Business Tips

1.) With all the ways we have to interact these days, it's important to meet your customer where they are, not where you want them to be. Some people prefer to communicate via social media, while others want to email, text or call. There are few things more annoying to a customer than asking them to fit into your comfort zone. Do you want the sale or not?

2.) With tip #1 in mind, make sure that you are communicating quickly and effectively. Be easy to get a hold of and respond quickly! When you don't respond, customers move on (to another company). 

3.) Your reputation is invaluable and a bad reputation can destroy your business. So, do what you say, when you say you'll do it. 

4.) Few things in business are stagnant. If you find yourself standing still, you're really falling behind. Keep innovating. Keep creating. Keep challenging yourself.

5.) People like to be around people who make them feel good and a good mood is contagious so make yours worth catching.

6.) Never give up! Behind every "overnight success" is years of hard work and failure. 

Your Business Legacy is the continuous process of your actions, decisions, and the structure that is created through the course of your businesses existence. It details every action and reaction from where you start to where you end up.

So, what do you want your business legacy to be? Were you hoping to pass your business on to your children in order to provide a stable income for their future? Are you hoping to sell your business in order to take care of your family? Or, are you looking to collect residual income in order to fund your golden years of retirement? Whatever your forecast, you are going to need a robust set of systems in place.

Businesses are less valuable when they are owner dependent.

Did you know that most businesses fail because of the detrimental effects of owner dependence? Did you know that the sale price of a business is considerably lower (if the sale happens at all), when the business is dependent on the owner for day-to-day operations? In fact, the business brokerage industry reports a mere 20% success rate for businesses trying to sell. That means only one out of every five businesses that want to sell will actually succeed.

The reason? In most businesses, an enormous amount of information for running the business is unwritten knowledge that exists only in the minds of the owners and key managers. This unwritten knowledge isn’t just related to day-to-day business practices; it extends to logistics, inventory, sales, customer relations, employee relationships, hiring, training practices, and roll clarity. Which is why, if you want your business to be valuable to anyone other than yourself, you must employ a strong strategy of systemization.

What is systemization?

Systemization is the written art of organizing and detailing the day-to-day processes, structures, and strategies to empower your employees and customers- ultimately constructing a financially valuable business.

At Insight Business Coaching we are well versed in writing systems. When we write and apply these systems to your business you will see extraordinary benefits. Your sales and profits will increase- giving you more money. You will see an uptick in productivity which provides you more time. Your employees will feel empowered which delivers your customers better service. We can even teach you how to write your own systems as the needs arise. But most importantly, when it comes time to sell, your business will be owner-independent which increases the value and marketability of the sale by 100%. And, you won’t need to stick around and train the new buyer. You can – literally – cash your check and walk away.

We’ve all heard the saying, “One bad apple can spoil the bunch.” It’s as true in business as it is in everyday life. And while most of you will read this sentence and start focusing in on your employees, more often than not, the problems are usually the result of bad management.

According to a study done by Gallup, less than one-third of Americans are engaged in their jobs and 50% of employees leave their company to get away from management.

What is employee engagement?

Business dictionary defines employee engagement as the “emotional connection an employee feels toward his or her employment organization, which tends to influence his or her behaviors and level of effort in work related activities.” The key word in this definition is, emotional. Strong employee engagement is directly linked to the emotional connection they have with management.

In the study titled, Employees Want a Lot More From Their Managers, more than 7700 people were asked to rate their managers behavior specific to communication. The objective was to determine how well their managers were able to communicate their goals and objectives for each assignment or project, their required needs and wants from each employee, and their ability to learn and encourage their strengths.

Surprisingly, what the Gallop study uncovered is that employees want more. They want their supervisors to be invested in them on a personal level. They want them to learn about their lives outside of work and show a genuine interest and empathy in their home life as well as their hopes and goals for their careers. When managers did this, their employees showed high levels of engagement, a strong work ethic, and an increased level of loyalty towards their employment organization.

Take it from Gallup CEO Jim Clifton, "The single biggest decision you make in your business — bigger than all the rest — is who you name manager. When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision. Not compensation, not benefits — nothing." People leave people – not companies. In other words, strong leadership is the single best thing that you can do for the long-term health of your company.

According to Business Insider, there are 4 key character traits that make a strong leader.

1.) They are radically honest.
Being authentic and vulnerable with your employees will likely cause them to reciprocate and gain your trust.

2.) They are supportive.
John C. Maxwell said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." The best leaders demonstrate their support by showing interest in their employees beyond the workplace. They encourage their strengths and support their aspirations.

3.) They recognize the talents and strengths of their tribe.
Great leaders will recognize each individual’s talents and develop strategies to make sure each person is able to use those strengths every day.

4.) They display empathy.
The ability to listen and personally relate to what your employees are going through is the single most important character trait of a strong leader. This is a skill that can’t be faked and according to a study done by Development Dimensions International (which has studied leadership for 46 years), only four out of 10 leaders are “proficient in or strong on empathy.”

Check out this incredible TEDtalks by Simon Sinek.

https://youtu.be/o1Jz5p0RH-s

1.) Choose something you’re passionate about; something that you crave to know more about. You have a better chance at being successful if you wake up every day with a hunger and excitement to go to work.

2.) Research, Research, Research. Learn about your product or service. Learn about your product or services market. Learn about your competition. Learn about the resources required for your product or service. Learn everything you can from others before you make your own mistakes. You will make mistakes – learn from those too.

3.) Don’t be so sure of yourself that you’re unwilling to take advice from others. By this point, many people think that they’ve done everything they can and know everything there is to know. The problem with that thinking is that you don’t know what you don’t know. So gather a focus group of people you don’t know and ask for their opinion. Step back from your own bias and consider their thoughts and ideas.

4.) Just because you listen to others opinion doesn’t mean you ignore your gut. Consider opinions but ultimately you need to follow your heart. Sometimes the strongest link to success is persistence.

5.) Dive in headfirst. Don’t wait until everything is perfect. It never will be and it’s impossible to anticipate every roadblock. Part of being a successful entrepreneur is taking risks. The right time is now so take the plunge.

6.) Improvise, adapt, and overcome. It’s the motto of the marine core and should be the motto of every entrepreneur ever born. The only way to be successful is to improvise when problems arise. Adapt what you are currently doing to fit the new situation in order to overcome the problems facing you.

7.) Systemize. Once you have a handle on how things should be done, systemize your procedures. Systemization is the art of organizing, documenting, and implementing every position and procedure in your company. It is an essential step to growing your business. Want more information on how to systemize your business? Give us a call at (248) 449-5100.