Category Archives: Working Smart

Working smart is working with an edge. A good business owner always makes it a point to work at tip-top shape. Working smart is working with a safety net; it does not hurt to have your workplace insured. The feeling of security makes us more eager to work diligently and even take some risks along the way because we know that we have something to fall back on to.

Working smart is about being well informed of the current market trends, what is hot and what is not. A good entrepreneur keeps himself or herself well-informed. More so that when he or she makes a decision he or she can take into consider as many factors as possible that can affect the business both in the short run and in the long run. So never forget to work smart!

HandShake

Your Business’s Salability

After spending a good part of your life establishing and eventually growing your business into a profitable entity, could you honestly say that everything was worth your while? Do all your efforts even make a sense? Is your business even sellable?

I had a pep talk with someone who ran his own agency for two decades and our conversation steered to retirement; he said he was already planning to call it off. So I asked him what his options on his business are, whether he has some plans made. His response really caught me off guard. He said he probably will just literally call it off, close his business for good and refer his loyal clients to other professionals of his field. I know that selling a business is not as easy as selling pancakes, but if you have ran the business for a score of years then you must at least have a fighting chance of being able to sell it somehow. I can’t quite figure out the waste of the amount of effort and time making up your business only to close it for good after some time.

The scenario prompted me to muse about my own business. I run a successful copywriting business for 7 fruitful years, and this really got me thinking about its future. I haven’t had contemplated of ever selling my business if ever it comes to that, not before, not now. I think it does not stand a chance of a sale as of today, it does not have the form and I have not the slightest inclination.  Had I only thought of selling my business, I would have done things differently in preparation for a future sale. For those contemplating of selling your business, you should groom it from the start.

If you wish to make some money on your business you could rent it out to someone and secure for yourself regular revenue while you are out there enjoying your freedom days. Or you could make your business formidable, make its finances sound and healthy, making huge profits along the way, and then sell it for a hefty price by the time you want to call it off already.

Most of the business owners are more short business term oriented because most are also into servicing in nature. But in any way, anyone could still sell a business when it is called for.

You ever think of selling your business? Does it have what it takes to entice potential buyers?

sad man

Getting Rid of the Selling Blues

At the start, most of us business owners have a certain fear of selling. It is usually caused by the bad images of pushy and annoying sales people that keep filling our heads with dreadful experiences and cheesy tag lines. Also, another reason why we might hate selling is that we never want to get rejected by a prospective client.

As business owners, we need to overcome this irrational fear and get over it as soon as we can; because if we don’t there are great repercussions as to what it can do for ourselves and our business.

There are three main reasons why we need to reconsider our unwillingness to sell. The first reason is very obvious. No selling equates to our business suffering. No sales equate to no revenue. No revenue equates to no profit; and ultimately, no profit means no business.

The second reason is very obvious too. Not selling also has its negative effect on our self-confidence. It may even come to a point that the fear of rejection can stop us from entirely selling.

The third, and last reason – though not so obvious and is usually forgotten by most of us, is that not selling equates to us not helping as many people as we wanted. We established our business and created our products and services so that we can help people out (and profit while doing it). Not selling means that we are not fulfilling our mission as business owners to help our customers and the industry.

If you’ve got that fear of turning into the salesperson you hate, then now is the time to change your mindset. We are all in the middle of an alleged economic crisis where every dollar earned counts.

I also kind of did an introspection as to why I am hesitant to sell my product; and these are the things I found out.

There are also three reasons why I don’t want to sell; and these are mainly just biases based on very bad experiences with sleazy sales people. I’m sure these might also look all too familiar to you.

The first reason being is that I love to buy, but I don’t like being sold to. I’ve had that experience with an annoying car salesman wherein I felt that the only thing he cared about was  getting my money. Oh, how I despised that person that time. I felt like that he was desperate and only focused on getting that fat commission.

Next reason was that I always had a notion that all salespeople are insincere, dishonest, and are very self-focused. This was another bias that stopped me from selling. The third and last reason was that I always had that fear of being rejected. Who doesn’t?

If you can relate to these three reasons, then, like me, you’ve put some limitations on yourself regarding selling and have already sold yourself short of what you can actually put on the table.

Here are some tips on how I cured this fear. Who knows? It might cure yours too.

