I’m not talking about skipping desert.  I’m talking about controlling your thoughts and actions at work.

This argument could be made for just about anyone at their job but as the owner of a business it can be even more important.

Controlling yourself comes in many forms……

-Distractions-

This is a big killer of productivity and momentum.  I’m not talking about those little things that interrupt your day.  I’m talking about the big things.

It’s the big idea that’s going to make you a millionaire in the next 30 days.  You invest time and energy (and usually lots of it) in this new venture and lose focus on your core business.

This loss of focus makes everything in your business slide downhill.  You may think everything’s fine when in reality things are suffering and you just don’t notice it.

Learn to recognize those moments when things are getting off track.

Is this new venture really important to you?  Does it have meaning personally or provide an important supplement to your current business?  If you can’t answer yes to these two questions it’s time to drop it and focus on what you’re good at.

-Objectivity-

The concept of the objective business owner can apply to most small businesses and I’ll discuss a couple different situations where objectivity in necessary.

Most importantly, it applies to your everyday dealings with clients.

Most clients don’t want to hear your stance on the upcoming political election.  They don’t want to hear an impassioned speech about why the incumbent is an idiot.

If they’re republican and you bleed blue they’re going to get uncomfortable or angry around you.  This hurts your credibility with them and they feel they no longer relate to you.  This hurts your business and reputation.

I’ll never forget a meeting I had with a potential client a few years ago.  This guy was passionate about his political affiliation.  There wasn’t even an election coming and he was sitting in his kitchen pounding his hand on the table screaming about political issues.

Not only was I turned off, I was downright scared.

This guy was crazy and I wanted nothing to do with him.  Don’t subject your clients to anything close to this behavior.  Even if you think they agree with you.

Put a lid on it.

The other type of objectivity is for those of you in the creative world.  Not everyone has the same tastes you do.  This can go for clothes, colors or even artwork.

I have to be cautious about this when working with a client on remodeling their home.  They might like certain styles that I find ugly.  I have to learn to put my feelings aside and create something special just for them.

All that matters is the client’s satisfaction.

I want them to be happy with their newly remodeled space.  Who cares if I don’t like part, or all of it?  I don’t have to live there.

-Fiscal Responsibility-

This is another one I’ve lived and regretted.

When you have profits and money coming into your company, don’t spend it all!

In the heyday of the building boom our company was doing well.  What did we do with the profits of our business?  We spent it on tools and new trucks that we really didn’t need.

What a waste of resources and hard work!  I look back on some of those decisions with big time regret.

Make sure you save some of what you’re making for when times get tough (like now).  Sit on some of that cash for a rainy day.  It will save you a lot in interest charges later on when things get tight and you need the money.

Spend profits on necessary things and think about the financial decisions you’re making.

-Professionalism-

We have an office in a very large historic building.  The management company for the building has two property managers.  A man and a woman.

The woman, Kim, dresses nicely and has a very professional attitude.

The man, Jack, dresses like a slob and is not very professional.

I can never understand why Kim lets him get away with this.  He wears shorts, t-shirts and casual shoes all the time.  His clothes are always ratty with stains and paint on them.

They manage a building the size of a city block with hundreds of units both business and residential.

Why is he dressed like a slob?

This goes for you in your business too. How are you perceived by your clients?  What kind of attitude do you portray in dress and personality?

Don’t tell off color jokes and swear all the time.  People may laugh or put up with it when in reality, they find it a turn-off.

I believe in you being genuine and not pretending.  Find a happy medium so you’re not turning people off with a lack of professionalism.

People will like you for who you are even when you don’t tell dirty jokes.

One way to get prospects to trust you and overcome their fears of doing business with you is by offering a warranty or a guarantee. This week we discuss some of our best ideas when it comes to warranties/guarantees. Also discussed

• legal tips for warranties/guarantees
• how to follow up on service work
• how to turn warranty work into referrals
• the difference between a warranty and a guarantee

Do you offer a warranty/guarantee?  Please comment below…

Not for the same reasons that the 99% hates big business.

I don’t hate them for making a profit or exploiting the little guy, I hate them because they really don’t care about me, their customer.  And it shows!

Obviously, I’m a proponent of small business.  More importantly, I’m a proponent of excellent customer service.  This is the foundation of any great business.  It’s creating an experience your customer or prospect will remember for all the right reasons.

I even kill myself to make an impression on the person who calls my business and I don’t even want to do business with them.  Why, you ask?  Because it’s important and leads to other sales.

We frequently get calls from people who were referred from ghost prospects.  They tell me they got my name from someone who didn’t even use us.  This tells me that we created an impression on someone, somewhere who we didn’t even work for.

How cool is that?!

The idea for the post was spawned by two incidents in the last 24 hours.  The first was yesterday when we got a call from a prospect who wanted to have her small bathroom renovated.  The second was a call I made this morning to ‘big business.’

First the lead….

We learned some time ago that cold leads on small bathroom projects are not our cup of tea.

I had a great conversation with this lady and felt like we connected very well.  Despite this I was pretty sure that we were not a good fit for her project.  I didn’t tell her this instead I told her that we do not do small bathroom updates or renovations.  I continued by asking her more questions and trying to help her a little over the phone.

Then I got her e-mail address and sent her two referrals for contractors that could do her project.  She was thrilled and kept saying how helpful I was being.

I truly want to be helpful.   This goes for everyone who calls my business.

This is an important concept for anyone that owns a small business.  You have to want to help everyone that contacts your company.

Being helpful to everyone is what sets you apart from the companies that never call anyone back or are slow to return calls.

On the other hand we have many big businesses.  They’re the opposite of helpful.

Just this morning I called a very large company to set up service for my water softener that doesn’t seem to be working.

It started with an automated phone answering system that requires I tell them the nature of my call so that I can be routed to the ‘proper person’.  I’m sure they don’t mean the proper person but instead the proper automated phone menu!

I hate answering services and automated phone trees.  They SUCK!

I believe that 99% of the consumer population believes they suck too.

Please don’t subject your prospects or clients to this type of impersonal ‘customer service.’

When I get these phone trees I immediately start hitting the zero key on my phone.  Eventually I will get to someone with a pulse that can solve my problem.  I hope more and more people do this sending a message to big business that people hate phone trees.

Once I got through to a person they were ‘happy’ to solve my problem in the most generic and sterile way possible.  Perhaps my point of view was already tainted by the experience in phone tree hell but I sensed she really could care less.

What further proves my point is the experience I had just prior to placing this call.  I had called the local office for Culligan to see if they would come out and service my softener.  The lady (who answered the phone directly) regretted to tell me that they should not service the unit since they won’t have the parts on the truck to fix the softener when they find what’s broken.

Even though they turned down my business I left the phone call with a positive impression about their business and felt genuinely good about the call.  She was excellent at telling me they probably shouldn’t help.

She didn’t refuse my business but instead told me the reality of the situation so that I could make the decision for myself.  I was thankful she didn’t waste a bunch of my time.  It would have been annoying for the service person come out, look at the softener and then tell me they couldn’t fix it.

What a great approach to helping people and being honest about the possible outcome.

Work to be the helpful small business with a personality!

What have you done in your business this week to be helpful?

• Can you overcome distractions?
• What kind of image does a home office portray?
• Do you need people interaction?
• What types of inexpensive office space is available?

Do you have a rented office? Why or why not? Please comment below…

This post is more of a therapy session for me than informational for you.

As you walk through my head during the next five minutes maybe we can find some common ground and we both can get some help at the same time.

Distraction is ever-present in my life.   No matter which way I turn I can’t seem to escape it.  Cell phone, computer, twitter, Facebook, you name it.  I always have something that’s causing a distraction.

Sometimes I welcome the distraction but most times it’s brought on by someone else who’s seemingly only purpose in life is to distract and destroy my productivity.

How can I get anything done and be focused?

It’s difficult.

These are my unscientific categories of distraction types.

Necessary Distractions

Is there such a thing as a necessary distraction?  Absolutely!

There are often times when you’re doing something tedious or frustrating and you need to take a break.  Taking a couple minutes to do something else or watch a funny video goes a long way in calming yourself.

This will change your point of view and allow you to start fresh.  Solutions to problems will usually come easier after a break.

I was surprised to discover that certain creative tasks required a level of distraction for me to be successful.  When I’m engrossed in something I’ve been working on for some time I lose sight of the big picture.  Taking a break to do something else goes a long way in resetting my creative spirit.

I find it’s easier to power through and what I’m producing is better.

Disinterested Distractions

This is a situation where you weren’t really into what you were doing in the first place.  Something else comes along that seems like more fun and off you go!

This is my biggest struggle.  I could do this all day long.  Jump from one thing to the next and so on.  It’s especially true when what I’m doing is not all that pressing or interesting to me.

I know I have plenty of time to finish the proposal for my client or the drawings for our next meeting.  Then I find myself twenty minutes later doing something stupid.

It’s like a time-space black hole!  Where did those 20 minutes go?

This is a very dangerous type of distraction.  It causes you to lose scads of time doing things that are very unimportant.  This is where you need to exercise self-control and push ahead with what needs to be done.

Be strong and forge ahead!

Unwelcome Distractions

This is the one type of distraction that I find outwardly frustrating.

For example, I’m working on a blog post and the kids start fighting about something stupid in the other room.  With what seems like over a thousand toys in the house we have to fight over that one squishy toy (a small figure about 1” tall).  It’s ridiculous and I find it extremely distracting.

I can’t tune it out and let it go.  I have to pull away from my laptop and get involved in the dispute resolution.

I’d like to think I’m excellent at regaining composure and starting back after this distracting event.  All the professionals say it takes several minutes to get back into the swing of what you were doing and after an interruption like this, and I agree.

This type of distraction has elicited an emotional response making it very difficult to get back into the swing of my creative writing.  I have to recognize the distracting event for what it was and put it behind me to re-focus.

5 Ways to Reduce Distractions

One

Recognize the distracting behavior for what it is.  Don’t think that what you got distracted was necessary or important (unless it really was).  Quickly dismiss it and put it behind you.

Dismissing it can help you get back to work more easily and with better focus.

Two

Catch yourself heading off on a wild goose chase and re-focus immediately.  Sometimes this is easier said than done.  Recognizing your tangent and re-focusing quickly is important.

You’ll lose less time and build your skills at staying focused.

Three

Reduce the time you spend on necessary distractions.  I believe they’re important and for me, part of the creative process.  Don’t spend any more time on them than absolutely necessary.  If not, simple tasks will take forever!

Four

Identify the emotions involved in the unwelcome distractions and control them.  Letting the emotion (especially frustration) run wild will only make things worse.

Five

Find ways to make meaningless tasks meaningful.  This will reduce the disinterested distractions.  This means listening to music when you’re doing something repetitive.

Is there a different way you can do that boring task that’ll make it more fun?  This will help with the temptation to do something else.

The moral here is that not all distractions are bad unless you make them so.  Work on controlling the bad distractions and recognizing the good ones.

Writing these thoughts helped me, how about you?

So this week we share 6 tips for making your local business website the best it can be.

• What needs to be on your site?
• What should you NEVER have on your site?
• How can you turn your website into a lead generating machine?
• What is the number one page visitors come to on our sites? Should you have one?

Do you have a website yet? Please comment below…

This can be applied to all sorts of stuff.  Parts need to fit just right in so many ways.  Remember the time when ‘assembly was required’ and two pieces weren’t going together right; you forced it?

What happened?  It broke, right?

Forcing it in the physical world breaks things and forcing it in the business world makes you broke.

Doing what you love and what you’re good at is the essential formula for your success and happiness.

In case you didn’t hear me, let me say it again….

Doing what you love is essential!!

All of us have something that makes us special, unique, accomplished or different.  I mean different in a good way.

Trying to force yourself to like something just because it can make you rich means you most likely end up broke.

People can sniff out a fake in about 22 seconds.  Faking and forcing will work for only a short time.  ‘Fake it till you make it’ is a saying you hear all the time and one I dispute.

People, especially sales prospects, know when you’re full of crap and they don’t like it.

Have you ever been doing something with your significant other and they catch you at faking it?  ‘I can tell you’re not into this, do you want to stop?’  They ask.  ‘No, no I really like this movie and I’m enjoying my time with you’, you say.  They know you’re full of it.  This is a situation where you’ll get honest feedback from someone you know and trust.

In sales you won’t get this honest feedback.  You’ll get silence.

Being honest with prospects, and everyone for that matter, is the way to go.  Tactful honesty and humility in situations where you’re out of your comfort zone can be very powerful.  You’ll find that people rush to your rescue and find you relatable when they get to ‘help’ you.  This can be especially effective in sales.

Prospects love to help salespeople.

Let me be clear though.  You can’t be an idiot!  Prospects like to help but they don’t like to put up with an idiot.  Believe it or not, a little bit of rescue during a sales call can be a great confidence builder in you and your company.  Too much can be devastating.

As you’re building your business, be honest with yourself.

The most important person to be honest with is you.  When you don’t like what you’re doing, you’re the only one that can fix that.  Nobody else can do it for you.

Ask some important questions…

Is this a business I feel really passionate about?

Do I have a lot to teach others?

How many lives can I touch and change with what I’m doing?

Was I born to do this?

Asking yourself some key questions up front will go a long way in fostering happiness and motivation in your new business.  You may even find the sales for your business effortless as your prospects get just as excited as you do.

The excitement for what you do should be difficult to contain.

This is a good sign that you’re not faking it.  That enthusiasm will transfer to everyone in your organization as well as your sales prospects.  Not everyone you meet with buy from you but it will dramatically increase your chances.

Even if a prospect doesn’t buy from you it will be a great experience for them.  They’ll remember that and tell all their friends about it.  Word will travel about your specialty and anyone that needs it will call you first.

Who doesn’t want to be the go-to guy?

What’s your specialty and why do you love it so much?

In this week’s show get three simple actions you can use to take your business to a new level. By spending less than ten minutes on one of these actions you can change the course of your business for years to come.

To get even more simple actions you can take try this link to 21 actions

What action will you put in place as part of your weekly routine? Please chime in below…

I fired them as a client!

It wasn’t an ugly situation (although it might still get that way) and I wasn’t rude but I decided it was time for me to stop banging my head against the wall.

We’d been working with these people for a few weeks on the design and pricing for two bathrooms in their house.  Their budget and tastes were mostly in line or at least typical with every prospect we seem to get.

Watching HGTV and reading magazines usually puts most prospects in an unrealistic frame of mind when talking budget.  I can’t really blame them because they just don’t know and all they have to go on is the crap they’re watching on TV.

After all the design work was complete we prepared our final costs for the project.  Of course they went out and talked to two other contractors about getting the work done.  As you might guess, their numbers were significantly less than mine.

There’s always somebody cheaper than you, always.

This is a concept I became very comfortable with a few years ago.  You’re going to have a tough time if you’re out there competing on price.

If price is your platform, you’ll constantly have to drop your pants to get the work.

We decided we had to weed out the price shoppers from the very beginning and chose not to let them get any further in our process.

This is important……  If they’re shopping for your services based solely on price…….

LET THEM GO!

This client made it through my initial screening and all the way to the end of design.  Usually, there are pricing milestones along the way to stop a prospect from making it to the end like this.

Then they start an e-mail campaign about the cost of the work.  This is the client’s way of seeing if they can get your quality of company for the cheaper price.

Inside they’re hoping that you’re so desperate to get the work that you’ll drop 10-20% off you pricing in order to keep the work.

This is where you need to be strong!  Hold the line and don’t drop your pants.  Would you rather do a bunch of work and lose money or spend that time improving your marketing or getting other, better projects?

Don’t let the fear of losing the project cloud your judgment.

If the client or prospect is a pain in the ass now, they’re going to be an even bigger pain in your ass later.  You will lose money! Trust me on this.

Have the strength to do one of two things.

1. Hold the line on your service and costs
2. LET THEM GO

Either one of these actions is going to feel incredibly freeing for you.  It proves you have systems, value and guts!

Having guts is what being a small business owner is all about.

It takes time to develop guts and courage with your business.  Be diligent and stick with it.  You’ll be glad you did.

What have you done lately that took guts?

I’ve assembled this list of 21 game changing actions to help you take that first step. My dream is that some day you can look back at this moment as the start of your path. Put one or two of these into action today and I know you can’t help but improve.Want to catapult your business? Try all 21.

Let me know which ones you’re putting into action TODAY!

 1. Call A Past/Recurring Client

This is something so simple to do, yet because it’s not on fire it doesn’t have your attention. So many positive things have happened for Joel and me when we’ve called a past client. Reopening that dialogue can lead to more work with that client, a referral or just a boost in your attitude. When you have them on the phone ask them why they enjoyed working with you. Ask them what you could have done better. Ask if they have any other projects coming up or if they know of someone else that might have a project that fits your company.

 2. Pick A Repetitive System And Write It Down

When we first started our business we found ourselves doing things differently every time. “Winging it” was a way of life. By writing out our recurring tasks we were able to fine tune our approach to sales calls, contracts, hiring and so many other tasks large and small. Writing it down helps you to think it through. And by having a starting point you can consciously tweak your approach to test new ideas without completely starting over.

3. Turn Off Push Notifications On Your Phone

Nothing says ‘shiny object’ like your smart phone. **SQUIRREL!!!** If it’s constantly going off all day long how can you focus on MAKING MONEY? ‘Nuff said…

4. Take A DiSC Profile Assessment

If you’ve listened to even one podcast episode you have probably heard us preach about DiSC. That’s because it was such a huge revelation for us in our business. Knowing yourself – I mean TRULY knowing yourself is the basis for everything you do in life. And that includes your business. A DiSC profile will start you on a journey of self-discovery. I know it sounds touchy-feely, but understanding why you think the way you do and why others think the way they do is important in setting up your business for success. It made a HUGE difference for us. Take your own DiSC Profile here.

5. Select A Book To Improve Your Business Knowledge

A business coach of mine, Steve Sipress, says “Rich people have big libraries…poor people have big TVs!” I love that saying. While the rest of the world is feeding their brain Ryan Seacrest and Snookie, feed your brain Napoleon Hill, Chuck Lencioni or Micahel Gerber. Here are ten of my favorite business books of all time.

6. Reach Out To A Power Partner

Building your own network takes time. Building a list of customers can take years. Kickstart your efforts by leveraging someone elses’ network. Find someone that has a similar customer base to yours and work a deal to cross-market with each other. If you work for homeowners, like we do, find another company that has a relationship with homeowners in your area. Landscapers, plumbers, realtors, mortgage brokers are all companies that might be a good fit. If you work with new businesses maybe an attorney or an accountant would be a good power partner for you.

7. Write Down A Reason That You Own Your Business

So many times when setting goals we get caught up with the quantitative number that we want to hit. For example, I want to make $100,000 this calendar year. And that’s a great place to start. But following through and hitting that goal is a lot harder if you aren’t clear on WHY you want to make $100,000 this year. Have a reason. Write it down. Your reason might be because you want your spouse to be proud of you. Or maybe you want to retire in five years and move to Belize. Whatever it is, write it down. It will help to keep you motivated three months from now when that excitement of your new goals have worn off.

8. Raise Your Prices

I don’t know you personally. It’s highly likely we will never meet in person, but I can tell you with 90% certainty that you’re too cheap! How do I know? Because EVERY small business owner undervalues themselves at some point in their career. Joel and I certainly did. And some days still do. It’s a continuous struggle to find the balance between getting the job and charging too little. But I can tell you from experience that going to work each day is a lot more fun if you are being well compensated for what you do. Always looking over your shoulder for that one little mistake or hiccup that will cost you all the profit on your current project gets old fast.

Start by trying baby steps. 1-2% on a job. When you feel better there move up another 2%. Until you think you’re the most expensive in your town. I’ll bet you good money you STILL aren’t charging as much as you could.
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9. Say ‘No’ To Someone

Most small business owners are passionate giving people. ‘No’ is not in our vocabulary. Unfortunately, we are still human and there are only 24 hours in our day. We have not cracked the code to the space-time continuum. Being in the habit of always saying yes not only eats up a bunch of your time through new commitments, it also devalues your time. Let me say that again – it devalues your time. If you don’t value your time enough to guard it from every chamber meeting or wasted late night sales call then others won’t value your time either. You have no exclusivity. By saying no once and a while you send the message that your time is important and valuable. People should feel privileged to spend an hour with you. That won’t happen if EVERYONE gets your time.

10. Create A Lead Tracking Form

Do you know where your leads came from last year? No, I don’t mean a ‘gut feeling.’ I mean know. As in 33% came from referrals and 26% came from past clients. Real data. If you knew, wouldn’t it be easier to see what’s working in your marketing and what’s not? For instance, if you knew that the last Yellow Pages ad you ran only got 4 calls and no contracts you would cancel it, or at the very least change it drastically. And if the data showed that you only got 3 referrals last year wouldn’t that ring a GIANT bell in your head? Like, what’s wrong with my company that no one refers us? Or maybe you’re not making it easy for your clients to refer you. Either way having the data in front of you will get you thinking and guide you to make smart decisions with your marketing dollars. No data? You’re just guessing.

11. Open A Separate Checking Account For Your Business

Even if your business is not incorporated you still need a separate checking account. Co-mingling your personal and business expenses is a good way to get in trouble. Having separate accounts will certainly make tax time easier and may help keep the IRS from your door. But even beyond the legal issues, just being able to track your income and outflow from your business will be so much simpler with separate accounts. This will naturally lead to better accounting practices which will just lead to better decision making.

12. Put Yourself In Your Prospects’ Shoes

Spend five minutes thinking like your ideal client. What are their fears? What are their common questions? Visualize your sales process. What would your first impressions be of you as a salesperson? If you can answer these questions and truly understand the thought process of your client you are way ahead of the game. Really doing this exercise gives you the confidence to see your value.

13. Employ The 80/20 Rule On Your Next Sales Call

You know the 80/20 rule, right? Listen 80% – talk 20%. Your client will sell themselves the more they talk. If they are really in the market for what you sell they are looking for permission to buy. They get permission from themselves, not from you. The only thing you can do by talking is KILL THE SALE. The more useless information you puke up in a sales situation the more reasons you give your prospect not to buy. SHUT UP and sell.

14. Go For A Walk

Taking time in your day to decompress is essential to staying sharp and motivated. Elevating your heartbeat is also a good way to reduce stress. Personally I love to use walking as a way to empty my head of chaos. Walking in the park or forest preserve lets my mind clear out of all the immediate on fire items. When way brain is free of all the unnecessary clutter I am able to think about the bigger picture. To think about the long term strategies that will help me make huge leaps in my business.

15. Find One Thing That Makes You Different Than Your Competition

If you did the exercise in Action #12 then you should have the answer to this question. If not spend some time looking for the one thing that makes your business unique. Being able to have something your competition doesn’t gives you a giant tool you can use while selling and marketing.

16. Learn The Basics Of A Profit & Loss Statement

If you don’t know if your company is making money how can you win? How can hit the goal of being profitable without knowing where you are? So many business owners I meet don’t know if they made any money until their account tells them After The Year Is Over! By then it’s too late. Learn how to read a P&L statement so you don’t need to rely on your accountant. Here’s a great article to get you started.

17. Find A SCORE Chapter In Your Area

Joel and I have met with a SCORE counselor on more than one occasion. It’s a great place to bounce some ideas and get practical advice from someone that’s been there before. SCORE (Service Core Of Retired Executives) is a free mentoring service. Retired business people volunteer their time to help those starting or struggling in business. Find a chapter in your area.

