Show Up and Follow Up

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “90% of Success is just showing up”. This means simply doing, being engaged, following through. You don’t have to be smarter, richer, better looking, more well connected... none of this. Just decide what you’re going to do and then DO IT!

When you consider the number of people that don’t follow through with their plans, it is staggering. By you just putting that one foot in front of the other and taking the steps that others aren’t prepared to do, you’ve beat your competition by a mile. It takes so little effort to be better than most, so why not just commit to following through this year and see what happens.

There are some key areas where “Showing Up” will make soooo much difference.

Networking
If you’re going for a glass of wine and some munchies and chatting with your friends or the people you already know - just stay home or go to dinner with them! Networking is about learning about the character and competencies of others and for them to learn about yours. Pull up your sleeves and get in there - volunteer on committees, be a speaker, hang up coats, help with registration… get involved, really involved.

Implementation
It’s great to develop a plan and put it on nice paper in a pretty binder but, if it stays on the shelf after that, it’s just a waste of time and resources. Work the plan! After the Big Picture Vision, you need to break down each initiative or goal into monthly, weekly and daily action items - and then you need to DO THEM! If you don’t have the personal discipline or motivation to get it done on your own, create a system to provide a system of accountability for you - with a colleague or a professional. If you’re paying someone to help you stay on track, it’s more likely that you’ll do what you need to do when there’s pride or money on the line.

Follow Up
Don’t drop the ball. The hardest part is getting the ball in the air and small action steps after that are all that’s required to keep it there. When you don’t follow up on your promises or commitments, either to yourself or others, your character and integrity are questioned - it’s as simple as that. If you have too much happening and things are falling through the cracks, you need to develop a system to ensure you follow through. That may mean operational systems, hiring, outsourcing, or perhaps just not overextending yourself.

Take the time right now, at the beginning of the year, to tackle your niggly naggly issues, one at a time if necessary. Get focused, focused, focused! Set goals, follow through, and then reward yourself handsomely!

Originally published in New Life Business Newsletter January 26 2012

How to Develop Great Collaborations

We call them different things, partnerships, collaborations, strategic alliances... whatever term you use, are you developing these relationships? Do you even know what you want out of these relationships – or what you have to offer?

As a small business owner or solopreneur, collaborations or alliances can be a low-cost strategy for business development – and super effective. Following are just a few ways in which these alliances can be a win-win situation:

• Develop a new product or service together
• Grow your community and resources
• Create a mastermind group
• Support, motivation, inspiration
• Development of new business groups
• Sharing risk and financial commitment

Let’s talk a little about when you want to collaborate with another entrepreneur for the purpose of making money together. Partnerships of any kind can be tricky business but there are some things that you can do that will greatly increase your chances of success. Following are 6 tips for forming collaborations that work: 

1.     Choose carefully
You want to work with people who are like minded, have the same value system and that you totally trust and respect.
It always has to be a win-win.

2.     Determine your shared goals
Be clear on what you want to get out of your collaboration
Work out the time, money and any additional resources that are required from each of you.
Talk openly about the “what ifs”.
Talk money… it’s not a dirty word!

3.     Discuss Communication
Leave nothing to assumption. Discuss everything. What are the communication expectations?
Keep great notes and after each meeting provide an action list with activities assigned that have a timeline on each item.

4.     Do a big picture breakdown
Take the project and break it down into bite size pieces with action items and time-lines attached to everything, BEFORE you start anything.
This will help you both see the other’s attention to detail, commitment and follow through.

5.     Give each other an out.
Discuss exit options before you even get started. This will allow each of you a predetermined way to leave the collaboration without a bitter ending.
Brainstorm best and worse case scenarios – it’s easier to do this BEFORE anything happens, from an objective point of view.

6.     Know your partner’s working style
How does your partner process information? What is their decision making process like? Do they function on their intuition or are they thinkers? How do they spend their money? What is important to them? Are they detailed oriented and you’re a big picture thinker? Does your style and theirs make for a good collaboration?

Collaborations can be a very lucrative and personally satisfying endeavor. If you take the time to do your research upfront and you enter the relationship with both your eyes wide open, then you’re likely to have a great experience – OR – you’ll find out in the very early stages that this is not the right alliance for either of you. Even when there are major differences, as long as you know up front and have a strategy to deal with it, those differences can enhance the project.

I have a couple of collaborations that are really working for me because my partners and I are open, not afraid to communicate honestly, and most of all we truly trust and respect each other. We not only embrace each others strengths, but our differences as well.

Originally published in New Life Business Newsletter June 2011

Business is a Result of the Relationship

You’ve heard it a million times – “people do business with people they know, like and trust”. How does that happen if you’re not putting some effort into the development of that relationship?

