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Archive for October, 2006

Eliminate your time-wasters

Oct 30

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning | No Comments

In order to control your time, you have to know what you are doing with it now. The best way to determine this is to do an exercise that takes a maximum of a half an hour a day for 10 days. You will not have to go on a crash diet or run three miles a day, but I guarantee that by the last day you will have grown. You will look the same, but you will have grown (inside, of course). The insight you gain from evaluating your time usage is what you can base you time management goals on.

Directions: Make 10 copies of this worksheet. For the next 10 days, answer questions at the end of each workday. Be as detailed as possible. Try to state specifically how you will make the next day better.

1. What went right today? Why?

2. What went wrong today? Why?

3. What time did I start on my top priority task? Why? Could I have started earlier?

4. What patterns do I see in my time logs?

5. What part of my day was most productive? Least productive?

6. What were my three biggest time wasters today?

7. Which activities need more time? Which need less time?

8. Beginning tomorrow, what will I do to make better use of my time?

Demise of a Salesperson

Oct 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | Comments off

“To succeed, your business must not focus on selling, but on providing solutions to your customers. When you focus on providing solutions, something awesome happens: your business product offerings will never become obsolete. Instead, they’ll thrive toward meeting customer needs–no matter the era.”

Inspired by Theodore Levitt

The challenge is knowing what they need, on knowing that would you… be selling videos, DVD recorders, or hard disk recorders for TV’s?

Clue? The latest generation of stuff generally (if you want to be up there and happenin’ but remember there are many sorts of people out there buyin’ so beware the trap it might provide.)
If you are seriously selling with the aim of thriving in business, you would want to be setting up the next ‘big thing’ so that when it comes on line for consumers you are ready for it, not fumbling to try and accomodate it.

Example, there are a bunch of computer shops that have amassed old stock (not that old really in ‘normal’ terms but in computing things alter so quickly.) Sure they got a good deal but they are soon going to be passed by others with more savvy and edge.

The aim is figuring out how to be one or three steps ahead of the competition so you can develop a solid edge, perhaps not so much to ‘beat the competion hands down’ but to be equal or just ahead of it.

Remember thrive not just survive.

There are plenty of ways to tackle creativity in business and now more than ever businesses need to think outside the square.

So will you search for solutions or focus on sales?

Do I or Don’t I?

Oct 29

Posted by Debbie Carr in Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Fear stops many of us from truly expressing who we are and achieving our dreams. Some of us are risk takers, all of us make mistakes and I would say all of us have experienced fear at some stage or another. In this article I am talking about the type of fear which stops us from moving on, achieving what we want in life and being happy.

The  lesson I have learnt through my own experience is that if you move through the fear, acknowledge it’s there, but just do what you want to do anyway, it gets easier and easier until the fear no longer exists. I remember the first cold call I had to make.  I kept putting it off and putting it off, until eventually I picked up the phone shaking with fear and made my call.  To my delight, the lady on the other end was very pleasant.  It took a lot more calls before I got to the stage where I can happily pick up the phone and cold call anyone without even thinking about what I’m going to say, it is such a natural thing for me to do now.

I am a risk taker. I take calculated risks. Taking risks is good, I’m not talking about anything that could physically harm you, end your life, investing in Acme’s latest Road Runner Extinguisher shares without proper investigation, or God forbid, riding on a roller-coaster! (My friends and family will find that very amusing). I am still working on my roller-coaster fear!

Let’s take for example speaking in front of people. The thought used to make me break out into a sweat, and I’m sure many of you will know what I am talking about. Now, I don’t think twice about it, because I made myself get up in front of the mic whenever the opportunity arose and I just got used to it. This is a good thing, because my goal for next year is to be on the speaking circuit. To prepare myself for this professional speaking goal I have taken some other steps. I am writing a book about my very interesting and at times challenging life. Once upon a time I would have been too scared to think of myself as an author. To overcome this fear I started to write articles for others to read. Because I took the step to have some of them published on various online article websites, I have the confidence to keep writing.

The biggest risk I took was leaving my full time job to start the bureau. In hindsight I think I should have kept the full time job for a bit longer, as it was very challenging, now of course, I am glad I did because I am so passionate about what I do. It was terrifying making the decision to leave that paid security but I did it anyway, I figured I could always get another job if things didn’t turn out.

Sometimes in life we miss out on the things we really want because we are too scared to move out of our comfort zone. We won’t ask that person out because we might get rejected. We won’t commit to a relationship because we might get hurt. We won’t write that book because it might not get published. We won’t stand up and do that comedy routine because we might get booed off stage. We won’t leave our job because our new one might be even worse. We won’t spend that money on a holiday because we might need it in an emergency. We won’t ask that question we want to in a seminar because people might think we are stupid. We won’t enter the talent contest because we might not win. We won’t say I love you because they might not love us back. If you are fearful of doing something that you really want to and you try and it doesn’t work out the way you planned, so what? Another chapter of your life closed…next one please!

Is time on your side?

Oct 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning | No Comments

Time is crucial to your business success, or any success for that matter. Imagine not getting to work on time and finding five customers waiting… What would you do about it? Or if your business is service related and you are constantly late for appointments, what now… Too many businesses people are getting caught up in the time trap and before long discover the pain of running out of time.

Some will say time will run out anyway, so just do what you can. I consider time to be a precious commodity and often know that without a plan of action for the day I will soon become ‘bogged down’ with distractions. Whatever time means to you, ensure you have a way of handling it to maximise the potential of it to ensure your ultimate success.

Example: What if you could plan your time out so that you avoided known trouble spots and were able to keep things in greater perspective? Like the sales team that knew Monday mornings were a hassle with clients starting out the week after a busy weekend, they scheduled meetings on these mornings and ensured that staff were informed of what had been taking place during the week. They had rescheduled a normally ‘dead time’ to give it a greater impact on busier times.

Many people discover that time has disappeared when it is too late to do anything about it. Action needs to be taken to correct the situation in the future, otherwise the same thing will happen time and again. Making sure you are using your time wisely is a detail often overlooked. One organisation found they had a staff member ‘tied up’ doing bookkeeping duties when they needed another counter sales person. The cost of an external bookkeeping service was minimal in comparison to the person’s wages and the loss of customer loyalty with too few staff available at the time. This allowed them to leverage their time (and their resources) better.

To get your business to be timely in its approach, consider measuring the daily efforts of the staff. Getting them to jot down what they did after an hour and then have them do their own audit of the time they spent during the day. This can build responsibility for their actions, gives them an understanding of the time situation and raises their awareness of trouble spots in the day. Of course the information is theirs to keep and is not shared as a measure of their ‘tardiness’ with a supervisor, however it serves as an indicator for their own personal standards.

Their is only so much time on offer, its what we do with what we have that makes a difference.

Looking after our ecosystems

Oct 27

Posted by Sam Leader in Health and Safety Dept, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

I have come across two similar ad campaigns which have angered me no end. The first, a TV ad, features a beaming bride who keeps smiling as she takes a work call during her ceremony. The second, on the radio, has a dad reading a bedtime story, before taking a call then cutting it short, explaining ‘Sorry son, it’s daddy’s work.’It makes me want to run a counter campaign: “Lost – Priorities & Perspective. Last seen before the Industrial Revolution.”

Aren’t adverts supposed to be aspirational? Can anyone tell me what is aspirational about working at your own wedding, or having a client interrupt time with your son?

I think we soloists need to lead by example by unapologetically ensuring work takes its rightful place alongside our other priorities. It is our duty to show the drones how it’s done by putting at least as much conscious effort into staying healthy and making our relationships a success as we do into our work.

Each of us is responsible for our delicate ecosystem of work, health and relationships. For this ecosystem to survive, each element and its interrelation needs to be nurtured and respected

The good news is it should be easy for soloists, free of the strictures of tut-tut-you’re-five-minutes-late corporate culture, to ensure there’s harmony between these elements.

And now the bad: lots of soloists are so frightened of not being taken seriously they busily emulate Jobland. In their zeal to create a career others will take notice of and have respect for, they end up creating a black-hole business which consumes all of their energy.

Naturally this behaviour has got “counterproductive” written all over it as when energy does not get replenished by time “out”, our business ends up suffering anyway.

My business partner and all round good guy Robert Gerrish explains the role of the review process he sometimes undertakes with coaching clients, 99% of whom are solo business owners. “I’ll find out how they think they have performed in their business. Then I will ask ‘And how about as a partner/parent/friend?’ If they stall on the answers here, it’s a strong indicator something is out of whack and trouble is not far behind.”

Just because you take a Tuesday afternoon to lie down with a book, lark about in the ocean or have a long lunch with friends, it does not mean you don’t take business seriously and aren’t committed to it.

Time out is not going to kill you. But over-committing to your work just might.

Being heard amid the noise

Oct 26

Posted by Robert Gerrish in The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

In the busy, noisy world of solo business it can be a challenge to be heard and get noticed. One thing is for sure – it’s far better to be heard well by one person than ignored by thousands.Our solo ventures stand the best chance of growing by word of mouth when those around us really understand what we do and are able to talk easily about our work to others. Too often this simply is not the case. Our messages frequently suffer from being too complex or, at the other end of the spectrum, too general.

To help get further into this topic, let me share an analogy.

Some years ago I went on a self-defence course. The instructor talked to us about what to do if we were set upon in the street by a mugger.

