It's Friday that means the topic of focus is coming to a close and next week we will move onto a new area and topic.
Finding the perfect coach for you and your small business might be easier than you think or is it? David Mason from Resourcenation.com recently posted this article. Enjoy!
How to Find the Right Small Business Coach for You
Written by: David Mason
Source: Resourcenation.com
Small business coaching is hot. A few years ago the only coaches anyone talked about were sports coaches. But today, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that there are 30,000 business and life coaches worldwide.
Thousands of small business owners and managers turn to coaches every day to improve their personal skills and business results. You can, too. But first you have to determine if you're ready for coaching. Then you have to select the right coach.
Are you Ready?
Rosa started her business out of her home. She made money, but not as much as she felt she should. She was frustrated that she couldn't find time for her family. That's when a friend suggested that a small business coach would help.
That's a typical situation. Most small businesses owners don't start out using a coach. They usually come to coaching when they've had some success and when they know they could have more. They usually come to coaching when they're ready to listen and when they need a little knowledge and a little nudge to do the right things.
The best coaching in the world won't help you if you're not ready to be helped. So before you go hunting for a good small business coach, answer the following questions.
- Are you ready to listen to the things you need to hear? A good coach will ask you about things you haven't thought of and push you to think outside the box. That's often scary. A good coach may also tell you to change the way you do some things. That's hard for many small business owners because it means admitting that you've made some bad decisions and choices.
- Are you ready to take a hard look at your business? Even the best coach can't help you if your business can't deliver quality to enough people at the right price. Sometimes a business simply can't succeed because the market is too small or too hard to reach.
- Are you ready to pay the price? Coaching does not come without a price. You will pay a price in both money and time. You may even realize that you need to invest in new things for your business.
Coaching is not a magic bean. You have to work at success every day. I tell my clients that "success is based on persistency and consistency, not magic." You're ready for coaching if you see coaching as an investment in yourself and your success. Your next challenge is to find the right coach for you.
Choosing the Coach for You
Great coaches, like great chefs and great football players, are rare. And, sometimes, even a great coach is not the right coach for you. Here are some ways to evaluate coaches.
1) Look for a coach who's run a small business. Before I started coaching I built two successful small businesses. I've really "been there and done that" so I know what my clients are going through. I also use coaches myself. The ones that work best for me have small business experience. Small businesses are different from big businesses and you need a coach who understands the special challenges.
2) Look for a coach who's been doing it for a while. My job as a coach is to help you know what to do, but it's also to help you do what you know. It takes time to learn to coach well.
3) Look for a coach who won't nickel and dime you to death. It seems to me that there are two kinds of coaches when it comes to billing. There are coaches who charge you by the minute, hour or session. And there are coaches who are always accessible or available for short conversations between sessions, if needed without piling on extra charges. I find the latter works better for my clients.
4) Look for a coach that you're comfortable with. Successful outcomes demand a productive relationship between you and your coach. It won't work if you feel talked down to or belittled or if you feel like your coach doesn't care about you. If you feel any of those things, look for a different coach.
5) Look for a coach who's picky. The best coaches are selective about the kind of clients they work with. We expect a lot of our clients and we limit the number of clients we work with so we can concentrate on helping each one succeed.
After some soul searching and some research Rosa started working with a small business coach. It wasn't always easy, but together they found ways to help Rosa's business grow and help her reap the benefits of success. They took her business and life to a whole new level.
It can happen for you, too. If you're ready, if you're willing to embrace change and if you're willing to pay the price, a small business coach can help you become an amazing success story.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Five Questions to Ask
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,
I would like to express my gratitude to all those that have supported me over the years and give thanks to my clients for trusting to partner with me in their success.
To continue with the topic of the week - Hiring a Coach and what to consider, ask, know, and expect, here are five questions to consider:
1) Who have you coached and in what industry?
2) What do you charge per coaching session and how long do clients typically work with you?
3) Are you a member of any professional coaching organizations?
4) What is your area of expertise?
5) Can you provide me with references from current and past clients?
These are great beginning questions as posed by Resourcenation.com and they are more geared towards business coaches but they can be applied to just about any type of coach you are seeking support from and to partner with.
Remember conversations and clients list are subject to privacy and therefore you may not get names from your potential coach.
Source: Resourcenation.com
I would like to express my gratitude to all those that have supported me over the years and give thanks to my clients for trusting to partner with me in their success.
To continue with the topic of the week - Hiring a Coach and what to consider, ask, know, and expect, here are five questions to consider:
1) Who have you coached and in what industry?
2) What do you charge per coaching session and how long do clients typically work with you?
3) Are you a member of any professional coaching organizations?
4) What is your area of expertise?
5) Can you provide me with references from current and past clients?
These are great beginning questions as posed by Resourcenation.com and they are more geared towards business coaches but they can be applied to just about any type of coach you are seeking support from and to partner with.
Remember conversations and clients list are subject to privacy and therefore you may not get names from your potential coach.
Source: Resourcenation.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Get the Most from ...
Another good article giving some advice as to how to get the most out of your coach. Remember you do the work in the coach/coachee partnership so you best make the best out of your time together.
