business strategy

business strategy

Get your life back! Calendar Control for Busy People

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Trying to get your life back under control?

  1. Keep a time log for a week. Be honest and diligent. Track every 30 minutes.
  2. Print two blank calendars either by week or by month.
    • List all your current commitments on one.
    • On the other list only those commitments that are directly related to the priorities in your life or critical to goal achievement.
  3. Review your time log. Review your calendars. Review your goals and priorities. Be honest with yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Keep moving forward.

Based on what you learned:

  1. Create “rules” or best practices for yourself. i.e. I set a time for task using the Pomodoro technique. (Google it.) Start calls announcing the amount of time you’ve allotted and stick to it. Don’t let other people’s emergencies run your life.

  2. Reconnect to the picture of your ideal life. If you want to go crazy…picture your outrageous, over the top life! Swim in what that life and relationships look like, feel like, sound like… Picture a calendar that supports that lifestyle and take action accordingly.

Begin to view your calendar like a checkbook register. Every block of time is an investment in something. If you are not managing your calendar on purpose you will accidentally get something you may not like.

“Every minute spent in planning saves nine in execution.” Brian Tracy

“Without vision, people perish” Proverb

“People find the the time, money, and resources to do what they really want to do (for the most part). If you don’t want it badly enough, you won’t make time for it.” Kathie Nelson

Get your life back! Calendar Control for Busy People

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Start well – Reinvent now

 

When I launched my current company in 2002, one of the best business strategies I employed to accelerate my launch was to create an advisory board. This scared me to death because I felt ill equipped to afford each professional’s expertise but I desperately wanted to succeed with my new idea. You see, after a failure in my first business launch I’d built my second organization to 1/2 million under the umbrella of a national brand. You know the deal, for myself but not by myself.

 

 

Here I was , launching my third venture, I was now a company of one. My assets were my experience, tons of leadership training, my ability to overcome challenges, my first book under my belt, a strong network and personal brand, a few coaching clients, and a strong belief in my big vision but NO significant cash reserve. All I had to lose were my time and pride and yet everything to gain.

 

I’d read Napoleon Hill’s Keys to Success: The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement and discovered I had a few keys working for me with my positive mental attitude, applied faith, and definiteness of purpose. The power of the mastermind alliance was a new concept especially as it described the application related to an advisory board. Again, with nothing to lose I made my requests.

 

Here’s how creating a board of advisers can work, guerrilla style:

 

  • Get clear on your objective. Exactly what do you want your advisers to do for you? Help you vet your idea? Give you their professional feedback? Point out the blind spots? i.e. In 2002, my objectives were to have the leaders I selected point out my blind spots with a program I wanted to license. (If what you want is professional services you really should be paying for them.)
     

  • Make a target list of advisers you feel would add the most value. You don’t have to know them well. Plan on a diverse group to get a broad spectrum of ideas.
     

  • Set a date for the advisory board session(s) far enough in advance so those who decide to participate can plan.
     

  • Contact each person individually and make the request. Plan for coffee or a get acquainted call. Be as concise as possible and share your objective clearly.
     

  • Follow up with each person. Thank them for their time regardless of a yes or no. For those who said yes, email a detailed thank you with logistics for the upcoming session(s). Reiterate your objective and desired outcome. Ask if there is anything you can do to reciprocate.
     

  • Do your homework. Prior to scheduled session, prepare a presentation as you would for an investor. Make it clear and concise with specific requests.
     

  • Lead the advisory board session with confidence. Introduce each of the players and share why you selected them. Watch the time so you can dismiss in the time you promised. Make your case. Share what you know, state your assumptions, and ask for feedback.
     

Rinse and repeat, as needed.

 

Note: I provided lunch, once a month, for 6 months. I kept the meetings to 90 minutes. You could duplicate this or any variation. I targeted a banker, attorney, business development consultant, international entrepreneur, and a CPA.

 

Why am I bringing this up now? Over the past 3 years I’ve been watching small business after small business drink the Kool-aid, buying into programs, hiring experts who’ve made a million (or 6 figures) doing what they want to do. (Yes, I will admit, I’ve bought into some of those same programs too.) The problem is…those leaders are not YOU and I. As a result, it’s likely you’ve added many processes that are superfluous to your core offering, detracting from that brilliance your prospects are hungry for ending up with an over complicated model making it hard for you to reach those who truly need you.

 

Picture trying to build the Titanic when you only need a small speed boat to reach your destination.

 

So the question becomes, “How do you course correct when you are mid-game?”

