We are just not able to kick our current habits for long enough to even attempt making a change.

Then there are those amongst us who go through the motions of initiating change, but quickly fall back into an existing comfort zone, which by all accounts may not be as comfortable as appears on the surface.

A large percentage of you reading this will testify to not being interested or fulfilled in your current role. There are so many people who tolerate living from pay cheque to pay cheque. Current figures suggest that as many as 70% of new business ventures fail within 5 years. Medical authorities indicate that stress related illnesses are increasing at alarming rates. Levels of obesity are on the increase while not that many of us can truly claim that we are at the peak of our fitness levels!

Obviously there are a plethora of changes we could make that would lead to a fuller and happier life – but we just don’t know how to go about it.

Here’s a simple approach that can help you in making that important change that you have been thinking about.

1.Remove Clutter – For those of you who spend time in the garden you know that when you want your plants to thrive the first thing that you must do is clear a space to plant the seeds. As you know nothing grows where there are weeds or unfertile ground. The same applies to your mind. If your mind is already running at full capacity you will not have the space to sow the seeds of change. Therefore you will not have the time or energy to cultivate the seeds so that they may grow. Stress is the weed of the mind!

2.Why is this change so important to you? – The greatest barrier to change is the lack of clarity on what is actually important to you. More often than not the change that we are attempting fails because it is not what we truly desire. So we need to set out by making sure that this change that we are attempting is something that we are not willing to do without.

We need to be very clear on this. We need to take into account everything which will be impacted by this change. A change in job role may have an impact on our family life. If we value our family life more than our job role then we are not going to be 100% committed to this change, are we? It is very easy to motivate yourself to do something which is congruous with your values.

3. Step by Step approach – Once you have the end line in sight it is much easier to break the journey into a step by step map of how to get there. Plan, timescale and make sure that you celebrate the small successes along the way.

4.Make best use of your Strengths – It is not our perceived weaknesses that get us over the finishing line. We need to concentrate on our strengths and how we can best apply them to the change that we are about to make. The perceived areas of weakness are opportunities for education along the way but it is our strengths that will inevitably carry us through to the “promised land”. In business for example, if we believe that we are not strong on accounts then we need our plan to include partnering, employing or outsourcing someone who is strong in this area. This will allow us to concentrate on applying our own strengths to the task at hand.

What are YOUR strengths?  Write them down!

5.Remain Focused – As one famous golfer said “the more I practice, the luckier I get”. We have got to stay on track with our plan. We can never take our eyes from the end prize. In order to do this we must create a strong support structure that will keep us on track when we waver or when barriers are thrown in front of us.

What important changes do you want to achieve over the next few months?

Do you need help getting there?

A great view of the importance of change and the choices we all have from Jim Rohn:

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all.

Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge.

Any day we wish; we can start a new activity.

Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change.

We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause.

As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life – If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life – and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

Let’s look at the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while also extended the lifespan of your business.

The four different stages of a business life cycle are:

Infancy

Adolescence

Growing Pains

Maturity

We’ll talk a little about what each of these cycle’s means and how they can each help expand your business’ lifespan.

Infancy

For those of you familiar with Michael Gerber’s E-Myth series, this is generally consider the Technician phase – when you as owner are the technician – that is the person who delivers the service or produces the product.  At this point, the relationship between the business and the owner is that of a parent and new baby.  You are the proud parent and the fledgling business your much loved offspring! There is an impenetrable bond that is necessary to determine the path your business will follow.

The key here is to know your business must grow in order to flourish. You cannot stay in this stage forever.

Adolescence

As the business grows, you must recognise that it can’t just depend on you (the technician).  During this stage you need to start bringing your support staff together to delegate to and allow growth to happen.  In other words you are the Manager in E-Myth terminology. One thing you’ll need to do is to “replace” yourself as the sole technician – you will need to let go the reins to someone who also brings a certain level of technical or specific skill or experience.  This cycle is really all about the manager developing processes and equipping the business with the right mix of ability and expertise. At this stage you need to start planning for the longer term and starting to build a relationship with your entrepreneurial self to plan for the future.

Growing Pains

There’s a point in every business when the business explodes and becomes truly chaotic. We’ll call these growing pains. Because it relates to growth it’s a good problem to have, but it is a problem nonetheless! In your business you are likely to be faced with a number of choices – choices that only you can make, and choices which will determine your future in the business:

Avoid growth and stay small

Go broke – let it fail!