How to Get the Most From Your Business Coach
Written by: Editorial Staff of ResourceNation.com
Source: Resource Nation
A business coach can be a valuable asset for your business. A coach can show you how to exploit your strongest characteristics - and really get your business moving in the right direction. But to get there, you're going to need a few tips on how to have the most positive, productive relationship with your business coach.
Be honest! How is your coach supposed to help you if you don't come clean about your problems? Consider all the time you spend talking to your coach as a "safe zone." Unburden yourself of the things that are really concerning you about your business so that your coach can help find solutions.
Know your goals. Face it, your coach is going to need a little more to go on than "I want to be in the Fortune 500!" Streamline your goals - then work with your business coach to craft a plan for attaining them.
Select a business coach with experience relevant to your business. If you run a chicken coop, then a business coach who once built an empire of chicken coops from scratch would be ideal. If a match that specific isn't available, try the next level up (in our example, a coach with farming experience).
Be comfortable with the cost. Concerns about costs can keep a relationship with a business coach from truly soaring. Make sure that you know how much you can spend on sessions with your coach and plan accordingly. Ask your coach about her rates for extra one-on-one time. Nasty billing surprises that arrive in the mail can hamper your future together.
A business coach can provide a fresh set of eyes from which to view your business. A good coach will use his or her expertise to identify opportunities you might have missed, show you how to make more while spending less, and most importantly rediscover the joy that got you to start your own business in the first place!
How to Get the Most From Your Business Coach
Written by: Editorial Staff of ResourceNation.com
Source: Resource Nation
A business coach can be a valuable asset for your business. A coach can show you how to exploit your strongest characteristics - and really get your business moving in the right direction. But to get there, you're going to need a few tips on how to have the most positive, productive relationship with your business coach.
Be honest! How is your coach supposed to help you if you don't come clean about your problems? Consider all the time you spend talking to your coach as a "safe zone." Unburden yourself of the things that are really concerning you about your business so that your coach can help find solutions.
Know your goals. Face it, your coach is going to need a little more to go on than "I want to be in the Fortune 500!" Streamline your goals - then work with your business coach to craft a plan for attaining them.
Select a business coach with experience relevant to your business. If you run a chicken coop, then a business coach who once built an empire of chicken coops from scratch would be ideal. If a match that specific isn't available, try the next level up (in our example, a coach with farming experience).
Be comfortable with the cost. Concerns about costs can keep a relationship with a business coach from truly soaring. Make sure that you know how much you can spend on sessions with your coach and plan accordingly. Ask your coach about her rates for extra one-on-one time. Nasty billing surprises that arrive in the mail can hamper your future together.
A business coach can provide a fresh set of eyes from which to view your business. A good coach will use his or her expertise to identify opportunities you might have missed, show you how to make more while spending less, and most importantly rediscover the joy that got you to start your own business in the first place!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Find the Right Small Business Coach
This week I am going to share a few articles that I am finding from one source - Resourcenation.com. If you haven't gone and visited their site I highly recommend it. Plus, as a coach myself these articles are focused on this topic specifically. Even during these economic times we all need support and a coach just might be what you are in need of. Enjoy!
How to Find the Right Small Business Coach for You
Written by: David Mason
Source: Mason Performance Development
Small business coaching is hot. A few years ago the only coaches anyone talked about were sports coaches. But today, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that there are 30,000 business and life coaches worldwide.
Thousands of small business owners and managers turn to coaches every day to improve their personal skills and business results. You can, too. But first you have to determine if you're ready for coaching. Then you have to select the right coach.
Are you Ready?
Rosa started her business out of her home. She made money, but not as much as she felt she should. She was frustrated that she couldn't find time for her family. That's when a friend suggested that a small business coach would help.
That's a typical situation. Most small businesses owners don't start out using a coach. They usually come to coaching when they've had some success and when they know they could have more. They usually come to coaching when they're ready to listen and when they need a little knowledge and a little nudge to do the right things.
The best coaching in the world won't help you if you're not ready to be helped. So before you go hunting for a good small business coach, answer the following questions.
- Are you ready to listen to the things you need to hear? A good coach will ask you about things you haven't thought of and push you to think outside the box. That's often scary. A good coach may also tell you to change the way you do some things. That's hard for many small business owners because it means admitting that you've made some bad decisions and choices.
- Are you ready to take a hard look at your business? Even the best coach can't help you if your business can't deliver quality to enough people at the right price. Sometimes a business simply can't succeed because the market is too small or too hard to reach.
- Are you ready to pay the price? Coaching does not come without a price. You will pay a price in both money and time. You may even realize that you need to invest in new things for your business.
Coaching is not a magic bean. You have to work at success every day. I tell my clients that "success is based on persistency and consistency, not magic." You're ready for coaching if you see coaching as an investment in yourself and your success. Your next challenge is to find the right coach for you.
Choosing the Coach for You
Great coaches, like great chefs and great football players, are rare. And, sometimes, even a great coach is not the right coach for you. Here are some ways to evaluate coaches.
