How to Make Profitable Connections at a Conference

Even though technology allows us to connect across the miles and conduct business without meeting face-to-face, there is a lot to be said for in-person meetings. In fact, as technology disconnects more and more, the idea of looking a prospective client or business partner in the eye is becoming more attractive

One way to connect with others is by attending trade shows and conferences. I’ve found great value in attending conferences for my business. If you hope to turn the (tax-deductible) cost of attending a conference into a net profit, here are some ideas for making your mark:

Bring Swag

Everyone loves swag. I regularly attend FinCon and Podcast Movement, and many companies come with unique branded swag to pass out on the expo floor. Identify a conference or trade show where prospective partners and clients can be found. Then, rent a booth and bring branded swag.

There are many companies that can help you create swag with your company logo. Choosing something unique and useful is more likely to be remembered. Plus, there is a good chance attendees will share it on their social networks, increasing your reach and boosting your brand’s visibility.

Sponsor Events

Many trade shows and conferences include different events, including awards shows, breakfasts, lunches, and keynotes. If you attend a conference, you can get your name in front of more people and earn a few gratitude points (and more social media mentions!) when you are involved at these conferences.

Every year at FinCon I help plan The Plutus Awards, which draws many of the conference attendees. Many of them live tweet the Awards ceremony and even record and rebroadcast it. It’s a fun event and it’s a good way for partners to gain the undivided attention of influential financial bloggers.

Look for different opportunities to sponsor events at a conference. Chances are you’ll be able to get extra mentions and visibility, connect with high-quality prospects, and generate good will.

Wine and Dine Influential Attendees

I’m not including this one just because I like to be wined and dined (although that’s fun). If you can identify influential attendees, business partners, or clients, invite them to meet with you. Take a prospective client to lunch. At FinCon, Fidelity held a very nice breakfast for women financial journalists. They provided a hashtag for the event and discussed issues of importance to us. More than 50 women were tweeting and posting images to Instagram and Facebook, mentioning the breakfast, the issues, and Fidelity’s part.

You don’t have to hold a big event, but it can make sense to set up meetings with those you are most interested in working with, since you’re all at the conference anyway.

General Networking

Finally, don’t forget about general networking. Attend the networking opportunities offered at the trade show or conference. Be ready with business cards, an elevator pitch, and your winning personality. Get to know people and make it a point to show that you are a person with interest, and that you can be a valuable contact.

I met my business partner at a conference. We had networked a little bit online ahead of time, but when we met in person, we saw that there could be a benefit to partnering. But it took that extra connection in person to put things in motion.

Go to your next trade show or conference with a plan to connect and network–and maybe even wow the attendees to get their attention–and you’ll make back the cost of your attendance.

Not-So-Scary Way to Cut Costs

Whenever you hear someone say it’s time to cut costs in your business, you break out into a cold sweat. After all, you’re already operating on a miniscule budget. What is there left to cut?



Rather than fear the idea of cutting costs, use these realistic tips to ensure you’re not spending outside of your small business limits:

1. Look at Utilities

Whether you work from home or have retail or office space, utilities are a key expense. And while you don’t want to freeze out your customers by turning off the heat completely in the winter, there are subtle changes you can make that will reduce your bills.

Start with a schedule thermostat. Set the temperature to be ideal during the hours that customers or employees are in your business, then turn your air/heater way up or down (depending on the season) so that it’s energy saving at night.

Consider fans as an alternative to air conditioning, as well as space heaters instead of blasting the heat all day.

Some cities offer incentive programs for businesses that work to reduce their energy use, so see if there are ways to save with your utility company.

Beyond that, turn off all lights and devices at night, and unplug anything that’s not in use.

2. Negotiate Better Rates

If you buy regular inventory or office supplies, you might be able to haggle a better price with your vendor. Instead of buying one box of printer paper every month, see if you can save by buying in bulk from your office supplier. Ask for a discount if you pay your invoices early. A good vendor will want to keep you as a customer, so should be willing to negotiate.

If your vendor isn’t, shop around and see if there’s a better deal out there.

Also look for bundling opportunities. If, for example, you have business liability insurance as well as car and home insurance, see if you can get a discount for having your policies all with the same insurance company.

3. Look for Alternatives

Be honest: do you use your 20-line phone system as much as you should? That—or other unnecessary expenses—is a great place to cut back on spending. Most of your staff probably uses their cell phones to make calls anyway, so consider whether chunking the phone system is feasible. You can use Skype and Google Hangouts instead.

What’s the situation in the break room? Are you supplying gourmet coffee to your team, but it just sits in the pot getting wasted each day? Think about buying a pod system coffee maker so no coffee is wasted and people only use what they’ll drink.

And if those snacks you’re supplying aren’t getting eaten, cancel the order. People tend to bring their own food, so they probably won’t even miss them.

You’d be surprised how many places you can cut costs without negative effect. Just look at what you’re spending and pull back on anything that isn’t helping you grow your business.

A Mystery Shopper Has Visited Your Business !

