Small Business Revitalization Blog

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In the course of my somewhat chequered career in marketing and sales, I worked for a range of small – medium businesses.  One of the oft quoted platitudes from business owners was “we’re family  here” – mostly said to entice employees to work enormous hours for no extra cash, to make unreasonable demands rather than requests and to create a general sense of guilt – as in: ‘we gave you a job…you owe us everything’ .  This approach is often coupled with vague promises of future rewards.

It makes you wonder what type of family these people had!! As an employee, working conditions like that generally bring the response: “ If that’s how you treat your family, I’d rather be an orphan!”

So let’s ask the multimillion dollar question that most business owners are really wanting to answer when they behave like this:  “What does it take to have employees do their best work and for everyone to profit?”

Well, integrity is a good start.  In western countries slave labour has been abolished for quite some time.  So if you truly intend to create a workplace that feels like home in the best possible sense then it’s time to get creative!

Carmen’s Fine Foods in Australia provides an inspiring example of what’s possible.  Ever had the pleasure of an office nanny… your car washed every fortnight… or a boss who actually asks ‘on a scale of one to ten, how stressed are you?’ each week and then does something about it?  Hmmm I didn’t think so!!  (And for the scrooges out there… Carmen’s has virtually NO staff turnover… ) wouldn’t you rather invest in keeping your team loving their work, than hating you and leaving as a result??

Just a thought… as someone who has sat on both sides of the fence… (maybe its time to dismantle the fence too!!).

If 'we're family here' is a value you hold in your business, what are you doing to uphold it?  Please share your creative ideas here...

If you are tired of throwing out your strategies time after time (or you need to throw out the ones you've got and revitalise your business!), the phenomenally useful book “Rework”, written by the founders of 37Signals, offers some of the best advice on business strategy I have seen in a long time…  consider these five little gems (and there's more Rework inspiration at www.onstartups.com) :

“Great businesses have a point of view, not just a product or service.”  If you ever wondered where to find your twenty of so points of difference to your competitors, this is a fantastic place to start!

“You have the most information when you’re doing something, not before you've done it.”  The best way to answer your strategy questions is to put your toe in the water and get real customer feedback.  Don’t just imagine… test and measure!!

“Saying yes when you should say no leaves no bandwidth available for the great rather than the merely good.”  What’s NOT in your strategic plan matters more than what is in some ways!!

“The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch.”  Quick wins… quick wins… quick wins are the key to getting traction and profits quickly. I launched a product for BlissTribe before I had a website… I was testing the BlissTribe concept and playing with ideas… now I know it has great legs and is worth putting lots of time into!!

“A business without a path to profit is a hobby.”  This is my favourite… I see this happening every day with new businesses… the funny thing is an hour or two spent on developing your business model (ie the plan of where your profits come from) will solve it!!

If you want some different perspectives on Accelerating Your Business strategically, the next Revive Playshop is for you.  21 June 2010 in Brisbane, Australia – miss it and you’ll miss out on insights that will make your business more profitable than you can imagine!!

There's more Rework inspiration at www.onstartups.com too - what's your best strategic business advice?  Share it below...

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Change is the only constant we have and the acceleration of change in the last 20 years makes you wonder what else is coming… can we really go any faster?  Change isn’t like a tap, we can’t turn it off when we have enough!  So what are our other choices?  

A common response is to go into controlling everything we can in the hope that we can ‘manage’ the change.  My preferred response is to go with the flow and create and generate more than we think possible with the possibilities and potentialities available to us as the winds of time shift and blow.

