Biz Coach Steve

Tag: Leadership

  • 10 Proven Strategies to Keep Your Best People Happy, Engaged, and Loyal

    10 Proven Strategies to Keep Your Best People Happy, Engaged, and Loyal

    In today’s competitive business landscape, retaining top talent is not just about offering a paycheck. It’s about creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute their best. High-performing employees are the backbone of any successful organization and keeping them engaged requires a thoughtful and strategic approach.

    Here are 10 great strategies to ensure your talented team members stay with you for the long haul:

    1. Set Clear Expectations

    Ambiguity breeds frustration. Ensure that every employee understands their role by providing a clear, concise job description along with expectations. When employees know what’s required of them, they’re more likely to deliver exceptional results. Clearly defined expectations also pave the way for measurable success and accountability.

    2. Encourage Cross-Training and Job Rotation

    Monotony can lead to disengagement, even for your top talent. Let your skilled employees explore different roles within your organization. Cross-training not only enhances their skill sets but also fosters a sense of belonging and flexibility. Plus, a well-rounded team member is an invaluable asset during times of change or crisis.

    3. Equip Your Team for Success

    Do your employees have everything they need to excel? Whether it’s access to technology, ongoing training, or ergonomic tools to enhance their physical comfort, ensure their workspace supports productivity. Knowing their individual strengths and addressing their needs demonstrates that you care about their success.

    4. Streamline Communication

    Nobody likes being left in the dark. Develop a fast and efficient communication system to keep your employees informed about important updates and company strategies. Timely, transparent communication fosters trust and prevents resentment that could arise from finding out critical information secondhand.

    5. Leverage Strengths Every Day

    Great leaders recognize the unique strengths of their team members and allow them to shine in those areas daily. When employees can do what they love and excel at regularly, they’re more engaged, more productive, and more loyal to the organization.

    6. Recognize and Encourage Talent

    Never underestimate the power of recognition. Publicly celebrate achievements and offer private words of encouragement to let your employees know they’re appreciated. Dedicate time to identifying your key players and regularly checking in with them. A simple “thank you” or a moment of acknowledgment can go a long way in building morale.

    7. Partner in Professional Development

    Top talent craves growth. Encourage managers to collaborate with their employees in creating personalized development plans. Managers should take an active role in helping their team members identify and pursue opportunities for advancement, learning, and skill enhancement.

    8. Build Genuine Relationships

    Understanding what drives your employees is key to retaining them. Regularly revisit conversations to uncover what matters most to them—professionally and personally. Needs and ambitions evolve, so staying updated shows you genuinely care about their well-being and career satisfaction.

    9. Train Managers in Productivity Coaching

    Your managers are the linchpin in talent retention. Equip them with the skills to be effective productivity coaches and hold them accountable for fostering talent development. A well-trained manager who actively supports their team’s growth can create a ripple effect of positivity throughout your organization.

    10. Emphasize the “High-Touch” Approach

    In an increasingly digital world, personal connection matters more than ever. Train managers to excel in High-Touch leadership by recognizing, respecting, and rewarding employees for outstanding performance. Whether it’s a handwritten note, a personalized gift, or a verbal acknowledgment during a meeting, meaningful gestures can create lasting loyalty.

    The Bottom Line: Invest in Your People

    Retaining top talent isn’t just about offering perks or a competitive salary—it’s about fostering a culture of respect, growth, and recognition. By implementing these 10 strategies, you’re not just keeping your best people; you’re building a workplace where they’ll want to stay, grow, and thrive.

    Remember: Talented people have options. Make sure your organization remains their first and best choice by demonstrating that you value, respect, and support them every step of the way.

    By focusing on these areas, you’ll not only retain your best talent but also position your organization as a workplace of choice for years to come. Prioritize your people—they’re the ultimate drivers of success!

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker

  • When Should I Review My Business Plan?

    When Should I Review My Business Plan?

    A business plan is often the cornerstone of a company’s launch. Entrepreneurs invest countless hours crafting these detailed documents to secure funding, establish direction, and define goals. Yet, far too often, that painstakingly prepared plan ends up forgotten, tucked away on a shelf or in a drawer. However, a business plan should be a living document, regularly revisited and updated to guide your business through changes and challenges.

    So, when should you review your business plan? Here’s what you need to know.

    At Least Annually: The Bare Minimum:

    Every business owner should review their business plan at least once a year. Leading publications like Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Inc. advocate for an annual update to ensure your plan reflects the current state of your business, industry trends, and future goals.

    An annual review allows you to assess progress, identify emerging opportunities, and address challenges. It’s a chance to realign your strategies and tactics with your overarching vision. Think of it as your business’s annual physical exam—essential for long-term health and success.

