Shows
Small Business MinuteSBM #109 The Accidental Solopreneur
The following is an edited transcript
{Greg}Today I would like to welcome back Dennis Geelen the author of the Zero In Formula. Dennis was a previous guest on SBM #92 titled – The 2 Biggest Mistakes. If you haven’t listened to it, I encourage you to check it out.
The reason for having Dennis join us today, is that he’s launching his new book – The Accidental Solopreneur. So, welcome back to the Small Business Minute.
{Dennis}Hey, Greg. Thanks so much for having me back...
2022-09-0514 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #106 – 4 Ways to deal with difficult clients
The reality of being a small business owner is that you are going to have difficult clients. How you deal with them comes down to how much you are willing to endure.
These are the clients that hire you because of your expertise, but then try to tell you how to run the project. They can also be the type that doesn’t respect your time or are late in getting you the information you need but still expect you to meet the original deadline. Of course, let’s not forg...
2022-03-2804 min2022-03-2804 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #105 – 5 Ways to increase sales
One question I get all the time is, “How can I increase my sales?”
The answer to this is question is quite simple. The hard part is executing on the answer.
Selling is more than just showing up so, here are five ways to increase your sales that apply to any business.
#1 Improve your knowledge and become an expert
2022-03-1606 min2022-03-1606 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #104 – Inflation the destroyer
Inflation is much like rust. Left unchecked it can quietly eat away at your buying power and can turn a profitable business into one that struggles and a struggling business into non-existence.
For many of us, you pretty much had to be a Boomer living in an industrialized world to fully appreciate the impact that inflation had during the 80’s. During that period mortgage rates skyrocketed to over 21% and unemployment exceeded 12% in North America.
As bad as that was, there were countries that faced 100% annual inflation back then. To...
2022-02-2104 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #103 Complacency
For Thanksgiving we decided to get the whole family together and rent an Airbnb. Since our family has grown significantly over the last few years with marriages and the explosion of grandchildren, we now require a much larger accommodation.
For the most part, many of the larger places also come with a higher price tag. In keeping with the higher price, such locations typically boast of a higher level of amenities. This is all good and is what it is.
As one would expect, with a higher price t...
2022-01-3107 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #102 Passion vs Passionate
An often published piece of advice to aspiring and to lesser extent existing entrepreneurs is to follow your passion. By doing so, riches or success will surely be yours. But, as with most of these sound bites, this is rarely the case.
Let’s be honest. There’s lots of things that people have a passion for that could never support their dream lifestyle. Unless of course their dream is to just grind out a meager living.
There are plenty of examples of bankrupt restauranteurs who have a pass...
2022-01-1603 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #101- Get ready for year-end
I’m always surprised at how many small business owners don’t prepare for their business’s year-end. Sadly, it’s more of a case that “they don’t know what they don’t know!” But spending some time on this annual event can potentially save you a lot of money.
As to why so many entrepreneurs are oblivious to the importance of preparing for year-end has a couple of parents.
To begin, most of the responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of the business owner. For some unknown reason...
2021-12-1606 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #91 The Money Business
Money, it’s one of those personal topics that many people are uncomfortable discussing. Why that is, varies from person to person.
Even inside a business that uncomfortableness exist, but that needs to change. Generally speaking, the only time the subject of money seems to ever comes up is in the heat of the moment in comments such as “Do you know how much that costs?”. Even then the word money is not used.
When I ask owners what business they are in, I usually get the expected answer...
2020-09-2708 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #90 Google Reviews Matter
I’ve been wanting to golf at a rural course for a number of years now. The reason is that this golf course now sits upon farmland that was once owned by two of my uncles. I had spent a lot of time of these farms as a kid growing up and I had only played the course once many years before and my memory suggested it wasn’t a bad little course.
So when a neighbour suggested that we get out for a round of golf, I recommended we go t...
2020-08-1006 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #89 Work From Home
Work from home is not a new concept. People have been looking for any excuse to do so since the turn of the century. Initially, Friday’s was the defacto work from home day. It’s popularity was driven mostly to get a jump on the weekend, more so than trying to get distraction free time in order to get caught up. For evidence, just check the highway traffic on Friday’s afternoons during the summer, as people are fleeing the city.
Over time as work from home became more and mo...
2020-06-1410 min
Small Business MinuteSBM #88 Discounts
For many Covid-19 has temporarily changed the way business is done and for others those changes will be permanent. This is both good and bad. The good is that for those that adapt, they will find news ways to do business. The bad is that for those who remain steadfast in their ways, they may not survive. This brings me to today’s topic, discounts.
Discounts are necessary
Before going any further, many of the enterprises deemed as essential along with those businesses that have only had to re...
2020-05-0404 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #87 – Where have all the experts gone?
Those of you that know me and have either purchased my book or attended an event that I have spoken at, know that the advice I share is based on getting the basics right. By getting the basics right, you can grow your business and your leadership skills that allow you to attain a high level of freedom by removing the shackles of ownership.
Financial cushion
Unfortunately, what I preach has never been sexy or opportunistic. These basic, time tested business philosophies are easy to understand and don’t...
2020-04-2604 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #86 – Entrepreneurs in Crisis
Covid-19 is creating utter chaos for many small business owners. Fear is taken hold of many owners as they wonder what’s next? No one knows when or if they’ll reopen. Most don’t want to admit out loud what they are secretly thinking-bankruptcy. It’s just too difficult to fathom.
