Ask the Cook…

Q: I set goals for my business at the beginning of the year, yet I know intuitively I’m probably not quite on track to hit those goals. What do you suggest?

A: Congratulations on setting goals! You are ahead of 90% of small business owners. You are also correct in recognizing there is more to achieving goals than setting goals. I recommend my clients regularly review their business using a dashboard. Just like the dashboard in your car communicates vital information about the performance of your car, a business dashboard gives you information about your business and your progress in reaching your goals.

I have an overall revenue goal for my business and various supporting marketing goals that will help my business achieve the overall revenue goal. Knowing where I am in comparison to my goal helps me determine if I need to do more activities to reach my goal, different activities, or if I need to target different clients.

Just like you can have lots of gauges on your car dashboard, most of us we rely on a few key indicators to run our business. I suggest you start with where you are right now, compared to your annual goals.

Knowing the 3-5 key things in your business that tell you everything is running as it should (or not and where a change is needed) and reviewing your dashboard weekly is step #15 of 50 Ways to Make 2011 a Stellar Year.

Q: I have so many books I want to read, audios I’ve downloaded to listen to and come home with lots of notes from live events. Yet, I return to life as usual, forgetting about the things I wanted to implement. Recommendations?

A: This is a favorite of mine! I found myself listening to every available teleseminar, reading books and attending live events. Yet, I was exactly where you find yourself. Lots of great ideas, but few implemented. I knew if I’d implement just 10% of the information I’d be able to catapult my business towards my goals.

I now have a practice of reviewing my notes upon return from a live event (or after hearing or reading new information), highlighting the items I want to implement and actually scheduling time to work on implementation in my calendar.

If it’s an idea I like, but I’m not ready to implement, I note it in my idea journal, where I can refer to it at a later date. Reviewing a list of things you want to implement and getting them in your calendar is step #14 of 50 Ways to Make 2011 a Stellar Year.

Q: Sometimes I feel like I’m blocked, like I’ve got cobwebs in my mind, like I can’t make a decision. What do you do to overcome this?

A: This is one that I’ve definitely learned from experience. Ever see a cat chase it’s own tail? There are days I feel like this, going nowhere. Then, I’ll hop on my bicycle, go for a run or just head outside for a walk around our property.

It is amazing the fresh ideas I get, answers to blocks I’ve been experiencing, and a new perspective when I change my environment. Add to your day opportunities to stop and smell the roses and you’ll find you work through issues faster, are more productive, and love life a whole lot more. You may even want to buy yourself some roses to smell (especially when you find yourself in the dead of winter).

This is step #13 of 50 Ways to Make 2011 a Stellar Year.

Q: I have so many things on my to-do list. Where do I start?

A: Ah, yes, the what should I work on first dilemma! If you’ve been struggling for awhile with an overwhelming To-Do list, I suggest as one of 50 Ways to Make 2011 a Stellar Year, you pick out the 5 easiest things on your To-Do list. Knock out one of these each day of the week, Monday, Tuesday… There is something to be said for getting the success momentum flowing.

Remember, ticking something off your To-Do list could be as easy as delegating it to someone else! It’s not about doing a zillion things to move your business forward. It’s about doing a few things a zillion times that bring success to your business.

Q: I have so much to do. My calendar is always full. But, I’m just not growing my business. What do you recommend?

A: This is a challenge I hear a lot from business owners just like you. I was in this same boat myself at one time. I was so good at being busy. Funny thing, when we go to the bank, they don’t automatically add another 20% to our deposit for having a full calendar. It doesn’t work that way.

You know when you put an address into your GPS system, it will not only tell you which turns to take and when to take them, it also gives you an estimated time of arrival. Imagine if you continually made short side trips and stops along the way to your destination. Your GPS unit would readjust your time of arrival at your destination, and the actual path to get to your destination would change depending on those side trips and stops.

I realized one day I wasn’t moving in the direction of my goal and had to ask myself some hard questions about the way I spent my time. I suggest you ask yourself this question. Do the activities in your calendar support the destination you entered into your business GPS system?