    Monthly: Staying on Track:

    For even greater effectiveness, consider reviewing your business plan monthly. This proactive approach can help you ensure your company remains aligned with its objectives while allowing for timely adjustments.

    For example, during my time growing a large business, we committed to monthly reviews of our business plan. Each department revisited the plan, assessed performance against goals, and adjusted strategies as needed. The results were remarkable—every department consistently exceeded expectations. The key was maintaining alignment and focus through regular check-ins.

    Every Quarter: Staying Agile:

    Some companies, like Apple, take an even more dynamic approach by updating their plans quarterly. This allows them to adapt quickly to shifts in market trends, technological advancements, customer behavior, and regulatory changes. A 90-day review cycle ensures your business remains agile, giving you the flexibility to seize opportunities and mitigate risks as they arise. FYI Apple has a business plan department, and they are working 3 years out.

    When Major Changes Happen:

    Beyond scheduled reviews, certain events warrant an immediate update to your business plan. These might include:

    • Shifts in the marketplace: New competitors, regulatory changes, or disruptive innovations.
    • Company growth: Adding new products, services, or locations.
    • Financial changes: Securing new funding, significant revenue fluctuations, or altering your pricing strategy.
    • Ownership or management changes: Bringing in new partners or key team members.

    Your business plan must reflect the current landscape and internal dynamics. By staying up to date, you can ensure that your plan remains relevant and actionable.

    Why Regular Updates Matter:

    A current business plan offers numerous benefits, including:

    1. Clear alignment among stakeholders: If your company has multiple owners or partners, regular updates help ensure everyone shares the same vision and priorities.
    2. New opportunities and threats identified: Revisiting your plan regularly allows you to spot emerging competitors, potential collaborators, or untapped customer segments.
    3. Goal evolution: As your business grows, your objectives will change. Your plan should evolve to reflect these shifts, providing clear and measurable targets.
    4. Improved profitability: Consistent reviews keep you focused on financial performance, helping to identify cost-saving measures or revenue-boosting opportunities.

    Think of your business plan as a GPS for your business. The route you mapped out when you launched may no longer be the best way forward. Regular updates ensure you’re always navigating the most efficient and effective path.

    Involve Your Team:

    In the early days of your business, you likely prepared your plan alone. But as your team grows, their involvement becomes crucial. Engaging your staff in the review and update process fosters buy-in, alignment, and accountability. When your team has a hand in shaping the plan, they’re more likely to embrace its implementation and contribute to its success.

    If you don’t have a team, get with some fellow business owners to bounce ideas off them and receive feedback, input, and resources.

    Making It a Habit:

    To keep your business plan alive and relevant:

    • Set a recurring date for your reviews—annually, quarterly, or monthly.
    • Identify key metrics to evaluate progress and success.
    • Involve your leadership team and other relevant stakeholders.
    • Be honest about what’s working and what isn’t.

    By making plan reviews a regular practice, you can keep your business aligned with your goals and better prepared for the future.

    Dust It Off and Dive In:

    If your business plan has been sitting idle, it’s time to dust it off. Pull it out, review it, and update it to meet the current and future needs of your business. Whether you conduct annual reviews, quarterly updates, or monthly check-ins, the important thing is to make it a habit. A living, evolving business plan is one of the most powerful tools you must ensure your company’s continued growth and success.

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker

  • TEN WAYS TO GET BUSINESS-SMART

    TEN WAYS TO GET BUSINESS-SMART

    In today’s fast-paced, ever-changing business environment, being “business smart” is more crucial than ever. But what does it mean to be business smart, and how can you develop this essential trait?

    What is Being Business Smart?

    Being business smart is more than just understanding the basics of your business and industry. It’s about having the acumen to navigate complex business environments, make informed decisions, and anticipate changes in the market. Business-smart individuals possess a blend of analytical thinking, strategic foresight, adaptability, and an understanding of both the big picture and the finer details. They are resourceful, innovative, and capable of leveraging their knowledge and experience to drive success.

    Ways to Get Business Smart

    1. Continuous Learning: Stay curious and committed to learning. Whether through formal education, online courses, or self-study, continuously expanding your knowledge is key. Familiarize yourself with the latest trends, technologies, and methodologies in your field.

    2. Understand Financials: Mastering the language of finance is crucial. Learn to read financial statements, and understand key metrics like profit margins, cash flow, and ROI. This knowledge will empower you to make data-driven decisions and identify potential financial pitfalls.

    3. Develop Strategic Thinking: Strategic thinking involves looking ahead and planning for the long term. Practice envisioning where your business should be in the future and outline actionable steps to get there. This includes understanding market dynamics and anticipating changes that could impact on your business.