Making any kind of decision while under duress is never a good idea. We’re just not thinking clearly. This is especially true when your dream or life long work is about to evaporate in front of your eyes.
...
2020-04-0705 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #85 – Entrepreneurs guide to conference calls
The outbreak of Covid-19 has got the world on lock down and many employees have transitioned to working at home. With that, many entrepreneurs are holding daily conference calls to keep teams connected.
The upside is many employees are having greater communication with their managers than they previously had. Unfortunately, many owners have never participated or hosted conference calls and in my conversations with participants, I’m hearing that many of these calls are bit chaotic and frustrating.
So I thought I’d offer up the following 6 tips to h...
2020-03-2104 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #84 – Go Slow to Go Fast
A few months ago, I finally did something that I had longed to do but just never got around to it. Not quite a bucket list item, but pretty close. That something was to drive a race prepared car on a closed road course. Calabogie Motorsports offers just such a program. The road course is just a hair over 5 kms that has 20 turns and enough of a straightaway to get you to question your sanity. But at the end of the day, I couldn’t help but draw many parallels between the da...
2020-02-1408 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #83 – Shrink to Greatness
Shrink to greatness is a phrase I’ve often had to use when working with clients. To be honest, it’s rarely received well by those I’ve had to tell because everything we read about how to be successful in business says you must grow. So, this contrarian approach can be a little challenging for the recipient to accept as it goes against everything they’ve been led to believe.
Numerous articles have been written stating that you can’t shrink to greatness. However, under the right circumstances it’s the only c...
2020-02-1406 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #82 – Starting Over
What if, you had the chance of starting over? What if you could reboot your business? What would you do differently? Theses are questions that I regularly ask small business owners, especially when I come across those that are struggling, stressed out and unhappy.
The answers I get range from, “I’d hire better people” to “I would not have tried to grow so fast”. Let’s not forget the commonly heard “I was happier when I got to do the stuff I liked doing”. Depending on the individual and their speciality...
2019-11-1906 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #81 – Burnout
Burnout is one of the leading causes of small business failures. The thing about burnout is that it usually gets justified as just hard work. Of course, entrepreneur knows that being self employed is going to require sacrifices and therefore, burning the candle at both ends is the price of admission to a better life. To that I say, yes and no.
Yes, because there is a price to pay for getting into business. No, because it shouldn’t become a way of life and this is the problem. Too ma...
2019-10-2805 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#80 – e-Transfers Security with Rob Fraser
This is a guest post by Robert Fraser of Senior Exec Consulting an IT expert.
e-Transfers have been a wonderful convenience, especially as a small business, however there are some startling security issues.
So lets be honest, most of these can be traced back to lousy security habits on behalf of the person sending the e-transfer. Email systems being hacked and just plain bad passwords. The banks are backing away and not taking responsibility, so its time to do them properly.
Five things to increase security
2019-10-1603 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #79 – Opportunities
Opportunities are like buses, if you miss one, another one will be along in a minute. That saying has a lot of truth in it, and although I hate missing an opportunity, I’ve found out over the years, not to lose any sleep over it, because it probably wasn’t meant to be.
Good or bad, I’m wired to be constantly on the lookout for opportunities. I owe much of my success to being able to identify real needs in those areas where I have some knowledge, and this i...
2019-10-0102 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #78 – Trust
I recently had some time to kill between meetings and I was hungry. So, I decided to go to a local diner. I figured I could use the time to do some writing. One of the reasons I chose this location is that I knew they had free Wi-Fi and I needed to access some information online with my laptop.
After I was seated, order taken, and beverage served, I flipped open my laptop and attempted to connect to the Wi-Fi. No luck. I checked to make sure the network...
2019-07-1203 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #77 – The Customer Goes First
I’ve been considering this topic for quite some time but wasn’t sure it was worth addressing until a recent trip to New York City.
Having been out to dinner, we returned to our hotel and were waiting for the elevator to make its way to the ground floor. When the door finally slid open there was a young lady getting ready to disembark. Also, in the elevator, but tucked over to the side where the floor keypad is located, was a young man who was an employee of the...
2019-06-0302 minSmall Business MinuteSBM # 76 – Pick Up the Phone
Technology has been an amazing boon for businesses of every size, but none more so than for small businesses. Having come of age as an entrepreneur through the technology evolution, it’s truly amazing that what once took days by many, is now done in minutes by one person.
The development and ease of use of current technology now allows small businesses to compete with much larger organizations. Software applications that once would have cost the small business owner a fortune to purchase, along with the hardware to run these ap...
2019-04-1904 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #75 – Get Clear Air
In the movie Top Gun, Maverick and Goose are flying in close formation with Iceman in a training manoeuvre as they try to shoot down a much nimbler fictitious Russian MiG fighter. Maverick having been accused of abandoning his wingmen in the past, is sticking tight to Iceman but clearly has “the shot”.
Maverick pleads with Iceman to break off and let him take the shot. Iceman’s rebuttal is that he only needs a few more seconds to acquire the target. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Iceman capitu...
2019-04-0402 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #74 – Average or Great
We all know how much work it takes to survive, let alone thrive as an entrepreneur. We have all put in the long hours and have faced disappointments along with the successes that come with the territory. Some days, you’re just freaking awesome. On others, not so much. It just feels like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back. Such is the life we have chosen!