1) Look for a coach who's run a small business. Before I started coaching I built two successful small businesses. I've really "been there and done that" so I know what my clients are going through. I also use coaches myself. The ones that work best for me have small business experience. Small businesses are different from big businesses and you need a coach who understands the special challenges.
2) Look for a coach who's been doing it for a while. My job as a coach is to help you know what to do, but it's also to help you do what you know. It takes time to learn to coach well.
3) Look for a coach who won't nickel and dime you to death. It seems to me that there are two kinds of coaches when it comes to billing. There are coaches who charge you by the minute, hour or session. And there are coaches who are always accessible or available for short conversations between sessions, if needed without piling on extra charges. I find the latter works better for my clients.
4) Look for a coach that you're comfortable with. Successful outcomes demand a productive relationship between you and your coach. It won't work if you feel talked down to or belittled or if you feel like your coach doesn't care about you. If you feel any of those things, look for a different coach.
5) Look for a coach who's picky. The best coaches are selective about the kind of clients they work with. We expect a lot of our clients and we limit the number of clients we work with so we can concentrate on helping each one succeed.
After some soul searching and some research Rosa started working with a small business coach. It wasn't always easy, but together they found ways to help Rosa's business grow and help her reap the benefits of success. They took her business and life to a whole new level.
It can happen for you, too. If you're ready, if you're willing to embrace change and if you're willing to pay the price, a small business coach can help you become an amazing success story.
How to Find the Right Small Business Coach for You
Written by: David Mason
Source: Mason Performance Development
Small business coaching is hot. A few years ago the only coaches anyone talked about were sports coaches. But today, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that there are 30,000 business and life coaches worldwide.
Thousands of small business owners and managers turn to coaches every day to improve their personal skills and business results. You can, too. But first you have to determine if you're ready for coaching. Then you have to select the right coach.
Are you Ready?
Rosa started her business out of her home. She made money, but not as much as she felt she should. She was frustrated that she couldn't find time for her family. That's when a friend suggested that a small business coach would help.
That's a typical situation. Most small businesses owners don't start out using a coach. They usually come to coaching when they've had some success and when they know they could have more. They usually come to coaching when they're ready to listen and when they need a little knowledge and a little nudge to do the right things.
The best coaching in the world won't help you if you're not ready to be helped. So before you go hunting for a good small business coach, answer the following questions.
- Are you ready to listen to the things you need to hear? A good coach will ask you about things you haven't thought of and push you to think outside the box. That's often scary. A good coach may also tell you to change the way you do some things. That's hard for many small business owners because it means admitting that you've made some bad decisions and choices.
- Are you ready to take a hard look at your business? Even the best coach can't help you if your business can't deliver quality to enough people at the right price. Sometimes a business simply can't succeed because the market is too small or too hard to reach.
- Are you ready to pay the price? Coaching does not come without a price. You will pay a price in both money and time. You may even realize that you need to invest in new things for your business.
Coaching is not a magic bean. You have to work at success every day. I tell my clients that "success is based on persistency and consistency, not magic." You're ready for coaching if you see coaching as an investment in yourself and your success. Your next challenge is to find the right coach for you.
Choosing the Coach for You
Great coaches, like great chefs and great football players, are rare. And, sometimes, even a great coach is not the right coach for you. Here are some ways to evaluate coaches.
1) Look for a coach who's run a small business. Before I started coaching I built two successful small businesses. I've really "been there and done that" so I know what my clients are going through. I also use coaches myself. The ones that work best for me have small business experience. Small businesses are different from big businesses and you need a coach who understands the special challenges.
2) Look for a coach who's been doing it for a while. My job as a coach is to help you know what to do, but it's also to help you do what you know. It takes time to learn to coach well.
3) Look for a coach who won't nickel and dime you to death. It seems to me that there are two kinds of coaches when it comes to billing. There are coaches who charge you by the minute, hour or session. And there are coaches who are always accessible or available for short conversations between sessions, if needed without piling on extra charges. I find the latter works better for my clients.
4) Look for a coach that you're comfortable with. Successful outcomes demand a productive relationship between you and your coach. It won't work if you feel talked down to or belittled or if you feel like your coach doesn't care about you. If you feel any of those things, look for a different coach.
5) Look for a coach who's picky. The best coaches are selective about the kind of clients they work with. We expect a lot of our clients and we limit the number of clients we work with so we can concentrate on helping each one succeed.
After some soul searching and some research Rosa started working with a small business coach. It wasn't always easy, but together they found ways to help Rosa's business grow and help her reap the benefits of success. They took her business and life to a whole new level.
It can happen for you, too. If you're ready, if you're willing to embrace change and if you're willing to pay the price, a small business coach can help you become an amazing success story.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Business Coach? Here is an article to help you decide if it is right for you
Good Morning,
Well as you can see I am back on the horse of blogging here on blogspot and coming in the new year - just 44 days and we launch the new site we will be hosting our own blog on our website. We will however still continue to use this blog to post the same postings as on our website so you don't have to worry about missing any postings.