The quality of the relationship is directly related to your sales success… yes I said that dirty word… sales! The professional sales person (and if you’re a business owner, you should be a professional sales person) looks at sales as helping someone get what they need, which is not always what you have and that’s A-OK!

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the “busy work”, that we miss doing the reeeeeaaallly important stuff that seems trivial but makes a huge difference.

Following are 15 ways to attract more clients each and every day:

1.     Join 3 organizations that your ideal clients are likely to be members of

2.     Be around colleagues that challenge and inspire you to do your best work

3.     Send a monthly newsletter

4.     Send your clients notes, articles, magazines… all by snail mail (if they’re not on strike!)

5.     Invest in training, coaching and development

6.     Always be professional

7.     Give a referral and follow up with both parties

8.     Remember… it’s all about THEM… NOT YOU!!!

9.     Learn to sell the customer-focused way – serve, don’t sell

10.   Find joy each day and spread it around

11.   Don’t be a 'yes' person – there’s no value in that

12.   Be interested – not just interesting

13.   Meet people that scare you

14.   Devote 30 minutes a week to relationship-building (for dozens of ideas, email me and I’ll send them to you)

15.   Create a support team

As your colleague, I challenge you to actually DO some of these in the next week or at least get started (some take longer than a day). Let me know how it goes!

Originally published in Work Better, Not Harder on June 3, 2011

7 Strategies to Attract More Business

1. Set Goals
When you make your goals make sure they are S.M.A.R.T – Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely. Make the goals tangible which benchmarks each month, quarter and annually. WRITE THEM DOWN! The brain is an amazing thing – just writing them down gets you closer to achieving them.

2. Create a New Revenue Stream
What can you revise, add to or remove? What can you package? Can you create an info-product that you can promote on-line? What about a webinar? If you provide a service is there a tangible product that can compliment your service and visa versa. Be creative!

3. Develop Strategic Collaborations
You can grow your community by collaborating with other entrepreneurs and professionals. Create a business group or mastermind group to work together, brainstorm and create new ways to help one another. Develop a new revenue stream with another entrepreneur and jointly promote it.

4. Develop an “EXPERT” Strategy
What do you need to do to establish yourself as an expert in your market? The answer may come in the form of writing articles, developing products and tools, public speaking, serving as a volunteer in industry associations, blogging, webinars. Brainstorm of ways that you can make this happen.

5. Reach Out to Past and Current Clients
PICK UP THE PHONE!!! With so much communication being done via email or social media, the phone, snail mail and face to face are now more effective than ever in relationship development – have coffee or lunch. Ask how they’re doing – what’s new, what challenges are they facing for 2011. Maybe invite them to a networking or learning event – anything!

6. Go Givers Sell More
Give first and you’ll receive. Look for opportunities to help others whenever you can. Connect them someone else that can help them or may just be a great connection for them, share information and resources – find out how you can be a Giver. You’ll be amazed how others response when you simply ask “How can I help You?”

7. Invest in Yourself
Be true to yourself this year and give yourself the attention and commitment that you give your clients! Invest in learning, time for yourself, a commitment to pleasure and health. Delegate more and ask for HELP when you need it…whatever it is that will make you a happier and more successful person – whatever that means to you.

In closing, you can engage in one activity that will help you with all 7 strategies. Get out there and Network, Network, Network! Network for learning, inspiration, motivation, business development, etc. – networking fulfills a multitude of needs. Remember, we have 2 ears and one mouth so listen twice as much as you talk!

Originally published in New Life Business Newsletter January 2011

Creating Your Team

For most of us it was our passion that inspired us to go into business for ourselves. We wanted to do what we love, help our clients and generally live to the beat of our own drum. Before long the reality of running a business on our own hit – suddenly we realized there are many different hats to wear other than the one that inspired us to entrepreneurship.

A great team is essential to all success – especially the success of a “solopreneur” or small business owner. Based on much focused objectives my decision to not have employees doesn’t diminish the need for additional resources. I work with an amazing team of professionals that serve a variety of purposes. I focus on what I’m good at to generate revenue and outsource everything else.

Each person only has so much capacity – why not use that time to make money and delegate the things that can be done by someone else? It’s also important that your team include colleagues that assist, inspire and motivate you to think and reach beyond your comfort zone to create YOUR ideal life – whatever that means to YOU.

One of my most important team members is my “right hand”. The one that helps me by professionally and reliably completing the necessary on-going tasks that are essential to the success of my business but not my forte. It’s not enough to have a typical Virtual Assistant, you need a professional that can think like you, know what clients expect and works with initiative and innovation. Whatever that means to you in your business I guarantee that as soon as you hire them it will feel as though a weight has been lifted from your shoulders and your business will start to become what you initially dreamed about.

Being an entrepreneur – there’s no life like it!

Originally published in Work Better, Not Harder on October 27, 2010