Personal Growth

Creating Personal Breakthroughs to Achieve More

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Most of us are aware that the Jewish holiday of Passover occurs this time of year because the TV networks seem to always replay one of the most successful epic motion picture, of all time, The 10 Commandants starring Charlton Heston.  It’s the biblical story of how G-d took the Jewish people out of Egypt and took them to Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments and Torah.  This week Jews all over the world come together to remember and relive this historical event but if understood properly there can be many lessons in which we call all take away.

As I am sitting here exhausted from all the preparation getting ready for the Jewish festival of Passover, I am reminded that success and happiness is not easy.  There are many lessons for all to be learned from this holiday.   It’s not a holiday commemorating an ancient event but a lesson to achieve true success & happiness in our lives.

The biggest lesson to take away from the holiday of Passover is that success takes hard work and preparation.  There are no short cuts to true success.  Passover is the holiday of freedom.  Jewish mystics teach us that Passover is not the holiday of freedom because the Jewish people were freed from their slavery in Egypt at that time, but that the holiday occurred then because it was a “time” of freedom.

If that is the case, every year there should be a universal energy that occurs now that we each can tap into.  This is a time for each of us to search deep inside ourselves to find the things or limiting beliefs that keep us in our rut or comfort zone and is keeping us from being as successful as we can.

When we search deep inside ourselves we will find the true source of our power and energy, and when we truly connect to this energy, we will be amazed in the abundant amount of good we can produce.

The Passover holiday is over week long.  The first days are about preparation and beginning on your path of success.   Change is not easy.  Whenever we try to change, it’s very easy to fall back into our comfort zone.  Making change last is what the last days of the holiday is all about.

The 7th day is when the Jews crossed the Sea of Reeds or commonly referred to as the Red Sea. Before they crossed and achieved their true freedom they faced a big obstacle.  They felt trapped; Pharaoh and his army where in hot pursuit and they were trapped at the Red Sea.  At this point some even thought that they should go back to Egypt (back to their comfort zone).  It was not until they refocused on their mission to go serve G-d on the mountain that things changed and it wasn’t until the water reached their nostrils that the sea began to split.

The lesson here is, when you are focused on your goal, what appears to be obstacles will split & provide you with a path to reach your goals.

Our biggest obstacle is our own limiting beliefs. Don’t focus on what you can’t do but what you can do. You’ll see the miracles appear in front of your own eyes.  How many times have we quit just before the moment of a great break though?  It’s almost scary to think about.

Jack Canfield sums it up in a formula from his book “Success Principles”.

E + R = O   Event + Response = Outcome

We all know the outcomes we want to achieve (though some of us have a clearer picture of that outcome than others).  But, there always seems to be some event or barrier that comes along and keeps us from journeying forward to our desired outcome.  Most of the time, we have no control over this event or the personal barrier that is put in front of us by ourselves or others.

The only thing we are in control over is how we respond to this event.  When we focus on the event or obstacle we lose focus and our desire to move toward our goal.  But, when we are focused on our outcome or goal, those obstacles that may appear to be as big as a whole sea that will soon split and allow us to truly break free and move toward our goal.

May this season of freedom allow you to break through to your success that is just waiting for you.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below…

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Personal Growth, Uncategorized

Business Advice: Get Out of Your Box – Learn Something New

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As a business owner do you sometimes feel boxed in?  You want to grow your business but there seems to be an artificial ceiling that is holding you back?

Or maybe you’ve been looking for new ideas and strategies but for some reason you keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results?

Or maybe still, your employees seem to be working for themselves instead of for you and you want to get more from them but something is holding them back?

It’s time to take control of what you’ve worked so hard to achieve…your business.  What are you doing differently now, today, this minute, to get new perspectives and new ideas to grow your employees and your business.

A wise man once said, the difference between where you are now and where you will be in 5 years, will be the books you read, the workshops & classes you attend, and the people you meet.  To break out of your box, you need to take massive action in your learning now.

Successful people continuously work harder on themselves because its stimulates their brain for new ideas.  If you are focused and clear on what you want and the outcomes you desire, you then need to feed your brain to generate the breakthrough ideas you are looking for to get the results you desire!