Push forward into the next cycle of growth

Maturity

The last cycle is maturity, though this doesn’t mean the end of your business. Your passion for growth must continue in order for your business to succeed. In E-Myth terms, you are acting as Entrepreneur – you need to keep an entrepreneurial perspective in order to push your business forward.

You see how all three of these cycles are connected and depend on a strong foundation for each one of them for your business to be and continue to be successful. All three of your key roles must also work together to work through these cycles (technician – manager – entrepreneur).

If you’re having trouble putting together your business life cycles and figuring out which of the key roles you fit into and just what you should do to take your business top where you want it to be, why not speak to us?

We’d love to help you.

Whether you are a business owner, marketing professional, or other entrepreneur, it is crucial to remember your backyard diamonds are your past and present satisfied customers.  You may currently be focusing most of your efforts on growing front-end sales.  Once a sale is over, many businesses move on to getting the next new customer, ignoring the one they already have a positive relationship with.

The big mistake is not developing a continuing stream of sales from existing customers – ignoring their lifetime value.  Do you calculate the lifetime value of a customer?  Try it – you might be surprised.  As an example, Asda reckon an average customer spends around £105 per week on the family shopping.  They do this for an average of 50 weeks every year (allowing for holidays) – that’s a massive £5,250 every year.  And how long do customers stay loyal to any one supermarket?  Research done by J Sainsbury suggests that the average time between shoppers making a significant change in their supermarket of choice is 6.7 years.

So the Lifetime Value – of each and every customer – is a massive £35,175…

So your real diamond mine is in the continuing stream of sales that can be realised over the lifetime of your existing and past customers.  Plus, it costs much more to acquire a new customer than maintaining a relationship (some research suggests as much as 20 times the cost of looking after an existing one).  When you ignore customers you’ve already served, it’s like throwing money away.

Once you’ve made a sale, your customers know, like, and trust you and are more likely to buy from you a second time. Here are some tips for you to effectively mine your “acres of diamonds”:

1. Organise your Contacts: You have to be able to get back in touch with your customers again to be able to market and sell to them.  Maintain a centralised customer database to organise names, addresses, and phone numbers.  Keep track of purchase histories and interests.

2. Collect Information: Depending on your business, there are a variety of ways you can collect customer data such as sign-up sheets, website forms, postcards, and so on.  Be creative – use free offers, VIP or loyalty programmes and contests to provide incentives.

3. Regularly Communicate: No matter what business you are in, find methods to stay in regular communication with your customers.  Ideas include a newsletter, e-zine, holiday cards, coupons and special offers.  For some businesses, it may work to take a client out to lunch or send a hand-written note. And, don’t forget the telephone… but for goodness sake, do something!

4. Offer Proof: Provide case studies and testimonials to show how you have helped other customers.  In your communication, you can provide helpful information, offer seminars, and provide useful tips to keep your business on the top of your customers’ minds and to remind them of how your company can help them.

5. Testimonials Sell: For word-of-mouth, there is no one that can sing your praises like a satisfied customer!  Nothing speaks louder to a potential customer than a peer.  Ask for testimonials.  Post these on your website or feature them in your newsletter.  Remember, if you don’t think to ask, they may not think to offer.

6. Cross-sell and Up-sell: Make sure customers know the entire range of your products or services.  Once your customer is in your sales funnel, they are much more likely to buy larger-ticket items from you.  Based on their past buying habits, offer them the deluxe model, more options, premium or value added services.

As you start to work your backyard diamond mine, I can’t emphasise this enough – take good care of it.  Appreciate your loyal customers by offering them special deals and incentives.  You need customers more than they need your business.

There will always be about 20% of your customers who will give you 80% of your business – Mr Pareto’s Law works!  These are the people who should receive most of your attention, energy and time.  By concentrating on your best customers, your marketing efforts will become more efficient and cost effective.  It also rewards these customers because they are getting the most personal attention.

Keep in contact with your customers and keep them delighted.  In return they will continue to give you their business… even in these challenging times!

Experienced business owners will tell you that when you are starting your own business, you may have to wear many “hats”. You may have some great ideas, but fail on the more “administrative” tasks that are needed to be successful.  You need to know your strengths and weaknesses.  Lack of management experience accounts for many small business failures. Entrepreneurs often think that they can do it all and may not seek outside help when they need it. Do not be shy about seeking out the advice of expert advisors, networking with other entrepreneurs and hiring staff to work on the tasks that you are not good at.