Since we are busy getting the website ready time to write blogs is limited so I thought I would post my favorite article from the days reading to share. Here is today's - Enjoy!
10 Ways a Business Coach Can Help Your Business
Written by: Editorial Staff of Resourcenation.com
Source: Resourcenation.com
Many business owners are hesitant to hire a business coach - instead content to try and find all the answers themselves. But for those who make the leap into coaching, there are many important things a Business Coach can help accomplish. Here are ten things you should know about what a Business Coach can bring to the table.
1. A Business Coach can help you develop a marketing plan
Without a well thought out marketing plan, you might be throwing money away on promoting your business without even knowing it. A solid business coach will help you craft a marketing plan and, most importantly, stick to it!
2. A Business Coach can help you find your niche
Business Coaches can help you identify your ideal demographic. And when you find the right customers to focus on, you'll get better responses and in all likelihood, more sales.
3. A Business Coach can help you hire the right people
Hiring is one of the hardest things to do, especially if you don't have experience in the area. A business coach can provide advice on what types of positions you need to add, and identify the qualities of ideal candidates.
4. A Business Coach can help you get organized
Once you hire a business coach, you can likely say goodbye to papers flying everywhere and important notes kept on Diner napkins. If it's one thing all great business coaches have in common, it's the ability to get you organized!
5. A Business Coach can help you make contacts
Even if your business coach is not "connected" with the players in your industry, chances are she will be able to show you how to build a powerful network of your own.
6. A Business Coach can get you to enjoy your business more
Are there stressful days where you forget why you even got into this business in the first place? Business Coaches can help ease some of that stress and reconnect you with the joy you felt when you went out on your own.
7. A Business Coach can help you obtain a more positive mental attitude
By helping you achieve a better positive mental attitude, the business coach will be opening the door for you to explore new markets, take more risks, and bring in additional revenue!
8. Get to know your coach before your work together
When you meet with a professional business coach, get a feel for them personally. With coaching it is important that you make a "connection" on a non-business level as well as a professional one. You are going to be opening up to this person on many levels. So the more comfortable you are with him or her, the more you will be able to accomplish as coach and client!
9. Always be honest with your coach
How can your coach help you if you're not be 100% open about the challenges you are facing. Business Coaches help you succeed, but they are also people who care. Be yourself and don't be afraid to talk about failures and fears.
10. Don't "stand up" your Business Coach
We know you're busy - heck, so is your business coach. But please, don't just blow off a scheduled meeting between the two of you. Besides being expensive, it plants seeds of doubt in everyone's mind about how serious you are about the program.
Well as you can see I am back on the horse of blogging here on blogspot and coming in the new year - just 44 days and we launch the new site we will be hosting our own blog on our website. We will however still continue to use this blog to post the same postings as on our website so you don't have to worry about missing any postings.
Since we are busy getting the website ready time to write blogs is limited so I thought I would post my favorite article from the days reading to share. Here is today's - Enjoy!
10 Ways a Business Coach Can Help Your Business
Written by: Editorial Staff of Resourcenation.com
Source: Resourcenation.com
Many business owners are hesitant to hire a business coach - instead content to try and find all the answers themselves. But for those who make the leap into coaching, there are many important things a Business Coach can help accomplish. Here are ten things you should know about what a Business Coach can bring to the table.
1. A Business Coach can help you develop a marketing plan
Without a well thought out marketing plan, you might be throwing money away on promoting your business without even knowing it. A solid business coach will help you craft a marketing plan and, most importantly, stick to it!
2. A Business Coach can help you find your niche
Business Coaches can help you identify your ideal demographic. And when you find the right customers to focus on, you'll get better responses and in all likelihood, more sales.
3. A Business Coach can help you hire the right people
Hiring is one of the hardest things to do, especially if you don't have experience in the area. A business coach can provide advice on what types of positions you need to add, and identify the qualities of ideal candidates.
4. A Business Coach can help you get organized
Once you hire a business coach, you can likely say goodbye to papers flying everywhere and important notes kept on Diner napkins. If it's one thing all great business coaches have in common, it's the ability to get you organized!
5. A Business Coach can help you make contacts
Even if your business coach is not "connected" with the players in your industry, chances are she will be able to show you how to build a powerful network of your own.
6. A Business Coach can get you to enjoy your business more
Are there stressful days where you forget why you even got into this business in the first place? Business Coaches can help ease some of that stress and reconnect you with the joy you felt when you went out on your own.
7. A Business Coach can help you obtain a more positive mental attitude
By helping you achieve a better positive mental attitude, the business coach will be opening the door for you to explore new markets, take more risks, and bring in additional revenue!
8. Get to know your coach before your work together
When you meet with a professional business coach, get a feel for them personally. With coaching it is important that you make a "connection" on a non-business level as well as a professional one. You are going to be opening up to this person on many levels. So the more comfortable you are with him or her, the more you will be able to accomplish as coach and client!
9. Always be honest with your coach
How can your coach help you if you're not be 100% open about the challenges you are facing. Business Coaches help you succeed, but they are also people who care. Be yourself and don't be afraid to talk about failures and fears.
