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“Work smarter, not harder.” We have all probably heard that saying before. It’s great advice, but many entrepreneurs fail to work smarter and they grind it out and work harder.  Which leads to frustration, stress, and burnout. On the other hand, working smarter leads to a work/life balance, control, and focus.

Here are 10 simple ways to get business SMART:

1. Come up for some air.  This takes on two different meanings. One is, take some time away from your business. You need to recharge your batteries every now and then. The other meaning is that you need to get out of your office and visit other departments within your business. You cannot really understand what is going on in your business if you stay in your glass tower.

• Talk with other. Take employees/managers/sales from other department out for lunch and really get to know them. Try not to talk shop, get to really know them. Listen to their ideas about the business. You will be surprised on what you will find out.

• Spend time with your customers. Find out what the customers REALLY want.  Your customers will tell you what they want from your company – ask them. Take customer service calls, and really hear their concerns.

• Get a business mentor. Find someone who knows the business and get them to help you. Get a Score mentor to keep you focused and on track. Get that outside perspective. Sorry to tell you this, but, your way may not be the best way.

• Read a book.  Yes, a real book. Read about business, marketing, sales, accounting, and leadership, grow your knowledge base which will help you grow your business.

• SSSPA. Stop speaking in acronyms. Others will understand you better when you translate techspeak into standard English.  Many of your employees may not know your acronyms which leads to confusion. Be clear.

• Brush up on your social skills.  Soft skills are the hot trend today in finding staff, therefore you should have great social skills. Learning new communication techniques will help when IT and marketing cannot communicate properly. You can step in and smooth it all out while educating your departments.

• Look for another answer. So many times, business leaders think they know the answer to solve a problem and many times it is technology. Realize that technology cannot solve every business problem. This is that “thinking outside the box” time.

• Ask Questions. Believe it or not, someone, somewhere has been in your shoes before. If you are not getting answers to your questions – ASK! Ask questions, don’t tell-get answers. A great leader asks lots of questions.

1. Get a consensus on terms. Get to the bottom of any failure of communication. Most issues within business arise from poor communication. What sounds clear to you, may sound like mud to someone else. Be clear when you communicate. Ask questions to make sure everyone is clear and on the same page.

There are many other ways to work smarter within your business, but these are 10 very simple solutions. As you see, most focus around communication. Get a mentor to help with your communication style to meet the needs of others, which will help you be smarter in your business.

Get Smart!

#business #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #growyourbusiness

The primary goals of all chambers of commerce is to obtain new members and retain their membership base. Everything else is secondary – the lead/referral groups, ambassador programs, public forums, awards, networking, mixers, advocacy, government forums, leadership programs, boards, committees, and philanthropy is all secondary and even tertiary.

Without members, none of those programs matter. Members are the life blood of all chambers no matter in what town, city, or country they are in. Therefore, the CEO and chamber staff should be respectful and thankful for their members (AKA Clients).

Having been a member of many different chambers they all have the same properties. Usually a dynamic CEO, some self-serving staff, some caring engaged staff, similar events/programs and of course the usually cliques within the membership and staff.

The chambers all bank on those non-active members. You know, those members that never participate in anything, complain they don’t get any business from the chamber, but keep paying their membership fee.

The chamber has a love/hate relationship with these types of members. The staff complains about those non-participating members, but love them around renewal time. The chamber is always wondering how to engage them into the chamber, but fail to do the simplest thing to do in the world. Ask those members what they would like to get out of their membership.

How do I know this? Well, a few chambers along with a few other networking/referral groups had me investigate their programs on why membership engagement is declining. What I found out could be related to any social, fraternal, industrial, trade group/association. The results were always the same.

Chambers need to show VALUE to their membership base – real or perceived. Real value may be that the chamber is your advocate in getting zoning changed for your business to expand. Going through the normal process many cost you thousands and thousands of dollars and lots of aggravation. The chamber could use their influence with the local city/county/state officials and assist you with that zoning change. The chamber could even set your business up to be a preferred vendor for a large company that is moving into your area, since they were actively engaged in getting that company to move to the area.  These are real dollar values.

Perceived value may be those networking events. The members love them because they get to network with other business owner to create long-term relationships. I say this type of event is preserved value because if the member added up all their time they spent at this event throughout the year (including travel time), they multiplied that number by their hourly rate (annual gross income divided by 2,080 (work hours in a year)) and add all the fees or costs associated with this one event. That number is usually greater than the total amount of business they received from that event.

I’ve presented this preserved value to many different groups and the audience always says, “No Way!” and then proceeded to argue with me that they are getting real value out of that event.