“There’s no point in simply screaming out for help” he told us, because as he explained, the natural tendency of others is either to not get involved, or to assume that someone else will do the helping.

Instead we were told to, in effect, ‘appoint’ a passer-by to help. Here’s what was suggested:

Instead of a ‘general’ message he told us to ‘get specific’.

His example was: “Hey you, in the green shirt with the brown briefcase, help me!”

By doing this – by explicitly assigning someone to the task – it was far more likely that help would be given. Of course it would! If you were the person in the green shirt are you going to walk by? Of course not. At the very least you’d turn to someone nearby and enrol that person to your cause.

And this is precisely what we need to do in our solo businesses. We need to tailor our messages to specific people if we are to be truly heard.

Let’s look at this applied more directly to business. Picture an accountant who does basic tax accounting. Chances are you can think of three of four soloists who do precisely that. No doubt each does a good job, but not much is standing out here is it?

Imagine instead an accountant who spoke in terms of ’helping professional service firms pay less tax and retain more profits’.

Compelling language along these lines stands much more chance of being heard, remembered and passed on.

So how do we go about finding the right words? The answer is: Listen to your clients. Ask them what they really get as an outcome of your work and start to talk in these terms.

Use straightforward, clear language and keep it brief. Don’t get all knotted up in processes. People are looking for solutions, it’s how referrals are generated.

There’ll be plenty of time later to talk processes. For now, concentrate on being heard amid the noise.

Three Vital Steps To Success According To Bill Gates…

Oct 24

Posted by Wayne Berry in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning | 14 Comments

1. Vision

All successful people have vision. They have the ability the “see” clearly what they want before it exits.

I’d have to agree with Mr Gates on that one. All of the successful people I have known and studied have had that ability.

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds had a vision of what McDonalds could be. He saw McDonalds as an international franchise operation dominating the world of fast food. He had that vision when he first met the McDonald brothers in their little outlet in San Bernadino, in Southern California. The McDonald brothers knew he was crazy right away. They just couldn’t see it! They had actually tried franchising and failed. If Kroc was stupid enough to try again where they had failed, sure they would go along with him, and he could have a percentage of the new company. That percentage was eventually worth billions to Ray Kroc, who was not at all surprised when McDonalds succeeded on a scale that astounded the McDonald brothers.

Bill Gates could “see” that the future of computers was in the software, not in the hardware. Bear in mind that he “saw” this at a time when IBM dominated the world of computers with computers the size houses and where an apple was something that grew on a tree.

In the 1950′s Walt Disney “saw” a place called “Disneyland” where people would come from all over the world to play. He saw this in a world where amusement parks were tacky places staffed by scruffy carnival people. Even worse, he saw it being located out in the boon docks of Los Angeles in aplace called Anaheim where those apples I mentioned before grew in orchards. The bankers Walt approached just couldn’t see it!! At the time the project was laughingly referred to as “Disney’s folly”, but Walt did it anyway. I bet you’ve either been there, know someone who has been there, or intend to go there or to one of the other Disney Parks around the world.

So what’s your vision? Once you a clear on what you want you’re half way there.

2. Being in the right place at the right time

Bill Gates suggested that some of success is luck. Just being in the right place at the right time.

While I agree with Mr Gates that being in the right place at the right time is important, recognising that you are in the right place, and that the right time is NOW, comes from having a clear vision of what you really want in life. If you know what you want, then you’ll recognise every opportunity that comes along that fits with your vision, and you’ll be able to grab these opportunities with both hands.

Bill gates didn’t invent DOS, someone else did. However Bill Gates had the vision that the creator of DOS did not have. He recognised that he was in the right place at the right time with IBM and acquired DOS. The rest is history.

Is your vision so clear that you recognise when you are in the right place at the right time?

3. Take massive immediate action

During our lifetime, I suspect that we are all presented with thousands of good ideas and wonderful opportunities that could make us wealthy and allow us to fulfil our dreams. The problem is that most people even when they recognise that they have a good idea, do nothing with it.

As one of the founders of the National Speakers Association of Australia (NSAA) 15 years ago, I’m sometimes asked if I’m concerned that I’m actually helping create competitors for myself, every time I speak at an NSAA Conference or Seminar. On these occasions I willingly share my knowledge and experience with people new to the speaking and training profession. I tell them what I’ve learned over the last 27 years and share ideas on how they can become professional speakers.

Frankly I’m not concerned at all about creating competitors, and I say this for two reasons. Reason number one is that I know that very few people will actually take action on the ideas I share. Not because they don’t see the value in the ideas, but simply because that’s human nature. They’ll talk about doing something. They’ll plan to do something. But they won’t actually do anything. If they do, they’ll only try it a time or two and if they haven’t achieved overnight success then they’ll stop doing it.

The second reason I don’t mind sharing my knowledge, is that I know that the serious people, the ones with vision who will take action, will not be interested in becoming Wayne Berry clones. They already have their own vision on what they want to become and achieve, and they’ll do it too. They’ll add real value in their own right in the marketplace.

Every year I share ideas on selling and negotiating techniques with tens of thousands of sales people, but sadly only a small percentage will have the vision and the persistence to follow through and use these ideas on an on-going basis. Those who do, become enormously successful and send me emails which I really enjoy receiving.

The real key to success is to find a good idea and take IMMEDIATE and MASSIVE action. You’ll note that there are two factors here, IMMEDIATE and MASSIVE.

My experience is that if we don’t act on a good idea within 24 hours, we are less than 50% likely to ever act on it. If we haven’t acted on it inside of 7 days, then we are less than 2% likely to ever act on it.

My advice is when you find a good idea act on it right away.

That way you’ll find out quicker if it’s a good idea or not.

The other key is to take MASSIVE action. The average person will try a new idea once or twice and if they don’t get an immediate result. They give up.

When I was in Washington DC last, I visited the Smithsonian Institution and saw some of Edison’s failed experiments as he worked to perfect theincandescent light bulb. The problem was in the filament. They all burned out after a short time. Edison took massive action on the challenge and after thousands of failed attempts, he finally solved the problem. The solution made him a fortune.

How is your MASSIVE “persistence” factor when you are trying out a new idea?

There is no such thing as try. You either do it or you don’t! Edison simply decided to do it, no matter what it took. Do you?

So there you have it. Bill Gates three keys to success.

Have a great week. Make it a great week!

What do “experts” know anyway?

Oct 24

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People! | No Comments

A number of the world’s all-time great geniuses were at first thought to be anything but gifted.

Einstein, we know, left school in Germany because of poor grades in history and the language arts. The problem wasn’t Einstein, of course, but the type of learning he was forced to do, which required a lot of rote memorisation and very little of the problem solving he was good at.

We find an even better example of unrecognized genius in the case of Emily Dickinson. Dickinson, now considered one of America’s greatest literary geniuses, died an obscure poet at 56. A handful of friends and family recognized her potential, but Dickinson herself longed to be known by the world.

In 1862 she wrote a letter to Thomas Wentworth Higginson, an eminent literary man of this day, and enclosed four poems for his approval and advice. Higginson was impressed with the raw power of her poetic imagery, but didn’t think her poetry was publishable. When he tried adapting the poems to fit the florid, fancy style popular during the day, Dickinson lost interest in the project and gave up. As a result, only seven of Dickinson’s poems were ever published in her lifetime – five of them in her local paper.

When a cache of 1,700 poems was discovered in Dickinson’s cabinet after her death, ironically it was Higginson who published the first volume of her poetry. Within a few short years, Dickinson’s poetic genius was being hailed within the most respected literary circles.

You may look at your own experiences in life and find a teacher, a co-worker, a friend, a boss, or a spouse, who – for whatever reason – can’t seem to recognize the unique gifts or talents you possess. Maybe your gift is hidden below a shy, unassuming exterior. Maybe you’re not in the right environment for it to shine. Or maybe it’s still in the infant stages of what it will become with a little extra work.

Or maybe, just maybe, your gifts are so innovative and ahead of their time they can’t be appreciated by those schooled in older, more conservative traditions.

The point is, you shouldn’t let a few people’s “expert” opinions and judgments crush your hopes and dreams and keep you from exploring the full potential of your talents.

A better course of action would be to accept criticism for what it’s worth and continue sharing your talents with the world. Search for trusted mentors and role models who can give you honest, positive feedback to help you strengthen your skills while still being true to your authentic style. Read books and take courses. Whatever you do, don’t lose confidence in your ability to master your skill. With time, your talents can only get stronger. Besides, down the road, you may finally meet someone who will recognize your talents and give you that long-awaited opportunity to be noticed.

Sure, you may never be called a genius in your lifetime, but then again, very few geniuses ever are.

Welcome to our Landscape

Oct 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Hi everyone,

If you are here to check out the web site GREAT! If you are a business professional and write articles, blogs etc, or want to, then this is where your opportunity rocks!
We want to build this web resource to be world class, with great depth and a multitude of solutions for all people in business large and small.

If you want to be part of our contribution team then drop us a line and tell us, show us what you’ve got that will be of value to our readers. Remember the resource is a free one (probably a great place to be discovered!) and therefore we are not aiming to pay for any contributions, however links and correct attibution to the writer is our hallmark!
Cheers!

From the free business tips team.

Got a Card on You?