If your calendar is filled with lots of activities, it only guarantees you’ll be busy. That’s not where your value lies. What one thing can you do today to take just one step toward reaching your destination?

Incidentally, this is step #11 of 50 Ways to Make 2011 a Stellar Year. Evaluate the activities on your calendar – do they support the destination? Make this one tweak and you’ll see improvements in your results and the time spent to get there.

Q. I get my financials done when a tax deadline looms, but rarely use financials to manage my business. I know this isn’t the best way to manage my business. Help!

A. Wow! You hit the nail on the head! So many of us manage our business by hunch rather than using the facts we could have at our fingertips. We put off most things related to paperwork – especially our financials. Let’s look at this from a different point of view.

Imagine you are training to run a marathon. In fact, you’re training to increase your speed so that your time in a qualifying marathon will qualify you to run in the Boston marathon. Each time you go on a training run, you are likely to want to know one critical thing. How fast did you run?

If you never look at your speed through all your training and instead wait till you’ve run the marathon to see if your time qualifies you for the Boston marathon, what are your odds of success? Not so good.

In your business, waiting to review your financials when your tax return is completed is similar to this training method. Only by looking at your financials on a regular basis – just like looking at your running pace – will you be able to make tweaks in your business so that you do achieve your financial goals.

This is, in fact, one of the steps to make 2011 a Stellar Year for your business – Record your financial information on a current basis – daily or weekly.

Note: You do not have to be the one to record the information – delegate this to someone – but as the captain of the ship, making choices about the direction of your business, you do have to be the one to review the financial information.

Q: As a new business owner I’m doing every conceivable job in my business. I feel like I lose focus jumping from marketing to delivering the service to generating the invoices. Any suggestions?

A: Great question! Know you are not alone. It is not surprising you are filling every role in your business – that is often how many of us started. A techinique I used in my business to get clarity in the beginning was, in fact, step #9 on your way to make 2011 a Stellar Year for your business – Update your Organization Chart.

You might say – Organization Chart?! But, it’s only me – or, there’s only five of us. Trust me, this works whether you’re doing this solo or with a small team. Typically, I’d expect to see an Organization Chart with areas such as Operations, Marketing, Finance, and Planning & Development. It may vary a bit by business, but I suggest you keep it simple.

For each of these areas in your business, make a list of all the roles that are necessary in your business – I do this in an outline format. For example, under Finance, you might list, Invoices, Paying Bills, Payroll and Financial Reporting. I also list next to the role who it is that’s responsible for this role. Yes, my name was listed many times in my first version.

Once all the roles have been listed, indicate how much effort should be allocated to each area. If you are the only one delivering the product or service, how much of your time does this currently involve? What percent of your efforts should be directed at Marketing? …to Planning? …Finance?

By first defining all the roles in your business, and then assigning the efforts that should be dedicated to the various ‘departments,’ you’ll get clarity and be more focused as you change from wearing the operations hat to the marketing hat.

You will also get clarity about all the activities you do in your business and which category they fall under. Going to networking meetings falls into the marketing category. Success in business requires a multifaceted approach to marketing, meaning there isn’t just one thing that works, but many things. If all of the time you’ve allocated for marketing is ‘spent,’ so to speak, going to networking events, other marketing avenues will be ignored.

Take a moment to think of your business by functional areas or department and define the roles within each of those areas to get clarity and focus back in your day.

To your success!

Q: How do I keep myself motivated and the momentum rolling, especially when I’ve had setbacks?

A: As a small business owner, it can sometimes feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall. I remember when I first started publishing a newsletter. Without any feedback from the readers, I didn’t know if anyone was reading what I’d written. I guess it must be a bit like talking on radio – you believe there are folks listening to you – you just can’t see them.

A practice my husband and I have over dinner each night is to share one thing we’re thankful for and three successes we’ve had that day. This is, in fact, the step for week #8 you can take in your business to make 2011 a Stellar Year – make a list of your successes in the past month. Celebrate!

