Aug 31
In business it comes down to cash. numbers, $$ samoulians, do rey mi, dosh, call it what you will its the “stuff” that makes a big chunk of the world go round.
so check this out.
It’s a post in our forum, and it has some interesting twists and turns. basically it gets to a situation when you do the numbers, you might get a shock (and often not a good one…) so take a look and let us know what you think.
Aug 30
Today you are doing what SPECIFICALLY…
- to make your business more profitable?
- to cause the staff to LOVE you?
- to cause the customers to LOVE you and your team?
- to cause your suppliers to jump through hoops to give you great deals (and LOVE you)?
- to ensure your workplace is the best place to work, form both a safety and aesthetic perspective?
- to cut down on red tape?
- to create more elegant systems?
- to ensure your business is growing well?
The list can be as long as you like, with out this kind of input your business can stagnate and fade, in short it can shrivel up and die… So do something today to make it thrive.
Caring for your staff can lead to respect, the word caring means showing positive and real interest towards each other. I am suggesting we take a caring approach to build the love we have so we can avoid, bullying in the workplace, foster greater connection with our customers and staff.
This article mixes well with “Your staff and service made easy” and should probably be seen as the next step on from it.
Of course there are various levels of love and I am sure you will appreciate and respect peoples personal boundaries and expectations in this regard, the aim is not to get into “hot water” but rather prevent hostilities!
In the beginning love needs to come from people who appreciate love and indeed have love for themselves (I’m not talking about egocentric over the top love here…) so on the list of “lovers” it would probably look like this.
1. They love themselves – then they know what its like and can lo ve others.
2. They love others, their close personal team – family then friends and workmates.
3. They love the customers - without them you are not in buisness so give them some love too!
4. Love being in business – no point in doing something you hate…
5. Love your offerings - are you selling great products and services or???
6. Love you business environment – take a look around, is it a gret place to work? really? get witht he progra and sort out some of the details so you can make thing humm!
7. Love the work teams - you may not be able to have much input into how they work together but if you love the team principles you can have a more productive and fun work place.
8. Love their communications – go on foster some great communications, break down some barriers and watch the teams flourish.
9. Develop a love for leadership skills – and instil these in everyone, make them all leaders (of their own projects.)
Okay so how would you do all of this?
1. Get great at coaching – mentoring – supporting and leading. Find out what you can do to be good at these and you will become a powerful support device to cause your business to fourish.
2. Create systems and methods to create closeness – then watch how the individuals and teams work to make the most of the situation.
Your aim in doing all of this is to create a work culture that supports, cares, holds people in high regard… in short it builds the love.
Your staff and great service… EASY!
When it comes to service, practically all organisations I come across say they aim to have great service and if they don’t have it they will work on it. Problem is not many know how to make their service great, let alone good. Lets check out a bunch of points and shed some light on this always, topical issue.
Firstly there are a few things we need to get our heads around, each business has people at the front line, they then have an environment (virtual and actual) and these coupled with human interaction creates a culture. I put these in pimple terms I call PEC’s. When these are coupled with Marketing, Operations and Management you have the nucleus or foundation structure of business.
Most people in business recognise this but are at a loss (often due to being too involved in the business to see it clearly) to be able to do anything about it. One feature of businesses that can improvise, overcome and adapt to situations are able to innovate and find creative ways to instigate the changes required to make things happen.
Lets put together some points to assist in the development of a customer excellence strategy.
There is more, lots more but for now that should give you and your team a great start to building a great service skill set and a culture of service excellence.
Aug 27
You want to go into business? Some people wiill say you’re nuts and the rest of the world might seem to view you with suspicion! (well some days it might seem that way…) So why do people go into business? here’s a few starting points to consider…
Note in this list there are a lot of CAN’s in there, by being in business it does not mean you automatically get or have those things, it means you have the opportunity to make those things happen.
So its one thing to get into business and entirely another to make it happen how you want it to. Welcome to the land of opportunity.
If you are willing to learn how to listen, it will take hard work to learn the skills and constant practice to stay in shape. However, it is all worth it. Remember, people feel relieved when they find someone who understands what they have to say. Once you truly understand others by actively listening to them, they will most likely reciprocate by listening to you and trying to understand your viewpoint. Isn’t that what effective communications is all about?
Fight off distractions. Train yourself to listen carefully despite such external distractions as a ringing telephone, passersby, or outside noises. Focus on words, ideas, feelings, and the underlying intent of others.