Oct 21

Posted by Tory Favro in Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

Have them, carry them, never run out. Business cards are a physical reminder to others that you have had contact with them. Business cards should also contain all your contact details. This may sound extremely obvious, but it never ceases to amaze me when I run into clients or people wanting advice, who essentially have an incomplete business card.

Here are some key details to always have on your business card.

Do:

Have your business logo somewhere prominent on the card
Have your name in an easy to read location
Have your job description or title
Have your phone number
Have your fax number
Have your mobile phone number

and finally, never ever overlook having

Your email address & your business’ web address

Do Not:

Have single sided business cards; once a plain card is up the wrong way, it becomes a blank piece of paper, otherwise known as a scrap that will ultimately be written on and thrown out. Make sure that your card is eye catching on both sides and is clearly a resource to those who you wish to deal with. If your card is as comprehensive as possible, then people will hold onto it.

Do not have blank cards where your staff can write their names. It is unprofessional, looks bad to the customer and is also detrimental to the morale of the staff who are giving them out.

It’s simple; your staff are assets, either they have cards or they do not, don’t have blank business cards with a space to write their names. It merely reinforces a number of key points to both the staff and the customer.

1. To the customer it says that they are not dealing with a decision maker
2. To the staff it says that they are dispensable.

Do not EVER, EVER, EVER put a line through details on your card and hand write the new ones. This is one of the worst mistakes that businesses make when trying to save a dollar after some of their details have changed. Put those old cards straight into the bin and get some new ones made up with the new details.

A talking point……

A neat thing that you can do is have multiple styles of cards. As long as your logo is intact across all design elements, it is a great point of interest to your customers and associates to have these different cards. It leaves them wondering what you are going to do next and even sets your card up to be a collectable of sorts. We launched 3 business cards within one year and the feedback was tremendous. I would often go to see a client and they would have all three cards lined up in their card holder. When I asked why it was simply that the client thought that they looked great. The upside of this is that now I occupy a whole side of one page in their card wallet.

Now ask yourself, what would you prefer…….to be a scrap or something worth holding onto? The answer is obvious, isn’t it?

Till Next Time,

Tory

The Ill Mannered Corporate World

Oct 21

Posted by Debbie Carr in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

Has the world changed so drastically that manners are no longer considered necessary? Is a thank you or a quick acknowledgement of an email too hard to do in our busy and stressed out working lives?
How can we change this poor culture and start treating each other with some common courtesy and respect again?
 

Here are a few suggestions that spring to mind.

  • Yes your email can be so overbearing that it is easy to quickly look at it and then decide to go back to it later. Don’t do it! Deal, Delegate or Dump it! If someone needs an acknowledgement hit the reply button and send it. If it’s SPAM dump it, if you have to go back to it, remind yourself in your calendar and file it in a personal folder.
  • If someone sends you a gift in the mail  acknowledge them with a quick email or better still a phone call.
  • Remember you are not  so important that you can’t offer your fellow human being a quick answer, acknowledgment or thank you.
  • Your organization should strive to have happy, helpful and have courteous employees. Returning phone calls and emails is just plain good manners. The voice-mail was invented to take messages for you when you were away from your desk.  It seems these days it’s a tool to help staff avoid speaking to their customers.
  • Always give excellent customer service, and then give that little bit extra.
  • Send cards by mail, yes I mean the old fashioned way with a postage stamp. Thank you cards or just a postcard is a novelty these days and stands out.
  • Take a colleague out for coffee if they have done something to help you, or do it to cheer them up if they are having a bad day.
  • Try and smile to at least 5 strangers every time you walk down the street.
  • Bring some laughter and fun into the office, creating a fun environment is contagious.
  • Always be on time for appointments.
  • Smile and be happy when you are on the phone, it really does make a big difference
  • If you say you are going to be somewhere, be there! Unless you have a genuine excuse do not let people down at the last minute.

All it takes is just a few tiny changes in attitude to make our working days much happier and productive.

Going for Goals

Oct 20

Posted by Sam Leader in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Personal Development, Planning | No Comments

Goals have a special place in the solo psyche. They have helped plenty of soloists to focus energies, challenge themselves and nurture a sense of achievement. But used unwisely they can, quite unintendedly, be counterproductive. That’s because goals are typically treated in a linear fashion: the theory goes you start at a point and progress along a line to a desired outcome.
The problem with this is a journey towards a goal isn’t usually linear. More typically, we lurch towards and away from our goals, not necessarily making discernible progress over time. Lots of dieters illustrate the failures of the linear model. They start off with kilos to lose and aim for their target weight. They have good days, then bad, then good…and their goal often remains over there, in the future somewhere. Even those with a passing interest in health know overweight people are better off ditching the diets and resolving instead to adopt an overall healthier lifestyle.
When you focus on the journey (healthier lifestyle) not the destination (lost weight), your desired outcome can still be attained, but incidentally. The odd dodgy day doesn’t matter, provided you enjoy overall benefits on an ongoing basis. This week, try taking a goal of yours out of the abstract by asking “What can I do today that will attract my desired outcome towards me?” It’s far more rewarding to try and honour the process like this, than it is to be an “I’ll be happy when…” type.

Whoops! — There Goes My List! (Are You Backing Up Your BIGGEST Asset?)

Oct 20

Posted by Alexandria Brown in Risk Management, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | No Comments

Have you ever accidentally lost an important file on your computer? Perhaps your computer crashed (again) or your cat sauntered over a dooming sequence of keys. Remember that little pang in your stomach you felt when you realized that file was gone for good?

OK, now imagine losing your entire e-zine subscriber list or customer list. Did that pang just get a bit more intense? (Ouch!)

When several Internet marketing gurus were asked the question, “If your office was burning down and you could save one thing, what would it be?”

The unanimous answer among all of them was, “my list“!

Your list is your goldmine. It’s your pool of warm prospects and clients with whom you’ve taken months to build a level of credibility and trust. They’re your ticket to a steady stream of income.

It can take years to build a large collection of opt-in subscribers and customers. But they can disappear in a flash if they’re not protected.

So, are YOU backing up your list on a regular basis? (Be honest!) If not, let’s get you started today.

If Your List Resides on Your Computer…

If you send out your e-zine or e-mail promotions from your own computer, you MUST make backing-up your list a daily habit. And by “backing-up,” I mean saving your list to a disk or location other than your hard drive. For example, you can save your list to:

1) a CD (you’ll need a CD burner)
2) an external hard drive (these are less expensive
now than they used to be)
3) a secure, Web-based file storage service.

I currently use option 3 for my computer files. The service I use is called
I-Backup, and there are many others out there, starting at as little as $3 per month. I prefer this option because I have so many large files on my computer that I’d have to backup my files to several separate disks or CDs. And because this method is so EASY, I’m more likely to follow through and back-up my files on a regular basis!

I also like I-Backup for traveling, as I can upload files that I’ll need to access on the road. This way I don’t have to bring a disk with me.

If You Use an Online List Service…

Even if you host your list online with a listserve (such as Constant Contact) or an autoresponder service (such as QueenCart.com), you should still make your own backup copy on a regular basis! Just download or “export” a copy of your list each week for safekeeping. It should be pretty easy to do. This procedure varies depending on what program you use, so see its help files or contact their support center for assistance.

Consider Purchasing a Battery Backup System

Southern California is known for its frequent power outages, and they were wreaking havoc on my computer. So I purchased a battery backup unit. (I chose APC’s 650 model.) It’s about the size of a breadbox and keeps my computer going for another hour or so in the event of a power outage. This gives me ample time to back up any files I’m working on and shut down my computer properly. It also functions as a surge-protector to keep my computer safe from electric surges. You can buy units like these at any large office supply store, and they range in price from $100 to $500.

Don’t Put It Off Any Longer!

I know that backing-up your files seems like another irritating addition to your busy schedule. But remember that you’ve worked hard to build your list … and your business. So take just a few minutes each week to protect that investment.

I now keep three separate copies of my list backups among me and my two assistants as well, so they are spread across the country and on different computers! (This may seem anal, but when you consider the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year they are worth to me, it makes sense.)

TIP: Pick a certain day each week to back up your list. For example, my electronic calendar automatically reminds me to do this every Friday.

© 2003-2005 Alexandria K. Brown

12 Ways People Make Business GREAT!

Oct 20

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Risk Management | No Comments

I love working with businesses as they are made up of people as the main part of the mechanism to make the organisation work, but all too often companies run into negative people issues and that can mean things may not go quite as planned some times. I developed this list in response to a cry for help from David, a client of mine. He was feeling under pressure having 25 staff that were ‘all over the shop’ to use his term. Some of the issues were to do with his style of leadership and some to do with the people.

In the end the result was great, absenteeism fell, and before long profitability and productivity was on the rise. Occasionally it does not take much, but when you need to take stock, check the list and see how you might pick up the game.

