Dream Catcher

When you meet small business owners they often introduce themselves by stating what they do rather than who they are. The product or service they provide is what they do; not who they are. Being a business owner is who they are.  I want you to take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself “who are you”. Are you the cleaning lady, the file clerk, receptionist, administrative assistant or the head of your business? In order to run a successful business the owner must have a shift in his or her mindset. My three steps will help you make the necessary mindset shift.

Coach Jaynine’s Three Steps to Shift Your Mindset from Employee to Business Owner:

1. Recognize what task you are doing. Is it a task that can be delegated to an employee? As the business owner you should be focused on growing your business, managing employees, and delegating tasks. You must have time to review your revenue streams, sales goals, marketing and make adjustments. I want you to think “billable hours”.  Identify what you are doing and evaluate if someone who earns a lower wage should or could do the task just as well or better. If the answer is “yes” then make the business decision to delegate that task.

2. Write business systems and job descriptions for you and your employees. You must learn to hire people to do the tasks that you are not the expert in doing or that you do not like to do. I highly recommend that you outsource your bookkeeping, administrative tasks, web design, graphic design, and cleaning. You must focus on revenue producing activities. Business systems that are written down will ensure that all employees can perform the tasks. This will also ensure that employees do not skip a step. Systems help you to provide consistency. They also save time from having to reinvent the wheel. Employees will not forget a step and you will not to micromanage. If you do not have a budget to afford paying for workers get creative. Maybe you know someone that is willing to work for free in exchange for having work experience for his or her resume. Depending on your state you may be able to find a student intern who will work for free. You may also want to ask family or church to volunteer.

3.  Learn to lead and delegate.  Business owners need to focus on running the business and not get caught up being one of the worker bees. You cannot do every task in your business. Your focus must be on managing your team and their projects or workflow.  Working with a coach can help you acquire new leadership and business skills while providing you a confidential environment to learn.

Your business revenue will grow faster when you make a conscious shift in your mindset. You must perform like a business owner and not an employee. Most businesses fail because the owner runs out of steam and is not willing to put in the 14-18 hour days needed in the beginning to run the business. When you learn to delegate you will have more time to focus on the behind the scene tasks that are necessary to keep the business running. You will also have more time to spend with your family and friends. Balance is important in order to prevent burnout or delivering sloppy work or products. When you are busy burning the candle at both ends something will suffer. You do not want it to be the delivery of your product or service or the way you provide customer service. You must have energy too and a fresh brain in order to be productive.

My three steps will help you make the necessary mindset shift from worker bee to business owner. This mindset shift will help you get off the merry go round of average results and get you on the zip line to over the top profits. Next time you look in the mirror you will see yourself as the head of a successful delegating work, following up on projects and making sound business decisions.

Your 2012 Roadmap to Success

When:  January 23, 2011

Time: 0900-1600

Location: Hampton Inn – Pine Knoll Shore, North Carolina

What are you willing to do to make your business a success?

Most business owners will give a resounding- Yes! When asked if they want a successful business but when asked if they are willing to fight for it or give up some niceties, they start to think twice.

When we see business superstars like Tony Robbins or Southwest Airlines, we’re seeing the results of the work they put into their business to become successful.  Tony Robbins lived in a small, low rent apartment in Los Angeles and could only dream of living the lifestyle he does today. He started his motivational career promoting seminars for someone else and it was many years before he achieved superstar status. Southwest Airlines was originally prohibited to fly because of an injunction filed by their competitors and had to fight in court for years before finally being granted approval.

You can create a steady flow of new customers in your business

When you make the mindset shift to do what is necessary to build your business, opportunities will flow. Eating Ramen noodles in order to invest in your business will allow you to enjoy caviar later on. And you don’t have to go it alone. There are no magic bullets but there are proven ways to attract new customers and create a more even stream of profits in your business if you are willing to put in the effort.

http://strategicsuccessformula.com/

I’m Coach Jaynine Howard and if you’ve been following me, you know that I specialize in showing business owners how to achieve exponential growth while remaining debt free

SPECIAL OFFER FOR MY BLOG READERS ONLY – Regular Price is $90 – email me and mention my blog offer and you can attend for $45.00 – offer good thru Friday, January 13, 2012.

NEW for 2012

Business Expo Success 101 - Coach Jaynine’s Step by Step Guide to Maximizing Your ROI

Do you know what to do to ensure success at a Business Expo or Trade Show? There are many hidden costs to consider besides being able to pay for your booth. This course will have you reviewing your goals and conducting a pre-event inventory. You will also learn what to do the day of the event and design your after the expo strategy. Included in this course is an expo budget, before the expo checklist, day of the event checklist, follow up strategy, media release template and a Rolodex of resources.

I often hear that sending a handwritten thank you note is so “last year” or “old fashioned”. When I’m social media sites and post I’m writing thank you notes I am immediately bombarded by people trying to sell me one of the many services that you can subscribe to that will send a thank you note for you. I don’t think machine written and signed thank you notes have the same sincerity as an “old fashioned” handwritten thank you note.  Below are my personal experiences that show the ROI (return on investment) of sending a handwritten thank you note.

1. Job Offer – We are often told to send a thank you note after a job interview. I, like most people, thought this was corny. However, I sent a thank you note after having a job interview for a job I really wanted. Guess what, I received an offer for the job. After this experience I have sent a thank you note after every job interview and I have been offered every job.  A handwritten thank you note is key to standing out amongst the competition in today’s highly competitive job market. One thank you note netted me a job offer of over 32 thousand dollars and a subsequent thank you note netted me a job offer of 60 thousand dollars.

2. Paid Speaking Engagement – Recently I attended a conference and sent the conference organizer a handwritten thank you note. He emailed me thanking me for the note and commented that no one sends them any longer. The conference organizer then asked if I was available to be a paid speaker at various upcoming conferences he had scheduled. He stopped by my office the following week and offered me an additional paid speaking engagement. This one thank you note has netted me over one thousand dollars so far.

3. Relationship Building – Thank you notes are a great way to build relationships. If you recently received a gift basket or other type of gift by winning a raffle the thank you note will not only show the business owner that provided the gift basket that you appreciated it but it will also show that you were raised with manners. This starts the rapport building process.

4. Repeat Clients & Referrals – Do you send thank you notes to your clients? I have and it pays off in customers that feel valued. Valued customers and clients will refer people to your business resulting in additional revenue. They will also return to do business with you. Your return on investment is unlimited.

5. Joint Ventures – When you read an article or blog that has great content do you send a thank you note to let the author know how much you appreciated it? This strategy has led to several joint ventures that has increased my business revenue.

Thank you notes are not a thing of the past. Hand written thank you notes are something you should be sending on a regular basis after receiving a gift, learning a new strategy or attending a job interview. Do not worry that you have horrible handwriting. The recipient will appreciate the time and effort you took to show your appreciate. The return on investment is unlimited. I encourage you to go right now and purchase a package of thank you notes and a book of stamps to keep on hand. This small investment will net you big returns.

Jaynine, is the Coach for the Military.

Coach Jaynine is a retired United States Marine, former psychotherapist and a doctoral candidate. She is the international business and life coach who has a proven track record for helping business owners increase their revenue by at least 8-10% each year during the most recent recession. She has also been known to get the phone ringing within 45 minutes of posting a resume online and helping her clients land a job within five days through the use of networking. Jaynine was recently referred to as the “Jillian Michaels” of the coaching industry. Are you following her on Facebook?