18. Share Your Goals With A Friend

Everybody needs a little motivation – a little accountability. Sharing your goals with someone pushes you to actually achieve those goals. No one likes to disappoint people or to fall flat. By sharing, you build in implied accountability. Also your friend will likely encourage you along the way to achieving your goals! Listen to their goals, too. That way you can encourage each other.

19. Find A Charity To Support

Don’t worry, I’m not actually suggesting you become charitable for business reasons. Supporting a charity is something you should be moved to do – not something you should do for financial gain. But let’s be honest, there are side benefits to being involved with a charity. You will meet other like-minded people. Chances are these people will have respect for you because you share the same charitable objectives. It only follows that they would be inclined to purchase products from you or recommend you to their friends. Again, a nice side benefit of improving your community.

20. Calculate The Break-Even Point For Your Company

Do you know how much you need to sell this month in order to break even? How can you hit a goal (see #18) if you don’t know where you’re aiming? Breaking even is just the beginning. You obviously want to make more money. But you have to start somewhere. Here’s a great article on how to calculate your break even point.

21. Download The Help Start My Small Business Start-Up Checklist

It’s my list. So of course I’m going to have a small plug in it. The Small Business Start-Up Checklist gives you the basics every business needs. It’s a great way to organize your small business to-do list. Check off each item as you build or improve your existing business. Get your free copy today.

You have to actually do the work!

This is the ‘service’ part of your small business.  This is the most important part of the sales process.

Delivering on what you promised.

So many businesses fall flat in this department.  They think selling the job is the most important part and the place where all the money is made.  ‘Somehow we’ll get the work done’ or ‘we’ll worry about getting the work done later,’ are all too common phrases.

Nothing will kill your reputation faster than poor service and work quality.

Why is delivering on your promises so important?  It leads to more and more work through referrals and repeat business.  We have built our remodeling business on referral and repeat business.  About 30% of our revenue each year is for clients we’ve done projects for in the past.  That speaks volumes about the customer service and satisfaction we deliver.

It’s also important to note that we are not the cheapest, in fact, we’re pretty expensive.

Remember that every step of the process is sales.  Your technicians are sales people when they perform the service for your clients.  Your office manager is selling with their personality when they answer the phone.  Give your clients confidence and trust in you.

Delivering on your promises builds the trust that you need.

Here are some of the highlights on exceptional small business follow-through.  They may seem stupid-simple but it’s unbelievable how many service businesses can’t do it.

Delivering what you promised

The components of great delivery and customer service are not complicated and there’s no excuse for poor execution.  We’ll show you how it’s the life blood of your business.

Trusted adviser – An important thing to do with your prospects and then clients is to establish yourself as a trusted adviser.  This means you are impartially advising your clients on what’s best for them.

This doesn’t mean you’re selling them!  It means you truly do have their best interests at heart.  Working to do what’s best for them will ultimately be what’s best for you.

The trusted adviser concept is not only part of your execution but it’s also a big part of your sales process.  Once you gain their trust as an adviser they will turn to you for help over and over again.  Remember that repeat business thing?

Communication – This is where many small business owners slip and fall (or fail!).  They’re wearing too many hats and juggling too many balls.  They wait too long to return client calls or they never communicate with the client after the sale.

Continued communication after the sale is key to referrals!

We believe that you can never over communicate with you clients.  In our business they love to get phone calls, e-mails and face to face meetings keeping them up to date on progress.

They don’t like to wonder what’s going on.  Did he get my e-mail?  When are we supposed to be in touch again?  Was I supposed to be getting him any paperwork?

Your clients shouldn’t be asking themselves these questions because you should be over communicating with them!

Attitude – Your personality and attitude towards your work is also important to your delivery.  If you lack enthusiasm about what you’re doing then your clients are going to lack enthusiasm about you!

Let the passion for your business bleed through to your clients.

They’ll pick up on it and realize how great you are at your craft.  It will become infectious in your organization and with your clients.  I know our job is a lot easier when the client is excited about us being there.

Hand holding – This is similar to communication.  Hand holding is that process of predicting the future with your clients and telling them how everything is going to go down.  What’s happening next and what they should expect.

Chances are, they’ve never done anything like this before and they’re looking for you to guide them through the process.  Our clients liked to be walked through, every step of the way.

Manage expectations – Don’t be pie in the sky!  In our business this means never telling the client we won’t get any dust in their house.  This is an unrealistic expectation and only leads to disappointment down the road.  It’s certainly something we cannot deliver on.

Promise only what you know you can deliver and under-promise at that.

There’s an old saying we use a lot, ‘under promise and over deliver.’  It means you’re always (or usually) giving the worst case scenario to the client and then you come out looking like a champ when the worst doesn’t happen.

If the worst does happen, fine, that’s what they were expecting anyway!

This means promising you’ll be done with the paperwork by Friday but delivering it on Wednesday or Thursday instead.  Your client will notice this and be impressed.  That means referrals are coming your way……

Remember, great customer service is not complicated!

Doing these simple things well will deliver years and years of repeat and referral business.  They’re the easiest types of prospects to sell and clients to work for.

Your marketing costs and stress levels will go down.  The word of mouth advertising will give you a great reputation.  This, in turn, gives you a foundation of marketing to build from.

It only gets easier from there. ‘We heard from our neighbor that you guys were really great to work with!’

Music to my ears.

What have you heard lately that’s music to your ears?

• Who needs a partnership agreement
• What does a partnership agreement cover
• What is a buy/sell agreement and how is it different
• What does a partnership agreement NOT give your business
• How to cover the big three – Death, Disability, and Divorce
• What do Neil & Joel have in their agreement
• What’s the risk in not having a partnership agreement

Do you have a partnership agreement? Will you be drafting one soon? Please comment below…

If you missed it last week (part one) was all about marketing for your business.  Read it here.

Hopefully, you’re feeling a little more in control.  Using those marketing techniques regularly will give you the feeling that you’re doing everything you can to get business.

Now what do you do with the people who are calling?

Sometimes immediately, but certainly after a little time, people will start calling you.  Getting them to contact your business is only the first, and some would argue a small, step in actually getting work for your business.  Now you have to turn the prospect into a client!

How do you turn a prospect into a client?

This isn’t always easy, especially if your service is priced right.

Sales

The process of selling your service is something every new (or old) business owner needs to master.  In fact, everyone needs to master the art of selling.  Don’t believe me?  Check out my post about selling success here.

Selling is probably one of the single most important skills you can learn!

Let’s look at the features of a great sales person or sales system.

Outgoing.  Certainly some of the most successful sales people are outgoing and like people.  This is not a must but it can certainly be a plus.

At a recent leadership summit I gleaned a great quote from former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who said….

‘Nobody wants to follow a sourpuss!’

This couldn’t be truer.  People like people who are outgoing and personable.  They don’t like people who are negative or depressed all the time.  If you’re naturally happy and outgoing then you’ll have a leg up on everyone else.  If you’re a ‘glass-half-empty’ kind of person then you have a little work to do.

Is all lost for our more pessimistic friends?  Absolutely not!  I come from a negative and pessimistic background.  Earlier in our business I really struggled with positive attitude and being outgoing.  Over time I began to realize that the outlook and attitude had to change for me to be successful.  The last five years have been quite different and it’s reflected in our sales results.

It’s helpful to visualize all the great things that will happen when you change your attitude about what you’re doing.  Positive thoughts have been one of the most powerful tools for me.

High self-esteem.  Sales can be a very brutal process.

You will be rejected many more times than you’re accepted.

This is the cold, hard reality of selling any type of service business.  Not everyone is a fit for what you’re selling and you’re going to hear the word ‘no’ a lot, especially if you’re cold calling people.

Even worse are all the people who say they’re going to call you back and they don’t.  Prospects generally don’t want to deal with the uncomfortable situation of calling you to tell you they gave the work to someone else.  They feel embarrassed and they don’t want you to try and change their mind.

So what do they do?  They just blow you off.  Sometimes you feel like you had a great connection in the meeting and it really stings to get blown off.  I used to get angry and really pester them.

Now I’ve learned to just let it go.

It’s not worth all the negative mental energy.  This is why having a high self-esteem is important.  Thinking highly of yourself means that all the rejection is not taken personally.  They’re not rejecting you; they’re rejecting your business.

Like I said earlier, not every prospect is going to be a fit for your business.  Normally only about 20% of them will do business with you depending on what you’re selling.

A selling system.  Having a system for your sales is extremely important.  You can’t go into every sales call just winging it.  You will most likely experience terrible results.
An easily repeatable process is essential in giving you structure and predictability.  That’s what we’re all looking for as business owners, predictable results.  This eliminates the uncertainty associated with getting work for your business.

A selling system can be as simple as a one page handwritten process you go through for everyone that contacts your business.  It can even be a simple box-style flow chart.  It outlines how a lead is handled from first phone call to completed sale.

Sales training.  I used to think sales training was a bunch of crap!  Then I got some of it and actually put it to use instead of making excuses.

Amazing what happens when you put forth some effort!

Focusing on your sales skills through a structured training program while actually following the program can have amazing results.  I don’t really even care what system you’re focusing on.  Just pick something and go for it.

Sales training will give you confidence and energy to move forward.  It can show you what you’re doing right and more importantly, what you’re doing wrong!  I know I was doing a lot of stuff wrong!

Training can be especially helpful if you’ve never done sales before and are feeling a little at a loss.

Having a great product.  Of course if you’re selling something it’s a lot easier to sell something great than something crappy.  Having a quality product can makes the sales process a little easier, at least in the beginning.

In time, as word travels about how great your product is, the selling process will get easier and easier.  Word about your product can travel like wildfire.  Friends will tell other friends about their experience and you’ll start to see a bunch of referral business.

Referral clients are the best kind of clients to have!

There’s nothing better than hearing ‘Jane told me I should call you guys because you do excellent work and she’s thrilled!’  That’s awesome!  Is that an easier lead to sell than a cold call from your online ad?  Of course!

Make sure sales and your process become one of your top priorities this year!

The last of three blog posts is next week and I’m going to fill you in on the final essential component of getting work for your small business.  This is the one where most business owners fall flat!

Hint:  It has everything to do with referral business…….

I look forward to hearing your comments on sales.  Who do you know that’s a great sales person and why?

Having a clear picture of WHY you own a business is essential to your success. This week the guys discuss what is the difference between a goal and a mission and how does having both help your business?

Do you have a mission that you live by?  Please comment below…

Just me and Anthony in the park on a rainy Sunday morning

All indications were that Anthony would be playing for a crowd of 200 people in the park on Sunday. But Sunday morning the weather turned nasty and it started to rain. It didn’t matter. He was still up early and ready to go hours in advance. Anthony wanted to play!

More on that rainy show later. First I need to give you a little backstory.

This past weekend my wife and I hosted our friend, Anthony Snape, at our home. He played two shows over the weekend – one in our backyard  for our family/friends and the second in that local park as part of a weekend town festival.

We first met Anthony last year when he was the opening act for Tommy Emmanuel in Peoria, Illinois. He was chatting in the lobby after the show and we went up and talked to him for a while. We were instant fans and have been following him since. (You may remember I interviewed Anthony on the podcast a few weeks back)

Earlier this year my wife asked him to come play in Chicago so we could see him again. After all it had been a while and we were dying to see him perform. Out of the blue Anthony offered to come up and do a show at our house. To help him out we used some connections to get him that Sunday show in the park. What an amazing time!

Hanging with a rock star is cool. But then every rock star isn’t as cool as Anthony Snape.

Anthony doesn’t know it, but he shared something more than great music with me this weekend.

Be Gracious And Humble

Over the course of two days I watched Anthony interact with dozens of people. He made time for each and every one of them.

He never said no to a photo or a request for an autograph. He played requests on demand from the stage. He listened to every story about how his music touched someone or about their latest trip to Australia (his home country). And he did it all with a smile and a sense of humor.

When it came time to set up or tear down after a show Anthony was right there to lead and lend a hand. Lugging giant speakers, running power cords and even setting up chairs and tables – Anthony did it all. There was no air of pretension. No hint of ‘I’m an international rock star.’ He was humble and willing to do whatever it took to make each show a success.

But the real take away for me?

Anthony’s music is great (read his ‘product’) but it’s his connection with his fans (read his ‘clients’) that keep them coming back.

Take the time to interact and form a relationship with your clients. And if you can be humble at the same time it can only draw people in closer.

Don’t Be Afraid To Chase Your Dream (and don’t give up)

Anthony has been in the US for seven years now living/chasing his dream. But Anthony was no slouch in Australia. He told me he played for a crowd of 90,000 people at the Australian Olympics. He had songs getting regular airplay on Australian radio. He was becoming something huge there.

But Australia’s population is less than the greater Los Angeles area. Anthony dreamed of sharing his music with a larger audience. An audience that could only be found in America. So he left it all behind to start over in the US.

During the last seven years Anthony has worked to build an audience of fans one at a time. Sure, he’d like to hit a home run, but he knows that each person he adds to his fanbase will share his music with all their friends and steadily he can build a mass audience. It takes time.

But he’s not discouraged. In fact, he’s quite encouraged. With each small victory he’s one step closer to his goal.

Over the years he’s had many golden opportunities fizzle out at the eleventh hour. Faith Hill recently recorded one of his songs for her latest album. But the album was cancelled due to poor sales on the first single. Somewhere there is a recording of Faith Hill singing one of his songs sitting in a record company vault waiting to be released someday – hopefully. He takes it all in stride. He just keeps building his audience one fan at a time because…

There’s no such thing as an overnight success.

You need to be willing to put in the effort and to keep making small strides each day even when it all seems to be going nowhere.

Don’t Work – Play!

Now, back to that rainy park on Sunday morning.

Anthony and I got there early to set up. In fact, we were two hours early. We got all the equipment up and running very quickly and Anthony went into his soundcheck.

Because of the trees in the park and the buildings across the river, the sound was just incredible! Anthony was like a little kid discovering music for the first time. He would play a chord and turn to me. “Can you hear that? Hear that reverberation? It’s amazing!”

It was an hour and a half before he was going to start his show, it was raining and no one was there to listen but me. He didn’t care. He proceeded to play for the next thirty minutes. Because he loves it!

Unfortunately the rain just kept coming. The organizers didn’t pull the plug on the show, but the attendance was woofully light. Again, Anthony didn’t care. He played with passion and with more gusto than most.

Anthony exudes passion like you and I exude sweat on a summer afternoon.  If he’s not holding a guitar then he’s humming and if he’s not humming he’s singing or listening to a recording of a song he’s working on. He told me at some point this weekend that if you don’t have the drive for music then you should get out of the business.

He lives and breathes music because to him it’s not work.

Find the passion in your business. And if you can’t find the passion then maybe it’s time to create some or find a new line of work.

Hanging with a rock star is definitely fun. And his music is awesome, but it’s Anthony’s PASSION for life and music that inspires me more than anything.

How do I find clients?

I wish it was as easy as telling you how to find milk at the grocery store but it isn’t.

Finding clients for your service business is a never ending process that will continually evolve over time.  It’s a complicated process involving different skills and tasks.

There are three major components of getting work for your new business.  This is the first of three posts dedicated to this topic.  The first of the three aspects is marketing…….

Marketing

You’re not getting any clients if nobody knows about you.  Getting the word on the street is the first step in finding prospects and turning them into clients.

How do I get the word out?

This has been the topic of many a blog posts and podcasts.  Getting the word out about your business is a whole bunch of things.  Here are just some of them…..

Tell everyone you meet how you help people.  This is not telling everyone, ‘hey I’m a plumber.’  Instead you say ‘I fix leaky pipes.’  This is something clever and memorable.  People will remember you when someone mentions they’re having a problem with the plumbing in their house.

Be consistent in your message to everyone you meet.

The traditional advertising approach.  Placing ads in local newspapers or magazines can be very effective for certain types of businesses.  Use this media sparingly at first as we don’t believe it produces the same results it used to, even though it still costs a lot.  See how it works for you and stop if you’re not getting results.  Do this experiment for no longer than 6 months.

Network with the right people.  Networking can be a huge waste of time if it’s not done right.  Be sure to network with people and groups who can either use your service or know people that can.

Don’t expect networking to start producing clients in the first week!

Networking takes time and effort.  You have to see people over and over again to gain their trust.  Once they get to know you it can turn into a great referral resource depending on the people in your network.

You can also network with other professionals in your community casually.  It doesn’t have to be a structured, formal group.  You can start something yourself.

Direct mail.  Direct mail is another way of advertising that can produce crappy or great results.  Who are you mailing to?  Is it targeted to certain demographics or neighborhoods?

If mailings aren’t targeted and thoughtful they’re a complete waste of time.

Make sure the type of client you’re looking for would live in that neighborhood.  I talk a little more about your ideal client in this post.

Internet advertising and an optimized website.  Internet marketing and advertising has no doubt become a huge industry over the last decade.

No business can ignore the need to have a great web presence.

Police your online profiles, make sure they’re up to date and ask past clients for feedback you can post online.  Most potential clients want feedback on the business they’re considering.

Referral web sites.  Another part of internet marketing is using referral web sites like Angie’s List and lawyers.com.  Many service professionals have has great success using referrals from these types of sites.  It requires you to be diligent about updating your profile and fostering positive feedback.

These sites are built around a community of people counting on others to recommend great service businesses.  They put a lot of weight on good feedback, as do I.

Facebook.  The social networking sites are also becoming real powerhouses in the world of internet marketing.  We have mixed feelings about them and again the results are in direct proportion to the effort you’re willing to put into them.

Facebook ads need to be constantly updated or new ads rolled out consistently.  This is the only way to keep people interested and clicking on your ads.  Facebook also tends to have a very limited pool of local people who need your services.  We feel like we tapped out Facebook quickly.

Door hangers.  This approach won’t necessarily work for a lawyer but can be very effective for home service businesses like tree care or lawn care.  Make sure the hanger is tasteful and left at the home in a professional manner.  Throwing something in their front yard is only going to make them angry.

Just like any marketing technique this is going to take repetition.  You’ll need to keep getting the same message out over and over again for people to start calling.

Plan on canvassing a neighborhood at least two or three times.  Again, pick neighborhoods where your ideal client would be living.

Public speaking.  What better way to establish yourself as an ‘expert’ in your industry than public speaking?  Giving seminars at your place of business or the public library is a great way to bring people out who are interested in your service.  They see you as the expert and would be more likely to hire you when they need your service.

We’ve been giving seminars on various topics in connection with a local furniture store.  It’s a great way to cross promote with other local businesses and get referrals.

Your message is very important!

Believe it or not the way you get the word out will determine most of the success you have in turning the prospect into a client.  In other words, closing the deal! Certain types of marketing efforts will have different results depending on who you are and what you say.

For example, a new home builder may not want to advertise in a local community newsletter.  They’ll probably only get inquires about small projects or handyman work. If he does decide to advertise in a newsletter he’d better make it clear that he only builds new homes.  He should also be clear about the type of homes he builds.

Keep track of what avenues produce the best results and the best leads.  Focus more on those.  Over the first year you’ll learn what your best marketing avenues are.  You should also be tweaking your ads to make them better.  If an ad isn’t working, change it a little and try it again.  Keep doing this until you find something that works; then stick with it until it stops working.

In the next two blog posts (September 3 & September 10) I’m going to expand on the other two essential aspects of getting work for your small business.  What are they?  Wait and see…….

Comment and let us know what avenues of marketing are working best for you!!

But did you know you can’t have it all? This week we discuss how The QSP Ratio works and what you need to know about it for your marketing as well as when you are the consumer.

What ratio do you have in your business?  Please comment below…

Let me tell you something, it doesn’t have to be!

To be truly effective at running a business you’ll need to learn how to eliminate the stressors you can and manage what remains.

No matter how hard you try you’ll never be able to get rid of all your stress.

Stress is something that will always be there.  You only need to get good at controlling it.

Oftentimes controlling stress means learning to control yourself.

It seems like there’s always too much to be done.  I can remember times when I felt so stressed I didn’t even know where to begin or why I was so stressed in the first place.

Here are the steps you can take to reduce and manage the stress in your business (and personal) life.

Identify your stressors

You can only fix a problem when you know what the problem is.  Ask yourself the following questions.

What makes me anxious?

Who annoys me at work or in social circles?

What makes me uncomfortable?

What issues at home or work stress me out the most?

What areas of my business make me feel out of control?

Where do the major problems lie in my business?

When you ask yourself these questions you’ll start to build a picture of what your source of stress is.  Being honest with yourself about what causes your stress is the first step.  You may not be able to answer all of these or you may find all your stress in one question!

Just writing the answers down will be enough to start reducing your stress.  For me, identifying my problems is all I need to get me feeling better.

Develop ways to reduce stress

The best way to deal with stress is to not have any in the first place.

If there are people in your life that cause you stress try and find ways to avoid them.  If the stressful person in your life is someone who works for you then maybe it’s time to let them go.

Your employees should be there to reduce your stress.  If they’re not, something’s wrong.

Naturally, when a new employee starts they may create some stress for you, but over time, you’ll find that they make life much easier.

– Just say no!

This is a big one I’ve been working on over the past few years.  I had a tendency to say yes to everyone who called me and asked for something.  In the last couple years I’ve become more selfish and it’s been great.

Examine every request of your time and only say yes to those you truly respect and want to help.  This goes for your business and life outside work.  After some time you’ll find it easier and easier to do.  You notice that with most requests the stress/benefit ratio is nowhere near worth you saying yes.

– Avoid uncomfortable situations where possible.

Many times you do things or commit to things you don’t like or are uncomfortable.  I’m not sure why this happens and sometimes it’s unavoidable, most of the time it’s not.

Look for social and business situations you hate.

How can you avoid them?

Is there someone else you could delegate this task to?  Oftentimes there is someone who can handle this situation or task for you.  If there isn’t can you find a way to make it less stressful for you?  What about it do you find stressful?

Diffuse the stress you can’t eliminate

Sometimes the stress you have is created by a situation or person that’s unavoidable.  Now what?!  You’ll need to learn how to deal with it.

For example, not having enough cash in your business isn’t something you can delegate or say ‘no’ to.  This is something you’re going to have to address.

Develop a plan of attack.  Knowing a cash crunch is causing a lot of stress is the first step in fixing it.  Develop a cash flow schedule that looks at how the money moves through your company.

When will you have plenty of cash?

When are you going to be short and why?

Answering these questions will tell you when you need to land some more work and how much money you need to take in.  The situation may not be as bad as you thought and the solution to your stress could be very manageable.

If it’s worse than you expected then it’s great you realized now instead of later!  You’ll have more time to react instead of being blindsided.

The stress reducer of having a plan can apply to many different stressful situations.  I often go into stressful client meetings with an agenda.  It always puts my mind at ease and helps me cope with the stress of the meeting.

What are other ways to make the stress in your business more manageable?

Healthy habits for stress

There are also things you can do as part of your everyday life to reduce stress and make you feel better.  They’re pretty simple things that can have a big impact.

Getting exercise by walking or lifting weights can be a great stress reducer.

Going to bed early and getting enough sleep.

Eat better.  Downing a double cheeseburger to make yourself feel better is only going to make you feel worse later on, even though it may taste great at the time!

Volunteering can help you feel better and less stressed.  Make sure you’re careful with this one.  Volunteering too much can have the opposite effect.

