Are You “Hitting the Wall”?

Entrepreneurship and leadership have two key common features – forging ahead into new horizons. This requires you to face your fears, go where you have not gone before, find solutions to challenges, navigate obstacles and more… all while you deliver on your promise to deliver a high quality product/service with a positive customer experience, while running your business.

The roller-coaster ride can be exhilarating, common-place, mundane or frustrating. There are times when new ideas, opportunities or solutions come flooding in faster than you can deal with them. Other times, the pace of play is just right.

However… there are times when you are taking action, working hard and bam!… you are going nowhere fast! You feel like you are on a hampster wheel. Start questioning yourself. Look to break what used to work but isn’t right now.

There are often four key areas that my clients have found challenging where a breakthrough was needed.

First, getting clear on who is their ideal client, what problems their clients have, and the results clients achieve when they work with them. Alternatively, they are unsure of their purpose, vision and mission… or all of the above!

Second, they are unsure what next steps to take. This is often associated with overwhelm or a lack of focus. When we create the focus and align that with purpose and client wants and needs… bam! The next steps unveil themselves.

Poor time management and inefficient systems are ties holding business leaders back so they are unable to keep moving forward. Adopting new ways of doing things can feel overwhelming when you don’t look at the bigger picture and identify the step-by-step implementation approach.

The other key “wall” is not having enough money to fund the business, the owner and their social impact efforts. Spotlighting top revenue sources, cash leaks and where to take action can turn your biz from red to black.

Does any of these “walls” sound familiar? I think every business owner and leader I have met has hit one wall or another and those that successfully find a way to knock that wall down or go around it, reap the benefit of their efforts. Most reach out to mentors, coaches, boards of advisors, their team or trusted colleagues. In fact, very few of the most successful business leaders, can break through the wall alone.

Our Breakthrough Huddle is a short, 45 minute focused working session where we pull up our sleeves, cut to the chase and create your breakthrough so you can create the action plan to move forward, grow, innovate and crush the obstacle or use it as a launch pad to something new and better.

If you a leader, entrepreneur or business owner who is:

  • feeling frustrated because your efforts are going no where,
  • tired of trying to find a solution on your own,
  • unsure about what next steps to take, or
  • wanting to explore new ideas, create a plan, pivot, reposition or repurpose, and
  • motivated to take action to create a sustainable, profitable future

the Breakthrough Huddle is for you!

If you aren’t ready to end the inertia you’re experiencing so you can experience the thrill of momentum again … the Breakthrough Huddle is not for you.

What is inaction costing you and your business?

When an Opporunity Appears – Will You be Ready?

As an avid hockey fan, I often find great examples from sporting events that can apply to the business world.  The most recent was the decision by the Montreal Canadiens to play their 3rd string goalie in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final  rather than the more experienced back-up.  Tokarski was recently called up from the AHL and is now in his debut post season game.  Tokarski is obviously lacking some NHL experience with only 10 NHL games under his belt, but he has lots of experience and wins in big games throughout his career.

How does this relate to business?

In the above example, franchise goalie Carey Price was injured  in Game 1 and was unable to play for the remainder of this series.  The injury was unexpected and created an opportunity for his teammates.

This is no different to business situations where a potential client may unexpectedly have a need for your product/services.  Would you be able to step up and “play big”?

Image:  Stuart Miles | www.freedigitalphotos.net

Image: Stuart Miles | www.freedigitalphotos.net

In business, similar opportunities present themselves.  It is up to you to be prepared.  This may mean having to set up systems, learn new skills before you need them, hire staff in advance of getting that next job — all so you can act quickly to capitalize on the opportunity.

It also means you have to be nimble.  One of the situations that was presented to me was a project to evaluate a specific team and construct action plans to reach best practices.

In this instance I needed someone with specific experience to bring more value to the project.  I quickly explored my contact lists, identified possible connections and found the ideal person.  My client signed off on their addition to the team and the assessment began.   Soon this project morphed into new opportunities which kept my team working for 2 years.

Don’t let opportunities pass you buy because you aren’t ready. Think bigger and get prepared today for what could be possible tomorrow.  Who could you call upon to do different tasks?   Have you created processes which allow you to easily delegate and train others to step in and get up to speed effectively?   Are your systems scalable in a way that they will continue to work  as you grow?

Just a few things to thing about to be prepared for the unknown, which can move you from small to a recognized leader.

Are you looking to review your strategy, operations and your ability to leverage?   I can help you and your team.  Book an exploration session today so we can explore how to ensure you don’t miss out on your next opportunity.

See the Bucket Is Full Before Looking Elsewhere

During a very insightful meeting with the CEO of a growing business I recognized why his business was experiencing a significant upswing, when his competition is tanking. I loved his view on his business and the values he holds personally, which reflected in his insights.

1. Lead by Example
As a business leader, whether you are the business owner, a manager or an executive in a business, you have to lead by example. Do your employees, sub-contractors and your customers know what you expect of them?  Do they see your passion? Do you “step up” with confidence to assist your team to get the job done and move the business in the right direction?

When others see you striving to be better and to achieve a clear vision, they are more likely to follow.  Failing to lead lets the team down and business will crash.

I have been working with a business who has outsourced to service providers.  One service provider is lacking the leadership and isn’t there to lead their team.  They hold the belief that every member of their team is doing a fabulous job, despite external feedback to the contrary.  The lack of strong leadership is costing them a contract.  In contract, a second service provider has been involved and has encouraged staff to take on new opportunities.  This proactive leadership has resulted in an expanded role and future growth opportunities on the horizon.

2. Invest in your People
When you are recruiting or making decisions on internal opportunities for your staff, do you recognize what they bring to the table? Every person you work with offers you an array of skills.  For continuous Holding Dollars suphakit73_ID-100110359improvement to occur, staff training and development is critical.

Investing in your staff shows them how much you value their contribution.  It also fosters a long-term commitment and reduced turnover which saves you time and money.  Training may include bringing in outside suppliers to educate on how to fully utilize the equipment that you have in your business.  It could include sending staff to outside conferences, workshops or training events, or it may be an opportunity for one member of your team sharing their knowledge or expertise with their fellow colleagues.

Leadership is a process, and incorporating continuous improvement is a valuable component which converts to strong results.

3.  Optimize the Cash
Creating a profit is a vital aspect of business growth and development, yet it should not be established on the backs of your team or customer.  Whether you are working within a corporate budget or own the business and have to manage your own revenues and expenses, identifying ways to make your money go further, and used in the right areas is a fundamental skill to your leadership.

I was working with a small business owner who was cash strapped and frustrated with the lack of profits.  Upon further investigation, this business was not working to its full capacity, it was not recruiting the right people and marketing was almost non-existent.

When I asked the owner how much it actually cost them to provide the services and how much it cost to bring on a new employee and how much business was needed to off-set these costs, they were unable to answer these questions.  This became to focus of our work together.  We identified ways to generate cash flow from existing clients with prepayment options, more effective ways to connect and communicate with their target clients to boost customer engagement and referrals, and an internal cash management system to monitor the business.

Keys to business growth

When the business bucket is full, you have an opportunity to increase the size of your bucket!  The keys to business growth include:

  • strong leadership,
  • committed team members who work in alignment with you to meet the goals and vision of the business, and
  • positive cash flow with effective cash management.

What steps do you have to take today to reap the benefits tomorrow?

Please contact me for a complimentary exploration session if you are ready to make changes, strengthen your leadership or you are primed for business growth.  Book today!

 

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