Write It Don’t Wing It
Since I have been talking about objectives recently and also since we are getting ready to do a call on the subject as well, then we definitely need to talk about the power of committing what you are doing to writing. A big problem for business owners when it comes to staying focused is their desire to just wing it rather than writing important things down. Let me start by saying that I can sympathize with business owners who don’t write things down. I get that people don’t want to feel like they are put in a box and that written goals can feel like you are sacrificing your ability
Be Unprepared and Treat Your Customers Like Idiots- The BP Oil Story
I get a little miffed when people just outright bag on business, capitalism and suggest that business enterprises are inherently out to screw the public. This is why the BP Oil fiasco saddens me, specifically how the fiasco has been handled after the fact with such utter lack of emotional intelligence. The fact is that BP Oil had a breakdown in their process and equipment which led to the current situation that we are currently in. If you want more on the spill details go here. Companies are run by people and people make mistakes. It’s how you deal with the mistake that matters. Two big problems are evident in
Sure Your SEO Plan Looks Good But Can It Cook?
When it comes to SEO, the businesses that choose to work towards having their business found online want to make this process as simple as possible. As a business owner, there is nothing wrong with making your life easier. God knows we all need as much simplicity as possible. In the world of SEO, doing it right isn’t always simple and easy. There’s a lot involved in the process. There’s research, copy writing, linking, ad campaigns, blogging, articles, relationship building and so on. This process tends to get in a lot of business owners way and they end up cutting corners in the process by hiring someone who promises quick
Your Business Plan Does Not Need to Be That Hard
If you have ever read Guy Kawasaki’s book, Art of the Start, then you are familiar with how he suggest that you put your business plan together. If you haven’t read the book, I am going to outline his 10 components for an effective business plan. Whether you need to raise money for your business or not, your business plan does not need to be that difficult. According to Guy Kawasaki, your business plan should contain the following: 1. The problem that exists 2.Your solution to the problem 3.Business model; i.e. a brief description of the type of firm you will operate 4.Underlying magic/technology; this is crucial. Basically, it explains
The Ingredients For A Great Mission Statement
Moving on to the next step in your business foundation, your mission statement asks the fundamental question, why do I exist? Sometimes business owners have a hard time incorporating the necessary ingredients to make their mission statement great. The first part I want tackle is the basic content of your mission. One Page Business Plan gives the following questions as possible questions to answer in putting this together: • Describe the WHY customers will buy from you • Define your product or service clearly • Define your ideal customer • What benefits do you offer the customer? • What makes your product or service different from the competition? These are
The Value of Your Idea
“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” – Thomas Edison Ideas are where all great businesses start. They are the inspiration and life blood of an entrepreneur. There are millions of people who have taken a great idea right to their grave. The true value of your idea lies in the action that comes behind it. We have all had friends who have talked about lofty aspirations and ideas only to see them take no action on it and still wonder why their dreams are not reality. In fact, most of us have probably done that at some point in time in our lives. There are
Where Great Innovation Starts
Keeping your business on the cutting edge is often times easier said than done. There are a few fundamental things that businesses can do to make sure they keep moving forward. Great innovation starts with: Planning, Having a sold customer interaction process in place, looking at market trends and having a tracking system in place to track the success/failure of your products. Planning Anything worth doing is worth planning. This is where you set aside time to make sure that things get done and you map out how they will get it done. This is what allows everything else to happen with regards to innovation. Talking With Existing Clients/Customers Who
Making the Best Use of Your Time
Time. We all have the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else. One thing that separates the successful people from those who struggle to find success is how they use their time. Making the best use of our time is one of the first steps to a solid accountability plan. I will spare you the old time cliches like “time is money”. In essence how you hold yourself accountable from a time management standpoint is how you are going to hold yourself accountable for others things in our life. When we waste time, we miss opportunities for sales, idea creation, networking etc. Pick a system for managing your
Insert Coaching into Your Business System
Systems in business are so important. It’s important from a product delivery standpoint, sales, production etc. When you are putting a system together that includes a business plan, strategic objectives, goals and team, make sure that you make some room for a personal coach in that planning process. Having a coach can help you not only uncover the blind spots that you have but they can also uncover the blind spots in your overall plan. The 30,000 ft. viewpoint that a coach brings is critical to seeing how you operate and how your strengths will operate in a given plan. They are able to be objective as they are not
Make the Big Picture Manageable
We can say with a fair amount if certainty that most small business owners are big picture thinkers. The ability to create and see your vision is the initial step for any entrepreneur. The challenging next step is to take that big picture and create manageable steps to achieve the big picture. One mistake that I see in talking with new business owners is that they get bogged down and overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. This kills us in the planning phase of our business deciding what to do now and what to do later and how to put it all together. We then just shut it