I just ask them what is their return on their investment (ROI) for that event not even taking into consideration their annual fee. The answers are usually made up with lots of embarrassment in their voice.  Don’t be embarrassed. This is because 99% of business owners do not measure this activity. They should be tracking costs versus income because this program is a marketing activity.

Now if they measured this activity it would be a “real value” and not a “perceived value.”

For an experiment, years ago, I tracked all my costs associated with one chamber including all membership fees, my time, all additional chamber costs (lunch and learns, award programs, donations, etc.), as well as all direct sales to fellow members and all sales from member referrals. This was easy to track since I asked every customer how they heard about us and put that data in the point of sale system.

The results were shocking. That membership was totally a perceived value, not real value. I was very active and engaged with the chamber and the other members. I had to drop that membership because it was a smart business decision. Other chamber memberships have only had perceived value and I have stayed a member because I really enjoyed being part of that chamber, their members as well as their staff.

So, if you are thinking about joining a chamber, think what would you like to get out of your membership-obviously, sales is the number 1 answer, or are you looking to network and build a referral sales system. Talk with the chamber CEO and let them know what you’re looking for out of your membership. Only the expanding chambers will ask you, all the other you must tell them, because they will never ask you. I am a huge supporter of chambers, but every chamber has a different agenda (political, social, community, etc.) and you need to find the right chamber that fits what you want out of the chamber.

Measure your ROI on your chamber membership – the results may shock you.

#chambers #business #bizcoachstevef #growyourbusiness #networking

What is the difference between a hobby or a business?

The difference is: 

If you are selling goods or services and making money (profit) at your venture, then it is a business. If you are providing goods or services and giving it away or just barley breaking even — it’s a hobby.  

There is no dollar threshold to cross or any sales numbers you must achieve to be considered a business. All you need is a reasonable expectation of making a profit and proving the profit motive. If you are profitable year after year, there’s no argument you’re in business. But if you have losses year after year, the IRS may view your activities as a hobby.

Hobbies that literally anything that provides value to others could potentially be monetized and turned into businesses. Would people buy from you? If so, you really could create a profitable business. If you can do something you love and get paid for it, that’s not real work right? But before you go and quit your day job, I want to encourage and caution you at the same time. There is a big difference between making some extra pocket change at holiday time and running a small business full-time.

Every year millions of people believe they can turn their hobby into a business. A very high majority of them fail in their new venture. WHY?

The problem is that many of us are afraid to take action, even when we know we have a marketable skill, because we are afraid of failure. We fear that if we attempt to monetize a hobby and fail, we’ll no longer feel joy or satisfaction from the activity at all… or others will regard us differently.

This can be a scary proposition that may prevent many talented individuals from pursuing their dream. If this sounds familiar to you, then listen up.

Trying to monetize a hobby isn’t easy, but on the other hand, it certainly isn’t rocket science. With a little preparation and strategic execution, you can enjoy a positive result. 

Here are some tips on how to get started in profiting from your hobby:

1. Do a Self-Assessment. Do you have the energy and stamina to crank out your hobby in volume enough to make it a viable business? Make sure you don’t ruin something that brings you joy. People pursue hobbies to blow off steam. If you add a lot of pressure, you could blow your stack. Do your research to make sure there’s a paying customer before you bet the farm on your hobby. Successful businesses require dedicated work and responsibility. It’s easy to take the fun out of your hobby if you do not plan well.
2. Be sure you’ll still enjoy your hobby if you’re doing it for money. Making money from your hobby may mean meeting deadlines, pleasing demanding customers, and doing your hobby even on days when you don’t feel like it. You’ll have to manage marketing and finances. Be sure you’re willing to juggle all these balls before you turn your hobby into a business. When you leverage your passions and your own personal experiences, you become far more likely to develop a solution that other people are searching for.
3. Know Your Goal. Do you want a full-time business so you can quit your day job? Or are you just looking for a little extra cash to cover expenses? The more you’ll depend on the income from your hobby-business, the harder you’ll need to work at it.
4. Start Your Business as a Side Hustle. You need to first test the waters while you are still working to make sure you have a viable revenue model for your small business. Don’t quit your JOB before making sure your hobby could be a business.  Save all the money you can — I mean really save — not leftover change. You need to save enough money to cover 4 to 6 months of expenses, which includes your personal income.
5. Get really good at what you do — before you quit your job. To make money from your hobby, you’ve got to be good at it. If your skills aren’t yet up to par, make a plan for improving them and put off your business idea until you’re ready.
6. Brainstorm all the ways you could make money from your hobby. You may need to do more than one thing to create a financially sustainable business. For example, if you’re a quilter, you could sell your quilts, but you also could teach quilting classes, open a quilting shop, or design and sell quilting patterns.
7. Adopt a business mindset. A hobby is something you do at your leisure. When you make it a business, you must show up to work. Think of your hobby as your second job and make it a priority in your life. If you want it to become your main source of revenue someday — or at least a sustainable second stream of income — then you have to give it the attention it deserves. Carve out time to work on your hobby, read about the industry, learn about sales and marketing and dedicate yourself to steady improvement. This is how to achieve positive results.
8. Write a business plan. When you write a business plan, you’ll evaluate the market for your hobby-business and prove to yourself that it’s a viable business idea. You’ll learn how much money you need to get started, you’ll set goals, and you’ll plan how you’ll market the business to your customers.
9. Maximize your time. For many people, working a full-time job and then spending extra hours pursuing a hobby isn’t practical. Between kids, significant other, friends and social requirements, you simply don’t have enough hours in the day. In the initial stages, you’ll have to get creative about how you use your time. Perhaps you need to wake up an hour earlier than you’re used to and get some stuff done before your regular job.
10. Learn about marketing. You can be the best in the world at what you do, but if you don’t market your business, you’ll never get customers. Read up on small business marketing and observe how similar businesses promote themselves. Set up a website for your new business and get comfortable using social media. Start making connections online and in your community.
11. Build an online presence. In business today, everybody needs an online presence to generate activity. This means creating and maintaining a website, social media profiles, and everything else that goes into branding yourself as a professional. Keeping consistency in the way you present yourself will give you a more established image, which in turn will result in more fans.
12. Create a brand and stick to it. Your brand is your business identity and what you’ll be known for. A strong brand helps your loyal customers recognize you, just as people instantly know that golden arches mean McDonald’s. Decide on a business name, logo, font, and/or color scheme that reflect your business’s “personality” and use them consistently in your website, social media, and other marketing.
13. Network. A few people will stumble across you online, but a lot of business success happens via word of mouth and networking. You have to be prepared to be active on this side of self-promotion, as well.Find clubs, conferences and groups in your specialty that cater to other professionals in the niche. You’ll learn a lot at these events and get the chance to mingle with people who are at the same stage as you, and preferably a little further. Just be sure you have an elevator speech prepared for moments like those.
    Start networking like it’s a new job. Reach out to all your contacts from college and any business associates to update your contact database. Spend time on at least one social media site to gain insights about your target customer. Use your downtime to do internet research for sourcing vendors and suppliers and to confirm your target market.
14. Get your first customer — even if you have to work for free. Your first customer will give you confidence in your business idea and will make it psychologically easier to market yourself. If necessary, do your first job for free in exchange for a nice review or testimonial. You won’t go from hobby to a million-dollar business in a matter of days. Your number one goal in the beginning stages is to get your first sale. Your first sale is the hardest and most important sale you’ll ever make. While you may believe in your product, it’s important to remember that other people have no reason to believe in it. You haven’t proven yourself yet. Hustle hard for that first sale and then turn one sale into two, two sales into four and so forth.
15. Put your finances in order. You must report your business income and expenses on your tax return and pay quarterly estimated taxes. You may also be required to collect sales tax. The easiest way to keep your business finances straight is to set up a bank account for your business, to keep business and personal finances separate. Meeting with an accountant and investing in accounting software can help you started on the right foot.
16. Use Low-Cost Business Resources. Once you decide that starting a business is for you, there are many books that you can read to develop your plan. You should also make an appointment with your SCORE chapter, which can provide online and face-to-face counseling.
17. Check Out Your Local Library. You can get plenty of market research data help from the business librarian at your local branch. Also, find out information on legal entities, sales taxes, business insurance and small business accounting systems.  There is also opportunity to learn about any business licenses or regulations that you will need to comply with to start your business.
19. Turning your hobby into a full-time business is a great way to become your own boss. Why not work at something you love to do? Just do your researchbefore you start your business. Take the time to write business plan. You’ll need a lot more customers than the 30 people that buy your jewelry to replace your full-time salary. Make sure there’s a market for your goods and services, and start saving money. And remember to give yourself 12 months to develop a plan to become your own boss.

We all have those things we’re most passionate about—so why not turn your hobbies and interests into a career? As you follow these steps, you’ll begin the journey of turning your hobby into a business that can bring you even more satisfaction in the years to come.