Being organized and structured increase your chances of reaching your goals.

Make sure you get yourself organized on all levels – create a system for e-mails, business cards, phone numbers and other contacts to avoid spending valuable time searching for things that should be easy accessible. Not finding what you are looking for when you need it, not only take up valuable time but it also causes you stress and frustration.

There are a number of useful tools great for organizing digital information and dialogues. Test some of them and choose the ones that best suit your needs. In many cases the free version is sufficient and tools that tend to work best for us are the ones that we intuitively like.

Here are a couple of tools to help you organize your work: Read More→

Share

In every business plan there is a section that is dedicated to the corporate values. Most people take this aspect of their business very seriously. They reflect on what their personal values are, and determine how said values align with the way they wish their business and themselves to be perceived by the world at large.

The word ‘accountability’ is more often than not, at the top of their list of values and is usually closely followed or preceded by integrity and honesty.  So while it appears that  most  people seem to understand what the term accountability stands for, we continue to  live in a world where many do not take responsibility for their  actions; they don’t follow through on their commitments, and they  look to blame someone or something but never themselves when things don’t go to plan.

When people do not take responsibility for their actions (the examples of this kind of corporate non-accountability are many, ranging from politicians, Banks, CEOs, Customers Service Centres, the list is endless and as a result others inevitably have to suffer the consequences), they find excuses to justify themselves, rather than having the courage and strength to admit that they made a mistake and that they will fix the mess they have created..

In a recent interview, Rolling Stone‘s Matt Taibbi discussed the continuing lack of accountability for “too big to fail” banks which continue to break laws and act unethically because they know they can get away with it. Taibbi refers specifically to the government’s recent settlement with HSBC — “a serial offender on the money laundering score” — who merely had to pay a big fine for shocking offenses, including, Taibbi says, laundering money for both drug cartels and banks connected to terrorists.

In the corporate world there exists a Teflon culture that even uses acronyms like CYA(cover your arse), NMJ (not my job) and NIH (not invented here) which somehow serves to justify non accountability in the work force.  But it is not just in the business world; the lack of accountability is an epidemic that is infecting every aspect of society and just because everyone seems to be doing it and getting away with it, does not make it right.

Rather than being accountable for our actions, we tend to play the blame game, we see ourselves as the victims and invariably procrastination sets in: letting a phone call go to voice mail because we don’t want to deal with something or someone, performing unspecific tasks on the computer to avoid the reality of the situation, and even sometimes hiding behind other people because we do not want to step up and admit that we screwed up.

Years ago sayings such as “a man’s word is his bond,” or “a handshake is as good as a contract” did mean literally that a man’s word or handshake represented a binding and unbreakable contract.  Breaking one’s word or not delivering on a commitment meant that the person was not to be trusted and was not an honourable person.

But that was then; today, when someone promises us that they will do something or commits to something, our expectation, for the most part, is that they will not follow through; promises nowadays are at best, just lip service and will inevitably be broken.  Written contracts have replaced verbal ones, yet most of the time they are not worth the paper they are written on; Large businesses, like credit card, power and phone companies can change a written contract unilaterally, without being held accountable regardless of the consequences suffered by their stakeholders.

One thing is for certain, our actions have consequences that affect the lives of others, sometimes in a positive way and sometimes adversely. But there is an effect nonetheless.  Without accountability, relationships, business and society systematically break down.

Being accountable and accepting responsibility for the consequences of our actions every minute of every day in all areas of our lives is not an easy task.  It takes a lot of determination and resolve to…

1. Be assertive, straightforward and truthful
2. Show compassion and empathy to others and to ourselves
3. Honour all the commitments we take on
4. Keep all the promises we make
5. Take responsibility when things go wrong
6. Not portray ourselves as victims
7. Not blame anyone or anything
8. Be positive and have confidence in ourselves and our choices
9. Not engage in self-pity
10. Acknowledge that accountability is a measure of our self-worth

US president Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk with the inscription ‘The Buck Stops Here’, but, today accountability seems so irrelevant that the whereabouts of ‘here’ is regrettably getting more and more obscured.

