photo by hacky

There are a bunch of unhappy people out there.  And the really scary part of that equation is that most of them are your employees (well maybe not your employees, but someone’s employees).

Several recent studies have shown that over 50% of employees are unhappy with their job and would consider leaving if they got the chance!  Imagine 50% of your employees leaving you next month…I imagine that would make you unhappy as well.

Read More…

photo by Milos Milosevic

One of the best things that I can do with my clients is to ask great questions.  As a business owner the key ingredient for success is confidence.  Being decisive, having a plan and pushing forward are just part of the job description.  But that doesn’t mean you should just put your head down and go – taking the time to question things, make the right course adjustments at the right time…that’s what will ultimately get you where you want to go.

How do you know what questions to ask?  Every business is a little different, just like every business owner has their own way of doing things.  However there are fundamental core aspects of a successful business that have to be in place if you want to succeed in the long run – regardless of what business you are in.  If you start with that foundation and make it strong, everything else will come into shape.

Below are 10 questions that I recommend every business owner should take time and consider for their business.  If you don’t feel like you have a lot of time, read through the list and pick out the 2 or 3 questions that make you the most uncomfortable and start there.

Read More…

   photo by AndYaDontStop

I typically don’t get embroiled into political discussions – for the most part they are a waste of time and it’s just a good way to get into an argument that no one can really win.  My take is you do your homework on what’s going on, take a logical view of the alternatives and react accordingly.

Having said that, we are living in interesting times and the upcoming election looks like it could have a huge impact on the future of small business and entrepreneurs in our great country.  Regardless of your political affiliation, I don’t imagine there are many who would argue that the economy has been awful for at least the last 2 years (not to mention the joblessness and the general lack of improvement).

All of that is leading people to believe there will be a strong message sent at the beginning of November.  In fact Jim Blasingame – an author and founder of the Small Business Network has done a poll with his readers to get a sense on how they’re feeling and he reports the outcome in his post – What’s good for Small Business is good for the World:

“If the election were today, which party would you be more likely to vote for? (Note: Assume all Tea Party candidates are now on the Republican ticket.)”

Fifteen percent said they would vote for a Democrat and 85% said they would pull the Republican lever.

As you have likely seen, most polls indicate that Republicans will make major gains in the House and Senate. In fact, on my radio show recently, Steve Forbes predicted that the GOP would win a majority in both houses.

It’s not a surprise to me that our respondents tip even more heavily for Republicans than the national political polls, because our audience is primarily small business owners.

If that kind of outcome happens, it would be a resounding message and a vote for Small Business – and considering that Small Business accounts for 65% or more of all new jobs, hopefully it would be a step in the right direction.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming election?  Will it actually matter when it comes to changes on Main Street or the economy in general?  Share your comments below – I’d love to hear them.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

What’s your engine like – you know, the engine on your business?

When you have an engine on your business – a big engine, one that can really crank up the RPMs, you are going to make some noise…and you’re going to create a wake!

With your engine really cranked up, there’s no telling how fast you can get moving and you’ll definitely build up a lot of momentum.  It’s true that you might run the risk of crashing into rocks but having that momentum, that speed, that control over the engine is also what enables you to safely steer the boat.

Think about businesses you might know that don’t have an engine (or don’t use it).  They float around – pushed by the currents, the wakes generated by other boats, even the wind moves them around.  In fact, without an engine, those boats really are at risk for running into the rocks – they don’t have any way to steer and they certainly can’t build up any momentum to run upstream at all!

What’s the engine like on your business?

Read More…

  photo by Robert S. Donovan 

As a business owner, when you first start out you create some sort of vision of success.  A vision that’s compelling enough to get you to take the big leap, leave your job, take the risk…whatever it might be.

That vision usually has a money component – ultimately you want long term financial independence (what ever that might be for you), and you also want to make good money along the way (be well compensated for your efforts above and beyond the hours you spend). 

Most business owners would like a certain amount of freedom and flexibility relative to their time – you know you’re going to work a lot of hours, but if you can have some say as to when those hours might be, that would be great.

Finally – as a business owner you’d like to be doing something you believe has a larger purpose or is at least interesting…and you’d like to carve out some time to hang out in a hammock by the ocean every now and then!

Unfortunately for most business owners their vision of success gets lost somewhere along the way.  That’s why I found it really refreshing to hear some friends of mine talk about the business success they had achieved in the last couple of years.

Read More…