It’s very important that you don’t deal with stress in a negative way.  Drinking, smoking and other bad habits will only make things worse in the long run.

Take days off.  You may like to work seven days a week because you love what you do but it can be taking a toll on your stress levels.  You need time to reset and daydream.  Make sure you take a couple days per week off to enjoy hobbies or other fun activities.

Things you can do when feeling stressed

Go for a walk.

We will often do this at work when we’re feeling really overwhelmed or stressed out.  It feels good to go outside and take a few minutes to reset.  You can organize your thoughts and develop a mini plan for the rest of your day.

Make a list and tackle things one at a time.  I do this daily.

Make a list of all the good things that are happening.  You’ll feel better and relaxed almost instantly.

Call a friend and talk for a little while.  Getting your mind off things and talking with a good friend puts you in a better frame of mind.

Stress is something that comes with the territory of business ownership but it’s also very controllable.  It only gets out of control when you let it.

What stresses you out?

This week Neil got the chance to purchase some remodeling services at his home. The guys reflect on how having empathy for your customer can improve your sales and marketing process.

Business owners spend months researching, compiling data & writing this mostly useless document only to stick it on a shelf never to be used again.

Why then are there seemingly millions of blog posts, web sites and software programs dedicated to helping you write one?

Only because just about every business consultant says you have to have one.

Not us!  They’re garbage, so don’t bother.  I’m not even sure there’s anyone out there actually reading them cover to cover.

You need to spend time doing something more important.  Master plan the future for your business and you’ll get the direction and motivation you need.

What is a master plan?

Your master plan is the road map for the future of your business.  It has a little flavor of ‘where you’ve been’ and a whole lot of ‘where you want to be’.  It should answer all of the following questions:

What is most important for your business to accomplish?

Why are you even in business?

What do you see your business doing in one, two, five and ten years?

What is your role in the business at each of those milestones?

What type of work will you be doing at those milestones?

What status and recognition will you have in your local market?

Will you have employees and when?

What your annual revenue be?

What will need to happen each year, month, week and day to bring this plan to reality?

What is your ultimate end game? (take on a partner, retire, or even sell it)

This plan is going to be different depending on the business type.  What’s good for the catering company probably won’t be good for the appliance repair guy.

It doesn’t have to be a formal document that you’ve spent hours putting together.  It does need to be something that’s realistic and thoughtful.  Don’t be pie in the sky and think you’re going to double your revenue every year for the next 10 years.  Can you say bankrupt?

Without this plan you have no idea what your goals are and what you want this business to be.  If you’re happy just ‘bumping along’ then don’t bother.

Reason 1 – Vision & Values

Writing down this vision and values is an important step in understanding why this business is important to you.

This is arguably the most important part of a master plan for your business.  Your vision and personal values are going to shape every part of the business.  Whether it becomes a huge corporation or stays as a one person company, you’ll be the key.

Writing down your vision and values solidifies your beliefs and goals.  It makes it clear to you and any employees who may come later.  It’s most vital that everyone understands what the company is all about and why it exists.

Reason 2 – Guidance

Without this guidance, you’re working aimlessly towards what?

You need something for guidance and direction.  Running the day to day of your business, especially in the beginning, will not leave you enough time for planning and direction.  You need to have it all figured out beforehand.

This plan will make you map the general direction your business is heading.  As the years pass you can refer to the master plan and see if you’re still on the right track.

Reason 3 – Communication/Alignment

Communication is the single most important skill you can learn as a business owner.  Learn to do it effectively and you will surely be successful.

The master plan will help to communicate the business vision to your family, employees and possible partners.  It should be easy for them to read the statements and immediately understand what the company is all about.

The master plan should be something visible to everyone concerned on a daily basis.  They should be able to see it as a constant reminder of what’s important in addition to where you’re headed.

It’s easy to lose sight of what’s important even within yourself.  The business wraps you up and drags you in ten different directions.  This plan can regularly communicate to you why you started the business in the first place and where you want to be.

Reason 4 – Hiring

Hiring the right people at the right time can propel your business to success.

Knowing when to hire employees is a difficult business decision.  Doing it too soon or too late can cause a lot of stress!  It’s hard to know if the timing is right.  Having a long term plan makes these hiring decisions a little more automatic.

As you develop your master plan you can identify times when you know hiring will be necessary.  Revenue targets or project counts can give you an idea when overwhelm will occur.  A little overwhelm can be good for business but you can’t let it go on too long before you hire some help.

Reason 5 – Control

Too much business growth can be just as bad as too little.

Most business owners fear a lack of business, leads or customers.  What they don’t realize is that exactly the opposite can put you out of business too.  Planning for your future can give the foresight to know when things are about to spiral out of control.

There was a very large remodeling company in our area that recently went out of business because they grew too big too fast.  Having a master plan can give you a point of reference to know that maybe things are moving a little too quickly.  If you had planned for $600k in sales this year and you’re at $1.8 million I think you might have a problem.  You either need to adjust your plan or slow things down a bit.

What the most important thing about your master plan?

Writing it in the first place!

Agonizing over the details or spending days and days making it perfect is not going to help you any more than just getting it done.  Don’t spend a bunch of time worrying about format or making it pretty.  Just make sure it’s thoughtful, gives you perspective and most importantly, direction.

At regular intervals take time to review the master plan and make adjustments as necessary.  This means adjusting the plan or adjusting your approach.  The plan is not gospel, just guidance. There’s nothing that says it can’t change over time.  It’s a working document.  Just make sure you have something to work from!

Send us your business master plans.  We want to see them!  E-mail or comment below.

This week Neil shares some of the metrics he uses each month and what story they tell. Discover how your accounting can tell you about the past, present and future of your business.

What key numbers are you following each month in your business?

A lot!

As all you regular readers know I just got back from a long journey across our great country to South Dakota and back.

We (I mostly) drove 2300 miles through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa.  We saw such great sights as the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota and Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota.

I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation!

The highlight for my wife was the Badlands in South Dakota and the National Memorial at Mount Rushmore.  She found the rock formations of the Badlands and their scenery to be breathtaking.  She couldn’t seem to take enough photos to satisfy her.  I thought it looked like a big pile of rocks!  For me it was interesting for about the first 15 minutes.

The trip highlight for me was Custer State Park in South Dakota and the Crazy Horse monument just north of Custer, South Dakota.  I’m fascinated by the process and the progress at Crazy Horse over the years.  Seeing all the gadgets they use and the time lapse pictures is so cool.

I could have spent all day in the visitor’s center and home of Korczak Ziolkowski who started the project back in 1948.  Talk about a man dedicated to his life’s work.  Korczak was 39 years old (same age as me!) when he started this ‘monumental’ project.  He would dedicate the rest of his life to its progress and completion (even though it isn’t even close to completion long after his passing).

You need an example of a man who had passion for his work?  Here it is!

Korczak had passion for a project and a culture that weren’t even his own.  He was Polish-American with no relation to the Oglala Lakota Native American tribe who commissioned the work.

Korczak was a somewhat eccentric man who wanted to do everything his way and refused to accept any government grants to fund this monument.  The project would probably be done by now if he had.  Instead he chose to fund everything himself through charging admission to the site and asking for donations from visitors.  Judging by the number of cars I saw it would seem that they are bringing in more than enough to pay their explosives supplier!

After his death in 1982, his family carried on his legacy through the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.  Several of his children are active in the foundation and still work on the mountain every day.

How could a man with no relation to these people develop so much passion for this project?  Was it ego, money, obligation or guilt?

I doubt it.

Korczak developed his commitment through stories and first-hand accounts of the Lakota people.  This gave him a deep understanding of Crazy Horse, his passion for his people and his connection to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Korczak’s passion for sculpting only needed a little push to propel him into this project and give his life even more focus and dedication.

The story of the Crazy Horse Monument is a publicized example of how passion and motivation are fed.  What a great inspiration for all of us as business owners!

It shows that our passion for what we do is not stagnate.

It changes with time and influences, often for the better.  You may have motivation for your work but don’t feel truly passionate, that’s OK.  Push forward with your business and keep searching for further inspiration.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting more and that push you need could be right under your nose.

Even the most motivated and passionate people need help to keep their motor running.

Without passion and motivation for what we do, true success is unattainable.

We’d love to hear your summer vacation stories.  What lessons did you learn or was it just a lesson in relaxation?

Where did you go?  My wife needs some ideas for next year!

Don’t be shy!  Tweet or comment below!

• why we did a survey
• what surprised us most about the survey
• why we asked the questions we
• how we use surveys in our ‘everyday’ business
• what we plan to do with these results moving forward

What do you think of our plans for changes to the podcast?  Comment Below …

As I’m writing this post our family (mostly my wife Karen) is preparing for our first family driving vacation.  Much like Clark Griswold and his family we’re preparing for a 1900 mile journey across the great ole’ US of A to South Dakota and back.

My wife had always wanted to see Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Wall Drug and of course, the Corn Palace!  Let’s just say her Dad was never the driving-trip type so I get to help her fulfill her lifelong dreams.

That’s what husbands are for, right?

Not only are we driving across the country but we’re also renting a travel trailer for camping.  It’s really a cross between Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) from Vacation and Bob Munro (Robin Williams) from RV.  I hope it goes a little smoother for me than it did Bob.  Check out the picture of our rig enclosed with this post.

Karen loves to plan vacations of all types.  The process is exciting and she gets into planning every detail of the whole trip.  Frankly, I pay very little attention and only interject when asked.  Sometimes that frustrates her.  I also know better than to make negative comments during the trip.

What makes it great is that Karen really enjoys the planning and I really enjoy the trips.  It’s a win-win for both of us.

What does this have to do with small business Joel?

I thought you’d never ask.  It’s the importance of removing yourself from the business as often as makes sense.  Take time off, reflect and experience new things.  The freedom to enjoy life should have been one of your major motivators in having a small business.

‘But Joel, I love my business and can’t see myself doing anything else.  I don’t need time off.’  You say.

That’s a load.  No matter how much you love what you do, your family needs you and you need time to reflect.  You also need to spend ‘special time’ with your family.

It doesn’t have to be a month-long trip to Africa.  It can be a long weekend at a cabin on Kentucky Lake or a short trip to visit your brother in San Francisco.  The point is, take the time to get away.

I’m really looking forward to this trip mostly for the memories it will build for me and my children.  I remember our family driving trip across county when I was only 8 or 9.  It’s amazing to me the memories I still have of that trip.  I want to create that for my children.

You only have one chance to create those memories for yourself and your family.

Don’t pass it up!  In 20 years you’ll be really glad you went.

So many business owners have told us recently that networking is not working for them anymore. Maybe they’re doing it wrong? This week we identify how to be more successful with your business networking. Ditch the low productivity networking and create your own network of highly influential people that can help you launch to the next level.

In this episode Joel mentions a book he is currently reading – The Tipping Point. It’s a great book and one that could have made the top ten books last week.

What have been your most successful networking experiences?  Please comment below…

You’ve heard ‘knowledge is power?’ Well I say KNOWLEDGE IS MONEY. In fact I saw a great sign recently -”Rich people have big libraries, Poor people have big TVs”  That is so true.

To help grow your library here are ten books you must read.

1. The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
2. Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money by Rabbi Daniel Lapin
3. The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur by Jim Horan
4. The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
5. Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business by Jay Conrad Levinson
6. The Ultimate Marketing Plan: Target Your Audience! Get Out Your Message! Build Your Brand! by Dan Kennedy
7. A Simple Act of Gratitude: How Learning to Say Thank You Changed My Life by John Kralik
8. I’m Stuck, You’re Stuck: Break through to Better Work Relationships and Results by Discovering Your Disc Behavioral Style by Tom Ritchey
9. Hiring Smart!: How to Predict Winners and Losers in the Incredibly Expensive People-Reading Game by Pierre Mornell
10. The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently by Tony Dungy

What are your favorite business books of all time? Share your comments below…

How do you effectively present pricing to clients?

Do they only need to know the overall cost?

Should you break everything down as much as possible?

What if they ask questions about what you’re charging?

How much information is too much to show your client?

I’ve recently been working on a very large renovation project for a homeowner’s association.  It’s an addition with extensive renovations for a 4000 sf building that the residents of a subdivision use.  The project has been in design for 15 months and we’ve been working on design, layout and logistics.  During the course of the design process we’ve been presenting the client lump sum cost estimates for portions of the work.  I’ve shown them an overall cost and then broken it down by project; the addition is going to cost X, the interior renovations are going to cost Y and the exterior updates are going to cost Z.  As part of the process it was required that I share all the trade contractor costs separate from our company’s costs.  This was so the association could see the trade contractor’s costs and pick which company to use.  This forced us to disclose exactly how much we were charging the association for their construction project.

The lump sum cost estimates I’ve been showing them added up to $625,000.  This was a little over their budget but instead of cutting work out of the job to hit the budget they decided to push forward accepting the fact that the project was going to be $625k.

About a month ago we finished the very long and complicated process of securing all the trade contractor pricing and assembling everything into a spreadsheet that could be easily understood.  The total project was $621,000.  We were under my projections!  Yippee, right?

Wrong!

The presentation was made to a less-than-enthusiastic group.  Even though the total cost was less than my projections, they were not happy.  They felt we were charging too much and should start drastically cutting costs from our line items.

They requested we provide tons of information showing where all this money was going and how we would justify the need for it.  In short, it’s been a disaster.

I’m frustrated because everything was fine with the overall costs and in the end the total project came in at $621k.  That was 5 thousand dollars less than I told them it would be.  It really didn’t matter to them!  They were contesting the amount of money they were giving just to us.

I’ve spent the last 5 weeks firmly defending my costs and working with them to justify the numbers.  It’s been very difficult and stressful.  Part of me is beginning to believe they will never get it no matter how hard I try.

This story is an example of what can happen when you decide to disclose all of your company’s costs (go open-book) to potential clients.

Most people have no concept of what it takes to run a small business, make a salary and turn a profit.  They think everything should be cheap and your salary as the business owner is ‘profit.’  Remember this if you decide to conduct your business open-book.

Some business models are more easily adapted to the open-book model.  Auto repair shops are one example.  Most everyone has become accustomed to seeing the labor and parts separate.  They may think the labor is expensive but most everyone has come to accept that.

Other clients will have a really hard time justifying a project if you give them a lump sum cost for the work.  They won’t understand why it costs so much.  For these people you may need to break things down a little.  Giving them the costs broken down could help them better understand where the money is going and sign on the dotted line.

You may choose to present most of your pricing as a lump sum and break it down only when forced.  This is our approach and it works very well for us.  I have broken down bids in the past with success.  It just depends on the client and what they’re expecting.

You may feel more comfortable presenting pricing open-book because everything is right there for the client to see and you can easily justify all the numbers.  I know many companies that do their pricing this way and it works out great.

In the end it doesn’t matter if you break it down or not.  The cost is the cost.  You’ve spent the time to prepare a fair proposal and present it to them.  If they can’t have the common sense to hire you, walk away!  Don’t start cutting money from the proposal.  It will make you look deceitful (you in fact were charging too much) or you’re going to lose your butt because you did it too cheap.

Don’t let them tell you how much you should charge.  You know what’s best for you and your business.

No matter how dirt cheap you are there will always be people out there who think you’re charging too much.  You can win a battle with the stupid.

It’s been a while since we talked about us. And who doesn’t like to talk about themselves?

So we go back to the beginning and share with you the story of how and why we started a successful remodeling company in the Chicago suburbs. Learn :

• what is the secret to our companies success
• what frustrations lead us to start our own company
• how many employees we had and currently have on our team
• what our annual revenues are
• what chain of events prompted us to start Help Start My Small Business

Most importantly this week we need your help

To make Help Start My Small Business even better than it already is we need you to spend five quick minutes to take our survey.

Find the survey here

What about our story resonates with you?  Comment below…

I do!

Oh crap, what have I done?!

You could be one of many who find themselves in one of those ‘worse’ moments when trying to deal with your new small business and finding out your spouse is not all in.

It’s something almost everyone running a new business needs to deal with.  Their spouse thinks the idea is stupid or they’re mad because you’re spending too much time (or money) on the business.  I’m not a marriage counselor but I have started two businesses while keeping my marriage intact.

New businesses can be very hard on a marriage.  Things are changing, people are stressed out and you’re both heading into the great unknown holding on with both hands!

This would be fine and manageable if you were both passionate about the business idea and saw it as the answer to your work/life prayers.  This is rarely the case.  Often times your spouse will see your idea as risky or just plain dumb.

‘Why do you want to run a business going around town picking up dog crap?  Nobody’s going to pay for that, and besides, what are you going to do with all the crap?  You’re not leaving it in the garage or putting it out in our trash!  That’s going to stink to high heaven!  This sounds like a really bad idea to me.’

Does this sound familiar?  The part about the dog poo business may not be familiar but maybe the objections to your business idea?

It all starts with the basic fact that you have passion and excitement about your business idea and your partner does not.  This is why you chose the small business you did, because you love it!  Even if it is picking up dog crap.

How do you overcome objections about money, hours worked, logistics and emotional investments?

Communication!

The easiest way to work with your small business clients is to over-communicate with them.  The same holds true with your spouse or partner.  They need to know the following:

                Why are you passionate about this idea?

                What potential pitfalls are there and how do you plan to deal with them?

                What is your plan for work/life balance?

                They need to know the layout of the business plan and your financial investment.

                How will this new business make both of your lives better?

The last question is the most important one and the one that should hit home with your spouse.  Understanding how this new business will affect them and your relationship is very important.  Your spouse is probably scared at the prospect of losing your income or never being home anymore.  You need to calm those fears and show that you’ve spent the time figuring all that out.

You have it all figured out, right?  If you haven’t thought about this stuff you’d better get to it.  These are important questions that any small business owner should know the answer to.

If you have passion about your business and your spouse knows it, everything should be just fine.  It’s most likely a matter of calming their fears and showing them you are in control of your collective future.

Over-communicate.  Chances are; they didn’t hear you the first time.

My wife has to tell me everything twice!

This week I interview singer/songwriter/performer Anthony Snape. Anthony shares with us his recent experience with Kickstarter. He has a wealth of information about:

• goal setting
• attitude
• knowing your customer/client/fan
• using social media
• building a community
• planning a marketing blitz
• perseverance

Find Anthony’s Kickstarter page here

Find Anthony’s official website here

Find Anthony’s music in iTunes here

What was your biggest takeaway from Anthony? Comment below…

‘You get two.’

It refers to the triangle of attributes for any business or company.  It can apply to anything from a fortune 500 company down to a one person consulting business in Boise Idaho!

In our remodeling business we find ourselves on both sides of the sales cycle.  Most of the time we’re the ‘provider’ but there are times when we’re the ‘consumer’.  We subcontract a large portion of the work we do to trade contractors who perform services or provide products.

Our trade contractors become an important part of our business model and contribute to our image in the marketplace.  When we’re buying products and services we’re always considering the business triangle of price, service or quality.

Price – This is the ability of the supplier to provide their service at a cheap or very competitive price.

Service – This is the quality of the service they provide.  Are the responsive and call back right away?  Do they get the work done when they say they will?  Can they get it done quickly?

Quality – This refers to the level of detail and quality they provide.  This can be through fit and finish or the quality of the products.

In business and life you can usually get two, but not all three.  It’s very rare that all three of these things will exist within one company.

If they have a very cheap price then the quality or service is not very good.

If their service and quality is great then they’re not going to be cheap.  A phrase you hear all this time is, ‘you get what you pay for.’  This saying combines service and quality together.

I’ve found that high price, good quality and good service usually go hand in hand.  I rarely see cheap price, excellent service and poor quality, although it has happened.

In our remodeling business we’ve chosen to be the high quality, great service and not-so-cheap provider.  We’ve made efforts in the past to dumb down our service and quality in order to offer our service at a cheaper price.  It never works and we end up losing our shirts!

What type of provider do you choose to be?  Chances are, if you’re reading this post and website you’ve chosen good customer service, good quality and a price that is competitive but probably higher.  Your service is sold on its merits and not on having the lowest price.

We’ve made this conscious choice and realize it provides a better standard of living for us as well as a better reputation in the community.  Our clients get the service they expect and a great product when everything is done.  In the end they realize they paid more but also admit it was worth it.  The problems they encountered were minimal and we were always quick to call back, even when there was a problem.  This is very important to me and my clients.

Providing poor quality and service just to be the cheapest is going to give you a bad reputation.  People will say, ‘they were really cheap but did a crappy job,’ or ‘I could never get the guy to call me back!’  This is going to get you very little referral business and forces you to continue selling on price alone.

Which two do you want to provide?

“I don’t do business with those who don’t make a profit because they can’t give the best service.”  Richard Bach

Now don’t get me wrong. As a planner and highly detailed person I would never tell someone to start a business without planning. But we have all been sold this idea of a Holy Grail of a business plan. How it must contain specific facts and numbers and statistics. The truth is, you just don’t know!

This week we give you some practical advice regarding business plans:

• What basics should you include in a plan?
• Why does a business plan keep you from starting your business?
• What financial projections should be included in a business plan?
• What do you need to know about yourself to write your business plan?

Do you have a written business plan? How detailed is it? Comment below…

I was recently having a conversation with a local business owner in my Rotary club.  We were both commenting to each other on our ‘weeks from hell.’  I had just returned from week-long church youth trip to a stressful week filled with ‘catch-up’ and negotiating a huge contract with a current client.  He was telling stories of past-midnight city council meetings and trouble clients.

I didn’t think too much of what he was saying until something stuck.  He mentioned that his daughter’s 16^th birthday was that week and he was in a heap of trouble for missing the party.

What?!  You missed your daughter’s 16^th birthday party!

I didn’t call him to the carpet but in my mind I was thinking how horrible and avoidable that was.  There is no doubt that in the operation of your business you will miss certain family events and a softball game here and there.  Running a business takes a lot of time and dedication.  An occasional conflict is expected and acceptable.

Missing an important milestone like your family member’s birthday party is not acceptable.  There are certain things in your life that are non-negotiables.  Important family events should be one of them.

I see my two daughter’s 16^th birthdays as important milestones for them deserving celebration by me and my wife.

As a business owner it’s important for you to define your non-negotiables.  What overlap are you willing to accept between your business and personal life?  How many hours a week are you willing to work running your business before stopping to spend time with yourself and your family?  It doesn’t matter if you’re single, married or your business creates so much excitement and passion that you can’t tear yourself away from it.

You need to have time for you and your family.  Creating memories and taking time to recharge is an important part of your personal growth and well-being.  Here’s my list of non-negotiables…..