  1. You need to change your mind set when it comes to selling. Selling is an exchange of value. It means that I provide you something, and in exchange, you give me something of equal value. Think of the ‘barter trading system’ of the old days.

 

  1. You need to believe that your product or service is the best. When you have this kind of belief in your product or service, selling usually comes naturally. Just think of the best movie you’ve watched this year. When you discuss it with your friends, aren’t you very enthusiastic about it to a point that you try to sway your skeptical friends to also consider your point of view? This is what most people call the ‘raving fan syndrome.’

 

If you’re not a ‘raving fan’ of your own product or service, then you might want to re-evaluate the product/service itself. Be mindful that not being a ‘raving fan’ of your own product and service might turn you into the ‘sleazy car salesman’ who’s only goal is to hit the quota and get that commission.

 

  1. Always remember that the customer is more important than the sale. Offering value and helping people with their needs are your most important goals as a business owner. Though you may not have made a sale this time; but if you continue focusing on these important goals, you will build a lifetime fan. This will, of course, equate to more sales in the long run.
fear-confidence

Use fear to build your Confidence

Fear is a natural human instinct, even the bravest and most experienced feel fear, and the only difference is how well it is handled. Fear can even be used as a catalyst to do something great, as a stimulant to want to be better.

I have come to witnessed someone spoke in court with the excellent confidence that one glance of him would make someone think his gift is in-born. But the truth is, he was just like anyone of us, he started as a terribly speaker, he trembles in front every time he speaks. His fear overwhelms him when he stands and speaks. But instead of succumbing to the paralyzing effect of fear, he rather did the opposite. He used fear to stimulate him to become better. He went out of his way and learned the required techniques of public speaking. He desired to be better, and so he became way better than he was. He grabbed every opportunity to test his newfound confidence and skill, and then fear gradually become lesser until he was able to conquer it.

He might have stumbled and made a few mistakes as he learned but all the while he makes his leaning greater; he never wavered. He conquered his fear by fear and so succeeded.

We have a tendency to procrastinate towards conquering fear. But fear stays as fear when we do nothing about it. We have to make an active stand on overcoming our worst fears. Fear keeps us from being the best that we are designed to be. So to help you with overcoming fears, it might help you to repeat some Positive Words and Affirmations:

Speak Positive Words

  • I will conquer my fear
  • I will not be deterred by fear in any way
  • I will not procrastinate, I will do it now
  • I will improve my skills, I will become better
  • I will seek people’s council and wisdom
  • I will make mistakes my stepping stone towards progress
  • I will exhaust all possible ways to improve myself
  • I will never be conquered by failure
  • I will succeed at all cost
  • I will experience growth and progress along the way

Speak forth Affirmations

  • I am successful in everything I do
  • I am as brave as any of the great heroes
  • I am as skilled as the greatest artists
  • I am poised for all the great possibilities
  • I am loved
  • I am secure
  • I will live to be a blessing for others

You get to choose your own affairs, you choose your fate. Success do not happen by accident, it is always by choice. Therefore, when fear grips you, choose to be confident instead. When you feel like giving up, choose to strive harder instead. Choose to become better than dwindle in frustrations. Choose to be confident.

limitations

Knowing Your Limitations In Your Business

Often times, we are a little bit of hesitant about spending money for our business; and we should be. After all, the money that we spend is good, well-earned money. However, as business owners, it is our task to disburse our well-kept funds in order to make our business grow. A growing business is a surviving business in this cutthroat competition-driven market.

Money is not being grown on some money tree; it is being earned through hard work instead. We must be vigilant in spending our money not because we are stingy, but rather, there are things that we could avoid spending too much on with the right outlook on things.

Public relations, for example, does not need to be overly-funded. However, we stress that the advice of experts in the field will be a great help. One way of overspending in the PR field is if you are trying to sell a bad story. If you do not have a good lead or an interesting pitch to your sales call, then definitely no one will buy it. The public will rather see it as a nuisance and will just put it back in the shelf where they have stumbled upon it. So, no matter how much money you spend trying to boost your PR, if the public does not want it, the media will not even bother to look at it.

What you need here is a good lead; a great story. If you have something worthwhile, worth talking about, and worth repeating, even if you have an understaffed PR unit, the media will take it. This is because the public wants it.

