by Angela Taffs | Oct 12, 2015 | Business Success, Running a Business
I really cannot stress enough the importance of having the correct working environment and getting into the right frame of mind when you are working from home in order that you work at your best. By having a well-laid out and organised workspace that feels comfortable and welcoming will help you be more focused, organised and productive. Thinking about what you wear and how you look can get you in the right mindset for creating your best work.
Even if space is of a premium in your home, really make the effort to create a harmonious working environment rather than grabbing a spare inch at the end of the dining table or working from your sofa without putting any thought into your surroundings.
Wherever you have your workspace, you need to keep it organised. Make sure you tidy your desk at the end of each day and block out an hour or two once each month to do a declutter. It is incredible how quickly unnecessary items find a way of taking up residence long-term if allowed to. Don’t leave piles of paperwork in the corner of the room if you don’t have a designated working area. Get a storage box and put everything neatly back into it at the end of each day.
Ensure that your work area is a pleasure to look at and work at.
- Get a vase and keep it filled with freshly cut flowers.
- Light a softly scented candle whilst you work.
- Have your favourite motivational quote printed off and put it in a small picture frame to sit where you can see it.
- Buy yourself a special mug or glass for your drink.
- Treat yourself to a beautiful desk lamp.
- Get a gorgeous cushion for your chair.
Even if you do have to work from your dining table you can still spend a few minutes each morning setting these things out to get you in the right frame of mind.
Don’t forget yourself and how you dress. It is all too easy to pop on those comfy tracksuit bottoms when working from home but dressing in the right manner can help get us in the right mindset for working effectively. Treat yourself to some clothes that are both comfortable but that look smart and you wouldn’t be embarrassed a client sees you in. For the ultimate luxury get a pair of cashmere lounge pants. Pricey but worth it. Don’t scrimp on the make-up either. Look your best and you will feel your best and work at your best. Give yourself a spritz of your favourite perfume in the morning, don’t just save it for when you are leaving the house.
All of these are small things but can make a big difference in how you feel when you are working.
Try them out and see how you feel and then let me know in the comments box at the bottom of the page.
by Angela Taffs | Sep 1, 2015 | Business Success
There is one almost guaranteed way to lose even the most loyal of customers. And that is to make promises that you cannot keep.
It is often in our nature to want to do the best for everyone and to never say no, but this can ultimately do our business more harm than good. If you are already stretched to breaking point, trying to squeeze in just one more client or fulfil just one more order could well be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Or it may be that we promote a product or service where we simply do not have the capacity to supply to enough people
I have been searching for a business mentor for the past couple of weeks. Even though I mentor others, I still need someone to be accountable to and to use as a sounding board myself. I have decided to invest in myself and my business and so was prepared to pay to get the right person.
I watched a few webinars and did some research and came up with a shortlist of some apparently highly qualified and highly sought after individuals. The two it boiled down to have both just opened up spaces to take on clients and have been promoting this heavily.
I contacted my first choice. I was promised a comprehensive plan and if she was not available at any time, her support team would there for me. I decided to check out the support team and went on live chat to ask a simple question. The smoke screens and lack of ability to answer my questions was quite ridiculous and after giving them every opportunity to redeem themselves, they failed miserably to give me what I wanted. I then emailed the mentor direct and after no response tried to gain her attention through social media. But the only thing I got in return was silence.
I then went to my second choice. After many promises of how wonderful she was and what a perfect fit we were we decided to book a starter session together by phone. But the call never came. I waited and waited but was met with silence again. I emailed and was told by her assistant the appointment was not put in the diary.
I felt completely let down and if this was the way these people ran their businesses, they certainly didn’t meet the standards I have for mine.
So if you tell someone you are going to do something, simply do it. If you offer a free call to try and gain a new client, treat it with the importance it deserves. If you say you are going to deliver a product at a certain time, make sure it arrives precisely then, or even better, before.
It is far better to tell someone that you cannot fulfil their wishes at this moment in time than let them down and gain a bad reputation. I have spoken to a number of people today who have all been let down by another particular business advisor and word is spreading like wild fire locally that this person is unreliable. This is undoubtedly going to damage their business.
Remember the adage to under promise and over deliver. At the least, make sure you invest efforts to keep your promises and then exceed them if you have the time and ability. Stand out from the crowd and gain a strong reputation for all the right reasons.
by Angela Taffs | Apr 7, 2015 | Business Success, Running a Business
Do you have the mindset of a successful business owner or are you just playing around hoping that things will miraculously just drop into place for you?
Too many times I come across those who tell me they are running a small business whilst complaining that they are not getting the results they want. They blame everything from the economy to marketing just not working for them down to customers just not understanding them. But really?
What is the real reason that your business is not gaining clients and generating income?
So many times during discussions, I find these people are not treating their business as a business but are just doing ad hoc work here and there when it suits them. They play with their business when they feel in the mood and if they don’t get instant results, go off and do something more interesting instead.
I work with these people and help them set out plans and goals for the month ahead to start moving things forward. Heads always nod enthusiastically and then when we next catch up these plans haven’t even been started upon, let alone achieved. It is incredible that the same excuses come up time after time.
- I wasn’t well
- I had to take my dog/cat to the vet
- I had a lot going on in my personal life last month
I am sorry, and I know there are some genuine cases out there, but these really are pitiful excuses. If this resonates with you, do you really mean to say that you were ill all month? Did you have to take your dog to the vet every day? Did you really let your personal life take over your business efforts? Emergencies do happen, but these should be factored into your business and a back-up plan put in place to deal with these.
Have you ever been in employment? If so, do you think the CEO or MD managed to run the business and pay their staff with the excuses and lack of performance you are allowing yourself to get away with? Do you think if they took time off every day to deal with personal situations they would have held on to their job? No. I didn’t think so.
Change your mindset and start to think like a successful business owner.
Stop playing around and decide if it is a truly successful business you want or just a hobby that will fit in when you feel like it. Change your mindset and start to think like a business owner.
As fired up and enthused as you may be about creating your own business, it will take hard work, commitment and personal investment on your own part along with self-responsibility for making things happen.
As John Barney stated in a past article on why many quit their business, being your own boss is tough and comes with its own pitfalls such as not having anyone to be accountable to and telling you what to do. This is one of the reasons that many start their own business but soon discover they need to be given constant direction as they lack the necessary work motivation to get the job done.
To build a successful business you will need to be able to motivate yourself to do work that you do not always enjoy and that does not bring instant results. To be able to succeed, you will need a strong inner drive, work ethic and a laser focus. Sadly too many people I meet lack these characteristics which are needed to accomplish the success they are looking for.
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If you truly want to succeed and have a business to be proud of, start to act like a business owner now.
- Set out your goals and specific plans to achieve them and put them into action.
- Prepare for the unexpected and emergencies and have a plan in place of how you are going to be able to cover these where possible.
- Set yourself out strict working hours and sit down and work!!
- Sort out your priorities and get them done.
Because if you don’t, you won’t have a business. And there will be no-one to blame but yourself.
Need more help?
If you really do want to put those plans into action but need some help, join the member’s club today. As part of your membership, you will be able to take advantage of the Time Management business builder video tutorial along with all the accompanying planners, templates and action plans to turn you into a successful business owner.
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?
