FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

Working with entrepreneurs this summer, I have come to realize that time management can make or break the success of your business.  When is busy being productive?  The trap I see for entrepreneurs is that productivity creates administrative busyness.  It is easy to fill time by looking after the administrative duties of a business; that’s why many hard working people watch as their incomes drop. 

A simple approach to evaluating the productivity of your work is to list your business related activities over the period of a week.  If administrative tasks take up more than 20% of your time, these should be delegated to an assistant.  The value of your hired help can be calculated by figuring your own hourly wage when you do only what is productive.  Don’t get busy, get productive. 

-Katrina 

I recently read “Developing the Leader Within You” by John Maxwell.  What struck me most about this book was his comment that “success without a successor is failure.”  A leader who influences others to follow is a leader with limitations, but a leader who influences others to lead is a leader without limitations.  Our language should have a special word to describe this kind of leader. 

Maxwell offers some suggestions on how to build a leader who inspires leadership.  First, as a leader yourself, ask the right questions about the follower.  What are the strengths of the individual?  In order to keep followers motivated, they must be working in their areas of strength.  Have I reflected the value this follower will receive from this relationship?  Followers will continue to be engaged in their work if they are aware of specific areas of personal gain.

Second, leaders must give the right assistance to individuals.  By promoting a positive, creative and encouraging atmosphere, individuals will consistently feel motivated to complete the jobs they excel at.  Personal mentoring that complements an ongoing training program keeps the follower in the information loop and promotes an attitude of building a career rather than working at a job.  

-Katrina

How do you know when it is the right time to turn your website into a marketing and lead generation site?  There is so much technology out there it can be confusing for us “non-techie” entrepreneurs!  Today’s 15 questions come from web marketing expert, Jeff Baker at Open Box Integration .  As Jeff says: “Just attempting to answer these questions gets business thinking in a new way and has them much more prepared to ask the right questions when evaluating and engaging a website company.”

1. Do we know who is coming to our site now and how they’re using it?

 2. Do we know where & why people leave our site now?

3. How have our current customers found out about us? Why did they start to do business with us?

4. Can we express what we do in words that a ten year old would understand?

5. Do we have a clear brand?

6. Do we know our value proposition?

7. How are we different from everyone else out there?

8. How do people find out about us?

9. What keywords do people search on in our industry?

10. What will give prospects that ‘wow’ experience when they come to our site?

11. Do we have already developed marketing materials that can be leveraged on the site?

12. Do we know what call to action has the most impact on our target audience?

13. What would have people think ‘Ah good, I’m in the right place’ immediately when they get to our site?

14. How will we measure the success of our new site?

15. Do we have a good CRM system to track leads through to sales?

Today’s guest post is from Theresa Coles, the PR expert. 

One of the best ways of getting your message across during a media interview is to do lots of preparation. Very often, it’s the simple – but sometimes overlooked – things like solid preparation – not techniques and gimmicks on how to “handle” an interview – that really help to set someone up for success. 

Good preparation runs the gamut, from finding out about the journalist and his or her media outlet, to practical issues such as how long the interview will last and whether visual aids or additional information would be helpful to the journalist.   

Good preparation helps to calm nerves, creates a sense of control over a sometimes stressful situation, and helps the interviewee get that all important point across to the audience!     

The South African golfer Gary Player is quoted as saying “The more I practice, the luckier I get” and this is true for media interviews as well as whacking a little white ball around a golf course! Something as simple as putting together a Q & A sheet, and practicing your answers until they become second nature, gives you the best chance of getting your point across.  

Given that an interview often results in only a brief sound bite or one-line quote, it pays to have those important responses and points at your finger tips, so that when the opportunity comes up, you’re right there, effortlessly answering the question, and positioning your company effectively to the audience. 

________________

Theresa E Coles,  Principal: Syllable  Words and Ideas, is a former journalist who “crossed over” to public relations some 15 years ago.  (604) 960-0515 or theresacoles@shaw.ca

I was introduced to the Kiva website in a Gender and Politics class this past year.  Kiva’s purpose is to connect individuals to third world entrepreneurs through a person-to-person micro-lending experience.  As the first of its kind, Kiva partners with knowledgeable microfinance institutions in order to have access to exceptional entrepreneurs around the world.  On the Kiva website, lenders choose a specific entrepreneur to support by lending as little as $25.  Empowered by their new loan, entrepreneurs are able to either start or continue to grow their business.  Lenders are repaid as entrepreneurs succeed. 

What I found most amazing is the number of women seeking loans.  Microfinance programs have been targeted towards poor women.  This not only supports a strong message of gender equality in often male dominated societies, but it also reflects that women in these societies are a better financial risk.  Women, without income in third world countries, frequently have more to lose as they are usualy responsible for children and extended family.  Once she gets a loan, a woman’s status in her community improves and she is able to be more assertive and confident in her home and in her business.  