You work your butt off to get the business, but somewhere along the line you or your staff drops the ball...
2019-03-1004 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #73- Incentives, the Owners Dilemma
Small business owners are faced with a myriad of challenges every single day. If it isn’t sales, then it’s receivables and if it isn’t receivables, it’s operations. Add to this the hundreds of thoughts they are juggling trying to sustain their enterprises. Always at the top of their worry list is how to keep their staff focused and motivated.
Unlike much larger corporations, small business owners usually don’t have the financial resources to implement sophisticated incentive programs. A big part of the problem in smaller organizati...
2019-01-1504 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #72 – Sales, Play the Long Game
We all learn lesson throughout our working lives. Some are good lessons, some are a little painful. Some of those lessons we remember, some we forget. Hopefully, we learn to apply the good lessons as frequently as possible and not repeat those painful ones too often.
One of those lessons I learned a long time ago, was to play the long game when it comes to sales. So, what do I mean when I say, “the long game”? The long game means understanding that actions today may pay off at some...
2018-12-1204 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #71 – The One Thing
In the movie City Slickers, Jack Palance’s character Curly and Billy Crystal’s character Mitch are riding along having a bonding moment, when Curly turns to Mitch and asks,
Curly: Do you know what the secret to life is?
Mitch: No What?
Curly: This! (As he holds up one finger)
Mitch: Your finger?
2018-11-1605 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #70 – My Kodak Moment
In its heyday, the Kodak company used the following tagline in their advertising: “Make it a Kodak Moment!” This phrase was used when taking a picture of someone at a particular moment that will never be forgotten. It even made its way into everyday use to highlight anything good or embarrassing that happened to an individual, even when it wasn’t captured on film.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced our fair share of Kodak Moments in our lives, so I want to share one of mine that will be forever...
2018-10-2606 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #69- They Should Know Better
A constant refrain that I hear from business owners is “they should know better!” “They” of course being any or all the employees that screwed up. Naturally, when I hear this statement, I just can’t leave it alone and therefore I need to challenge it. At which point the conversation goes something like this,
Client: They should know better
Me: Really, why is that?
Client: It’s their job
Me: Did you tell them?
Client: No, I shouldn’t have to
2018-09-2504 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #68 Discipline Equals Freedom
READING TIME: 5 minutes
Discipline is not always a strong suit when it comes to describing many entrepreneurs, it just goes against their rebel nature. One of the main reasons they went out on their own is because they figured they could do a better job, make more money and have a better life, but to do it their way.
For many, their jack of all trade, get it done, whatever it takes the attitude, helped them launch their business, but this, not an enduring strategy if one wants...
2018-08-2805 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #67 – Demand More
I have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs helping them to shape their businesses into their vision. One problem that I frequently come across is the quality or I should say, the lack thereof of some 3rd party service providers e.g. bookkeeping, IT specialists, etc.
For the record, I’m all about outsourcing non-core or mission-critical activities to individuals who specialize in a given area. But time and again I find that many of these providers never consider the best interests of their clients.
Most of my entrepreneurial ve...
2018-08-0704 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #66 – Change Someday to Today
Someday I’ll be able to slow down. Someday I’ll be able to take more than just a couple of days off. Someday, someday, someday. This refrain is repeated daily by millions of overworked and underpaid entrepreneurs. Some feel trapped in a design of their own making.
Others feel they have traded their soul or some other part of their being for the sake of their company. Still, others are oblivious to what’s happening and just accept, whether it’s right or wrong, that this is what they signed u...
2018-07-1703 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #65- Decision Making-Engage Your Employees
Why is it that so many owners think they and they alone have all the answers, to every problem in their business?
When you consider that most owners started their companies as the only employee, it’s easy to understand how this attitude got started but why it continues is the question? Granted, there will always be those technical, legal or safety issues that require the owners input, but what about those day-to-day operational, sales and marketing challenges that arise?
Businesses are not democracies
Contrary to al...
2018-05-1404 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #64 – Defining Moments
Reading time: 3 minutesMany successful entrepreneurs get asked, “What was their defining moment?” or some similar question. Several have never even thought about it, nor can they easily identify that special moment. Those that do, will admit that they didn’t recognize it at the time as a defining moment, because no trumpets blared or some similar event. It was only through hindsight that it became evident.
Defining moments just happen
The point is, nobody, sets out to create defining moments. They aren’t goals in and of thems...
2018-04-1602 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #63 – Don’t worry about the competition
Read Time: 5 mins
Don’t worry about your competition. Pretty unusual advice to receive for any business owner. To be sure, we need to know some things about our competitors like:
• Who they are• What products they sell• Their pricing strategy i.e. cheap or expensive• Their reputation i.e. after sales service, timeliness, etc.
But this just makes good business sense. Far too often I find small business owners who obsess about every move their competitors make. This obsession often leads to distractio...
2018-03-1905 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #62-10 Questions to Help to Overcome Business Failure
Successful entrepreneurs share many things in common. Hard work, focus, belief in themselves, hungry for knowledge and so on. One trait that doesn’t get much mention is the ability to accept and overcome failure. As entrepreneurs, failure can be a daily occurrence, but the worse is when a business fails.
To be sure there is a lot of noise made on social media and from the start-up world about “fail fast”. It is often heralded as a badge of honour and a goal in and of itself. The premise being...