Hi Guys   Did that statement give you a fright and if so why? Are you aware of  the people looking for your products and services every day?  What could be done do to make sure they become your  customer? Have a great Easter Weekend ! Coach Chris The hotel is clean and quiet. The staff is courteous and helpful. The rooms are spacious, and fitted with nice-looking furniture and flat-screen TVs. But, in room 528 at least, something is missing… The king-size bed has only one night table.There are four lamps – one standing in the middle of an empty wall – and no coffee table. In the bathroom, only two towels (stacked in an open niche under the sink). And aside from one tiny hook two feet above the toilet, no towel racks or hangers. To a person staying in that hotel room, it feels as though some designer had looked around and said, “Here’s what you need in a hotel room.” But that designer hadn’t actually tried to USE the room to see if anything was lacking. If you think your business is immune to this problem, think again. Websites are often built by tech people who don’t understand how an average user thinks.  Your Team may answer questions but may not always ask any questions to lead the Customer and in so doing engage that potential Customer further. So make sure you test everything – your site, your products, your store – your team - to make sure it works as it’s meant to. Better yet, have a friend, your spouse, and your grandma test things out for you. Get them to report back on what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing, and what’s superfluous. You’ll end up with a better product/site/whatever – and your customers will have a much better experience. Which leads to trust… which leads to loyalty… which leads to referrals ...which leads to more sales. So go ahead - get someone to mystery shop your business ........

Do You Know Your Margins?

The quickest way for any business to make 10% more profit each year is to put up its prices by 10%, but if it is as simple as that, then why aren’t we all doing it? The reason is that we have a fear that in doing so, we are going to lose our customers.

However, like most fears, when you analise them they are only “false expectations appearing real.” The reality is that in any market you can and should increase your prices, and if you know how to do it properly, you need never be fearful of losing a single customer.

The first thing to understand is that you must know your numbers. If you do not understand your own profit and loss account, know your gross profit from your net profit and what products make money and which do not, then you are right to be fearful. Without this knowledge, you will not know where to start and may well find you are increasing prices in the wrong area of your business and wake up the next morning with no customers at all. So if you are not tracking these important figures and do not have detailed analysis of what you sell and how much it costs you, then stop reading right now, book a meeting with your accountant and do not read any further until you have got the information at your fingertips.

OK, so now I will assume that you are financially literate. Your next step is to understand that if a company making a 30% gross profit were to increase its prices by 10%, it would have to lose 25% of its customers to be financially worse off. Yes, that is right; if 20% of your customers objected to the price rise of 10p in every €1 and went elsewhere, then you would still be better off putting your prices up. Also if you raise your prices by a higher figure, say by 30%, you could afford to lose 50% of your clients. Think of the time and effort you would save!

If you don’t believe me, work it out for yourself, then read on! If you can’t work it out, then go back to your accountant! Obviously if you have higher or lower margins the figures will be slightly different, but the concept will be the same.

I have been working on this one strategy with clients for 7 years and in all that time, the average loss of customers from a price rise is 1-2%. But this could be a hidden bonus for you in this as well. The clients that do leave as a result of a price increase are usually the ones that have always quibbled about price, don’t pay on time, cause you stress and grief and use up time that should be spent with your top clients. By losing your worst clients, you can spend more time on your best clients who will in turn buy more from you and stay longer. And there is a further bonus in that these bad clients that leave you go to your competitors and make their life hell instead! So you really can’t lose.

OK, you still may not be convinced by my argument and think that there must be a catch. Well, for some of you, no, there is no catch. If you only have a few products or services, you really believe in them, you give good value and have a good relationship with your clients; you can put up your prices tomorrow. I helped one service provider client do this and we doubled the profitability of his business virtually overnight.

For those of you with multiple products and services which are more commodity-based, where your clients have little loyalty and there is high price sensitivity and competition, then a more strategic approach than a general price rise is needed. For you, rather than increasing all prices, you need to work out which products and services you should increase and which you should leave alone. As I said above, you have to know your numbers, but this time down to a product line margin basis. Then you need to look for those products that are going to meet one or more of the following criteria:
High volume, so that a small increase can have a big effect (e.g. 1p on a litre of petrol)

High ticket price – so that a reasonable € increase is a low % increase (e.g. €5,000 on a new Ferrari)


Highly differentiated – where you can show a real point of difference that will justify a higher price (e.g. Apple’s iPhone)

Low access to knowledge – where access to competitors’ price and offering is harder to find or is confusing (e.g. energy tariffs)

Able to reposition – turn your product/service into a basic/better/best, so the basic competes on price and the others on value (e.g. Tesco’s value and finest range)

Add-ons – have a basic range and charge for extras (e.g. BMW & Mercedes).
This list is not exhaustive, but I find with my clients I rarely need to go beyond the basics to make a difference, and what a difference – for every €1 on the price, 100% of it goes straight to your bottom line!

So go on, take ACTION and put up those prices- just warn me first so I can get my order in before you do!

How To Grow Your Facebook Following

Maximize Post Spread

You’re on Facebook–congratulations. But many businesses make the fatal mistake of thinking social media begins and ends with Facebook, and never really bother to look beyond those borders. Chances are, if your followers are active Facebook users, then they are also avid users of other forms of social media, including but not limited to: Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, etc.

Facebook gets the most traffic, at close to one billion users a month, but you can’t turn your nose up at Twitter either–it gets over 300,000,000 (300 million!) unique monthly visitors.

