I am so tired of make believe business owners

Maybe it's middle age - but I seem to be doing a lot of ranting lately.

But the amount of 'junk' I hear daily from business owners has me wanting to stir the pot a little - maybe just be honest about how I feel about it.

I mean really - can't anyone be honest any more?

"$200.00 to attend the weekend event? Oohhh I can't afford that". "$45.00 for a meal and a speaker - ohhhh - that's too much".

These are the words coming from the lips of micro business owners - who will always be micro business owners and never make more than just enough to pay the bills. And that is ok if that is where they want to stay.

But these same business owners are the first to whine about not having enough business. These are the business owners who continue to advertise using poor copy - and subsequently spend hundreds on an ad that no one reads or responds to. Or they have a website built from a template that they never update and complain that they are not getting any traffic on their websites.

Yet if you ask them what they want to achieve you will hear them say - next year I want a six figure income.

Not using outdated strategies and penny pinching they won't. In fact they will stay exactly where they are. And that's ok if that's what they want.

But pleeeaaase don't tell me how hard it is to get business when you are not willing to spend money on your business.

And come on! How do you expect to keep up with everyone else when you refuse to invest in yourself and learn new business strategies?

And get real! Do you really want to keep going to the same place month after month, meeting the same people over an over again - talking about the same issues - and making the same money (and mistakes) as you did 15 years ago?

If you really, really want to grow your business invest in yourself. Stop whining. Think from the end.

Yes $200 can be a lot of money. But what if you learned one thing, just one thing that would raise your yearly income by 10 to 20 %? Wouldn't that more than cover the $200?

You know it would be much easier if you were just honest with yourself and the rest of us. Why not just say - "you know I really don't want any more business - I just like to come out to dinner and socialize once a month". Or maybe admit, "I really just enjoy getting paid once in a while for my work - but I really don't want this to be a big business - it's too much trouble and just interferes with other things I would rather do."

Great. I can respect that. But please stop pretending to yourself and the rest of us that you are trying to build your business. If you are unwilling - yes UNWILLING to invest $200 in learning something new then you are not serious about your business.

There I said it. Now let's get some serious work done. Those of you playing at business can go back to your game of make believe.

By the way - we have a great business event in Hamilton October 16th and 17th. Why not join us. But be advised - this is serious stuff. You might even learn something new.

A lesson from nature..

I have always thought the desert to be a beautiful place. Recently my husband returned from a trip to Tucson Arizona, bringing some beautiful pictures with him. Several of his pictures featured Saguaro Cactus, the cactus that bears the state flower of Arizona. This cactus grows about an inch a year from what seems to be infertile soil. That means it takes 50 years to grow is just over 4 feet! They take up to 75 years to develop a side arm. This is so much slower growing than bamboo in the rain forest where in one year, bamboo can grow up to 70 feet!

This made me begin to think about business growth. What does something need in order to grow?

Certainly in the plant world there needs to be energy - the warmth of the sun. There also needs to be nutrients in the soil as well as moisture – rain or humidity. Take these things away or limit them and growth may still happen, but much more slowly. What about our businesses? What does a business need to grow? It’s not a plant, animal or human. However, a business, in its own way is a living thing. It too needs certain things to survive. Cash flow is essential in a business. It’s like oxygen. But just because a business has cash flow that does not necessarily mean it will grow. It may exist but will not necessarily grow. A business needs to have a knowledgeable and skilled leader with relevant and timely strategies and information to make it grow. Unfortunately many business owners operate solely on their gut feeling. They hope they are making the right decisions and when the business runs into trouble – or hard times hit, they become confused and begin having knee-jerk reactions – making decisions too quickly and without enough knowledge. No one is born with a ‘how to build a business’ manual. Many successful business owners have spent years educating themselves before they even open a business. Essentially what they are doing when educating themselves is ensuring that there are enough nutrients (information) to feed the business. Many of us want our businesses to grow – and grow quickly. When it does not – we lose interest (energy) – often the energy that is required to keep the business growing. Many of us lose interest because we do the same things day in and day out without taking the time to feed our minds with the information we need to help our businesses grow. So in addition to losing interest we also do not have the knowledge it takes to get over the bumps. It is kind of like Saguaro Cactus growing in the desert. Our businesses may have lots of sunshine but not near enough nutrients or moisture to help it to grow. Are you growing your business in a desert? Have you taken some time to feed it with good information? Are you willing to grow only an inch a year or would you like it to grow a little more quickly? (I know I would!) It is imperative that we take time to learn about new trends, strategies and meet with other business owners to see how they are handing their businesses successfully. Yes, education does not come for free. We have to pay for it – one way or another. We can speed up the growth process by learning from others or we can learn slowly by making mistakes and finding things out for ourselves! Which will you choose? If you are looking ti increase your business knowledge and improve upon your skills - I have a great event coming up this fall to feed your thirsty mind - check out the preliminary information here!