Points to creating a great workplace

  1. Don’t change people – You picked them, you wanted, you got, now work with what you have to get a great result, if you want something to alter make it you, not them.
  2. Play by their rules (sometimes) – Work with them, if they have rules, they have them for a reason, is it that your rules are not filling the gap/s? Or perhaps they think their rules are better. Be flexible in your approach and check out what they have before running it down, try it you just might like it.
  3. Check list you – Check out what you do, what you can change to better fit the situations you may find yourself in with the workplace. Check your attitude, your communication style, your presentation, your expectations and probably a whole raft of other things.
  4. Look after you – Change can happen at any time, the control of that is up to you, no one else. If you are in control of you and your needs chances are your esteem will allow you to be more, do more, and have more.
  5. Discuss the good and the not so good! – Have open and frank discussions and ensure they stay free form personal attack. Create an environment where people can say how they feel, see how things are going, hear from others and keep in touch with the team and each other.
  6. Listen and do – Talk less about things and go for more actions, doing can make a world of difference to the organisation you are a part of. Remember two ears for listening, and one mouth for talking. So use them in that order. But to add to that cliché, you have two hands, two feet as well, so your capacity to do is greater than the capacity to talk and listen! I won’t even touch how many brain cells you have and how they could come into the equation.
  7. People are different – Neither right nor wrong, just different. Males and females, religious beliefs and ideals, vales and general beliefs. So go with the flow a occasionally, know there are the ‘bad bits’ but learn to be flexible enough in your approach to work with these differences, remember great leaders love people.
  8. Go into battle carefully – Jumping in without too much information from two sides of an argument can be costly, VERY COSTLY! So be careful and choose your battles wisely. Every business has bad bits, they may alter over time, they might get better but love them for what they are at the time. It might also be bothering your staff and they are just waiting for the right time to do something about them.
  9. Develop choices – It’s easy to blame others for things going wrong, but how many choices were there at the time? By developing choices you may just make a powerful difference to the way thing turn out.
  10. Don’t play psych – Psych is for psychs, use your understanding to advantage, but you don-t have to tell them the research and methodology behind what you say and or do. E.g. a plumber does not tell the customer how a pipe is made, the customer just wants it to do its job.
  11. Accuse and lose – Point the finger of blame and you had better watch out, it might just get bitten. People will dodge, lie and leave in no time flat over the smallest issues, why? Because we all want to do good things, and to have the finger of blame leveled at us is not a good feeling.
  12. Let them know you love what they do – Sometimes this might happen very discretely, and others as an over the top display of a job done brilliantly. It might be a few words, a gift, a badge of recognition, but be fair about it and make sure they know they are special people working on a very special task.

The spiritual organisation… Really?

Oct 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Board Room | No Comments

Could non religious spirituality have an intrinsic and or extrinsic value to your organisation? And what would it take to foster this in your organisation? Would the team “buy in” easily or would things have to be disguised in some way to make it seem like a secondary thing…

Consider this, Non religious spirituality essentially could involve (but perhaps not exclusively) the following…

• An accurate Self Image
• Sensitivity to Others
• A Deep Sense of Mystery
• Connectedness
• Emotional Balance
• Inner Peace
• Freedom
• A Deep Compassion for Humanity

Some will be saying, I am too busy trying to get ahead to consider any of this. Others among you will be suggesting that without this your business can not even begin to make a profit.

In a highly material age, where the ‘me’ generation is mentioned at every turn, could this ‘sense of spirituality’ be a cornerstone to fresh development ideas for your staff? Could it be a starting point to discussing how your organisaton can move forward in a world cluttered with materialism, Me, me, ME! instead of We, we WE!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tradeshow Tactics: Cash In On Fun

Oct 16

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 10 Comments

My client was dumbfounded. The answer wasn’t complicated, costly or hard to do. The question was, “How do I effectively engage people at the tradeshow?”

“All you gotta do,” I said, “is invite people to take a sheet of your letterhead, make a paper airplane and see if they can fly it into the open window of one of your units.”

My client was a Recreational Vehicle (RV) dealer selling motor homes, travel trailers and 5th wheels to the upscale camping crowd. She was spending a wad on tradeshows but wasn’t getting the results she wanted. So I went to an RV show and had a look around.

Talk about BORING! Every booth was staffed with polite people standing outside their RV’s smiling and saying, “Hi. Howyado’in” to everyone that passed by. RVing is supposed to be exciting and fun. But not one dealer at that show had a mechanism by which to break the boredom, arrest and engage attendees.

I went back and told my client, “You gotta give these people something fun to do. Something that captures the spirit of RVing.”
That’s when I shared the paper airplane concept with her. “If they get the airplane through the window,” I explained, “then they have to go inside to retrieve it and receive their prize. You’ve got ‘em where you want ‘em — INSIDE THE UNIT!”
Too often, tradeshow exhibitors believe that handing some cheap do-dad to everyone who walks by their booth is effectively promoting their business. Key words in that sentence are, “everyone who walks by.” The whole point of a tradeshow is to find qualified prospects. That means you have to find out who is interested in your product or service AND can afford it. You can’t do that if everyone is walking by.

Here’s how I engage people at tradeshows. I use a water globe game where you attempt to get a golf Read the rest of this entry »

Avoiding the ‘always available’ trap

Oct 15

Posted by Robert Gerrish in Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Board Room | No Comments

Don’t we just have it all at our fingertips these days? Mobile telephony, satellite monitoring, wireless go anywhere internet connection, SMS and always on email straight to our palm devices. As soloists, there’s no excuse for failing to stay in touch with our work (and our clients) regardless of where we are or when. The marketers of course, would have us believe this is all good.

I disagree.  Sure, some of it can be good and at times it is very convenient, but the worrying trend is that always available may become the workplace norm.

A quick glance at how these new services are being marketed and you’ll see imagery depicting young, happy executives tapping away at the keyboard while at the beach or in the garden. In the distance we see friends and family supposedly playing and communing happily.

Everyone is doing what they love. How nice.

Let’s now consider the reverse scenario: Friends and family playing happily in the office while you work. Do you reckon you’ll get much done? Nope. Me neither. You’ll be distracted and certainly won’t be concentrating on your work.

 

Relaxing with friends and family isn’t a totally passive past time. You need to participate if you are to give and receive. It’s called “being present”. If you’re not joining in, all you’re really doing is moving the office to a new location and one where nothing terribly meaningful is achieved.

Let’s look at other implications of the always available trap.

Remember the good old days when you took a day or two off and were pleasantly surprised when everything ran smoothly in your absence? The times when your clients and associates rose to the challenge of management and decision-making and showed themselves much more capable than you had given credit?

Why would anyone risk making a decision about anything now, when you’re just a moment away?

On the other hand, if you want to make every micro decision (er, control freak!) then carry on, you’re doing just fine.

While some soloists may quite rightly say that being always available and in-touch is wonderful for their business, a survey on our site suggested over 72% of you would be more than happy if a surprise law banned mobile phones. Chances are partners and friends are sure to agree!

The answer to this is not that complex. Being available can most certainly be good, but we have to establish boundaries with our colleagues and clients.

If you don’t stay in control of your involvement in your business, you’ll forever be its prisoner.

That doesn’t sound like a good recipe for loving your work does it?

Branding, it’s the little things…..

Oct 15

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | 5 Comments

What’s so hard about branding?

I think it’s the little things that are hard sometimes. Well, at least it seems to me the little things can be the easiest to get wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

Got Returns? How to Get Fewer of Them (and Many More Happy Customers)

Oct 14

Posted by Alexandria Brown in The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

I hate to admit this, but I’ve ordered more than one gadget or doohickey from TV infomercials. It’s usually been when I’m back East visiting my parents around the holidays, snowed in and bored to tears, and watching TV I’d never dream of watching in my “real life”.

For example, last year I bought the “Hair Mate” – this silly stand that holds your dryer while you blow-out your hair. Hey, trapped in the ‘burbs, sleepless at 2 a.m. from eating too much pie, this seemed like a completely necessary purchase. (Plus it came with not one, but TWO bonus professional styling brushes!)

Weeks later, back in Los Angeles, when I opened the box from UPS, I cringed. Had I really ordered this stupid thing? The magic and excitement had worn off. I packed it up and hurriedly shipped it back to get a refund on my Amex.

This is called “buyer’s remorse” in the world of sales. But it doesn’t just happen with goofy purchases like this one. It can happen if you’re selling seminars, workshops, audio programs, ebooks, home study courses, anything that requires people to give you money.

Here are a few places you can use to help prevent it with your clients and customers. For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume it’s a physical product. But these ideas can be applied to ANY type of product, program, or service where a guarantee is included! Especially with higher-priced offerings.

1. Affirm They Made the Right Choice on the Thank-You Page

On your thank-you page, congratulate the reader and assure her she made a smart decision by investing in your program. For example, here’s the copy that was on the thank-you page for my Online Success Blueprint Workshop: “Congratulations! I’m so glad you’re going to join me, LIVE and in person at my first (and likely only) Online Success Blueprint Workshop. You are going to be SO glad you made this decision. It will honestly change your business — and your life — forever. I can’t wait to meet you in person and teach you my complete system for making your current business a source of money, time, and freedom…”

2. Get Them Excited via Your Follow-Up Emails

Any good shopping cart program can send out automatic emails in a series after the purchase of your product using an email autoresponder. (I use and swear by QueenCart.com.) These emails can work MAGIC in keeping your customers excited and eager to receive your product, especially if they won’t receive it for a week or two. For example, send them check-in emails on Day 1, Day 3, Day 5, and so on. In each email, highlight a benefit they’ll get from using your program, and include a success story from one of your other customers who have used it.