If you’ve put all that effort into crafting fantastic content for your Facebook page, doesn’t it make sense to make sure it gets seen across the widest spectrum of social media possible?

Here are some practical tips on how to maximize post spread (and increase the number of “eyes” on your Facebook post content):

• Embed your Facebook posts in your business website. Visitors to your site can read your post onsite and then redirect to the Facebook page to see and engage in the comments on the post. While there, they will likely “like” and subscribe to your Facebook page.

• Install social media sharing buttons EVERYWHERE, but especially on your website posts. If you run a blog (and yes, you really should be running a blog on your business website), then install a plug-in such as Jetpack which allows to simultaneously publish your post to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and whatever other social media accounts you use–all at the touch of a single button.

• Ask an engaging question at the end of each guest post to encourage comments and increase the guest page’s social media rankings with Google.

• Don’t forget to include a brief sentence at the end of the post saying something like, “This post was brought to you today courtesy of [insert your Facebook page name here].” Depending on the size of the target audience, this could net you hundreds, if not thousands, of new Facebook likes and subscriptions each week.

Create Shareable Content

People often get stuck on the number of Facebook “likes” as an indicator of success–but beware of this. Liking a Facebook page is a shallow indicator because it requires no real engagement on the part of the follower other than simply pressing the Like button. “Shares,” on the other hand, are a real indicator of how good and engaging your content is, because the act of sharing a post takes more effort and is therefore a good sign that your followers will go the extra mile for you.

Social media expert Brian Carter, says, “When we click share, we’re obviously saying ‘I like this so much, I wish I had created it myself. I want everyone I’ve connected with on Facebook to see it. I’m ok with my family, coworkers, supervisors, bosses–and anybody else I’ve friended, knowing that I like it.”

Creating shareable content is often a shot in the dark because it is not easy to predict what people will find interesting, emotive, engaging, or fun on any given day. Think of the average Facebook user as a fish in a massive shoal of fish–weaving and changing course in a seemingly random pattern. What is known, however, is that the more shares a post has, the bigger the chance that the entire shoal of fish moves towards it.

So, how do you create shareable content, if it’s such a shaky science? Although nothing is guaranteed, here are some practical tips.

First of all, look at the research on what kinds of posts get shared on Facebook. Dan Zarella, a HubSpot marketing specialist, conducted research into 20,000 posts shared on Facebook, and found out that the most shared posts are those that:

• Mention sex. (Hmm, might be difficult to find an angle on that for your business.)
• Feature a clickbait story. (Upworthy is the Facebook master of this. We suggest you check out their content. Upworthy posts get shared 64 times more than its closest competitor.)
• Contain content that make users feel good about themselves, the world, or humanity in general. (Look at the number of shares for videos showing babies hearing their mother’s voice for the first time, thanks to cochlear implants.)
• Contain numbered lists or points.
• Contained short and sweet words rather than flowery, verbose language. (Cut down on adjectives.)
• Feature mixed media content–videos, pictures, polls, quizzes, etc. Content posted on Facebook doesn’t have to always mean text; in fact, the more mixed in format your posts are, the more attractive they will be to Facebook users.

For example, look at this inspirational quote:

A Facebook post that shared this simple jpeg image got over 23,000 likes and over 10,000 shares–now those are stats to turn any business green with envy.

In short, make people feel good, or share something so universal that it strikes a chord, and you have your opening hook to drag thousands of potential followers back to your Facebook page.

Let’s not forget what Brian Carter says about the act of sharing a post, in that it indicates that the user is proud to share your content with his/her entire circle of friends, family, bosses, etc., and that the content is saying something important about the values or beliefs or the interests of the person sharing it. In this vein, stories or posts that are engaging, newsworthy, and reflective of positive values do well on Facebook. The trick is in finding that balance.

Be a Resource

Research done by The New York Times, called “The Psychology of Sharing,” found that 73 percent of people share Facebook posts in order to process and absorb the information in more depth, 49 percent share in order to influence and inform others, and 94 percent share a post in order to help.

This suggests that learning and self-education is a huge factor in why we share Facebook posts or pages–we like to learn, and we like to help others to learn. Businesses can draw in many B2B Facebook followers by creating and sharing informational content that will help the industry in some way, or prove useful to its participants.

You can become an industry resource by following some basic tips:

• Find out what the pressing needs and questions are in your area of business, and create posts and articles that answer them.
• Promote your Facebook content with other businesses in your sector by leaving comments on their pages, or hosting a guest post spot on their pages (with their permission) to talk about your post and the questions it answers.
• Host a Facebook Q&A session and invite other industry members to participate. After the event, post and promote a link to the session to catch all those who didn’t turn up for the event.
• Promote links to your content across all your other social media accounts to push as many people as possible back to posts on your Facebook page.
• Provide a permanent section on your Facebook page aimed at being an informational resource for your customers and followers–answering questions, finding information, passing on helpful tips, tagging partners, and so on. In Facebook technical terms, make this help/Q&A section a “pinned post,” which means it will be pinned to the top of your Facebook page and will always be visible.

Take a look at the Prius fan page as a good example of how a company can be a learning resource for its customers:

If you look closely at the question section, the ever-helpful Prius rep has answered a question from a Malaysia citizen in a thoughtful manner, even though the page was originally set up as a learning resource for the company’s North American customers. Responses like that garner loyalty.  