10. Don't "stand up" your Business Coach
We know you're busy - heck, so is your business coach. But please, don't just blow off a scheduled meeting between the two of you. Besides being expensive, it plants seeds of doubt in everyone's mind about how serious you are about the program.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Something to consider ~ Five ways to save money (layoffs not included)
With the economy doing what it is doing - I read this article this morning and thought it was good to share. The suggestions may or maynot be applicable but the point is it is very important for to be thinking outside of the box when trying to continue business as usual when your sales maybe declining. Wishing you the abundance you deserve. Enjoy!
Source: MSNBC
Five ways to save money (layoffs not included) ~ Some creative ways for companies to save without cutting back on staff
By:Darren Dahl
Are your costs on the rise?
Don't bother answering — it's a rhetorical question. Inflation recently reached a 17-year high, and the economy is still dragging along at a maybe-we're-not-technically- in-a-recession-but- it-sure-feels-like-it pace. Earlier this year, there were lots of optimistic predictions that growth would pick up in the fall, but you don't hear that kind of talk much anymore.
Businesses need to find every possible way to cut costs — while, ideally, avoiding morale-busters like layoffs. Here are five ways companies are doing just that.
1. Send Your Employees Home
Amount saved: $48,000
Earlier this year, David Nilssen went searching for ways to cut down on office space. His Bellevue, Washington, financial services company, Guidant Financial Group, has 110 employees and occupies about 11,000 square feet of space. Despite the real estate downturn, commercial rents are still high in the Bellevue area, thanks in part to neighbors like Microsoft. So Nilssen decided to send some of his employees home. Starting this month, Guidant's 15-person Web publishing team will be working remotely, bringing the total number of telecommuters at the company to 20. Nilssen will supply these employees with laptops and Internet connections -- costs he would incur even if they worked in the office. Guidant has also begun testing out four-day, 40-hour weeks for some administrative employees. The workers will have rotating schedules and share desks to cut back on the need for space.
The arrangement does present some challenges. Nilssen knows he will need to work harder to communicate with his remote staff and to organize events that bring everyone in the office together. But he thinks the savings will make it all worthwhile: This month, he won't renew the lease on 3,000 square feet of office space, which will save the company $48,000 in rent and operations costs next year.
2. Share Your Staff
Amount saved: $24,000 to $30,000
During downturns, many companies lay off administrative workers, HR staff, or others who aren't directly involved in production or sales. Tom Darrow, founder and principal of Talent Connections, a 12-person recruiting firm in Roswell, Georgia, took a different approach. When sales slowed earlier this year, he helped his marketing project manager, who earned an annual salary of around $32,000, find a part-time job with another firm. Now, he pays her to work 10 hours a week while she works another 30 hours somewhere else. "The last thing I want to do is downsize because of its negative effect on morale," says Darrow. "We found a way to bridge the hard times and keep a popular and productive employee on board until the market rebounds."
Dennis Brown also turned to some creative job sharing at Logistic Dynamics, a third-party logistics provider in Amherst, New York. When Brown needed to hire an HR person to manage payroll and benefits for his 25 employees, he teamed up with another company housed in his building. Brown and his neighbor hired a joint HR manager, who splits her time between the two companies, with each shouldering roughly half of her $60,000 salary. "Rather than hire someone we could afford but who might be unqualified, we now have a true professional who meets our needs at half the cost," says Brown.
3. Get Customers to Put Away Their Credit Cards
Amount saved: $49,000
Like many business owners, Matthew Kirk is tired of paying fees on every credit card payment he accepts. ClickSpeed, Kirk's online marketing company, does about $7 million in annual sales, and as of a year ago, about half of that revenue came via credit cards. The company, based in Overland Park, Kansas, pays about 3.2 percent in fees on each transaction, which added up to more than $100,000 last year. "Our customers like the convenience of using their credit cards," Kirk says. "But I thought if we could come up with incentives for our customers to pay us directly, we could both make out."
He knew many of his customers paid with plastic because they earned points they could redeem for cash or airline miles. So Kirk decided to offer similar perks. About a year ago, he told his customers that if they paid their monthly invoices with electronic debits from their checking accounts, he would give them a cash-back bonus equal to 1.25 percent of their payments. Kirk got about 70 percent of his credit card customers, representing $2.5 million in revenue, to make the switch. Now, about 12 months later, even though he has paid out bonuses of some $31,000, Kirk has saved $49,000 by eliminating fees he would have paid to the credit card middlemen.
4. Cut Back on Travel
Amount saved: $115,000
Nearly every company is being squeezed by rising fuel costs, but Midwest Recreational Clearinghouse, based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, is suffering more than most. It runs an online auction site, CrankyApe.com, that sells repossessed recreational vehicles like snowmobiles. The company must pick up most of those vehicles by truck before prepping them for sale. MRC originally operated out of a single warehouse, which made sense when its vehicles came principally from Minnesota. From 2004 to 2006, as the company expanded, it opened one more warehouse each year. But in 2007, MRC's co-owners, Jay Adams and Brian Livingston, along with their controller, Holly Ward, realized the company could cut travel costs if it opened even more warehouses.
