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Evolutionary Business Design

Category: Business Growth

Zero to Hero takes a little time

hammer headIs impatience stopping you from getting what you want?

Are you sabotaging your ability to reach your goals by putting impossible deadlines on them?

Wouldn’t it be great to just slow down, take a breath, contemplate where you’re headed and go forward with more focus and clarity on the things that will give you the outcomes you want? (psst – they’re also called goals)

The oddest thing happens when you stop being frantic and desperate… you calm down and so does the world around you.

You appear more confident and “in control” – you become more attractive to prospective customers; you begin to generate a sense of competence and expertise. People get to know you better, they get to like you and trust you more. They’re more willing to engage with you and entertain the idea of doing business with you.

Isn’t that better than what you are probably doing now?

And after you’ve calmed down, you can eliminate the “busy” stuff and focus on the important stuff, the practical stuff that gets you closer to your desired outcome.

Step by step here’s how to approach getting the outcomes you want:

1)      This is some of the most important work you will ever do in your business, so commit to a few hours or even a couple of days if necessary of TOTAL FOCUS to get the ideas out of your head and into some kind of format that will give you a step by step action plan. Please don’t use the excuse “I don’t have time” – MAKE the time or stay stuck until you do.

2)      Let’s assume that you want to make more sales, sit down and work out the specific number – the ACTUAL dollars that you would like to increase your sales by. Next work out the time frame – over what period of time: a month, 3 months, 12 months?

3)      Then, work out the easiest most leveraged way to do that. Take your time and dig deep into all of the ways you could achieve the outcome you want. Get creative, get crazy, think BIG! Don’t limit your thinking; just brainstorm ideas for the moment.

4)      Then break it down again to make sure it’s possible. If you want to double your sales in 3 months it’s going to take some laser sharp planning and activity. Can it be done – do you have the infrastructure to deliver your product or service to twice the number of customers in that space of time? If not – DON’T give up the dream – lengthen the time instead.

5)      Keep tweaking the plan and the timeframe until you come up with something workable that has actual practical daily strategies in it that you can do – turn it into a daily chart or calendar and tick off the items as you complete them.

6)      Remove ALL excuses. NO one wants to hear the sorry story of how you couldn’t do stuff. People like to back a winner – and winners have the best stories – make yours a GREAT story. Be a HERO

It won’t happen overnight… You need to get used to that idea.

Good things take time to brew. Enjoy the journey 🙂

 

 

Fake it ’til you become it

Amy CuddyI’ve always been a big fan of the “fake it til you make it”
method of dealing with new situations and being outside my comfort zone.

And I know from experience that your body language tells far more that your words, so thank you Amy Cuddy for adding scientific evidence that not only can your mind change your body, but your body can change your mind…not just “fake it til you make it” but “fake it til you become it”. Your body language
shapes who you are.

Click the picture or this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc&w=180&rel=0 to see the video Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are

These are my own “confidence secrets”… Try these simple postures next time you need to feel more positive and more powerful: (Best done in private before you go into a meeting or start your day)

1. If you’ve struggled out of bed – strike the gymnast’s pose – the one they do after they’ve finished their routine – legs together, arms up and spread wide, chest out head up and look up. And if you feel slightly ridiculous, you’ll at least get your day off to a better start with a good laugh!

2. The winning runner’s pose – same position as the gymnast pose but
running like you just WON the race.

3. The “I love you this much” pose – stand up – spread your arms as wide as you can, stretch your hands out and get ready to receive…

4. The Wonder Woman pose – watch the video – the picture says it all.

These ones you can do in public… in fact I highly recommend them for when you’re out networking, when you’re giving a presentation on stage or talking in a group, making a sale…

1. Stand tall – get your feet grounded, legs slightly apart, arms comfortably at your side of loosely hold hands at waist height, head up like you’re attached to the sky, shoulders back…breathe and smile

2. Sitting pose – same as above – not slumped in a chair

3. Walking pose – same as standing – move confidently.

This is pretty easy for an extrovert. For introverts, practice it in your mind until you
are more comfortable with it – then give it a go.

Observe the results and let me know how it goes 🙂

Game ON

Is it time to play in a different league?

If your business were a game what league would you be playing in?
• Little league?
• State Tournaments?
• National Championships?
• Olympics or World titles?

Being honest with yourself, are you playing the game of business at the level you want to play at?

It could it be that you are taking your talents and skills and experience for granted and it is time to step up and play a BIGGER game!

WHO you pitch your business to may be an indication of the level of your confidence in yourself to deliver an outcome.

One Size DOESN’T fit all! Your business is NOT for everyone.

You may find that attracting “little league” customers who are not able to pay you what you’re REALLY worth is affecting your ability to make decent money, which in turn makes you nervous and erodes your confidence in yourself to run a successful business.

It’s hard to stay positive and motivated when you are struggling!

Here’s what I’ve discovered…

If you change your thinking about the game you’re playing, you can offer the same product or service to different levels of customers at different price points:

For example, a talented hairdresser can serve the local cut and colour market OR be a celebrity hairdresser to the stars. Same skill set, different market, different level of self-belief or desire.

Like having Bronze, Silver or Gold categories of customers
OR
• DIY – do it yourself customers who prefer to do it themselves
• DIWM – do it with me customers who want some help
• DIFM – do it for me customers who want you to do it all for them

However that translates to your business, you can decide the “mix” of customers that you want – or only focus on ONE category.

