by Angela Taffs | Feb 18, 2015 | Business Success
One of the biggest differences between those achieving business success and those who fade into the shadows is long term commitment. All too often we set off with rose tinted glasses in a euphoria of excitement that our business is going to be the best and we are going to join those glamorous people in the Facebook ads sat on a beach working just a few hours a day from their laptop.
But reality tends to be rather different. When the money hasn’t started rolling in within the first 6 months, doubt starts to creep in. When the first tax return is prepared and you haven’t been able to draw the equivalent of the minimum wage as yet, you start to feel under pressure to return to the world of employment.
It is those who plan, those who are prepared for it to take time and those who refuse to give up that succeed. They are committed to their plans for the long term, not just on the hope of a get rich quick scheme.
As Steve Jobs said, “Half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance”. Too many people want instant gratification these days. That’s not going to cut it.
As a general rule of thumb, and from my experience working with small businesses over the years, I tell clients to expect to make a loss in year one, break even in year two and start to make a profit in year three. By year five you should be making a decent enough income.
If these timescales scare you, then think carefully before going out on your next venture. You may well be lucky and achieve financial success far quicker than this, but being prepared for your true business success to take five years will put you in a better position for reality.
To be successful you will have to be consistent and persistent in your efforts. Going guns a blazing with your marketing for 3 months and then losing your mojo as the results are not what you expect and so then doing nothing for the next month is not going to get you anywhere. When you start up your marketing efforts again, you may as well be starting from scratch. Doing one small thing every day will get you greater rewards long term than intermittent blasts of activity.
Liken it to training for a marathon. If you train hard and get to running 16 miles but then take a break for a couple of months, you are not going to be able to get up and go out the door and pick up where you left off. You will have to take quite a few steps backward to get back on track again.
It is tough being a small business owner. You will need to remain focused and determined at times when others around you try to instil you with their doubts. You will need to retain your self-belief when the naysayers come calling. But if you are prepared and committed for the long term, the rewards will most certainly be worth it.
Remember the adage, all good things come to those who wait. Do you have the commitment necessary for business success?
by Angela Taffs | Feb 17, 2015 | Personal and Lifestyle
The question for today is what have you always wanted to do but keep putting off? What journey to success would you like to take but haven’t started yet?
The 30 day challenge
How about you just go start on that journey today. A while ago I joined a 30 day challenge with John Williams of Screw Work, Let’s play fame to help me take my life forward. Although the course had it flaws, it ultimately turned out to just what I needed as it focused on doing something fun for 20 minutes per day that lets your mind turn to what you really enjoy. This then opens up all sorts of thoughts about where you want to be in your life. (This really is an incredibly simplistic view of the challenge I took but you get the idea).
When I was doing my 30 day challenge and completing doing something fund that I loved for 20 minutes each day, I discovered that everything always turned out to be based around coaching women and helping them fulfil their dreams – hence the The Small Business Kit being created.
What do you love doing?
I had always loved coaching and mentoring and had always wanted to work with women who needed help and support in starting up their own business. I wanted to run my own business providing this support in a way that was open and flexible to the needs of whomever I was working with but the timing had never been right. But then when would it have been? If I had waited for the perfect time, I would never have taken those first few steps into the unknown and never started up my own business. If I hadn’t done something about it back then, in 12 months’ time I would have still been sat there wishing I had done it years ago. I really needed to stop procrastinating.
I have recently revisited this challenge and today I have pledged (yes that was another part of the challenge – you had to promise to do something and publicly prove to the other ‘challengees’ that you had done it) that I am going to complete a life coaching course that I had investigated a long time ago.
I have decided I am going to stop procrastinating again. I am actually going to do it rather than just dream about it. So often my business advice leads me to meet other women who have something going on in their personal life that is blocking them from fulfilling their business dreams. I have always thought about incorporating life coaching into my business coaching so I really could achieve my dream of helping other women in all aspects of their life.
Keep a journal
So what have you always wanted to do? Start to keep a journal for 30 days and write down the things that you enjoy. Spend 20 minutes a day just focusing on doing something that you love. What pattern starts to emerge? What is it that you ultimately want to do with your life so that you achieve that unfulfilled ambition?
You may find that that you enjoy writing and decide you want to start to write a book. You may enjoy making something and decide to turn your hobby into a business selling your handicrafts or art. Perhaps you enjoy baking and find you want to start up a cake stand at your local market or to create and write a recipe book. Do you enjoy talking to people helping them with their problems and find you want to train as a counsellor?
Think what it is and then set yourself a deadline for putting a plan into action to achieve your ambition. Remember, every journey starts with the first step. But what an exciting journey it could turn out to be.
And let me know what you come up with. I may just check at your deadline date that you have done it……
I look forward to hearing from you.
Angie x
by Angela Taffs | Feb 16, 2015 | Business Success
Do you spend too much time worrying about how well your competitor is doing, or how well those in complementary industries seem to be doing, whilst you are still struggling along? Are you focusing so much on competitor analysis that it is becoming detrimental to your own business?
If so, stop right now.
At the initial planning stage of a business is it so important to do some competitor analysis to find out who else is out there offering the same or similar to you, what they do well, what they could improve upon and what they charge etc.
But don’t then spend much of valuable time in the future constantly comparing yourself to them.
As Henry Ford is quoted as saying:
“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.”
And that is what you need to be doing. Carry on finding ways to constantly improve your business and stop constantly worrying about what everyone else is doing.