Guest blog by Luciana Cousin

Over the past 20 years, Luciana has helped companies to build and realize innovative and profitable strategies. She has particular expertise in of business growth, exit strategies for SME’s, business start-up activities; new product/service launch, marketing, investor relationships and executive leadership. In her current role, as Director at Foster Principles, her mission is to inspire and equip women to take back control of their lives and their business.

Share

Are you in control or are you taken by surprise when a customer terminates a contract or stop buying from you?

Did you miss out on a good opportunity to change supplier because you were not up to date with your own service contracts?

Keep a folder and a calendar with all your important contracts and agreements and their expiry dates. This way you are up to date with any renewals or termination dates.

As a business owner you are likely to have number of different contracts and agreements with customers, suppliers, employees, partners, banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, leasing companies etc… All of these contracts and agreements represent an important part of your business.

If you are up to date with your contracts and agreements there is a good chance that you are able to  act rather than being unpleasantly surprised.

Include your contracts and agreements in your annual planning and make sure you are ahead and in control. Create a proper filing system and make a list with of any important dates like payment, termination or expire dates etc. Make sure you know what contracts are most important for the revenue generation in your business? Also have a look at contracts or agreements that are costing you a lot of money and see if they be renegotiated or if you could change to another provider or supplier.

Share

When was the last time you made a real inventory of your products and services?
Are you up to date with the products or services that your customers are buying from you on a regular basis?

It’s a wise idea to take a close look at the products or services you are offering every now and then. Ask yourself if this is what people want and request. Like the famous marketing guru Seth Godin said:  “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”

While doing your product/service inventory have a think of how you could expand your reach. Could you offer your existing products and services to a new market? Can you develop your current products and services and offer that to your already existing clients? Are there any new products or services that you know there is a demand for and that you could offer to existing clients or to a whole new market.

Whatever you decide to do it requires planning and analysis. Sometimes the decision process is pretty quick but very often than not it takes time and you have to work it step by step.

In order to develop a new or modify and existing product or service, many different components need to be in place. And you need to make sure you have made your market research.

Here is a short checklist to help you start the process:

• Make a list of your existing products and/or services
• When where they last updated?
• What’s the sales trend look like for each of the products? Increasing, stabile, decreasing?
• What is the prediction for the future of the market? What are the trends? What does the competition look like?
• Identify the products/services that you would like develop or change.
• Ask yourself what is required in terms of time, investment and knowledge in order to develop them?
• Make a priority list – Must, Should, Could
• Create an activity plan the next 12-months

If you are thinking of developing you products and services, make sure it’s part of your planning process. If you don’t plan it you are not likely to find the time for working on it. Plan your work and work your plan.

Share

Are you just thinking of your customers or are you really doing something for them? How do your customers know that you are interested in their well being and their success?

Small businesses in particular have to distinguish themselves from their competitors in order to retain and attract new customers. People buy from people and if they’ve had bad service they don’t come back. Whether you are a solopreneur or have people working for you, make sure customer care is at the heart of your business if you want to build customer loyalty and bring in new business. Not many  small businesses actually have a customer care policy. Probably because they don’t think they need one. But they do and it only takes a few guidelines to make a big difference.

How do you know what makes your clients happy?  
Ask them! People like to asked. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask for feedback. Ask customers what else you can do for them. Do a survey. If they respond, send them a thank you note and why not a voucher or discount. Tell your customers that you respect and value them. If you for some reason are losing a customer, ask them why they have left.

Staff can have a huge impact on service and if you have people working for you, consider the following:

• Staff must trained
• Make sure your staff believe their jobs are important
• Make sure your staff feel valued
• Recognize them for doing a good job
• Ask for their ideas
• Make sure they are feel fully empowered to act if there’s a complaint
• Create incentives that to encourage long-term customer loyalty

In the end it’s about relationships and you can use your reputation to bring in more business.

Share

Imagine you were having access to all your customers’ and prospects’ business plans for the coming year. WOW – you could be there always at the right moment when they needed or requested service or product. That would be a dream situation!

However, there are other more realistic ways of planning to meet our customers’ needs.

1. Ask them!
Call your customers, send them a survey, study their websites. You will get more information than you can imagine and your customers will also feel that you are interested and care about them.

2. Look at past experience
What happened last year? Go back and look at what your customers ordered, look at the invoices, how much did they spend? Get a good sense of what really happened – and use that for you strategy plan.

