I might have a business management and communication degree, but it was surprisingly light on actually running a business. Most of my studies were around mass communication, management styles, and the history of advertising. Continue Reading →
Make your team more efficient
When I talk to entrepreneurs about their current teams I hear a lot of the same complaints.
“It takes forever to get anything done.”
“I have to review everything.”
Why You Need a Day Off
Today marks the 7th month of an experiment I took last year to give myself more time to enjoy my business. Every month on the 14th I take the whole day off – no appointments, no work scheduled – and do whatever I want. I’ve visited San Francisco and New York City, Miami and even locally around my own small town. Some months I spend time with family and other months I’m jet setting. Today, when this post goes live I won’t be queuing it or tweeting or writing Facebook posts but all of those things will happen anyway. Continue Reading →
The Growth Inhibitor
I’ve encountered far too many business owners who are resigned to staying small in their reach and influence because they believe it takes too much to reach the next level.
If you haven’t read Michael Gerber’s the E-Myth Revisited then I highly suggest you pick it up. This passage in particular points to the place where most entrepreneurs get stuck and need support to push through.
Every Adolescent business reaches a point where it pushes beyond its owner’s Comfort Zone – the boundary within which he feels secure in his ability to control his environment, and outside of which he begins to lose that control.
For most of us that breaking point is where we cannot do it all ourselves – all the tasks, checklists, launches, finances, meetings or clients and there’s no one else we trust to manage that part of the business. The result is either working until we’re physically exhausted, sick of our business and ready to quit or taking the brave step to admit more help is needed and finding resources to grow beyond the Comfort Zone.
Trying to do it all on your own is the primary growth inhibitor of most online businesses.
It’s because of the mindset of this stuck entrepreneur, who is immensely talented but mired in details of business and doesn’t know how to get support, that I operate my business. I support the entrepreneur who knows help is needed but doesn’t know where to start.
I’ve written about support plenty in the past because I don’t believe you can create systems that run the business for you – you need people too. The more I shared I kept hearing “but where do I start?” And just like Michael Gerber teaches, I decided to back up and create a complete system for you.
Another catalyst for this program was reading a post from a former client on a public forum that bashed the team for some mistakes. I believe it’s time to stop blaming and shaming the people who come into our lives and business to help us grow and take responsibility for our leadership failures. Every time I look at my business with any amount of frustration I force myself to take a step back. Was I clear? Did I hire the right people? How much training time did I dedicate?
I wanted to teach this awareness and consciousness because, at some point, we’ve all been in the place of that shamed employee and no one liked the feeling. The challenges are different in online business so I want to help you create and environment that honors and respects the contributions of each person without you becoming a servant to your staff.
So after hearing many entrepreneurs struggle with the issue of hiring and being unable to see their own contribution to the outcome I created a video series out of my personal hiring system. It goes beyond the step by step to give you a foundation of putting the business and yourself first while creating that positive environment that will attract the best team to you in record time.
It’s 5 Days to Finding Fabulous Help for Your Online Business and it’s absolutely free to you. There are 5 daily videos with assignments, resources and a guide to create the right environment to bring support into your business – whether you need 3 full time employees or a VA 2 hours a week.
Just fill in the boxes on the top of this page to get started with day 1 video today and commit to growing your business past your Comfort Zone with a proven system.
Asking for Permission
Today I wanted to share another mindset that we learn as employees that can hold us back as entrepreneurs. From an early age we’re conditioned to ask permission, first of teachers then our employers. It’s common to request approval before using the bathroom, sharpening a pencil, throwing away trash or even going to lunch.
In the workplace built on the factory system it was common and imperative that each worker was in his or her spot on the assembly line – you couldn’t just take a break any time you wanted or the whole factory could suffer. Unfortunately, this model which served Ford well carried over into modern workplaces and can hold us back as entrepreneurs.
Tired of clocking in at 8:00 every morning and filing the same reports each week, we wait for the day when we decide what to do, when to do it and dream about working from Starbucks on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
Eventually you make the leap and now you’re the boss. At first it’s exciting, like the bird whose cage door has been left open and you realize the whole world is waiting! Nothing is holding you back!
But with that freedom comes fear. Despite resentment of the control of middle management we knew that as workers they absolved us responsibility. “I was just following orders” had been a convenient excuse for nearly any mistake. So as an entrepreneur it can be slightly terrifying to be the one ultimately responsible for making the decisions, carrying out tasks and accepting the outcome.
As a result we tend to hide, go back into the cage and play where it’s safe. For years we longed to get out of the tedious routines, to be creative and expressive and then, when given the chance we retreat back into the safety zone.
Even if you’re not consciously asking for permission, your mindset around responsibility can hold you back. Some entrepreneurs obsess over what the successful gurus have done, they crowd source every decision or work with coaches and mentors who handhold and babysit every choice. By needing this constant validation from outside sources this kind of entrepreneur has substituted a single boss for the approval of the community – by some measures a much more demanding source of approval.
It’s a balancing act between personal responsibility and learning from the trailblazers. It takes strength of will to determine the path you will take to reach your goals and flexibility and humility to take advice and course correct when needed. Thankfully, using systems in your business can help with both challenges.
Systems Enabled Freedom
As you explore and try new things, you’ll want to have systems in place to gauge results. Many of the routines despised in an established business were once untested theories. The only way to know if your risks are producing rewards is to measure.
When I work with creative right brain thinkers we often find that the very systems that seemed constrictive and stifling actually encourage freedom. And if you’ve ever suffered from the blank page syndrome where you find it next to impossible to write an email, begin a blog post or introduce a topic of conversation, the systems you create can be a saving grace.
If you’re not already receiving my weekly newsletter with additional tips for busy entrepreneurs be sure to sign up here. And stay tuned for a big announcement to help you implement systems in your business very soon.