1. No Saturday or Sunday Meetings!  I have people ask me all the time if I do meetings on weekends.  My answer is a firm no!  If that means they don’t want to do business with me, so be it.  Saturday is my catch-up, recharge, odds and ends day.  Sunday is my sleep-in-do-what-I-want-for-me-and-my-family day.  Not having these two days to reset and get my brain in order makes me feel even more stressed and uptight.
2. No late night meetings.  I frequently have people request meetings at 7 or 8pm.  ‘Well, my husband works in the city and doesn’t get home until 7:30 so can we meet then?’  No, we can’t meet then.  First of all, your husband needs to examine his own family priorities and try to get home at a decent hour.  Leaving the house at 6am and not getting home until 7:30pm is no way to respect the ones you love.  I politely say that late night meetings are a drain on everyone.  Who’s still fresh and capable of having a coherent conversation after 12 hours of work?  I know I’m not.  I’m exhausted.  I will frequently recommend that their spouse find a day they’re working from home, can come home early or a day they can leave a little late.  If they’re serious they’ll find another time to meet.  If they won’t budge then let them go cause your competitor some stress.
3. Make the important milestones.  Your spouse and family deserve attention all the time but none more importantly than on those milestone dates.  Anniversaries, brithdays, graduations and other special accomplishments need your attention and presence.
4. Vacations.  Take time to get away as often as you can.  I have a client giving me a hard time because I went a short cruise with my wife in April and just got back from the church youth trip over the weekend.  ‘You go on vacation all the time; I must be paying you too much!’  I take offense to this and wonder if she ever goes on vacation with her family.  Vacations are a great way to bond with your family and create lasting memories.  Camping trips with my Dad are some of the best memories of my childhood.

Your list may be similar or completely different.  The key is to create this list either in your head or on paper.  Know where you’re willing to compromise and where you aren’t.  It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and not realize your personal life is suffering.  Success in your business can go hand in hand with success at home.  You have to consciously design it that way.  Left to chance, your business life will consume everything on your path to make a living or grow your business.  Business passions can be very strong and will often overtake everything else in your life.

You run the risk of waking up one morning, realizing you’re an empty-nester and being filled with a whole lot of regret.  By then it’s way too late to do anything about it.

Find your balance.

Tom shares with us his desire to be Uncommon and how he is teaching others to do the same. He has some great ideas to share with everyone including:

• The three things he would change if he could start his small business journey over
• How he manages to juggle two businesses and his growing family
• His experience in a business partnership
• How he always keeps his pipeline full of leads

To find out more about Tom and Motor check out his Uncommon Website.

How have you been uncommon lately?  Please comment below…

If this describes you, you are not alone. When starting a business it’s natural to want to bid every possible project that comes your way. But is this a good use of your time?

This week we give you some guidelines to use when evaluating a new potential client. Should you spend the time necessary to bid this project or are you better moving on to something more prosperous?

• How can you get a prospect to open up about your competition?
• How to drill down with a prospect to see if they are a fit for your company
• What should you NEVER do if you want the job?
• Curiosity is the basis for all sales

Do you have a list of questions to ask potential clients to qualify them as a customer? Comment below…

Are you a manager? Are you a connector?  Are you a doer?!

No matter what you believe yourself to be, the reality is, you’re a salesperson!

Everyone’s a salesperson.  To be called a ‘salesman’ has become something of an insult over the years.  People sneer when they hear the term and think less of you.  What most of them don’t realize is that everyone is selling something all most all the time.

You’re selling yourself to a potential employer, selling the idea of going to a specific restaurant to your friends or trying to get your parents to let you borrow the car.  It’s all sales!

Sales is everywhere!

The type of selling is what creates positive or negative connotations.  I don’t like the ‘salesperson’ who is trying to sell me something I don’t want or didn’t even ask for!  This is the one who calls at 5:30 when I’m just sitting down for dinner.  That’s the negative definition of a ‘salesman’.

My point with all this is that your ability to sell your business, yourself or your ideas to employees is going to have a big impact on the success of your small business.  The sales you make are the only way to create steady business income.  It’s imperative that you, or someone you designate, have the skills necessary to be a salesperson and bring revenue in the door.

As a small business owner the job of ‘sales’ falls squarely on you!  The buck stops here and if you can’t do what it takes to get work or designate someone else to do so, your business is going to suffer and possibly fail.

So I guess this says that whether you like it or not, you’re a salesperson.

What can you do to make yourself better at selling?

The first step in fixing or succeeding at anything is realizing you have a problem to solve.  The point to this post is that you have to realize you are always selling.  The small business owner is 100% salesperson all the time.  You should be constantly trolling for potential clients and new avenues of business.  People in the community should know who you are and have a positive impression of your business (networking).

Work to build a positive impression in your own mind of sales and salespeople.  Your product and services are perfect for your ideal client and they need to learn they can’t live without them!  You can solve all their problems with your skills and services.

I’ve always struggling with the concept of being ‘turned on’ all the time.  Having to constantly sell myself and my business was always stressful for me.  The light bulb finally came on about a year ago when I was able to change my impression of salespeople and as a result myself!

Believing you’re there to help people and not force something on them was a very important attitude shift.  I learned I truly did believe I was there to help them, not convince them.  My negative connotations of sales people had trapped me and stunted my sales growth.  After realizing this mental block I was able to be much more comfortable talking about my business to strangers and potential clients.  This mental shift of being a counselor and not necessarily a sales person freed my mind and led to more success in sales.  I’m there to help them solve their problems with the services I provide.  If my service cannot solve their problems, that’s OK, I move on graciously to someone I can help.

Work to create positive belief systems in your mind of who you are in your small business.  I firmly believe sales fits in there somewhere.  It took me years to realize who I really was in my small business.

This realization has helped me sell my way to success.

Joel and I are big fans of the DiSC profile.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of videos explaining why we believe in it, how you can take one yourself and how you can use the results to improve your business and your life. Yes, I’m serious…DiSC has improved my life. I gained a whole new perspective on myself and have used these results to make positive changes in my life.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Check out the video to see How To Take A DiSC Profile.

Take Your Own DiSC Profile Assessment Now

In the coming weeks look for -

Why Do We Believe In The DiSC Profile?

What Do The Results Of A DiSC Assessment Say About You?

Now-a-days we have a repeatable system for handling the sales process. By developing a predictable flow chart of events it helps us to ensure that every potential client is treated the same.

It also allows to channel our energy into leads that might actually turn into a sale and weed out the tire kickers early in the process!

This week we will share the five step process every small service business should use to handle sales opportunities.

• What starts the sales process?
• Why do customers really buy from you?
• How to recognize a real client from a window-shopper.
• Why being curious is a really good thing in sales.
• What is the ONE outcome every sales call should have.
• Why we would be happy to turn away a ‘potential project.’ (and no we’re not crazy!)

Download a transcript of this episode

Do you have a system you use in your sales process?  Please share below…

Sam began living his dream about 6 months ago.  He started a lawn service with his brother.  They do grassing cutting, lawn care, fertilizing and mulching.  Some thought it beneath Sam as he comes from the world of corporate management.  He didn’t care.  Sam enjoys the work and even more, he enjoys the pride felt in running his own small business.

All the money made in the business is theirs and each day they can look back on what they accomplished feeling good about the outcome.  With each week that passes it seems they are getting more and more customers.  This makes Sam excited, but at the same time, he is starting to feel overwhelmed because they’re having trouble servicing all their clients.

Sam’s trying to decide if it’s time to hire more help.  They have one employee who works with them full time.  They work side by side with their employee coaching and teaching him what they expect of him day to day.  He’s doing well but certainly is not ready to work without their direction.

Sam’s becoming exhausted from working in the business during the day and then doing paperwork at night.  He’s starting to wonder if this new business was such a great idea after all.  He still enjoys owning the business but is tired of working so many hours.

Slow down Sam!  Sam’s company is about to implode and he doesn’t even know it.  He needs to slow down and give his business some time to adjust.  Businesses that grow and hire too quickly are doomed to fail or are at least in for some ‘growing pains.’  Explosive growth can feel like a great thing at the time but it will quickly get painful and could become a problem.

This is a typical story for many people who start their own small business.

Sam is at a crossroads, should he hire a bunch of people and ramp up his sales or raise his prices and work to service his existing customers even better?

If Sam decides to hire another crew to work in the field and service his clients he will be spending even more time working.  He has to train them, manage them, and keep them busy.  This means more time spent marketing, selling and doing paperwork.  This is fine if that’s what he signed up for.

Some business owners don’t realize it, but they just want to run a great business and enjoy themselves.  It’s only after they hire a bunch of people and take on other headaches that they realize the business has become something they don’t enjoy.

I used this story to illustrate how important it is to start your business with an end game in mind.  Hire employees because you planned to hire them at specific milestones in the business.  If you hire too many people too fast you might find you don’t have the sales to support them.  Then you’ll have to let them go.  This would be after you spent hundreds of hours training them.

The other option is for the business owner to start a business with a plan for growth and independence.  This is an admirable goal and this person can build a great business with some time and hard work.  A strategic plan for growth and hiring will be a must for any business but especially the one planning for large growth.  Without a long range hiring plan the owners will not have the guidance they need to know when the time is right to make a move.

Before hiring a lot of staff, take the time to perfect everything about your business and systematize what you do.  This will make it easier to hire, train and manage your employees.  A framework will make it easier for everyone.  Trying to make up the systems and rules when someone has just started can turn out to be a real mess.

Raising your prices to control the flow of new work coming in is a great way to slow things down and give yourself some breathing room.  If you’re super busy it’s usually a sign that you’re too cheap!  As you raise your prices, less people will want to pay the premium your business charges.  The benefit here is that you can service those customers even better because you’re being paid very well to do it.  Cash flow will be better and you will most likely have less stress.

The need to hire more staff is a great problem to have.  Don’t let it go to your head.  Take your time and plan things out.

‘He who fails to plan is planning to fail’    Winston Churchill

Hear all our thoughts on defining your ideal client in this episode.

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What does your ideal client look like?  Share your avatar below…

Corporations spend billions of dollars a year on the design and production of packaging for their products.  Could they just stick the potato chips in a plain brown paper bag and put them on the shelf?  Of course they could, but what would be their chances of getting noticed in the crowd of brown paper bags?  Slim to none.  No one would even recognize their product let alone buy it.

The same theory applies to your new small business.

You too need to stand out in a crowded field of brown paper bags!

Consumers are notorious for grouping all companies in a similar field together.  If you all provide dog grooming services then you must all be the same and I can just choose the company that’s the cheapest.  This is why you need to learn how to package and market your service.

The most important type of packaging you portray is your brand and overall message.  They create the ‘bag’ that everyone is purchasing when they decide to use your company.  This bag needs to stand out on the shelf and scream your message to anyone who sees it.  This is how you get noticed in the first place.  Our ‘bag’ is most effective through past clients and a very well-designed web site.  We get majority of our leads through these two sources.

To learn more about logos, branding and usp check out this podcast or this podcast.

How else can you make it easier for potential clients to buy from you?  By packaging your services into something that’s easy to understand and pay for.  We learned this some time back and started offering our design/build remodeling services in four different packages.  When I go on sales calls people love to read about the different packages and see which one fits them the best.

To some degree everyone loves to see how they fit in.  Evaluating their needs and seeing how our offerings serve that need is interesting and engaging for them.  Make it easy for them to evaluate your product offerings and visualize how you’ll be helping them.

Think about how you could divide your services into different categories or packages that your clients typically buy.  We listed all of our available services and then broke it down into some of the ones that were most frequently bought.  Then we tweaked it a little to encourage the client to approach our service in the way we preferred.

These packages made our process different from everyone else and increased the perceived value.  It allowed us to charge more for our services and improved the closing ratio.  It also made the internal organization easier because the selling and design process became more systematized.  We do the same basic thing on every project with some minor variations depending on the client or project type.

Where do you stand out?  What does everyone looking for your service need and what could be an upgrade?

Want to stand out and get noticed?  Ditch the brown bag and get a better package!

This week we discuss the basics of lead tracking.

• What is a lead?
• What is the purpose of lead tracking?
• How to gather the lead tracking information.
• How to keep track of lead data
• Sales Force
• Infusionsoft
• Sales Nexus
• ACT
• Highrise
• How to use the data in your business

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How do you use lead tracking data in your business? Comment below…

How do you come up with the scratch in the meantime?

Can you title loan your car or sell personal belongings?  This has certainly been done before but it’s not the best solution.  The best way to avoid a funds disaster it to plan ahead for these emergencies.  Trying to find the money at the last minute means you’ll be stuck borrowing from friends or using credit cards.

Neither is ideal.

We’ve used plenty of credit cards in our past and take it from us; it’s not a good idea.  The interest is a killer and the liquidity stinks.  You’ll find yourself getting behind and with the interest building it gets more and more difficult to pay off the balances.

The best way to solve a cash flow problem is by planning ahead with your bank.  They’re the best place to develop a long term solution to short term cash problems.

Our experience has shown us that finding a good locally-owned bank with VPs and presidents who live in your area can go a long way to supporting your business cash flow needs.  They will understand small business and have the ability to make objective decisions on how best to help your company.

This type of loan is called a Small Business Line of Credit.  It is not always easy to get and you’ll find it’s even harder when your company is less than a year old.  The bank is going to want to see the history of your company’s financials.  They want to see you have the ability to make and manage money.  A startup can’t provide this proof.  They will also want you to personally guarantee the loan and provide a personal financial statement.  As a small business owner you’ll find that you’re putting together a personal financial statement at least once a year.

This line of credit will only be good for a year and then you’ll have to renew it with the bank.  If you’ve been current on the payments and not broken any of the rules you should be good.  If not, they may call the note and you’ll have to pay it all back immediately.

That would be no fun at all, game over!

A word of advice…

Use this line of credit as a way to cover short term cash crunches.  This is not a long term loan.  The bank doesn’t like to see the note go ‘evergreen.’  This means that you’ve borrowed up to the limit of the line and haven’t paid any back.  They want to see you borrow some money for a little while and then pay it back.  If you need a bunch of money for a long time you should be looking into a long term loan for equipment or property.  A line of credit is not for these types of purchases, it’s for operating your business day to day.  That means covering rent or salaries when receivables don’t show up on time.

As with any type of borrowing realize that the creditor now owns you to a certain degree.  They’ll want regular profitability updates, tax returns and financial statements.  This just goes with the territory.  The nice thing about a line of credit is that you don’t actually have to use it.  It’s just there as your safety net in a pinch.

Just make sure you don’t get tangled in your own net!

Yesterday I stopped at the bank and made a mistake.  I wish they could have told me before wasting my time.

I went to a nearby branch of the large corporate bank not to be named.  It was a rainy Saturday morning and they were open at 9 am.  I had just finished a sales meeting nearby and needed to get some cash. 

I have a pre-paid visa card from our cabinet supplier.  They use it to distribute money to their sales people as an incentive to sell their products.  There was $600 in the account and I wanted to withdrawal it all as cash.

Whenever I try to take it out at the ATM I have problems because of limits on the ATM withdrawal.  I didn’t try the ATM, figuring I would go inside and work face-to-face with the teller.  There were no other customers and I thought a little ‘people-time’ would be nice.

As I walked in the door the banker at a nearby desk immediately stood up, came over and very sincerely told me good morning and thanked me for coming to their bank.  Gold star!  Great greeting and customer contact.  I was impressed. 

I went to the teller and told her I would like to withdrawal the $600 from the account and reason for not doing it at the ATM.  She was very nice and asked for my driver’s license.  She spent forever working on it and then informed me there were insufficient funds in the account.  I said that was odd because I had just gotten the e-mail telling me they’d deposited the funds.  I asked her to try a lesser amount in case I had the balance wrong.  Again it didn’t work. 

She then goes into this long sales spiel about how I need to open a checking account at the bank and how it would make this easier.  I informed her that I didn’t want to open a checking account and I knew the account had sufficient funds.  It was obvious to me that she had no clue how her own pre-paid card worked!

I pried myself away from her (she was still trying to sell me a checking account) and walked back out of the bank to try the ATM.  As I walked out the same nice man got up and sincerely told me thanks for using their bank today.  Again this was nice but it was now tempered with my annoyance at having to do everything myself. 

I went to the ATM and got the $600 without any problem whatsoever!  That’s what I get for trying to work face to face with the teller.  This bank had it set up so it only worked at the ATM.  This seemed ridiculous to me.  It also surprised me that the teller had no clue what their products were and that it would not work through the teller.  Even after trying it once!

I applaud them for the kind man at the door with the greeting and thanks.  He made an impression on me and I thought it was a very nice touch.  All in all they got a neutral on the day.  They could have been in the plus if the teller would have known and told me this type of card didn’t work inside the bank.  I would have accepted that and not wasted a bunch of time with the teller.

My Bad Banking Experience Has Some Positive Take-Aways

This is where the small business owner can listen, take notes and do it better.  Granted, we all have troubles and make mistakes from time to time.  Lord knows I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and I’ve learned it’s how you handle the mistakes that make the impression.

As a small business owner you have the power to control the experience your customers have.  Make it the best experience they’ve ever had dealing with a company like yours.  They’ll take notice, remember and tell their friends about it.  It’s better than any advertising you can pay for.

On the other hand, bad experiences also have an impression.  People are likely to tell a horror story about someone they dealt with and may love telling it just as much or more than a success story.

Don’t make your customers do all the work.  Help them!  That’s why they came to you in the first place.  They want you to perform the service and get it done without them having to worry.

If you screw up, fix it, fast!  That’s what they’ll remember, more than the mistake.

Does hard work trump luck?

Neil compares magic to luck and why people use these terms.

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What are your thoughts on luck? Does it exist? How have you “gotten lucky” in business?

Kudos to you for reading!

Truth is, a budget is a very important tool for your business.  You won’t know a single thing about how things are really going without the financials to review.  It could feel like everything is going great when in reality you’re losing buckets of money and on the brink of collapse.

We’ve seen and heard this over and over again.  Small business owners often tell us how great everything is going and how busy they are.  ‘We’re hiring people like crazy and can’t keep up with the demand!’  That must mean everything’s going great and the business is turning a handsome profit.  This is almost always not the case.  Usually they’re so busy because they’re not charging enough for their service and therefore not making any money or losing money on each new client.

A budget for your business is going to help you understand your business income and more importantly, your business costs.  Knowing the inflows and outflows helps you to price your service and lets you know how to best spend your money.

Just about all of the business accounting programs will have a budgeting tool as part of the package.  For a small start-up business these are usually perfect.  They’re simple to understand and easy to use.  They can provide you the guidance you need to start your business financials.

Budget basics…..

A budget has two main sections, the inflows (income) and the outflows (expenses).  The income is easy.  This is all the money your clients give you to perform your service along with any other money you receive.  Other income line items can be interest income on savings or rebates you get from specific suppliers.  Any income you receive in operating your business would show up in the income section.

The other (and larger) section of your budget is the expenses.  This will have what seems like a million line items.

When starting your business it’s important to sit down and try to think of everything you’re going to need to buy or spend money on to start and operate the business.  These are going to be plugged right into your budget so they can be properly accounted for.  If they’re not on the budget, chances are, they’re losing you money somewhere and you don’t even know it.  Here is a list of some of the line items you may have.

Owner’s salary

Employee salaries

Marketing costs

Payroll taxes

Health insurance

Consultant fees

Use or sales taxes

Retirement deposits for employees

Rent for office space

Utilities for the office

Telephone

Office supplies

Postage

Computer equipment and repair

Mileage for vehicles

Insurance for vehicles

Travel expenses

Meals & entertainment for clients

License fees

Taxes

Property insurance

Liability insurance

Life insurance

Accounting fees

Legal fees

Depreciation of assets

Dues and subscriptions

Credit card charges

Interest expenses (borrowed money)

Training

These are just a few of the items that could be in your budget.  Depending on the type of business you’re running you could have twice as many or half as many.

Many people find budgeting to be a daunting task when in reality it can start out very simple.  That’s how we did it.  We started with a simple spreadsheet and as the years went on we added line items for more detail to develop the budget we use today.

The budget for next year gets drafted in October or November so that everything is ready for January 1.  Our fiscal year coincides with the calendar year so your dates would depend on what you choose for your fiscal year.

Our advice here is to start your budget early and update it often.  After a while you’ll find the numbers to be wrong or realize you’re spending a lot more money somewhere than you were thinking.  This additional money needs to be accounted for and the budget will allow you to track it.  You may notice it’s time to cut some costs because you’re spending too much money on things you shouldn’t be.  In time you’ll learn what the numbers should be and you’ll be able to regulate your income and spending habits accordingly.

One very important piece of advice on budgeting is to keep your business and personal expenses separate.  If you work from your home be careful not to pay any of your home expenses (utilities, mortgage, etc.) from the business income.   It will give you a false sense of profitability and make it look like you’re making tons of money when you’re really not.  Not to mention the IRS will frown upon you!

Don’t be afraid to budget early and update often (monthly)!

• How do you know if you have the right business mindset?
• How do you know if you have the wrong business mindset?
• What are the signs you should look for to assess your mindset?
• What questions can you ask yourself to determine your attitude?
• Can you be lazy and start a business?
• When does ‘get rich quick’ work?

Take Your Own DiSC Profile Here

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How has your attitude made you successful? Comment below…

• What are the benefits to a small business partnership
• What are the drawbacks of a partnership
• How does personality effect a partnership (DiSC profile)
• Can a partnership work if you have the same skills or different skills
• What do you legally need to have in place to start a partnership
• What type of insurance do you need to have for a partnership
• What is the number one, absolute most important element to a successful partnership

Download a transcript of this episode

Could you ever work with a sibling? Comment below…

Of course there’s also the lazy person who’s in a hurry.

Who doesn’t get e-mails every day from someone who was too lazy to take the 20 seconds and read their e-mail before hitting send?  It’s loaded with typos and improper use of grammar like ‘your & you’re.’  It makes me shake my head and think, “what’s so hard about reading it over and fixing this stuff before you send?”

In small business we’re trying to make an impression with our clients by showing them we are thorough, professional and capable.  Every communication needs to portray a positive image and one typo can scream “poor communication skills.”  Nothing says “I’m incompetent” like a lame or sloppy e-mail.

Maybe it’s me being anal but doesn’t everyone notice this stuff?

This also applies to Twitter, Facebook and text messaging.  When it comes to your business you should be taking the time to read everything before hitting ‘post.’  A comment or tweet could be seen by hundreds or thousands of people.  It’s important to get it right.

Your personal profiles are a different story.  They can be as sloppy as you want and loaded with profanity (as long as your clients aren’t your ‘friends’).

Watch out for the auto-correct feature on smart phones.  Sometimes it can take a simple text message and turn it into something dirty!  I find myself constantly correcting or erasing words it thought were spelled wrong.

Not every business owner is expected to be perfect and I’m not demanding every text you produce has perfect grammar.  I’m just saying that you should take the time to make it readable and professional.  Believe it or not, many of your clients do notice.

It’s simple to do, doesn’t take very long and makes you look like a pro.  Why not proofread?

Takee the tyme to reed b4 you hot semd!!

This week we talk about -

• the importance of having an accountant for your small business
• how an accountant can help you
• what role an accountant plays in your business
• where to find an accountant
• how to interview an accountant for your business
• how to recognize that your accountant is no longer the right fit for you

Download a transcript of this episode

Starting out broke puts undue pressure on the Owner to make end’s meat and survive.  It leaves no wiggle room and that’s no fun.  Especially when you have no room and no credit!

It’s difficult to get excited about a business when you’re in ‘survival mode’.

Why do you need cash to start a business?

Stuff

When starting up the business you’ll need to buy equipment and supplies.  How much ‘stuff’ and what ‘stuff’ you need to buy will depend on the business you’re starting.  If you’re starting a consulting business most likely all you’ll need is a computer, e-mail and internet access.  Your startup costs will be minimal.  On the other hand if you’re starting a landscaping or lawn care business you’re going to need a lot of equipment.  That’s going to require some funding.

Emergency!

What happens when something goes wrong and you need money fast to cover a shortfall or a crisis purchase?  If you don’t have any cash it could quickly put you out of business.  Make sure you have a reserve to cover such emergencies.

