Aaaand Action!

One of the biggest secrets to life is taking action.  You won’t get rich sitting on your butt at the beach, you won’t make friends sitting alone watching TV, you won’t get skinny eating churros and hot dogs, and you won’t save the world with your thinking.  Wallace D. Wattles said:

“…that every action is either strong or weak, and when every action is strong we are successful.”

First and most important, I want to encourage you to take action.  If you haven’t been taking action towards getting new clients, haven’t worked on your Facebook Page, don’t think you’ve seen your website in months and don’t know what your bank account looks like, get moving!  You can’t solve your problems or help anyone if you’re not taking action.

Second, take “strong” actions.  This means choosing to do things that make bigger impacts than things that make little impacts.  This means reading a John Maxwell book instead of Men’s Health, working on your website instead of another hour of TV, and giving extra attention to the clients that make you the biggest percentage of your money instead of selling inexpensive odds and ends on Ebay.

Can you start taking action and take strong actions at the same time?  Yes, but usually you have to learn what are strong actions for you, since my strong actions aren’t necessarily the same as yours.

However, don’t think that by always taking action you’ll end up far ahead (but that’s the topic for next week).

So today, what’s one action, or one strong action, you will take for your business or your life?

Fostering Friendships

Whether we’re talking about the family members (who we couldn’t really choose) or the friends in our lives, we don’t spend enough time developing those relationships.  Sure some of those relationships are painful, but at the end of the day, would you regret more that you did or didn’t try to build that friendship?

So what are some qualities that can be found in good friendships?

peace

respect

compassion

honesty

trust

loyalty

communication

time

fun

love

partnership

Do you know what the cool thing about all these are?  They can all be developed, regrown or introduced into a friendship at any time.  Maybe you’ve screwed up in the past, maybe your separation is their fault.  Whatever the truth is (and it ultimately doesn’t matter), I encourage you to take the time to build up or rebuild the friendships that matter to you.

Love in Buisness

I could be wrong, but most likely one of the first reasons you started a business was because you wanted to do what you loved.  Am I wrong? Maybe it was about the money, but let’s face it, you probably didn’t start a business doing something you hate. One thing I always tell clients is that when you’re not excited or passionate about your work anymore, first remember why you’re running this business.  Second, re-evaluate what you’re doing and see if it is time to pass it off to someone else or make some changes.

I do the different things I do because I love doing them!  It’s been an exciting journey the past few years working on what I love and becoming successful doing them.  But, I know that when I start feeling agitated or start avoiding certain people or things it’s time to start changing.

I think the key to being successful, as an employee, employer, or business owner, is to do what you love, or at least be with those you love.  Everyone isn’t cut out to be CEO’s, nor is everyone able to do some of the tasks we take for granted.

As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to make your employees love the job as much as possible.  No, they won’t love all the aspects, rules or responsibilities, but you can make the environment a happy one and teach them to do a good job representing you.

This month as we talk about love, think about what you love about your business.  Maybe you love the hours, money, clients, variety, flexibility, control, responsibility, adventure or just the journey.  Would you share what you love below?  Your love could inspire someone else.

Heart Smart

We all know the basics to a healthy life right? Eat right, exercise, love people, and enjoy life.  Yet heart disease is still a big killer for both men and women.  So here are some suggestions that are easy enough to do and are a good start to getting your family healthy.

Food:

Cut down on red meat, processed meat, processed food, fatty foods and excess sugar and salt.

Start using more spices on your food and less fatty dressings/sauces.

Start drinking more water.

Start taking supplements that help your body function and heal from the harmful things in the environment.

Start eating whole grains, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Treat yourself to the occasional piece of chocolate with nuts, potato chips, ice cream or other “snack.”

Exercise:

Stop the excuses!

Start parking farther away from places and walking (stay safe though!)

Start stretching daily and exercising at least weekly (perhaps with a partner or best friend).

Love People:

Life is SHORT.  There’s absolutely no time to hold grudges, hate others, or stew in unforgiveness.

Enjoy Life:

Quit the miserable job.

Work where you actually enjoy and can contribute with passion, whether it’s a job or starting your own business.

Do something each day that makes you smile (no matter how silly or seemingly insignificant)!

What would you suggest people stop or start to not only benefit their hearts but also their lives? 

I Believe in Leadership

“If people believe in themselves it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”
Sam Walton

Sam Walton, whether you like it or not, created one of the biggest companies in the world-Walmart. How?  By seeing what people wanted, learning from other store’s mistakes, planning and taking chances.  Walton knew then what is being realized now: leaders who really want to make things happen invest in people.

A leader, by it’s very definition, has people who follow them.  A good leader, in my opinion, not only has followers, but raises those followers up to be leaders too.  Thus, I think Sam Walton is correct in acknowledging the power of belief.  Good leaders teach followers that they are just as important and valuable as the leader, and takes the time to care for and support them.