Do not trust your memory. Take notes, when appropriate. However, keep your notes brief, because listening ability is impaired while you are writing. All you need to write down is something to jog your memory later so that you can recall the complete content of the message.
Use feedback. Constantly try to check your understanding of what you hear. Do not hear only what you want to hear. In addition, consistently check to see if the other person wants to comment or respond to what you have previously said.
Relax. When your people are speaking to you, try to put them at ease by creating a relaxed and accepting environment. Do not give the impression you want to jump right in and speak.
Listen attentively. Face others straight on, with uncrossed arms and legs, and lean slightly forward. Establish good eye contact. Nod affirmatively and use appropriate facial expressions when called for, but do not overdo it.
Create a positive listening environment. Try to ensure an atmosphere of privacy away from sources of distraction. Do not violate the other person’s “personal space.” Take great effort to make sure that the environment is conducive to effective listening.
Ask questions. Ask open-ended questions to allow others to express their feelings and thoughts. The effective use of questions shows them that you are interested and that you are listening, and it allows you to contribute to the conversation.
Be motivated to listen. Without the proper attitude, all the previous suggestions for effective listening are for naught. Try to keep in mind that there is no such thing as an uninteresting speaker — there are only disinterested listeners.
Aug 24
So here is a question, how much personal cash did you make from your business in the last year?
I know a lot of you have transferred personal payments to your business where you can… and that aside HOW MUCH… $$ ok it’s an ozzie thing to not discuss $$ but hey I’m not asking you to tell us out loud.
I want you to seriously think about how much YOU made and can say “I took X home this year in cold hard cash!”
Was it $10k – 20k – 50k – More?
How much does it need to be?
Okay many of us are small business operators and will not command the multi mill $$ salaries of big execs, BUT they are paid well for the RISKS they take, the DECISIONS they make and the RESPONSIBILITY they take.
You do the same… so do I. So what is your goal for your personal income to make it worth while to make the decisions, take responsibility and take the risks you take.
When I go out and buy my next franchise I will be asking questions from many of the operators like “Do you make $100k+ ?” if not is it really worth my while?
What do I want to do? where do I want to be? how will I achieve these things?
Plan people, make a move, set a target, reap the rewards.
here’s a place to start 
http://freebusinesstips.com.au/wp-content/uploads/the-mini-business-plan.doc
For a sustained good image, master emotional self-control. “Those who command themselves,” goes an old saying, “command others.” That is true, and it means being disciplined enough to put your personal feelings on hold even when tempted to blow your stack.
If you otherwise make a great first impression, yet allow yourself to be pushed over the edge to rant and rave and to say and do things that you later regret, that is the “you” that will be remembered. Your hard-won image of positiveness or enthusiasm can be shattered in an instant. It will take much damage control to undo even one such outburst.
One executive, whom I’ll call Harry, seeks to project himself as fair, sensitive, highly knowledgeable, a good listener, and, above all, tranquil under fire. However, his volcanic temper is never far from exploding. Moreover, when it does erupt in an outpouring of vitriol, no one is safe. After his emotional eruptions, no one looks him squarely in the eye for quite some time as he tries to resume his role as good ol’ Harry, the wise, imperturbable leader.
What Harry needs is what I call pausitiveness: the ability to pause and refrain from giving immediate feedback. Many an argument can be avoided if one side refuses to be defensive. That is because feedback, while generally a good idea, can be like throwing gasoline on a fire if you misunderstand the intent of the other person’s message.
Another example: I once was at the home of some friends and was chatting with the wife when her husband, who was running a little late, burst into the room in an apparent huff. Pointing at his shirt collar, he demanded loudly, harshly, “Where did you get this shirt cleaned?” Many spouses, fearing a rebuke, might have counterattacked. However, this woman, in a calm voice without disturbing body language, just named the dry cleaner and said evenly, “Why do you ask?” The husband said it was the first time any cleaner had done his shirt properly and he would like all his shirts done there from now on.
Therefore, clearly, there are times when it is best just to pause, bite your tongue, and restrain your body language and gestures in the face of an implied threat or criticism until the smoke has cleared. Maybe, as it sometimes turns out, there is no crisis at all, or perhaps you wrongly inferred that the other person was being critical. In any event, by remaining calm, you may defuse the situation and, at the very worst, you will not aggravate it.
Remember: People will always believe that what you say in your worst moments is closer to your true beliefs than what you more carefully tailor for their consumption in calmer times.