    4. Build Strong Networks: Surround yourself with like-minded professionals and mentors who can offer advice, insights, and opportunities. Networking isn’t just about who you know; it’s about who knows you and values your contributions.

    5. Hone Your Leadership Skills: Effective leadership is at the core of being business smart. This means not only managing teams efficiently but also inspiring and motivating others to achieve collective goals. Leadership skills include communication, emotional intelligence, and decision-making.

    6. Stay Customer-Centric: Understand your customers deeply. What are their needs, pain points, and desires? Being business smart involves anticipating customer needs and delivering value that exceeds their expectations. This customer-first mindset is essential for long-term success.

    7. Embrace Technology: Technology is a powerful enabler in today’s business world. Stay abreast of technological advancements relevant to your industry and explore how they can improve efficiency, enhance customer experience, and drive growth.

    8. Understand the Competition: Know your competition as well as you know your own business. Analyze their strengths and weaknesses and identify gaps in the market that you can exploit. Being aware of competitive moves allows you to stay ahead of the curve.

    9. Adapt to Change: The business world is constantly evolving, and so must you. Cultivate the ability to adapt quickly to changes in the market, technology, and customer preferences. Flexibility and resilience are hallmarks of business-smart individuals.

    10. Develop Problem-Solving Skills: Problems are inevitable in business, but how you handle them sets you apart. Sharpen your problem-solving skills by tackling challenges head-on, considering multiple solutions, and learning from past mistakes.

    Becoming business smart is not a destination but a journey. It involves continuously refining your skills, knowledge, and mindset to stay competitive and effective in the business world. By embracing these 10 strategies, you’ll be well on your way to developing the acumen needed to thrive in today’s dynamic marketplace. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a seasoned executive, or just starting out, being business-smart is your ticket to success.

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker

  • 5 Simple Tips to Speak Passionately, Without Getting Overly Emotional

    5 Simple Tips to Speak Passionately, Without Getting Overly Emotional

    Showing emotion is usually a good thing in business, but you still want to come across as focused, not frazzled.

    Good speakers are passionate—and it shows. Bad speakers are dull, plodding, humdrum. There’s no sense they are passionate about their business. Showing that you truly care about your business can go a long way toward winning over your listeners.

    But passion in speaking is like adding a powerful spice to your dish when cooking. If you’ve ever added cayenne pepper to a dish, you know you need to be careful to use just the right amount. Too much emotion in your speaking is like dumping way too much cayenne and it will be the only thing anyone will notice, and they won’t want to finish.

    Here are five simple tips to be an effective, passionate communicator who doesn’t wind up sounding overly emotional.

    1. Feeling That Doesn’t Kill the Content:

    When you speak with passion, your message has vibrancy and color. Passion brings your message to life by showing that you’re fully invested in what you’re talking about—your feelings about your subject are on full display. But if you’re too passionate, that feeling will overpower the content.

    Your audience gets blinded by the intensity of your emotions, loses focus on what you’re saying, and thinks “What exactly is their message?” You must find the right balance between feeling and purpose. Make sure your emotions enliven your subject but don’t supersede it.

    2. Deliberate Movements:

    When you add passion to your speaking, you engage your audience with your movement. Whether you’re using gestures or walking around during your presentation, you must move mindfully to avoid distracting your audience. Taking a well-timed step toward your audience or a strong hand gesture can add impact.

    When you’re too emotional, your voice becomes sharp, and you end up shouting at your audience. They’ll hear you, but they won’t be listening. But when you’re too emotional, your movements often come in flurries of hand-waving or continuous pacing—movements that aren’t connected to your message in a meaningful way. You may not even notice you’re doing that, but your audience will. Your behavior can seem jerky, random, and repetitive. You become so caught up in your feelings that you may not even realize that you’re moving or repeating yourself. Remember, you want to come across as focused, not frazzled.

    3. A Powerful (But Not Overpowering) Voice:

    Passionate speakers’ voices capture their audience’s attention. They’re clear and commanding. But power does not mean high volume—you can be a passionate speaker with a quiet intensity to your voice. You can also use contrast to highlight points of passion without overwhelming your audience: Change your tone or emphasis at key places in your talk, then fall back into a more relaxed voice later. When you’re too emotional, your voice becomes sharp, and you end up shouting at your audience. They’ll hear you, but they won’t be listening. Try this with your 30-second elevator pitch.

    4. Dimensionality:

    Incorporate peaks and valleys into the way you communicate. You can build crescendos by telling compelling stories and using rhythm, then you can drop down to consolidate meaning and prepare for your next point. This isn’t strictly about tone of voice—it’s about structure. But that will impact the way you sound.