 

My answer: Pretend you are starting over. What would you do if you didn’t know what you think you know? You’d ask for help. [Read that sentence again slowly.]

 

My question for you, “Are you done struggling yet? Are you anxious to step away simplify, streamline, and remain agile? Are you ready to try something different?”

 

If your answer is yes, let’s go!

 

Stop going round and round trying to see into the crystal ball to predict the future. End your frustration with “what isn’t working” today. Create a focus group or assemble an advisory board, and be willing to have your presumptions shot down so you can simplify,

 

Sure, brutal honesty it isn’t fun but yields incredible results. There is a market waiting for you to show up and do what you do best!

Marketing YOU! 10 grass roots outreach activities that really work

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Are you tired of investing in marketing that just doesn’t seem to pay off? Every time my calendar needs a boost I pull out these tried and true grass roots, low cost, high impact marketing tactics.

 

Strategically Network

 

1. Set up 3 appointments with providers who serve your ideal clients. This could be a phone call or coffee. Just be sure the time is used to your mutual benefit.

 

Be prepared with survey* questions and information or connections that could be of value to your partner. Let them know what kind of projects and goals you are working toward.

 

2. Contact 3 of your past clients. Repeat activities in #1.

 

3. Review your past proposals. Contact each by phone even if they’ve chosen another provider. Repeat the activities in #1.

 

4. Review the business calendars in your local paper and online. Find 2-3 new events to attend in the next 30 days. There are always new events, professional development, and happenings that would add value to your own business, expose you to new audiences, and add value to those you are contacting in steps #1-3. (Stop attending anything that is not producing value.)

 

Make a Name for Yourself

 

5. Start speaking. Consider everywhere you go a “mini-stage”. From your introduction to an informational presentation to a keynote, find places to share your insights and secret sauce.

 

6. Host your own event. Invite your top prospects, strategic partners, and/or past clients to an informational event. Plan to provide valuable information, insight, or introductions. If hosting an event on your own seems daunting, find a strategic partner who could benefit and share the load of producing. This doesn’t have to be costly.

 

7. Start writing. Your audience wants to know what you know. The mistakes you could help them avoid, the pitfalls, debunk the myths and lies they’ve been fed, give them the secrets to success…YOU know these things. Share them. Don’t let the fact that you had a teacher in your past tell you writing was not for you get started making lists, share your ideas, and do what works for you. Just get writing.

 

8. Join the conversation. Find others who are talking about what you want to talk about. This might mean you have to leave some of the groups you are currently involved in. Ask questions. Add your insights. Don’t worry about the competition. There is more than enough to go around. Get Grounded

 

9. Slow down to speed up. Shift your attachment and value from being “busy” to becoming “intentional”. Evaluate how you can create more impact from less effort. This takes reflection, evaluation, assessment. That won’t happen if you have no margin in your life or business.

 

10. Get out of your office. Connections are made when people see you. This can happen virtually if you are in a forum where you can be heard but will most likely be in your own back yard. Attend an event that interests you for no other reason than that it interests you. Do something fun. Learn a new skill. Take a class. You are a whole person. Your business will not fail if you walk away from the helm to renew your energy and add some fun.

 

*Survey questions I typically ask. What are the changes going on in your industry? How are they impacting you locally or personally? What are your key initiatives for 2012? Based on your experience in your profession/industry, what short or long term impact do you see on your business?

 

**Value add resources are anything of high value to the person I am speaking with. This could be events, books, insights I’ve gained from reading books or attending conferences, connections I can make for them, etc.

 

Grass roots’ marketing is organic. It builds trust. It lets your audience get to know and experience YOU. The bottom line is that this type of outreach really works. Apply for 30 days and see what you get…then do it again.

 

Do you have some suggestions to add to this list?

 

Want more Monetize Me! Expertise? Check out our Monetize Me! Expert Series. 

 

Rear View Mirror – the Power of Vision Driven Results

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Your ideas, insights, gifts, skills, and experiences are money.

 

Uniquely being you delivers value to others. In a business environment, they (your customers) give you money for that value exchange. I refer to this as the fuel that runs your economic engine. Cash and profits are essential to the health and operation of your company. But how easily you make money, quickly you build a company, magnetically attract customers, and gain credibility all depends on you.

 

In this metaphor, you are the driver of your high performing entrepreneurial vehicle. Ultimately you are responsible for how and when you arrive at your destination. When it comes to significant goal achievement I find the “rear view mirror” technique to be highly effective for three reasons. It is future focused It engages your RAS (Reticular Activation System) Here is an excellent article on what RAS is and why it matters in goal setting.

