Small Business Revitalization Blog

I was talking with a business coaching client recently about what they had learned during the GFC.  One of the key things they are changing in their business is the way they look at debt – instead of pulling every cent out of the business and investing it personally, they are now considering ways to reinvest their profits into the business so that they need never worry about another financial crisis again.

This conversation reminded me of some uncommon but simple rules for business prosperity that I learned from Access Consciousness… what would change in your business and your life if you did these three simple things?

1.    Save 10%
If you put 10% of every dollar that comes into your life away and never touch it. Within a year, your whole financial situation will change. When you save the 10%, you finally realize that you have money!

2.    Ask Questions:
With everything you buy, ask: “If I buy you, will you make me money?” If you ask that, every molecule in the universe will support you in making money.

3.    Willingness to Receive
Many business owners are very independent and not in the habit of being willing to receive…  What would it take for you to be aware of where you cut off the energy of receiving because of your point of view, your judgments or your unawareness of the possibilities that could occur if you are willing to ask more questions?

If money weren’t the issue, what would you choose?

A recent survey of almost 2000 small to medium Australian businesses by Quest Newspapers has highlighted that 71% of business owners are in business because of lifestyle factors such as following their passion, creating better work/life balance and being their own boss.

More than 67% of SME owners are working more than 41 hours a week and more than one third work more than 51 hours a week.  This mismatch between intention and reality is often a source of unhappiness or distress for business owners.

As a business coach I spend a lot of time helping business owners achieve more of what they want in their business in a lot less time!  Here’s five simple steps that can make your business more joyful for you and more aligned with the original reasons you started the business!

1. Develop an inspiring vision and focus on doing the things that will get you there.
2. Know where you add the most value to the business. Focus on your strengths and what you are passionate about.
3. Delegate or outsource the ‘$20’ jobs that you hate but do out of habit or your need to be in control.
4. Create a culture that values work/life balance… starting with YOU!
5. Focus on the important, rather than the urgent. Use your time wisely and schedule time for the important.

What is your best tip for maintaining work/life balance?  Share it below!

Quirky brand inspiration via Giant Ideas

Think about the businesses you interact with.  Can you name more than five that offer you an outstanding experience every time?  Can you even name one?

Being ordinary in business is easy. You don’t have to think much. You don’t need to do anything different or unusual. You don’t need to be brave.  You don’t need to stand for something. You don’t need to get out of your comfort zone.

The outcome? You don’t stand out from your competitors. You don’t attract raving fans.  And you certainly don’t get extraordinary results!  Being ordinary doesn’t cost much…. Or does it?

Is your business joyful and fun or is it all pain, suffering and gory?  Your answer will depend on your brand and culture… If your brand is more beige than magenta, and your culture is more ‘slit your wrists’ than celebration, it may be time to rethink the risks of being ordinary! When you develop an extraordinary brand and a supportive culture you open up possibilities for magic to occur…  

Talented and amazing people will want to work for you because the way you do things is enticing and engaging.  Customers will become raving fans because you offer something rare and exciting.  Suppliers will want to partner with you because your business is growing.  

Three steps to generating a phenomenal brand:

1. Identify the personal promises your brand makes publicly.
2. Create extraordinary experiences around these promises.
3. Weave the delivery of these experiences through your company culture.

Ready to take the risk of building a brilliant brand and a contagious culture?  Give yourself permission to BE unique… rather than just talking about it!  Create a phenomenal brand at the REVIVE Business Coaching October 2009 Playshop!

Do you have a brand vision that helps you outperform your competitors?  What have you done with your brand or culture that has created phenomenal results? Share your experiences in the comments below...

Antique shop doorknocker... a perfect match for first impressions?
(Flickr: Dominic's Pics)

Your impact on potential clients, customers and team members starts with their first impressions.  Those first few moments of communication are driven by your culture and your brand... how does your business meet expectations?

I like to think of culture as the internal representation of your brand.  It's the intangible stuff that people actually feel when they deal with your business.  Many business owners spend little time thinking about culture... they think they are too busy making money! 

Here's a little food for thought... Zappos is a US based retailer that has built a business from zero to $1billion!  And they think culture is really really really important.  They even have a culture book - it's a huge 450 insightful, fascinating pages long!  If you are wondering whether you need to think more deeply about culture in your business here's a few questions you might want to ask...

1. Did I start my business because I hated who/where I worked for before?  (If so, then culture is important to you... what sort of culture are you building? What sort of leader are you choosing to be?)
2. Do I wake up in the morning and get really excited about going to work?  (If not then your business culture isn't working for you!)
3. Do I have a long line of people wanting to work for me, even though I haven't got any job vacancies right now?  (If not then no-one knows how amazing your culture or your company is... you might need to build your brand!)
4. Do I look at other companies and wish I could work for them instead?  (If so you need to develop your culture and your brand to be more appealing to yourself right now!)
5. Do I keep wondering how to have my team take more ownership in their roles? (If so, you may want to consider the role the right culture could play in developing productivity!)

