 So... a question for the business owners out there...🙃
Are you really a business 'owner' or do you actually own a 'job'? If your business makes a profit & runs smoothly without your daily input, then congratulation, it sounds like you do own a business! If however, like most, your business relies on your daily input, chances are, you own a job. ❓ If you stepped out of your business for longer than 12 weeks - what would happen? ❓ When you are ready to retire - what will happen to your business? Some people do set out to create a 'job' doing what they love. They want to be their own boss, set their own hours & create a reasonable income. That's great. Many however, start their own business with the aim of creating a business that WILL work without them. But it often all goes horribly wrong! Before they know it, they are knee deep in VAT, websites & marketing plans. They often become the bottleneck in their businesses & can't see the woods for the trees. I specialise in helping those of you that want to own a business. One that will work without you. A business that has value to an investor should you ever decide to sell. A business that gives you options. PM me for a chat! What about you? Do you own a business or a job?
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 2012 was a life-changing year for me. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I lost my lovely mum in the middle of my treatment. And I discovered my husband was having an affair.
I kid you not, 3 of the most stressful events - all in one year! To say that this little lot gave me a different perspective on life has to be the understatement of the century. Life is precious & can be short. I decided I needed to start making the best of mine. I thought about what I was doing when I was in my flow – you know, when you are having so much fun that you lose track of time? When you feel energised & alive? For me, this is when I'm either coaching or creating things that will make a positive difference in the world. I decided to do more of this & less of everything else! I wrote a book, created an app, wrote a couple more books, created a CIC for kids with confidence & self esteem issues, created a 2nd app, learnt to meditate & lost 9 stone. I created huge groups to support small businesses. I get to coach amazing clients. And I travel. A lot! (usually!) Life is good. I love empowering business owners, leaders, managers to be the best they can be. To believe in themselves. What makes your heart sing? #entrepreneur #success 🤔What about the mental health of the hundreds of thousands of business owners out there who are also struggling with their mental health?
They can’t just get a sick note from the doctor & take a month or two off, however much they are desperately want to. Most wouldn’t have a business to come back to if they did. Many are worried how they will survive 2021. Many are worried about how to pay the bills. Many are worried about how they will feed their families - especially those excluded from government help. Most have no one to confide in. There is no doubt in my mind that COVID will have a huge impact on mental health for years. This is just the beginning. My approach to business coaching has always been slightly different to most. I’d even go as far as to say that I’m a holistic business coach. For me, your mental health is as important as your business health. If your head is straight, everything else is easier. A good coach (like me 😊) will offer you both the business support & mental health support that you need. They will be there at the end of the phone when you are worried or need to rant. What are your thoughts on this? Any business owners managed to take time off due to MH? Any of you wanted to but couldn’t?  Now there's a question!
The general rule seems to be No, we should never slag off our competitors. EVER. However bad they are. However tempting it is. It's just not good business etiquette and we may find it will backfire on us. Nobody likes to deal with people who are bitching and moaning. Recently we put a shout out for a recommendation on social media for a particular business. Shortly after we had a PM touting for the business that included warning us off another business. Now this person may have very valid reasons for warning us off, but to be honest, it put us off a little. We let him quote anyway and he continued to slag off the competitor whilst he was here! No prizes for guessing who didn't get my business. BUT... What I find interesting is that if we are talking to a client or a friend who was thinking about using a business we knew was shockingly bad, then of course we would warn them off. But we are not 'allowed' to do the same to a prospect, even if we've become friends, if said business does the same as us. What are your thoughts? #sales #business #leadership #success Do you REALLY know how much profit you make per job? Per project? Per widget? Per hour? Per client?
I'm often surprised at the answers I get when I ask prospective clients how they work out their pricing strategy. Often there is no real set process behind it. No KPI's in place. No checking back after the project to see if you actually got the pricing right. There is often some confusion over mark-up/margin & usually, not ALL the right costs have been included. In other words, many are often winging it! I've met more than one company who would price the job & then add "what they thought they could get away with" as their profit. How's that for a pricing strategy. 🙄 The bigger the job and the tighter the margin, the more likely it is that this kind of strategy will put you out of business. A good builder starts a construction biz because he's a good builder. A good widget maker starts a widget biz because he's good at making widgets. That doesn't mean that they are good at the 'business stuff." 2021 will be a difficult year for many businesses which it is why it's so important to get this right. If this is not your thing - get the experts in to help you get it right. Experts like me! 😉 Thoughts? What do you think is the MOST important thing EVERY business should do- yet most DON'T?