Here are 8 things you can do now to take massive action in your learning…

  1. Schedule time in your calendar every day for 1 or more of the following items
  2. Read a book a month –  I’ve downloaded the Kindle App onto my phone.  It makes reading easy.  My books are with me where ever I go.
  3. Subscribe to magazines – both industry and non-industry related.
  4. Listen to 2 audio books a month.  I use audible.com.  Each month I down load 2 books with access on my phone, tablet, on or the web.  It can’t get much easier than that.  I’m listening on my way to and from work or appointments.  Turn your downtime into massive learning time.
  5. Set up an RSS Feed to your computer or table or phone to bring you articles and blogs of interest. Both  Google Reader and Google Currents work great for me.
  6. Pick 1 area that you want to improve and search the Internet for  ,a workshop to attend.  Webinars are great but I feel you learn so much more by attending workshops and seminars live.  Look for workshops out of town.  Changing your environment with help in changing your thinking and connections.
  7. Search LinkedIn and Facebook events or the Small Business Development Council or your Chamber of Commerce for additional seminars and workshops
  8. Have a mentor or coach to learn from
  9. BONUS – Check out the events tab on my blog or website for my latest free seminars and workshops

The vision of ActionCOACH is to create world abundance through business re-education. If you are frutrated with where you are in your business, I suggest that you attend our next free seminar in Jacksonville is March 15th.

At this seminar I’ll be sharing some of our best business practices that have helped our clients all over the world to get their business working for them instead of them have to work their business.

To register for our seminar on March 15th CLICK HERE NOW.

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Marketing, Retail, Sales

Business Advice: 10 Tips to Increase Your Retail Sales

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Retail sales are the backbone of our economy because consumer spending drives much of our economy.  That is why just about 40% of all positions in retail stores are sales.

In reality if you own a retail business everyone should consider themselves part of the sales process, from the person who answers the phones to the person stocking the shelves.  Everyone needs to know what their role is in generating revenue for the company.

Here are ten tips to help you to build your retail sales by helping your customers to buy instead of just trying to sell them something.

  1. Acknowledge all customers
    Aim for 60 seconds or less.  Though most people don’t want to be bombarded with sales people when they walk into a store, they still don’t like to be ignored also.
  2. 2. Re-approach using non business related opening lines.
    Never say “Can I help you?” because most of the time the answer will be no.  Use open ended questions starting with, Who, What, Where, How, Why, etc… e.g.  “Have you been here before?”, or if they are an existing customer ask, “How was they xxx you bought last time?”
  3. Ask Questions on their needs
    What are you using it for?  Have you bought a similar one before? What was your experience with that product? How often will you be using it?  This helps establish report and lets you know what else to suggest.
  4. Demonstrate using triplicate of choice
    This is very important because often one will not be the correct option.  Now you can offer them an alternative and find the one that most closely suits their needs.  Focus how each of the specific features will benefit them, on what they will get from using the product.
  5. FAB – Feature – Advantage – Benefit
    Do it on each of the 3 choices you presented.  Have 3 FAB’s for each of the items that you have selected.  Don’t wing it.  Have a list of FAB’s for each product.
  6. Use a trial close
    Ask “How does that fit with what you had in mind?”
  7. Ask them to buy
    This should be easy after establishing rapport through all your questions and FAB’s.  After they are happy with ensuring the product will suit their needs, close by saying… “So will you take that one then?” or “So will you take this one or that one?”.  This is not difficult but often forgotten.
  8. Offer an add on sale with every sale
    “We have found that most people who bought this often bought “this”, to help your “X”… last longer, look better, be more convenient etc…  This is a change of strategy from selling mode to demonstrating how the “add on” will help and id done after the main purchase decision has been made.
  9. Stop!
    Make sure you have all the details correct for the sale of the product in terms of checking quality and paperwork
  10. Invite every customer to join a mailing list
    Sell the benefits of being on the mailing list, e.g. They will get 4 exclusive offers every year special coupons on their birthday
  11. BONUS – Thank your customer
    Right after the sale and with large retail purchases with a personalized card.

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Marketing

ActionCOACH Steve Goranson named 2012 MarketingCOACH

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ActionCOACH Steve Goranson from Jacksonville Fl, has received an award for MarketingCOACH at the company’s annual America’s Conference held in Memphis TN.

The Award was presented at the ActionCOACH Awards Dinner, attended by delegates from all around the North & South American region who attended the prestigious event.

ActionCOACH founder and chairman Brad Sugars presented Steve Goranson with the award.