2018-03-0104 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #61 Training Your Team
Reading Time: 5 mins
We all have our own definitions of training for our team, but in all honesty, most of it sucks. Sure, for customer facing team members, we do the mandatory, how to acknowledge a customer stuff, with all the expected please and thank you’s.
It also goes without saying that we spend time teaching them “the system”, whether that be a retail POS or other software necessary to capture and order or process payment. Add to that the mandatory workplace safety and theft prevention training, we usu...
2018-02-0705 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #60 Be Visible for More Sales
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Be visible is really nothing more than the opportunity to get in front of the customer in some meaningful way. Unfortunately, it is proving far more difficult to do so. B to C or B to B businesses are equally challenged in getting through to their customers, because there are just many more roadblocks.
In the time before voicemail, a phone call to a customer’s home resulted in one of three outcomes; no answer, a busy signal or someone actually answered, pretty predictable outcomes. Al...
2018-01-2206 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #59 Quit Digging!
Read Time: 3:58 minutes
I often get approached by entrepreneurs who are facing significant challenges in their businesses. By significant I mean – They’ve dug themselves into a hole so deep that they’re going to go out of business if something doesn’t change! So, my first piece of advice courtesy of Will Rogers , the American humourist is, “When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging!
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been the person called upon to help fix a situation. For the less urg...
2018-01-0303 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #58 You Might Want to Check
We all spend time, money and other resources making sure we put forth the right professional imagine. Many people limit their definition of image to how we look, dress and speak and for the most part that would have been acceptable once upon a time. But not anymore.
In our connected digital world, the tools we use to do business number in the many. What was once a Yellow Pages ad has been replaced by a website and a variety of social media business pages. Where a human being answered...
2017-12-1904 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #57 Recognition
Recognition is the easiest and most effective way to motivate employees, yet remarkably, one of the least used.¬ Entrepreneurs spend endless hours trying to figure out how to motivate their teams, yet ignore this basic human need.
A little research will show that there are an untold number of studies that rank recognition, or appreciation for their work, in the top 10 qualities that lead to job satisfaction, often placing it as the number one item.
The funny thing is, this is not revolutionary. I remember being a young m...
2017-12-0704 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #56 Delegate not Abdicate
Every business has lots of moving parts. By default, an owner must have a wide ranging skill set if they hope to achieve any success with their enterprise. Those skills include, but not limited to, sales, marketing, human resources, bookkeeping, production and administration.
Of course, at the onset, we as owners tend to do all these activities. But as your company evolves, and demands on your time increase, you need to seriously consider getting out from under all of those responsibilities. Doing so, would free you up to focus on...
2017-11-1603 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #55 – Are You Ready?
The economy is humming along and your sales are doing just fine. As a matter of fact, things are actually pretty good. That’s why this is exactly the time you should heed that famous Boy Scout motto to “Always be Prepared”. Great advice, but be prepared for what?
Every seven years
On average, there is an economic downturn of some sorts every seven years. Sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little sooner, but seven years on average. Yet when they do happen, most owners seem to get caught...
2017-10-1102 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #54 – Are you a Hunter or Gatherer?
I like to define entrepreneurs into one of two categories, they are either a hunter or gatherer.
A hunter is someone who’s business requires them to go out every day and find new customers. Whereas a gatherer is much like a farmer who continuously harvests business from an established base of existing customers. The best businesses do both.
Of course, all entrepreneurs start out as hunters. They must, because they don’t have an existing customer base from which to harvest. Survival in the early days requires hunt...
2017-10-0202 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #53 – Focus
Many entrepreneurs’ struggles can be traced to their inability to bring focus to their business. It is said that if you try to be great at everything, you’ll end up being good at nothing. I like to use the example of sunlight to explain the power of focus.
The Power of Focus
Most day our world is full of sunlight and even on the hottest of days there’s little risk of it setting anything on fire. But take that same sunlight and let it pass through a magn...
2017-09-1202 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #52 – What If?
What if, you could start your business all over again? What would you do differently? What do you like or dislike about your current business? What would you change?
Why Mess With A Good Thing?
These sound like simple questions and that’s because they are. As entrepreneurs, we seem to get ourselves trapped into doing things one way. And why wouldn’t we, if it’s brought us some success? Why mess with a good thing, right? Not necessarily.
One of the problems is that the lo...
2017-08-1902 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #51- The 1st Million Is The Hardest
As entrepreneurs, we all set goals. It’s a way to measure our progress. The biggest difference I have found between individuals is the size of the goals. Some people are just more ambitious than others. But the size of ones’ ambition is not a precursor to success.
“Without Goals
We Risk Drifting Aimlessly”
Goals are wonderful, they keep us moving forward. Much like a ships compass, goals give us a heading or a direction in which to sail, even when our destination is over the horizon...
2017-07-1902 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #50- Confidence
When we first hang out our Small Business shingle, we outwardly exude confidence in our idea and our abilities that we will succeed. But if truth be told, we have absolutely no idea how the story will end. Will it be a fairy tale or a horror story?
Mouse in a maze
Throughout the planning stages, we have spent hours upon hours dreaming of the future we will create. We hope that this future will take us on an amazing and positive journey. Realistically though, this journey will...
2017-07-0501 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #49- Clustering For Profits
Profit, that elusive goal that frustrates many a business owners. To be sure, many businesses are just bad ideas that never should have been started in the first place. However, there are plenty of others that are well run with decent revenues but for some reason they aren’t as profitable as they should be.