If you haven’t got access to your competitors financial reports you will never really have the true picture of how successful, or not, their business is and you could be spending many sleepless night concerning yourself with something that is not a problem for you.
I have seen many a business that on the surface appears to be highly successful and is living in a land of commercial bliss. When I have then met them in person and seen their financial statements, the truth has been far different. They are putting on a very good show on the outside but underneath the business is in serious financial trouble and living each day hand to mouth.
Too often, as small business owner using social media, we get hooked up on how many likes and followers we have compared to others. But is it quantity or quality we are after. I was talking to a client recently and it was so refreshing to hear them say that whilst they didn’t have as many followers as their competitors, they weren’t concerned as they had a much higher rate of interaction.
By focusing too much on what your competitors are doing, you may find that valuable time is wasted and your focus is taken away that could be spent on making your own offering the best that it can be. Try avoiding looking at the competition for a while and just focus on what you can offer your ideal customer. Concern yourself with your own business and let your competitor worry about theirs.
Continue to do what you do well and look for ways to improve areas that are now working quite so well for you. Focus on the small improvements such as interactions with your target market and new sales. This will give you the confidence boost you need to keep moving forward with your own business rather than feeling deflated by seeing somewhat misleading figures that your competitors are achieving.
Find your own niche with your own ideal client and do things your way. There is room for everyone out there so be ready to take advantage of each opportunity that may come your way rather than miss out on them because you have eyes looking in the wrong direction.
Be aware of taking competitor analysis too far.
by Angela Taffs | Feb 13, 2015 | Business Success, Personal and Lifestyle
I am finding that more and more as I go about my day, I am met with a complete lack of manners, etiquette and far from adequate customer service skills. In fact, it is quite remarkable to visit somewhere and be met with all these traits as standard anymore
So where does my passion for good manners and social etiquette come from? That is not too difficult a question to answer when I stop and think about it.
It is from my father.
When my sister and I were younger, he was a stickler for manners. Here is an extract from the eulogy I read at my father’s funeral just over 3 years ago.
Dad was also a stickler for etiquette. He instilled into my sister and me how to behave and woe betide us if we stepped out of line. These teachings have proven to be invaluable to me through the years but one memory still makes me chuckle. I had just started dating Nick when Mum and Dad invited him to our home for Sunday lunch. Nick duly turned up, lunch was had and all seemed well. However, I knew Dad too well, and knew that underneath the surface something was not right. After Nick went home I soon found out what. Dad was furious that someone had entered our house to have lunch on a Sunday whilst wearing jeans!! A cardinal sin in his book. He forbade me to go out with a man who did not know how to dress. Thankfully, Dad soon forgave Nick and when, as some of you often do, you see Nick out in his waistcoat and tie for what seems like a very informal gathering, you now know why.
My father really did install manners and etiquette into us from not putting our elbows on the table, never starting a meal until everyone had been served, dressing correctly for the occasion, how to stand with shoulders back and head held up when meeting people and of course the list could go on.
Today, it seems that anything goes. Mobile phone calls are taken during meals, gentlemen do not stand to greet a lady, people push through doors without holding it open for others and foul language is used as the norm.
Yes, some of these thoughts may now be considered old fashioned and outdated but the knock on effect as I see it is a rapid decline in customer service from staff who have never learnt the basics of manners and who show a complete lack of respect to individuals considering spending money at their business premises.
So I am on a mission. A while ago I read today that Russell Brand was starting a revolution with regard the political parties and their lack of interest in the ‘normal’ people of this world.
My mission is to start a revolution with businesses to up their customer service standards and treat individuals who are spending their hard earned cash with a little more respect and to use some basic manners. As I go about my day, I shall be revealing my discoveries of the good, the bad and the ugly. We have food hygiene ratings in food establishments. Why not have customer service ratings?
If you have any stories you would like to share, please feel free to let me know.
by Angela Taffs | Feb 12, 2015 | Employees
Training your employees is an investment, sometimes in money and always in time. But it is so important. Making the time and monetary commitment to develop your team can have huge benefits including:
Higher levels of performance and productivity
When people know exactly what they are required to do and have the knowledge and skills to do those tasks well, they are able to carry them out with more confidence. This means things get done faster and to a higher standard.
Increased profit
When people perform to a higher standard, orders can be turned around faster and fewer mistakes are made. Both of which lead to increased profit and decreased wastage for your business.
Increased customer satisfaction levels
When people are performing their roles well, customers are happier. When people know how to deal with a complaint effectively, those customers are happier. Happy customers are more likely to come back and buy again. They are also more likely to recommend your business to others.
Decreased staff turnover levels
People who receive training are typically more loyal and happier in their job. This means they are less inclined to leave, saving you the effort of recruiting and training someone new to take their place.
Decreased staff absence levels
People who are happier in their job are also less likely to be absent from work. This means that productivity levels in your business won’t be impacted as frequently with unexpected absences.
Developing your business
As you grow and develop your business, perhaps introducing new products, services or markets, your team will have to develop (and potentially grow) too. These changes won’t be successful unless the people implementing them on a day to day basis understand them and are able to do them.
Better reputation
When people are happy in their job and feel valued (as they do when they are properly trained and developed), they are more likely to speak positively about their employer. This means that the wider world are more likely to have a positive impression of your business, which in turn means they are more likely to buy from you and/or more likely to apply for a job with you should a vacancy arise. Having a larger pool of job applicants give you a greater range of people to employ from.
This article has been written by Fiona Pollock of Zostera Ltd.