3. Surprise Them With a Bonus Gift

Before they even receive their package, why not send them a surprise digital goodie, like a bonus report, resource list, coupon, consultation, or quick-start guide? Everyone likes an unexpected gift, and it warms them up to you even more. They start thinking, “This is great. I can’t wait to get the full program in the mail next week!” It’s the law of the universe — we all feel indebted to someone when they give us something.

4. Ask Them to Do Something Immediately

I remember purchasing a home study course that included a free consultation with the author that could be used anytime over the next six months. When I received the package, it clearly stated that in order to redeem this consultation, I had to complete and fax back the enclosed certificate within the next FIVE DAYS. So I did. I later realized that this action made me step up and “own” the program, sealing the deal in my mind.

5. “Resell” Them on Their Purchase, as Soon as They Receive It

A few years ago, my partner and I bought a home study/training program in real estate investing. It was brilliantly marketed and a topic we were interested in. After some discussion, we placed our order, and about a week later, got a big box in the mail. I excitedly tore it open, and on top of all the materials was a video with a bright orange label that shouted “Watch Me FIRST!” On the video were several interviews with other couples who had used the program with great success. This helped affirm our decision that we did the right thing, that this was real and doable, and that our investment was worth it. (Now, whether we actually DID anything with the information is another story!)

I hope you get the idea. It’s just as important to keep your current customers happy as it is to get out there and find new ones. See how you’re *always* selling?

© 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

Keep it clean and tidy.

Oct 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, Planning, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

Have you ever had that sinking feeling, when the day simply slides in to a black hole, and sometimes it happens within moments! I have, but in particular I had it a few years back on walking into a business I was invited to evaluate and advise.

The sinking feeling came pretty quickly as I looked at the front window, it needed cleaning, the floor as I waked in the door had not been vacuumed in a long time, the front desk had grimy fingerprints where staff had turned the corner and held on to the counter, later I found out the toilets were an absolute disgrace, barely cleaned. Various other aspects of the business did not create a professional image either, the business owner felt that this had little to do with the businesses profitability as few clients ever came through the door. I pointed out that the staff cared about the presentation (even if not consciously), and how they felt was reflected in the way they dealt with clients. (That showed up later!)

Perceptions are everything.
I was always taught,you never get a second chance at a first impression. For me it is being on time and presenting appropriately to the person I am dealing with. Studies have shown that they will probably judge me in the first 5 seconds of meeting me (unconsciously) and this is followed up by the next minute and a half by my words and actions.

The same can be said of a business, the “suspect” walks in the door, makes a judgement… the sales person approaches and hopefully turns them into a prospect and then a customer but, only if the person decides that the image meets their expectation of what they were after. The same can be said of the staff in the opening example.

This approach to the psychology of a business also goes the other way, you can present a business in such a neat and tidy way that it may repel those looking for a bargain, they may consider your store’s contents too expensive based on the presentation levels. Smart business operators use this knowledge to their advantage and build a positive perception about the cost of goods and services they offer. Many then find they have fewer customers, however those that do enter are more likely to buy, sensing the higher value on offer.

I don’t want customers like that anyway!
I’ve heard it too often to mention, the grubby store (and probably its owner) says, “if they don’t want what I have to offer, then that’s their problem!” wrong, it is your problem and the thing to do is to get into customers heads and know that you are providing what they want, when they want it before they know they need it… (Tricky eh?) Take responsibility for the business you run and the image you hold, it is vital for people to create the right impression.

For some the way to maintain and build excellent standards of presentation is to utilize a checklist. Create a few pointers that you and your staff can work with. Then in time add to the checklist with many minor items listed as well as the major ones. Then allocate how often the staff should check the item and do something about it.

I mention these things to many of my clients and find that this approach works, however aim to check and correct these items at a suitable time, seeing staff cleaning at the start of the day is irritating to me as an early bird shopper. A commtted and motivated team player will ensure that little happens in the day to distract customers from making the all important decision to walk in the door and spend some cash.

Want to, Must do…

Oct 11

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, People!, Personal Development, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

This one really got me. I must admit I have seen it so many times with clients, and it still intrigues me to no end. But I liked the way this recent article in Mybusiness magazine (Oct 06) put it. “It’s not enough to know how” By Brad Sugars. His analogy of overweight people and business is very apt. Check out the link. Thanks Brad.

Go fetch, Google!

Oct 11

Posted by Sam Leader in The Operations Dept | No Comments

For so many of us, Google has become an integral part of our online experience, reliably guiding us through the vastness of the web. Now Google brings its mighty search power to your computer.

About Google Desktop

Google Desktop is a simple yet powerful tool that enables you to search your computer for files in the same way you use Google to search the web. Sorry Maccers, but currently it’s only offered to those with Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

Available as a free download, Google Desktop Search sits – you’ve guessed it – on your desktop ready for when you need to find a file. Punch in the search term and it will then scour the following areas:

  • emails (included deleted messages)
  • files, namely Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, pictures, MP3 files and so on
  • web pages viewed online, or any HTML files on your computer
  • AOL instant messages

The results are displayed in reverse date order, but you can rearrange them by the above categories. Each result is linked, so you click to open the email in Outlook, the document in Word, etc. It will also tell you which folder the item is in, handy for those with haphazard filing systems.

The verdict

Like Google itself, the Desktop tool returns results very quickly and is incredibly easy to use. There’s no doubt it’s a million miles better than Microsoft’s hopeless search facility.

For the first week, I used Google Desktop exhaustively.

But then I realised something. Basically, the tool dispenses with the need to have any sort of filing system. As a consequence, it rapidly becomes an excuse for bad filing. Why bother putting stuff in the right place if your faithful hound will find it for you while you slob out on the couch?

I found that pretty soon, the short cut became corner cutting as I started to let my normally well ordered filing system go, safe in the knowledge that Google Desktop would find files for me.

The tool was teetering on the brink of becoming indispensable when I made the deliberate decision to stop using it as much. I told myself the virtue of locating a well positioned file ought to be its own reward. Before long I got things back in order and nowadays I only use Google Desktop to find long deleted files.

Want to give it a go? Download it from here.

12 Tips on Body Language

Oct 7

Posted by Wayne Berry in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, The Customer Service Dept | 5 Comments

Allan and Barbara Pease are the internationally renowned experts on human relations and body language. 20 million book sales worldwide have turned them into household name internationally.
Did you know that according to Allan Pease…

  1. Being ‘perceptive’ means being able to spot the contradictions between someone’s words and their body language.

    And that overall women are far more perceptive than men. Research reveals that women read the situation accurately 87% of the time, while men only scored 42% accuracy. This has given rise to the term “women’s intuition”.

  2. Modern humans are worse at reading body signals than their ancestors because we are now distracted by words.

    Try turning the volume down on the TV and see how well you do.

  3. False smiles pull back only the mouth while real smiles pull back both mouth and eyes.

    Science has proven that the more you smile, the more positive reactions others will give you.

  4. When you fold your arms your credibility dramatically reduces.

    You may feel that arm-crossing is simply comfortable but others will think you’re not approachable.

  5. Skilful elbow-touching can give you up to three times the chance of getting what you want.

    A light 3 second elbow-touch creates a momentary bond between two people. Touching above or below the elbow does not produce the same result and touching for more than 3 seconds will receive a negative response.

  6. Gestures can reveal if a person is lying.

    Seven of the most common ‘lying gestures’ are the, ‘Mouth Cover’, the ‘Nose Touch’, the ‘Eye Rub’, the ‘Ear Grab’, the ‘Neck Scratch’, the ‘Collar Pull’ and the ‘Fingers In The Mouth’.

  7. Pupil dilation is a sign that the person likes what they see

    When the pupil of the eye dilates, the black section in the middle grows in size. This explains why we sometimes see a “twinkle in the eye” when a person is happy or excited. The larger black area reflects light differently.

  8. The closer people feel emotionally to each other, the closer they will stand to each other.

    There are cultural reasons too, why people will stand a certain distance from another person.

  9. Jiggling the feet is like the brain’s attempt to run away from what is being experienced.

    If you are not sure whether you’re being lied to or not, look under the table or desk. Glass topped tables cause us more stress than solid tables, as our legs are in full view and so we don’t feel as if we are in full control.

  10. Open legs show male confidence; closed legs show male reticence

    Crossed legs not only reveals negative or defensive emotions, it makes a person appear insecure and causes others to react accordingly.

  11. The size of a briefcase is linked to perceptions of the status of its owner.

    Those who carry a large, bulky briefcase are thought to do all the work and probably take work home with them because they are poor time managers. Slim briefcases say that the owner is only concerned with the bottom line and therefore has more status.

  12. Where you sit in relation to other people in a meeting or even socially, is an effective way of obtaining co-operation from them.

    It makes a difference whether you sit at a round table, a square table, a rectangular table or no table at all. It also matters where you sit – across from the other person, left or right of the person, next to the person and so on.

It’s a fascinating subject and reading a person’s body language is a skill which can be developed. Allan cautions us though not to jump to conclusions when we see gestures and suggests three rules for accurate reading.

  1. Read gestures in clusters and don’t interpret a solitary gesture on it’s own
  2. Look for congruency between people’s words and their ‘body language’
  3. Remember to read gestures in context with the environment and other things that are happening

Have a great week. Make it a great week!

You are what you think!