    This mix of passion and substance will keep your audience engaged. But when you’re too emotional, you tend to stay at the same level of high-pitched excitement, without changing pace or tone. Stay at this level too long, and you’ll exhaust your audience and lose their attention. A passionate speaker is like a talented DJ who’s fully immersed in the music but knows when to mix things up.

    5. Clarity:

    When speaking passionately, your points still need to flow logically from one to the next, always making sure to emphasize the main idea you want to get across. You’re not overly formal, but you still get to the point. If you go overboard with emotion, you get into stream-of-consciousness thinking. You go off on tangents—even tangents of tangents. Your audience stops following you, and everyone gets lost. It’s as if you’re lost on a long hike in the middle of the woods. You forget how you got there, and you don’t know where to go next.

    Passion is great, but too much can derail an otherwise solid presentation. By recognizing the differences between being passionate and being too emotional, you can find the right balance to inspire your audience, not stress them out.

    I’m sure we have all heard hundreds of elevator pitches. Some are great and use the 5 tips mentioned above. And others leave you confused about what that person does. Practice your 30-second elevator pitch using these tips and capture your audience and have them want to talk to you afterward. As a business owner/leader, you should be passionate about your business. Let it show in the right ways.

  • How can leadership training help YOUR bottom line?

    How can leadership training help YOUR bottom line?

    “We’ve always done it that way!”

    A phrase spoken by owners, managers, and employees when a business is failing or operating below its true potential. And what is that way? Most often, it’s not the old-style patriarchal leadership way. When it comes to progress and success in today’s competitive environment, authoritarian business leaders are as effective as kings and dictators are for their nations’ economies.

    They control their people but, in doing so, they create an environment of stagnation that fails to tap into their population’s talents and ambitions. Leadership training can help a business owner learn how to lead people in a way that brings out their best and encourages them to take ownership.

    In a diverse country such as America, this also requires knowledge about generational and cultural differences and the best approaches to communicate and motivate each one.

    “The best leaders and managers invite staff to fully invest in their success.” As a highly successful business owner stated at a CEO conference.

    The top-down, one-way communication style died in 1988, yet some [small business owners] still use it because they are used to making all the decisions. This holds very true today.

    With today’s demographics and worker shortages, small businesses need to have a very solid plan for attraction, retention, and succession. All that starts with the leader’s vision and leadership style.

    Demand and control as an effective management style is dead — or, at least, on its way out –because that’s not a style that will work with younger employers. You need to engage them if you want to keep them, and if you want to keep them you have to understand where you want to go, and they have to see you as a person who wants to develop them.

    Another benefit of leadership training for small business owners is that they can use what they have learned and pass it on to their team. In many ways, today’s best leaders are the ones who can instill leadership skills in all their employees.

    But many experts and studies have shown, part of that means that the leader must know how to walk the talk.

    Integrity is a big part of this.

    You will not be motivated, and you will not lead people well if you say one thing and are doing something else entirely. Leadership by example is one of the strongest ways to get alignment and alignment is key to achieving your goals.

    What leadership training have you completed in the last year? In the past 5 years?

    Have you used what you learned in your business?

    Having leadership training in your business is critical to business success nowadays.

  • Time Management Test

    Time Management Test

    Being a business owner, you have two very precious commodities. Time and Money.  You can always make/borrow more money. But you cannot get your time back.  One of the biggest killers of small businesses is poor time management. Everything you do in your business must be to grow your business, sell your product or service, adding value to your customers.  If you are busy emptying out the trash and cleaning your office during operating hours, you are wasting your time, money, and a very precious commodity.

    There are many different time management techniques available for you to use.  Just find one that works best for you.  It could be a filo-fax, desk calendar, Google calendar, or anything.  Just use a calendar religiously to keep you on task and to move your business forward. Everything needs to go on your calendar. Block out time for calls, then make sure you have your call list (name, title, phone number, why you are calling, and what you want to get out of the call) ready to go. Make these lists in your non-operating hours. Maybe after the business closes or on the weekend. Don’t waste time creating your call list when you should be dialing and smiling.

    Here is a simple time management assessment to see how well you are using your time.  Put a score after each statement, then you will add them up at the end. Scoring: 1=Not like me at all, 2=Not like me, 3=Neither like me or not, 4=Like me, and 5=Very much like me.  Be honest with your scoring.