Work out what is high FUN and high PROFIT for you and you never need to
struggle again.


If you want to play the game at a higher level, what level will you choose?

Business Overload – 7 Effective Ways to Re-energise When You Feel Like Throwing in the Towel

Intelligent hard working people don’t set out to fail; but some days it just all gets a bit much…

I can’t “gloss over” the facts – it DOES take HARD WORK to make a business work – and it takes passion and courage and discipline and determination and vision and sometimes sheer bloody “stick-ability”. Nobody I know developed a successful business without doing some work…

They have the willingness to do what other people won’t do.

I’ve discovered that there are two types of people in this world

  1. There are people who fall in love with the idea of being successful
  2. And people who roll up their sleeves and get on with the work to become successful

If you’re struggling right now, DON’T throw in the towel!

If you’re business is sound and you’ve got the fundamentals right then there will be a little “lag” time between now and the success you want.

Here are 7 Ways to effectively tackle overwhelm, stress and tiredness:

  1. Practice the 3 “P’s” – Patience, Persistence and Positivity – be realistic. It takes time to build a good business – be prepared to give it your best shot. Celebrate each milestone of success and record your progress. Pat yourself on the back more.
  2. Reconnect with your vision – what was it you went into business for? What will your business look like in 2, 5, 10 years’ time. If you wanted a lifestyle business hook back into what that means to you. SEE yourself in the future.
  3. Work to a diary – not just an appointment book. Structure a weekly diary with set tasks and routines to cover all of the things you need to take care of each week or month. Separate them into PROactive and REactive. Make appointments with yourself in your diary – and keep them. Make set times to do the work, do some admin, check the finances, work on growing the business – any regular activity that you would like to do that is not getting done now, including a little rest and relaxation. If you find yourself getting too busy, ask yourself “Is what I’m doing right now getting me closer to my goals?”
  4. Get clear on your role – don’t be the “dogsbody” or the “trouble-shooter”. Define your best talent and skill and work in that role. Being happy in your work is a BIG client magnet.
  5. Outsource as much as you can – get that superhero suit off and give other people the opportunity to help you. Get a PA if you need one, a bookkeeper, a virtual assistant, technicians, salespeople, marketing people. Do whatever it takes to get other people doing the work of your business to free up your time.
  6. Have you own personal “cheer squad”– surrounding yourself with people you can confide in; a coach, a mentor, your accountant, and great friends who believe in you and will cheer you on. Be around people who make you laugh and give you a “reality check” – and above all don’t be so serious! Having your own business is meant to be FUN.
  7. Get physical to get rid of pent up stress – Yell and complain and bitch if you need to – get it out of your system, just don’t stay in negative emotion. Meditate, go for a run, swim, ride, get a massage, go to the gym… anything to break the state of feeling stuck or overwhelmed.

So, here’s to focusing on the days when you’ve reconnected, when you love your business and it’s so fantastic that you don’t even mind the time and effort it takes to build something worthwhile…

…it also helps not to take yourself too seriously. You won’t die of embarrassment from doing crazy things that don’t quite work – I haven’t yet. I guarantee you will make some mistakes, you’ll have egg on your face and things won’t quite go according to plan; BUT you WILL survive and you’ll get stronger and wiser every time.

…it helps to be flexible when things change. Just when you think you’ve got it together the rules will change – go with the flow.

7.5 THE BONUS TIP … it helps to have a sense of humour in BIG CHUNKS – See the silly side of things, invite people into your life who make you laugh more!

 

Are you running a Practice or a Business?

 

business practiceThis may come as a revelation to you, especially if you’€™ve been running your Practice as a Business.

Here’€™s where things get much easier for you!

What’s the difference?

A specialist Practice is one in which YOU are the main player – it relies on you being the expert at what you do like being an accountant, a lawyer, consultant, coach, health care professional etc. You do the bulk of the work because that is what you like to do. You employ other people to handle the admin, bookkeeping, marketing and sales when you can afford them. Usually a Practice is €œbootstrapped€ by the owner€“ that is, re-investing earned income back into it.

A Practice can feel like a €œjob however if you love direct contact with your clients and seeing first-hand the impact your services provide to them, then it can be extremely satisfying. There are ways to use leverage in a Practice so that you are enjoying doing your highest and best work and someone else is taking care of the rest.

The value of a Practice is that the profit margins are a lot higher than a Business so you have a lot more disposable€ income. The challenge is not to spend all of that income but use it to invest in income-producing assets to provide for your future.

A business on the other hand is something that appreciates in value, can be run by someone other than you and unlike a Practice can be sold for a profit at a later date. It comes with its own set of challenges like managing people and suppliers and processes and stuff€.

Business profit margins are generally lower than a Practice because the overheads are generally higher. It takes more resources to run the machine. In a business you are not usually delivering the technical services – you employ others to do that. The highest and best use of your time would have more to do with employing and training the best people you can find, sales and marketing, financial management and overseeing operations.

There are some cross-overs but, for the moment go with your gut instinct to decide which is the most satisfying and fulfilling structure for you. Which one uses your most valuable talents and skills and which one has the most enjoyment factor for you?

Of course you can turn a Practice into a Business later but it requires a different skill set and focus.

More on this to come!.

 

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Perth Western Australia       All Rights Reserved

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