Culture permeates every area of your business.  How your customers are treated.  How your team treat each other.  How productive your business is.  How much happiness there is in your daily working environment.  How much money you make.... You can't afford to forget about culture!

Is it time to reconsider your culture and your brand and how they can enhance each other in making your business even more phenomenal?  Book your place at the REVIVE Coaching October Playshop "Use Your Creativity to Build A Remarkable Brand"  We're going to explore new perspectives on culture and branding!

I hope to see you there!
Lisa

Creative spaces can help you think differently!
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/osterwalder/

Many business owners spend exactly zero minutes per year on creativity and innovation.  Richard Branson spends, oh, probably around half of every week!  How many multi-zillion dollar businesses do you run? Do you think creativity and innovation could be worth just a little of your precious time?

So what can you do to make your business more creative and more profitable?  One technique I love for its simple but highly effective profit-generating capacity is to expand your product or service offering.

When I was 14 my parents bought a business in a beachside tourist village.  The bloke who previously owned it quietly said to my Dad… “I reckon you could add another 10 – 15 product lines, but that would be about the limit.”  The shop had around 50 product lines at the time.  My parents added another 500!!  Profits skyrocketed...It allowed us all to live very comfortably for many years…and it enabled my parents to sell the business for substantially more than they bought it for.

Are you limiting your thinking on how many product lines your business can offer?  Are you too tired to think of more?  Here’s three ways you can find new product lines with ease:

1. Research your (international) competitors online.  Often the US market is 1 – 2 years ahead of Australia, and developing nations are much more creative than we are because they have to be!  There are profitable ideas everywhere… you just have to look!
2. Research business trends and apply them to your industry.  Start with www.springwise.com and www.trendwatching.com and your ideas will flow.
3. Get out!  Listen to your clients – what other problems can you solve for them?  Go to trade shows – what’s new? Make networking events fun – do your research with people who are potential customers – what other products or services could solve their challenges?

Today's business coaching challenge:  Invest 20 minutes researching and find at least one new product or service idea that has the potential to add at least 10% to your turnover this year.

Want to know more about using creativity to generate profits?  Enjoy our FREE Teleseminar on Tuesday 15 September at 7pm (Brisbane) time.  Bookings Essential!

All businesses have rules – some are simple, smart and understood by everyone; others are stupid, senseless and resisted by everyone.  Simple rules make you efficient, they make you money and they make your team and customers happy.  Stupid rules ensure you and your brand will be talked about for all of the wrong reasons…

Let me give you an example.  On the weekend I went to the Queensland Art Gallery. My sweetheart was carrying a bottle of water.  At the entrance we were informed that the water could not be carried around – it would have to be put into a bag.  Not only that, they would supply a bag if we didn’t have one!

Further discussion with the staff member revealed that you could not drink water whilst in the gallery – for reasons which are still mostly unclear, but seemed to relate to the risk of spillage.  Less than 20 metres away, inside the gallery is a lovely water feature that is easy to splash in if you feel like it… This ‘water in a bag’ rule is illogical, inconsiderate of visitors and makes the gallery look insane.

I’ve been to some of the best art galleries in the world, and never has anyone suggested I could not have a drink of water or carry around a water bottle. Australia is one of the hottest countries in the world. Does QAG really think that people will visit for hours on end without sustenance? (And no, don’t suggest the Café – sadly it was overpriced and the service underwhelming…)

I don’t know what their marketing cost of acquisition per visitor is, but it seems to me that the benefits arising from having a staff member mop up a spill if the unlikely was to occur would far outweigh the costs. Does this rule create a thirst for art or thirsty visitors?

What crazy rules are ruining your business? What written or unwritten rules are enforced in your business that annoy your customers or staff and create virtually no value except a sense of satisfaction for the bureaucratic bore who invented them?  What would happen if you expected the best of your customers and staff instead of the worst?

Today’s task is to go find a few stupid rules and get rid of them – it is so easy to create happiness in business… why do so many make it so difficult?

Now, at this point, many hard-nosed business owners will be thinking, "What do you mean creativity? Have you forgotten we're in a recession? Got better things to do with my time and resources!"  So, this is the moment when I’m going to ask you to forget your tunnel vision, and focus with total laser vision instead! I promise you won’t be sorry!

Marketing Guru Seth Godin says that “Ideas That Spread, Win”.  Now I bet you are thinking, yes, but my product isn’t interesting enough, isn’t innovative, isn’t new, isn’t….. whatever!

Just because what you are selling may be “boring”, does not mean you or your company should be! So, if your business was offering something boring, say a blender, what could you do to make people take notice of your offer? Take a look at this...