I am the first to admit that this isn’t always easy.  That project you are in love with that just isn’t working?  Could it be time to dump it and move onto something that will flow with ease?  (I did that with a whole business once – best choice I ever made!!!)  That business alliance that never quite delivers what you expected…? Maybe it’s time to let it go and open the doors for new business relationships that are more rewarding… (Done that too…)

In the past month I’ve had massive changes in my life and business… I’ve launched BlissTribe (v. exciting!!), sadly put my darling little dog to sleep (heartbreaking), made a choice to move in with my Darling (which means a move to the Gold Coast, a new Brisbane office and a quick reno on the house so I can rent it out!) … it’s enough to make your head spin with delirium!!! So, here’s what I do when it all gets too much:

• Pull right back on what I’m promising people so that I have time for rest and reviving me. Ensure there is time for nurturing, play and creativity (this feeds my ability to regenerate myself and keep moving through the overwhelm).
• Take more time off no matter what the business is demanding of me… nothing is more important to me than keeping myself in a flow state – from that I can see clearly what is required and everything works.  When I’m being a control freak, nothing works and I quietly have small meltdowns (not pretty!!).
• Make lists… and get stuff done in power hour blocks.
• Stay in the flow… if something isn’t working I move on and then go back to it later to see what’s possible.
• Ask a lot of questions of the ‘What would it take for ………………………. to happen with joy and ease?’ variety.  (That’s how I found a roofing company at my neighbors just by looking out the window at the right time… a great builder who can start tomorrow and a set of French doors in 20 minutes… yep, asking questions can save you a lot of time!!!)

I'm sure none of you have ever been in a situation like this... lol... so what do you do to move through the craziness of a life filled with change? Please share your thoughts below...

Have you ever been in a place where you knew there was something more to life, but you didn’t know what was missing?  Up until my late twenties I always felt something driving me, showing me the next part of the puzzle, but not really knowing what it all meant.  For someone who is pretty good at connecting dots, I thought I must have collected a few bits from other people’s puzzles by mistake!  There weren’t many visionary insights happening… and my purpose was as clear as mud.

Then in my thirties, I knew clearly I was here for a greater purpose, but still had no idea of where to start in connecting it all together.  This was a time when I explored many different ideas and jobs, looking without success for the place where I ‘fit’ with ease and joy.

Fortunately, by the time I turned 40, I had gained a whole lot of clarity (thanks to a Life Direction reading with a very talented psychic) and in the past couple of years have made massive steps towards living my bliss every single day. (It’s true; life really does begin at 40!!)

This week I had a strong sense I needed a big cleanup. So I went through all of my old notebooks and journals and cleared out everything that was not energetically aligned with where I am going.  What was truly fascinating was to see, so many times, how I had written about parts of my purpose, but without actually recognizing the significance of what I’d discovered.  When I combine that with awareness of how so many of my jobs and life experiences have prepared me for precisely what I’m doing, it all starts to become a little spooky!!  It seems I knew a whole lot more than I thought!!

So, if you don’t know what to do with your life here’s my ‘in hindsight’ thoughts on speeding up that process of discovery…

•   Take note of ideas that repeatedly arise… I’ve known since I was about 27 that I would have a career as a writer… but being the sensitive soul that I am, wasn’t brave enough to write anything much until I was 40 and it became really clear that writing was a requirement for my bliss, rather than an ‘optional extra’.

•   Write (!) a journal regularly and use it to explore what you most love.  When I saw all those small snippets of ideas I’d had, my purpose began to seem so obvious to me – how could I not have seen it?  Most often your purpose is connected with what brings you joy and happiness… of course, you can choose to suffer, but why would you if your path could be filled with bliss instead?


•   Think about all of the things that are easy for you. Often what is easy for you is difficult for others… don’t think too hard, but maybe there are some money-making possibilities here for you?  Also, have you noticed that a lot of people spend their entire life doing stuff that is hard or challenging rather than interesting and joyful?  What if you were here to have an easy life where you do what comes naturally… would that be a whole lot more fun?  

•   Spend time being creative… even if you think you aren’t! (Maybe your definition is a little too narrow – creative and artistic are two different things!)  Creative energy feeds your soul and enables you to explore the non-linear/non-logical parts of your life.  Generally this is where those synchronistic connections are made and you discover the missing bits of the puzzle.

•   Follow your intuition.  Many sensitive people find their environment so overstimulating and overwhelming that intuition gets thrown out the window in favour of being a control freak of magnitude.  When I follow the energy each day and ask questions about “what’s next?” my life and business flow with ease.  When I try to control what’s happening, often nothing does!