"After we started adding up the costs of airfare, equipment rental, labor time, and fuel, we saw opportunities to save money," says Ward. In the past year, MRC has opened three additional locations, bringing the total to seven. MRC's trucks now make shorter trips and, whenever possible, pick up multiple vehicles on each one. Ward expects to save about $115,000, even after taking into account the expense of leasing and operating the facilities. No surprise, then, that the company is eyeing two more locations for 2009.
5. Try Do-It-Yourself Marketing
Amount saved: $66,000
These days, some of the best marketing is cheap or even free, so think about whether you really need to spend big bucks on marketing consultants or advertising firms. "With sales of $6 million, we can't afford to waste a single dollar on marketing," says Scott Millwood, CEO of CustomerEffective, an IT services company in Greenville, South Carolina, that specializes in installing and maintaining customer relationship management, or CRM, software. Last year, Millwood spent about $85,000 on a consultant who was supposed to improve CustomerEffective's Web site traffic and another $16,000 buying Google ads. Yet the company landed only one deal, worth $5,000, from leads generated online. So Millwood started looking for alternatives.
Last November, Millwood fired the consultant and quit paying for Google AdWords. Instead, he turned his tech staff into bloggers and created a bonus program. Over the past 11 months, he has paid eight of his workers a monthly bonus of up to $2,000 to blog about CRM in their spare time. The results have been promising: His investment in bonuses has been $35,000 so far, and the firm's search-engine rankings have improved dramatically. Qualified prospects, including one from England, have begun to fill up the firm's sales pipeline. Revenue from the new project in England alone could pay for the bonus program. "Now we can put that money we used to give to Google to better work elsewhere," Millwood says.
Source: MSNBC
Five ways to save money (layoffs not included) ~ Some creative ways for companies to save without cutting back on staff
By:Darren Dahl
Are your costs on the rise?
Don't bother answering — it's a rhetorical question. Inflation recently reached a 17-year high, and the economy is still dragging along at a maybe-we're-not-technically- in-a-recession-but- it-sure-feels-like-it pace. Earlier this year, there were lots of optimistic predictions that growth would pick up in the fall, but you don't hear that kind of talk much anymore.
Businesses need to find every possible way to cut costs — while, ideally, avoiding morale-busters like layoffs. Here are five ways companies are doing just that.
1. Send Your Employees Home
Amount saved: $48,000
Earlier this year, David Nilssen went searching for ways to cut down on office space. His Bellevue, Washington, financial services company, Guidant Financial Group, has 110 employees and occupies about 11,000 square feet of space. Despite the real estate downturn, commercial rents are still high in the Bellevue area, thanks in part to neighbors like Microsoft. So Nilssen decided to send some of his employees home. Starting this month, Guidant's 15-person Web publishing team will be working remotely, bringing the total number of telecommuters at the company to 20. Nilssen will supply these employees with laptops and Internet connections -- costs he would incur even if they worked in the office. Guidant has also begun testing out four-day, 40-hour weeks for some administrative employees. The workers will have rotating schedules and share desks to cut back on the need for space.
The arrangement does present some challenges. Nilssen knows he will need to work harder to communicate with his remote staff and to organize events that bring everyone in the office together. But he thinks the savings will make it all worthwhile: This month, he won't renew the lease on 3,000 square feet of office space, which will save the company $48,000 in rent and operations costs next year.
2. Share Your Staff
Amount saved: $24,000 to $30,000
During downturns, many companies lay off administrative workers, HR staff, or others who aren't directly involved in production or sales. Tom Darrow, founder and principal of Talent Connections, a 12-person recruiting firm in Roswell, Georgia, took a different approach. When sales slowed earlier this year, he helped his marketing project manager, who earned an annual salary of around $32,000, find a part-time job with another firm. Now, he pays her to work 10 hours a week while she works another 30 hours somewhere else. "The last thing I want to do is downsize because of its negative effect on morale," says Darrow. "We found a way to bridge the hard times and keep a popular and productive employee on board until the market rebounds."
Dennis Brown also turned to some creative job sharing at Logistic Dynamics, a third-party logistics provider in Amherst, New York. When Brown needed to hire an HR person to manage payroll and benefits for his 25 employees, he teamed up with another company housed in his building. Brown and his neighbor hired a joint HR manager, who splits her time between the two companies, with each shouldering roughly half of her $60,000 salary. "Rather than hire someone we could afford but who might be unqualified, we now have a true professional who meets our needs at half the cost," says Brown.
3. Get Customers to Put Away Their Credit Cards
Amount saved: $49,000
Like many business owners, Matthew Kirk is tired of paying fees on every credit card payment he accepts. ClickSpeed, Kirk's online marketing company, does about $7 million in annual sales, and as of a year ago, about half of that revenue came via credit cards. The company, based in Overland Park, Kansas, pays about 3.2 percent in fees on each transaction, which added up to more than $100,000 last year. "Our customers like the convenience of using their credit cards," Kirk says. "But I thought if we could come up with incentives for our customers to pay us directly, we could both make out."