    I hardly ever make a commitment to a deadline I can’t keep: __

    I generally answer emails and return phone calls right away: __

    Once I have the information I need, I usually make decisions quickly: __

    I am generally able to fit an unscheduled “urgent” action item into my day: __

    I usually feel satisfied with what I’ve accomplished at the end of the week: __

    I seldom find myself running out of time when trying to complete a task: __

    I generally like to focus on one thing at a time: __

    I rarely procrastinate over “not fun” tasks. The sooner the tasks get done, the better: __

    I often don’t get jobs done for days, even if they require little effort to sit down and do them: _

    I frequently leave things for “tomorrow”: __

    When faced with a huge task, I chunk it down & figure out what to do 1st so I can get going: __

    I often have a task finished sooner than necessary: __

    I never have to waste time looking for things. I usually know where everything is: __

    When deadlines are getting close, I often waste time by doing other things: __

    I find it easy to say “No” to requests that are not my priorities: __

    Scoring Key:

    46 – 75            Congratulations! Your time management is fantastic!

    31 – 45            Very good! But there is room for improvement.

    15 – 30            Oh dear! The good news is that you can find a lot of time once you improve your time management skills.

    Here are just a few ways you can be more efficient and STOP waiting time.

    PRIORITIZING AND ORGANIZATION

    • Take 30 minutes on Sunday to plan your week ahead
    • Make a daily To-do-list
    • Prioritize
    • Assign the time you will need to finish the task
    • Start doing
    • Identify the five most important things on your list and do them
    • Spend the first 15 minutes of every morning looking over your to-do-list
    • Set fixed times every day for uninterrupted work and communicate them
    • If you can do the task in less than 5 minutes, do it RIGHT AWAY
    • Organize your desk before you leave it for the night
    • In the last 15 minutes of the day review your list and prepare for the next day.
    • Stop multitasking! – Do one thing at a time!
    • Work against time – You’ll get your work done faster
    • Limit your phone calls to a max. of five minutes per call
    • Take an hour every week to organize your paperwork
    • Use your email inbox as a to-do list. What’s done gets archived
    • Limit the number of meetings that you attend

    STOP PROCRASTINATION

    • Don’t think! START!
    • Just take the first step
    • Start with the task you least like doing first
    • Make a decision. Any decision.
    • If the task is overwhelming, break it down into mini-tasks

    SAY NO

    • “Sorry. I can’t do this at the moment. I have other priorities”
    • “Now is not a good time. I’m very busy right now”
    • “I’d love to help you but…”
    • “No sorry, I can’t…”
    • Don’t accept any new tasks until you have everything under control
    • Don’t run any errands
    • Set fixed times for checking your emails
    • Set fixed times for your social media activities
    • Leave some time in your schedule or unexpected events
    • Ask yourself every morning: “What is my most important task of today.”

    Starting today, find a time management method that works for you and USE IT!

    Follow the time management tips use your time effectively and grow your business.

  • What did you learn in 2023?

    What did you learn in 2023?

    What lessons did you learn this year?

    Were they positive lessons? Or negative lessons?

    Recently I read the Fast Company magazine on their top 30 most productive people, and I found some very interesting similarities within ALL of these interesting people.  Here they are (in no particular order):

    • They all get adequate sleep. Anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. If you have not been exposed to the mounds of research showing that sleep is very important for us, then here is a summary. You need to get at least 6 to 9 hours of good REM sleep per day. Being sleep-deprived and proud of it is not a positive thing.
    • They all have set schedules made in advance. They know before they go to bed what they are doing the next day, and then they review it in the morning to stay focused and productive.
    • They all have filters on their email and social media. Having a set routine on when they look and respond to emails as well as setting up filters to avoid junk improves their productivity. Same with social media. They all stated they do look at social media, but narrowed down which sites they look at, for what reason, and only in small doses.  They are not scanning Facebook looking for cool GIFs.
    • Most of them exercise. They do some form of exercise, whether it be yoga, working out, etc. Some of them even told us their food habits, which works well for them.
    • They all read – BOOKS. Yes, real paper books.  Studies have shown we retain and process words better on paper than on a tablet, computer, phone, or any other electronic device.  So, set some time out of the day and read.

    Speaking of books. I do a mix of real paper books along with audiobooks within my schedule. Do yourself a HUGE favor and stop listening to the talking heads on the radio while you drive and educate yourself with an audiobook. As Brian Tracy says, turn your car into a rolling university by listening to books while you drive. In 2023, I have read/listened to 67 books.  Many times, I will be reading one book and listening to another in my car.

    Here are some great books that I read/listened to in 2023 (in no particular order):

    • Think and Grow Rich lost secret – Vic Johnston.  This is a great expansion to think and grow rich with a lot of deeper insight into the original book by Napoleon Hill.
    • The One Minute Millionaire – Mark Victor Hansen. Great insight into how to achieve extraordinary wealth and success. Easy to understand examples of wealth creation.
    • The Coaching Habit – Michael Stanier. If you own/lead a business or manage anyone, then this should be on your reading list in 2024. It provides great insight on how you can be a better leader/manager and get more out of your people just by asking great questions.
    • Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg. You may have heard that to form a habit, you need to do it for 21 straight days. This book is right up that alley and gives some great advice on how to develop that positive habit a little easier.
    • ABC’s of Success – Bob Proctor.  An older book, but still very relevant today. Great for new business owners and those business owners looking to get a reboot within their business.
    • Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill. This is always on my annual reading list and it should be on yours as well.  Reading this “Workbook” every year will keep you on your path to success.  Get into a mastermind group to get the most out of this book and improve your life.