When helping business owners, one of the first places I look is their pricing model. Other than suggesting some adjustments, their pricing doesn’t appear to be the issue. Take a minute and checkout episode #47 Pric...
2017-06-2104 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#48 – Know Your Strengths
Every entrepreneur goes into business with a list of dreams, hopes and desires for their business and their life. Unfortunately, dreams require more than just hoping and praying for a successful outcome.
What we need to realize is that dreams are just the starting point of the entrepreneurial adventure. Dreams get us in the game, but to be successful in business requires being able to put all the pieces together in order to create a prosperous enterprise.
Those elements consist of:
SalesMarketingOperations
2017-05-2702 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #47 – Pricing For Profit
I’m frequently asked how one goes about pricing their goods and services for profit. It sounds like a simple enough question, but in reality, it can very complex. Get it right and all should be well. Get it wrong and you’ll be constantly chasing revenue, if only to pay the bills.
Now if your product is a “me too”, you don’t have a lot of flexibility, as the existing products have already established the pricing parameters and therefore you must compete accordingly. Raising your price becomes almost impossible...
2017-05-1603 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#46- Make It Better Later
Far too often I come across entrepreneurs who can’t seem to launch their new business, product, service or even a new strategy. They are constantly tweaking it, in an attempt to make it better or even perfect the final offering.
What they fail to realize is that they’re wasting valuable learning time by not being in the market. Regardless of when they finally do launch, chances are they are going to need to make adjustments anyways once they receive customer feedback, so why wait?
“Far too often...
2017-05-0401 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#45- Branding vs Reputation
There’s a lot of time and energy wasted by small businesses on the whole concept of brand building and little on reputation. So much of this noise can be traced back to the explosion of Social Media and if the truth be told, that’s all most of it is, noise.
To be honest branding any kind of service business has always been a challenge and is best suited to products. The exception to this is when a service business reaches a size and scope that no longer qualifies it a...
2017-04-2301 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#44- Want More Sales? Follow Up!
One of the simplest ways to increase your sales closing ratio is by simply following up with your prospects in a timely manner.
All too often I encounter entrepreneurs who lament at how difficult business is or that they just don’t get sales even though they are pitching and quoting.
Digging a little deeper quickly uncovers one of the main reasons for their poor sales performance, they don’t follow up. It is estimated that 85% of sales contacts are never followed up.
When I enquire as t...
2017-03-2001 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #43- Wisdom Of The Ages
Successful people are always on the lookout for ways to improve themselves and their businesses. Unfortunately, with the advent of Social Media, there are now an overwhelming number of so called experts promoting the latest and greatest way to take you and or your business to the next level.
Scream Loud Enough
I get the sense that they believe that if they scream loud enough or post frequently enough, people will automatically assume that they are experts.
Rarely however, have these denizens of success achieved the...
2017-03-0701 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #42- Successful People Do The Hard Stuff!
No one likes doing hard stuff. It’s far easier and requires far less motivation to do the things we like. Great concert pianists produce wonderful music in what appears to be an effortless manner. Top ranked Olympians appear to have superhuman abilities and successful entrepreneurs have an air of quiet self-confidence.
What We Don’t See
The one thing all these individuals have in common, is that they put in the time and effort required to develop and refine their skills. What we don’t see is the hou...
2017-02-2301 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #41 – Why Be An Entrepreneur?
Why would anyone want to be an entrepreneur?
Why would you want to have to constantly worry about getting business, hiring employees, making payroll, covering rent, dealing with grumpy customers, finding customers, firing customers, firing people, sending out invoices, collecting payment, marketing, fixing the computer, quoting on jobs, preparing presentations, working too hard, sleeping too little, meeting with lawyers, meeting with accountants, explaining to bankers, being rejected, losing customers, out guessing the competition, managing your time, trying to be creative, managing people, selling, being late, shipping, receiving, paying bills, getting h...
2017-02-0801 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #40- If Not Now, When?
Sitting down with a cup coffee, you look at your financials and you realize your annual projections are not unfolding quite like you planned. Revenue is down, expenses are up and profitability is just a flicker on your Profit and Loss statements.
You know that the longer you wait, the harder it will be to make up the shortfall. It’s time to step up your game and maybe even get outside your comfort zone and do some business development. Because you know that if you don’t act now, thin...
2017-01-3102 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #39 – No Rear View Mirror
A very common trait of successful entrepreneurs is that many don’t have rear view mirrors. By that I mean, they rarely dwell on the past mistakes. They know their future lies ahead and not behind. The past is the past and mistakes happen.
“Once distilled, they let it go and move on…”
That’s not to say they pretend they never made a mistake, to the contrary. They acknowledge their mistake, analyze what went wrong and distill those learnings, notice I say learnings, into usable information. Once distilled...
2017-01-0101 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#38- Look As Good As You Sound!
I have a simple saying that I live by, and that is “Look as good as you sound”!
We constantly tell people how great our product or services are but do we support that statement with a professional image?
People tell me all the time that it’s not that important and I call that a cop out! It’s about respect!
“Image is that common thread thatruns through your organization”
Business is difficult enough and we need every advantage possible to change the odd...
2016-11-2801 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #37- Limitations
Whether we chose to admit it or not, every entrepreneur has limitations and failure to acknowledge them can become an anchor that limits our success.