Business Lessons From My Motorcycle

People say I tell lots of stories. I do this because, for me – a lesson is better remembered (and sometimes learned) if there is a story or anecdote attached to it. This brings me to a couple of motorcycle stories that upon reflection taught me some valuable lessons about my business. Let me begin by saying that I have been terrified of dropping my motorcycle. At a whopping 857 pounds, I know that it is impossible for one person to pick up alone. I knew though that at one point the inevitability of losing control of such a large bike is a given. For those of you who have not seen my bike, it is a big one – but more than big it is just plain too tall for me. I can ride and control it well, however I can only touch the ground with the balls of my feet – which makes maneuvering it in and out of small spaces like garages and parking spots a bit of a dance on my tip-toes! I have been so afraid of dropping the bike that I rarely ride it alone. Usually my husband drives and I ride behind. (it is set up for his height not mine) About a month ago we were on an extended ride. At the end of a long and exhausting day we came off the highway and stopped for the red light on the top of a hill on an exit ramp. Tired legs and uneven pavement contributed to a ‘lean to the right’ where the weight of the motorcycle outweighed the strength of the driver and a smooth and comically slow movement resulted in the driver literally laying the bike down on its side. As the driver laid the bike gently down – I tried to get off the back seat which resulted in me hopping on one foot and trying to get my leg over the back rest. After several hops up and down I realized I was also attached to the bike via my helmet cord that was attached to the receptacle on the other side of the bike. (It looks much like a curly telephone cord) I continued to hop backwards trying to release myself only to realize that now the back aerial was caught between my legs. All I could think of was what it must look like! What a spectacle! In the end after hopping several more times on one foot, I fell on my bum in the middle of the lane we occupied. In the meantime – the light had turned green and red again. After a deep breath I got up off my bum, brushed off my pride and between the two of us we managed to lift the bike up, get back on and head home. We were lucky. There was no damage to the bike (it rolled on a roll bar) so there was no damage to anything except our confidence and pride. For me this event was a defining moment – and I know I will never forget it. It took about a week to sort out how I felt about all of it. I realized that I had learned several great lessons from the event – so I thought I would pass them on to you. Lesson #1. Anyone can make a mistake. I had been terrified of dropping the bike – so I rarely rode it alone. In the end, I realized that dropping the bike was not really such a big deal. So what. The most important part was that together we picked ourselves and the bike up and got back on it to ride it home. (some day I might even laugh about this event) Lesson #2. Stop and rest when you are tired. This applies to everything in life – including business. When we go too long and too hard – mistakes happen. If we are lucky, we can recover from our mistakes. However, mistakes made affect our confidence and pride – and until we get back up and ride it can also affect our performance and confidence. The second fall or shall I say ‘bike dropping event’, I managed to accomplish all on my own! Determined to master the weight and awkwardness of the bike, I decided to ride it to work one day. I was the only one home and so I took my time getting my chaps on, arranging all my things in the compartments and making sure I was prepared to ride safely. I began to back the bike out of the garage and my foot slipped on the cement. I looked at the shoes I had on and thought “I had better get my boots on – they have better grip”. So I decided to do this after I had backed the bike out of the garage. Then my foot slipped again. My gut told me to get my boots on now, but I ignored the intuitive prompting. I backed the bike out onto the cement pad and then down the grade to the gravel laneway. I stopped the bike a little too quickly and the bike began to lean to the right. I knew then as it leaned that I was past the point of being able to right it and so I slowly lowered it to the ground. “Ok” I thought. “No big deal”. But now what? As pointless as it seemed I decided to try my best to lift it back up. (there is a technique to lifting heavy bikes) As you can guess – it was pointless. The bike outweighed me by over 700 pounds. With no one home, there was only one l thing I could do. Call a friend or ask a passing motorist ( a stranger ) for help. I managed to flag down a young man who chuckled as he helped me lift the bike. “Wow” he said. “That is heavy”. I thanked him, gathered what spunk I had left and started the bike and set off to work. Determined to regain my confidence, I reflected on what I could have done differently, and thought about how much I had learned from my bike. I added these to the list of “Everything I learned about business I learned from my honking huge motorcycle”. Lesson # 3. Listen to your gut. I knew I should have changed into my boots after the first slip on the concrete. I might never have lost my balance with a pair of heavy soled boots. Lesson # 4. Ask for help. Sometimes you will need to ask someone you do not know. There is no shame in asking for help. No one can do it all alone. And there is always someone who is happy to help. Lesson #5. Nothing is ever too heavy. You just need to learn how to work with it. There are hundreds of people who ride bikes that are heavy – and hard to handle when still. And sometimes that means asking for help. Lesson #6. Keep moving. In both cases, had the bike been moving, and not in the process of being stopped, it would have never fallen over. But fear in both cases made us stop too quickly – and the bike having some momentum had to go somewhere – so it went sideways. How often in business, when we are fearful do we just STOP? When we are afraid – it is not time to stop. In fact momentum will carry us forward as long as we continue to steer straight. If we need to stop, it should never be a knee jerk reaction made out of fear – but a slow and steady stop – so that we remain in control. We are in uncertain times. Some days the load seems too heavy and even unmanageable. Don’t be fearful. Just remember the following:

1. Anyone can make a mistake. There is no shame in that. Only those who stand still will never fall.
2. Stop and rest when you are tired or over worked.
3. Listen to your gut. When you feel trouble coming on, listen to your gut feelings and act on them.
4. Ask for help when you need it. (I mean really, how hard is it to ask for help)
5. Nothing is ever too hard or too heavy – you just need to learn the right technique. (yes, you may have to ask for help)
6. Keep moving. Momentum will carry you forward. If you become afraid and try to stop too quickly you will fall. If you do get right back up and keep moving forward.

copyright 2009 Mandie Crawford

Why will some small businesses not survive the recession?

Ok – so I admit it. There appears to be a recession. Yes, the media has mentioned it a few times. Yes, it seems to be a little too quiet around the office. And yes, I have seen the going out of business signs being posted on what seems like every corner. Most of them are smaller businesses. So, why will some small businesses not survive the recession? I recently did some research on how to survive a recessions and was surprised to learn several interesting facts. Some businesses come out of a recession in better shape than when they went in! That’s right. They are ahead of their competition. Many are lean mean money making machines when the recession finally ends – and are better positioned to become very profitable. However, none of this happened over night. The truth is – that during the recession, they were as concerned as everyone else about the bottom line – but instead of pushing the panic button – they became very strategic. Here are a few things that they did. Businesses that survived the recession: * Measured everything, their marketing efforts, their employee performance, their time management, their cash flow and their mark up and pricing matrix. * Continued to market their business (above all else) * Invested in systems – positioning themselves for effective customer and product management for future growth * Were patient. They recognized that “Robbing Peter to pay Paul” was a strategy that they may have to use – short term. Unfortunately micro businesses and small businesses are not all paying attention. They are panicking. Some are paying off loans that have interest rates of 3%. Ridiculous! Why not use that interest rate AND take advantage of lower pricing. An interest rate like this and lower prices can cut the final cost of a purchase by 50%. Others are discontinuing their marketing efforts entirely. There is no faster way to kill a business. Finally, others are burying their heads in the sand, hiding in the office and biting their fingernails. What a waste of time and energy! Why not take this time to visit clients, strategize on guerrilla marketing efforts and begin measuring your efforts. It has been reported that there are several companies that sell bargain goods who have increased their sales in the last quarter. Fast food is on the rise – yet middle of the road restaurants are suffering. Macaroni and cheese sales are up. You get the drift. However, upscale companies like ‘Coach’ that sells upscale accessories for women (purses etc) have recognized that they too need to do something – and have looked at bringing in cheaper goods to tide them over. They have reduced staff and closed stores that were not making a profit. Small business owners however, continue to astound me. They cancel advertising costing less than $20 a month – but continue to buy coffee at the local coffee shop. (Which has the ability to make them money, the advertising or the coffee?) Many are paying off their loans and paring services back so far that recovery may be impossible. For many, the recession is a perfect excuse to close a business they are really not interested in running anyway! So what does this mean in the end? It means if you consider the strategies mentioned earlier that the larger businesses use – chances are you will emerge from the recession with a stronger company. It also means that the people who are not dedicated to their businesses or whose customer service is poor, or whose prices are too high will have to close their doors. Finally though, the real trick to surviving the recessions is to recognize - nothing happens over night. Marketing efforts must be consistent and target your market correctly. When considering what you need to do to survive the recession – measure everything. Get rid of bulky, overpriced items and services whether you buy or sell them. Marketing is a 24 hour 7 day a week task. Finding better marketing strategies is a great idea. But getting rid of marketing all together is not a wise decision. If you don't know what to do - invest in good advice. There is no better time than now. You have the time - and need the help. Another option is to meet with your peers in a formal or informal setting. Get to know what is working for them. Share your expertise! Buck up people. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to get strategic with all you do, and be patient.