    No matter what, we all have learned something this past year. If you haven’t learned one or more new things, then make a plan to learn something new in 2024 and put it into practice to grow your business, or improve your life, maybe move up in the company you work for, get a new job, mentor someone, share your time by volunteering for an organization that you have no affiliation with.  Just learn something new.  I learned how to use a new CRM in 2023.  What did you learn?

    By continually learning you are growing as a person.  Right now, decide what action you are going to take to learn something new in 2024. Read more real books. Take an educational class. Learn a new computer program. Learn martial arts. Just learn.

    I wish you much learning success in 2024.

    Let me know what were your favorite books that you read/listened to in 2023 and why.

  • TODAY!

    TODAY!

    There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

    One of these days is Yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.  Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

    All the money in the world cannot bring back from Yesterday.  We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said.  Yesterday is gone and should be forgotten.

    The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and poor performance.  Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

    Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds—but it will rise.  Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

    This leaves only one day – Today.  Anyone can fight the battles of just one day.  It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities – Yesterday and Tomorrow – that we break down.

    It is not the experience of Today that drives us mad – it is remorse and bitterness for something which happened Yesterday and dread of what tomorrow may bring.

    #

    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, and Author, a coffee enthusiast, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations and conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, steve@bizcoachsteve.com, or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker

  • 11 Simple Ways to Develop a Daily Discipline

    11 Simple Ways to Develop a Daily Discipline

    A business owner I recently reconnected with, who in my opinion is one of the most disciplined business owners I know.  As we were talking, I had to ask him how he stays so disciplined in his business and personal life.

    He shared with me some simple ways anyone can be disciplined. He even stated he does struggle with his discipline every now and then, but he also knows if he stays disciplined, he reaches his goals faster.  He understands how discipline works, and how it shows you are in control of your life. It’s the path to getting anything you want.

    So how do you maintain discipline? By combining an automated brain program—doing whatever needs to be done—with an incredible commitment to your goal.

    It becomes increasingly harder to be disciplined in a society that prizes instant gratification. We are more concerned about feeling good all the time, so we seek immediate pleasures, whether it’s a new car, an exotic trip, or a new partner. Our long-term goals are not so important anymore. We get comfortable and wait for a special event to give our lives meaning, happiness, and success.

    Discipline is the difference between being in control of your future and letting your environment dictate your destiny.

    Discipline means freedom and happiness. It gives you the ability to do what you want because you know you can learn how to achieve any dream you set your mind to3.

    Discipline teaches you how to control your thoughts—and how to be happy in any situation, to visualize positive emotions and triggers, and optimistic mood.

    Discipline builds self-confidence, and mental and physical strength, and inspires you to grow as a human being. With growth comes the ability to enjoy life in deeper, more meaningful ways.

    Anyone can develop discipline. It’s a skill and it’s not complicated—you just must train yourself for it.

    Here’s how:

    1. Set BIG goals. When you challenge yourself to achieve bigger goals, you dedicate yourself to the craft. The more time you spend on it, the harder it becomes to quit. Once you have spent so much sweat, time, and effort on it, if you quit, it will be for nothing. The bigger the goal, the more invested you become.
    2. Set CLEAR goals. Clearly define what your goal means to you and what you will specifically do to achieve it. If you set a goal to live healthier, for example, will you go running every day? At what time and for how long? If there is no clear goal, there is no opportunity to create the specific steps you’d need to do to accomplish it.
    3. Know that everyday matters. When you wake up in the morning, do you know what’s most important for you to accomplish that day? Every goal, every priority, you have set for yourself has to be done – it will determine whether your dream lives or dies.
    4. Don’t argue with the plan. If you want to go to the Olympics, each training session matters; there isn’t one that’s less important than another. It’s the same with everything else in your life. When you start the process, you cannot question it, you cannot hesitate, you cannot back down—you must work hard every single day to reach your dream, full force.
    5. Build a no-matter-what mindset. Build the mindset that no matter what, you will accomplish things when you said you would. No matter what. You must create pressure on yourself, otherwise, nothing will get done. There is good stress and bad stress, and you must make sure you are operating under good stress – butterflies in the stomach, and manageable adrenaline that stimulates you.
    6. Plan a routine. Create a routine that becomes second nature, automatic, and normal. Athletes, for example, know what hours they train, when to break for lunchtime and dinnertime, and when to rest. In training, they know they must do warm-up, main training, cool-down, and recovery. By following the same routine, it becomes second nature—the discipline preps them to win. Planning your routine—and sticking to it until it becomes automatic—can prep you for success, too.
    7. Commit. Maybe your parents told you this when you wanted to join an after-school activity. “Be careful in choosing where you will spend your time because you won’t be able to quit. You will have to follow through with it until the end and do it well.” So, I really considered whether I would be able to commit to something for a long time. And when I knew, when I chose the one thing I wanted to do, it made me want to figure out how to keep getting better at it—it made me want to commit.
    8. Understand the transformation process. Your body and brain will do everything they can to resist change and growth. You need to know that it’s natural to feel lazy and undisciplined—but you also need to know that you have all the power to fight it. Start with your thoughts.
    9. Go above your feelings. The hardest part about discipline is maintaining the actions needed to achieve your dream or state of happiness. It requires constant hard work and fighting against comfort and instant pleasures. To do so, you must separate yourself from the feelings that stop you, like fatigue, laziness, or self-pity. You must go above them, even if your feelings tell you that you are tired, stressed, and alone in this struggle. Discipline is the direct training of a fighter.
    10. Resist the brain. All people are lazy, even the most successful businesspeople, the most accomplished athletes, and the most talented actors. But it’s not simply laziness—it’s your brain saving energy for you. Any movement takes energy, and the brain is doing everything to stop you from moving by sending body signals about how hard it is to move and thoughts about how scary it would be if you fail. But you can trick your brain. Imagine your body is a beautiful machine and you are operating it as a higher force from above. Separate yourself from your body. Play it as a computer game. You are the one who commands your body to accomplish tasks.
    11. Find pleasure in the hard work. Shift your focus to the process and concentrate on getting the work done faster and better every time. Speed is important; you must move quickly to achieve perfection in a set amount of time.

    So many people quit too early. Success is all about persistence, and discipline is what gets you to your destination. It’s the realization of your dream. The more you learn about your craft and your capabilities, when you start seeing yourself improve, the results will make you hungry for more. Self-improvement is an amazing drug.

    Self-discipline is a source of power. It is an engine that helps us understand and explore our capabilities and life’s opportunities. Discipline is not boring; it’s the freedom to put all our energy into creating something meaningful and beautiful.

    It’s up to us to choose life with discipline or without, with a goal or without, with a dream or without.

    #

    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, and Author, a coffee enthusiast, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations and conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, steve@bizcoachsteve.com, or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker

  • Money-Leverage!

    Money-Leverage!

    How to leverage the maximum amount of money out of every hour you spend working.

    I’d like to talk about one of your most precious, but grossly under-valued commodities…

    Your Time!

    You see, most of us are taught that you’ve got to work long, hard hours if you want to be a “success”.

    By the time you’re through reading this article – it’s going to become “crystal” clear to you that…

    Nothing Could Be Further from The Truth!

    I’m going to reveal to you my little-known but highly effective system for working “smarter” not “harder”. How many times have you told your spouse, friend, or significant other “I work so damn hard, I should be a millionaire by now” or ” My competition must be doing something illegal to make all that money since I work three times harder and make one-third less money than they do!”

    If you haven’t figured it out yet, making a lot of money has absolutely nothing to do with how “hard” you work.

    Let me try to be more specific with you.

    A renowned business consultant named Michael Gerber wrote a book called The E-Myth (which I highly recommend all business owners should read). This book is great in dispelling many business E-Myths.

    I strongly urge you to read it for yourself, but here is a brief synopsis of the invaluable lessons within the book.

    1. Most Business Owners Are “Technicians” NOT Entrepreneurs.

    Gerber explained that most successful employees figure to themselves that they could make far more money if they owned a business rather than working for someone else.

    So, what they do is go out, start their own business, and create a “job” for themselves.

    In most cases, these people end up working harder for themselves with less money to show for it because they now also have a dozen other “jobs” to worry about, and there are no other employees to do them. These business owners are worse off with their own business than they were working for someone else because they never truly understood what it meant to be an “entrepreneur”.

    2. You Must Work “On” Your Business Not “In” Your Business.

    If you truly want to be successful in your own business, you cannot and should not do everything yourself.

    Your job should be marketing and sales, getting and keeping customers. Not ordering office supplies, doing your own bookkeeping, answering your own telephones, making copies, faxing, typing, and doing everything else your business requires.

    If all of your time is spent doing administrative “detail” work, you will never have time to focus on truly important things like marketing, getting new customers, and keeping current customers happy.