“Unfortunately, most of us never seem to shake our start-up attitude”
Granted, during the start-up years we must do everything to get our enterprise off the ground and there are many things that we aren’t very good at. Fortunately, we only have to be good enough at our limitations until such time as we can hire people that are better at them.
...
2016-11-0201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #36- Innovation Starts at Home
If you’re to believe everything you hear or read about innovation, you would be justified in thinking that innovation is an area best left to the big companies, but that would be wrong.
“Don’t let the status quo be
the reason you don’t try something new”
If truth be told, every company, regardless of size, has the opportunity to innovate. Although small innovations never make headlines, they never the less can make a dramatic impact within your company, and frankly that’s all that really...
2016-10-1801 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #35 – Motivation and Inspiration
Everyone one of us needs to be motivated and inspired occasionally. Although successful entrepreneurs are inherently self motivated but none the less they still look for opportunities to keep themselves in the right frame of mind.
Being inspired or motivated is only half the required elements to achievement. The other half is action.
“Being motivated and inspired has little or no value if you don’t put anything into action.”
The biggest difference between successful and struggling entrepreneurs is action. Being motivated and inspired has little or no...
2016-10-0201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #34- Processes- Shampoo, Rinse and Repeat
Many business owners complain that they never seem to get anything accomplished during normal business hours because they are constantly being interrupted to deal with relatively unimportant issues. As the business grows the interruptions just keep on multiplying.
This happens because when they first started out they were accustomed to doing everything, because they were it and only had to take care of themselves. They handled every issue. But as the company grew, they didn’t realize that they need to find an alternative, so they continue running the business li...
2016-09-1301 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #33- Responsibility & Authority
A common mistake entrepreneurs make is that they expect their employees to take responsibility for the job they are tasked to do but fail to give them the authority they need.
“It’s a little contradictory and more than frustrating for your team.”
This is particularly evident in customer service or customer facing positions. We tell our team that we want to provide the best customer service or experience, yet what typically happens is the individual is powerless to deliver on that promise without first checking with the owner...
2016-08-2201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #32- Empathy-The Double Edged Sword!
Most successful entrepreneurs that I’ve met have a balanced approach to empathy, deep when required and non-existent when really necessary. On the other hand, I witness owners that aren’t so balanced.
Those that have too much empathy, frequently worry way too much how a given decision or request will be accepted by their employees and regularly succumb to the slightest resistance. This failure to follow through on their decision, even though deep down inside they know it’s the right to do, often limits their success or ability to mov...
2016-08-0501 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #31- A Message To Employees.
Its not always your bosses fault that you don’t like your job. Sure it’s easy to blame someone else that you’re not reaching your full potential, that your job is boring and repetitive to say nothing of the fact that you feel stuck without choices. To that I say, get over it.
Working for an entrepreneur can be both challenging and fulfilling
Where is it written that they are responsible for your future? Working for an entrepreneur can be both challenging and fulfilling all at the sam...
2016-07-0901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #30- Want To Get Better? Work At It!
I regularly tell business owners that you don’t have to be an expert in every area of your business, but you have to good enough at everything until you can afford to hire someone who is better than you in a specific discipline.
This is pretty simple advice but it can be challenging for the entrepreneur because they don’t know where to begin. As humans, we tend to gravitate towards the things we like or good at and avoid those things we don’t understand.
“learning anything...
2016-06-2001 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #29- We All Need Two Mentors
A wonderful piece of advice we can all use is that we should all have two mentors. One that is older that can share the wisdom that comes with age and can helps us avoid the many pitfalls that they’ve experienced.
The second and younger mentor, and by younger I mean at least one generation behind us and not just a few years our senior. This mentor or group of mentors will be the ones that keep you in tune with the new trends and applications that are changing as...
2016-06-0901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#28- Worry Without Action=Stress
Being the creator of our future is part of the allure to being an entrepreneur, however one of the costs of doing so is the increased stress we experience while chasing our dreams.
The thing with stress is that although we all experience it, how we deal with it can be far different. Some even look upon it as a badge of honor and fool themselves into thinking that stress is a great motivator and therefore they’re making progress, when in fact they could be more effective if they co...
2016-05-2601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #27- Fear of Decisions
As entrepreneurs, we are faced with a daily buffet of decisions we must make. Some days the sheer quantity can overwhelm and dishearten an individual. Granted many decisions are simple and require little or no effort, however they all aren’t and this can really cripple an individual if they’re afraid to make a mistake.
The saying “I’ve learned more from my failures than my successes” is one often expressed by many successful entrepreneurs. They learned early on that failure is a big part of being successful. What you learn...
2016-05-0901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM # 26 – The 80/20 Rules For Sales
Wilfredo Pareto discovered the 80/20 rule when he wanted to determine who owned all the lands in Italy in the 18th century. He found out that 80% of the lands holdings were owned by just 20% of the families. As he continued his research he soon discovered that many things fit that profile.
Applying The 80/20 Rules For Sales
So how do we apply the 80/20 rules for sales? Well as entrepreneurs we seem to manage to bog ourselves down doing all sorts of non-productive activities. Sure we justify them as necessary activities b...
2016-04-2601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM # 25 Teaching Moments
Let’s face it, employees will screw up. But how we manage the situation can have greater importance and do more damage to your business than the actual mistake.
