On Tuesday we talked about my magic spreadsheet that helps answer all kind of questions for my clients. It’s like a crystal ball that reveals the future! But I have trouble getting clients to take it seriously — they frequently avoid engaging in creating one, and once built, it can sit unused. Why? Well, here’s what I've heard. My business just isn’t predictable. Some business owners tell me that their business is too unpredictable to be able to forecast. “Brad, I just don’t know how many clients I’m going to win this year!” When I hear this, I’m genuinely scared for this business owner. If you have no way to predict your business, then you should go to Vegas and throw it all on … [Read more...]
These are archives of our email conversations with business owners. If you want to join in hop over here and fill in the form.
My “magic” spreadsheet…
What if I told you that I had a magic spreadsheet? What’s magic about it? It is like a crystal ball for your business--you can use it to see the future! My spreadsheet can tell you: How much money you are going to make this year. So you can plan your personal budget -- When you know how much your business is going to make you can predict your personal income and spending. Can you take that summer vacation, or not? How much you can spend on rent, for travel and other expenses. I see small business owners worry about taking on a new lease, or sponsoring that big industry conference, or hiring a new person. My spreadsheet can tell you how that investment will pay off in your … [Read more...]
Want better clients? Charge more!
Early in my consulting career, I noticed I worked very hard every day but did not make as much money as I wanted to. Not a great place to be on any level - especially as a single Dad raising children! So I took a day away from the business to think about this problem. One of the questions I challenged myself to answer was, “Would I do this work even if no one paid me? If I won the lottery would I keep doing this?” After some self-reflection, I decided that I would, but I would make some changes to how things ran. If no one paid me I'd only want to work for the clients who had really big problems, challenges they couldn't overcome without my help. Plus, I wanted to work with clients … [Read more...]
More people, more problems: Grow WITHOUT hiring more staff
As we discussed on Tuesday, it’s almost impossible to balance supply (people) with demand (client work) in a service firm. So how do you grow your firm without going through that see-saw? Here are 4 ways to grow your business without adding more people. 1. Stop Overdelivering. Yes, if you ask them, your team will tell you how busy they are. If you keep time sheets they will show that they are working 40 - 45 hours. But are they really busy? Or are they putting that 3rd and 4th revision into something that was fine after 2? Are they responding to that long chain of emails from the client instead of picking up the phone? The only foolproof way to tell that the team is really busy is if … [Read more...]
Do I need to hire more people?
What if I told you that the job you've chosen as the owner of a service firm is to balance a see-saw? A see-saw between your staff and your sales. The way service firm businesses work is that if either end of the see-saw touches the ground your business has brewing problems. But, both ends of the see-saw change every day! Yes, sometimes they change based on actions you take (you close a deal or you hire a team member), but they also change based on things out of your control (someone quits, your client extends a contract, or starts a new project). So the see-saw moves up and down while you rush around in an attempt to keep it balanced. Too Much Staff, Not Enough Work All service … [Read more...]
Who does YOUR performance review?
This week we’ve talked about evaluating the performance of our team and having difficult conversations when needed. Now its time for the hardest evaluation question... Who has difficult conversations with YOU? Business owners wear a lot of hats! First and foremost, you are the CEO! You set direction, manage performance, and guide the business toward profitability. But you’re also the owner of the business, which is classically different from the CEO. It’s your money invested here so it is your job to evaluate the CEO and leadership team. Have they earned a good return on the money and talent invested with them? Think of it this way... If you owned stock or had another … [Read more...]
How to correct issues with problem employees
One business owner replied to last week’s email about courage with this question: My fear is I just don’t want to confront people and tell them they are fired which I’ve never done in my business. I remember watching The Apprentice and admiring the way Trump fired people. Back then, I was not even in business, but when I watched The Apprentice I thought to myself, “I can never fire people like that”. Now I that I own my own business, I still can’t do it. If you’ve had employees like we talked about on Tuesday then you know why it’s important to be able to fire people! But you’re not alone, even with behavior like that I had to coach business owners through feeling OK to fire … [Read more...]
Employee Headaches: You dodged a bullet on these!
I work with a lot of different businesses which means I get a ringside seat to all the ups and downs that business owners experience. And there’s no greater source of ups and downs than the nutty employee stories I've seen. You may think that you've hired some bad apples, and maybe you have, but hopefully you've never had any experience like what some of my clients have! So enjoy a few of the best doozies from the field today. I hope they make you smile and you find comfort to know that you're not alone in the craziness you may face. Employee Ghosting A business owner arrives at the office around 9:30 after attending an early networking event. As she gets on the elevator she bumps … [Read more...]
Should you be reading this today?
Do you know why I send emails on Saturday morning (and have for many years)? Because I get the highest open rates when I send on Saturday morning! For whatever reason Saturday morning is a time when business owners get caught up on their email (or at least open and read my emails). But one of my team members challenged me on this — “Brad, you’re so big on folks taking time off on the weekends, and ignoring their devices for long stretches of time...” It’s true, I do advocate for that. “Why do you send your emails on Saturday mornings? Shouldn’t we be ‘off-line’ at that time?” Busted. First thing I should clear up — I’m not actually in front of my computer writing and sending … [Read more...]
What’s fear for?
On Tuesday we explored what courage can mean to a business owner. Courage is knowing that there’s danger, feeling the fear, and then going ahead anyway. But, being courageous is different from being fearless. When I look back at my career and think about when I was afraid, but pressed on anyway, those situations mostly worked out OK. What is more interesting is that it's a slightly different story when I look back at times I took a big leap and I was totally confident about it. No fear. No questions. I couldn't see any bad potential outcomes. I was fearless! In those situations, my success rate of achieving what I set out to do is much lower. Truthfully, many of my worst failures … [Read more...]