“Each year, ActionCOACH rewards its top Coaches for their dedication and the extraordinary results achieved with their clients,” he said. “Award winners represent the ‘best of the best’ in our organization, and in business coaching around the world. Congratulations to Steve Goranson on this outstanding achievement.”

The MarketingCOACH Award recognizes Steve Goranson’s achievement in the areas of Marketing businesses to generate more qualified leads.

In today’s tough economic times marketing is a challenge for most businesses.  It’s a great honored to be selected by my fellow coaches for this prestigious ActionCOACH award ” Goranson said.

ActionCOACH is the world’s number one business coaching franchise with more than 1,000 offices in 26 countries. To learn more, go to actioncoach.com or Steve’s Blog at actioncoachstevegoranson.com .

 

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Business Finances, Profits, Sales

Business Advice… Why you should stop discounting and increase value

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Discounting if used properly can be an effective strategy to increase profitability and cash flow, but if not used properly it can cause serious consequences to the growth and profitability of your business.

Most of the time discounting is a gut reaction to a slowdown in business.  Businesses find it easier to discount the value of their product than to sell on value.  One of the biggest negative consequences of discounting is that we are training our clients to buy only on sale.  This can have a big affect on our bottom line.  I’m not really sure a business understands how much more they have to sell just to stay at that same profit level.

For Example if you have a…

  • 30% margin
  • You discount your product or service 10%
  • You will have to sell 50% more to make the same amount of money.

Contrast that with…

  • If your margins are 30%
  • You increase your prices by 10%
  • You can sell 25% less and still make the same amount of money.

Now isn’t that interesting…

Discounting is an appropriate strategy if your inventory is high and you need cash to pay bills or if it’s a perishable item that you will have to throw away.  However instead of just discounting your product, use it as an incentive for your customers to purchase more.

Let’s assume you have a product that costs you $5.00 and you sell it for $10.00.  If you were to have a sale of 25% off, you would now be selling it for $7.50 and only making $2.50 instead of $5.00.

Instead of discounting the full price you can have a buy one get the 2nd item at ½ price.  Now you’ll at least be making the same $-profit if you sold 1 at full price.  Another option is a buy 3 get the 4th free.  You are in essence still providing a 25% discount but you are now making $10.00 profit per sale instead of just $5.00 if you sold just 1 item.

The advantage here is that you are moving more inventory and turning it back into cash.

When it comes to marketing, “perception is reality”.  If you have a 25% off sale you become labeled as a discounter.  If you have a buy 3 get the 4th for free sale, or buy 1 and get the 2nd item at ½ price, you now are perceived as a place where you get more for your money.  You are now distinguishing your business from your competition by providing adding value to your customers instead of being viewed as just another discounter.

 

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Business Finances

3 Easy Steps to Raise Your Prices in a Down Economy

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Man trying to stretch the dollarOne of the 5 areas that we focus on to help our clients increase their profits and cash flow is average dollar sale.  One way to do that is to raise your prices.  In fact it is usually one of the first strategies we recommend.

Most of us are afraid to increase our price because we see our competitors keep dropping their prices just to get the sale.  That’s because all they know how to do is sell on price and not value.  With that said the business advice that I give my clients is to raise their prices.

I’m serious, even in this tough economy you can raise your prices if you know how and when.  Raising your prices in your slowest season might be tough but it’s a must during your busiest season.

Here are three easy steps to raise your price with no complaints.

  1. Get a list of all your products and services that you sell and rank them on the amount sold for the same time last year.
  2. Take out the most price sensitive items.
  3. Now raise your price on the top 10% of items that are left

It’s really that simple.  One of my clients that have implemented this simple strategy has reported one of his best months ever because he was able to increase his average dollar sale with no resistance from his customers.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below…

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Marketing, Uncategorized

How much does it cost you to buy a customer?

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Knowing the answer to this question will help you to create an unlimited marketing budget.

When I ask business owners if they know where their leads are coming from they usually say, “Yes, we ask every customer where they heard about us”.  I then ask to see the data of their results.”

Street Sign saying Marketing Results this way

After squirming a bit, they tell me that the information is just in their head.  Let me be clear about this!  It is impossible to accurately measure this information in your head.  To get a clear picture of what media, headline, or offer is working, it is not enough to only ask how they found out about you, but you must also record the results.  If you don’t measure it you can’t improve it!