The ups and downs of cash

The unfortunate thing about small business is that you don’t always get paid by your clients right away, but the bills keep coming in the mail.  You’ll need funds to pay your bills while you’re waiting for the check that’s ‘in the mail.’  Employees and vendors still have to be paid and most of them don’t care if you haven’t gotten your check.  Vendors will put a hold on your account and employees will stop working.

How much cash do you need?

How much you should have on hand depends on many things.  Do you need to hire employees right away?  Will you have clients who can support you and the business on day one?  Is there rent to pay on a facility or leases for equipment?  All these things will affect how much money you need to have at the start.  Starting a legal, accounting or marketing firm will require very little cash because you can start the business slowly and build the revenue over time.  You won’t have to hire employees in the beginning and therefore, you save money.

We believe that any business should be started as simply as possible.

Start slowly!  Build up the revenue and sales to establish the growth.  Don’t try to buy growth with cash, that rarely works and it’s risky!  If you definitely need cash and don’t know where to get it, then read on…..

Where to get cash if you don’t have enough?

Your bank

One of the conventional ways of getting money to start a business is through your local bank.  Preferably this is a bank where you have a personal relationship and an account for your business.  They’re going to be more apt to loan money to a local business when they know who you are.  Going to a BofA or Chase is not going to get you very far.

At the bank you could take out a home equity loan (if you own a house), a short term personal loan or a business line of credit.  They each have their pros and cons so consider what you’re doing carefully.

The SBA

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) has many loan programs for small businesses.  They fit into different categories and can sometime be difficult to understand.  Make sure you get help from someone with experience in SBA who can guide you through the process.

Online and private lenders

There are many private lenders who are online or local.  They too can provide you with the funding necessary to start your small business.  Watch the terms and rules very carefully with these types of loans.  You could be surprised at some of their  requirements!

A money partner

Many people will go into business with a partner who has money to support the starting business.  This can work out really well or really bad.  Make sure you’re going into business with someone you trust and like.  You’ll need to have complimenting talents and skills.  That’s the only way a partnership is going to work.  If you’re only doing it because they have the money you need, don’t do it!

Friends or family

This is another funding source that can be really good or bad.  Borrowing money from friends or family should be just like borrowing from a bank.  Commit to certain terms and pay the money back quickly.  Taking too long to pay the money back or skipping payments can be very uncomfortable at parties or family gatherings.  They may not say anything to you about it, but you can bet they’re thinking it!  If you can, avoid borrowing money from friends and family.

With any of the above funding sources make sure you fully understand what you’re getting yourself into.  What is the interest rate, term and repayment rules you will be committing to?  Is it possible for you to repay in a reasonable amount of time?

What not to do with start-up cash.

The best financial advice from owners who have been through the tough times is don’t overextend yourself!  Don’t borrow more than you can pay off in a reasonable amount of time.  If you’re just starting out, do so slowly and build things up as close to debt free as possible.  If you’re already in business cut back on overhead before you take on too much debt.  You’ll be a whole lot better off because of it.

If you take out a line of credit at the bank make sure you use it as a line of credit and not a permanent loan.  A line of credit is meant to be used little bits at a time and then paid off quickly.  Some companies will borrow all the way up to the limit and then not pay it back.  This makes the bank nervous because they worry about getting paid.  Borrow only what you need for short term cash flow crunches.  If you need to borrow it all for the foreseeable future then you should look at cutting back on overhead and other costs first.

Remember, the bank has the right to call your note at any time and demand full re-payment.  Make sure you keep them happy.

Use credit cards sparingly or not at all.  The rates on credit cards can eat your business alive.  It doesn’t take long to build up a huge credit card bill and it can take forever to pay it back.  The rates are usually outrageous on credit cards.  You might as well find a loan shark!

What if you don’t have any money and can’t borrow any either?

Wait!

Give yourself some time.  Keep working at your regular job and look for ways to save money.  If you have a decent job that makes you a living, you should be able to save enough over a year or so to start a business.  You shouldn’t need a million dollars in the bank, just enough to get you off the ground.

Not another meeting! 

I can’t afford the time for all these meetings!  We say you can’t afford not to go to all these meetings!

We’ve always been passionate about mentoring and networking.  Belonging to your local and national trade association is essential to the health and growth of your business.  As a budding entrepreneur and business owner you’re not going to have all the knowledge you need to truly succeed.

You may think you know it all but I’m sure you still have plenty to learn.

It’s always been amazing how many different trade associations there are.  There’s a group meeting somewhere about anything.  For example, there’s the IAPT, this is the International Association of Plant Taxonomy.  There’s no doubt what they do is way over my head!  They’re one of many associations serving a need in the marketplace, however obscure it might seem to me.

Why do I need to join an association anyway?

Education is the main reason most people join associations.  Groups spend countless hours and dollars developing courses and curriculum for their members.  Finding good education, classrooms, teachers and materials as a small business owner can be difficult.  Associations usually have people on staff whose sole purpose it is to develop classes, hire instructors and run the logistics of the program.

We are members of both NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry) and NAHB (National Association of Home Builders).  Both of these organizations arrange for a dizzying array of educational programs.  Many associations even have education requirements for the membership. In NARI, for example, to have certifications you need to fulfill a specific number of educational credits each year.

Collective Lobbying gives a voice to the little guy or gal.  Working as a single business owner in Anytown, USA you have very little say in national political issues affecting your industry.  When you join forces with other small professionals like yourself it builds a voice to be heard in Washington or your local government.  The associations we belong to have an entire staff of people dedicated to lobbying for our interests in Washington DC.  It’s saved our bacon several times!

Networking with other professionals can be more of a benefit than you think.  Others in your industry have the same concerns and desires in business that you do.  They can be a shoulder to cry on or a thoughtful ear.

Many a mentor can also be found through networking in associations.  They’re usually eager to help and generally have the experience to offer advice or help you through a tough period.  You’ll find that after a while these people can become great friends.

Group Discounts are another great way to pool resources and develop benefits for association members.  Many associations offer group health insurance plans to their members.  Generally these aren’t as good as the plans offered by large corporations but they can be much better than what you would get on your own.  Car rental, car insurance and travel discounts are just a few of the other discounts and group buying advantages of associations.

Free Subscriptions can be a perk.  Most associations have an ‘official’ publication which you get as part of your membership.  They can be interesting and sometimes worth the price of admission alone.  Every once in a while I find a great article that was definitely worth the time.

Dispute Mediation is something we don’t like to think about but are happy we have when we need it.  Many groups will organize and help with legal problems or mediate in the event of a dispute with a client.  They are a larger voice and sometimes can be the voice of reason with a difficult client.  The flip side to this is that you’d better be following the rules of your association when you ask them for help.  If not, you could end up on the wrong side of the decision.  Our local NARI chapter has a code of ethics for its members as well as an ethics committee who looks into complaints by clients against members.

Connections for Potential Trade Partners can be a blessing and a curse.  Some of the organizations have great members who are there to help anyone they can.  Others can be leaches who are looking for their next client and have a very selfish attitude.  Avoid the latter!

Connect with the people who you like and can relate to.  They are the ones who will make you and your business better.  Look for individuals who can fill the voids in your business.  There might be bankers, accountants, lawyers or book-keepers as members.  Associations are a great place to get to know these people both socially and professionally.  It’s a lot better than sitting down with them in their office for two hours and trying to decide if you should use them.

Two hours over a couple drinks as a social event is going to tell you a whole lot more!

What you definitely should not do in your association.

Join ‘the board’ right away.  The first thing many associations see when a new member joins is ‘fresh meat.’  They’re always looking for new people to join the board of directors and help run the local chapter.  This can be a great experience and I encourage you to do it, just wait a little while.  Get to know the group and make sure it’s the right fit for you.  There’s nothing worse than getting stuck on the board and then you realize this association isn’t for you!

Don’t get too involved.  It’s great to do your part, attend meetings and socialize with other members.  Don’t take that to an extreme.  Some associations have events two times a week or more.  Attending all of these is going to burn you out in a hurry.

Pick and choose your events carefully.  Go to the ones that really interest you or will have a great educational benefit.  It will make the association much more enjoyable.

Don’t implement too much.  You’re going to learn a lot of great things at seminars and courses.  Don’t try to implement everything you learn right away.  Take it little bits at a time.

When I attend a seminar I usually look for one thing to implement when I get back to the office.  It’s my big takeaway.  Trying to change too many things too quickly can be overwhelming and counter-productive.

Using associations as the ‘power of many’ will give you an advantage with your new small business!

• Why you need money to start a business
• What initial expenses you might encounter
• What causes fluctuations in cash on hand
• Find sources for start-up funding
• What is the best way to finance a new business
• Sources of funding to avoid
• Potential pitfalls of certain funding sources

Download a transcript of this episode

How do you plan to fund your new business?

A mission statement!

Developing a mission statement for your small business is not required but it can be helpful for many reasons.  If you are drafting a business plan for funding or investor recruitment, it is a must.  If you’re starting a small business slowly from scratch and you’ll be the only employee,  wait a while.  I’ll explain a little later why waiting could be a good thing.

What is a mission statement?

A mission statement is a sentence or short paragraph that describes your business’ philosophy and goals.  I believe that keeping it short and easy to remember is important.  This is something you will repeat over and over to employees and yourself.  If it’s half a page long there’s no way you’re going to remember it and chances are, it won’t have any real meaning to you anyway.

A mission statement becomes a mantra for your business success!

To develop a mission statement and use it for what it was really intended means to repeat it over and over again.  Your employees should be able to recite it and use it as a benchmark for any important decision your company or individual employee makes.  It becomes something of a values statement for how your company relates to people (clients & suppliers) and makes decisions.  Customer service driven companies will talk about the customer experience while many large companies have a lot of text about profit and revenue.  A good mission statement that effectively joins both of these theories is the Family Dollar Stores mission statement…..

“For Our Customers A compelling place to shop. . . by providing convenience and low prices For Our Associates A compelling place to work. . . by providing exceptional opportunities and rewards for achievement For Our Investors A compelling place to invest. . . by providing outstanding returns.“

What information should your mission statement have?

A mission statement is not a novel or description of everything about your business.  It should be short and cover the essence of your business philosophy.  What kind of relationships do you want to build with everyone your business touches?  Why did you decide to go into business in the first place?  Who is your ideal client and how can you best serve them?  What is your brand and image?  Answering these questions is important to developing a good mission statement.  Decide what is most important to you and your clients so it can be incorporated into your mission statement.

Should I write my mission statement before I start the business or later?

If you’re just starting a business and need to obtain funding from a third party or are trying to attract investors you will have to write the mission statement now.  Do the best you can to answer the questions and sum up the experience you are trying to create.

If you can, you should really wait to write your mission statement.

I firmly believe that when you first start a business it’s difficult to really know exactly where you’re headed.  It takes some time to figure things out, develop a profile of your ideal client and craft your business profile.  This is why I think it’s best to wait 8-12 months before writing your mission statement.   Even then, it will require modification until it’s truly great.

If you write it too soon you’ll find you really didn’t get it right the first time and will need to take another shot at it.  It’s not a big deal to have to re-write it but in the eyes of your employees (if you have any) it can seem really scatter-brained to be revising your mission statement over and over.

Make sure the text is engaging and meaningful.

If it’s boring nobody’s going to remember it or care about it.  It needs to engage anyone who hears it.  A great example of that is the mission statement for Harley Davidson Motorcycles….

“We fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments.”

This mission statement is great!  It starts out talking about how they fulfill dreams!  Who doesn’t want to fulfill the dreams of their client?  It also does a great job of being practical.  It’s only one sentence long and therefore easy to remember.

You may choose to use your mission statement as part of your advertising or marketing campaign.  If this is the case, your mission statement will certainly have to be interesting and engaging.

What not to do with a mission statement.

As I said earlier, don’t make it too long!

Don’t make it difficult to understand or follow.

Don’t use a bunch of industry jargon and tech-speak.

Give it thought and take your time in writing it.

Don’t write it in a vacuum.  If you have employees, they should be involved in writing it too.

Here are other examples of good mission statements.

Ford Motor Company

“We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world. “

Duke Energy Corporation

“Our purpose is to create superior value for our customers, employees, communities and investors through the production, conversion, delivery and sale of energy and energy services.”

A mission statement is really a reflection of you as the business owner.  It should convey your passion for the business in a manner that can develop the same passion for anyone who reads or recites it.  Let it speak from your heart.

If you don’t have a definition of success your business might just happen TO you instead of FOR you.

This week we give you some ideas about how to define success and we expand on why it’s important.

Download a transcript of this episode

The guys also share their experiences with having a mentor of their own and what they wish they had done differently when first starting out regarding mentors.

Download a transcript of this episode

Jay shares with us how to increase your sales AND raise your prices!

Most small businesses start out by undercutting their prices. And when that doesn’t work they cut some more, and more, and more. Until they have nothing left to cut.

At this point they are confused why they aren’t selling more with their new lower prices! Well, Jay will explain to us why this strategy doesn’t work and what you can do instead.

Make sure you stick around until the end when Jay tells the story of the $10 oil change! How is that even possible? Here’s a hint – - It’s Not!!

Download a transcript of this episode

Find Jay at TheMarketingSpot.com

Find episodes of his former podcast at PowerToTheSmallBusiness.com

WRONG!

The ‘if you start it, they will come’ mentality is a common misconception.  In almost any industry or marketplace there is competition for what you’re doing.  Other people are doing the same thing and some better than you!

How do you figure out how to position and run your company?

Market Research

This is the process of learning everything you can about your business in your market area.  Let’s talk about some of the things you should be looking for and how to get started.

Who’s your competition?

This is the first thing you should do; find out who your competitors are and what they’re doing.  Learning about them and their methods could give you some great insight for getting your new venture off the ground.  Don’t copy what they’re doing or steal their information.

The goal is to learn some best practices.  Chances are they’ve been doing it a while and may have some procedures nailed.

Make sure you don’t dwell on the competition or worry about how they might crush you.  This is not productive.  Learn what you can, find their weaknesses and then figure out how to do it better!

Demographic research

Learning who lives in your market area is very important for your new business.  If you’re selling baby-sitting services and you live in a retirement community in Florida, I think you’re in trouble!  It’s important to know if there are people in your market who truly need what you’d be selling.  If there is no need then you have no business to run!

Your ideal client

This one could be difficult to know if you have yet to start your business or have any clients.

Who would be the best people to market your company to?

What needs do they have?

Find out everything you can about them.  Some important things to discover are their ages, ethnicity, income level, location, type of neighborhood, marital status, kids or no kids, hobbies, professions and buying habits.  I’m sure you can think of many other attributes common to your future ideal client.  This information will help you in crafting your marketing plan to reach these people.  As your business grows you will start to see common attributes of your best clients.

Price sensitivity

Are you going to get paid for your service in a way that makes it worthwhile?  There may be a need but if the market is saturated with cut throat competitors who are willing to perform a similar service for half the price you could be in trouble.  You will have to work twice as hard to prove you’re different or better than them.  If the service you provide is seen as typical then it will be hard to compete.

Local web searches

What are you future clients typing into search engines when looking for you?  How should you name your company or position yourself online to attract those clients or come up on the first page of Google?  Web searches will soon become the number one lead source for most businesses.  Getting on the first page online (or in everyone’s mind) will be of the highest importance.

Learn new things

Trade shows are another great way to learn more about your industry and meet other people doing the same thing.

We still attend trade shows and seminars regularly to learn about new methods and products in our industry.  Obviously, we learned a lot more when we first started our business but we still learn great things at these events every year.  It’s also a great way to make connections in the industry with people who could help you down the road.

Time for action

Sit down this week and brainstorm everything you can think of about how your business will approach the market.  Market area, saturation of similar companies, target client profile, sensitivity to price, availability of your service, etc. will all be critical to knowing how to position your company for success.

Remember, you have to be different than everyone else and find a way to appeal to your target client better than your competition.  Find out more about that here.

Commit to working on your market research this week; it will be instrumental in telling you how to get started.

This week we discuss-

what makes up your sphere of influence
what information to include in the letter
what call to action must be mentioned in the letter
email versus snail mail of your letter

Download a transcript of this episode

This week Neil gives you some tips on selecting a name for your new small business.

• Begin with the end in mind
• Choose your words carefully
• Your name should describe your company
• How to brainstorm name ideas

 Download a transcript of this episode

What is the best company name you have ever heard/seen? Comment below….

My name is Neil, and I’m a podcast-aholic. That’s right, I have a podcast problem.

I listen to about twenty hours of podcast content per week. Over the last four or five years I have probably listened to over 3,000 hours of podcasts. Wow, I do have a problem!

Anyway, all that listening qualifies me to make a ‘best of’ list. (I knew it would come in handy some day!)

Admittedly, my list is biased towards business and marketing. But as a small business owner I have other interests as well. All work and no play makes you one dull person. A well-rounded listening list is important.

So here are my top ten podcast episodes of all time in no particular order and for no particular reason.

1 – The Amateur Traveler Episode 179 – Travel To The Kingdom Of Bhutan

I’ve been a big fan of Chris’ podcast for years. In fact, I like him so much I went on a trip to Egypt with him in 2010! This episode on Bhutan is fascinating to me. I can’t wait to visit there someday. Just can’t get the wife on board.

If you like travel you will love The Amateur Traveler.

2 – The I Love Marketing Podcast Episode 24 – The One With More Cheese And Less Whiskers

Dean and Joe discuss some of the basics of direct response marketing. Avoid looking like a cat (aka – whiskers) and lure with cheese is a brilliant analogy. This episode is a great introduction to the concepts of direct response marketing.

The audio quality is absolutely awful, but if you can suffer through, the content is well worth it. A handful of I Love Marketing episodes go a long way because they tend to be repetitive. But a few listens are a good investment of time.

3 – Power To The Small Business Episode 82 – The Shift In Local Search Engine Ranking Factors

This is the podcast episode that dramatically increased our Google Pages ranking! Jay and his guest break down Google rankings into easy to understand chunks. Using some of this information, I started a program to get Google reviews from our clients. Instant success!

All of Jay’s Power To The Small Business shows are geared to the local small business owner and full of practical information. Unfortunately, he’s not producing this show anymore, but he assures me he has a new project in the works.

 4 – The Moth – Any Episode

One of the bad things about The Moth is they only keep their latest five episodes available on iTunes. So I can’t share with you my favorite of all time. This show is real stories told by real people.

My favorite story is actually told by one of the founding members of The Moth about how her father let a prisoner out of jail to go get his own bail money. It’s hilarious and poignant. But that pretty much sums up The Moth. It will make you laugh and it will make you think – every time.

5 – The Eventual Millionaire – MJ DeMarco Interview – Successful Online Entrepreneur and Author

This episode changed my life! After listening to this interview with MJ DeMarco I had to get his book. This book was completely eye opening for me. It has changed how I approach business and wealth building. Every business owner I have shared this interview and book with has been blown away.

In addition to MJ, Jamie interviews new millionaires each week on The Eventual Millionaire and explores their mindset. A great insight into the minds of the successful.

6 – Marketing Over Coffee – Special Interview With Derek Sivers

I’m a huge fan of Derek Sivers. When his book, Anything You Want, came out, he did the rounds of podcasts. I love his honesty and openness in these interviews.

If you don’t know Derek, he is the founder of CD Baby. He is a very unassuming entrepreneur. Here he talks about his rise to CEO and one HUGE mistake he made (a $3,300,000 mistake!!) along the way. A great lesson for all start-up businesses.

Every week Marketing Over Coffee discusses the latest in marketing mostly from a social media and big-business perspective.

 7 – The Two Hosers Episode 35 – High Speed Sync

I recently discovered these Canadian Hosers. I love their slow pace, dry wit and Canadian accents. Eh? The photography education is just a nice side-note to this odd pairing. This is one of my favorite episodes mostly because someone was finally able to explain high speed sync in  a way that I could understand it.

If you’re not into amateur DSLR photography then this podcast probably isn’t for you. But if you are trying to improve your photo chops then you should be tuning into The Two Hosers.

 8 – The Daily Boost

Scott’s show is another that doesn’t archive any more than the past few episodes. So I can’t get you to my favorite show that he has recorded. But that doesn’t mean I can’t tell you about it!

Scott Smith is an inspirational guy and he shares his own brand of self-improvement weekly on this podcast. A huge part of his show is his own personal story. My favorite episode of his had to be this past Christmas when he shared a very special Christmas his family had as his first wife, Cheryl, was dying of cancer. Not a dry eye in the house.

Despite the emotional weight of that story, Scott will usually pick you up and get you moving towards your goals. Every week on The Daily Boost Scott asks me if I “did my homework.” Thanks for keeping me on track!

 9 – The Entreleadership Podcast – Unity With Tony Dungy

Entreleadership is the small business arm of  the Dave Ramsey brand. Dave Ramsey is a financial expert and radio-show host. In this episode Chris, the host, talks with  football coach Tony Dungy. This may sound strange, but I’m not much of a football fan. I’m definitely not a Colts fan (Tony’s team). But I am a huge fan of Tony Dungy.

I had the opportunity to see Tony speak once and I was completely impressed. This podcast interview with him is equally impressive. Tony is a great leader and a great person. Here he shares some great tips for leading an organization that you could put to work in any part of your life.

Dave Ramsey’s Entreleadership is a good podcast with lots of great information for entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders.

10 – Help Start My Small Business Episode 7 – Dealing With Your Fears About Starting Your Business

Is it vain to include your own podcast in a top ten list? Well, it may be, but I’m doing it anyway!

I include it because this is an episode I’m very proud of. Here we lay out seven tips for dealing with the fears of starting a small business. It’s something I think every small business owner goes through when they start. With this episode we try to give some guidance to help overcome those fears.

If you are a new small business owner or are considering starting a small business our Help Start My Small Business Podcast will give you the help you need to jump-start your business.

Those are my ten. What have I left out? Share your favorite podcast moments below…

1. How do you know if you are financially ready to start a small business?
2. What are the best ways to keep in touch with past clients?
3. How can you make your small business appear to be a large corporation?
4. What are the best ways to balance family, a full-time job and starting a new small business?

Find our new Small Business Startup Checklist at MyFreeWorksheet.com

Download a transcript of this episode

After reviewing the Small Business Startup Checklist what is the one area you need the most help with? comment below…

Volunteerism and community service can be just as important as getting the client proposal done or returning phone calls.  It serves many important functions I’d like to discuss.  It’s valuable that you, as a small business owner, see how community service can contribute to your success.

Volunteering is feel-good!

The benefit to you and your business can be as simple as the feeling it gives you.  You feel better when you’re helping other people.  Giving to those less fortunate or helping those who cannot help themselves builds confidence in your abilities and makes you thankful for what you have.  When you feel better you perform at your peak during the work day.  Who doesn’t want to perform at their peak?

Community service builds awareness of your business.

A basic fact of small business marketing is the more people who know about your business the more likely it is you’ll get work.  Becoming active in your community through volunteering makes more people aware of you and your business.  This is good for marketing.  It’s expected that you would promote your community involvement through press releases and articles in your local paper or online forum.

People want to do business with companies that contribute to their community.  Customers like local businesses and owners who are their neighbors.  I have many clients tell me they want a local remodeling company.  Somebody familiar with the government, lives close to them and has an office nearby.  It makes them comfortable knowing that your business in tangible and not fly by night.