He knew many of his customers paid with plastic because they earned points they could redeem for cash or airline miles. So Kirk decided to offer similar perks. About a year ago, he told his customers that if they paid their monthly invoices with electronic debits from their checking accounts, he would give them a cash-back bonus equal to 1.25 percent of their payments. Kirk got about 70 percent of his credit card customers, representing $2.5 million in revenue, to make the switch. Now, about 12 months later, even though he has paid out bonuses of some $31,000, Kirk has saved $49,000 by eliminating fees he would have paid to the credit card middlemen.
4. Cut Back on Travel
Amount saved: $115,000
Nearly every company is being squeezed by rising fuel costs, but Midwest Recreational Clearinghouse, based in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, is suffering more than most. It runs an online auction site, CrankyApe.com, that sells repossessed recreational vehicles like snowmobiles. The company must pick up most of those vehicles by truck before prepping them for sale. MRC originally operated out of a single warehouse, which made sense when its vehicles came principally from Minnesota. From 2004 to 2006, as the company expanded, it opened one more warehouse each year. But in 2007, MRC's co-owners, Jay Adams and Brian Livingston, along with their controller, Holly Ward, realized the company could cut travel costs if it opened even more warehouses.
"After we started adding up the costs of airfare, equipment rental, labor time, and fuel, we saw opportunities to save money," says Ward. In the past year, MRC has opened three additional locations, bringing the total to seven. MRC's trucks now make shorter trips and, whenever possible, pick up multiple vehicles on each one. Ward expects to save about $115,000, even after taking into account the expense of leasing and operating the facilities. No surprise, then, that the company is eyeing two more locations for 2009.
5. Try Do-It-Yourself Marketing
Amount saved: $66,000
These days, some of the best marketing is cheap or even free, so think about whether you really need to spend big bucks on marketing consultants or advertising firms. "With sales of $6 million, we can't afford to waste a single dollar on marketing," says Scott Millwood, CEO of CustomerEffective, an IT services company in Greenville, South Carolina, that specializes in installing and maintaining customer relationship management, or CRM, software. Last year, Millwood spent about $85,000 on a consultant who was supposed to improve CustomerEffective's Web site traffic and another $16,000 buying Google ads. Yet the company landed only one deal, worth $5,000, from leads generated online. So Millwood started looking for alternatives.
Last November, Millwood fired the consultant and quit paying for Google AdWords. Instead, he turned his tech staff into bloggers and created a bonus program. Over the past 11 months, he has paid eight of his workers a monthly bonus of up to $2,000 to blog about CRM in their spare time. The results have been promising: His investment in bonuses has been $35,000 so far, and the firm's search-engine rankings have improved dramatically. Qualified prospects, including one from England, have begun to fill up the firm's sales pipeline. Revenue from the new project in England alone could pay for the bonus program. "Now we can put that money we used to give to Google to better work elsewhere," Millwood says.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Today's Article of Interest ~ What a 4-Year-Old Can Teach You About Managing Your Boss
I can't believe it has been 10 weeks since I last posted on this blog. I know I have been busy with the new website - just 46 days until launch day!!! but really 10 weeks - yikes! Okay, I promise to do better starting today. I found the following article which I thought was right on the mark and I wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy ...
Source: MSN
What a 4-Year-Old Can Teach You About Managing Your Boss
Written by: JT O'Donnell
had a revelation last week: My 4-year-old daughter is gifted at managing up.
Does she work? No -- but as I see it, right now, I'm the boss and she's an employee in our family firm. And I've noticed that she's become quite adept at getting what she wants from upper management.
Please know, I'm no pushover. I stand my ground on the important issues like "No popsicles for breakfast" and "Socks are not optional when it's 2 degrees outside." But on the fuzzier stuff, I must concede that she's mastered the art of persuasion.
So, it occurred to me that we could all learn from her expertise. Consider these three techniques as performed by my pint-sized employee:
1. Learn how to say "no" disarmingly
When my daughter doesn't want to do something, she stares deeply in my eyes and with an "I'm so sorry to disappoint you" smile and calmly says, "No thank you." It throws me off every time.
First, the thank-you is so polite, who can criticize that? Second, her body language and facial expressions are soft and nonconfrontational. It's hard to respond negatively to someone who is displaying no anger or tension of their own.
Translation: Employees who learn to engage in conflict without confrontation are appreciated for their calm communications skills by management.
2. When you want something, be a sweet but squeaky wheel
Once my daughter has decided she wants something, here's what she does: First, she asks for your time and tells you it's serious. She sits right down and holds your attention with her eyes. Then, she explains in detail what she wants and why it is so important that she have it. She is energetic and passionate in her description.
If she doesn't get it, she asks why. And if she doesn't like the answer, she says no more and walks away.
But that's not the end of it.
Shortly thereafter, she returns, having thoughtfully pondered my denial and ready to further explain additional reasons for me to change my mind, as well as reasons why my own argument doesn't hold water. Additionally, if I say "no" yet again, she solemnly walks away, waits awhile, and then comes back again and asks for the same thing in a slightly different way, hoping her willingness to compromise will pay off.