 

Repeated use of the ‘rear view mirror’ technique will reveal self sabotage and detours that delay arrival at your destination. Here is how it works.

 

Let’s take a one year view and work backwards.

 

Based on your income or revenue goals, picture yourself and ask yourself.

 

“What do I see in my rear view mirror? What are the significant benchmarks that contributed to my goal achievement?”
 

  • If you are a service professional you might be celebrating sustainable marketing outreach that fed consistent prospects converting to clients you love all year long and a work/life balance with income that keeps you motivated.
     

  • If you are a consultant, speaker, or expert you might be celebrating new book sales, successful speaking engagements, new products released, recognition by peers, etc.
     

  • If you are an entrepreneurial rainmaker (you are building a company that depends on others labor while you attract and convert new business opportunities) you might be celebrating key people on your team, their achievements and contributions, your market penetration, recognition by peers, new product release, etc.
     

Next bring the view back to the short term. Picture yourself out 90 days or at the end of a quarter. What benchmarks do you see in your rear view that needs to be met this quarter to significantly move you toward that celebration?

 

Now, bring the view into this month and next week. What benchmarks do you need to see in your rear view next week and next month?Identify and make SMART commitments to the key activities that create forward movement.

 

Hindrances and helps for using the rear view mirror technique.
 

  • Master your motivators. Learn the people or activities that distract you and align with those who inspire, encourage, and accelerate you.
     

  • Find the juice in your future. When you are looking back on the benchmarks, achievements, and celebrations invest in feeling the full impact of emotions. Ask yourself, “What does this look like? How do I feel? How do others see me? What are they saying about me? What am I saying about myself? What is the financial impact of achieving this benchmark?”
     

  • Keep your head up for pot holes, road blocks and detours. What would you like to see in your rear view mirror next week? What’s going to keep you from accomplishing it? Strategize to work around them, avoid or eliminate the obstacles.

 

Key to monetizing your talents is creating practices that allow you to work in your sweet spot most of the time. Practice the future focused “rear view mirror” technique to get more juice in goal achievement process.

 

The ultimate business strategy is leveraging YOU! 

 

Who's really keeping you from getting what you want? Take personal responsibility.

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Who, me?

 

I find I am talking to two types of people most of the time. The first group is burning to turn their new ideas into money. The second group of leaders are focused on increasing effectiveness of their current business model and teams. Do you fall into one of these groups?

 

If so, I am talking to you.

 

The upcoming summer months provide a perfect opportunity to “uplevel” whatever you are doing in time for Fall. That’s right. Take personal responsibility to bring your performance up a level. Instead of taking your foot off the gas over the summer simply switch gears to invest some time in planning. You will be glad you did. Pssst! This is one of the secret short-cuts to goal achievement.

 

Start by assessing the gap between where you are today and where you want to be.

 

  • What is working well now?

  • What is not working well now?

  • What needs to change?

    • What do I need to add?

    • What do I need to stop doing?
       

Next, take personal responsibility for whatever you want to bring into your life and business. Yes, you.

 

  • If you aren’t making enough money, you can point your finger at the economy, those darn customers, your network, your partners but…ultimately YOU are the key.
     

  • If you don’t have enough sales, you can point your finger at your team, the economy, your network, those darn customers but….ultimately YOU are the key.
     

  • If your team or network is not productive, effective, or communicative you can point your finger at the team or network, the pressure, or all kinds of external influences but…ultimately YOU are the key.
     

  • If you don’t have enough time to do what to do what needs to be done, you can blame it on everyone else but…ultimately YOU are the key.
     

Notice a theme here?

 

I attended an event last week. The speaker asked us, “What is getting in the way of getting what you want, RIGHT NOW?” My immediate response was, “I don’t have time to get what I need done which leaves loose ends. I keep circling back which BOGS ME DOWN.” Why does that happen? Because my calendar gets overbooked. In that private moment, I almost laughed out loud. Who do you think is at fault? Me. I am in charge of what gets on my calendar. Whoooaaaa. This should not be an earth shattering revelation but the truth hit me. I am a victim of my own Big Picture thinking, my overly optimistic view of time, and the learning curve taking on things I’ve never done before. I had to ask myself, “Who can change this?” Well, of course, it’s me.

 

Short version of the story, I immediately began paring my calendar and downsizing my short term vision to bite sized chunks that I could complete. A weight lifted off my shoulders as I took personal responsibility and moved from a dis-empowered state to one of control.

 

So, my prompt to you today is to take some time to assess your gap.

 

  • Where are you?