When you understand that marketing is all about “buying customers” you begin to change they way you look at your advertising and marketing.  By understanding and knowing the acquisition cost of a customer, you can begin to create an unlimited marketing budget and buy as many customers as you want.

So, how do you turn your marketing from an expense to an investment?  Meaning, that for every dollar you spend on marketing more should return.  You must measure and test your results.  Let’s look at an example…

The concept is simple, you invested $1000 on advertising, and you get 50 phone calls, then you are paying $20 per lead.  Now if you close 20% or 1 out of 5 of those leads, you’re paying $100 (5x$20) per customer.  If your product sells for $200, you’ve just made $1000.

50 (Calls) x 20% (Closing %) = 10 New Customers

10 (new customers) x $200 (cost of product) = $2000 Revenue

$2000 (Revenue) – $1000 Advertising Investment = $1000 in Gross Profit

If you knew that on average that every time you invested $1000 in advertising you got 10 new customers and a return on your investment of $1000 you’ll begin to see how you can create an unlimited marketing budget.  Once you understand your customer acquisition cost it will change your mindset and how you think about marketing forever.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below…

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Leadership, Systems, Team Building

Do you own a Black Belt Business?

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What does it mean to earn a black belt in any of the various styles of martial arts?  Whatfirst comes to mind is that of a trained killer.  But martial arts training is a lot more than that.  In addition to being a form of self-defense and exercise, it’s a philosophy or a way of life.

I got involved in the martial arts at a very early age but didn’t receive my Black Belt in Tang Soo Do Karate until I was almost 30.  I found that it was not only a great form of exercise and self defense but it also taught me lessons in how to survive in the battles of business and life.  But when I look back what I really learned was the importance of goal setting, focus, determination, and the use systems.

do you own a black belt business

Each martial art has a series of belts or levels that each student strives to reach before they can become a black belt.  This systematized approach provides students a process to gain mastery over a particular level of skills before moving on to the next level.  This shows the importance of not only setting end goals but milestones along the way to keep you on track.

My sensei (Karate instructor) taught me that before you can become a black belt, that each level you reach you are just learning Karate but once you become a black belt you are now doing Karate.  Once you reach this level you now have the knowledge and wisdom to apply what you have learned.  The journey doesn’t stop there.  There are new goals and milestones as you reach for the higher levels of being a black belt.

As a business coach I have found that this same systematized approached can also be applied to business.  When do you get your black belt in business?  When are you “doing” business instead of learning business?  At ActionCOACH we have a definition for this, “A commercial profitable enterprise that can work without you the business owner”.  Let’s take a look at the 6 belts you must master before you can be a black belt in business.

White Belt: At this level the emphasis is on basic business mastery over time, team, & money.  It’s about getting the chaos out of your business.  It’s about making sure you can make payroll and that your employees understand their roles & responsibility in your organization.  It’s where you learn to delegate tasks to your team, so you can concentrate on developing higher level skills needed to obtain your business black belt.

Yellow Belt: This is where you work on creating predicable cash flow in the business.  You develop your Niche and USP (unique selling proposition) so you can start selling on value and not price.

Green Belt: At this level you are working on creating efficiencies in your business.  You are starting to develop systems that will run your business so you don’t have to.

Blue Belt: Here we are learning how to get the right people “on the bus”, how to get the right team players, and who will run your systems that will run your business.

Red Belt: This is where we start to see all your hard work come together.  You’ll start to see the synergies of your systems and team you develop.  This is where you start grooming your general manager who will replace you in your business.

Black Belt: Now you’ve made it! You’ve created a commercial profitable enterprise that works without you. You are now an entrepreneur a business black belt.  You are now generating passive income from the business.  You can now take the skills and knowledge that you have learned and apply them to other businesses or start investing your profits so that your money is making money.

To learn more about how you can turn your business into a Black Belt business, attend our next free business seminar.  Check out my latest workshops and seminars under the Events Tab above.

 

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Business Finances, Profits

What Actions Lead to Profits?

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The goal of every business is to make money or a profit.  For some reason profits seem to elude some businesses more than others.  They are working hard day in and day out, but they seem to just be spinning their wheels and not getting anywhere.  They are trapped in the American dream treadmill, moving faster and faster but going nowhere.