Oct 7

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Occasionally we hear stories of people who struggle against great odds, prove the naysayers wrong, and achieve the nearly impossible. They turn around a defunct company; they stop a highway from going through virgin land; they beat the odds on terminal cancer.

In order to do extraordinary things, these people – and you! – don’t need to be superhuman, you just need some positive tools to get you through rough times. You need a positive philosophy to give yourself direction and an understanding of what you can do yourself and when you need help from others. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking, was published over 50 years ago and it continues to sell well because it contains such a universal truth: the attitudes we hold help shape the reality we experience.

Having a positive attitude isn’t something you just tack on to your old personality. It comes from deep within you; it has to or it would get wiped out with the first sign of a countervailing negative force. But you also have to have some other source of positive energy outside yourself that keeps you going. Most probably it is other people you can rely on for support, who are also positive about your ability to succeed. Perhaps you are also motivated by the example of some historical or spiritual figure. (Martin Luther King was inspired by Gandhi…who in turn was inspired by Thoreau).

The point is, you don’t do it alone – a positive state of mind comes from within and without. It requires that you embed yourself in a context of positiveness – to tap sources beyond yourself. If this trait isn’t already in your repertoire, then begin here. The trait of positiveness is so attractive, other people will be drawn to you.

Check out the view…

Oct 7

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

Standing on top of a mountain or a very big hill on a clear day it seems as if you can see forever… If the journey there was a hard slog then the view hopefully is well worth it.

In a similar vein I was checking out web resources for business and came across an article that caught my attention, it was about the view we have in business (my interpretation) Sometimes we go into a business with blinkers on not seeing the whole view. Sometimes this is caused by the emotional attachment we have to the ‘project’ we want to undertake and too readily dismiss any risks with lines like, “We’ll deal with those if they arise”.

In the video file attached to his blog Tim Keane gives an analogy about entrepeneurs seeking seed funding to start a project.. Check out his ‘view.’

http://tkeane.typepad.com/startups_and_angels_along/files/reducing_risk_small.wmv

Thanks for the insight Tim.

Motivate to Activate Your Staff

Oct 6

Posted by Debbie Carr in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Motivate to Activate Your Staff

Love your job or hate it? If you asked your employees the above question how many would say “love it”? For those that answer “hate it” is it because they really are in the wrong job or is it due to environmental factors?
There are strategies that employers can create to foster an enjoyable workplace. Happy, motivated staff are more inclined to stay with the company. Most organizations spend big dollars to recruit their employees and training them.  So what can you do to make sure your employees are happy and motivated to want to stay and grow with the company?

For example, the receptionist has one of the most important roles in the company but how often is she or he recognized for their efforts? Greeting your clients and answering the phone is an essential and important role, but many a disgruntled receptionist can scare your clients away. It is essential to always include all staff from the most junior person upwards in your motivational planning.
Here are some suggestions on making a happier workplace:

  • Create a visually appealing and comfortable workplace aim to have an office with light colours. Ensure also the temperature isn’t too hot or cold, this is a tricky one but very important as body temperatures vary. If your budget doesn’t extend to renovating maybe just adding an espresso coffee machine or some plants could be a small way to improve the office space.
  • Encourage a team environment “ in today’s training world, team building specialists range from fighter pilots, drummers, Ninjas to Mt Everest climbers. There are many exciting programs to help encourage a team comradeship.
  • Thank and praise,  recognize achievements, initiatives and long hours worked.
  • Organise in-house training or bring in an expert on Work Life balance at your next conference.
  • Many organizations now offer their staff in-house shoulder massages.
  • Corporate Responsibility – involve staff in a worthwhile charitable cause. Helping others can be a great way to feel a sense of achievement.
  • Be flexible. Children get sick, people get sick. Develop a good relationship with a temporary recruitment agency that can help you fill a gap for a sick employee at short notice. Be flexible with working hours, especially if a staff member is studying, has children or other personal issues. Many people work very well from home, if not better than in the office.
  • Ensure that your management is well trained in leadership skills.
  • Make sure your employees skills are fully utilized and encourage goal setting.
  • Consider rewards like week-ends away for your employees as a bonus instead of cash incentives. Many senior executives do not get the chance or make the time to go away with their spouse or family.
  • Ask for feedback and take notice of the suggestions. Value the ideas of your employees and implement the useful ones.
  • Keep ongoing professional development. Bring in corporate trainers and use professional speakers to motivate your staff. Don’t be mislead by the title Professional Speaker many speakers offer follow on and online training after their keynotes.
  • If changes are happening in the workplace, keep the staff updated. One way to lower morale is to have uncertainty in the office.
  • Consider childcare facilities, week-end family picnics and other functions to show that your organization appreciates family.

Re-vision: teaching an old dog old trick

Oct 5

Posted by Robert Gerrish in Planning, The Board Room | No Comments

In our book Flying Solo – How to go it alone in business, Sam and I talk a great deal about the role and importance of holding a vision.

Exploration on the topic of visions is often done in the context of a start-up business, but to dismiss visions as something solely useful to newbies is to miss out on an invaluable tool.

To leave visions behind as we move forwards is akin to cleaning the windows once and never doing them again.

A compelling and inspiring vision needs to underpin everything… all the time. Without a vision how on earth can we develop meaningful plans, create strategies and get into positive action? We can’t. Sure we can rush around doing lots of things and give the appearance of being really busy, but our activity invariably comes devoid of any real focus or direction.
Working without the ‘pull’ of a vision leaves us hugely susceptible to distraction and it’s wicked half-sister, procrastination; whereas the presence of a vision creates quite the reverse.

Here’s what newbie soloist management consultant Ben said when we interviewed him for the book:

“A year before I was ready to fly solo I created my vision, the headline of which was: ‘In twelve months’ time, I see myself running my own business, working from a home office which has a view of the ocean.’ This scenario bore no resemblance to my circumstances at the time.

I knew if I really wanted the set-up I dreamed of I’d need to make big life changes over the year. It was nerve-racking in a way, but my vision helped me justify these changes. When faced with decisions, I’d refer to my vision and ask ‘Does this fit?’ This made my journey to soloism easier. In fact, it would have been impossible for me to get where I am if I hadn’t had such a strong mental picture of where I wanted to be.”

Lucky old Ben you may say, but what he achieved in his start-up phase every soloist can enjoy regardless of the time already spent airborne.

Now’s not the time to go right into the detail of how to generate an inspiring vision – hey, it took us the best part of twenty pages to cover the topic in the book – but I can certainly share with you one key ingredient of a comprehensive vision and that is the essential element of imagery.

Whether you’re creating a vision for the outcome of a project, or a vision for the launch of an entirely new business proposition, try capturing it with a single image and hold that image in your mind.

I have one such image for an element of my work and it’s stuck prominently on the wall of my office. What’s the image? Well, it looks a little bit like this:

The Day I Learned to Start Saying ‘No’

Oct 5

Posted by Alexandria Brown in Personal Development, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

It was the fall of 1998 when I had just started my first business as a marketing communications writer. Most of my clients hired me for newsletters, brochures, and sales materials, but I would get the occasional request for something different. At the time I was too naive to consider saying “no” to any project that didn’t fit me perfectly.

A perfect example of this was when a colleague named Chip asked if I could write a short script for a customer service training video. “Wow,” I said. “Video! That sounds like fun. Sure thing. I’ll take it on!”

Big mistake.

Sure, at first it seemed exciting. But after I got into it, I was miserable. Not only did I spend three times as many hours as I’d planned JUST on figuring out what they wanted, but I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. I’d never written a video script in my life! I thought it would be simple, but it was a whole other world.

This thing not only sucked up all my time, taking me away from my best clients, but it also drained my energy and my confidence. I felt sick every time I looked at that project folder. I lost sleep worrying that I wasn’t doing a good job on it, and worst of all, my fears were confirmed…

One day Chip left a message on my answering machine that MORE major revisions were needed. Then, it sounded like he hung up the phone, because there was a soft click. But then I heard him start to talk about me with his partner (obviously unaware that his speaker-phone was still on).

At first I stopped the message from playing, because I knew I was not supposed to be privy to this conversation. But I wanted to know the truth, so I listened. My heart sank as I heard things like, “This writer doesn’t know what she’s doing on this… we should have hired a real video writer… I feel bad she’s trying so hard, but this isn’t getting better.”

I got so ANGRY!

Not at Chip, but at myself.

Here I was… an award-winning writer for marketing communications. Marketing communications! That means marketing materials. NOT training videos!

So why had I taken on that project?

My good friend Melanie Strick, “The Entrepreneur’s Success Coach”, calls this “bright, shiny object syndrome”, and it happens to many entrepreneurs. You see, we love ideas! We enjoy moving from idea to idea, and it’s easy to get distracted by something that seems new and exciting.

Especially when you start experiencing success, it’s as if every opportunity in the world starts falling in your lap. You have to become a master of saying “no”. That was very hard for me.

But by sticking with what you KNOW you are good at, you are always confident and calm in your work. You know how to market yourself, and you know who you’re marketing to!

I’ve become so clear now at what I’m amazing at, what I offer, who I’m marketing to, and how I want my life to look like, that any business or life decision is crystal clear. I know exactly what to say “no” to.

(And they say for every “no” you give, a better “yes” comes along!)

So today, make a list of what you are good at, what you’re confident in doing, what you want to do, and who you do it for. And then practice saying, “No!” to anything else.

