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This is part 2 of a two-part post about what makes a “real” small business owner and how trying to live up to messages given to us by others may not actually support our best performances and leave us feeling overwhelmed and indequate. This post focuses on the strategies to support getting comfortable with your way of leading and managing your SME. In the first part of this post, I talked about how learning to play the bass guitar has parallels to developing one’s identity as…

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In spite of the advancement of technology and the expansion from a local to global economy, people still do business with people. So if your goal is to make your business amazing, then your first step is to develop two plans. The first plan is called your strategic action plan or strategic business plan or just plain business plan. This is an overview of the following key areas within your organization based upon some very intensive research: Marketing Sales Customers (I prefer Customer…

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It’s a week of firsts, children across the world beginning their first day at school, someone nearby starting their new job, another starting a new business. I watch the social networks fill up with the trepidation of parents sending their little ones to the big world of primary or secondary school, and it reminded me of a client I have who is about to start a business. Like many others, they think they are alone, almost to the extent that they are in fact the only ones venturing into the…

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I do!  It’s the cry of more and more people regardless of their age – entrepreneurship is a growing trend – yet there is more to being a successful entrepreneur than being self-employed as anyone who has ever tried to build a business will know only too well.  Becoming an entrepreneur is not the “easy option” and most certainly is not for the faint-hearted. Business success stories are never without challenges – and regardless of your motives that set you off on your business…

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As we learn, change, and deepen our identity of “business owner”, we get advice and messages about what we’re supposed to do. From the moment we start our business to the time we exit it, there are messages about what makes a “real” business owner. This two-part post talk about how trying to live these messages undermines our peformance and can contribute to feeling overwhelmed or inadequate as well as strategies to gain clarity and spend your energy on the…

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What do you want from market research? Ideally confirmation – of your expectations for the future development of your business. More often than not, this is what happens. Your instinct and market knowledge has served you well: the segment does hold potential, their business idea is competitive, and the market value is significant. Sometimes however, this isn’t the case. Here’s an example of where it all went wrong, and when the ugly truth was revealed. The story so far Company…

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Nutrition is often top of the list for a healthy mind and body. Don’t forget that if you run a business, it is also organic, growing, and in need of nutrition. Check to see if your business is getting its “5-a-Day”: Authenticity – Be yourself If you are anybody else as you are pitching for contracts, selling your wares, communicating a message, or asking to be paid, then you are not yourself! The only person that has control over how you portray yourself and your business is you.…

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Did you start the new year with bright shiny plans and a Can-Do Attitude? Everywhere you look are references to how the outlook is poor or changing at an obscenely slow pace. It’s enough to consider putting your head under a pillow and see if things will get better without you. They won’t… so let’s try a different approach We’re not talking about half-baked, “everything will be all right” optimism. It’s really about resiliency, a deeper form of…

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Recently on #kaizenblog (a hashtag Twitter chat), we were talking about how knowing your core competencies can improve your business messaging. As with any conversation about communication, people started discussing the art of  listening. That’s when Eric Tsai (@designdamage) shared some advice from his mentor, “My mentor’s best advice when engaging in conversation: W.A.I.T. Why Am I Talking?” Conversations are supposed to be two-way events. Business owners are in…

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I awake. I open my eyes and just for a moment think I am still in my dream. All I see is a beautiful blue sky with fluffy clouds… oh yes, and the 2 contrails of airplanes criss-crossing each other from left to right. I then realise I am not in my dream but in my bed, awakening to the view directly above me through my Velux window. It’s 6.30am and the air is clear and quiet. So much so that I could hear the rumble of one of the jet planes. As I watched them, one contrail was much thicker,…

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