Run Facebook Competitions and Coupon Offers

One of the most effective ways to get Facebook likes and shares is to offer a competition or coupon offer that is available only to those followers who like/subscribe to your page, or perhaps share an important post (perhaps the competition announcement post itself). Everyone likes competitions and the chance to win something, and nobody in this day and age will pass on the opportunity to get a money-off coupon.

Here are two examples: the first an example of a Facebook competition post by a UK company, and the second, a money-off coupon from Tide:

Conclusion

If you are still experiencing some doubts about how to go about growing your Facebook followers without spending a dime, then here is a very useful infographic laying out how exactly to structure, balance, and plan your Facebook content in a way that informs, delights, educates, and ultimately gains you a loyal and growing fan base of Facebook followers:

Inspirtation

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. –Michael Jordan

The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. –Amelia Earhart

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –Charles Swindoll

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. –Alice Walker

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. –Chinese Proverb

Eighty percent of success is showing up. –Woody Allen

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs

Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. –Vince Lombardi

Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. –Pablo Picasso

I’ve learned that people may forget what you said, may forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou

Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. –Henry Ford

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing.  That’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. –Anais Nin

There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. –Aristotle

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined. –Henry David Thoreau

 Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.  –Booker T. Washington

Start where you are. Use what you have.  Do what you can. –Arthur Ashe

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down ‘happy’.  They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. –John Lennon

If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. –Oprah Winfrey

I Quit!

If you’re a good (or even just halfway decent) manager or leader then you probably already know most of this,

1. Be dishonest.
Integrity matters. Most good employees – and all great ones – have integrity. So, lying to them, to their co workers, or to customers / suppliers is sure to turn them off. Even just “little white lies” are all sure to catch the private ire of those employees who can best help you and your organization succeed. Don’t think they don’t notice; they DO.

2. Don’t say “Thank you.”
It’s a small thing, but it really does make a difference. Even small gestures of appreciation, complements on good work, acknowledging that someone stayed late / came in early help keep talented people motivated and engaged. A small gift card, permission to leave early for the day or work from home the day before a holiday (if work is getting completed), a kind word, an email, all of these things cost very little but go a long way. I suggest making a point of doing them.

3. Forget the values that made your organization a success.
I’ve been part of organizations that truly lived their core values. We all knew what they were. We all agreed they were important, or at least accepted them as such. I have been in companies that barely even mention their values – and really, what that says is, “Our core value is to make more money for our owners, whatever it takes.” Not exactly compelling, but that’s what is being conveyed.

4. Don’t take time to listen (to their concerns).
Good people almost always actually want what is best for the organization. They may have differing opinions on what that is, but they can be passionate, even fiery about it. If you’re dismissive of their concerns, you’re headed down the road to losing top performing people. Just what kind of weak, arrogant, incompetent, narcissistic leader doesn’t want to hear things anyhow?

5. Ignore their personal and professional development.
Note that there are two dimensions to this – professional development and personal development. I would include leadership skills, street-smarts, maturity, self-awareness, EQ, general health and well being all as part of this. Leaders only follow stronger leaders, so be sure you are mentoring them. Let them learn from you; telling good stories from your experience can be a great way to do this. Help them become better professionals – and better people. Additionally, don’t delude yourself into thinking that their career growth is their problem. It isn’t; it is your problem so make a point of investing in it and top notch people will likely repay you for this with good work.

6. Don’t be selective who you hire in the first place.
We all know that hiring people who really fit and are highly talented is tough. We know that the repercussions of a bad hire are awful for everyone. Make sure people really will fit into your organization. Let’s face it, a half hour “get to know you isn’t really enough to get to know a prospective employee well enough to make a truly informed decision. Talented people often don’t mind a tough (within reason) selection process because they are usually competitive people who thrive on challenge. Invest the time needed to really explore what makes a person tick before you hire them. Oh, and by the way, talented people want to be around other talented people.

7. Micromanage.
Do I really need to go here? Yes, unfortunately. It’s not just classical micromanagement either. I’ve seen truly exceptional people who excelled in their role end up with their jobs “dumbed-down” to cater to the lowest common denominator, and to the point they were no longer challenged or motivated. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before they were looking for an opportunity somewhere else.

8. Set the bar low.
Great people will get discouraged and either leave or adapt to mediocrity if that is what they perceive is deemed acceptable. I’ve seen mediocrity accepted, rewarded, applauded, and even promoted! The impact of this on team morale (and on the highest performing team members) was palpable. Set the bar high and then become a cheerleader – even if people don’t make it over the high bar, point out how high the bar was set and how high people did get, and celebrate the success they did have at the right level. They may just make it over that high bar the next time.

9. Be cold and uncaring (to them and to their co workers).
People are human. Why do we seem to forget this so often? They have personal struggles, ambitions, families, crises, etc. One of my favourite bosses from the past was a gentleman who knew my wife’s name, my son’s name, my dog’s name, and more. He didn’t go beyond appropriate boundaries, but I really knew he cared about me as an employee and as a person. I knew I could talk to him and he’d help me out however he could. He got a lot of loyalty from me in return. I should also point out that talented people watch how you treat other people, and they take note of it.