-Katrina

Too many times I hear women entrepreneurs give out excuses as to why their business is not doing well.  Case in point - I was chatting with one on Friday and asked her how business is going.  She is still in her first year.  Her reply was -  ”Not well.  I did a big project 2 months ago and they haven’t paid their invoice yet.  This really has discouraged me.”   And then she went on to say how she hasn’t been motivated to look for any new business.  Excuse me??

Building a successful busines is really tough.  Ask any profitable business owner and they will likely tell you they worked harder than they ever had before in their life to get that success.  Making excuses like the woman above only slows you down and gets in your own way.  Things don’t always go smoothly, clients don’t pay on time, you don’t land the contracts you want.  So what?  You can choose to wallow in disappointment or you can get right back at it and go after the next prospect on your list. 

So, if you find yourself on this sunny Monday, making excuses for things you are not happy with in your business - STOP!  Take some action to fix things.

Imagine this, myself of Generation “Y” in a room full of Baby Boomers at a recent networking event. One Boomer commented, “Young people just don’t want to work as hard as we do, I can’t even bribe them with money.” This conversation got me thinking about what my generation will look like in 15 years at the height of our careers when the majority of Boomers are retired.

As the average Yer’s work-week drops from 40 to 35 hours to include more leisure time, activities done outside of work will become an experience rather than a rushed chore. A trip to the grocery store will be transformed into a learning experience as buyers continue to educate themselves about nutrition in the food they are buying. Purchasing decisions will be based on notions of “healthy choices”, “eco-friendliness” and “carbon footprints”.

How is this growing trend going to influence businesses? While those who package products will need to improve labeling, will businesses see this as an opportunity to offer more participation-oriented experiences? For example, a trip to the grocery store can turn into an afternoon event if there is a speaker discussing healthy eating habits.

How are you, as a business owner and employer, going to catch the ‘eyes’ of Generation Y?
-Katrina

My favourite blog post of this week has to be this article - Running on Fumes .

For all of you women out there who are driving yourself to exhaustion, pay special attention to points #2 and #5!

Life is about enjoyment, not about how much you can accomplish.

As a university student, I am accustomed to hard work being the greatest source of positive results – good marks and a high average. Being in the work world has shown me that there is much more to the formula of success than simply hard work.

Favourable results depend on the relationships you have with superiors and co-workers who should have an opportunity to get to know your character and understand your motivations. In this way, you can learn to work “smarter” rather than “harder” because tasks are laid out more efficiently based on an understanding your superiors have of your skills and of your willingness to be challenged.

It is important to spend your time viewing your employment as more than just a job: focusing on the end results and making those results your passion rather than attending to the mechanics that get the job done. The employer places a value on the completion of a task, honouring that will often lead to the employer taking a personal interest in your career with more challenging assignments.
- Katrina

I was in LA recently and while there, decided to visit some businesses and see what the customer service experience was like. And here’s what I experienced:
- Ralph’s: Bought a sandwich there, sporting a large sticker saying “Made Fresh in Our Kitchen”. I unwrapped it and then checked the expiry date on the sandwich - 2 days away. The lettuce in that sandwich had transformed into a new, inedible life form. Impressions of Ralph’s: thumbs down - will never buy anything from them again.
- Bloomingdale’s: Beautiful store, great merchandise. However, when I went to make a purchase acted like they were doing me a big favour. Looked totally bored. Impressions of Bloomingdale’s: Not in a rush to go back.
- Target: Passed by the cosmetic section and the sales rep for Boots Cosmetics was there. What awesome customer experience! She was very passionate about her product, extremely knowledgeable, easy to talk to - a fun encounter. I walked away with several products that I had no intention of purchasing when I walked into the store. Impressions of Target: Loved it and will definitely go back.
- It’s a Grind Coffee Shop - was in one at Redondo Beach. Half the parking lot was under construction so business was way down. The owner was in great spirits anyway - great coffee and excellent customer service. He handled all the grumbling about lack of parking pleasantly and handed out freebies to the kids when they walked in with flustered parents. Impressions of It’s A Grind: Two thumbs up - loved the coffee and the service. It’s my favourite coffee hangout in LA now.
JetBlue: My first time flying them. The plane was clean, the seats were comfortable with lots of leg room and the crew had fun with passengers. It was a great experience. Impressions of JetBlue: Thumbs up. They deliver a great customer service experience - a rare thing in the aviation industry today.

As business owners, we often get bogged down in getting the ‘work done’. Make sure you take the time to check out your customer service - are you sure your customers are happy and impressed with your company? You need to check this out on a regular basis. Hire a mystery shopper, get a friend to pose as a customer or talk to your exisitng customers. Find out what they like, what they don’t and how you can improve. Then - take action.