Think Like an Olympian

 

      Whenever the Olympics roll around we seem to get inundated with Olympic thinking and Gold Medal coaching articles. This year is no different, yet one article that caught my eye was written by an actual Olympian, not some journalists take on the Olympic mindset. Shannon Bahrke Happe is not only a three time Olympian she is a successful business owner. She shared with Entrepreneur.com the top 10 things she learned while training for the Olympics that can just as easily be applied to running a successful business. Happe launched Silver Bean Coffee Company with her then fiance (now husband) Matt during some down time recovering from an injury. When you build your passion into your company you don’t have to buy into someone else’s dream, you can create your own. Building anything that’s going to have some staying power takes work and commitment whether it’s a relationship or an international company. The stakes may be different but the process is very similar. Here are her top ten lessons.

1.       Always have goals but make sure they are measurable. Begin with the end in mind and work backwards breaking the goal into smaller monthly and daily goals. Remember inch by inch it’s a cinch.

2.       Don’t get so blinded by the goal that you don’t enjoy the sights along the way. Some of the greatest lessons and certainly the best stories are from the journey.

3.       No matter whom you are speaking with don’t let your ego get too big to say please and thank you, with a smile.

4.       Surround yourself with the best and brightest.  IF you don’t know it, hire it.

5.       If you don’t believe in yourself no one else will. When those doubts creep in, and they will recommit 100%.

6.       Winners are those committed to the whole process, not just the fun stuff. The difference is often in doing the things others are not willing to do, or haven’t thought to do.

7.       Running yourself ragged doesn’t bring the gold. Rest and relaxation are just as important and can give you renewed perspective.

8.       Take care of yourself, seriously. Get enough rest, eat properly and stay hydrated to stay on top.

9.       Winning is great, but be humble. Especially in the Olympics, anything can happen and seconds can knock you off the podium. So be a gracious loser as well.

1.   You must once and for all get rid of your fear of failure. “To truly achieve greatness you must be 100 percent committed to either succeeding beyond your wildest dreams or going down in a great big ball of flames!”

 

              So as we all watch these Olympics with story after story of both the thrill of victory and agony of defeat we must remember that these athletes do not exist in a vacuum. Behind every athlete is a supportive network of people that they relied on to get where they are. No one succeeds alone. So as business people I ask who is in your network cheering you onto the finish. If you haven’t built your network yet it’s never too late. Being in business can be lonely. Building a support system of fellow professionals that can pick up a flag and wave you to the finish line is great for the health of your business. Because building a healthy business is smart marketing.

Get Out of Your Own Way

 

     Monday I had the opportunity to take a class with Brittany Foster called Get out of your Own way. Foster is a passionate business owner and Quite the entrepreneur. Besides running her own salon she had developed a natural product line and runs a nonprofit ministry called Be a Blessing. Her giving spirit drives her desire to help educate other business owners. The class I attended on Monday is the first in a series of 12 classes, one each month to address topics entrepreneurs need to survive and thrive in the business community. I wanted to share some take away nuggets I found spot on.

1.       Customer service is number 1. Make sure the customer comes first in your business. Think about meeting an over looked customer need. Not sure what that might be? Ask your customers.

2.       Join or create a specific or uncrowded niche. There is a lot of competition in the masses. Step off the beaten path and create something new. In a category of one, there is no competition.

3.       Take a risk. In order to make things happen you must get out of your comfort zone. Taking a risk involves being vulnerable, chancing failure. Take the risk anyway. You just might surprise yourself.

4.       Offer something exclusive to your business, something your competitors don’t. Do some research in your hometown. Set yourself apart by going above and beyond client expectations. Have unparalleled customer service.

5.       Always be on the lookout for a potential opportunity. Have cards, ever flyers with you at all times. I was just at Ulta this afternoon and ran into an old business contact that is in a new position with a few schools. She invited me to come speak to her students. I gave her my card and told her all of the students need to be listening to Nail Talk Radio.

6.       Be humble to connect with customers and employees first. Always think about how your business decisions affect them, put yourself in their shoes.

7.       Deliver Excellent customer service and you will stand out from the rest. There is so little attention paid to customer service people have come to expect a mediocre experience. Wow them with more.

8.       Continue to find ways to reinvent your current business practices to enhance your business. Don’t fall into the  “This is the way we have always done it”  trap. Look at waterless pedicures as an example. This concept was so foreign to so many professionals yet more and more is adopting this new technique.