Volunteering is a great networking opportunity.

The key to community service and volunteering is that you’re not there to sell anyone your services.  You’re there to work together and help those in need.  In time people will become curious about you as a person and work to help you succeed.

Don’t show up the first day and start handing out business cards!  This turns people off and makes you look like a leech.  Show interest in the cause and the people you are spending time with.  Connections and new business will come in time.  This is why it’s important to pick a cause you believe in.  I’ll speak more on that in the next section.

Over time many of your fellow volunteers will become friends.  It’s almost a natural occurrence given that you have common interests and values through the volunteer organization.  Having more friends leads to a fulfilling personal and business life through connections.

Friends and acquaintances will love to refer your business to people they know and even to perfect strangers!  It makes them look and feel good in the eyes of others.  It’s also a way for them to help their friends.

I don’t have time to volunteer.

One of the key things to remember is that you always have time for something you’re truly committed to.  This means that if you want something bad enough you’re going to make time to get it done.  It’s important to find avenues of service that speak to you personally.  You can do this through church, internationally or through your local community.  If it’s not something you’re excited about, then you’re not going fit it into your schedule.

Some people use the logic that they’re worried about losing time with their kids and family.  My answer to that is simple; bring them along!  There’s nothing better than teaching your children about volunteering side by side with you.  Your children see that you care and it’s a great example for them.  It teaches them compassion and helps them appreciate everything they have.  My children aren’t quite old enough to come on my trips so I take the opportunity to tell them all about what I did while I was gone.  They’re usually excited to hear about it.

I can’t afford to give money to charity.

Community service and volunteering can be just that, volunteering.  You don’t have to give vast sums of money to charity organizations.  Most of them are only looking for good, dedicated volunteers to help them run their programs.  Many get government assistance or grants from large corporations to help with purchasing products and paying full time staff.  Finding volunteers is often harder than finding money.

We’ve always loved to work with our hands and several times we have taken trips to other parts of the US to help with re-building efforts after natural disasters.  Twice we have taken trips with our local home builders association and each trip has been more fun than I had imagined it would be.  You’ll find that volunteering at something you love is well worth the time spent.

What activities or local groups have you been interested in?  Do they do the type of work you love to do?

Reach out to them; they’re dying for your help!

In this week’s episode:

• Joel gets lost buying a DVD (how does that happen?)
• Neil has no interest in Pintrest (what? Say it ain’t so!)

Our Seven Pet Peeves

• Not invoicing clients (do your clients know how to pay you?)
• Short sightedness (don’t burn your brand/reputation by only thinking about today)
• No follow up (why won’t you call me back!!!!!!)
• Being a ‘Yes Man’ (or Woman) (how does saying ‘yes’ too often tank your business?)
• Mistaking Having money with Making money (just because your checkbook is full doesn’t make you rich)
• Wearing ALL the hats (you can’t do it all alone – what to give up?)

• Shout-outs to listeners (thanks for listening, guys!)

Download a transcript of this episode

What irks you about other small business owners? Share a story below

I want to focus on how to identify these feelings and overcome their debilitating effect on you and your business.

What are the signs of self-criticism?

Here are some common concerns people might have…..

Why can’t I succeed?

I’m not setting any more goals because I never achieve the ones I’ve set in the past.

I can’t charge any more for my service because people won’t pay it.

Nobody will buy my service because I have no experience.

Why would someone hire me when there are many bigger, better companies out there?

Let’s examine each of these concerns.

Why can’t I succeed?

I suspect that if you really examine yourself and your business you will realize there is a lot more success there than you thought.  I always say that I don’t feel successful when in reality I’ve been able to accomplish many things personally and in business.  My success may not have aligned with my expectations for the future.  I suspect it’s because so many self-help gurus or business consultants talk about immediate results or rapid changes.  In most cases this is a pipe dream that can undermine your expectations and self-confidence when you don’t get the results in time.

I’m not setting any more goals because I never achieve the ones I’ve set in the past.

People fail to reach goals all the time, even famous or otherwise ‘strong’ people.  This doesn’t mean they give up and throw in the towel.  They keep trying over and over again.  I like to think about the success I achieve with setting the goal and working towards its completion.  I may not have achieved the goal but chances are it wasn’t a total failure either.  Maybe the goal was unrealistic in the first place or not your goal.  Stay positive about your goal and the commitment to achieve it.  Developing a self-defeating attitude before you even start guarantees you will never achieve it.  You can achieve any realistic goal that you fully commit yourself to!

I can’t charge any more for my service because people won’t pay it.

This is something I struggled with for years only to finally realize that I offer something unique for my clients.  They are people who want a customized solution to their problem and are willing to pay to get it.  They all know I’m more expensive than other contractors but they see the inherent value in the service I provide.  The important thing I remember is that not every prospect is worthy of becoming a client.  My service is perfect for a very small percentage of the buying public.  Finally learning this made me realize that I should focus on the prospects and clients that value what I’m selling.  Every business has a unique approach that will serve a specific segment of the market.  Find your segment of the market and sell to it.  Don’t try selling to people who are not your client.

Nobody will buy my service because I have no experience.

It’s always amazed me how much confidence other people will have in you when you have confidence in yourself.  When you’re honest with them about your motivations, desires and experience they will buy what you’re selling.  When we started our business we were realistic about who we were and what we wanted to do.  People loved that and related to us.  We found that they went out of their way to help us succeed and still do to this day.  As long as you’re honest, prompt and competent they’ll respect you as a person and a business.

Why would someone hire me when there are many bigger, better companies out there?

Many potential clients are not looking for the bigger company and bigger doesn’t always mean better.  Our clients are looking for the company that can best serve their needs with the most flexibility.  You offer a great service as a small boutique business.  Your approach is custom and flexible allowing you to serve your clients better than the big guys.

Self-criticism and doubt usually stem from a bad experience you’ve had in the past.  You now associate your abilities with that inexperience or criticism from before.  Build new experiences in your life and associate them with your success.  Even if it’s not the success you were hoping for.  Even small successes deserve to be celebrated.  Continually recognizing progress builds up your confidence and reduces the doubt you have in yourself and your business.

Be genuine with everyone in your personal and business life.  Others will pick up on that and flock to you.  If you lie, put on a front or try to fool them, they’ll run away.

Don’t focus on the negatives and celebrate every one of the positives!

What self-doubt creeps into your mind about starting and running a business?

This week I talk with Joe Spry. He is someone I wish I had known back then. He  is a franchise coach and helps people to navigate the franchise business. He works with people everyday to identify and purchase the best franchise for them.

Joe and I hit the following hot topics:

• What is a franchise
• Who is right for franchise ownership
• What do successful franchise owners have in common
• How do franchises make their money
• How much does it cost to buy into a franchise
• What are some hot trends in the franchise industry

Joe’s list of Ten Things To Know Before Buying A Franchise

You can find out more about Joe at Spry Consulting

Download a transcript of this episode

 What is your dream franchise to own? Share your thoughts…

Goals don’t mean anything without the desire to achieve them!

You may think this is a ridiculous statement but there’s a lot more to this than most people realize.  I used to think that you could sit down, barf out a whole list of great goals and be done.  By default they’ll make my life better through a thinner body, more money and better relationships, right?  The news here is that it’s not going to happen by just writing them down.  Many motivational gurus will tell you that by simply writing down your goals you’re gaining the power to achieve them and it will just happen.

Let’s be realistic, this will work for about 5% of the population.  They were probably on track with the motivation part and only needed a little guidance.  The other 95% are going to have to work a little harder.  Unfortunately, I fall into that 95%!

I want to examine why most goals fail and how you can avoid this failure.  It’s going to take some hard work and persistence.  Don’t be fooled into thinking you won’t have to work at it.  Everything worth having usually takes some work and it’s usually more work than you thought.

Are your goals based in fantasy or reality?

In our 5 signs worksheet we talk about the SMART acronym for goal setting.  The ‘R’ in SMART stands for realistic.  This means the objective needs to be something that is actually possible.  I’m sure you can think of things that would be impossible for you to do.  No matter how hard you try you will never be able to hold your breath for 30 minutes underwater.  That would be an example of a goal based in fantasy.

What you may not realize is there are emotional or physical limitations holding you back from achieving some of your goals.  You’ll need to address the root emotional or physical problem before you can really set out to achieve this specific goal.  Most of the time these limitations can be overcome and the goal achieved as long as you realize what it’s going to take to get there.  Fix the emotional/physical road block or reset the goal to something more realistic.

It’s not your goal.

There’s nothing worse than working toward goals that really aren’t your own.  You might think they are but in reality they belong to a friend or loved one.  How many times have you gone along with someone else just to be liked or feel like you belonged?  This experience is similar to having a goal belonging to someone else.  It may be something you are in fact ‘excited’ about but you’re not in it enough to make it a true goal.  It takes a deep commitment to achieve some goals and while your friend can make it look easy, it will leave you struggling and feeling inadequate.  In this situation it’s better to be honest with your friend (& yourself) and tell them you support them fully in their goal but you’re going to have to pursue something else.  Only pursue dreams and goals you know are really your own.

Sometimes your goals are ones that have been set for you by others.  These are dangerous and very difficult to achieve.  Sales professionals experience this all the time with sales quotas.  Some people can rise to the challenge and blow right through the sales goals.  Then what happens?  The quota is raised even higher the next period!  The sales person should work with their employers to develop their own goals and benchmarks for success.

Another example is pressure put on you from others in a goal you’re not interested in achieving.  Mother-in-laws are notorious for wanting grandchildren while the newlyweds aren’t ready or have no desire for children at all.  This is an imposed goal the newlyweds should consider avoiding.  A talk with mom could be in order.

You never really had the desire to achieve it in the first place.

This falls under the category of ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time.’  Neil and I occasionally suffer from professional or personal ADD.  We get excited about something without really taking the time to discover what’s involved and our motivations for doing it in the first place.  This leads to flawed goals and the pursuit of something that really doesn’t have passion in our heart.  For me this usually involves hobbies or a particular theme in books I’m reading at the time.  It’s amazing how much time I’m willing to dedicate to something I’m not all that into.

A cycle of interest in different topics is normal as long as you don’t get in over your head.  This means not setting goals related to a topic you’re not really interested in all that much.  You may not reach the goal and when you fail it will have a deflating effect on your motivation.  This will lead to feelings of inadequacy and failure, making goal setting and achievement even more difficult.

The goal is too lofty with no plan of action.

I’ve always believed that one of the keys to success is having a plan.  I’m very organized and approach everything with a deliberate plan of action.  I don’t like surprises and I don’t like to be caught off guard.  I was only a boy scout for about 4 months in junior high school, but I definitely took ‘always be prepared’ from the boy scout motto to heart.

This is no difference in goal setting.  A goal is very difficult to achieve without a plan to get you there.  The goal may seem very achievable but as you get started you realize there was a lot more to do than you thought.  This is where planning comes in.  Lay out a step-by-step or day-by-day plan of how you’re going to achieve this goal.  This planning makes the goal bite size and ‘real’ on a daily basis.

It’s easy to see that a goal may be too lofty when you break it down into the daily activities needed to achieve it.  You’ll suddenly discover that you won’t be able to lose 3 pounds a day to reach your weight loss goal.  Re-visit the goal and make the necessary adjustments to the time needed or the goal itself.

For an explanation of the other 4 letters in the SMART acronym check out www.myfreeworksheet.com.  Our 5 signs document is designed to help you decide if it’s really time for you to start your own small business.

Have you ever set a ‘goal’ only to realize it had one of these flaws? Please share your experience.

I remember life BEFORE Whitney Houston (wow, that’s dating myself)

Watching 20/20 jogged my memory back to the first time I remember hearing her sing–the 1991 Super Bowl. I was at a friend’s house for a party and everyone was gathered in the living room. As she sang The National Anthem the room was transfixed. My friend Mike, a professional musician, broke the silence with “That girl can sing.” And we all agreed.

At that moment the country, and the world, was in love with Whitney. Flash forward twenty years and ask me what I think when you say “Whitney.” The first image that jumps to mind today is E’s The Soup. It’s a picture of a drug-crazed lunatic shouting “Kiss My ASS!” I have long forgotten the girl in the red, white and blue track suit and I’m guessing I’m not the only one that has lost track of time.

 Your customers are losing track of you, too. They want to know, “What have you done for me lately?”

Most customer relationships start out on a ‘National Anthem’ high, but over time many businesses don’t show the appreciation. They don’t give the ‘new client’ discount. They don’t say ‘thank you.’ …they subtly say “Kiss My Ass.”

As a small business owner, I remember all the good things I’ve done for my clients and I forget the uncomfortable. I’ve learned that most clients think the other way around. I’ve also learned that they will remember what happened Monday or yesterday or this morning, but have forgotten events from four months ago. They most certainly don’t keep track of the great deal I gave them on their first project, even though I do.

As humans we have short memories and this can work to your advantage. Always leave you customer’s last impression of you a positive one. When you fix a problem make it memorable by doing something nice and unexpected. Have a customer appreciation sale or day. Let them ‘in’ on something behind the scenes that others don’t know about. Generally, treat them like it’s the first time you met.

It takes a lot more gas to get a car up to 60mph than to keep it at 60mph.

Finding new clients is time consuming and expensive. Building rapport and getting them to trust you is even harder. Your existing clients have already jumped those hurdles. There is no easier business to get than repeat business. Your current customers are also your marketing team. By keeping them excited about your business, you create raving fans that do your selling for you. Again, breaking down those barriers to trust.

So, keep your clients smiling – don’t make your lasting impression a drunken rant.

Remember, as my musician friends say — You’re Only As Good As Your Last Country Hit!

Can you relate? What experiences have you had either as the business or the customer?

S ervice

I mprovement

M asterplan

P romotion

L ogistics

E conomics

Every small business needs a mixture of these five areas to be successful. We explain our thoughts behind the five points of the SIMPLE plan and how we came to create this roadmap.

Freedom explains how we feel about owning a small business. And it’s not just financial freedom – it’s all the areas in your life that owning a small business can give you freedom over.

If you don’t want to listen to the podcast you can Read about Your SIMPLE Path To Small Business Freedom here

Download a transcript of this episode

Which of these six areas do you need to improve the most? Chime in below…

For everyone this mix will be different.  Some people will want to work more and play less while others will need more time for hobbies and family.  The type of business you build and how you set it up will dictate your level of success no matter what your goals are.   Don’t fool yourself; there is nothing easy about running a small business.  It takes hard work and persistence to achieve true success!

Despite much of our best efforts to the contrary everything in life seems to be getting increasingly complicated.

Technology, relationships, sales, finances….I could go on forever.  Every aspect of modern life has more and more layers as time marches on.  The latest technologies are sold with the promise of an easier life and while they may make a specific task easier, they can add another layer of debt and complexity.

Small business success and organization is not complicated.

Some technical aspects of your business may be complicated but running the business itself needs to be made as simple as possible.

It’s about keeping the directions easy to follow and bite size while not losing sight of the big picture.  Process the information piece by piece, make sure everything is right and move to the next logical step.  It’s very much like assembly instructions for my daughter’s new bike.  I scan them over quickly to get the big picture and then dive into the step by step knowing generally where I’m headed.  This approach helps me avoid many annoying problems.

It’s no different in operating your small business.  Work to gain proficiency in certain aspects and by default you succeed.  Ignore one or more of these aspects and you could be doomed to mediocrity.  I say ‘mediocrity’ and not ‘failure’ on purpose.  The business usually doesn’t fail but instead spend years bumping along with no hope of really taking off.

By honing your skills in these principles of small business you will find a path that leads to freedom.  Whether you’re looking for freedom from your job or the freedom to do what you love these SIMPLE principles will provide the small business structure you need.

Let’s examine each of the SIMPLE principles of small business success and your path to freedom.

S – Service

Our business philosophy thrives on the concept of killer customer service.  Doing everything we can to wow the client and exceed their every expectation.  This creates a consistent stream of referral clients and repeat customers.   Exceptional service will help your business succeed beyond your expectations too.

Great customer service makes for less confrontation, confusion, faster turnover and lower marketing costs through repeat business.

Serving the community is good for your soul and the reputation of your business.  Every small business should find ways to get involved in their community.  It’s a great way to give back and usually results in additional business.

• Serve your clients well and keep them coming back.
• Community service builds a better business.
• Service to your employees, consultants and trade partners.
• Maintain high moral standards of service for your business.

I – Improvement

We are big fans of constant self-improvement and discovery.  True success and change in your business starts within you.  The business is an organizational clone of its owner/owners.  As you grow and change for the better, so too will the business.  If the owners neglect themselves and their families the business will certainly suffer.

Even the best achievers and business people need help and support.  Some can’t see the forest for the trees while others are moving so fast working ‘in’ their business that they don’t have time to work ‘on’ their business.  We’ll show you ways to improve and work ‘on’ your business.

• Constant self-improvement through learning and growth.
• Learn the empowering attitudes and drop the defeating ones.
• Your mindset is everything.
• Discover the inspiration that fuels your motivation.

M – Masterplan

Every successful business has a plan.  Some are very simple and effective while some others can be very complicated and hard to follow.  Both can work but we believe simpler is better (duh!).  How do you plan the future of your business?  What are your goals?  What are some potential pitfalls that maybe you’re not seeing?

Your company should have a mission and vision for success.  This is the only way to truly know where you are going and how to get there.

• Discover your road map to freedom.
• Plan for your ultimate success.
• Develop a consistent message and mission for your business.
• Set realistic goals and achieve them.

P – Promotion

Your business will struggle and languish if nobody knows about it!  You’ll need to get the word out in a way that’s effective and economical.  There are some methods of marketing and advertising proving to be more effective than others in today’s consumer climate.  Finding the one that works best for your community and business type could require a little trial and error.

We’ve worked hard to identify the most effective strategies for us and ditch all the others.

You’ll also need to track the progress and success of your marketing program so you don’t fall behind.

Sales should be a main focus of energy for your small business.  No matter what business you’re in sales will always be important.  Even when you think things are going great.

How to sell more work at a higher price will become top priority.  If you’re swamped with business and stressed about getting everything done, then chances are you’re not charging enough for what you’re doing!

• Advertise your business and find your formula for what works and what does not.
• Always be networking to get your name out there.
• Develop sales techniques for getting business.
• Accurately track your results to measure success.

L – Logistics

How do you set up your new business, hire employees, get a location, incorporate, manage, write job descriptions, file taxes, etc?  There are a million things to get done and you’ll need to know how to organize all these things while maintaining your sanity!

It will all be fairly simple in the beginning, but as your business grows, things are sure to get a little more complicated.  An investment to set it up right at the beginning will return to you ten-fold later.

• Setting up the legalities for your business right the first time.
• Deciding on a physical location.
• Finding the best business structure and management type.
• Your key employees and their job descriptions are imperative.

E – Economics

This is the part where some small business owners blow it and end up driving their business into the ground!  They don’t know if they’re making any money and just assume everything’s great.  Eventually the business runs out of cash and they have to close the doors.  Afterwards they can’t figure out what happened.  We were always busy, had tons of work, a great reputation and people were paying us promptly.  A further analysis of the numbers would reveal that they were slowly bleeding money because the accounting was flawed or sloppy.

Even if you don’t like working with numbers, it’s important you realize their significance.  You don’t have to become an accountant but you do need to know how to manage one.  Be able to recognize the key metrics to monitor the financial health of your businesses.

• Make sure your business in profitable.
• Pricing your products and services to cover expenses and a reasonable profit.
• Effectively deal with your competition.
• Small business budgeting and job costing.
• How to structure employee compensation.

• differences between a C-corp, S-corp and LLC
• what is an EIN
• online incorporation
• the benefits of incorporating a business
• when you shouldn’t incorporate your business
• how much will it cost to incorporate your small business

And . . . Laura reveals the number one mistake she sees small business owners make when incorporating – they do it more often than you think!

Laura has been keeping our records for six years. She also keeps us compliant with the State and Federal authorities in regards to corporate records and filings. In fact, she helped us to incorporate the business that is responsible for HelpStartMySmallBusiness.com. Here is Laura’s website if you would like to have her help you with your incorporation or record keeping.

Contact Information For Corporate Minutes & Laura Wilcox

Website

Phone 630.879.1441

Download a transcript of the episode

What did Laura have to say about incorporation that surprised you? Join in the conversation below.

I’d probably rather hang with cows than share an office with anyone

This is probably the biggest reason I have my own small business. I HATED office politics and all the BS that went with working for a larger corporation.  The constant butt-kissing to stay in good graces, the conflict if you didn’t – the conflict if you did. I didn’t like any of it.

That’s what I like most about owning my small business. I get to choose who I work with everyday. I don’t need to play nice and suck up to anyone. If we don’t like a person we don’t work for them. It’s that simple. If I don’t like you as a person I don’t hire you. I get to choose.  I’m in control!

But this is only one of the many freedoms I enjoy on a daily basis as a business owner. There are many others:

• Time/location freedom – As I write this I am sitting in a McDonald’s at ten o’clock in the morning on a work day. I can do that. No one is watching me punch a clock or sit at a desk. I can work outside on a nice day. I can eat my lunch in the park. Whatever. I just need to fulfill the commitments that we have set with our clients and our employees. Commitments that WE created and agreed to. There are times that we over commit, but that’s our fault. It’s not imposed by some third-party. We own it.
• Freedom to be creative – Since there is no directive from above, we are free to try new ideas, to create. If I wake up one day with a great new idea, I can try it out that afternoon! I don’t need to ask permission, I don’t need to run it past a committee. I can try it. On the flip side, if it doesn’t work I suffer the consequences, but at least I can try.
• Freedom from the mundane – As a small business owner, everyday is different. No two look alike and no two go as planned. Some people might find this unnerving. I live for it. Most small-business owners, myself included, suffer from a little entrepreneurial ADD. For us change is welcome. I don’t like to do the same things over and over and with my business I can delegate repetitive tasks or change the program.

Here is where the cow comes in…

Recently my best friends dad died. Because of my business I was able to fly to Florida to help the family and attend the memorial service. Probably something I would not be able to do if I still worked in my old job. Joel was able to stay behind and run the business while I slipped away to Florida for three days.

While there I stopped by an animal rescue sanctuary near my friend’s parents house. There I met Isis – pictured above. I was reminded of the consultant’s comment. I guess I really do like hanging with cows.

What Freedoms do you enjoy in your small business? Or if you haven’t started your business yet, what Freedoms do you look forward to?

Whatever it is, you’re not alone. We’ll discuss some of the common fears people have about starting a business. We also will talk about the fears we had when we started our business.

Also included are some great tips to help you manage and work with your fears. Because it’s lucky episode seven, we are sharing 7 great tips for dealing with fears.

What are your biggest fears about starting your own business?

Download a transcript of this episode

If nobody trusts you then you might as well work at McDonalds even though getting a job there could be difficult too.

The concept is simple to understand and even simpler to accomplish.

Do what you promise!

All anyone ever wants from you is to keep the promises you made.  It starts when you’re very young and never changes.  My 7 year old daughter just wants to know that I’ll be at the soccer game or that I’ll set aside 30 minutes to play chess with her tonight.  Remember when you were young and made your friend promise to never tell anyone about that stupid thing you did?  Do you also remember how violated you felt when the word got out anyway?  In some situations it’s very devastating.

The concept is really no different with your clients.  The sense of betrayal or violation may be much less emotional in business situations but it adds up quickly and can be fatal.

