Have you seen the movie of the broadway musical Hamilton, on Disney Plus, yet? Watching it recently, I was reminded that Americans have always been ungovernable. It’s in our DNA, and the desire to rebel against the rule of law is in fact the critical component that led to our forefathers rebelling against the British rule of law and becoming our own country. Sometimes a rebellious spirit leads to a revolution and the birth of a new nation, and sometimes it leads to a significant portion of the population protesting the use of face masks during a global pandemic. The bottom line is, no one likes being told what to do.
Your plan answers the question of “how?”- how will you accomplish the goals that you’ve set? I’ve broken the steps to planning down into a series of worksheets that will guide you through the process of creating executable plans around your goals. Once you’ve completed each of these steps, you should have a pretty well formed plan that you or your team can begin to execute, one task at a time.
There is a lot of uncertainty in our world as the COVID pandemic continues to unfold. If you’re a business owner, you may be feeling a sense of paralysis as you’re faced with the overwhelming task of trying to decide what to do next in the face of great uncertainty. As someone who has worked with hundreds of businesses over the course of my consulting career, I’d like to share two thoughts that are at the top of my mind for business owners struggling to figure out what to do next right now.
I’m a business consultant. I help people grow their bottom-line, and build the business of their dreams. I’m good at it, and over the years I’ve helped many of my clients to double (or more) their sales and fix the problems in their businesses that had been troubling them for years. Every business is unique, and the support I provide is therefore always different.
The problem with having a vision is that for many people, a “vision” of what their business “could be” seems too uncertain and nebulous for them to really get their head around. The idea of creating a vision can be overwhelming, and it causes people to quit working on their vision before they even start.
Let’s include job descriptions as another BFF that you need to have. Once you know what needs to be done (using your to-do list), you have to figure out who is going to do it. Let me tell you a story that demonstrates the importance of creating and using job descriptions:
You know, Best Friend Forever. That’s a term we used in junior high and high school. He or she was the one person who would stick with you through thick and thin. You could always count on him/her to be there for you. And that’s what I want you to do with your “to-do” list.
Well the way to get from where you are today to where you want to be is by identifying the things you want to see - which numbers do you want to see - and take them one at a time. The important thing is to get started. So make a list, prioritize the list, and tackle them one at a time.
And the two places I can think of that will do the most good would be to put one part in your pocket, because you're doing this to make some money. And then the second thing is, how much should I put back into the business? And that depends on your goals.
I'm not saying this would be your goal, but let's say that my goal was to double sales and every day at the beginning of the day I'd say, "What can I do today to double sales?"
You've come across that a you're interested in and the report costs $3,600 in - $3,680 and you want to know if you think that's a good expenditure. So I'm going to give you a very blunt answer.
(VIDEO) If you do these three things, everything you do after that, when you market, will become much more powerful. So I'm going to go through those three things slowly.
There's basically three ways to come in contact with someone that you have not yet done business with.
In this video, I talk about the difference between a Business Plan and Business Planning, How to find a high-profile partner, and the 3 quesitons that I ask every business owner.
Good business habits will position your business for incredible growth and success. But, the opposite is also true - bad business habits will make incredibly frustrating and position your business for failure.
Does your business have an organizing principle? Without one, you're likely to struggle in knowing what to do next or how to build your business. Watch this short 3 minute video to learn more.
All business people have a ‘to do’ list either written down or in their head. But where does that list come from? Is it longer at the end of the day than at the beginning of the day?
Jazz Fest is an incredible product, and when you have a great product and lots of customers, you have a successful business.
How do you interact with the people who work for you? In my experience, the best way is to have regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports.
Business owners need to figure out how to sell their products in order to have a successful company. Here are some general tips a person can follow when approaching the sales process.
All business people have a ‘to do’ list either written down or in their head. But where does that list come from? Is it longer at the end of the day than at the beginning of the day?
I realized how important this was when trying, often unsuccessfully, to hire salespeople for my growing wholesale record business.
When I work with startups, I’m always amazed at how many things they think they need to do in order to start their business.
Brainstorming takes skill and patience. It’s the process of sorting from the many to the few without getting bogged down in the solutions.
Have you ever had a really bad employee in your company or on your team? An employee who doesn’t carry their weight, distracts coworkers, or has a poor attitude?
A business degree gives you the foundation and framework for either working for a company or starting your own business. But it isn’t a substitute for getting in there and rolling up your sleeves and making something happen.
I believe there are several things an owner or employee can focus on to ensure customer loyalty.
The sales metric that many companies use to determine how they are doing is gross sales. But often those numbers are presented in such a way that it’s hard to gain any meaning from them.
Having a strong business network will save you tons in time and money, but how do you build one?
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