You’ll find that your marketing and your business will magically become easier, more enjoyable, and more successful!

© 2005 Alexandria K. Brown

People are way more critical than you think – don’t give them fuel for the fire!

Oct 4

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, The Customer Service Dept | 1 Comment

Back in the early 70′s, recently accredited with my MBA and happily engaged in my first college teaching position, a friend asked me what my long-term career goal was. When I answered that I would like to eventually become the president of a large university, my friend chuckled and replied, “Tony, there’s no way!” I took offense at this and demanded to know why he would react that way.

He said, “Don’t misunderstand me, Tony. You’re certainly intelligent and ambitious enough. But can you imagine yourself addressing the student body with your Brooklyn accent?” I realized that he was right. My accent was so heavy (lots of ‘dees’ and ‘dose’) that it would have had a negative impact on my credibility and my career. I resolved to change that aspect of myself and eventually became a professional speaker.

The old adage is true: “First impressions are lasting impressions.” But if you’re like most people, you probably can’t see the first impressions you’re making. In that case, here’s some simple advice you can take from the story above: Take the risk of asking one or more of your close friends if you are guilty of any of the following image deficiencies below. If so, first thank your friends for their honesty, and then immediately do something to correct them! Try creating an impression you want to last.

Common first-impression killers & what to do about them:

A heavy accent – The Brooklyn accent is just one of many… Bostonians and Southerners beware!!! Some people read this as a sign of intellectual inferiority, others just won’t understand what you’re saying. Consult a speech coach if you must, but don’t let this habit get in your way!
A limp handshake – For a man, a sign of weakness…for a woman, a sign that she lacks confidence! Don’t squeeze the hand or hold it like a dead mouse, just give it a firm grip, a couple of pumps, and let go.

Along with making consistent eye contact, this is one of the easiest first-impression blunders to correct!
Sloppy grooming (long hair, sideburns, three-day stubble, bad makeup job, un-tucked shirt or blouse, unpolished shoes) – Says to hiring manager: “Can’t be left alone for a second with prospective clients” – also a sign of intellectual sloppiness!

Poor hygiene (foul body odor, dirty fingernails, chronic bad breath) – One of those things you want to ask your most trusted best friend about because

(1) chances are, you can’t notice it, and

(2) some people won’t want to hurt your feelings.
Weak vocabulary -Beside “like” “ah” and “um” try to avoid weak words (“awesome” “cool” and “super”) that make you sound like you just graduated from Sweet Valley High.
Poor posture – People notice the way you enter a room, the way you carry yourself. Take a few deep breaths to collect yourself. Stand tall and hold your head up high. Walk with purpose and direction.
Ill-fitting clothing – Even if your body is in perfect shape, the clothes you wear can make you look ridiculous if they are too big and bulky, or one size too small and reveal too much (stomach, hairy shins). Nothing screams “success” like a well-tailored suit…do yourself a favor and make a serious investment in clothes that fit!

On Leadership: The Difference Between Great and TRULY Great.

Oct 4

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Leadership, The Board Room, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

***ATTENTION /NOTICE*** Please read the entire article before drawing any conclusions or posting any reply. This article uses extremes to make a point in a thought-provoking manner. Absolutely no malice is intended.

Hitler was a great leader. Through his guidance, dedication and sense of what was right, he changed and influenced the lives of millions of people. So did another great leader. Jesus. Hitler and Jesus. Both great leaders of our past. Both possessed classic leadership qualities and characteristics. Each had a strong belief in what he was doing. Each, possessed the quality of selflessness, an absolute devotion to his cause. And both, had the outstanding ability to influence and motivate people and events to facilitate their cause. You see, these men were really no different from one another … Hitler and Jesus. Except for the fact, that Hitler was sick, deranged and twisted! While Jesus was virtuous, pure-hearted and immaculate.

In my mind, it is unjustifiable to describe both men with the same words. Words like great and leader. There has to be a way to distinguish between a leader of people who brings death and destruction, like Hitler. And a leader who spreads hope and salvation, like Jesus. A way to distinguish between the evil that lurks in one leaders heart, like Hitler. And the good that dwells in another leader’s heart like Jesus. There is a way.

In his book, “The Essentials Of Leadership”, Herman H. Horne describes the philosophy of greatness. In chapter three he writes, “To be great involves only 3 things: to have extended influence, recognition and QUANTITY of influence. But, to be truly great, is to have QUALITY of influence.” Where Hitler had quantity of influence and was a great leader. Jesus had quality of influence and was a truly great leader.

Now, a question comes to my mind. How do leaders like Hitler get into leadership positions and garner such power? How does that happen? It happens, because people just like you and I let it happen. People, just like us, sitting around waiting for someone else to take responsibility for minding the store. FOLLOWERS, who drop the ball. Followers who don’t know an issue from a snowshoe … who won’t state a position … let alone defend one. One reason? A lack of knowledge. Folks, you have to get involved to assure yourself quality leadership. Knowledge is the key to that involvement. Knowledge of the issues, of leadership and of history.

Knowledge of the issues gives you a stand you can defend intelligently. But how can knowledge of leadership and history help assure quality leadership? I’ll tell you.

The study of leadership yields a better understanding of what leadership is and what a leader’s responsibilities are. That way, you’ll know when leaders are abusing their power. The study of history sheds lights on how terrible leaders got to power in the past, the mistakes they made and how they affected people. This knowledge allows you to foresee and prevent history from repeating itself. Knowledge, is the key to ensuring a quality future.

But you have to become involved now! Because the future isn’t a year from now. It’s … 2 seconds from now. Now it’s the present. Now it’s the past. Become involved and knowledgeable now.

Leadership is a responsibility. To be able to lead in a way and direction that only serves to benefit and give value to the lives of every man, woman and child your actions affect. To be wise, merciful and benign. To achieve good, like Jesus. A TRULY GREAT leader. Not to spread grief and despair like Hitler — a great leader who was virulent, poisonous and demented!

Followership is a responsibility too. To follow with knowledge. And instead of being led blindly like a herd of sheep over a cliff …. having the intestinal fortitude and the knowledge to say, “Hey! Wait a minute! Something is wrong here” or “I have an idea that might work better.”

I have used two extremes, Hitler and Jesus, to formulate a quality continuum if you will. With evil on the left and good on the right. Great on the left … Truly Great, on the right.

Where on this continuum do you sit? What kind of leaders do you want for your government, for your country … for the world. What kind of leader do you want to be? What kind of follower? Great … or TRULY GREAT?

Exceptional excellence

Oct 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 3 Comments

There are so many average businesses, so why are the excellent ones few and far between?

If you start out to do something, do you start with excellence in mind or mediocrity? I guess the answer is excellence, after all why would you want to create an average thing, where is the logic in that?

So go for excellent marketing, excellent management, excellent products and services, excellent staff, excellent premises…

Then make it exceptional! (and don’t give me a line about having nothing to aim for if its already excellent!)

Excel at excellence… (What is there to lose, there’s plenty to gain!)

Wake up!

Oct 2

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Customer Service Dept | 1 Comment

I walked in the door, no sales person. I called out, no answer. I stood and checked out the display before calling out again, No answer. Finally a person came out and stretched with a wide yawn, “Ehr g’day, I didn’t know you were there… I was taking a snooze out the back. Must have over slept the door buzzer.” That’s ok I said I’m not a thief, lucky for you, otherwise I would have been able to take anything I wanted…. I got a blank look in return.

The person went on to say that it was a quiet time of the week and the boss was out doing deliveries, this person was just in the shop to answer the phone while the boss was out.

To top it off this was another, non-smiling staff member oh great! The person stood and made excuses, and was not at all fussed that I was there for a purpose. I eventually told them what I wanted however all the way, there was not a smile or hearty welcome. Therefore I did not feel welcome.

Who’s at fault, the boss or the worker?
The boss… Not his fault, He would probably say “You can’t get good staff these days, they are just not motivated. I asked the person to be here to put their best foot forward and make sure that things were looked after, but I can not be here all the time to watch out for them.”

The worker… Not me! “All I did was what I was asked, that is to be here to answer the phone while the boss is out on deliveries, what more is there? Anyway the boss did not tell me what else to do.”

The Situation
Blame, if all else fails blame someone… That’s how it is done in many businesses. In this case one person could blame the other and they would get nowhere. Wake up, avoid blaming others, note the situation and get on with altering it. The aim, perhaps a “blame free zone” so your team can start heading for a business that works more effectively.

What now?
How do you make sure the staff are being responsible? Working effectively while you are out, getting other things done? Answer, train them. I can hear the calls coming already “I don’t have time to train people, I am too busy working on the business to train anyone and besides, what do I know about training people?”

Good answer, and I would suggest that this business owner will always have an average business with an attitude like that. Those that get ahead often train without knowing it, they often let others know what needs to be done and how to do it. This is the age-old principle of the master and the apprentice, these days much of the though around training is more formally based, yet the idea should still hold true for many businesses, even if they are not trades based.

Consider  this, how many times does a good communicator in business have to pass on information to their staff? Not often, the staff will appreciate the effort taken, will learn readily and retain the information that has been presented (often in a relaxed non-threatening way.) They obtain the skills, hone these, and are ready to pay back the education given by simply doing the best they can.