10. The “usual” things (under-pay them, intrude into their personal lives, harassment, etc.)
Yes, the “usual” things will usually get a good person out of your organization as fast as they can possibly find an opportunity elsewhere. Incredibly, I’ve seen organizations under-pay very good people. One executive even said to me, in private, “Well, just what are they going to do? Leave? They have no place to go. This was disappointing to say the least, and I lost a lot of sleep over it. Plus, it wasn’t long before people actually did have someplace else to go, and go they did.

What It Really Takes To Be The Boss

Many of us aspire to big roles at work — we want to be the boss. Of course, once we get there, it’s not always as glamourous, or as easy, as we had imagined it would be. That’s especially true for entrepreneurs.




The secret to excelling at being in charge are subtle, but important. It’s a topic several LinkedIn Influencers weighed in on this week.


Here’s what two of them had to say about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and the head honcho.


Richard Branson, founder at Virgin Group


“I’m often asked, ‘What does it take to be the boss?’ It’s a hard question to answer,” wrote Branson in his post What Does it Take to Be the Boss? Managers Versus Leaders. “In my opinion, there are two types of bosses: managers and leaders.”


A leader’s role, he wrote, is to work with people “to change the lives of others for the better”. Management, on the other hand, is “about maintaining processes, disciplines and systems. Where managers keep the rules, leaders have to be willing to break them, or at least find creative ways around them”, Branson wrote.


Both are important in business and to being a boss, but “it’s critical that you possess leadership qualities”, especially if you want to go into business for yourself, he wrote. The key, he wrote, is to have both types of people in a company for the best chances of success. “The business world needs both managers and leaders to fill the role of the boss,” Branson wrote.


“When you believe in something, the force of your convictions will spark the interest of others — helping you recruit people that share your vision and are motivated to help you achieve success,” Branson wrote. “And passion is not only just a handy recruitment skill; it will also help you strike up meaningful relationships and partnerships with other entrepreneurs and business people. Many of these… will likely be great managers who can help your business grow.”


Ron Shaich, founder, chairman and chief executive at Panera Bread


“Say the word ‘boss’ and most people imagine a well-heeled executive, jetting between meetings and bellowing directives that a faithful group of employees dutifully carry out,” wrote Shaich in his post Want to be the Boss? Better Know Exactly What it Means. “Not exactly.”


“To me, being the boss… has meant solitary hours contemplating challenges,” he wrote. “It’s meant sleepless nights weighing options before making hard decisions that no one else wants to make and knowing that their success or failure is ultimately my responsibility. It’s meant sweating the details.”


Shaich offers what he calls “the harder truths about calling the shot”. Among them:


“Usually, the business owns you; you don’t own it,” he wrote. “Building a business is all-consuming — as in, it consumes all of your waking hours and many of the ones you should be sleeping. It’s with you in the car, the shower and on vacation. Most people who build businesses can neither turn off nor throttle down their commitment to their pursuit.


“You’ll have many opportunities to make decisions because a boss’s challenges are never-ending.


“As long as that business is your responsibility, you will need to think long term. You will need to innovate, iterate and improve.


“Ironically, if you are successful, you will not be beholden to fewer constituencies; you will be beholden to more.”


If it sounds daunting, Shaich wrote, it’s still something he’d never trade for something easier.


“While being the boss can feel at times like a long and lonely journey, there is a payoff — and it’s not power or money,” he wrote. “For me, it’s the joy of solving problems no one else can. It’s seeing opportunities others miss and developing strategies others can’t imagine. It’s building a venture from the ground up.


“Being the boss is infinitely rewarding when you truly understand what you are working toward.”

Great Business In Bad Weather !

The exploration of weather's influence on sales reveals that inclement weather often influences retail sales negatively. Retailers can predict some of these trends using long-range weather data along with sales by month across several years, and reduce profit loss even when the weather is undesirable.

Weather influences in a number of ways. Inclement weather keeps foot traffic away from brick-and-mortar stores driving customers to online retailers, which can reduce sales as much as 10 percent. Bad weather also prevents traveling and closes stores.

Not all retail stores are negatively affected by bad weather. Retail pharmacies, for example, sell necessities such as prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and the resulting sales are stronger than other retail segments. While it seems counterintuitive that people would shop for optional items during bad weather, highly popular clothing stores and those that cater to teens can experience growth during a bad winter, at least more than other stores. Sales are partially dependent on what customers consider a necessity. The fact that inclement weather's influence does not reduce sales across the board suggests that retailers can plan effective strategies to cope with weather.

Managers can cash in on these trends in weather by paying attention to when customers tend to buy certain items in response to weather and then stock stores accordingly. A leading auto company did this by noticing that older automobile batteries tend to die after a few days of below-zero weather. Following such a spate of weather they advertised the batteries. A second way to monetize weather's influence in the retail sector is to make staffing decisions based on weather reports, calling in fewer employees during bad weather when fewer customers are expected to shop.

Making money from thoughtful decisions about the weather's influence and the resulting sales can be bolstered by data analysis. Relevant data can include long-range average temperature in bad weather months and other weather data, sales during those months. While large companies have in-house analysts, tools exist on the web that allows people without specialized statistical training to plan effectively around weather events.