All of these ideas sound simple, but when you put them together, they create a very powerful flow of blissful living in purposeful ways.  So, when you think about your purpose now, do you go “oooooohh Yeah!”  or “Oh Hell!”?  It’s just a choice you know.  (Because you do know… deep inside you it is all there, just waiting for you to recognize it.)

Many people I coach want to focus on the tactics… the ‘how’ of what they are doing ( eg those really big decisions, like ‘will I use Facebook or Twitter?’).  The truth is, tactics are easily copied by your competitors, but a really smart strategy is a lot more difficult to ‘borrow’. 

Building a strong business starts with smart strategies… finding those ‘AHA’ pieces that deliver the goods for your business… creating  ideas that are hard to copy because they come from  the heart… from the authentic core that drives your business vision.

Transforming an average business into an outstanding one is all about authenticity… buzz… and creativity.  Traditional strategic planning doesn’t exactly address these topics all that well, so I’m going to suggest you play with the Revive Business Coaching approach to strategic planning – I promise it will be a lot more fun!! 

Here’s a small taste of our process…  what would it take for you to answer these questions from your heart, rather from a space of what you think is possible?  When you allow your energy to soar, your business will rise with you!  Creating new potentials is what revitalizing your strategy enables…when we allow ourselves to dream audaciously and love new perspectives!

Authenticity:
•   If anything was possible, what would people most LOVE about your business?
Buzz:
•   What it would take for your business to transform your industry?
Creativity:
•   What could be possible if your vision was a thousand times bigger?

Tip:  Think BIG picture rather than small tactical choices… if your business could be phenomenal, what would it look like?  How would it change the world?

Want to re-energise your business strategy?  Click here to discover two great opportunities for more business bliss!

I love the magic of nature! From the depths of muddy swamps come the most stunning lotus flowers, held by stalks that bend with ease but rarely break no matter how much pressure is applied! 

When you feel like your business is sinking into a quagmire or your day has become a puddle of putridness, it’s time to depend on that central core of creativity and resilience that brings the beauty and brilliance back into your business.

Personally I have found that whenever my cashflow gets tight, it’s because I’m not allowing my creativity to shine through. (And I’m not talking about creative accounting here!)  Through observing my business closely, I have discovered that the energy of money and the energy of creativity seem to be closely aligned!  Sounds a little strange, but take a few moments to consider the possibilities…

When you are in a creative, exuberant, abundant space in your business you meet exactly the right people at exactly the right time, everything flows and you are a wellspring of ideas.  When you are feeling stressed, stretched and like it is all a struggle, you can’t connect or create with ease… people feel your distress and they stay away!

So how do you move from stressed and strungout to creative, connected and cashed up?  Here’s three simple tools that will allow you and your business to bloom like a lotus:

1. Nurture yourself first… do whatever it takes to have one hour a day for you and one day a week where you don’t for a moment think about work or business.  Make a list of playful, creative fun things and do whatever your body is asking of you each day… this creates the space for you to be the amazing creative abundant YOU that you truly are!
2. Take a few hours to revisit where your business is at (As a business coach I can help you do this if you would like a fresh perspective!) – so often we get caught up in the doing, that we forget to look at the stars and create new energy and new ideas for our projects… what can you create today that will bring abundance and joy to your life and business?
3. Do something different!  If what you’ve been doing isn’t working, it’s time for a change… Surprise and delight your customers… offer something new!  Take yourself to an event or activity you wouldn’t normally do… and discover a whole lot of new connections.  Find some new friends online and be generous in how you connect… there are endless opportunities, what will you do differently today?

So... let us all know how your blooming goes... the flatter your energy is the more important it is to have fun!  Creativity is an essential step in reviving yourself and your business!
The Revive Business Coaching May Playshop is all about money… if you are feeling stuck this is a great opportunity to do something different, change some perspectives on money and meet some fellow business owners in a creative, playful environment… What would it take for magic to show up in your business today?  Book here for ‘Show Me The Money’

I’m still laughing because I’ve worked with people who were exactly like that – sadly none of the staff knew what they did either!! Although I always had a sneaking suspicicion that one business owner took a lot of nanna naps while he was upstairs ‘thinking creatively…’   Happily I no longer suffer these moments… the benefits of owning your own business!!