On one hand, desire and persistence along with innovative thinking can improve the odds of having a successful business. Knowing what you want to achieve, determination, setting goals, paying attention to detail and motivating others are key elements for your success and business growth.

On the other hand, desire and persistence alone will not make you successful.  For example, a lot of people love to cook and are good at it too.  So, they dream of starting a restaurant.  However, there are already many restaurants, the profit margins are often slim and consumers have lots of choice.  To be successful in that market, you need to be truly offering something new or unique.  In short, you need to be sure that there is a big enough market for what you plan to offer and that the competition isn’t already too strong.

Survival Tips

These tips can help you to overcome a great number of the factors that lead to the failure of many small businesses.

1. Develop a good marketing and business plan that takes into account customer needs, competition, pricing and promotional strategies.

2. Understand your business finances, such as cash flow and handling credit.

3. Make sure you have enough working capital to allow time for the business to grow.

4. Keep a good inventory of your products or services and your existing customers.

5. Supervise, train and motivate your staff.

6. Make sure you do have the experience, knowledge and skills to run your business.

7. Plan every part of your business from start to finish – to fail to plan is to plan to fail!

8. Know your market and define how much of it you will be able to capture – going through this process will ensure a good understanding of your chosen market.

9. Make sure you are offering a product that is unique and desirable compared to your competitors.

10. Don’t under-estimate your expenses and over-estimate your revenue.

11. Make sure you have some cash reserves or a line of credit to help you get through slow periods.

12. Don’t be too proud to seek expert advice when you need it.

Whatever else you do, at least reflect on each of these 12 tips and see which can help you to sustain and grow your new business. The very worst thing that you can do is nothing!

Remember… It is insanity to continue to do the same things you were doing before and expect a different outcome!

Below are 25 signs your business might be in need of a Health Check.

1. One of the obstacles more established companies face is that Influential Senior Managers are in their last jobs, and have no desire or incentive to seek outside guidance or help.  As a result, change is viewed as a threat, and those that crave change are viewed as trouble makers.  With the new generation of younger managers coming through, confidence in Senior Management is diminished and can lead to conflict.
2. Managers are reluctant to recommend their best staff members for further training, for fear they will create a rival.
3. Employees are expected to “get on” with their jobs, and never receive acknowledgement or recognition for the work they do.
4. Internal conflicts amongst staff are not confronted and left to escalate.
5. There is always some sort of rumours flying around within the company.
6. Senior managers suppress any new ideas, or suggestions on how to improve a process believing that the way it has always been done is the right way, or else believing all suggestions for improvement should come from them.
7. Key decisions are taken without first discussing it with the staff it directly affects, thus leading to a sense of staff feeling undervalued and unimportant.
8. Staff not being team players by adopting a “that’s not my job attitude” and not willing to be flexible.
9. Staff not quite sure what their roles and responsibilities are within an organisation.
10. Non recognition of a job well done, or someone stepping out of their role for the benefit of the organisation.
11. People in different parts of the organisation unwilling to help, or try and understand the importance of people in other roles e.g. Sales and Accounts staff recognising that each is an important part in the future growth of the organisation.
12. When an employee suddenly resigns and the manager is taken by surprise suggests that the manager doesn’t know what is going on, and is not in tune with his staff.
13. A blame culture exists within the organisation.
14. There is a hardcore of staff who will moan when someone tries to make improvements to the way things are done, to such a point that the management will decide to leave things as they were.
15. People who have undergone training or coaching are ridiculed, and shown little support to implement their learning’s into the workplace.
16. Staff have stopped trying to perform to the best of their ability, because they feel undervalued, and have adopted the “why should I bother, no-one notices attitude”.
17. Cost cutting measures are seen as unfair, petty, and on the big scale of things, unlikely to make any difference.
18. Everyone can see that an immense amount of time is being wasted, and no-one is doing anything about it.
19. Certain people seem to be doing all the work, while others seem to get away with doing nothing all day.
20. Key performance indicators are not personally measured, so it’s everybody’s fault when things don’t get done.
21. Nobody within the organisation seems to be having any fun, or enjoyment in the course of their work.
22. People feel insecure in their jobs, and uncertain where the company is going.
23. The organisation relies heavily upon a small number of clients or suppliers.
24. Employees are just there because they have to be, and cant wait to clock out and get gone.
25. There are people within the organisation who don’t seem to do anything in particular, and turn up everyday, disrupt other people and get paid for doing it.