The weather's influence can drive profits up or down; depending on how carefully you plan for handling bad months. These strategies may not directly increase profits but they may effectively reduce loss, saving the company from financial hardship.

Rules for Exceptional Leadership

Robin Sharma believes there are certain skills and attitudes that allow you to rise to extraordinary success:

• Leadership is not about your title, it is a way of thinking! Everyone can show Leadership.
• Leadership is what you do when no one is watching.
• How excellent are you when you are the only person in the office…. How passionate are you about your business at 5am in the morning, when everyone else is in bed.
• You have to be willing to think, create, produce like only 5%
• Consistency is the mother of mastery
• Small daily improvements when done consistently over time lead to Mastery…. These lead to a world class business ….which in turn lead to a tsunami of results!!

The new rules of Exceptional Leadership

1) You’re paid not just to work. The place where your greatest fears live are where your greatest growth lies. This ability to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone will allow you to grow as a leader.

2) The old model of leadership is obsolete. Now anyone can show leadership.

3) A job is only a job if you choose to see it as a job. Your job is an opportunity for you to express more of the talents that you have.

4) Your number one competitive edge is growing leaders at all levels. Your job is to grow more leaders. If you are not doing this you are just enabling followers.

If you are developing talent all around you and you are growing more leaders, your business will become unstoppable in the market place. You will also feel fantastic about your work because you will be provoking and inspiring people to do work that they have never done, that’s Leadership!

Leadership is about three simple things:

1) Inspiration. Creative businesses where born in a moment of inspiration.
2) Influence. Your team will behave exactly the way that you behave.
3) Impact. Less Talk more Do, Ideation without Execution is mere delusion. In the age of dramatic distraction there is a need to roll up your sleeves and FOCUS on a few deliverables.

Success The number one trait of success:

• It is not your intelligence; you are already smart enough.
• It is not your history; it does not matter.
• It is not your environment.
• Number one factor in success in education, in business, in sport, in life is Grit.
• GRIT: You do not give up….The super successful spend at least 2 hours and 44 minutes every day for ten years mastering their art. You stay focused on the one thing that, if you do it well, will become your lasting legacy.

• The 6 Devotions of Leaders without Titles.
• Be so good we can’t take our eyes off you. How can we deliver more value to our clients. Be so good at what you do that you create your own economy. We need you to be a master of your class.
• Go Minimalist like Michelangelo. Build your days, your life around one thing. Clarity is power.
• Avoid the arrogance of Success. When you become successful in business, or leadership you become susceptible. You still need to have fire in your belly.
• Leave people better than you found them. “The business of business is people” If you take care of the relationship then the money will take care of itself. Ask: How can we have a world class Customer relationship? How can we give our customers massive amounts of value? How can we surprise them? If your customers do not love you, your competitors will take away your customers.
• How can you offer 10 times the value than your competitors do?
• Remember that failure is greatness waiting to happen. Success is a numbers game, look at the number of failures and rejections that James Dyson had before his vacuum cleaners were eventually accepted.
• Implementation Disciplines
• Train yourself to get up at 5 am – When you have most energy, most passion, most focus. Spend the first twenty minutes exercising, the next 20 minutes focusing on your plan and the final 20 minutes reading. It will take up to 66 days to change deep ingrained habits, so be prepared for massive self discipline
• Next 90 days spend the first 90 minutes on your biggest single opportunity, on your Number ONE opportunity.
• To double your income and productivity, triple your investment in personal development and professional education. The personal who knows the most WILL win
• Write down Five little acts of excellence that you will achieve every day. Then reflect on three achievements at the end of each day.




Finally

1: Who did you become? Did you spend all your potential?
2: How many people did you help? How many leaders did you grow? How much value did you create for your clients?

• “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I want to make burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations” George Bernard Shaw

How To Get Paid Faster

One of the toughest things you must do as a businessperson is get paid! You work hard for your clients to provide them with a valuable service, and then spend months chasing your money. The truth is, many invoices get put on the back burner, because unlike credit card companies who will immediately report the late payer to a credit agency, the smaller business will usually not do this. It's a tough call, sometimes, but you're the one who will suffer if you don't make it.

The First tip is the one you NEED to use for this month while people have any money to give – We all know it will get doubly hard to collect money in Jan/Feb

Follow up every day until you receive your money. Obviously, you should try to get paid before this need arises. Once your client realises your payment policies are lax, s/he will opportunistically attempt to exploit it. And remember - every minute that you are working to get paid is a minute that (A) you are working a second time for money you've already earned and (B) you are not working on a new job, which still needs to be finished on time, and you're running that job later by the minute.

You will need to consider ALL these tips in Janauary so you do not have a list of unpaid invoices in December 2015 !

Make your payment policies clear at the time your services are retained. However your business is approved, at some point, your client must agree to your estimated price for the work they want done. If your payment policies are stated clearly on your contract, bid, or whatever document you use to bind the contract, you are ahead of the game.

Accept all forms of payment and encourage credit card payment. If possible, take credit cards. In this way, you are sure to be paid in timely fashion even if the client doesn't have the funds at the current moment. Shop for a merchant account provider and set up credit card processing for your business.

