovation Starts at Home

the reason you don’t try something new”

efficient can be considered innovative”

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #35 – Motivation and Inspiration

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #34- Processes- Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #33- Responsibility & Authority

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM#28- Worry Without Action=Stress

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM # 25 Teaching Moments

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #18- Delegating Is Easier Than You Think

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM # 11 – Passion

Passion vs Excitement

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

SBM #7 – Growth For The Sake Of Growth

Risks

Sacrifices

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

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