Many books over the years on staff productivity and business have shown that staff will give 110% when they are lead by a person that sets high personal standards in all areas of business and personal life. If the boss is a hard task master they are often ridiculed behind their back by the staff, yet if they are great at communicating the task at hand with ease then staff will often go the extra mile.

Consider going the extra mile yourself and with your staff. Give them your best, that way you can expect to get something back. As for the staff member who was having a sleep out the back, there may well be little hope of reform if the situation is allowed to continue. Six months later I went past the business to find that it had closed down. In reality the sleepy worker may have only been a small part of the problem the business owner faced.

In business the sleeper soon gets caught out, the business can quickly dry up and the customer can soon go elsewhere. Do yourself a favour… Wake Up!

“You Want To Put My Logo WHERE?!”

Oct 2

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

I should have known better to say what I said, seeing how the caller was from an accounting firm. I merely suggested she put the firm’s logo on the back of a baseball cap. Her silence caused the sort of anticipation you experience when someone keeps blowing up a balloon until it pops. The words came slowly at first … finally she blurted, “You … you want to put my logo WHERE?!”

Trying to regain control of the conversation I asked, “Claudia, why is your firm’s sign out front?”

She replied, “What?  Well, because that’s where everyone will see it.”

“Right. And if everyone could see your sign out back, you’d put it there too, right? “ I asked.

“Of course,” she replied.

“Well,” I said. “When your employees are sitting in the stands at the baseball game, or standing in line for a hot dog or to use the restroom — everyone behind them will be looking at the back of their head. Would you like all those people to see your logo?”

“Hmmmmmmmmmmm.”

Placement of your logo on promotional marketing items, such as baseball hats, should be given as much thought as is given to selection of the item itself. For sake of this article, lets assume you’ve chosen an appropriate item for your event or promotion. And, your primary goal is to broaden your name id.  Now, let’s give the same serious thought to logo placement. Consider the following: how will the product be used, where will it be used, venue, day or evening event, indoor or outdoor, will people be sitting or standing?

With ball caps worn to a sporting event, most want to put the logo on the front. But if you want to maximize the advertising potential of a cap, put the logo on the back as well.

Folding, portable chairs are another place people commonly misplace the logo. Why put the logo on the front of the chair, where it is covered up when the chair is in use? Better to put the logo on the backside of the chair where everyone behind the user can see your logo.

What about pencils and pens? If you thnk about it,  you’ll ensure that the imprint is as near the eraser end as possible. This way, your logo remains to be seen  … even after multiple sharpenings. Same goes for pens but for a different reason. People hold a pen towards the bottom. If your logo is imprinted toward the bottom it will be covered up when the item is used properly. Fat lot of good that does you.

With mugs, ask yourself, “Who do I want to see my logo? The person drinking? The person sitting across from the person drinking? Both? Pick up a mug and drink from it paying careful attention to what you see. Imagine your logo or message on the INSIDE lip of the mug. How about the bottom inside of the mug. And remember the bottom outside of the mug too. All these areas are imprintable with your logo. You need merely decide who you want to see your logo and how much you can afford to invest in a mug.

Say you want to have your name seen at the beach. “Hey! How about beach towels?”, someone yells. Beach towels are an ok idea, except for the fact that when people lay on them they’ll cover up your logo. And while some people may leave your towel stretched out while they take a dip or play beach volley ball, many will scrunch the towel up to keep sand off of it …. and use their beach blanket anyway. So a beach blanket may be a great idea. But again, when in use, your logo is covered up.

A better idea for the beach may be a cooler. Here again, most people will want the logo on the lid of the cooler. That’s fine and dandy … if you pretty much want your logo to be seen only by the owner of the cooler and then only when they’re darn near right on top of it getting in it. Better, is to put the logo on the front and/or back of the cooler. This way your logo can be seen by most who walk by the cooler and from a greater distance.

As far as the accounting firm? After some thought, Claudia put the logo on the front AND back of the hat and had a successful ballpark outing. She said that once at the ballpark, the back of the hat made perfect sense.

My next article will delve into how role-playing and a little research can pay big dividends regarding logo placement and promotional product election. Until then remember:  big or small, put your sign (logo) where people will see it.
©Michael Crooks 2006

Feed me…

Oct 1

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

So there we were ready to eat, looking at what’s on offer in a semi fast food joint… The good lady wife asks about the “Indonesian pork dish” the girl says, “She likes it” and smiles, good enough for my wife who after looking at a bunch of food joints is now salivating and wants to eat.

It came with a rice side dish so it looked oriental enough. We shared the meal and found it was loaded with Jalepeno chillies and beans… WOW was it hot! Don’t get me wrong I like hot food, however this one had so many chillies it burnt and not in a good way… I started to put the chillies to one side, they made about 1/3 of the dishes ingredients. Woa! that’s hot, Thankfully the rice cooled things off a little and suffice to say we left the chillies and ate most of the rest.

Read the rest of this entry »

7 Marketing Lessons I Learned From the Muscleheads at Gold’s Gym

Oct 1

Posted by Alexandria Brown in People!, Personal Development, The Marketing Dept | 2 Comments

Can I share a secret with you?

I love working out. So much that several years ago I considered a career in fitness. I modeled for Reebok and Ironman magazine, made it to the final round for hosting a fitness TV show, and I moonlit as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer for several years while I figured out how to get out of my day job in publishing.

Now that I make a great living online as The E-zine Queen, I still make time for my health. And I’m lucky to live close to the most famous gym in the world: Gold’s Gym at Venice Beach, California. On a daily basis, I’m surrounded by bodybuilding legends like Lou Ferrigno and various men named “Gunther,” athletes like Kobe Bryant and Jennifer Capriati, and celebs like “The Rock”. The place is an absolute circus, and I enjoy the entertainment factor.

When I first joined Gold’s two years ago, I didn’t pay much attention to the “muscleheads” – the professional bodybuilders. But I’ve come to realize they can teach us a lot about marketing and business success. Here are 7 lessons we can all learn from.

1. Hang around people whom you want to be like.

Bodybuilders and aspiring bodybuilders from all over the area come to the Venice Gold’s because it’s the home of bodybuilding. I know a few bodybuilders who drive almost an hour just to work out there. Sure, they could exercise at their neighborhood Ballys, but instead they make the trip to their Mecca every day through the arduous Los Angeles traffic.

Why? They know that when you hang around people who are doing what you want to do, you automatically have a much greater chance of success. The furious energy at Gold’s is undeniable as soon as you walk in the door. You’re surrounded by world-class competitors, gold medalists, and celebrities. It’s not only motivating and inspiring, but there’s a wealth of knowledge surrounding you as well.

Who are YOU hanging around? (Think about it.)

2. Consistency is the key for long-term success.

Bodybuilders know that a body is built over a long term. And even if they take some time off, they’ll bounce back quickly because of all the training they’ve done over the years. It’s called “muscle memory” – your body remembers your shape and snaps back into place. In the same way, our clients and customers have “marketing memory.” That is, as long as we’re in front of them on a regular basis, they’ll remember who we are – even if we take a break. (And there’s no better way to stay in front of them than publishing an e-zine!)

3. Ups and downs are a part of the process.

Bodybuilders know that success comes in cycles. It’s physically damaging for them to try to be on “full force” more than a few times every year. They know their limits, and they push them, but they don’t break them. Marketing has cycles as well. You can hit it hard for a while, then ease back for a bit. Don’t worry when there’s a “down.” Just make sure to immediately follow it with an “up”. Get back on your marketing schedule or mix it up and do something different.

4. Hard work is part of the game.

Bodybuilders don’t wake up and say, “I don’t feel like working out today.” They just do it. It becomes part of their schedule, part of their life. And that ensures their success. How many of us secretly wish our success would be handed to us on a silver platter? I’m all about attracting success on whatever level we can, but hey, let’s realize there is work involved. The solution is to make the hard work FUN by doing what you love to do and delegating what you don’t.

5. Model others who are already doing what you want to do.

Bodybuilders don’t try to invent their own training programs from scratch. They look at what the top competitors are doing, and they do the same thing. From weightlifting to cardio to diet, they’ve got it down to a precise formula. Don’t reinvent the wheel when there are others who are already racing along. Find other business owners who are doing what you want to do, and model them. Important: Don’t model ones who are doing it half-assed. Model the best, the ones who are experiencing the immense success that you dream of!

6. Find a mentor or coach for faster results.

I don’t know of any champion who got to where he/she did alone. Every bodybuilding competitor hires a trainer or a coach who has been there before and can walk them through every step of the way. Does this cost them a lot of money? You bet. But they don’t look at what it costs. They look at what it’s WORTH. They’re fast forwarding their success, and that is priceless.

I know many entrepreneurs who have wasted thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on websites, programs, and training that got them nowhere or pointed them in the wrong direction. Don’t make that mistake – I’ve been there. Stop struggling and invest in someone to show you the way – the right way – the first time.

7. Show off what you’ve got!

You can be sure the bodybuilding gurus at Gold’s aren’t meek about their successes. They show off their hard work with outfits that emphasize their assets. (Oh, the stories I could tell you about some of the costumes there! Lace catsuit, anyone?) Even if you don’t have it all (yet), show off what you DO have. Strut your best stuff and toot your own horn. You’re doing the world a disservice if you don’t let us all know what you and your business can offer.

© 2004 Alexandria K. Brown

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