Ok, admit it, funny as that was, you’ve had moments of confusion in your business too! So, this week you can change that by:

- Get really clear on what you do for your clients and specifically why they love you.

- Get even clearer on what you don’t do – that is the simplest key to being more productive in your business.

- If you have a team, have some one on one chats and ask them ‘what do they do?’ You might be surprised by the answers!!

- Identify at least three tasks that are unnecessary in your business and drop them (regular meetings are always a great start!)

- Focus on one new project which has the capacity to be a flagship product or service for your business – do more great work!

Recently a client suggested I would just drop by a business she wanted to connect with and mention her business as a possible partner.  I gently advised that my role as a business coach is to help you work on your business, not work in your business for you!!  When you know your boundaries (often decided by what you are really really good at and what is easy…) you won’t settle for doing just anything!

So what is it that you do?  Tell us about it here…

Today we're welcoming Guest Blogger Lauren Neilson from ISP Media... enjoy!

YouTube is well known and well used. With something from just about every category you can think of from music, to charity and not-for-profit, through to education - it really does seem to have it all.

Now owned and run by Google, the site has a global reach with the functionality and brand awareness to back it up. But can it help you promote your business, products and services?

YouTube opens up a world of promise for business to promote their products and services, showcase your knowledge and expertise, monitor the success of advertising campaigns, encourage new interest from previously untapped or unreachable markets, enhance your brand awareness and more.

While there is a lot of time and effort involved, the broad ranging benefits of this channel are impressive and extremely cost effective.

It is very easy and free to open a YouTube account; however, you will need a Gmail account to sign up. If you do not have one they will happily walk you through the registration process (also free).

The site is very easy to use and has a familiar social media layout and feel to it. The navigation is clear and easy to follow and you can edit just about everything to suit you, from your colour scheme right through to your home page layout.

How can I use this site to benefit my business?

• Create your own unique channel URL to direct users to that links back to your site and has your unique profile
• Embed your web address on all video files that you upload to guide users to your main site
• Integrate YouTube with your other Social Media tools (Twitter, Facebook)
• Broadcast free training videos to encourage interest in your business
• Embed your video files into your web site or blog
• Showcase your TV advertising in another medium
• Send a video message to clients to complement or introduce your eNewsletter
• Visually launch new products simultaneously with your offline launch
• Promote and showcase your services
• Promote and showcase your products in action
• Promote and showcase yourself
• Broadcast seminar or speaking engagements
• Tag your video files with keywords to increase your searchability
• Categorise your video to make it easier for interested parties to find
• Use the YouTube community as a global focus group
• Get visual testimonials from your clients and put them on your blog and web site
• Discover real time trends in your industry by subscribing to related channels
• Guide clients to your video files anywhere in the world with the click of a mouse
• Encourage people to subscribe to your channel and gain a new audience for your business
• Utilise YouTube’s analytics tool, YouTube Insight, to hone your campaigns
• And if you get really popular, consider selling product placement in your videos

 
If it is a bit much initially, then simply create your free account, beef up your profile and begin engaging with the YouTube community. You can do this through searching, watching, selecting favourites and adding subscriptions to your account. Then when you are ready to launch into video, you will not be the new kid on the block!

I would like to end with a polite warning - this tool has the ability to bend the time space continuum to suck your valuable time into a vortex! It is extremely easy to get lost in space and time with YouTube. Not only is the content intoxicating, it is just a hop, click and a jump over to the myriad of Google tools (toys) and if you are not careful, you can spend hours in the exhilarating maze that is Google!

My hot tip is to treat YouTube and Google (including its ever expanding applications) like your grocery shopping, i.e. only visit the items on your list, follow this rule and you should be able to avoid spending over your allocated time budget every time!