9.       Become an expert within your industry. Do your homework. If you run a sloppy business no one will ever treat you better than sloppy.  I love her quote “If God gives you a vision He will give you provision.” 

 

Brittany also shared some hints and tips on building a successful brand on social media.  Make sure you do things the right way. Look at how people are going to view you. A brand is a promise that resides in your customers mind. Make good on that promise. Be consistent in your brand, stay structured and focused. Don’t be all over the place. Split up your personal and business account. Be content with who you are. Love who you are and what you are and build your true identity. Don’t be too proud or afraid to ask for help. Read up on areas you need to master or hire a professional if need be. Create a tagline that people can remember you by. Last but not least invest in your dream, put your money back into your business. Because investing in you is smart marketing.

Is Your Business Fit?

     This month is all about the plan. Fitness plan, Daniel Plan, insanity plan. Plan, Plan, Plan. Well even the best plan will fail if it is not put into action. So while thinking about my marketing segment today I couldn’t get this morning’s class at church out of my head. It was the last of a series on being financially fit. If there is a crisis in the health fitness arena there is without a doubt a crisis in the financial fitness arena. Why not the big sexy plans for that? Where are all the infomercials and books and financial boot camps? Maybe because the advertisers don’t want people to understand their financial ills, that would mean after all they would have to stop buying all their crap. So tonight I want to share some financial fitness tips courtesy of Grace Church.

Many of us think of a financial plan only for our personal finances but I want to encourage you to set up a fitness plan for your business. If you think about it we are merely vessels of money. The only difference is the amount we carry. In through earning, out through spending. In and out all day long. And as we all know, at the end of the day, we can’t take it with us. In the meantime, we should learn to make sure money blesses us instead of stressing us. There are really just a few principles to follow.

     We arrive at financial peace by living within our means; debt makes slaves of the borrowers.  This is especially true in business. Granted sometimes we need loans, to get a business started. But this debt needs to be managed properly and should never grow beyond our means of paying it back in a timely fashion. Escalating debt is trouble.

     The 10-10-80 Principle is a strategy many have used as a guide to great financial health.  Traced back to the 1700’s John Wesley founder of the Methodist denomination used this methodology in work and life.

Give 10% . I know what you’re thinking, I can hardly get by using 100% and I get that, I really do. Giving get’s so much more in return than money could even purchase. You get joy and fulfillment and more blessings when you are a cheerful giver. Even when times are tough I encourage you to give. I’m telling you you’ve got to have faith, I don’t know how it works, I just know it does.

Save 10%  You must have an emergency fund, in life and in business. 3-6 months working capital in case of an emergency. Have appropriate insurance in case of a crisis.  I’m getting ready to take a few weeks off for a  medical crisis. Fortunately I have an emergency fund and short term disability insurance. My world won’t collapse due to poor planning. Avoid risky investments and diversify or don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Seek council of other financial savvy friends or professionals. I have a client whose husband does financial planning. We barter for services so we can both go to pros.

    Last but not least live conservatively on the rest of the 80%. So many of us have lost that simple common sense approach. I just saw a study that stated that over 70% of Americans could not come up with $2,000 in 30 days if they needed to. It went on to say that 25% of Americans that make between $100,000 and $150,000 couldn’t come up with it either. How sad is this? I spoke of this last week, to constantly be checking your expenses so you can lower them and have some wiggle room. If you are living all the way up to your means, you are one crisis away from a financial nightmare. So with all the New Year planning, make sure to include a plan for financial fitness because that’s smart business and smart business is smart marketing. 

Three Things Not to Do When You’re Slow.

     Don't whine. It’s unattractive and nonproductive, unless you’re drinking it, but that’s another post. Instead take the extra time you have while your clients are freaking out about how much they spent over the holidays being productive. Take your client list and update it. Scour over your client list. Contact numbers, email and home address. Ask them how they prefer to be contacted. Some people prefer at work, some at home. Some prefer text, some don’t know how to text, some just learned how to answer their new smart phone.  Contacting them in their preferred method is just good customer service. Emails are super important.  I recently had an online coaching session and was surprised to hear this person did not have an updates email list for her clients. How can you email market if you don’t have a current list? Pretty darn near impossible.  Emails sent often, but not too often are a great way to keep in touch with your clients and let them know what you have been up to. Maybe you attended a class, maybe you brought in a new product line or service. Emails are a great way to keep your clients in the loop of all the reasons they love coming to you in the first place.  Update your list and update your clients.