Is it cheesy?  Sure!   Is it cheap advertising? Well how would you like to spend $50 on props, make 5 ‘homegrown’ videos and get over six million views on YouTube within one week? BlendTec make the world’s best blenders, but until they thought creatively about their marketing, no-one knew! 

Is it worth starting a creative revolution in your business? Well, as business owners and managers, you know that results are where the rubber meets the road.  Since the introduction of the videos:

• Overall sales increased 43% in the first six months;
• Blendtec's consumer sales increased 500% in 2007;
• Website traffic increased 650%;
• The extended ‘Will It Blend’ campaign has received over 100 million views on YouTube;
• The campaign provided a breakthrough in market segmentation – previously the company was primarily a commercial blender manufacturer;
• Marketing department is now a profit centre for BlendTec!

So, what can we learn about combining creativity and marketing?

1. Be compelling, be quirky, be different.
2. Be entertaining, be surprising.
3. Be willing to experiment.
4. Solve a problem or provide proof your product works.
5. Create a personality for your business.
6. Be prepared to leverage your success.
7. Use social media to your advantage!

Creativity is about culture.  What can you do to encourage creativity in your organization?

Often I meet business owners who are stressed, stretched or otherwise finding very little joy and ease in their business.  One of the most common causes is they are trying to be everything to everyone!  

Have you ever found yourself spending lots of time doing things you hate and aren’t even that good at?  Have you ever asked yourself why you are doing those miserable things rather than the things that you love and find easy?

When I talk to business owners they can almost always quickly identify the actions which are joyful and easy, and those which are hard.  So why do so many people make themselves suffer?  If you have staff, you have a simple solution… delegate!!  If you have no staff you also have a simple solution… outsource!

Many business people think they can’t afford to do this.  So why are you doing a $20 an hour job when you could add hundreds if not thousands to your bottom line by spending your time on what you are good at and what you enjoy?  

It is often the things we find easy that are our gifts… is it time to recognize your gifts and share them with the world?  Most of us forget that not everyone can do what we do with ease!!

My business coaching clients receive super valuable service from me because I focus on what I’m good at – communicating, generating ideas and creating connections…  If I was spending my time on bookkeeping and administration then not only would I be miserable, but my clients would not get to experience the amazing value that I can contribute to their businesses.  Also, my own business would be growing much more slowly because I’d be caught up in tasks that don’t add value…

What one task can you delegate or outsource today that will enable you to give more value to your clients AND give you more joy in your business?

If you're not sure about the best way to add value to your business and make yourself happier at the same time, schedule a free 30 minute introductory business coaching session with Lisa Murray... it will change your life and increase your profits!

Every business owner knows how important it is to have a point of difference, but few businesses take this seriously and effectively establish a truly unique position in the minds and hearts of their customers.  And of those that do, few ever leverage those factors that make the business special and desirable to anywhere near the profit potential of the initial idea.  In my business coaching sessions, I often work with clients on these two issues, as they offer some of the best insurance around for creating a successful growing business which is hard for competitors to copy.

The trend for TRANSPARENCY is just one approach you can consider…
There are many industries where customers are highly aware of the risks of being ‘ripped off’ or taken for a ride. If your business is in one of these industries, you have a golden opportunity to deliver way more than your customer expects.

Find ways to make your business dealings transparent to the customer. The more honesty and integrity you can demonstrate, the more trust you can build and the more referrals you can receive and the more you will be able to charge. This works especially well in highly competitive industries or industries where the client requires a high level of trust in you to commence the relationship eg financial services or construction.

What would it take for your potential customers to trust you? What could a transparent business model look like in your industry?

Need some support in discovering your goldmine?  Contact Lisa Murray to arrange your free business coaching session. (No obligation, 30 minute introductory session for new clients only)

Got a comment?  Share your thoughts below...

		Have you ever noticed how many people talk about business as being hard work, boring or too difficult?  Have you ever wondered what else was possible?  Most people think business must be done in a ‘traditional’ way, where it is all very heavy and responsible.  What if you could function from a space where your business was joyful, creative and amazing – everyday?

When I started my businesses I only had two criteria:  that I could make insane amounts of money and that I could have a really good time doing things I love…  Yes, it is possible, and here is one of my favourite ideas for creating a phenomenal business that works for you.

Have you decided that you are the business?  When a small business first starts, it is common to see the business owner being everything to everybody and suffering under the strain and stress!  Often this is a result of being under-capitalized or thinking that you ‘should’ be in control of everything.  So, what if you were willing to allow support to arrive from anywhere?  What if you choose to focus on your strengths?  Would you be a lot more productive?

Is it time for you to get creative in the ways that you attract support for your business.  Consider:  delegating, outsourcing, contra arrangements, networking, mastermind groups, coaches, mentors and most of all generating opportunities by being willing to ask “What else is possible?”…  

Rewarding synergies are created when we are willing to ask for help.  Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!  What would it take to make your business phenomenally joyful?