The reason they are working so hard and not seeing any fruits from their labor is that their actions are in the areas that do not lead to the profitability of the business.  We are busy, but we are spending our time with non-productive activities.

So what is a productive activity?  The definition is very simple.  An action that moves us toward making money is productive and an action that leads away from making money is non-productive.

In business we have to realize that “people working” and “making money” are now the same thing.  Once we understand this, we can now look at our business from a different perspective.  We now need to look at our profitability per activity.  So now we can start looking at a different set of metrics to measure how profitable a particular job or activity is in our business.

The financial measurements we now have to look at to see if we are making money are:

[1] Net Profit    [2] ROI – Return on Investment    [3] Cash Flow.

We need to determine our Profit KPI’s (key performance indicators) by determining profit per….

  • Direct labor hour
  • Team member
  • Transaction or Job
  • Customer
  • Product or Service

The first area you should look at is gross profit per labor hour.  This will help you to determine what types of jobs you should focus on to increase your overall profits.  Let’s take a look at this example…

Job A Job B
Revenue $3,900 $9,000
Material Costs $2,250 $3,000
Labor Costs $450 $2,500
Direct COGS $2,700 $5,500
Gross Profits $1,200 $3,500
Gross Profit Margins 30.8% 38.9%
# of Labor Hours 18 100
Gross Profit per Labor Hr. $67.00 $35.00
Determine Labor Hr per month
10 Techs @40 hrs 

(@90% compactly * 4.3 wks)

36 hrs per tech

  

1560/hrs

 

1560/hrs
Gross Profit per Month $104,520 $54,640

In this example we are comparing 2 different types of jobs.  At first glance, Job B has a higher gross profit margin and seems to be more profitable.   However, when you further analyze the gross profit per labor hour, doing more of Job A type jobs can double the profitability of your business.

By understanding this, we can now direct our marketing to target more “A” type jobs.   Or, we can look at how we can be more efficient with Job B type jobs to reduce our labor hours per job.  Once we implement these 2 basic strategies we can begin to learn how to work smarter and not harder in our business.

 

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Marketing, Profits

Business Advice: Never chase market share, go after wallet share instead

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In today’s business world, if you are a small or medium size business and you are focused on just market share you are in effect just chasing your tail.  When you’re chasing market share, it’s based on the assumption that you are buying a product or service and then turning around and selling the product your customers.

However, if your mindset is now on buying customers, you are now focused on how much, how many, and for how long can you sell to each customer. We are moving from being product focused to being customer focused. The key here is customer loyalty.

Always remember, it’s more profitable to sell to existing customers than to market to new ones.

In my previous post we discussed how to determine the acquisition cost of a customer.  Knowing the acquisition cost number is just the beginning.  To increase our profitability, we must establish a long term view of the cost of your customers and their lifetime value.

It’s more profitable to sell to existing customers than to market to new ones.  By knowing how much your average customer will spend over their lifetime with your business, you will begin to understand that true worth of your customer and the long term ROI (return on investment) of your advertising investment.

The goal now is to continue to test various headlines and offers to lower your acquisition cost and at the same time increase the lifetime value of each customer.  By establishing this long term view of your customer’s value, you can begin to appreciate the importance and impact of good customer service and how costly poor customer service can be to your business.

Focusing on wallet share instead of market share will increase your business’s profitability because it forces you to be client focused.  It forces you to focus on the client’s needs and how you can provide them exceptional service to keep them coming back again and again.

If you would like more ideas, strategies, and examples on how learn to attract passionate, productive, profitable people to your business team for greater synergy and success, please request our free E-Book “11 Ways to Double Your Customer Base in 4 Weeks” CLICK HERE to receive your Free E-Book.

 

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Marketing, Sales, Systems

Business Advice: How to Network in the 21st Century

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Because of today’s economy you find entrepreneurs trying to find new and innovative ways to grow and build their businesses.  A lot of people have found that going back to the basics is working.  One of the basic marketing strategies a lot of people are using today is networking.

If you look hard enough in any city (and probably not that hard), you can find an opportunity to network with other business professionals on a daily basis.  What I hate most about going to networking events is that most of the people are there trying to find their next sale, instead of attempting to build relationships.

This past August, at our ActionCOACH international conference, I was fortunate to meet and hear from 2 of the world’s best networkers; Dr. Ivan Misner founder of BNI and Michael Port founder of the Think Big Revolution and the author of Book Yourself Solid.  They each had a unique perspective on networking.