Another important thing for business owners like us to remember is the fact that we have limitations.  These are not just economic limitations, but social limitations as well. We must not take this as something bad or unnatural; but this is something that we should always take into consideration.

Here’s an example. Even if you do have a logistical capability and all the resources that you need to undergo long and expeditious trips, always remember that you have a family and you have a home. Those entrepreneurs that can afford long trips are those who are not attached, unmarried or just free-spirits who hunger for adventure and new knowledge.

For us home-lovers, we should take care of our marriage, wife and kids. After all, we undergo business not to just earn money, but to provide a better future for those that we love. This is a central philosophy that we should always take into our minds and hearts as we go along doing our daily routine.

The battle of the cutthroat competition of the free market will make us stronger business owners, but we do not want yourself to be distracted by issues of domestic concerns. We should always set our priorities and goals and always take into account the scope and limitations of our abilities. In the end we will know what and what not to do.

take charge

Man up, take charge!

“The relationship between an organized office and a healthy business is plain to see.”

The eyes are the windows of the soul.  This is an old adage that still holds true up to this day and age.  The power of vision is simply remarkable.  All existing professions benefit from the wonders it brings.  Let’s take a couple of examples to drive home a point. First, scientists, they use microscopes to view the minutest organisms ever existed.  Second, photographers, they use especially designed lenses to capture memories, and third, medical professionals, they use their clinical eyes to determine their patients’ health status.   What sets a businessman apart from his colleagues?  It is plain and simple, a businessman’s eyes, despite being devoid of any other instrument, surveys its surroundings with keen vision and easily spots what is and what is not organized.  He can pass judgments, perhaps even conclusions that an organized business is next to success and a disorganized one is next to failure.  This is all because being organized is being in control.

It is vital to get rid of clutters!  You will be surprised to see what professional and personal benefits it will bring you.   Remember, you may have a profitable business, you may have the best and the finest system that works best for you but if you are not organized, you are not in control.  Therefore, here is a six step rule you can follow to reinvent your business and whip out the Mr. Sheen in you!

First, deal with paper files.  Destroy anything that is not worth keeping.  The ATO is a machine that enables small businesses to keep completed transactions for up to five years.  It is best for storing files but beyond the given time span, amuse yourself with shredding old paper collections.  Another thing you can use to keep your files in place is a CD.  It is always better to keep a dozen CDs as opposed to keeping boxes and boxes of paper documents!

Second, deal with electronic files.  In the advent of computers, there is always a delete button waiting to be pressed or clicked both on your keyboard and on your computer screen.  Take advantage of it and use it well!  In due time, you will come to realize that you are helping your computer to operate at peak efficiency.

Third, deal with procedures.  Outline your daily activities.  How do you do this?  Simply answer the question, how do you go about your daily transactions?  Knowing your answer to this question, you can manage to streamline processes that are mainly repetitions of the other ones.  Through this, you can focus on more important things and actually save time!

Fourth, deal with your clients.  Perform a check and balance of all your business books.  Review your debtors’ ledgers and follow up on any outstanding accounts.  Make a few phone calls and communicate!  Let them know you still exist, and make your clients feel important and valued.   Regain their confidence, mean business.

Fifth, deal with your surroundings.  A paint job, a simple make-over, and even a few change-up will reinvent you and your establishment!  Make it lively, enticing and striking!  A vibrant environment will definitely attract customers.

Sixth, make a business plan.  If you haven’t written one, make one!  This is your business legacy as well as your diary.  Every business venture needs a firm foundation, a stable structure and a starting point.  A business plan can combine these three into one.  A business plan can organize your business and so that you can control it and you can finally exclaim to yourself “I am in charge!”

believe

Proven Ways of Developing Your Power of Possibility

You have an enormous faith in yourself that you could do great many things, and then suddenly you hear voices telling you that you could not. Does it sound familiar? Do you hear voices that inject doubts and negativity? You have the power to shut them all off!