If any of the above sound familiar, then your company would see a huge benefit in speaking with one of our Business Coaches, so they could show you how working with a Business Coach, can help you Take your Business where you want it to go, whilst maintaining a Happy and Eager workforce.

We have programmes which can be developed to meet your needs, including:

• Bridge the Gap™… More Information>>
• Building Business Winners. … More Information>>

These programmes are designed entirely around the individual clients needs and provide the platform to deliver the results to match your ambition.

There is up to £1,000.00 support from the North East’s Leadership & Management Advisory Service.

For more information about this bespoke opportunity offered by Facet Solutions Ltd please contact:

Email: hello@facet-solutions.co.uk

It’s Wednesday morning, about 11 o clock, your bank manager rings and asks,

“Will you be making a lodgement today – you are right up against your overdraft facilities and there are several cheques to clear by close of business?”

You get that feeling in your stomach which only those who have been there know about.  Just then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot an article in a business magazine entitled “Positive Thinking” and you say to yourself…

“What good is “Positive Thinking” in my situation – I can’t lodge “Positive Thinking” to my current account?”

You are of course correct – you cannot bring “Positive Thinking” to your local bank and use the funds to run your business or pay creditors.  However, from another perspective, you are making an error of judgement which is detrimental to businesses large and small. You are focusing on the end rather than the means – focusing on the cash problem today rather than the means by which you ended up in this situation.  “Positive Thinking” is pretty useless here – in fact it’s delusional or a way of avoiding reality and having to confront a serious business issue.

In tough times, and particularly in crisis situations, there is a tendency for our attention and energy to be drawn towards the end objective e.g. winning more customers, retaining existing ones, maintaining margins or, in the example above, dealing with a cash problem. There is a law of cause and effect and it is operating whether we like it or not.  Everything has a reason. The reason why businesses face challenges (effect) is because of actions or decisions take previously (cause). “Positive Thinking” operates on the causes – the law of cause and effect takes care of the results (be they good or bad)!

So for those of us who dismiss the notion of “Positive Thinking” or who place little value on it – have a look at where “Positive Thinking” is being applied – on the end result or on what brings about the end result…

• “Yes We Can”

“If you believe you can do it you are right, if you believe you can’t do it, you are also right” is advice often offered to those in business. It has never been more apposite. The notion of “doing it” and at the same time believing you are “not capable of doing it” makes no sense. Ask yourself what the chances are of winning a significant new client or taking your business to new levels of customer service or profitability if you don’t believe you are capable of delivering. Now add to this the fact that your competitors have the self-belief required and you don’t.  Bill Gates said it best,

• “You’re toast!”

Get a transcript of President Obama’s famous acceptance speech in Chicago in Jan 2009 and replace all the utterances of “Yes We Can” with “No We Can’t”.  Now revisit the question in the preceding paragraph. There really is only one conclusion: Getting the job done without self-belief or “Positive Thinking” is practically impossible.

In order to cultivate the “Yes We Can” approach to our business lives we need to make efforts in that direction. In his 1958 essay “As a Man Thinketh”, James Allen describes our minds being very like gardens – they either grow beautiful flowers or ugly weeds (for flowers read “positive thoughts” for weeds read “negative thoughts”).  Staying with the garden analogy, if we don’t cultivate and plant flowers, weeds will grow by themselves: doing nothing is not an option – we must tend to our flowers (some gardening required) or weeds will arise by default. Practically speaking what does mean? How do we cultivate flowers (“Positive Thinking”)? Here are a few ideas.

1. Drop the excuses and take responsibility.  There will always be someone else to blame (the economy, the Government, business partners, employees, weather – the list is endless). It is not the situation we are in which determines success but how we deal with it.

2. Surround yourself with the best of company.  Spend time with people who are upbeat, positive and hopeful – “Positive Thinking” is infectious.

3. Read and listen to voices which display hope rather than despair.  There is an abundance of material available on “Positive Thinking”.  Make an effort to read some of it and replace some of the energy sapping stories in the media with tales of success and achievement.

4. Be grateful for what you have and who you are.  Gratitude changes your view of the world completely.

5. Think and dream big; look at a longer time frame, a bigger market, hiring the best people.

The next time the bank manager rings looking for a lodgement – deal with it there and then but resolve in your own mind to replace this particular weed with a stunning orchid.