Listing your successes reminds you of the folks you’re serving and the difference you make in their lives. If it’s one of ‘those’ days and you’re not sure you can think of any successes, I recommend you visit your ‘Kudos‘ file. Don’t have a ‘Kudos‘ file? You definitely need to start one! Any time you get positive feedback from a client or colleague, put it in your ‘Kudos‘ file.

Reminding yourself why you started your business and who you help, as well as reviewing the comments from folks that have been positively impacted should help you keep focused on your mission, reignite the motivation and get the momentum rolling again.

Take a moment to count your blessings and you will see you are indeed blessed.

To your success!

Q: I have so many things to do. My to-do list is longer than I’ll be able to accomplish in my lifetime. I just can’t imagine how I can find the time to get everything done. I want to grow my business to the point it doesn’t depend on me working to bring in all the income. Where do I start?

A: Congratulations for recognizing what takes many business owners long hours and years to understand! You can’t do it all – and grow your business – and the sooner you begin to delegate the appropriate things, the faster growth will happen.

This is, in fact, the step for week #7 you can take in your business to make 2011 a Stellar Year – delegate one thing you’ve been spending more time on than is cost effective for you to do.

If you’re a typical business owner, there are so many things on your to do list you’d have to live to one hundred and ten to get to every item. So, what to do?

There is likely something you’ve been spending a fair amount of time on, that, granted, you can do, and do very well. BUT, it doesn’t require any specialized talent or knowledge to do. Regardless of how much you do or don’t like to do this task and how fast you are able to do this task, it is likely, the time you’d invest to teach and pay someone else to do this task is peanuts compared to the revenue you’d be able to generate by focusing your skills on growing the business.

I recently heard a business owner describe a mailing project they’d spent two hours completing. If every business owner who’s ever done their own mailing project raised their hands, we’d think we were in the midst of a giant group wave. We’ve been there, done that, didn’t like it. I know there are folks out there who could beat me, hands down, at say $15/hour. Even if they can’t beat the two hours I would spend, but just match it, that’s a $30 investment. Even if they’re slower than me, the investment is minimal if instead of working on a mailing project, I’m working to land my next $6,000+ sale.

I challenge you to find one thing to delegate each week for the rest of 2011, and instead work on growing your business and you will indeed experience a Stellar 2011.

To your success!

Q: I’ve become clearer on who my ideal client is thanks to you. What are some ways I can show my clients I appreciate them?

A: Hurrah for taking action on defining your ideal client. Other follks read about doing that and think about it. But you know it’s when you actually commit to paper your description that you see benefits permeate throughout your company and how you conduct business as a result.

So, now that you’ve described your ideal client using both demographic and psychographic descriptors, you should have a very clear picture of your client. And, consequently, know the kinds of things they would really appreciate. Since your ideal client will differ from the next business owner’s clients, let me give you some ideas about the kind of things I use to show my clients my appreciation that will hopefully get your creative juices flowing. Incidentally, this is the step for week #6 you can take in your business to make 2011 a Stellar Year.

Telling your clients how much you appreciate them is the first step. You can do this personally with a hand written note at any time, but it’s very important you do this immediately after they choose to become a client. Many businesses choose to send a Christmas or holiday card to their clients, but then your card doesn’t seem to stand out quite as much as one sent at Thanksgiving. I choose to host an ‘I love my clients!’ reception in February as a way to reiterate my appreciation for my clients both in print and in person.

Sending articles of interest to your clients is a way to say I was thinking of you. Giving clients a subscription to a publication pertinent to their industry or one such as Success magazine is a reminder monthly of your appreciation. Referring your clients to others is a wonderful way to show your appreciation and confidence in their business.

Review the description of your ideal client and brainstorm simple ways you can provide your clients with additional value. Perhaps there’s a short video tip or inspiration you could record and provide to them on a monthly or quarterly basis that is only provided to clients.

One last suggestion (as I could keep going…) is to provide this extra value to both current and past clients. It’s possible those clients who aren’t currently working with you, just need a reminder of the great value you provide through your products and services.

Hope this was helpful. Now go brainstorm some ways to tell your clients how much you love them!