I always thought I could give as much knowledge about Leadership as any other Leadership experts. I know that I have all with me my needed ingredients to be as effective as anybody else. But then the annoying voices start whispering thoughts and words that make me curl and fold. The voices seem to gain strength every time I resolve to reach my true potential. It makes me feel small and unworthy. It seems to have all the right reasons why I should not aim high. It never stops in pointing out what I lack; that I would not amount to anything worthy. It injects fear and worries. The little voice of disappointment is only good in one thing, to disappoint you from gaining confidence and eventually succeed in achieving your goals. You have the power to not listen to its lies. Here are a few steps to help you combat the ill effects of the voice:

  • Invite the voice to state all its reasons and opinions, and then take time to think over maybe he has a point.
  • Write down all that the voice said to you. If it injects doubt then write down what specific doubt is it referring to and the corresponding reason. This way, you allow yourself to gain a better understanding of your capacity and your limits which you could use to your advantage.
  • Talk back to the voice. Make conversation with it and deal with it as if you are really talking to a tangible being. Thank it for the help, and that because of him you gained a far better perspective that would have taken you longer if you were left alone to your own devices. Make a resolve to craft valuable resolution about the things that need improvement.
  • Start making decisions that impact your way of life towards achieving your goal and making things possible. Believe that you are capable of achieving anything that you ever thought of achieving. Do not concern yourself about the impossibility; just think that you can do it.
  • Project a healthy image of you in your mind. Make a goal of achieving that image. If you wish to become a successful leadership guru then you better start imagining yourself standing on stage giving lectures upon lectures on countless numbers of audiences. Your reality starts in your mind.

By thinking positive, you create positive outcomes. By thinking that everything is possible, you make every bit of your goals possible no matter the circumstances. Your mind has the power to make things into being. If you think of becoming physically strong then you will indeed become strong. If you dream of ever becoming a successful businessman then indeed your dream will be yours. That is the power of possibility.

aim high

Set Your Goals and Aim High

I once managed a pop band, composed of musically gifted people. We thought we already have all the perfect ingredients to succeed, and yet everything went down the drain. I found out the reason of our demise; we did not aim high enough.

Aiming high is something we hear too often but never got around to doing it; one good reason why we end up on the losing end. I hope we have the spirit of children, who aim high and will not settle on doing things halfway. I have a son who exactly aims for as high as he could imagine. It does not matter what kind of pursuit he is after, as long as in everything that he does, he does it with a lofty goal in mind.  I wish I was like my son when I managed that pop band. I wish I did not settle for less or climbed the ladder halfway. The other band members I guess were of the same mind; though they are highly talented people, they do not just have the strategy of goal setting which is basically to aim high.

What we did that time was we concerned ourselves too much on the temporal part of the business. We were only after the petty things which do not last. We got so comfortable from where we were that we forgot to extend our reach beyond the horizon. We did settle in our comfort zone and never made our way into the far reaches of success. We wasted so much time and resources being half-baked artists. I often wonder if things could have gone differently if we set our goals properly. I believe yes, we could have been way better if only we did things the right way, if only that we aimed high enough to push us to become better.

Success is a gradual process borne out of a conscious decision. You should be able to decide what your goals are. After that, you need to set your goals way higher than you thought possible, the idea is to allow yourself to extend beyond your current capacity. It is so you could craft the needed ability to shatter the existing boundaries. Your capability has no end. It only ends when you decide that it ends. You have the power to become what you have envisioned yourself to become.

Did you aim high enough? If you have any comments and feedbacks, please feel free to say it all.

 

confidence

Start Your Business, Be Confident About It

In every venture, either personal or professional, confidence is an effective yardstick for success. The performance of your business is directly proportional to your expectations and your confidence on meeting those expectations. I believe it is worth your while and mine to discuss a few of pointers about the importance of confidence in starting a small business.

The first thing that comes to mind when starting a business comes up is whether you have the capacity to run it, or even start one. You could be overwhelmed by the tremendous pressures even way before you had your first day of business. It is the tendency of the human instinct to formulate ungrounded fears based solely on unfounded facts. When you fear even way before you move, you lose. Your analysis of what happens in the future keeps you from making bold moves in the present; which is definitely detrimental to your fledgling business.

Before I had my own copy write business, I took a tremendous amount of time deciding whether I am really good enough for it. For days, I kept seeing reasons why other writers are better than me. I was hopelessly on the edge of giving up my aspirations merely because of my own imagined fears. Thankfully, there was one person who told me to get hold of myself and start gaining confidence in my own abilities. He said I should start out by being clear with my goals, vision and capacity. I need to be clear on what specific fields do I really want to flourish. Once things are already clear then I already began building up my confidence, which is a lot easier because I already have a strong foothold about issues at hand. My confidence started to climb unprecedented heights until I realized that people flock to me to hire me to write for their websites. That was just quite amazing for someone who started out without strong self confidence.

