Entrepreneurs have many “firsts” as they get a business up and running. One of the most exciting—and sometimes most challenging—is hiring those first employees. There are many potential pitfalls that come with hiring the first time around. You no longer have to do everything yourself, but you need to ensure that your new employee(s) can handle both the job requirements and the extra effort needed to work in a start-up. Here are some tips for an effective first-time recruiting … [Read more...]
Easy Strategies to Help you Leverage the Remainder of the Business Year
Summer’s over, the kids are back in school, and the holidays are right around the corner. Yes, impossible as it may seem...we’re nearing the end of another year! So, what does this mean for your business? The best way that I know how to have a great 2017 is to end 2016 strong. This is a prime opportunity to leverage the remainder of the year to your advantage. To do just that, begin by following the three simple steps I’ve outlined below. … [Read more...]
Want More Productivity? Learn To Delegate
If you’re running a business, it’s a good bet you’ve felt the stress of not having enough time in any given day, week, or month to complete everything on your to-do list. But it isn’t just a question of having time, it’s also about how you use it. … [Read more...]
Business Owners, How to Use the Summer Slowdown to Your Advantage
Summer is right around the corner – and if you’re in business, you know what that means...the dreaded summer slowdown. It seems like everyone is on vacation and plans are put on hold until fall. … [Read more...]
Reduce Your Business Costs, Increase Profitability
It's time to clean house! When is the last time you reviewed your finances, systems and tools to determine what is (and isn’t) a good fit for you? Disclaimer: Content provided herein is for informational purposes only; you must examine your own business goals and determine the tools and resources that make the most sense for you. … [Read more...]
3 Easy Steps to Establish Focus
I’ve been talking a lot lately about staying focused in our ever-distracted world. Today, I want to share some of my tried-and-true strategies with you for establishing and maintaining focus. … [Read more...]
Can You Really Achieve Work/Life Balance?
Work-life balance. Resolutions…goals…intentions. Focus. You’ve heard it all. You’d love to run your business without it running you (or worse, running you ragged) but no matter what you try, you’re still overwhelmed and frustrated. Sound familiar? We live in a fast-paced world where at any given moment, we’re being bombarded with countless distractions. It’s hard to stay focused when you’re not even sure what you should be focusing on, especially when everything feels important and … [Read more...]
Confrontation or Learning Experience? Delivering Feedback Effectively
In a previous Huffington Post article , I talked about why it isn’t good enough simply to say “good job” when you’re giving feedback. While it is important to acknowledge performance that is meeting or exceeding expectations, it is imperative to provide corrective feedback when things aren’t going as you’d like. What happens when your team isn’t delivering as expected – when your expectations go unmet? Can we just hope for it to change or go away? Not if we want to meet our business … [Read more...]
How to Use the Summer Slowdown to Your Advantage
Summer is right around the corner – and if you’re in business, you know what that means...the dreaded summer slowdown. It seems like everyone is on vacation and plans are put on hold until fall. When it feels like “normal” life as you knew it has slowed to a crawl, it can be pretty challenging to stay motivated and productive. Here’s the good news – summer is a great time to build some serious momentum in your business. Follow these five tips and you’ll be in the best position to propel … [Read more...]
Transforming ‘No’ to ‘Yes’
Here’s What to Do. In our last post, we covered the money excuse and the difference between features and benefits. We also touched upon the art of overcoming objections. Now, we’ll continue with more on objections, outcomes, and effective techniques. The Art of Transforming “No” into “Yes, Please!” If you want to overcome the money excuse, you’ll need to adequately define the value you’ll add and what payoffs your client can expect to receive. This is a subtle technique and there’s … [Read more...]