About Lauren:
Lauren Neilson, co-founder of ISP Media - an internet marketing and web development business launched in 2000, has been has been researching,  socialising, blogging, publishing, surfing, writing, commenting and more recently tweeting about internet marketing strategies for over 9 years. You can find Lauren and ISP Media on LinkedIn, Twitter, the ISP Media Blog and most other places where Australian business meets the web! Please feel welcome to get online and get social with Lauren and ISP Media!
Connect here:  Email    Twitter    Blog    Website     LinkedIn - ISP Media     Lauren Neilson's LinkedIn Profile    

New business owners often get stuck when it comes to setting pricing. Pricing is determined by factors such as positioning, competition, market demand and, surprisingly, how you value yourself and the services and products that you offer!

Have you ever found yourself pricing a product or service in your business based on what you would pay in your current financial circumstances?  Did you stop to think about whether your personal perspectives are in any way a good match for your ideal customer?

Pricing is a choice.  But rarely do business owners exercise that choice with awareness of the potentials created by different price points.  Let’s consider a brief case study…

Erin is a natural health practitioner who specializes in a couple of healing modalities.  She is making $60 an hour and sees clients for 20 hours a week on average.  This equates to $1200 a week – not quite enough to put her into GST territory, but getting close.  By the time you take out taxes and costs of running the business (eg marketing, hiring space, training etc), Erin brings home closer to $30 a session - $600 a week is not a lot to live on!

So, let’s have a look at the common small business traps Erin has fallen into: She is doing what she loves and is great at, but is not reaping the financial rewards – she needs to charge what she is worth.

• She is swapping time for hours – there is no leverage in her business – if she doesn’t work, nor does the business
• She has not differentiated her service sufficiently so that clients will pay a premium.
• She doesn’t believe people will pay more than she is charging – but she hasn’t tested a higher pricepoint.
• She doesn’t like asking for money for helping people - her beliefs are in conflict with her purse!

Have you ever fallen into any of these traps?  What choices did you make to improve your financial position?  Share your story below – just click the Comment link.

Need inspiration for making more money in your business?  Book your place for the April 19 2010 Playshop:  ‘Show Me The Money’ – you’ll discover more about money and your business than you thought possible!!

(Kirsiri - a Passion Fest highliight!)

Are you better off having a strong vision and not so strong implementation, or a weaker vision and phenomenal implementation?  For business owners this question can mean the difference between success and failure.  Here’s a small case study that demonstrates exactly what the risks are…

I went to a local Passion Tasting Festival on the weekend.  The idea of the festival was engaging.  The publicity on the festival was great.  The website was fabulous. The vision sounded intriguing.  But…it was a complete fizzer…

The first warning sign was it cost me $100 a head to get in the door!  Quite a daunting price, but I was primarily going as research for a new venture.  When we arrived, we could see about 10 tents on a sports field – I could feel that $100 disappearing before my eyes.  Once inside, we discovered that there truly was little to see besides a few market stalls, the occasional performance (an excellent tribal dance by Kitsiri!) and almost nothing new to discover when it comes to living your passion.  What’s more, there were only about 10 other paying customers there…

So, what went wrong?  Strong vision… but in a nutshell the pricing strategy was a failure!   When you set pricing for anything, there are a few things to consider if you want to be successful…

* What is your end goal?  Often there will be a trade-off between volume of transactions and gross profit – work out which one is most important to your business.

* What creates value for your customers?  In this case, their stallholders required a high volume of traffic and festival visitors required a high volume of interesting things to see and do… both missed out!!

* If what you are doing isn’t working – change something!!  It must have been clear some weeks ago that ticket sales were virtually nil.  Instead of slugging it out and failing, what could have happened if the organizers were willing to sell tickets for $10 each?  At least a few hundred people would have turned up… and stall holders and presenters would have been happy – a starting point for future events… I heard they were actually turning people away at the gate who didn’t want to pay the premium gate price of $125 a ticket!!

The lessons?  Less rhetoric, more understanding of your customers.  Less greed, more flexibility in your business model.  Business really is that simple!!

Want to know more about pricing and how it can make your vision rock?  Check out this month’s Playshop – it’s all about money!!