3. Study the Market Trends
What are the “gurus” saying and predicting about your market and your business sector? Is the economy likely to change the behavior of your customers? And in that case how? Are there any new Business Models that could change the game and the competition? What are your competitors doing?

Based on this research not too complicated and time consuming, you are now much more prepared to create a plan for customers buying from you . Look at your sales plan from the outside – in rather than from an inside- out  perspective.

Good luck with planning your Sales!

Share

When you are planning for a new year in your small business it’s important to have a broad perspective. Make sure you are including your whole life situation and not only your business activities. Don’t forget your family and friends!

If your business works well, it has a positive impact on your whole family. And likewise, if you have a good and harmonious family life your business is likely to benefit from it. However the most important resource to make plans for is you!

If you manage to create a plan where you are running your business, having a good family life and taking care of yourself then you are likely to have a positive spiral.

However, we all know it can be hard to find the balance, having the time and energy for everything.That’s why it’s so important to include your goals in the plan and make sure your prioritize projects and tasks that are aligned with your goals. Think long term and short term.

When you set your goals, why not discuss and involve your family in the process. Making sure family and colleagues see the big picture and how they all fit into the plan will work as a good support for you and possibly reduce the guilt that you may experience from time to time when trying to balance it all.

If you are looking for tips and tools for how to plan effectively, download our FREE videos - Small Bites – Time Management Tips for Getting Over Overwhelm

Share

Make a commitment to yourself and your business this year!
Register for the Make Time Your Alley conference and workshop and
increase your revenue with better time management!

How many times have you made New Year’s resolutions, whether for your personal life or for your business, and forgotten about them or broken your promises to yourself by January 8th – if not sooner?

I invite you to try something new this year. Instead of resolving to make one or more broad, sweeping changes that are going to revolutionize your very existence (and feeling guilty after you don’t even get through the first week of the year before reverting to your old habits), pick one, SMALL thing that you can work to change in your life. Focus on this and reward yourself every time you act upon it. What you’ll accomplish with this strategy is an evolution in your business as opposed to a revolution. Read More→

Share

Hope, the word and the emotion, is such an inherent part of our way of thinking and being that we rarely notice how much of our behaviour and actions are based on it. Just for fun, record how many times in one day, you have hoped, were hopeful, lived in hope, and used the word hope in your thoughts and in conversation. Guest Blog by Luciana Cousin – Foster Principles

On opening our eyes in the morning, our first lucid thought is hope: ‘hope it’s going to be a great day’; hope it won’t rain’; hope there is not too much traffic on the way to work’; and hope continues to show up throughout the day: When we meet someone, ‘we hope that they are ok’; we send greetings with ‘hope you are well, and end our emails and letters with ‘hope to hear from you’.

Hope permeates and transcends all aspects of our life…..from hoping for a better life, to getting/feeling better, to hoping for the one, more money, better job, new car, and on and on.

This is because hope is intrinsic to our basic survival instinct and is fundamental to surviving anything. We don’t have to learn to have hope or to be hopeful; we just know how to hope, instinctively. When all else fails, there is always hope. We do hope very well. Read More→

Share

Just as we find ourselves selecting more energy efficient cars, cars costing less, polluting less etc, we are learning that by doing activities which use our brain’s most fuel-efficient component, we can naturally increase our own inner well-being and balance, as well as our own mental, physical and emotional health.

In other words, living a balanced inner life is the natural pay back you get if you choose to invest your time, energy and attention in activities which use your so called natural lead functions. So listen to your body and learn what it’s trying to tell you.

Using myself as an example, I have a need for and a habit of staying in bed for a while after the alarm has went off. Not only because I’m not a morning person. When I wake up I have thousands of thoughts running through my head and I want to stay in bed, totally undisturbed, and let them flow freely. More often than not, I come up with plans, new ideas and solutions to problems. (Now, I know that can be tricky. I work from home and I don’t have children to send off to school in the morning, so unless I need to be in a certain place at a certain time in the morning, that time is entirely mine.)

While this method really works extremely well for me, it doesn’t work at all for one of my best friends. And there is a scientific explanation for this, having to do with our brains and the fact that our bodies have different normal lead functions. Read More→

Share