In a nutshell Dr. Misner’s formula for networking is this:  Visibility + Credibility = Profitability.

  1. Visibility:  People must know you and what you do
  2. Credibility: People know who you are and what you do
  3. Profitability:  People are willing to refer to you

A lot of time people get out there and are visible but they forget to build creditability.  If you are always in “take” mode, then people will begin to avoid you instead of giving to you.  But once you go into “give” mode you will find that people will soon in turn want to do likewise and give back to you.

Dr. Misner also added that there are 4 basic streams of networking…

  1. Casual Networks – ie., Chamber of Commerce
  2. Knowledge Networks – ie, Professional Associations
  3. Strong Networks – ie, BNI, Meetup Groups,
  4. On-line Networks – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+

To be successful at networking you must participate in 3 of the 4 streams in a consistent manner.

Now Michael Port’s system is similar but with a different twist.  His approach to networking is to build a deeper relationship with your current network.  His system is about targeting people you want to get into your network and then create a plan to build a deeper relationship.   He creates a “Red Velvet Policy”.  It’s a filtration system that attracts prospects & clients that energize and inspire you and most importantly allow you to do your best work.  It’s based on values not on circumstance.

Once you determine the customer values that are most important to you, (success minded, education, strive for excellence, collaborator, commitment, & family are some of mine) you begin to identify prospects that share your values to bring them into your network and begin to build a relationship.

There are 2 basic groups you want to connect with.  The 1st is already in your network and you want to build a deeper relationship with and the 2nd group people you don’t know and want to get to know better.

Building a deeper relationship with those in your network is what Michael Port considers networking.  There are 3 daily actions you need to do to build that relationship.

  1. Share your network – introduce 2 people in your network
  2. Share your knowledge – share 2 articles each day that are of interest to the people you are sending them to
  3. Share your passion – send a card (not an email) to someone every day.

The first step to connect to the 2nd group of people you don’t know, but want to get to know is to create a list of 20.  Each day take the person on the top of the list and send them something that is relevant to that person.  Then move them to the bottom of the list and the next day send something relevant to the next person on the list.  Once you connect to one of these people move them to your networking list to start building the relationship.  Then add a new name of someone you want to get to know.

It will take some time to get this approach started but once you get the hang of it, it should take you no more than a ½ hour a day.  Once you commit to it, you will begin to see that you will be attracting clients that energize and inspire you and most importantly allow you to do your best work.

 

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Systems, Team Building

Here’s some business advice… To grow your business, Stop Working!

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To get your business working for you, you need to build better business systems.  It’s all about taking the experience and expertise that you have locked up in your head and making it accessible to your team so they can internalize it, to do it exactly the way you do.

Think of your systems as your team’s playbook.  Each team player needs to understand their role and how they can contribute to the team.  An important point to remember is that you can’t hold them accountable until they feel they own that task or responsibility.

Team stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More“.  Not everyone can be the quarterback or the running back.  Without an offensive line that understands their roles and responsibilities the team’s offense (your sales) will go nowhere.  But if the whole team is aligned to the goal of scoring a touchdown, (making the sale) each team member can take ownership of their role in achieving that goal.  It now makes it easier to hold them accountable to the results that are expected

One of the biggest bottlenecks to business growth is the business owner.   If the business owner doesn’t learn to let go of the everyday tasks of “doing” the business, he or she will be limited to their own time and expertise.  It’s true that in certain cases and in certain people that could go a long way, but it could be very slow.

Most business owners are afraid to let go because they feel they can do the task better than an employee.  Here’s a flash… You can.

Think of when you started, were you as efficient as you are today in doing those tasks, of course not.  Did someone teach you or did you learn it through trial and error, learning from each mistake you made?  Having a mentor teach you a proper way of doing a task saves time, reduces mistakes, and increases profitability.  It is always more efficient, effective, and profitable to learn the proper way of doing a task than by learning through trial and error.

To stop doing the work of the business and start running your business you need to take ownership of delegating a task to employee.  Don’t set them up to fail.  As I mentioned previously, it’s all about taking the experience and expertise that you have locked up in your head and making it accessible to your team so they can internalize it, so they can do it exactly the way you do.  If you don’t write it down and systematize it you are destined to do it forever.