Does this mean you have to help your current clients grow and learn to the point where they don’t need your services?   No, but it means that in addition to doing what you’re paid to do, I encourage you to take the time to make them a leader in their own way and field.  Actually, if they’re smart they’ll keep working with you even after they’ve become big leaders because they know the value you’ve brought them already.

That said, I have 2 questions for you:

Do your clients believe in themselves?  Do they believe that they have value and are important, not only to you as a client but to the world?

and

What can you do to help your clients believe in themselves more?

If we all believed in ourselves, I think we could save the economy, planet and human race.  What will you do today to encourage someone?

Family Love

It’s always been said that you can’t choose your family.  And that’s very true.  They can’t choose you and you can’t choose them.  But you can choose how you treat each other.  In thoughts of Valentine’s Day, I want to encourage you to choose love.  How can you show your family you love them?

-listen

-put down the electronics

-read together

-go on weekend trips together

-attend their games and sporting events

-pray together

-work together

-discuss challenges together

-learn money management together

-tell the truth

-eat together

-have good attitudes

-remember no one is perfect

This Valentine’s Day do something special with your family, take a walk, get ice cream, play a game together or just watch some tv together.  What does your family do that shows love?

A Vision for Business

A new month is here!  How have you been doing as a business owner this month?  Have you made some big steps forward?  I hope so!

Last week we talked about why branding was important to your survival as a business.  What do you think about your brand? Does it reflect who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish as a company?

One of the things I started doing this year was evaluating businesses and their websites to help them get clear on why they’re not getting as many clients as they could.  You know what amazed me the most?  How many companies were trying to be successful without a vision and mission!  Don’t believe it’s important?  Here’s my take:

It’s essential to have a vision and/or mission for the company.  It’s good to know what your ultimate goal is, what you’re in business for and to be able to have something to look towards when you have tough days.  A vision/mission also helps you decide if new products/services you’re considering fit in with the business as a whole.

Even more important than all of that, a vision or mission helps potential customers clearly identify with you on a personal level and helps to bring your company, brand, website, and services together.

A vision or mission statement doesn’t have to be anything complicated, it’s just you telling people where you’re going (or hoping to go) and why with the company.

Where should you put it?  It would fit perfectly on your website’s “About Us” page.

What’s your mission and/or vision statement?  Share yours below.

Romance is in the Air

It’s February!  In the USA we take time in February to think about our relationships that we have and those we wish to have.  Many people have challenges with their relationships, it’s what happens when two different people come together and try to build a life together.  But, I don’t believe that all relationships need to be like pulling teeth, nor does it need to be Valentine’s Day to do something special with your special someone.  Here are 10 ideas that you can do any day of the week, and any time of the year to show your partner that you love them.

1-late night date night-the later the better!

2-sick days-yes, play hookey!

3-ice cream-cones or a pint to yourselves

4-hugs and kisses-any random time will do

5-surprise notes-when was the last time you had a note in your lunch?

6-coffee at lunch-no excuses here! Can’t do dinner? Make it lunch instead

7-pick your own-yes, go vegetable or fruit picking

8-cook together-fun and healthy!

9-go house dreaming-plan or just dream about your future together

10-take a walk-it’s a chance to connect, talk and get exercise!

What do you love to do on the spur of the moment with your partner?

Business Branding

Let’s face it, lots of businesses don’t make it.  They’re either not relevant anymore, couldn’t get off the ground, have fallen to corruption or have come to a reasonable end of their profitable life cycle.  What helps a business stay in business for a really long time?  Over the next few weeks we’ll take a look at some of the things that will help your business stand the test of time.

This week we’re going to take a look at something that some companies lose track of: branding.

What is business branding?  Dictionary.com says that branding is “a particular product or a characteristic that serves to identify a particular product.”  What this means is what separates you from similar businesses like yours is the particular spin (aka brand) you’ve put on your products and services.  Some obvious brands are Disney, Starbucks and Apple.

If you don’t have a company “brand”, you’d better hope that your work is exceptional or don’t expect to last very long or be super successful.   You’d be surprised how many companies I’ve seen who don’t have any branding or unifying aspects at all, or haven’t taken the time to develop them.

Where should your brand be reflected?  On your website, in your products, on your social media pages and in who you are as the leader of the company. If you think about the 3 companies I referenced earlier, they’re all pretty consistent through all of these things.  You don’t have to be as prominent as these 3 companies, but there should be a unifying factor to your company.

If you want to immediately increase your revenues or at the very least increase the number of inquiries you get, check out how your company is being portrayed across the online and physical world.  Not liking what you see?  I’d love to help you get everything in line.  Contact me on my website to find out how easily you can have that consistent branding throughout your marketing and services.