Get a deposit in advance. Unless you have a relationship of long standing with the client, get money in advance, and then plan to collect some more midway through the job. Usually, this is 30/30/40 - 30% in advance (to bind you, and to enable you to purchase materials), 30% upon completion of some agreed-upon benchmark, and the balance upon completion. By the way, make sure it's clear that "completion" means on the day you deliver it - not whenever they feel like it.

Always let the customer pay when they offer. One of the dumbest things business owners do is shoot themselves in the foot by not accepting a payment when it's offered. Many times, a client will ask, "Do you need a cheque now?" and the business owner says, "No, that's okay, we'll get it at the end." Don't do this! If the customer is happy to pay up front - let him!

Make arrangements for payment before you deliver the final product. Hold back enough so that they will need to pay you before you deliver the finished job. It is notunprofessional for you to do so, though many business owners consider this a "low-rent" practice. It's not low-rent - it lets them know that you are a professional accustomed to being paid for your work in a timely manner. Just say something like, "Hey, Mr. Jones, I have your job all ready to deliver. Can you have a cheque ready for me if I swing by around 3 PM?. The balance due is €470.78."

Apply your payment policies to every single customer. Don't give your friend Joe's buddy a bye on this. If anything, treat friends of friends with even less trust than a stranger - they often attempt to take advantage of your cozy relationship with their brother, buddy, whatever. If this guy has not paid you by your due date, call him immediately and ask for payment. If you are put off till the next day, call again the very next morning.

Contact the credit agencies. Printing a warning on the bottom of your invoices is fine, but if you fail to follow it up, you won't ever be taken seriously. Contact the credit agencies and report late-payers. If it's their first time, call the client first, and let them know that you're terribly sorry to do it, but unless you receive their payment before the 30 day deadline, you will have to report it to the credit agencies, thus damaging their credit. It's a powerful incentive to pay.

• Don't fail to send people to a collection agency if you don't get paid. Often, collectors will pay up to 50% of what you're owed, just for the opportunity to try to collect it.
• If you can show up in person to collect it always helps. People have a much harder time making excuses face to face.
• Before doing business with somebody make sure that any needed paperwork is completed; failing to have contracts or agreements in writing can significantly delay payments.
• If you can afford to, hire someone to follow up on your accounts receivable; this gives you a more professional gloss and makes payment seem more urgent. Even if it's your spouse, who uses her maiden name to make the calls - in this way, your amiable relationship with the client is not jeopardized by crass calls about money, if that's your view on the subject.
• Have a cash reserve that you can use for refunds when necessary. That way you won't be hesitant about taking payment up front.

Take two minutes to learn a LOT about your business...

Good Morning,

This test will give you a lot of information about your business. Take the test, it will only take you two minutes but will show you where you are in your marketing and pin point things you can improve on straight away.

Have a fantastic week,

Coach Chris

http://www.actioncoachireland.com/index.php/Assessment-Tools/measure-your-marketing.html

The Comet Effect

Some years ago, I joined a technology SME to head it up through its next phase of growth.  The business had started up long after the impact of a previous recession and was doing well on the back of a growing economy.  From the outside, things looked rosy but inside, it maintained the same informal approach to systems and procedures, communication and control as it did in the start-up.

There was a disconnect between what the senior manager was aiming to do and what everyone else in the organisation thought was happening. 

This is what I call the “Comet Effect”.

It can occur where the owner or senior manager focuses on growing the business virtually oblivious to all else in the operations.  The effect can emanate itself in some very negative ways. 

Middle managers and staff can be left to carry out tasks and make decisions they are not comfortable with or out of sync with the direction of the organisation.  They can become demoralised or maybe even leave.  Costs can run out of control because no one is made accountable.  Inefficiencies can lead to the same thing because appropriate processes and procedures aren’t put in place. 

Poor control increases risk to the business with all kinds of negative outcomes.  Poor communication and inadequate involvement of staff de-motivates employees who become less productive.  Staff turnover increases with direct cost to the business.

It isn’t rocket science to know how to stop the problem but it does involve a serious injection of structure into the business.

Depending on the particular business and the maturity of its management framework, there are lots of things to consider to gain better control over the business.  Here’s just a few examples of what we installed in this business to improve things:

• Three year rolling business plan were shared with staff members who were also kept updated on ongoing progress.  Growth plans were designed to be seamless with other business operations.
• A skills gap analysis was carried out for business needs and appropriate training was subsequently introduced.
• Monthly accounts were revised vs budget with KPI’s agreed and included for team management and accountability.
• Performance incentive schemes were introduced to gain team ownership and buy-in with departments.
• HR policies and the Health & Safety system were updated and made fully compliant. (Yes – this did save significant costs and reduced worries about what could happen if non-compliant!)
• Closer relationships with key suppliers were developed to improve manufacturing performance and reduce costs.

Emphasis on business development plans is obviously key to growing the business.

However as the business grows, inadequate attention to installing the right structures elsewhere in the organisation, commensurate with the particular phase of growth can have a negative effect in many different ways.

The Comet Effect

Some years ago, I joined a technology SME to head it up through its next phase of growth. The business had started up long after the impact of a previous recession and was doing well on the back of a growing economy. From the outside, things looked rosy but inside, it maintained the same informal approach to systems and procedures, communication and control as it did in the start-up.