A mentor is someone you admire and under whom you can study. Throughout history, the mentor-prot̩g̩ relationship has proven quite fruitful. Socrates was one of the early mentors. Plato and Aristotle studied under him and later emerged as great philosophers in their own right. I was fortunate enough to have several mentors Рeach for a different purpose.
* Dr. David Schwartz, author of The Magic of Thinking Big, was my doctoral dissertation chairman and was the impetus and the motivation to finish my PhD in Marketing and to enter the world of public speaking as a profession.
* Bill Gove, the first president of the National Speakers Association, mentored me to speak from my own style – a NYC Italian – rather than a stiffer, more professorial style. The results were dramatic and my speaking career and success moved into hyper-speed.
* Jim Cathcart, my close friend, confidante, and former business partner, taught me how to structure and prepare for speeches. His unsurpassed business ethics served as my guiding light in my business dealings.
- But, most of all, my main mentor was my mother, who taught me to always strive to be the best — to always constantly improve myself and my abilities. My mother gave me the drive to succeed.
Some basic rules I’ve learned about mentors:
* The best mentors are successful people in your own field. Their behaviors are directly translatable to your life and will have more meaning to you.
* Be suspicious of any mentors who seek to make you dependent on them. It is better to have them teach you how to fish than to have them catch the fish for you. That way, you will remain in control.
* Turn your mentors into role models by examining their positive traits. Write down their virtues, without identifying to whom they belong. When you are with these mentors, look for even more behaviors that reflect their success. Use these virtues as guidelines for achieving excellence in your field.
Additional advice: Don Hutson, CEO of U. S. Learning in Memphis, TN, and fellow member of Speakers Roundtable, offers these additional mentoring tips:
* Select people to be your mentors who have the highest ethical standards and a genuine willingness to help others.
* Choose mentors who have and will share superb personal development habits with you and will encourage you to follow suit.
* Incorporate activities into your mentor relationship that will enable your mentor to introduce you to people of influence or helpfulness. (Ask your mentor if you can join him/her at their next conference or networking event.)
* Insist that your mentor be diligent about monitoring your progress with accountability functions. (Make it a point to schedule progress “check-up” meetings once a month or every two months — whatever is most convenient for your mentor.)
* Each party — mentor and protégé — should commit to confidentiality, when appropriate, due to the closeness of the relationship. (This goes without saying, but never reveal personal information about your mentor to coworkers or friends.)
* Encourage your mentor to make you an independent, competent, fully functioning, productive individual. (In other words, give them full permission to be brutally honest about what you need to change.)
Questions to ask. Acquiring good habits from others will accelerate you towards achieving your goals. Ask yourself these questions to get the most out of your role-model/mentors:
1. What would they do in my situation?
2. What do they do every day to encourage growth and to move closer to a goal?
3. How do they think in general? In specific situations?
4. Do they have other facets of life in balance? What effect does that have on their well-being?
5. How do their traits apply to me?
6. Which traits are worth working on first? Later?
A final word: Under the right circumstances mentors make excellent role models. The one-to-one setting is highly conducive to learning as well as to friendship. But the same cautions hold true here as for any role model. It is better to adapt their philosophies to your life than to adopt them.
Your business card is often the first impression a potential client has with your company. The business card design and message will ultimately determine whether it gets thrown in the trash or filed for contact later.
Stop for a second, find your wallet and pull out your business card – take a good look at it, think about how it looks from a potential client’s perspective. But then again what makes a good business card?
Business card design has been a recent hot topic on the Free Business Tips Forum, with member’s business cards being viewed and critiqued by other members.
The Free Business tips forum has recently hit a new milestone with its 200th member being registered on Friday morning. With the growth and activity of the forum it is an excellent place to discuss your small business needs with other people in the same boat as you.
One of the most interesting threads lately for me has been the discussion of how to use promotional pens to benefit a website design business. Although the question was targeted at the designers on the forum, the creative ideas that came in could be used to improve the promotion of any business. Steve Gray came up with probably my favourite suggestion, when he said:
“Its all about the relationship, so use creative ways to use the pen to build the relationship. connect your business card to it on a string and make up a caption you would say when delivering it.”
“When you’ve got an idea for a website write it down, then call Me.”
“Pens are useful, then again so is a well designed website…”
The forum has been such a great tool for me to network with other small business owners, to feed off their knowledge to improve my business. If you are not already a member of the forum we would love to see you join!
Author Information:
Thomas Sinfield is the founder of the website design agency WebPros, based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. WebPros provides small to medium businesses with professional websites, with a focus on quality and highest level of customer service and support.
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