    3. You Must Have Predictable “Systems” Set Up for Running Your Business.

    Every single business, no matter how large or small it is, must have a “systematized” way of doing things.

    Otherwise, your business will operate in constant “chaos” which will ultimately lead to customer dissatisfaction, and probably the failure of your business.

    A perfect example of a system is a franchise like McDonald’s. They have systematized every single aspect of their business so that any new franchisee can open a McDonald’s restaurant in their area, and their customers will have the same exact experience as they have had at any other McDonald’s restaurant across the world.

    Virtually every aspect of your existing business can be reduced to a “step-by-step” procedure that is repetitive.

    There are very few things that will happen in your business that are totally new or unfamiliar to you.

    Understand that most aspects of business are repetitive, and then set out to put together your own “operation’s manual” which explains how to do every function of your business in step-by-step detail.

    This way, when you start hiring new people, most of your training can be done by handing them your manual and telling them to read it. It will make running and growing your business much easier.

    Now, let’s talk about “Money-Leveraging”.

    What Does “Money Leverage” Mean?

    Good question. Let me explain.

    A famous copywriter and marketing expert named John Carlton coined the term “money leverage”.

    What he meant by this is that the goal of every entrepreneur or business owner should be to literally “leverage” the maximum amount of money out of every minute they spend working.

    To be more specific, he explained that most entrepreneurs have a difficult time differentiating between $15/hr. work and $250/hr. work.

    In other words, every time you make a copy, send a fax, answer your own phone, order office supplies, or do your own telemarketing or bookkeeping – you are “hiring” yourself to do $15/hr. work.

    I’ll bet you’re saying to yourself right about now – “But Brian, I don’t have the money to pay someone to help me do these things – I’ve got to do everything myself.”

    If this is the case…

    You’re Costing Yourself a Ton of Money!

    “How could this be?”, you ask.

    Let me explain. Every hour you spend doing $15/hr. work is a “working” hour you can’t spend doing $250/hr. work.

    Since most of us work about 8 – 10 hours a day, every hour you waste is money lost that you can never regain.

    To put this more simply, there are two types of jobs in every business, I don’t care what type of business a person is in:

    1. Money Dissipaters:

    These are jobs like administrative work, bookkeeping, running errands, etc. They don’t make the company any money, they cost the company money.

    These jobs must be done to run a business, but they do not bring any money into the business, and without sales, these jobs are useless.

    2. Money Makers:

    These are jobs like marketing and sales, setting up joint ventures, etc. All of these activities bring money into the business. These are the $250/hr. jobs. And if you haven’t figured it out yet…

    These Are the Only Jobs You Should Be Doing!

    You see, the true definition of an entrepreneur is a person who is a “Rainmaker”.

    You’re the one who “makes things happen”.

    Your job is marketing and sales, and keeping existing customers happy so they keep re-purchasing from you.

    All other jobs should be hired out – period!

    Let a $10 – $15 an hour person help you with every aspect of your business other than “Getting and Keeping Customers”.

    For example, if you’re still handwriting names and addresses on your postcards, mailing out the FREE reports, doing your own telemarketing, and filling out the financial aid forms yourself – you are now doing $15/hr. work.

    The only, and I repeat only thing you should be doing is conducting seminars, doing sales presentations, and continually staying on top of your marketing (i.e., making sure postcards are sent out every week, doing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd notice mailings, sending out a monthly newsletter, etc.).

    Every other job that you’re currently doing should be off-loaded to someone else who is probably far more capable in that area than you are.

    In fact, this is exactly how I was able to grow my businesses and help my clients grow theirs as well.

    I’m always asking myself the question, “Can someone else do this job cheaper and more effectively than I can?”

    If the answer is “yes”, I immediately pay someone else to do it!

    Every time you start doing $15/hr. jobs, think to yourself…

    “I’m Burning Up $250 Bills Right Now!”

    That should put you in the proper mindset, and make you feel guilty that you’re “costing” yourself hundreds of dollars.

    This is the “secret” to money leverage and making a fortune in your business.

    It’s not working “harder” that makes you rich, it’s working “smarter”.

    So, the next time you hear someone say, “I work so hard, I should be a millionaire by now!” – ask them if they have employees, or if they have an “operator’s manual” for running their business.

    I’ll bet you the farm these people don’t know how to delegate or differentiate between $15/hr. and $250/hr. work!

    #

    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, and Author, a coffee enthusiast, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations and conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, steve@bizcoachsteve.com, or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #business #stevefeld #smallbusiness #smallbiz #entrepreneur #marketing #leadership #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #businesssuccess #businesscoaching #businesstips #entrepreneurship #success #entrepreneurlife #keynotespeaker #podcast #author #smallbusinessowner #speaker