At this point, she watches me intently for signs that I am going to either A) cave in and let her win, or B) start to raise my voice and get angry. If it's the latter, she immediately calls it quits -- for the day.
She knows just how far to rock the boat and has no problem waiting for a better time to try again. She doesn't hold a grudge, she stays happy and upbeat, as if nothing has happened. In her mind, it's a minor setback, as opposed to a crushing loss.
This approach always makes me want to be able to say "yes" to her next request because I'm so impressed that she accepted the "no" without making a scene.
Translation: Employees who patiently promote their cause and can accept an unfavorable decision gracefully are respected and valued by management.
3. Use unexpected recognition as a way to score points
My daughter doesn't butter me up. She doesn't gush with compliments in an effort to get what she wants. But every so often, quite randomly, she will say or do something that makes me feel fabulous.
One day, when I was especially frustrated and feeling overwhelmed by all that I had to do, she looked at me with a compassionate face and simply said, "It must be tough to be a mommy."
Ironically, it's technically not even a compliment. She didn't have to lie and say she thought I was a great mommy. I wouldn't expect her to. I'm the rule enforcer -- who likes that? But, she acknowledged the difficulty of my role and that recognition felt wonderful. So much so, that I canceled an appointment and took her out for ice cream.
Translation: Employees who convey their respect and appreciation for the level of responsibility and efforts of management are seen as good team players.
These are just a few of the ways that my 4-year-old manages her boss. Why not try them? With a little practice, you could be managing up with the finesse of a pre-schooler while reaping the rewards bestowed to wise employees.
Source: MSN
What a 4-Year-Old Can Teach You About Managing Your Boss
Written by: JT O'Donnell
had a revelation last week: My 4-year-old daughter is gifted at managing up.
Does she work? No -- but as I see it, right now, I'm the boss and she's an employee in our family firm. And I've noticed that she's become quite adept at getting what she wants from upper management.
Please know, I'm no pushover. I stand my ground on the important issues like "No popsicles for breakfast" and "Socks are not optional when it's 2 degrees outside." But on the fuzzier stuff, I must concede that she's mastered the art of persuasion.
So, it occurred to me that we could all learn from her expertise. Consider these three techniques as performed by my pint-sized employee:
1. Learn how to say "no" disarmingly
When my daughter doesn't want to do something, she stares deeply in my eyes and with an "I'm so sorry to disappoint you" smile and calmly says, "No thank you." It throws me off every time.
First, the thank-you is so polite, who can criticize that? Second, her body language and facial expressions are soft and nonconfrontational. It's hard to respond negatively to someone who is displaying no anger or tension of their own.
Translation: Employees who learn to engage in conflict without confrontation are appreciated for their calm communications skills by management.
2. When you want something, be a sweet but squeaky wheel
Once my daughter has decided she wants something, here's what she does: First, she asks for your time and tells you it's serious. She sits right down and holds your attention with her eyes. Then, she explains in detail what she wants and why it is so important that she have it. She is energetic and passionate in her description.
If she doesn't get it, she asks why. And if she doesn't like the answer, she says no more and walks away.
But that's not the end of it.
Shortly thereafter, she returns, having thoughtfully pondered my denial and ready to further explain additional reasons for me to change my mind, as well as reasons why my own argument doesn't hold water. Additionally, if I say "no" yet again, she solemnly walks away, waits awhile, and then comes back again and asks for the same thing in a slightly different way, hoping her willingness to compromise will pay off.
At this point, she watches me intently for signs that I am going to either A) cave in and let her win, or B) start to raise my voice and get angry. If it's the latter, she immediately calls it quits -- for the day.
She knows just how far to rock the boat and has no problem waiting for a better time to try again. She doesn't hold a grudge, she stays happy and upbeat, as if nothing has happened. In her mind, it's a minor setback, as opposed to a crushing loss.
This approach always makes me want to be able to say "yes" to her next request because I'm so impressed that she accepted the "no" without making a scene.
Translation: Employees who patiently promote their cause and can accept an unfavorable decision gracefully are respected and valued by management.
3. Use unexpected recognition as a way to score points
My daughter doesn't butter me up. She doesn't gush with compliments in an effort to get what she wants. But every so often, quite randomly, she will say or do something that makes me feel fabulous.
One day, when I was especially frustrated and feeling overwhelmed by all that I had to do, she looked at me with a compassionate face and simply said, "It must be tough to be a mommy."
Ironically, it's technically not even a compliment. She didn't have to lie and say she thought I was a great mommy. I wouldn't expect her to. I'm the rule enforcer -- who likes that? But, she acknowledged the difficulty of my role and that recognition felt wonderful. So much so, that I canceled an appointment and took her out for ice cream.
Translation: Employees who convey their respect and appreciation for the level of responsibility and efforts of management are seen as good team players.
These are just a few of the ways that my 4-year-old manages her boss. Why not try them? With a little practice, you could be managing up with the finesse of a pre-schooler while reaping the rewards bestowed to wise employees.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)