  • Where do you want to be?

  • What needs to change?

  • Be accountable and take responsibility for where you are and commit to the change you need to see.
     

Need a sounding board? Feel free to reach out to one of our team members for a Laser Session here.

 

The time is now.

 

When you operate in a dis-empowered state you deprive your community of your best self.

 

It’s cool to be you, every day. Get out there and share your gifts.a

 

Busy People Networking Strategies to Work a Room

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A recent teleclass on “Networking that Produces Results Every Time” produced questions that I rarely get a chance to address except in a workshop or coaching session. Here are some of the questions that came up. Here are my thoughts…feel free to add your own comments!

 

1. How many people do you talk to at an event. Say there are 40 attendees (like a WEO meeting), how many new people do you speak to? On average, how long do you speak to each person?

 

My philosophy is that networking is about quality not quantity. Time is still of the essence but collecting a handful of cards that have no meaningful connection is not the goal.
 

 

  • I set a goal to make 3 quality connections at every event. I go prepared to ask questions that will help me create one of six potential successful outcomes. (See blog post “Networking that Produces Results Every Time” )
     

  • I plan to speak to each person 3-5 minutes and ask intelligent directed questions that will determine the next course of actionI follow up with those 3 people.
     

  • I may meet more and hope to have significant conversation. Depending on your business goal, you will determine what is significant for you.
     

2. What are some nice ways to disengage and move on?

 

1. If you’ve ever been stuck with a person who is self-promoting, selling you something, or in general, new to networking, this is your opportunity to model how good networking is done. Some techniques that have been successful for me are…a.)

a) I will ask (I may have to tactfully interrupt) who they would like to meet at the event and see if I can make an introduction.b.)
 

b)If they are in heavy “sales” mode, I will interrupt and gracefully let them know I am probably not a prospect for them. Since I know they are at the event to network I will let them mingle with other folks.

 

We’ve all be stuck in uncomfortable situations networking. My fellow net-workers, what are some of your suggestions?

 

 

Starting or retooling your Business? Avoid common mistakes!

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I was honored to receive an email from a woman I was referred to months ago asking for advice as she is launching her consulting business.

 

I really appreciated the way she asked for help! I thought you might benefit both from her questions, my response, and the response of our readers.

 

 

Instead of simply looking for resources and how-to’s she was looking for mistakes to avoid. She wanted lessons learned from a couple of us who’ve been there. Of course the minute she asked, I had a flashback…launching my own practice I thought I was so strategic (and I was) after planning, visualizing, and ramping up naively thinking I would avoid and minimize the obstacles, mistakes and bumps in the road. Guess what!  I found my own obstacles, mistakes, and bumps in the road from which to learn the lessons I needed to learn. My philosophy is that running a business is the best personal growth school you could ever attend!

 

Time to lift the curtain and let you see more of my foibles and fumbles!  Don’t kid yourself…we all have them in our own ways.

 

Mistakes I made (in no particular order):

 

  1. List building.  I understood the value of building a list but didn’t fully have the systems and support to capture the data and keep in touch in a way that consistently built momentum. Words of wisdom. Start building your list and connect with them through meaningful content.
     

  2. Trying to be perfect.  I have high standards. I wanted my content (or products, business cards, flyers, etc.) finished, complete, well designed and invested time and money to make them so. This delayed time to get products ready for sale, flyers for promoting programs and the like. I love Alex Mendossian’s quote “Sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity.” Not that he condones sloppy work but as an entrepreneur there is a balance between good enough and perfect. The difference between costs you money, time, and opportunity. (I am working on this right now!) Gen. George Patton:  “A good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow.”
     

  3. Hiring the wrong people. I knew I needed other’s expertise to help me jump start and grow my business. Working with limited resources (bootstrapping) made me “penny wise and pound foolish”. I made two mistakes. In several instances, to save money I tried to cut corners hiring others who were just starting out and charging low fees. In one instance I paid top dollar for services perceiving this would buy me value. What I learned is that, as the customer, I need to be in charge of the relationship no matter what I am paying to make sure I got what I needed. Note:  Hiring a more expensive vendor was no guarantee. It set me back emotionally and financially but as you can see…I recovered!
     

Of course I can go on with a to-do list for starting right and growing well but that is not the topic of this post!

 

What lessons have you learned or mistakes made can you share with this emerging consultant? By the way, her specialty is personal branding and social media if that guides your words of wisdom!

 

As a thank you for contributing we will send you our latest work, a collection of experts “60 Tips to Network Your Way to Anything You Want”.

 

Happy Networking!