    

      Don’t sit, do nothing and wait for clients to trickle in. Reach out to the community. Maybe there was a new store, restaurant or fitness center that opened within the last few months. Those months you barely had time to look up from your nail table. Hit the pavement and introduce yourself. Print up a mini menu with your contact info and a new client special. Even if you have been in business for years, trust me, not everyone knows you’re there. This point was brought home to me once again when I moved salons. Almost every single client that came to me at the new location all said, Geez, I have driven by this spot hundreds of times and never noticed this salon was even here.  Typical. You must remember people are busy, their lives are busy and most of the times they are just paying attention to the task at hand. It’s almost as if they have blinders on. Pick up pizza, drop off dry cleaning. They are not wandering around taking in the sites. Introducing yourself to other area businesses at least makes the owner aware and if you’ve made enough of an impression and left behind a compelling offer they will spread the word about you. But don’t just ask for their help, offer yours. Ask if there is anything you can do for them. How’s business? Can I share a special with my clients introducing them to your business? Network with other area businesses and create a friendship while reaching more potential clients.

      Don’t complain about how much everything costs. Research all your current business relationships. Are there a more cost effective opportunities you are simply not aware of? Can you look at your current cell phone plan and cut a few dollars off the monthly fee? I just cut a chunk off my cell phone bill by dropping two other lines that I hadn’t realized were off contract. Take the time to speak with a representative and go over your bill with a fine tooth comb. Chances are there are savings to be had. Are you spending too much on supplies? It could be as simple as waiting to shop at businesses that offer a 10% off day. While you think 10% off may not add up to much think about the saving for a year. If you spend two thousand dollars per year that adds up to a two hundred dollar savings.  No small change there. Stock up when there are specials and extend the savings for each purchase. I know sometimes it’s hard to have cash tied up in product but getting your costs of doing business lower has a direct effect on the bottom line. When you’re spending less you’re making more, it’s as simple as that.  So the next time you have some down time, don’t pout, get out and get busy on your business because that’s smart marketing. 

New Years Sytems?

     It’s that time again. We finally have come up for air after a busy holiday season with time for reflection. Yes those dreaded New Year’s Resolutions are upon us. This is the show I encourage all of you to set goals, to plan how next year is going to be better than last year and all that good stuff. Well this year I saw an interesting post on Entrepreneur.com about not setting goals at all. What? Not set goals? Where Millie is and what have you done with her? Hold up a minute and let me finish. The article explained how setting goals can be counterproductive, even downright self-sabotaging. How do we account at the end of the year for those goals not marked off our list? We feel guilty, defeated, like everything else we accomplished didn’t matter.

This is where systems come in. Systems are a beautiful thing. Many of you that have read my books know I am a big fan of systems. Why? Systems don’t fail, people do. So this article suggests instead of posting outrageous goals that we may never reach,  place systems in our life instead. 

What is the difference between goals and systems?  The author explains if you are a coach, your goal is to win a championship. Your system is what your team does at practice each day. If you are a chef, your goal is to be an award winning chef. Your system is to create exciting and creative dishes pulling together the best ingredients available. If you are a small business owner, your goal is to build a lucrative business. Your system is your sales and marketing process.

So what would happen if you ignored your goals and focused on your systems only? Would you still be successful? I remember when I was a regional manager for a manufacturer trying to increase market share and sales. Instead of hounding for numbers, I encouraged the sales consultants to help salons improve their business and increase clients. Inevitably, growing salons need to buy more products. Different system, same result.

 

      It is much like what I shared last year about becoming the person that has the goal you seek. What does a successful salon owner wear? What classes do they take? Who are they studying and what are they reading. What is their system for success?

The author goes on to share that setting goals can actually reduce your current happiness. We tend to get stuck in between and believe we won’t be happy or successful until we achieve my goal. Reduce the stress of the burden of the goal and commit to the process, not the goal.

Goals can actually hinder long term progress. Think about the runner who has the goal to run a marathon. What’s there to continue to motivate you once you have achieved the goal? We end up in a vicious cycle of working on a goal and not working on a goal, defeating forward progress. Goals can be short sighted. System based activities aren’t about hitting a particular achievement; they are about committing to the process.

Goals are not a bad thing; they can be motivating for planning progress. Systems actually make the progress happen. So in planning out what you want to improve this year implement systems into your daily life and commit to making them happen. Building an amazing business doesn’t happen overnight, it happens in the daily activities that move you forward.  So this coming year, commit to the process, because that’s smart marketing. Read the whole article here