Keep Your Eyes On The Horizon, But Leave The Back Door Open
You've probably heard the saying that good things don't always come to you the way you expect them to. That's why it's best not to get too focused on "how" something is going to come about, but more on what it is you want to create or achieve.My goal, like yours, is to grow my business, so I constantly explore avenues and possibilities for expansion.Sometimes acting on certain opportunities have brought me to dead ends.And sometimes they've taken me miles away from where I thought I'd end up, but surprisingly, to a much better place than I ever imagined.Here's one such example...Because I conduct my business primarily over the telephone and Internet, I never made an effort to integrate into my own community. Coaching was, and still is, virtually unknown in these parts.A year ago, I decided to open a chapter of a national women's business group in my city. The organization has a solid platform and is rapidly expanding across Canada and the U.S. It provides national exposure, training, networking opportunities, and support and resources for entrepreneurs and executives.Through this alliance, I saw the potential to integrate myself into my local business community while providing my fellow business owners with the venue to learn, connect and grow their businesses on a much larger scale.I envisioned a large gathering of passionate business owners who would embrace the concept and opportunity as heartily as I had.Unfortunately, only a select few were able to think bigger and bolder than the masses. The majority of business owners were satisfied with their businesses remaining "as is". They were comfortable with where they were.After almost a year of attempts to build the group from the small number I had enlisted, I decided to let it fold. The efforts were taking me away from focusing on my own business and the dismal results gave me the answers I needed.This was something my city was not ready for. At least, not just yet.When I first envisioned the dream of one hundred or more local business women embracing the concept and helping each other grow their businesses, I was excited and couldn't see how anyone wouldn't want to be a part of it.And, based on the failure of this attempt, I could be frustrated and remorseful for taking the chance, but the experience

Finding the Right Candidate for the Job
Do you ever feel like you just can’t find the right person for the job? Don’t know where to find them or how to find them? Most of the time, the best candidate for your position is hard at work for someone else. They are doing a great job where they are, and they feel generally satisfied with the job they have.People who are satisfied at their current place of work aren’t actively looking for a new place to work. They don’t search the want ads everyday. Although, I have known professionals to look over the ads occasionally, just to see what opportunities are out there. The question is how to find these employees when they aren’t looking for you. There are several methods that employers can use.Employee referral systems are used by several companies, and they can generate a large applicant pool. For instance, I’ve worked with a company that offered incentives to employees who referred friends that were hired and successfully stayed with the company. Systems like these can be very useful in identifying excellent employees that the company may not have known about otherwise.However, you should also be aware of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) concerns over building diverse candidate pools and the reliability of the person you receive the referral from. Always document your recruitment process, including employee referral systems. If you don’t currently have a diverse workforce, be sure to include other recruitment methods that will increase your diversity. How seriously you should consider an employee referral can depend greatly on the performance and position of the employee making the referral. If they are a hard working, well liked employee, then they likely wouldn’t recommend someone unless that person would make a good employee.As a Human Resource Manager, part of my responsibility was to recruit other managers and specialty sales people. The company understood that great managerial candidates weren’t going to voluntarily apply very often, and there was a continuous need for good bench strength to supply the nationwide growth of the company. I, along with other upper management team members, was expected to go out and find these people at their current jobs. The goal was to discreetly talk to them, find out about their interest, and give them a business card. We were very careful not

Presenters Don't Have to Be Beautiful - Presentations Do
Not long ago I was invited by a colleague to a presentation for potential real estate investors. A builder and a realtor had joined forces to build a multi-million dollar property with the help of investors in the hopes of selling it for a hefty profit. The presentation was relatively informal, taking place on a Sunday afternoon.It began with an introduction by a junior member of the real estate arm, who turned the “stage” over to the builder. Lo and behold, a woman about 6 feet tall, in her mid to late sixties stood up and, began with, “Don’t mind the cough, its pneumonia, but it’s not contagious.” If that wasn’t enough to send the audience packing, her physical appearance was diametrically opposed to the ideas of “promotion” and “sales”. She had one of the sorrier body shapes I’d ever witnessed; going out where a women’s body typically goes in and vice-versa. The snug black knit outfit she had on only emphasized her "figure". In addition, her slip was flying like a flag outside the slit of her skirt. Her hair was a version of blonde not known in the natural hair color spectrum; her make-up was both too pale (skin) and too bright (lips and eyes). To top things off, she was sporting an inordinate amount of jewelry, both cosmetic and real, all of which looked very expensive, none of which matched itself or her outfit.“Phew!” I hear you thinking, “Quick! Get the hook!” Not so fast. Once she began talking about real estate investment in general, and the property she was designing and building in particular, all thoughts or preoccupations about her appearance drifted away. This woman was the “real deal”, and her knowledge and passion came through loud and clear. Her explanations of how profit was to be gained through this kind of investment were presented in such a clear understandable way; a 6 year old would have understood her. Her reasoning and enthusiasm for her project were infectious. Despite a rocky start, (and an uncanny resemblance to Ursula the Sea Witch from Disney’s "The Little Mermaid") this woman was one of the best presenters I’d ever seen. And what a sales woman!The moral of this story? When it comes to presenting, you really can't judge a book by its cover. While I am in no way advocating you try and look anything buy put-together, polished, and professional when speaking, you don't have to conc