1.Have a budget in place? Important but nope. 2.Create a clear & compelling vision? As above 3.Know their target market? See no 1. 4.Have a marketing strategy. See numbers 1-3. Give up? It's a cashflow forecast! We all know cash is king yet 95% of the businesses I speak to don't have a cashflow in place! You can't make ANY financial based decision in your business without an up- to-date cashflow forecast. I've heard every excuse going as to why a business doesn't have a cashflow forecast. ❌ No, your business is not 'different'. ✔️ Yes, it's harder work some businesses than others but there is always a way. ✔️ Yes, you do have the time. Find the time. It's crucial to your business success. ✔️ Yes, I know that numbers are not your 'thing'. So delegate, outsource or make it your 'thing'. I make it very clear to new clients that this is the FIRST thing we will do before we do ANYTHING ELSE. Lack of cash is the number one killer of small businesses so track yours like your business success depends on it. Because it does! Rant over! As you can see this is an area I am pretty passionate about! 😂 Do you have a cashflow in place? Honestly, how good is your follow-up process?
The answer I often get is either: 1. If they’re interested they will call me. (You think? Erm...no not always. And not if your competitor has a robust follow up process & calls them first!) 2. We wait a couple of weeks & email if we haven’t heard. (Oops, beaten by your more efficient competitor again 😊) 3. We just don’t seem to have the time. (If I said I’d give you £1k to follow up every prospect you’ve ever met - would you find the time? Hell yes!) 4. I don’t want to appear desperate or pushy! (🤦🏼♀️ God forbid the prospect finds out you actually want their business!) The answer I’m looking for, but rarely get, is... ‘We have a fantastically effective follow-up process. In fact, we are ‘on it like a car bonnet!’ Do you know that a good follow-up process can triple your conversion rate? Yep triple! I’ve seen it with my clients time & time again. Now...whilst I’m sure you are all already ‘on it like a car bonnet’, feel free to PM me if you fancy tripling your conversion rates with a spectacular follow-up process to match your (hopefully) equally spectacular sales process. (If not, I can help with that too 😊) How good are you at following up?
Their new app, whilst still in beta mode, looks fantastic. It integrates with zoom and YouTube and allows you to do all kinds of wonderful things. They are looking for beta testers so definitely worth checking out their video.
One of my best innovations has to be Speed Networking over zoom. When we started a year ago, no-one else was doing this. In fact, I don't think anyone is now! Another would be the HappiMe app, a fab little app to help children and adults improve their confidence and create a more positive growth mindset. . What have you done to innovate? What have you done to make your product or service better than your competitors? Feel free to share!  Why is it that some people work well under pressure & others fall apart under the stress of it all?
Many people say that they work well under pressure. The shorter the deadline the better. I've always known that when my back is against the wall, I will pull out all the stops to get things done. I'm great in a crisis. I get sh!t done. Fast! I'm not saying this is good for my physical or mental health, as long term stress can do some pretty awful things to your body including shutting down your immune system - not something any of us need right now with the CV floating around! It's just something I have learned about myself. But when life is easy & deadlines are a long way away, I can procrastinate with the best of them. Like I am with my 2019-2020 accounts! 😀 It's been on my Action List since the 5th April! I know I still have 6 months to get it done, 5 if I don't want a stroppy accountant. There is no pressure to get it done, especially when there are more exciting things to be doing. Do you know one of the best things about having a business coach? The accountability to get your sh!t done. Who holds you accountable? I’m happy too! Let’s chat!  No leader has handled the Covid-19 crisis perfectly. That includes our PM.
As a business coach, I've seen some poor leadership skills from BJ. Here are a few examples: 💥Missing 5 Cobra meetings Strong leaders know when to delegate & when to get involved. Skip that meeting about stationery, but show up for the important ones. 💥Scientists tell the public not to shake hands. Boris then says he’s shaking hands with everybody - including CV patients. Mixed messages like this show you’re not listening or communicating effectively. If you have experts around you - listen to their advice, & be open to changing your mind. Then agree on the message you're putting out there. 💥Not firing Dominic Cummings. When someone breaks your rules, you undermine your team’s faith in your leadership if you don't act. Don’t tell your team you’re acting in their best interests - show them. 💥Being indecisive about closures and masks. Be proactive & decisive - even if it risks making you unpopular. If you leave a void of indecision, other people’s opinions fill that gap and undermine your authority. So have I been fair on Boris? Do you need to develop your leadership skills? |
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