However, having a dedicated workforce is not always enough, businesses have to constantly adapt, merge departments, adjust individual responsibilities, which have a direct impact on your staffs commitment in most cases… Leaders and managers with good change management skills can help their workforce adjust and embrace change in a positive, productive step forward – These managers often determine whether the business develops and grows during a tough economy or merely struggles by.

Why is it then that so many companies seem to struggle to effectively manage change? There is no shortage of methodologies and these are well documented.  Unfortunately many of these have their emphasis on process and project management.

Equally unfortunate and unhelpful is the pervasive belief that everyone is “resistant to change”. Clearly people take time to come to terms with change, but we are inherently flexible and resilient as a species. Think about it. Our lives are punctuated with change.  We start school, leave, get a job, get married, get divorced, have children, move house etc.

It’s important for managers and leaders that recognise that:

1. Different people react differently to change
2. Everyone has fundamental needs that have to be met
3. Change often involves a loss, and people go through the “loss curve”
4. Expectations need to be managed realistically
5. Fears have to be dealt with

The following the guidelines may help make the challenge of managing change less daunting:

Understanding the behavioural response of individuals to change will make you more empathetic and less likely to misinterpret behavioural signals as resistance.

Take the time to conduct individual interviews with staff to help them to produce a personal strategy for dealing with the change. It must be theirs, not yours.

Give individuals opportunity and time to express their concerns. And listen! Do not interrupt by continually restating the company line.

Help people to be aware of choices and options they have. Ensure that they have thought through the consequences of those alternatives.

Where the change involves a loss, help them to identify what will or might replace that loss. Let them identify these. Avoid the temptation to “rescue” them.

Be as open and honest as you can be, communicating as much information as possible as regularly as possible, but do not set unrealistic or overly optimistic expectations.

And finally, managers and leaders often struggle with change themselves. So if uncertain, consider training or the use of professional support to assist the organisation through the transition.  It can be highly effective.

A Business Plan is a vital document to access funding as it tells the world about who you are and what you plan to achieve. However in a traditional form it is only a snap shot of your business a point of time. But if a business plan is designed correctly it can be a plan that lives and breathes with your business; helping you to make the right decisions at the right time. That’s why we call it the Living Business Plan.

A living business plan is something fundamentally different it is about YOU. It should not only include what you tell the outside world but it also needs to be personal.

-          YOU are the business owner

-          YOU know why you started the business

-          YOU know what you want to achieve

-          YOU know when you have achieved it

-          YOU know what might stop you achieving your goals

The most important part of your Living business plan is to understand what is going to stop you. I am not talking about the economy or investment these are external factors and challenges that you need to overcome. The only thing that can stop you is how you manage each of these challenges. You may not be the best at time management or sticking to your priorities; you may be awful at keeping your financial documents straight, or you just hate picking up the phone to prospects.

Being aware of the things you don’t like doing and having a plan to deal with these when required, will help enormously. There is no need to be embarrassed we all have things we either don’t want to do or don’t like doing but in business these things still need to be done.

A Living Business Plan includes 4 sections.

• Similar to a traditional plan. Answer the question of who you are, what you are providing and who is your target market. Include financial projections and market research to qualify the sustainability of your business.

• What it is you do? Identify what makes you different to the competition and the service you provide. It is important to set the standards of your services and the benchmarks you need to reach in order for you to meet your objectives.

• Ask yourself again what you do and how you do it ….. but think practically. This section tells you in detail exactly what you and your teams are going to do to deliver to EXCEED your customers’ expectations on time every time as promised. So if there is any aspect of the process you are not comfortable with highlight it now and look at your options.

• Benchmark. Measure how you perform against the plan and your competitors. Your living business plan is with you every day. You should work on it, change it and develop it as you are going along. Set yourself targets, measurements and check the business performance through these benchmarks. On a regular basis check what is working and what is not, assess why, and understand what the impact is on the rest of the business. For example offering a 10 % price discount might sell a few more products that month, but work out exactly how many more products you need to sell to reach your financial target. You may find you have to invest more money in telemarketing or advertising to get attract more customers which could wipe out any additional revenue income you were expecting.

Business is a balance. Change one thing and the balance changes and that’s usually your profits. Therefore keeping a Living Business Plan ensures you are on top of what your business is doing and making proactive decisions to take your business forward.