In the business world instead of saying ‘keep your promises’ we call it ‘managing expectations.’  The key difference between the two phrases is that you may not have specifically promised something to a client but they may have a certain expectation of how things are going to go.  You need to reset that expectation as needed before it becomes a problem.

Being successful at managing client expectations is not difficult and starts with communication.  Having consistent and open communication with your clients better avoids conflict and misunderstanding.

For example, when we start a new remodeling project we are very specific with our clients about what day we’re going to start, what we’ll be doing that day and what their responsibilities will be.  We can’t just show up day one and start tearing everything apart!  They need to know what areas to clean out and how we’re going to work around their personal schedules.  Some of my most memorable business moments have been when I did not communicate well with my clients and things went awkward.

I hate conflict.  I don’t like confrontation and hate to deliver bad news.  This is why those memorable moments are from those situations gone bad.  We were doing a kitchen renovation for a great past client.  On their first project everything had gone very well and they were raving fans of our business.  On this project we had a new field superintendent and I didn’t do a good job training and preparing him for this client.  As she was leaving for work one morning he realized that we needed to get into one of her closets to do some work.  Unfortunately she didn’t have a lot of time and wasn’t comfortable having us clean out the closet on her behalf.  Needless to say she was not happy with me or my company.  She was late for work and it was our fault.  Had we told her about it in advance everything would have been fine.

This may not sound like a big deal but these betrayed feelings will add up.

It’s not hard to do what you say you will when you said you would.  In other words, get the work done as promised, when promised.  Other people use the saying, ‘under promise and over deliver.’  This is a great saying that we use over and over again in our business.

Nobody’s perfect, right?

I believe no truer words have ever been written.  There’s a big difference between not being perfect and claiming you are.  Own up to your shortcomings with your clients as a way for them to understand that things will not be perfect in your relationship but you’re going to work at making them as close to perfect as you can.  You’d be surprised at how quickly this will build creditability with your client.

Word will get out about your business, good or bad!

Ignoring potential problems and thinking they won’t happen is not the way to go.  Bring it up no matter how uncomfortable you think it may be.  They need to understand what to expect and if things work out better than expected, you look like a hero.

Who doesn’t want to be their client’s hero!

Photo By JennyMcMastersPhotography.com

This week Neil interviews travel guide and photographer, Ralph Velasco. Ralph shares his business journey through owning two restaurants, working as a realtor, and working in financial services to finally finding his life’s passion in his own photography business at the age of 42!

You may find some parallels in Ralph’s story and your own. He talks about how he was able to break into a new business even though others around him may have thought he was crazy. He also discusses his niche and how he focuses in on something small, but extremely unique in his industry. We also touch on a great blog post that Ralph wrote about finding your passion.  Find that article here.

Find Ralph’s website here.

Find Ralph’s iPhone App here

Find Ralph’s book here

Download a transcript of the episode here

If you need a logo for your business we highly recommend 99designs.com! We have used 99designs on two different projects in the past and have been impressed with the quality and quantity of the designs they supplied us. It is really amazing that all these designers from around the world will work so hard on your project not knowing if they will get the job or not.

For those of you not familiar with the concept, 99designs is a crowd sourcing platform that brings together multiple designers from all over the world to work on your project. It doesn’t have to be a logo.  It could be any type of graphic or webpage. These designers all compete for your business in the hopes that you will like their design the best. The winner gets the “prize” (payment) and the rest get nothing. You get multiple (on the last project we had over 90 designs submitted) designs to choose from.

You can even communicate with the designers to let them know what you like and/or don’t like about their designs. Future designers can see your notes and expand on your comments. The original designers can also resubmit new designs in the hopes that they get it right. All-in-all it’s a genius system.

Here are some examples from a logo contest we ran on 99designs a couple years ago. It was for a remodeling podcast we did. On this particular contest we had 187 different logos submitted! Amazing. The screen shot to the right shows the design we eventually selected as the winner in the upper left. (Click on the screen shots to enlarge them) The others were our top choices. The only designer that got paid was the winning designer.  All 186 others submitted suggestions in the hope that they would win.

As you can see, there were some very creative ideas submitted. By the end of the contest there were a lot of similar entries because of all the feedback we gave previous entries. The later designers started to get a ‘feel’ for what we wanted. Therefore, they all started to look somewhat similar.

I have tried to hire a local designer in the past to help with graphical elements in our business. Let me tell you, it sucks! My only basis for choosing was their price and possibly some of their past work. They certainly weren’t going to design 187 different logos for me to pick from without me paying them! And I don’t blame them. They can’t.

But, I can select from 187 different logos with 99designs.com.

“Do you have a business plan?”  We agree that a business plan is important but maybe not for the reasons they’re thinking.  The process of discovery in writing a business plan can be far more valuable to you than the plan itself!

Writing a business plan just because everyone says so is silly.

Write the plan because you’re passionate about your business and you want it to succeed!

If you’re starting your business small and building it slowly then the business plan is only needed as your road map.  It should contain your structure, goals, marketing techniques and financials just to name a few.  It’s something you write deliberately and then make the commitment to check again and again.  This is how you stay on track.

The process of starting and running a business makes getting off track way too easy.

Neil and I refer to it as ‘shiny objects.’  It’s all those distracting things that seemed like a good idea at the time but ultimately turn out to be a big waste!  Things will complicate your business life and a plan is needed to make it simple again.  The plan becomes your ‘step by step instructions’ for running the business.  This is how we started our remodeling business so many years ago.  Step by step, deliberate and not taking any big chances or large business loans.  Use the business plan as an outline for your success.

The process of writing a business plan should make you think.

There are seven main categories in most business plans, ask yourself, ‘How will this category contribute to my success or hinder it?’  Reality check, if it’s not contributing to your success in some way then it’s dragging you down.  It will need to be fixed and looked at as an opportunity for improvement in yourself or others.  Be objective every time you check back on your plan.  Is everything functioning like you need it to?  Notice I did not say ‘functioning as you planned’ because sometimes things don’t work out as you plan no matter how hard you try.  There will always need to be adjustments.

Some business types will require ‘acquisition of capital.’  In other words, you’re going to need money to get this thing going.  Where will you get the money and why is anyone going to loan it to you in the first place?

It would be great if you could walk in, pitch your idea to a bank and have them give you $100,000 to start a business.

This is not going to happen!  They need proof you’ve thought this through and have all the bases covered.  Like before, this business plan is your roadmap to success except now it will need to have a lot more flair.  Few people will want to read a dry, boring business plan without colorful charts or stylish formatting.  This approach shows you care about your business and believe in it.  If you can’t be passionate about your business and covey it through the business plan then nobody else will be passionate about it either.  Believe in your business idea and its certain success.  The plan should also be neat, clear, concise and accurate.  Something full of mistakes, typos and rambling thoughts is not going to get it done either.

The bottom line is this, any time you create a plan it should be clear to you and everyone else involved.  It’s how excitement and buy-in are created.  It doesn’t have to be long or complicated but it does have to be something everyone will get passionate about.

• What is the purpose of a logo for a small business
• What should a logo say about your business
• Where can you get a logo
• Is a logo forever or can you change it up next year
• How much should you spend to create a logo for your business

Resources from this episode

99 Designs – Logo design

eLance – Logo design

Download a transcript of this episode here

The 1099, like the tax code in general, can seem a little confusing and overwhelming.  There are more than a dozen different types of 1099 forms.  They all start with 1099 and then have a suffix denoting the specific type of form.  The one you will deal with the most is the 1099-MISC.  The ‘MISC’ stands for miscellaneous.  This type of 1099 deals specifically with money you’ve paid to independent contractors during the course of business.  Here are the three you need to know for filing a form 1099-MISC.

Step One – Business Entity

First of all you have to be a business.  If you’re reading this I assume you are a small business operating under US tax laws.  If you are an individual conducting your own personal affairs then issuing 1099 forms to others is not necessary.  You may still receive them from others but generally you will have no need to issue them.

Step Two – Who are they?

There are generally three categories, from an IRS perspective, of entities you will write checks; employees, independent contractors and corporations. Of the three, only independent contractors will receive a 1099, generally speaking. The larger problem is indentifying who is an independent contractor.

If you have full or part time employees working directly under your control then you should be paying them a salary and issuing a W-2 form at the end of the year.  Employees are defined as people performing services to your company over which you have direct control and you are their only source of income.  You cannot claim an employee regularly working for you as an ‘independent contractor.’  Many people do this even though it is not legal. Be careful, the IRS has made an effort in recent years to crack down on this practice. If you are confused about whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor, consult your attorney or accountant.

To identify a corporation, it’s a good idea, and sometimes necessary, to request a W-9 form from anyone you pay money.  This is merely an informational form the IRS provides. It does not need to be filed with the IRS.  It merely tells you what the status of this person or corporation is and provides you with their tax id number.

If W-9 confirms they are a corporation with an official tax id number from the IRS then no further tax reporting action is necessary on your part (see exception below).  If they’re a sole proprietor or independent contractor working under their Social Security number then a 1099 is required provided you paid them enough money during the course of the year.

There are a few minor exceptions to 1099’s and corporations.  You are required to send 1099 forms to the following types of corporations that provided services for you:

• Legal                      (lawyers)
• Medical                 (doctors & other health institutions)
• Health Care         (long term care or hospitals)
• Fishing                  (this one is a mystery to me!)

Step Three – How Much?

For the most part, you will not need to issue a 1099 to anyone you paid less than $600 as an independent contractor.  The only exception to this is if you paid more than $10 in royalties to someone or a corporation.  Just about any category of expense to an individual will count as needing a 1099.

Be careful not to mix business with personal.  It gets a little tricky if you’re using your home as a place of business and some of the services overlap.  For example, you have a home office and a cleaning person.  That person comes into your home once a week and cleans your house and home office.  If they come frequently enough and you give them enough money during the course of the year then you may have to issue them a 1099.  The key is that technically you cannot pay them 100% of the cleaning fees from your corporation.  It may seem like a great perk to have your business pay for the house cleaning but under audit it would be frowned upon.  You will need to separate the payment to that person between business and personal to keep yourself above board in the eyes of the IRS.  If after separating the expenses you find that the cleaning person received more than $600 from your business, a 1099 would be required.  As mentioned above, this is only if that person was an individual and not working as a corporation.

As always, if the taxes for your small business get too complicated or you’re in over your head, seek professional help! Blatant disclaimer – We are not tax professionals.  Seek the help of a qualified CPA or lawyer.

As I was working out tonight in the basement Striker reminded me of another great small business lesson. He taught me about tenacity. Striker would make an awesome small business owner – if he didn’t have fur and walked on two legs! You see, Striker doesn’t know how to accept ‘No’ as an answer to anything. Especially toys. Do you see the giant spare tire on a rope by his right paw? While I attempted to lift weights and do my stretching exercises he repeatedly shoved a nasty, smelly tire in my face and said (or at least I think he said) “Throw the tire! Throw the tire! Throw the tire!”

In Striker’s world it doesn’t matter what the object is; tire, ball, frisbee, or rope. He never gives up the hope that I will throw the ______, because he knows that occasionally he will win. I will get sick of him at my side and throw the object just to get some relief.

Owning a small business is not for the weak. Just like a Weimaraner, you never know where your next meal is coming from or who will ‘throw the tire.’ If you sit back and wait for someone else to be in the mood to play it will never happen. You need to create your own opportunities.

Recently Joel and I were tenacious and got a victory. In an effort to increase sales in what is traditionally a slow time of year for remodeling companies, we sent out a letter to all the ‘dead’ leads we had from the last six months of 2011. Mixed in the stack was a lead we had never even talked with. She had emailed us months ago about remodeling her kitchen and when we emailed back several times she never responded. Time to move on to the next lead – right? Well we did, until now. But how? We didn’t even have her address or phone number. We only had a name and a dead-end email address. This is where the tenacity of the small business owner comes into play. I spent twenty minutes on Google, LinkedIn and the White Pages until I found her, her husband and their street address. Small victory. Guess who the first response we got on the mailing was from? That’s right – and she signed on to do a kitchen with us. BIG victory!

So how can you show tenacity in your small business? It doesn’t have to be in sales (although that’s a great place). It could be in finding a mentor to help you get started. Maybe you need to show some tenacity just to get your business started while working a full-time job. It could be in a business relationship or partnership that could boost your company to the next level. Maybe you want to be a speaker at your local chamber of commerce meeting, or Rotary meeting.  Whatever it is, remember Striker and know that he would never give up. If only there is the slightest chance….there is a chance.  THROW THE TIRE!

Share how you plan to show some business tenacity this week in the comments below

• Tips on selecting a Unique Selling Proposition for your company
• How to leverage your existing clients (if you have some) to help you create your ultimate USP
• How much weight you should give to your competition when creating a USP
• How to play to your personal strengths in your USP
• How your niche will influence your unique selling proposition
• How to put yourself in your clients’ shoes – see things from a new perspective
• How your best clients’ demographics can help you select a unique selling proposition

Download a transcript of this episode here

Find the podcast here in iTunes

I live in the far-far-far western suburbs of Chicago. We’re so far out that we need to watch out for cows and tractors far more than pedestrians. We are a good 90 minutes from the Loop. Anyway, Bret was playing a Best Western Hotel & Convention center very close to me. That’s right a Best Western. Poison used to fill arenas and here he is playing a room that also holds wedding recpetions. Now to make it even worse – it didn’t sell out.  Not even close. I believe the room holds 2500 people and they were lucky if 2000 people were there.

So where does the business lesson come in? Well, Bret rocked the house! …that’s it. That’s the lesson.

What absolutely impressed me (it wasn’t the music – not a fan – my wife drug me) was the total commitment and effort he put into this show. It would be so easy for someone of his background to say “crappy little venue- didn’t sell out, screw ‘em!” but he didn’t he rocked that room like it was 25,000 people. He put every bit of his heart and talent into that room that he could muster. After 25 years of playing the same songs he performed them like we were the first to hear them. Kudos.

So, are you treating your customers like they are the first? Are you bringing everything you have to that small client that you don’t think deserves your full attention? If you are phoning it in, it’s time for an attitude adjustment. No one wants to pay to see a beat-down, shadow-of-their-former-self rockstar. Keep on rockin!!

Can you relate? Share your experiences in the comments below.

Some may see it necessary to find a real estate agent that specializes in commercial leasing.  This decision is up to you.  If you need guidance because you’re unsure or are unfamiliar with the area in which you are looking, then find a good agent.  On the other hand, we’ve had three leased office spaces over the history of our company and never engaged a real estate agent for these searches.  We knew where we wanted to lease and contacted the building or management company directly.  If you feel confident in your ability to handle the deal then a real estate agent won’t be necessary.  Some placement companies and agents get perks for placing you in certain buildings.  The spaces an agent is favoring may align with your requirements but then again it may not.  Make sure your agent can show you any available space.  It’s OK to ask the question.

The first and most basic questions you’ll need to answer are where and what.  Is there a specific location or area you require and what type of space are you looking for?  Some businesses need major road access for large vehicles, proximity to the highway or a location near a major retail center.  A vehicle service business, for example, will do much better and need far less advertising/marketing if it’s located on a major busy street corner rather than stuck in an industrial park.  Other business types will need no such major exposure because they’re not servicing the general public and instead serve other businesses.  This business would just need some efficient space to set up shop.  Will you bring customers to your location to perform services or show them products?  If this is the case then maybe you need space close to a retail center or in a trendy converted loft building.  Obviously, the more exclusive and desirable the building, the more you’re going to pay in rent.  Everything has a trade-off.  Our second location was a horrible, small, interior office in a larger office building.  The price was right but the space was uninspiring to say the least!  We were never able or willing to bring clients there.

The next things to consider will be how much space you need and its required amenities.  A two or three person company will need a lot less space than a company storing and delivering furniture.  They will also need completely different types of space.  The small company would probably want a suite in a larger building while the delivery company will most likely need a larger portion of an industrial building with a loading dock.   Do you need a conference space or a flex room?  Is it OK if it’s shared by other building tenants?  Be careful and don’t let someone talk you into too much space or space you don’t like.  You could be stuck there for a while.

Once you’ve found a great location it’s time to negotiate the lease.  In some cases this is a misnomer because negotiating might be impossible.  Many professional advisors will tell you to ‘negotiate the terms of the lease.’  Usually, a management company will not negotiate the terms of the lease, especially if they have many tenants and they’re all on the same terms.  It could become very difficult for them to keep track of everything if all their leases were unique.  An individual landlord, on the other hand, may be much more amenable to negotiating lease terms and verbiage.  Here are some of the terms that are almost always negotiable.  The length of your lease is usually something you can control.  Look at the future of your business, growth potential and the location.  If it appears you will do well and don’t anticipate needing to hire multiple staff members causing you to outgrow the space then sign a longer term lease.  If you view the location as temporary or anticipate massive growth then you should sign year to year or a shorter lease term.  This gives you the ability to upsize or move when required without having to cancel or renegotiate the lease mid-term.  How much is the rent?  Will it be affordable for your business and worth it for the location/amount of space?  How does it compare to other, similar spaces in the area?  This is also a place where a little negotiation could be possible.  If the building has a large vacancy percentage, chances are, you’ll have a little negotiating room on the price.  Don’t overpay for the space unless it’s exclusive and you know what you’re getting into.  If it is exclusive, do you really need ‘exclusive’ or just think you do?

Agreement types and other costs should be considered when leasing.  There are a myriad of lease agreement types and terms.  We will cover a few of the most common.  Under almost all lease types the management companies or landlord charge a certain amount per square foot of space you’re leasing.  This square footage may just be the footage of your suite or it may include a percentage increase for the common areas of the building that can’t be leased.  These would be storage closets, maintenance rooms, bathrooms, hallways and other non-leasable spaces.  This common area cost is usually referred to as the CAM (acronym for ‘common area maintenance’).

When shopping for space, pricing will usually be called out at per square foot cost per year. In other words, if a 900 square foot space rents for $26/square foot this would be 900 x 26 = $23,400/year or $1,950/month. Many times this square footage price does not include CAM or taxes. The price may be called out separately.

Full Service or Gross Lease

This is a lease where a fixed monthly rent is charged, it doesn’t change and usually includes everything.  This means that the property taxes, insurance, maintenance and any other building expenses (CAM) are built into the cost of the lease.  This may or may not include utilities for your suite.  Some buildings will meter them separately and require you to pay them directly where others just take care of all the utilities.  Electric paid by the building is usually very rare.  Heating and water are paid by building owners more frequently than electric, but not always.  Be sure to ask!

Triple Net Lease

This lease type splits up the monthly rent, CAM and property taxes into three separate charges.  The base rent usually doesn’t change and the CAM and taxes will fluctuate to reflect actual expenses paid by the building owner.  The CAM under most lease structures will include janitorial costs but as always, you should ask.  You may have to find and pay for your own cleaning service.  It’s always better to know this before you sign on the dotted line!

Single and Double Net Lease

These two lease types are just variations on the triple net lease.  The single net has a base rent that includes everything except the property taxes.  This protects the building owner from year to year fluctuations in taxes over long term leases or in areas where property tax rates climb quickly.  The double net lease has a base rent that includes everything except the property taxes and property insurance.

Percentage Lease

Percentage leases apply more to a retail business in a shopping center or similar space.  The cost of this lease includes not only the monthly rent and CAM but also a percentage of your gross revenues.  This is usually seen only in an area where the space is exclusive or in high demand.  The landlords have the ability to draw large retail crowds and can afford to demand unusual terms.   Work closely with a realtor or attorney to protect you on this lease type.  How you define the income of the business could greatly affect the amount of rent you pay.  Renter beware!

One last important consideration is insurance and your coverage by the building owner’s policy.  If there is an accident in the building and you we’re even involved or present, are you covered?  Is there special insurance that you would be required to get?  For example, our current office rental agreement stipulates that we have to obtain plate glass window insurance for large display windows we have.  We thought it was odd that the responsibility fell on us but they made it clear that it was non-negotiable!

Happy renting!

About five years ago Joel & I discovered DiSC profiles. DiSC is a behavior assessment used to determine how you interact with other people as well as what strengths you bring to an organization. DiSC has four basic behaviors; Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance. The assessment will determine what blend of the four behaviors you have in both a natural state and an adapted state (most commonly work). In this podcast we share how we use DiSC everyday in our business.

We use DiSC in two main areas of our business – sales and employees. By familiarizing ourselves with the different personality types we are able to assess what behavior a potential client most likely displays. This helps us to tailor a sales presentation to each personality. For example, a dominant personality doesn’t like a long drawn out presentation with a lot of detail. They want a brief overview and they will make a quick decision. If we were to go on and on about our company or our ideas we would turn them off in a hurry!

The other way we use DiSC is in hiring and working with our employees. By knowing how everyone likes to be communicated with we are able to give everyone the perfect type and frequency of communication for them. Additionally, we can hire people to fill in the gaps in our personalities. Neither Joel nor I like dealing with conflict (who does?) but we have hired others that are better skilled at this than we are and let them handle Visa when they double charge or don’t credit our payment. We are able to find these people by using a DiSC profile BEFORE they are hired.

After we first discovered DiSC we spent the next couple of years using it as a crutch and an excuse for not accomplishing things. It wasn’t until we discovered the book “I’m Stuck, You’re Stuck,” by Tom Ritchey that we really saw the big picture of DiSC profiles and how best to use them.

As promised here is Neil’s DiSC profile and Joel’s DiSC profile. These are a few years old and as we state in the show, they change over time so we would test differently today if we were to retake an assessment. But they will give you a good idea of what to expect if you were to take your own DiSC. The last page has our graph showing our natural and adapted styles. The two styles are our natural style versus what we do at work. Notice that we downplay some of our traits at work. For example, I drop my ‘C’ at work because I know I can’t be perfect and expect to get anything done! Joel drops his ‘D’ because he doesn’t want to run other people over!

Download a PDF transcript of this podcast – click here

Find the book “I’m Stuck, You’re Stuck” here

Get Your Own DiSC Profile here

Business Owner #1

Let’s say you’re currently working in a field and have decided to branch out and start your own small business.  Congratulations!  At your 9-5 job the pricing and managerial responsibilities are yours alone.  This is one of the easiest, but can also be one of the most dangerous, situations for starting a small business.  The template has already been set and you have the training needed to price your product or service.  The thing that makes this scenario so dangerous is the reality of your costs and overhead.  They will most certainly be different in your new venture.  If you use the same calculations and costs from your previous job your numbers could be way off.  The other caution is that of being realistic with your costs.  New business owners often don’t realize what costs are really involved in operating their own business.  They believe it can be done cheaper or differently.  This could be the case and possibly a great reason for starting a new venture, but tread lightly and keep accurate records for costs and progress.

Business Owner #2

This is the business Owner working in a related field with the needed technical skills but knows nothing about how to price the service.  The bonus here is that you have the technical skills to get the business going and get the work done (or manage its completion).  The drawback is that you don’t know how to run the business or price your service.  Don’t worry, we’re going to help!

Depending on the type of business, you’ll find one particular expense will stand out as the line item where most of your money goes.  For most service businesses this will be the salary for the business owner(s).  The time you spend working in the business is probably one of the most overlooked expenses in small business today.  Some owners don’t value their time or the business doesn’t have the income to pay a living wage.  This can be a major problem.  If you can’t support yourself and your family what is the point in having the business in the first place?  Here are some tips about valuing your time and pricing your service.  These tips will apply to any of these startup situations.

