Recent Blog Posts
First Impressions: Dressing for Success
We have all heard the term “You only get one chance to make a first impression”, but did you know that 55 percent of people base that first impression on appearance?
If your business office has a casual dress code, you need to specify what is acceptable for staff to wear. Casual does not mean sloppy or inappropriate clothing pieces. Avoid stained or wrinkled clothing and overly revealing or offensive attire. Examples of acceptable clothing pieces for professionals include:
- well-tailored pants or skirts
- button-down shirts and casual blouses
- heels or flats
While you may not be able to control everything about your business, you can control how you present it to the world.
8 Questions You’ll Be Asked When Selling Your Business
Even if your business is still young – less than 2 years old, knowing the answers to this questions will help you grow a profitable asset for your future. One of the most intimidating aspects of selling a business can be facing the barrage of questions during the various management presentations to potential acquirers. Start thinking about these now – you never know when opportunity will come knocking.
- Why do you want to sell your business?
- What is your cost per new customer acquired?
- What is your market penetration rate?
- Who are the critical members of your team?
- Who buys what you sell?
- How do you make what you sell?
- What makes your product truly unique?
- Can you describe your back-office setup?
Building your business knowing these answers, will help create an Asset for Your Future. Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start when you’re preparing to represent your company to your potential buyers. You can check you “sellability status” for your business with this 15 minute questionnaire at Get My Score
Building Collaboration
I realize many of you have started your business on your own. It was your idea that started your success, your blood, sweat and tears. No wonder it may be hard for you to allow a little collaboration happen regarding the business you nursed from day one.
I’m here to tell you to stop trying to do everything on your own! It is the idea that no one knows your business better than you that gets you stuck in a rut. One reason why many businesses fail is because they lack the ability to collaborate ideas with people who don’t see eye to eye.
Seeing ideas through other people’s eyes is what gives a business perspective. Think of it like a cup of coffee, would you open a coffee shop and not serve sugar because you only consume Splenda? That would be foolish, right?
So how do you build collaboration?
Finish with Flair
When we have a goal in mind; know what we want the outcome to be; have broken the project down to its many tasks; we are ready to finish with flair. . . or are we? Even the best project, best plan can get slowed by life. Time management often means staying motivated beyond knowing what the end will look like. To finish with flair, try these tips:
- Get Moving
- Know Your Personal Clock
- Start with Something Fun
- Rename the Uglies
- Slow Down
- Find Healthy Distractions
Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get? Boney Fingers. Getting a goal done on time sometimes means taking time to slow down and do it right. Keeping your perspective will serve you and your plan well.
Let us know what you do to finish with flair?
Breaking a Project Down
Sometimes we want to do a big project but we don’t have the time or at least don’t think we have the time. Instead of trying to tackle a big project all at once break it down into small easy to do steps. Now that four hour project becomes twelve twenty minute projects that can be spread out over two weeks. The project became a lot more manageable. But there is a little bit more to it.
How Independent Contractors and Employees Differ
If your business is getting a little too much for you to handle on your own, you may need to make the decision on whether or not to hire a full time staff member or an independent contractor.
Before making your decision make sure you understand the differences between the two. Here is just a few items to consider:
- Control over work
- Ability to sub-contract/delegate
- Basis of payment
- Equipment, tools and other assets
Whatever decision your business decides to make, be sure to understand the laws and regulations before you hire. Mis-classifications of an individual as an independent contractor may have a number of costly legal consequences.
Listen with your 3 Hearts
Do you ever feel conflicted when you’ve made a business decision? Do you struggle when an employee complains about something? Are customer complaints hard to hear? When the phone rings, do you sometimes want to just hide even before you hear the call?
You are not alone and most business decisions that have a good outcome are made from the 3 Hearts.
- Heart – that sentimental place we believe kindness, empathy and love exist.
- Mind – the rational heart, the logic driven brain that weighs the options;
- Gut – your instinct or intuition.
Pausing for a moment and thinking “Heart-Mind-Gut” may get you on the path to fewer “If only I’d. . . ”
Let us know what do you do to help make thoughtful decisions?
Hacked Website. Who’s Responsible?
An interesting question was ask to me the other day.
When a website is hacked/compromised who is responsible for fixing it/paying for it to be fixed?
From the customers standpoint the answer is clear. The web designer has to cover it. But from the standpoint of a web designer, the answer is not that clear.
There are many variables due to contracts, situations, and lack of knowledge. So who is responsible for fixing it/paying for it to be fixed?
Some of the variables are:
- Code
- Servers
- Software
- Users and their passwords
- Last updates
- Contracts
What are you doing right now to protect your website? Let us know what works for you.
Get the Post-Holiday Motivation Back
If motivation and engagement seem to be a little less than stellar with your staff members, your office may have the post-holiday blues. Combat the post-holiday blues by getting your staff back on board with your company’s vision and goals. Your staff needs to believe...
The Entrepreneur, the Technician and the Manager . . .
The Entrepreneur, the Technician, the Manager, and MOM. No, this isn't a strange joke but the skills of each are needed to successfully grow and run any business. The technician is the doer, laborer, the person that makes it happen. The manager is the organizer, the...