What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate - Why Do We Need A Corporate Renewal Industry?
According to a white paper available on the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) website, signs of a troubled business are (listed in their order):Ineffective management styleOver diversificationWeak financial functionPoor lender relationshipsLack of operating controlsMarket lagExplosive growthPrecarious customer baseFamily vs. business mattersOperating without a business planWith the possible exception of an ineffective management style signs 2 – 9 can be viewed as symptoms or effects of operating without a business plan. No matter how many times it’s said or how tired we are of hearing it its true, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” Has anyone ever told an aspiring business owner that they don’t need a business plan? There hasn’t been a business plan outline published that, if followed and properly applied, wouldn’t project, mitigate or eliminate any of the problems sited. Why, for example, do you have a precarious customer base? Are you trying to supply a product or service that’s unwanted or over priced? Maybe you have non-existent or poor customer service. A little market research or competitive analysis while generating the business plan may have led to a different product presented at a more acceptable price. How about over diversification? Growth paths and methods would be delineated in a proper business plan.Granted, conditions change as the company grows. All of a sudden you have employees and you’re presented with different opportunities. The business plan becomes out dated and the folks at the front line may not even know it exists. All the time and money spent preparing a business plan was wasted, right? WRONG! Let me say it again, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. If any time and money were wasted it’s because you didn’t make the plan a living, guiding document and you probably didn’t engrain it in all of your employees. You treated your plan as just another hoop to be jumped through or box to be checked off.Business plans cost time and resources from the time you put pen to paper to the eventual liquidation. There is no escaping the expense. It’s just a matter of how you want to distribute the cost. You can spend it up front with your blood, sweat and tears, or perhaps hire a consultant to guide you, with less

Four Common Sense Ways To Increase The Sale Price Of Your Business
Right now, two different clients want to sell their respective businesses and they want to know what they should be doing to increase its value. If you are planning on selling your business, invest time and effort upfront to increase its value. And the best time to start is right now.Here are four key activities that help to increase the selling price of your business:Build a strong brand. People buy brands, brands facilitate the selling process. The stronger your brand, the more customers you attract and the more it is worth to the buyer of your business. Try to keep away from business names that are your name. The problem is that it can be hard to disconnect businesses from individuals so it is far better to have a generic brand name.Automate. Automate. Automate. Wherever possible, automate. The slicker the process, the better the efficiency. The better the efficiency, the less the costs of unnecessary things like duplication of effort and manual process.Make it hard for your competitors. There are several things you can do to make it hard for competitors. You can hold exclusive rights or patents. Trademarks can stop others from encroaching on your turf as well as some cyber cleverness such as buying key domain names so competitors cannot use them. Own the generic phone word (or vanity number) for your industry. You can also create competitive advantage by cannibalising your own product frequently so competitors cannot keep up with you and by creating strong positioning in the market.Always keep detailed and honest records, both financial and customer. Good Accountants are one of the finest investments you can make. Ask around your network to find out who people use. Audit your books using an independent auditor to be credible. Even better, collect good customer records and categorize (or segment) them too. Be able to show potential buyers how much return business you generate and from whom, and show how the buyer can target different groups of customers with different products.

Graduate School: Should You Go?
You don’t need to go to graduate school. This is true. You’ve got your college degree and this will help you maintain a roomy house in a nice neighborhood. But what will a graduate degree do for you?First, there is a little more money. Lifetime earnings average $234,000 more than an individual with just a bachelor’s degree. But if you got a doctorate, then increase the amount by $504,000 above the master’s level. Doctoral education along with the apprenticeship work can take 10 years or longer. And the 10 years are some of the most grueling work you’ll ever do. So let’s focus on just the graduate degree. Whew.Another reason for obtaining a graduate degree is to make yourself more valuable to your employer. They aren’t going to can the guy with the MBA. In this age of layoffs and cutbacks, you need a competitive advantage over your coworker. Everyone is replaceable. If you think you aren’t, better think twice. Just make it harder on your employer to find another employee with a graduate degree at your salary. See what I mean?Getting your graduate degree usually entails being motivated by some other source. I started my graduate program when I decided to leave my current job. I wanted that advantage over the next applicant when I found the job I was looking for. The people in my class were of the same caliber. Some were just getting the degree “while they were still in school mode”. Most of the others were like me, going back the 2nd time for actual learning and motivation to find something better than our current jobs.But you don’t need an MBA to get a job – right? True, but it does make it a lot easier finding and holding a job you like and getting compensated for your education. I took a career path after college for several years. After a while, I realized I had time before retirement for another full and complete career of something totally different. Nobody says you have to work at the same place for 35 years. I know a lot of folks who do.The main thing is – you’ve got time to decide where you want to go and what you want to be. Me? I quit that dead end job. I enjoyed my MBA classes so much I want to be a college instructor. Don’t think I can handle the doctoral program yet, but in time. . .maybe. What are your interests? Find them. Set goals. You can do it.