There was a disconnect between what the senior manager was aiming to do and what everyone else in the organisation thought was happening.

This is what I call the “Comet Effect”.


It can occur where the owner or senior manager focuses on growing the business virtually oblivious to all else in the operations. The effect can emanate itself in some very negative ways. 

Middle managers and staff can be left to carry out tasks and make decisions they are not comfortable with or out of sync with the direction of the organisation. They can become demoralised or maybe even leave. Costs can run out of control because no one is made accountable. Inefficiencies can lead to the same thing because appropriate processes and procedures aren’t put in place. 

Poor control increases risk to the business with all kinds of negative outcomes. Poor communication and inadequate involvement of staff de-motivates employees who become less productive. Staff turnover increases with direct cost to the business.

It isn’t rocket science to know how to stop the problem but it does involve a serious injection of structure into the business.

Depending on the particular business and the maturity of its management framework, there are lots of things to consider to gain better control over the business. Here’s just a few examples of what we installed in this business to improve things:

• Three year rolling business plan were shared with staff members who were also kept updated on ongoing progress. Growth plans were designed to be seamless with other business operations.
• A skills gap analysis was carried out for business needs and appropriate training was subsequently introduced.
• Monthly accounts were revised vs budget with KPI’s agreed and included for team management and accountability.
• Performance incentive schemes were introduced to gain team ownership and buy-in with departments.
• HR policies and the Health & Safety system were updated and made fully compliant. (Yes – this did save significant costs and reduced worries about what could happen if non-compliant!)
• Closer relationships with key suppliers were developed to improve manufacturing performance and reduce costs.

Emphasis on business development plans is obviously key to growing the business.

However as the business grows, inadequate attention to installing the right structures elsewhere in the organisation, commensurate with the particular phase of growth can have a negative effect in many different ways.

Time Management Magic!

― Lee Cockerell, Time Management Magic: How To Get More Done Every Day And Move From Surviving To Thriving

Find experts to assist you in areas you are not strong in.”

“Efficient” is being able to get things done. “Effective” is doing the right things in the right order, and making sure you address everything that is urgent, vital and important, in every part of your life.”

“One of the main reasons people don’t improve is that they are not honest with themselves.”

“With self-discipline almost anything can be achieved in every aspect of life.”

“Physical fitness and a love of reading are among the most important gifts you can give your children.”

“one way to get your priorities accomplished is to schedule them into your calendar.”

“Surround yourself with great people.”

Are You Providing Your Team With Consistent Motivation ?

Your team members are only human. Goals and meaningful feedback go a long way towards providing productive, consistent motivation.

When good students suddenly lose motivation, parents may threaten to take away the smart phone or the car. But neither of these tactics provides good, long-term motivation. To get students back on track, parents can enlist the help of a tutor. As a manager, you too can draw upon elite tutors’ strategies to motivate your team. Here’s how:

Identify the Source of Lost Motivation
The first step in motivating a faltering individual is identifying the reason for the changed behavior. While it’s tempting to attribute the issue to boredom or laziness, there’s very likely a more significant problem.

• Loss of purpose: If team members no longer believe in the company mission, they may stop caring about the quality of their work. Evaluate recent changes in your organization’s direction or policies, and ask yourself if your team has become detached from the vision.
• Loss of ownership. Young adults perform best when they feel they have some control over their duties and goals. This also applies to the freedom to suggest shifts and improvements in the workplace.
• Personal problems.It’s unrealistic to assume our personal lives have no impact on our professional performance. Life and work don’t fit neatly into separate categories. Develop a rapport with your team so they feel comfortable sharing potential health or family issues with you.

Set Goals
Goal setting can also help you motivate your team.

• Create a timeline: People are unlikely to meet indistinct goals with vague target dates. Concrete goals with firm deadlines promote a sense of productive urgency, which establishes accountability among team members.
• Make progress visible: A visual depiction of goals on a chart or whiteboard helps people monitor their progress. Moreover, viewing this progress each day provides positive feelings of accomplishment and leads to an increase in the quantity and quality of work completed. This sense of progress ultimately fuels pursuit of the next goal.

Provide Authentic Feedback
Everyone deserves genuine feedback on his or her performance. Feedback rewards individuals for their accomplishments, encourages them to improve and empowers them to achieve their goals. Authentic feedback does more than just validate the person who earns it — it validates the relationship between the giver and the receiver.

• Acknowledge progress: Recognising when your team has reached significant milestones will undoubtedly keep individuals performing at their best. Acknowledgement not only builds confidence in struggling students but also signals to team members that you notice and appreciate their hard work.
• Give meaningful praise: Don’t offer insincere praise just for the sake of encouragement. You should, however, praise individuals for devoting extra care to a project. Students and adults sense when someone is genuine. Authenticity strengthens the relationship between you and your team.
• Reward accomplishments: Reward hard work to show your team members you value them and appreciate their effort. This can include monetary rewards, time off, or special recognition - you’re recognizing behaviour you want to continue.

If you notice a decrease in motivation, avoid assuming that the individual is apathetic or careless. Identify the source of the problem, set goals to guide that individual back on track and lead with meaningful praise and purposeful encouragement. When your whole team is earnestly invested, your company will be able to rise to any challenge.