To grow your business, you must stop doing the work of the business and start letting the business do the work for you.   As the business owner you must now learn to run and lead the business not do the work of the business.  By doing this you will begin to create a commercial, profitable business, that can work without you.

If you would like more ideas, strategies, and examples on how learn to attract passionate, productive, profitable people to your business team for greater synergy and success, please request our free E-Book “How to Intentionally Attract & Build Dream Teams“  CLICK HERE is receive your Free E-Book .

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Leadership

ActionCOACH Honored in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Companies

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Every day in 39 countries around the world, ActionCOACH Business Coaches work with small and medium sized business owners. The impact these coaches make is massive and can often be the difference between a company surviving and thriving and a company closing its doors for good.

While independent studies and testimonials make it clear the impact that ActionCOACH has, winning an award that thousands of people voted on is another reminder of the good work ActionCOACH Business Coaches do every day, with both small and medium sized businesses and their communities.

The latest honor for ActionCOACH, the leader in the Business Coaching industry, is this year’s People’s Choice Stevie Award for Favorite Company in the Business Services category.

While every award is important, this award is particularly significant because it is earned by public voting.

More than 35,000 votes were cast from July 28 through September 9 and ActionCOACH was the clear winner in the Business Services category, with the award to be given on October 11 in Abu Dhabi.

“This is a huge win for our company. I want to give a big thanks to all our clients who voted for us. After winning the American Stevie for Company of the Year earlier in the year, it’s very exciting that we earned both the judge’s award and the People’s Choice,” ActionCOACH Founder and Chairman Brad Sugars said.

With more than 1000 Business Coaches working with more than 15,000 businesses around the world every week, it’s easy to see why the company was able to garner so many votes.

Without the outstanding results that ActionCOACH provides for its clients, the company couldn’t have earned this award, so congratulations to everyone in the ActionCOACH system and thanks to everyone who voted for ActionCOACH.

 

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Leadership, Personal Growth

Can the US Government Engage in Breakthrough Thinking?

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I just got back from the ActionCOACH Global Conference where I got to learn and network with over 350 of the best business coaches in the world.  In addition to hearing from ActionCOACH founder Brad Sugars, we heard from Stedman Graham, Dr. Ivan Mizner, and Michael Port as well.

The focus of this year’s global conference was how to generate breakthroughs in our business and that of our clients.  We also explored how to begin thinking outside the box, not limiting ourselves or our company by how other’s define us.

Those are powerful words.  As Stedman Graham stated “Don’t let the world define you, YOU define You…. because if you let others define you, they will always define you smaller than them.”

If you look around, the organization that is in most need of a breakthrough is the United States Government.  If there is any organization that is truly stuck in a box and can’t find it’s way out, it’s our government.  Every election cycle we hear the same problems and the same old solutions.

As a whole, we Americans are confused about the right answer because our leaders are confused.  In my humble opinion, we don’t have a revenue problem we have a spending problem.

As a government, are we investing the tax payers money in the best way?  We need to invest tax payer money in a way that will help the small business owner employ more people.  We will increase the tax roles by creating successful businesses that hire and train more people not by placing a bigger burden on them.  This is one answer to the problem.

Just recently Warren Buffet had another solution, he said that the super rich should pay more taxes.

I want to congratulate Warren Buffet for being patriotic and wanting to do more and give more for this country.  But, would that really solve the problem or cause more problems?  Isn’t this just more of the same old answer we have gotten in the past with a little bit different spin?

As Americans we all want to help the unemployed, the sick, the disabled, and those down on our their luck.  This is our nature.  We see it when there are natural disasters around the world and here at home.  The people step up and make things happen.  But can the government afford to help everyone.  No, not really but at the same time we can’t let the underprivileged go without.  So what’s the answer?

Well, I began to look at this problem another way and got this, well, “out of the box” idea. Before you say, “oh this is just another crazy idea” hear me out and then let me know what you think…

Instead of asking me to pay more taxes to help support entitlement programs, why don’t we look at each government entitlement as a charitable organization.

Instead of raising my taxes give me an opportunity to give more money to  the government programs that I support the most.

This would not only raise more money but would probably make this organizations more efficient in the process as they compete for these charity dollars.

With the generosity of the American people we might actually raise more money this way.

This might seem simplistic but the best ideas usually are.  Just a thought, let me know what you think….

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