Recent Blog Posts
Progressive Snapshot
If you have watched any amount of TV in the last few months you have probably seen those commercials for Progressive Insurance, specifically the commercials about their SnapShot device. The devices collects information about your driving habits such as when you drive, how fast, how hard you hit the brakes, etc. The device will even beep when you hit your breaks too hard, giving you instant feedback. Progressive then analyzes your driving habits and you may get a discount. From a marketing and business stand point this device is pretty ingenious and can save the company (and you) a ton of money. But how?
What Does An Employee’s Vacation Cost?
Wanting to be a good employer, we often make decisions without thinking of all the costs and benefits to our organization. The two main reasons to give vacations are:
- To reward longevity!
- To allow employees time to refresh and get recharged!
I am reminded of the time I was working at a Consulting firm that would give either overtime or compensatory time, “comp time”, for extra hours worked during the busy season. Being a young mother, I opted for “comp time”. This was fine with the managing partners until I started using the earned time – in the summer – during their slow cash flow time. Although they grudgingly gave me my earned time off with pay, they did not understand the cost and benefit of this arrangement. They also did not acknowledge that it is generally illegal under federal law (state and local governments are allowed to do this is certain instances).
So, before you either say NO or YES, work through a Benefit Analysis to better understand what a day of vacation will cost.
Check with your CPA about any plan you want to start – there are laws and rules that must be followed AND usually a way can be found to make things work well for your company and your employees. Tips Here for Happy Vacationing – Linda
Appropriate Client Conversation
Everybody likes to talk, especially if it’s about someone you have in common. The problem is knowing what it is appropriate and when it’s not.
Just the other day I was at a personal appointment with my hairstylist. It wasn’t really my hairstylist but I’m going to use it to keep things confidential. Anyways, as I was sitting in the chair we were talking about places that I use to work. Then the subject of a certain employee from that company came up. The stylist just started talking about that person, nothing bad, just personal.
I was blown away to say the least. If he/she was willing to talk about this person and what transpired in their appointment who knows what is said about mine. Not to mention the stylist had no idea why I stopped working there and whether or not my employment ended on good or bad terms.
In any business it is poor manors to talk about other clients whether it’s good or bad. Understandably it can get pretty rough talking about the weather with every client, every day. If you’re one of those people that are terrible at coming up with good conversation I came up with a list of appropriate topics that are safe to use.
Know The Facts Before You Act
This past month I had a little communication mishap. To make a very long story short I was trying to get in contact with a client’s IT department about giving me access to the web server so I could do some work on their website. For the past few weeks I’ve been emailing and calling them (but not getting an answering machine), to see if they had granted me access. I never received any emails back, no phone calls, no nothing. To make matters worse my client has been on vacation and couldn’t be reached. Great, this IT guy is trying to sabotage me… Or is he?
To Close or Not to Close – Business Holidays
As a business coach, I am often asked, “what does it cost to give employees a paid day off like Memorial Day?” The simple answer might be “lots” – realistically, I’ll often use the old accounting term “it depends”. Employers need to look at both sides – Costs and Benefits. Costs are usually easy; benefits are often softer – like morale, turnover, and image. We forget that the sign on the grocery store saying “We are closed today so our employees can be with their families” speaks volumes and builds customer loyalty.
Keeping Customers Happy
Your customers are the reason your business is in existence. Keeping up with them and making them feel they are appreciated is the key to customer retention and referrals.
Building lasting relationships is easy and costs your business very little. A little time on your part could mean a whole lot more time of holding onto that special customer.
Here are a few ideas:
Brag about them
Tell the world about your customers and how wonderful they are. You can put a special testimonial or blurb on your website about what they do and how well they do it.
If you have a FaceBook site you can rant about your customers. They will love it and want to share it with other potential customers.
Show them you appreciate their business
Send a handwritten thank-you note and a coupon for their next visit. Everyone loves to save money and they are more likely to return to you if they feel they have a connection.
Your Employees Can Affect Your Business Revenue
I was talking with my friend Beth about her job. She works as an office manager for a local car repair shop. She was venting a little bit about the one co-owner, Marty. In general he isn’t very nice to her and treats her as if she doesn’t know any thing about cars. But what he failed to realize is she is the voice of his business and makes a lot of decisions about what work is done and who does it because she is the one who answers the phone and sets up appointments. Marty’s rudeness has cost him $20,000. But how?
Facebook is a Huge Waste of Time
It is 11:50pm, I should be in bed but I’m sitting on Facebook scrolling through my newsfeed reading a few comments here and there. I looked at the clock again. 11:55pm. Why am I not in bed? What is so important about the posts on Facebook that I need to read them right now? or ever? It hit me, there is nothing important about them at all. I closed Facebook and went to bed. It has been about 5 days and I haven’t been on Facebook. What? That’s Crazy. Why would I or any one do something like that?
Starting a Business Things You Need to Know eBook
It is finally here our eBook: Starting a Business? Things You Need to Know. This book was written for people who are thinking about starting a business or who have a business now. The book contains 85+ tips that I wish I had known about a lot sooner in my business life. Having this knowledge would have changed the way I did business and how I ran my business. By sharing these thoughts and tips we hope to help jump start your new business or get your current business back on track.
System
“We obtain brilliant results from average people operating brilliant processes. But we observe that most companies obtain mediocre or worse results from brilliant people working around broken processes.”-- JP Womack When systems or processes are put in place they...