I became very good with what I do which probably the reason why people trust my ability to do their work for them. When potential clients approach me, they see a clear terms of what they expect from me as much as they are also crystal clear of their obligations to me as being my clients.

When you have clarity on your skills and your abilities, people get the sense that you could do a certain job seriously wonderful and worthy of their spent resources.

on track

Be Always On Track

When running a business, you need to keep yourself on track. There could be many distractions when you are already in the actual field. Some even looks very good at the surface but will later sidetrack you and will keep you from achieving your goals in accordance to your vision. So while you go ahead achieving your lofty goals, never take your eyes off your original destination. This will keep you grounded.

I understand if there are times that you feel the impulse of fast tracking things, accelerating procedures and expedite the process. There is nothing wrong with that. Some people like it slow, and some do it with speed. However, if you always do things in rush right from the start, you are in the danger of going off the track and could not be good for your own and your business’ sake. I believe that what makes us all the more to push the harder to resort to expediency is when we see our contemporaries speeding us by. We have the tendency to look down on ourselves and think that we have been left behind. But that should not be the case, do not envy those who seem to be skyrocketing because they have their own downtimes. Focus on your own stake. Do not look somewhere else but on your own track. Follow these 5 simple steps to keep you on track:

  • If you feel like your colleagues are speeding you by, just let them be. You will have your own time and chance at your own pace.
  • Always be guided by your principles. Do not let your business activities compromise your belief on what is right and on what is wrong. As you grow professionally, your character shall become stronger and finer as well.
  • Take time to rest from time to time. Do not succumb to burnt-out, treat yourself somewhere to relax and reenergize. When you are faced with an overwhelming task, all the more that you should look for an opportunity to rest and relax. Bring yourself in an environment of peace and serenity.
  • Never sever any meaningful relationships even as you chase after business pursuits. Spend quality time with people who matter to you, people who love for who you are and not for what you do.
  • Associate with people. Share your interest and your expertise to others. When you move out of your comfort zone to offer sincere help to other people in need, you bless them and you grow personally and professionally as a result.
Vision Statement

Creating An Effective Vision Statement

Success is dependent upon the direction you lead your business to. Without a clear direction, you could be in a danger of bringing your business in an unknown territory .Having a vision statement will help crystallize the direction where you want your business is headed.

A vision statement is a huge influence as to the direction the business will be treading. It gives a clear cut picture of the goals and aspirations of an individual or a business entity. Big corporations and famous personalities even employ this tool to enrich themselves or their businesses. And indeed for most, it really works. That’s why it is now gaining loyalty from people from different walks in life; trying to take advantage of all the benefits it will offer.

However, a number of people have difficulty creating a vision. They believe they do not possess the needed eloquence in creating a vision statement. If you are among these people, do not despair, the following are guide questions that you can use in creating your own effective vision statement.

Personal projection in 5 years

  • How happy is your family life?
  • What are your fulfillments and attainments?
  • How have you nurtured your networks of friends?
  • What are your recreations?
  • What is your spiritual status?
  • How far have you grown as a person?

Professional projection in 5 years

  • How formidable your business have become?
  • How greatly have you grown your network of clients?
  • How happy and satisfied are your employees?
  • What kinds of projects are you already working on?

Financial projection in 5 years

  • How much are you earning?
  • How much are you saving?
  • What are your investments?
  • How much are you giving back to charities?

Your vision should excite you because it bespeaks of all your life’s possibilities. It talks about what you will become in the near future. It is your future, bright and full. Take hold of your dreams, keep it close. Keep it alive by intertwining it with your vision statement. There are myriad ways of making your vision fun and effective at the same time. You could do it using the vision board technique of which you clip ideal pictures that directly projects your dreams and aspirations. You could even do it together with other members of your family or with your employees in the office.

Be bold with your vision. Never be held back by limitations. Therefore create a strong vision statement; one that clearly defines your hopes, your aspirations and your grandest dreams.