It has been my experience that most mistakes occur because the information or directions issued were not clear or detailed enough yet as managers we assumed they understood.
Too Little Information
In many situations, we’re so busy or stressed that we’ve issued just enough instructions to get the item delegated without considering whether they have ever do...
2016-04-1101 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #24 – Customer Lifetime Value
There really isn’t a better testament for your business than having repeat customer sales. It tells you you’re doing something right because your customers are coming back for more. But the true magic of repeat business is understanding the frequency a customer buys, what they buy and the value of their purchases.
In Small Business Minute #21, I discussed how profitability increases when you deal with existing customers, but now I want you to leverage this information so you can enhance a customer’s lifetime value to your organization.
2016-03-2901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #23 – Who’s Got Your Back?
As entrepreneurs we are use to doing everything because in the beginning there wasn’t anyone else. As they say, old habits are hard to break so when a staff member gets sick or overwhelmed, we’re usually the first ones to jump in and cover the situation. But who covers for you when you get sick? Who’s got your back?
We’re Only Human
I know we think we’re superhuman, and sometimes we really are, but most of the time we’re just frail human beings just...
2016-03-1501 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #22 – Define Your Own Success
Have you ever taken the time to actually inventory your achievements? Every once in a while we should stop and look back over our shoulder to appreciate really how far we’ve come since we stepped into the abyss of self-employment.
Success has many definitions. To some it’s a state of mind, to others it’s a financial achievement or the accumulation of possessions. Unfortunately, many have yet to create their own definition.
Define Your Own Success
The advantage of being an entrepreneur is that we can...
2016-02-2901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #21- No More Customers
I regularly work with small business owners who are so focused on growing their customer base that they ignore their existing customers.
Existing Customers Are More Profitable
What most don’t realize is that existing customers are far more profitable than new customers. In fact, it can cost you 5 to 10 times more to get a new customer than it does to service an existing customer. In addition, if you can increase an existing customers’ loyalty or purchase frequency by just 5%, you can increase your profitability between 25% and 85%!
So...
2016-01-2001 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #20 – Cash Flow – The Breath Of Life
Prior to starting my own business, I literally devoured everything I could about owning and running a company. One thing that I could never understand was how a perfectly good business ended up going bankrupt because of cash flow problems. It wasn’t until I started my own first enterprise that I quickly learned that regardless of how profitable you were, it didn’t matter until that money was in the bank- Cash flow ruled!
Cash flow in a business is much like the oxygen we mere mortals need to surv...
2016-01-0601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #19- What’s Your End Game?
As a business owner, do you even know what you’re trying to achieve? Waking up and hoping that today will be better than yesterday is not much of a strategic initiative and will do nothing to advance your dream. Alternatively, simple statements like I want to be wealthy or sell the company someday and retire just don’t cut it, they are just too vague.
Being successful in business is a combination of hard work, focused attention, and luck. Unfortunately, all three elements must work in harmony to ensure a fr...
2015-12-2201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #18- Delegating Is Easier Than You Think
Entrepreneurs are notorious for not delegating duties and responsibilities within their organizations. A common reason for this that they figure it’s just easier and quicker to do it themselves than to take the extra time required to train someone. So instead, they just figure they’ll work a little harder.
Delegating Is Freedom
For those lucky few who do find enlightenment, they quickly realize how learning to delegate can be a revelation in freedom that, over time will allow to become a better manager and allow you to f...
2015-12-0401 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #17 – Small Gains = Big Rewards
Trying to increase the profitability of our business is always at the forefront of our thoughts and that usually revolves around looking for the next big idea, product or service that we can offer our customers.
Many times this makes perfect sense, especially if we’re confident we have maximized the opportunities within our current clients, products and operations. Unfortunately, more often than not, we have done neither and are simply looking for something new to play with, something to get us excited simply because we may be a little bo...
2015-11-1701 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #16 Rejection-The Best Research You’ll Ever Get!
One of the key skills successful entrepreneurs share is their ability to use the selling process as a research vehicle.
Being a great designer, mechanic or programmer matters little if you can’t convince someone to buy your goods or services. Alternatively, hoping “to be discovered” may leave you waiting a long time.
Sales Generate Revenue
With the exception of sales, all other activities that you do are costs to the business. Sales is your sole revenue generator and supports all other activities. Remember, No sales, No bus...
2015-11-0401 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #15- Quit Scaring Your Customers
I often come across business owners whose sales style is to use scare tactics rather than a consultative sales process By scare tactics, I refer to that style whereby the sales individual attempts to pressure the individual into making a purchase decision based on world ending events.
An example of this would be a roofing salesperson telling the client that they can’t wait any longer because their roof is failing and if they don’t act now they risk a leak that would cause untold damage to their ceiling, furn...
2015-10-0801 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #14 – Everyone Is In Sales!
As business owners, we sometimes forget that every employee can have an impact on sales in our organizations. (TWEET THIS)
For example is the shipper receiver courteous to all who present themselves at the loading dock? Do those customers have a pleasant experience that reflects favorably on your organization? There’s nothing worse than going through the sales process only to drop the ball at the last step.
Are All Your Employees Motivated To Sell?
Are all your employees trained and rewarded for generating leads? Do th...
