Small Business Revitalization Blog

So many of us wear ourselves out at this time of year - give a thought to your adrenals - if you take good care of them, you'll find you can cope with the 'silly season' in a much more relaxed way...  Here's some practical tips!

I work from the philosophy that it's faster, easier and cheaper to learn from the mistakes and insights of others rather than learning everything the hard way by myself!  As a result I read around a book a week! Here's my top picks from 2008.... in no particular order!

Make it Big!  - Frank McKinney
Simple, straightforward roadmap for achieving what you really want in your life - read it and become more productive, more vision focused and more truly yourself.

Prosperity Consciousness - Chutisa & Steven Bowman
A new perspective on prosperity - forget the recession and immerse yourself in this groundbreaking book instead.

The 4 Hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss
Look at your work from a completely new point of view!  Your vision may take a little more than 4 hours a week to achieve, but if you save a few hours, you'll get closer to your vision faster.

The Artist Within - Julia Cameron
It wasn't written as a business book, but if you are feeling overworked, overwhelmed or lacking in creative ideas, then this book will save your life and your business! Probably my #1 favourite for the year...

Ready, Fire, Aim - Michael Masterson
One of the best 'business basics' books I've ever read - it focuses on the essentials of how to make money, as fast as you want! No matter what level your business is at, this book will help you take it to the next level.

Made to Stick - Chip & Dan Heath
These guys are the 'idea gurus' - if you want to delve into viral marketing, word of mouth marketing or any activity that relies on a really amazing idea, then this book will give you the anatomy of sticky ideas!

Awakening the Entrepreneur Within - Michael Gerber
Great if you are still developing your grand vision!

Enjoy your holiday reading!  Speaking of which, Revive Coaching will be closed between 22 December and 2 January.  I hope you have a lovely summer break!

cheers
Lisa

So what can small business owners learn from scientists? One of the greatest constraints in a small business can be the lack of collaboration, expertise and idea sharing available to you within your own structure. Here’s my top three coaching questions for strategically expanding your expertise, alliances, partnerships and collaborations – scientifically!!

How much time do you allocate towards building the ‘intellectual capital’ of your business? It has been said that if you study the best in your field for one hour a day for three years (ie just over 1000 hours), you’ll be an expert in your field. If you study the best for one hour a day for five years (ie just over 1800 hours), you’ll become a world-class expert! For a small business, that level of national or international recognition can catapult your results much further than any marketing campaign! So, what’s on your iPod?

Do you use the 80/20 rule in developing your collaborations and networks? 80% of your results will come from 20% of your interactions with others. Are you strategic in identifying and choosing the 20% that can make the most difference to you and your business? Think visibility through influence!

What does your support team look like? Does your business structure look more like Wonder Woman or Superman (ie you need superpowers real bad!!) rather than a finely tuned Grand Prix Racing Team (ie everyone knows exactly what they are doing, why and when)? Even if you are the only person in your business, your support team is critical – start outsourcing anything that does not best reflect your talents or expertise: e.g use people who offer expert mentoring, coaching, technical support, bookkeeping, administration, marketing, cleaning… etc.

Combine the answers to these three questions for your business, take action and you’ll achieve expert status much faster than the average – that’s called leverage and all small business owners need to know how to achieve it!

Which shoulders would you like to stand on (or have you stood on)? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.