As the business gets off the ground you’ll have to start by making some educated guesses about what your costs are going to be and how much to charge for your time.  Doing research on other similar businesses in your market to determine what they’re charging for the same or similar service can be a great place to get some comparison.  If the business is purely service and you’re selling your expertise it will be a little easier than a company that’s providing an in-home service with employees and a physical location.  Even then, it would probably make sense to start your business small and build up to having employees and a location.  This is how you avoid getting in over your head with major expenses right out of the gate.  Because you have experience in this field you’ll know how long it takes to get things done for your clients.  Use this information to estimate how many hours it will take to complete projects either on an hourly basis or a task-specific basis.  Once you know how many hours it will take to get the work done then determine your other costs.  Here are some costs that we would consider ‘overhead’ and must be factored into the cost of the service.  Overhead is the cost associated with running the business and not necessarily with manufacturing and producing a specific product.  Overhead would be things like:

• Office or Rental expenses
• Office supplies (computer, paper, desk)
• Utilities (phone, internet, electric, gas)
• Office manager or bookkeeper
• Accountant
• Lawyer
• Marketing expenses (ads, website)
• Vehicles
• Licensing and other regulatory fees
• Other equipment needed to perform the service
• Insurance

If you’re a sole proprietor there will be some other costs that could be considered overhead like:

• Health insurance
• Cellular phone
• Travel expenses

The other category would be costs attributable to a specific project or client.  These are called ‘job costs’ and some examples would be:

• Supplies bought specifically for one project
• Travel to and from one specific client if extraordinary
• Contract consultants for a specific client project
• Sub-contractors

Once you have a reasonable handle on the expenses, do some math.  Start by annualizing your overhead expenses.  In other words, how much do you spend annually on all these things?  Break down the annual cost to a billable hourly figure (see explanation of billable time below).  When you know the number of billable hours you can divide that number of hours into how much you spend each year on overhead.  This allows you to calculate the overhead costs in an hourly unit.  Make sure you figure what your time is costing on a billable basis too, not the hourly rate you want to make.  The reason for this adjustment is as such; when you’re performing your service for clients, realistically, you may only be able to bill clients for 70-80 percent of your time.  The other 20-30 percent of your time will be spent marketing, billing or otherwise working on the business and not for clients.  This means you will have to use an hourly cost much higher than the $45.00 per hour.

Here’s an example; you would like to make $45.00 per hour as your gross income 40 hours per week for 52 weeks a year.  This would be a gross annual salary of $93,600.  As you do the math for your number of billable hours you find that you can charge 1,498 hours per year to clients instead of the full 2,080 (this is assuming a 72% billable hour percentage).  This means that you should be charging at least $63.00 per hour not including profit mark-up or overhead costs.  Here’s the math:

2080 x .72 = 1498 billable hours

$93,600/1498 hrs = $62.48/hour

After you have the hourly costs for time and overhead you can add them together and apply a multiplier for risk and profit to arrive at the final billable cost.  Make sure you give yourself some cushion for the unknown and all the risk you are assuming as the business owner.  Don’t just mark everything up 10 percent and call it a day.  Be realistic about the risk you’re taking and how much money you want left over after paying yourself and expenses.  Risk is something that most small business owners don’t think about.  You’re not buying a job; you’re assuming liability and risk.  This is a real cost and needs to be accounted for in your pricing!

Hourly estimates for costs is one way to do the math, you can also calculate it based on the percentage of total revenue.  Using percentages is a little more complicated but it can be more accurate too.  You should start out working the numbers hourly and decide when the time is right to convert as the business grows.

Business Owner #3

The last situation is the new business owner who is starting something in a completely unrelated field.  This person is surely in for a little trial and error.  Don’t worry though; this is where we started our business so we know it can be done!  All the principles for business owner #2 still apply but now you have to get a good handle on how long it’s going to take to complete the tasks.  If you constantly blow (go way over) the hours on your projects it could put you in a bad spot.  The greatest piece of advice here is to keep painstaking records on hours to use for historical data.  This data will have to be referenced frequently in the beginning to determine if you’re charging enough for what you do.  It could also make sense to hire someone with experience as an employee or hourly consultant to help you in the beginning.  This doesn’t get you out of the record keeping but it could be very helpful to avoid common technical mistakes associated with your trade.  Be sure to allocate their expense in the fees you’re charging.

In conclusion here are two, unscientific, general rules.   If you’re getting tons of work and not making any money that’s usually a sign that you’re not charging enough.  On the other hand, if you don’t have any work it could be because you’re charging more than the market can support or you have a sales/marketing problem.  This means you’ll have to review your costs and determine where to cut or, improve your sales/marketing skills.

In a previous article we discussed the non-corporate forms of company organization.  This post will cover the three most widely used legal entities in business, the LLC, C-Corporation and S-Corporation.

LLC

Most new businesses will need to form a legal entity to protect them against personal liability.  If there is no corporate protection someone could sue the business (aka You) and take everything.  The LLC is one of these business entities.  The LLC, or Limited Liability Company, is an increasingly popular form of legal entity.  It’s a hybrid legal structure that provides the protection features of a corporation with the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership.

The “owners” of an LLC are referred to as “members.” Depending on the state, the members can consist of a single individual (one owner), two or more individuals, corporations, other LLCs, and even other entities.  It has fewer restrictions than C-Corporations in addition to less paperwork.  Who doesn’t want less paperwork?!  The only real disadvantage to an LLC is that the entity is only in force for a finite period of time.  An ‘end date’ is listed on the ‘Articles of Organization’ that are filed in the governing state.

LLCs are not taxed as a separate business entity.  Instead, all profits and losses are “passed through” the business to each member of the LLC.  The LLC members report profits and losses on their personal tax returns, just like the owners of an S-Corporation or partnership.

Even though the LLC has become the most popular form of legal entity, check with your attorney about using it in your state.  Some states do not permit LLCs for certain types of businesses.

If a business is referred to as a ‘Corporation’ it is generally assumed to be a C-Corporation.  A Corporation is also an independent legal entity.  This means that the corporation itself, not the shareholders who manage it, is legally liable for the actions and debts incurred by the business.  All corporations start out as C-Corporations and either remain that way or are elected to become S-Corporations.  We’ll talk more about those later.  C-Corporations are generally not the choice for someone starting a small business because of the additional paperwork and tax implications.

C-Corporations are more complex than other business types. They have costly administrative fees, complex tax rules and expanded legal requirements.  Because of these issues, C-Corporations are generally suggested for established, larger companies with many employees.  For those that need it, C-Corporations offer the ability to sell ownership shares in the business through stock offerings. “Going public” through an initial public offering (IPO) is a major selling point in attracting investment capital and high quality employees.

When you form a corporation, you create a separate tax-paying entity. Regular corporations are called “C-Corporations” because Subchapter C of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code.  This is where you find the tax rules governing corporations.

An S-Corporation is a corporation that has received the Subchapter S designation from the IRS.  First, set up your business as a C-Corporation in the state where it’s headquartered.  Then file a Form 2553 with the IRS to declare yourself a sub-chapter ‘S’ Corporation.  According to the IRS, S-Corporations are “considered by law to be a unique entity, separate and apart from those who own it.” This limits the liability for which an owner/manager (aka YOU) is responsible.

Currently, most small businesses in the US are set up as S-Corporations.  Until the LLC was developed a few years ago the S-Corporation was one of the most popular business entities.  An S-Corporation or S Corp is a different type of corporation created through an IRS tax filing.  Your corporation can avoid double taxation (once for the corporation and again for the shareholders) by filing with the IRS to be treated as an S-Corporation.  The S-Corporation only pays taxes to the IRS through the private returns of its officers.  The Corporation itself pays no tax even though it does need to file a return with the IRS.  This tax advantage is the main reason that the S-Corp became so popular in the US.

Many businesses start by just ‘hanging out their shingle’, so to speak, and start!  Doing work on the side or selling products out of their home office.  It’s simple, cheap and requires no real legal effort.  This is fine for those that are doing business on the side, but not making very much money.  In these instances your liability exposure will be low.  This of course, depends entirely on what type of service you are providing.  Some business types have too much exposure to be operating without the protection of corporate structure.  A good example of this would be an accountant.

Speaking of accountants, no matter what you’re selling or providing you still need to claim the income on your personal tax return to avoid problems with the IRS.  Make no mistake; you want to avoid problems with the IRS.

The drawbacks to having no legal entity will begin as your business gets larger.  The liabilities you assume along with their risk will make not having a corporation very risky.  Just doing business as yourself puts all the legal risks on you personally.  If somebody sues you for something you did wrong, you could lose everything.  The fact they’re suing you personally means your house, car, everything, could be in jeopardy.  Someone could sue you for something you didn’t even do; this is where the legal entity becomes absolutely necessary.  It provides you protection from no fault legal issues that could otherwise ruin your life.

A DBA is only a very small step above a sole proprietorship.  A DBA just means that you are ‘Doing Business As’ a certain name.  For example, if your name is Robert Johnson and you’re a plumber you could file a DBA with your state calling your business ‘Johnson’s Plumbing’.  It’s a way for the state to record who is selling the product or service to the public.  The state wants the public to have the ability to look up who Johnson’s Plumbing really is if desired.  Unfortunately, a DBA provides you with no legal business protection whatsoever.  People can still file suit against you personally with a DBA.

A partnership is similar to a DBA in that it provides no legal protection to the partners.  It is merely an agreement between two entities.  Two people can agree to be partners or two companies can be partners.  The two parties will agree on the rules of engagement for the business they are conducting.  Nothing is required to be filed with the state (for the most part) and the IRS does not get involved.  The ‘rules’ of the partnership are called the ‘Partnership Agreement’.  The more complicated the agreement the more necessary it is that a legal professional is consulted.  As with any legal filings it’s always a good idea to have the documents reviewed by an attorney.  Just like a DBA and Sole Proprietorship you are responsible for personally paying the income taxes in a partnership.  The share of the profits used to calculate the tax will depend on the terms of your partnership agreement.

See Part Two for descriptions of  the three major legal entities.  They are the C-corporation, S-corporation and LLC or Limited Liability Company.

The easiest and most cost effective solution is to work from home.  This may be an option for you and then again it may not.  If most of the services are performed at your client’s location then this could be a no brainer.  You probably don’t need an office or physical location, at least to start.  Here are some of the pros and cons associated with setting up shop at home.

Pros of working from home

1. No commute!  You’re at work when you’re at home so there’s no travel time or travel costs.  You would have travel costs when going to the clients and performing the service you’ve been hired for.
2. Lower costs.  Using the home as your place of business saves on many redundant costs you would otherwise have.  There’s no rent (unless you chose to pay yourself rent), no duplicate utilities and you might even be able to use your home phone for the business (check with your phone provider first).
3. Flexibility.  Remember this from the 5 signs worksheet?  You can work when you need to or take time to get other things done if necessary.
4. Dressing down.  Working from home, especially if you’re performing a remote service, means you don’t need to spent lots of money on suits or nice clothing.  However, you will have to dress appropriately when going out to meet clients.
5. Child care.  If the business is one that provides the appropriate flexibility then you might be able to care for your children at the same time you’re working.  This might work or it could prove to be a little tricky.

1. Distractions!  This is certainly the most dangerous thing when trying to work from home.  Is there anything good in the fridge right now?  I can run this laundry and work at the same time.  The child care in ‘pros’ above could be a big problem depending on you and your child.  It’s also easy to talk yourself into sitting down in front of the TV for just a few minutes instead of doing what you’re supposed to.
2. Isolation.  Many people find they need the personal interaction with others in society or the office to feel fulfilled.  You may be someone who needs to interact with others daily.
3. Do you have the motivation?  Being in an office setting with other people can sometimes drive you complete tasks that need to get done.  Being at home by yourself with no deadline could mean the work will take much longer to complete.

Some business types may not even give you the option of working from home.  Selling cabinetry or design services may dictate that a showroom is required.  Other business types require large amounts of space to store supplies.  It might not just be inventory; it could be tools or displays that won’t fit in your garage.  Some service businesses need to manufacture things large or small that would make the use of your home impractical.

Another person with whom you should discuss this decision is your spouse or significant other.  They may dictate that you can’t work from home because of storage or distraction issues.  As with any major decision regarding your business you should check with your loved ones to get their feedback.

When we started our small business it was important for us to have an office.  It wasn’t much at the time; it started out as one room with a single desk and computer.  Eventually it grew to multiple rooms with office staff and a showroom.  We made the choice not to primarily work from home.  We wanted to be professional and weren’t prepared for the distractions of home.  I’m the one that always feels like he should be doing laundry or multi-tasking with something else around the house!

Just like the benefits of working from home there are benefits to having an office or warehouse space.  Here are some of the pros and cons associated with buying or leasing space for your business.

1. Focus!  Having a place to go and work away from all the distractions of home can be very important to some.  I know I can focus much better away from the distractions of home.  For some this could be as simple as going to a coffee shop or library to finish something important.
2. Equity investment.  If you buy your office or warehouse space it can become a great investment vehicle.  The business can pay you rent and you have the benefit of an appreciating asset on your personal or business books.
3. Real identity.  Having a bricks and mortar office gives your business credibility and an identity.  There is a business mailing address and depending on the location you may have a conference room to meet with clients.  It’s always nice to have a place to meet clients and show them you’re professional.
4. Safe haven.  Having an office location means you can better separate your personal assets from your business assets.  If you are sued and have a corporate structure then it is more likely that your home would be protected from creditors.
5. Everything’s in one place.  Having an office means that all the files and items needed to run your business can be kept in one central location.  If you work from home and everything doesn’t fit there then you have to have separate storage space to keep everything or a post office box for your mail.  Having one location for everything means that you only need to go one place to find anything.
6. Employees.  If you need to hire people for your business it’s almost a must to have an office.  Bringing employees or clients into your home can be uncomfortable and difficult to deal with.  Your house would always have to be picked up and clean to avoid embarrassment.

1. Overhead!  This is a dreaded word for most business owners.  Overhead means that you have fixed recurring costs you need to cover.  Having an office means that your sales have to increase to cover the cost of having this space.  If the office is required no matter what then it’s not a question.  You may have the option of starting from home and then working up to having an office as revenue increases.
2. Drive time.  Similar to the pros of working from home.  If you have an office you need to get there.  This means travel time and costs.  There’s also the stress factor of driving to work and needing to get there early.
3. Overtime.  Working in an office with deadlines may mean that you have to stay late or get there early to get things done.  Working a little extra time at home could be easier when you have a few minutes to spare.

Whatever you decide about having an office make sure you carefully consider your options.  Everyone has different priorities and personalities.  Some people will have no trouble working from home while others could set themselves up for immediate disaster!

Over and over we watched them launch themselves at a twelve foot high ramp and propel fifty feet in the air.  Most of the time they made minimal contact with the bike once they left the ramp.  They were either hanging on behind, underneath or sideways.  To say it made me tense would be an understatement.

As I sat there with my heart beating faster than normal I thought about how you would even begin to learn to do such a thing.  I assumed that one might start with a very small jump and steadily work their way up to this monster.  But even still, with each run at every new ramp there is a level of commitment that must be there.  Never did I see one of the riders approach the ramp tentatively.  It just doesn’t exist in their world.  You’re either all in or you die.  They must COMMIT!

It’s a business and life lesson that I have tried to teach myself over the last two years.  In order to succeed at something I need to give it my full attention.  I must commit. There is no such thing as an overnight success and to grind it out through the hard times requires faith, passion and commitment.  To have the will to force yourself to do the things that are less than glamorous is never easy but the successful entrepreneur is able to follow through and make it happen.  It sure is easy to say, but hard to live.

I think that is why most small business owners are passionate about what they do.  It helps raise their level of commitment.  I suppose that you can be committed to a job without being passionate, but I think it takes a lot more effort.  It makes it easy to abandon the job when it’s no longer fun or fresh.

One of the ways I help to combat the distractions of everyday life is to systematize and organize as much as I can.  A key part of this strategy is to schedule a time for repetitive tasks.  For example, I schedule a time each week to write content for this blog, to produce podcasts, to pay bills and the list goes on.  If it is in my schedule it is much more likely to get done.  Now I did say more likely.  I am still human and easily distracted by any shiny object!  But by having a plan to shoot for it is easier to hold myself accountable.

But next time I feel like blowing something off or giving up I’m going to remember those FMX riders and the level of focus and commitment they bring to their job.  Maybe then I’ll see how easy I have it.

What are you trying to commit to in your life?  What obstacles/successes have you had?

It made me think back to a time when I was in my early twenties and already stuck in a pair of golden handcuffs.  Or so I thought.  I had a great paying job at UPS with great benefits and was making plans to work there the rest of my life.  How sad!  The worst part was that I didn’t even like the job or most of the people I worked with.  But I was making great money for my age and didn’t see a way out.  Fortunately my Dad knew better than I (one of the few times that ever happened) and offered to help me extricate myself to a better situation.  In the short term I lost out on some perks but in the long run I was much better off.  I can’t imagine still working at UPS almost twenty years later.  Thanks, Dad!

But it’s not just dumb twenty year old kids that make this mistake.  In some ways I’m still doing it today.  I follow the status quo just because it’s easy.  I’m not the only one.  I meet and see so many people that are just going through the motions because they don’t see another way.  There’s always another way.  It might not be the path of least resistance, but there are always choices in life.  Don’t let the ‘needs’ of the short-term dictate your long-term happiness and success.

I hope that deckhand’s dad steps in and shows him a better way.

Have you ever been ‘trapped’ in a career or job?  Share your experiences below.

Rob recently quit his job to pursue his new small business full-time!  Find out how he did it.

Neil interviews Rob Kibbe, creator of The Muscle Car Place, about how he knew it was time to create his own small business, what steps he took to get there and how is was able to make the leap to his new business full-time.

Rob shares  how he:

• Knew it was time to step out on his own
• Used personality (DiSC) testing to define the best small business for him
• Hired a coach/mentor to help him define a business for him and create a business plan
• Was able to finance his new business venture
• Created a business plan and how it changed along the way

Download a PDF transcript of this podcast – click here

Discover the positives and negatives of Joel and Neil’s entrepreneurial journey.

Joel & Neil are the creators of Help Start My Small Business.  Click on the podcast link above to hear the story of how they created several of their own small businesses. Want to read the show transcript instead? Or read on to get the high-points.

Purpose of Help Start My Small Business

We started this site and podcast series as a way to reach out and help others who have just started, or want to start a small business.

Starting your own small business can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Seeing your business grow from just an idea to something that fulfills your personal, professional and financial goals will lead to a well-deserved sense of pride and accomplishment. But it’s not all roses. Our small business life has been filled with setbacks, pitfalls and road blocks. It’s our goal to keep you from making these same energy zapping, time sucking mistakes. Discover how to get your business up and making money, quickly and legally with Help Start My Small Business.

Neil & Joel’s Background

Our father has been self-employed ever since we can remember. He taught us that having a J-O-B is not for everyone. He also taught us not to be afraid of work. We have worked from a very young age (Neil can remember his first paid job at the age of three) to create a lifestyle that works for us and makes us independent of anyone else.

Growing up we both had many jobs, several of which were self-created.  We mowed lawns, sold lemonade, sold hot dogs, did handyman work, you name it we probably tried it. Joel went on get a degree in Architecture and after graduation got a job as a commercial architect. Neil got his degree in entrepreneurial management. After graduation he got a job working as a purchasing agent at a lumberyard.

Several years later neither one of us was happy with our current position. It was then that we came together to start our own residential remodeling company. Construction was something we had both been involved with most of our lives and we were extremely comfortable with the ‘hands-on’ part of the business. However, the business side of the company was new experience for both of us. Even though Neil had a degree in business, real life was quite different than book learning. The first few years we really struggled to make an income equal to what we had as full-time employees.

Through a lot of learning and ‘hard’ lessons we managed to improve our company and make more money than either of us had thought possible in our ‘work-a-day’ lives. But it wasn’t easy. We spent five years and thousands of dollars educating ourselves and learning how to run a profitable small business. We read books, scoured the internet, attended numerous seminars and joined several high-level mastermind groups, all in an effort to improve ourselves and our company.

Why Did We Create Help Start My Small Business?

During our journey we were lucky to benefit from the wisdom of those entrepreneurs that went before us. Many small business owners shared with us their stories of “when I first started.” These stories and lessons shared were a huge part of education we received in our first few years in business. It is our hope to use Help Start My Small Business to do the same for others. We want to help first time small business owners get started on the right foot and make their business a success in two years instead of five.

We both get excited when we see someone step out and try their own unique business idea. Many times when attending a chamber meeting or other networking event, we will meet a budding entrepreneur. We are energized by their stories and ideas. We are also quick to share our experience and lend a hand. It’s what we love to do. But, let’s face it, helping out in a local chamber of commerce doesn’t introduce to many people. We want to be able to share our knowledge and hard-life lessons with a larger audience. That’s what this site is all about.

Who Is This Site Designed To Help?

Help Start My Small Business is here to help anyone bored, frustrated or sick of their J-O-B and ready to step out on their own. Help Start My Small Business was created to shorten the learning curve for the technician that is great at their job, but doesn’t know much, if anything, about running a business. We can also help those small business owners that haven’t yet made the turn to a profitable business. Or maybe you’ve always had the dream of starting a business but have been afraid to try. Help Start My Small Business is a great fit for all of these scenarios.

We are here to give you REAL WORLD, RELEVANT advice. This is not some college-level theory class about business. This is advice straight from the trenches of those who have come before you. We will help you discover some common pitfalls to avoid as well as give you some inspirational stories to keep you motivated. Additionally, you can join in on the comments to be able to ask questions, give your own advice as well as share your own journey.

 Who Is This Site NOT Designed For?

Let’s be honest, no one can be all things to all people and that includes us. As much as we would like to have a place for every aspiring business owner to congregate, we all know that can’t happen. So we have made the decision to not cater to certain folks. This includes;

Anyone looking for a get rich quick scheme – Starting a small business is HARD work. Remember, we spent the first few years of our business lives struggling. We don’t believe there is any such thing as an overnight success. Therefore, we are not qualified to teach that line of thinking. As far as we are concerned – if it sounds too good to be true: it is!

Anyone wishing to start a strictly internet-based business – Don’t read this wrong. We will be talking about the internet. You have to be living in a cave to not know that the internet is vital to any small business. However, we will not approach our education and help from a internet-only perspective. We want to help you start a locally-based, bricks & mortar small business. Not to say that you need a store or even a rented office space. Besides, their are many sites out there dedicated to internet business. Here is the site we highly recommend for learning about internet business. We have learned a lot here even for our locally-based business.

Anyone planning to start a retail store or manufacturing business – Not to say that some of things we talk about won’t have value to you, but again, we don’t have experience in these arenas. It would be wrong of us to claim to be something we’re not. Help Start My Small Business is primary for service-based small business. A service-based business does not rely on inventory to operate. That’s the key difference.

How Can You Get The Most Out Of Our Program?

• Follow us through our RSS feed, Facebook or Twitter
• Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes
• Call in your business questions to be answered on a future podcast or blog post (630)318-6345
• Download and read “5 Signs It’s Time To Start Your Own Small Business”
• Join in the conversation on comments, Facebook and Twitter
• Stay committed to your small business goal – do something EVERY day!

To your success,

N & J