2015-08-1701 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #13 – Performance Reviews
One dreaded and often neglected aspects of being a business owner and managing employees, is the annual performance reviews. Although you’re well intentioned and sincere in your desire to perform this exercise in a timely manner, most of us just end up forgetting about them or, because we never get around to preparing the formal review, we just keep putting it off, much to the frustration of the employee.
Is this the right attitude? Absolutely not! But it happens all the time. So why is that? Well, as with ma...
2015-07-0601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #12- Leadership
Being a great leader is about helping others achieve, it’s not a position, it’s an attitude and anyone can be a leader, no matter where you are in an organization.
Great leaders work hard and are humble.
Great leaders are empathetic and they have an uncanny ability to see around corners.
Great leaders engage and empower their people. Tweet this!
Great leaders act as coaches and mentors,
There is this great saying I once heard and it goes something like this...
2015-06-0901 minSmall Business MinuteSBM # 11 – Passion
Entrepreneurship is currently all the rage. It’s the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s the magic elixir that will fix everyone’s problems and so many people are spending hours daydreaming about the life they will enjoy once they get into business.
Unfortunately for the uninitiated, going into business is very hard work and for the most part the reality of being in business doesn’t come anywhere near your dreams.
So if you’re bound and determined that being a business owner is o...
2015-05-2201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #10 – Work Life Balance
One of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face doesn’t have anything to do with revenues or expenses, but has everything to do with achieving that elusive goal of Work Life Balance.
Starting a business requires a total commitment and dedication over an extended period of time because overnight successes are very rare.
Fortunately for most of us, we are blessed with a significant other who is willing to support our ambitions for extended periods of time but we must also live up to our end the dea...
2015-05-1101 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #9 – The Blame Game
Successful entrepreneurs rarely engage in the Blame Game. The Blame Game is when anything negative happens it’s always someone else’s fault and never theirs.
You see at the end of the day, we make the decision to proceed down a given path even when we’ve consulted or solicited input other professionals. And once we have gathered as much information as we think we’ll need, it is then we make the decision to proceed or not proceed. The operative word is “we”. Right, wrong or indifferent “...
2015-04-2801 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #8- Checklists
Successful entrepreneurs have long learned that identifying internal deficiencies can increase profitability far more quickly than the chasing new ideas.
These owners do not like waste. Wasted time, wasted effort equals wasted profits. Doing something over again because of carelessness, doesn’t sit well with them.
We’re all human
I’m not talking about the occasional mistake, heck, we’re all human. What I’m talking about is those recurring situations where individuals are just not paying attention, like sending a technician out after a job has be...
2015-04-1401 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #7 – Growth For The Sake Of Growth
Growth for the sake of growth is a dangerous strategy for most small businesses. By making revenue generation the prime mission of the company, it fails to take into account how the rest of the organization will execute the product or service delivery of the increased sales.
Risks
Assuming that everything else in the company will expand naturally as revenue grows, is wishful thinking. A small group of people can do amazing things when necessary, but as a company grows the need to add additional staff. T...
2015-03-2601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #6 – What Made Us Successful?
At one time or another, many owners are faced with a business that has stalled out, and often it’s a simple matter of a sluggish economy and with a little patience things recover and growth resumes.
Look under the hood
For others though, their business has just plateaued and are at a loss as to how to regain their rhythm and push through to next level. When this happens, the first place I look is under the hood of the business. Is it structurally sound with the ri...
2015-03-1101 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #5 – Domain Based Email
Nothing undermines your professionalism more than using one of the many free email services available today.
Being in business is hard enough. On a daily basis we are faced with numerous challenges that keep us awake at nigh. We struggle to take our business to the next level and yet we penalize ourselves by not taking care of some of the simple no brainer activities.
Domain based email
Domain named email is nothing more than having a company based email address instead of joesmith@gmail o...
2015-02-2601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #4 – Networking
One of the hardest skills business owners have to learn is Networking. People regularly comment on how adept I am at networking and it usually makes me chuckle. Yes I can network now with relative ease but it wasn’t always that way. I used to hate it!
The high school dance all over again
It wasn’t that long ago that I would absolutely dread going to a networking event, as I would spend most of the event wandering aimlessly through the crowd pretending to be look...
2015-02-1601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #3 – Just Because You’re Struggling, Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing
Going into business is easy, running a business is hard and until we get in it we don’t realize how very hard it is. Oh sure we talk a good game by telling people that we know it will be difficult but that the hard work will pay off in the long run. The reality is, we haven’t got the foggiest idea of what lays ahead.
For those of us who have made it with most of sanity in tack, it is said that, much like childbirth, that if w...
2015-02-0201 minSmall Business MinuteSBM #2 – Idea Validation
Validating your idea, is one of the best pieces of advice I can give start-ups as well as existing business owners. This one item should be at the top of your to do list if you’re considering starting a new business or thinking of adding a new product or service to your existing operation.
You may think it’s a great idea and all your friends and family nod their heads in agreement, but frankly they don’t matter. The only opinion that counts is those people you want as cus...
2015-01-2601 minSmall Business MinuteSBM#1 – Your Ideal Customer
Building a business is hard work and not for the faint of heart. It’s where Survival of the Fittest rules the day. In an effort to be one of the survivors, many small business owners make the strategic error of trying to make everyone their customer. In other words, trying to be everything to everyone.
Although the idea is forged on their belief that having everyone as their customer, will allow them to maximize their revenue when in fact it actually works against them. You see the more specialized yo...
2015-01-1900 min