If you’re like a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs that I’ve talked to recently…you’re feeling pretty tired.  One guy described it as feeling stretched thin.  Worn out, dragging, physically and mentally drained…and all for good reasons!  Let’s face it, for most of us the last 2…maybe even 3 years have been challenging in many ways.

However it’s a new year and NOW is the absolute best time to start making great things happen for yourself.  (And if you’re worried…even a little bit…that 2012 is the end of the world, the super smart folks at NASA can reassure you there’s nothing to worry about!).  The way I look at it, you’ve always got two choices, you can stress and fret and let the world beat up on you, or you can choose to go out and build your own future.

Where to start?  Here are a few ideas that will help you kick off the New Year the right way.

Play to your strengths

As a business owner you have to wear a lot of hats, everything from IT support to accounting and customer service.  Early on you didn’t have a choice, you do pretty much everything, but as you grow and find some success you have to find other answers or you will collapse under the work. 

If your goal is to grow your business and get more enjoyment out of it, then you have to start playing to your strengths.  When you’re focusing on things you’re really good at, everything seems easy and time flies.  When you’re spending time on things you’re not particularly good it, it’s a struggle and no fun.

What are the 1 or 2 things about your business that you absolutely love?  The parts where you make a huge difference?  What would it take to have you start spending more time on those aspects of your business?

Conversely, what are the 1 or 2 things about your business that you dread doing or just don’t do very well?  What would it take to delegate or outsource that work?  Yes it might cost you some money, but that will be more than offset by the gains you’ll have from investing that time and effort into your strengths.

Focus – what’s most important right now?

One of the reasons you’re feeling tired is that you’re trying to do too much.  Too many things are at the top of your list as critical items.  You work hard, but because you’re spreading your time and attention across 10…maybe even 20 different activities, you’re not getting anything done.  Which would make anyone feel tired!  It’s time to start thinking about doing less!

Take a hard look at what you want to achieve this year.  Out of all the things you could spend your time on, what are the top 5 things you could do that would make the biggest difference to your business?  That list might include eliminating a constraint (i.e. hiring more help, streamlining processes).  That list might include generating more leads and opportunities (developing a marketing plan, more purposeful networking, emphasizing specific marketing tactics).

Whatever you think it is – write down your top 5 priorities for the year and and focus on getting those 5 things done. 

It can be really difficult to prioritize and narrow down your list, but I guarantee you will see a lot more progress and feel better about it if you can stick with a focused approach.

Give

When you’re trying to make things happen, it’s easy to fall into a taker’s mentality.  To focus on what you need from other people in order to win.  Here’s the thing…it’s completely counter-intuitive, but if you really want to succeed, your best bet (and shortest path) is to focus on how you can help others out first.

You build fans, friends, relationships and referral partners by helping people out.  You should always be giving value.  Find out what someone needs…and then help them get it! 

Try this – identify those people who could be great connections for you and figure out how you can help them.  Don’t ask for anything in return, honestly go in with a giving mentality.  (Read the Go-Giver if you want some inspiration on this idea).  Not only will you feel good about yourself, but you will be surprised at the unexpected doors that open because of your efforts.

Reflect and be grateful for today’s gift…

It can be really difficult to find perspective…the big picture that helps propel you in a positive way through good days and bad.  If you’re just treading water and not looking at the big picture…not consistently thinking about why you do what you do, then it’s going to be exhausting. 

Conversely, if you can get into a mindset of purpose and meaning, a lot of things start falling into place.  Obviously you have to find your own answers, but this short TED video from Louie Schwarzberg might give you some ideas.  Check out Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. for a lift.

There are plenty of days when things are going wrong that you’re not likely to feel grateful, but imagine if you could carry that feeling around all the time…pretty powerful stuff.

Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you – give the 4 ideas above a real shot in the next few weeks.  Spend time thinking about and implementing them into your life and business.  Then let me know if you can sense a difference in your progress and how you feel about it.

What other ideas would you recommend for getting off to a great start in a new year?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.  Seriously – let us know what you think.

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

Photo by Stuck in Customs

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Every now and then you get handed a slow week – usually the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, but sometimes you’ll get a quiet week other times during the year.  Maybe you’ve officially taken the whole week off – which is great!  However if you’re like most business owners, you’re ‘working’ this week, you’ve just planned it to be slow.

Slow doesn’t have to mean unproductive though – here are a few ideas of what to focus on to make sure it’s a great slow week and not just…well, slow!

Finish your planning

Planning is a four letter word for most entrepreneurs – it runs counter to your instincts…and for most of us it’s just not any fun.  But if you want to succeed, you need to at least go through a planning process.  It doesn’t have to be complicated – try this:

Identify your top 5 priorities for the next year…if you could get these 5 things done / achieved / etc. you’d make it a great year!

Identify at least 2 or 3 key targets you want to hit – usually one of them is revenue, but it could also be profits, number of new clients, some sort of quality metric.  The key is to make sure it’s something easy to measure and it’s a valid, important measure of your business success.

Finally – with the above in mind, identify the top 5 (or so) things you need to get done in the next 90 days.  What will move the ball forward?  What’s achievable?  Be specific and layout at least a framework of how you’ll do what you’d do.

Make a list of people to contact

Your long term success is also going to be driven by the company you keep…and if you don’t make time to stay in touch, you’ll lose out on a lot of opportunities. 

Make a top 20 list of business (and some personal) contacts who are likely to either refer you business or be a great contact for you in some other way.  Once you’ve got a good list, make a commitment to meet with someone on the list at least weekly.  Relationships only get built when you spend quality time with people.

Take a nap!

It’s a slow week, take some time and give yourself permission to relax a little bit.  Seriously…when was the last time you took a nap (and being sick doesn’t count).  You’ll be amazed at how good you’ll feel after a quality nap.

Clean off your desk

There have been tons of studies that prove that clutter on your desk, in your office causes stress…and with that stress you’re going to be a lot less productive.  Don’t believe me?  Try doing a great cleanup job on your desk…and let me know if you don’t feel way better about what you’re doing afterwards. 

My experience is that it’s like a weight coming off your shoulders…one that you didn’t know you were carrying!

Hang out with family and friends

This one’s obvious – the reason you planned a ‘slow’ week in the first place was to build in some time to relax, but if you’re like most business owners, life often gets in the way of your plans.  An important email comes in, you get some phone calls you have to handle, you just remembered a commitment that had to be done…before you know it the week’s up and you didn’t spend any time with those most important to you.

Don’t let that happen.  On your slow week…make sure you build in hard stops and walls for your business activities…and give yourself some quality time away.

What are the most important things you do on a slow week?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, especially if you’re just relaxing around this week!

Shawn Kinkade   Kansas City Business Coach

Photo by Arvee5.0

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A friend of mine does a really cool thing every summer.  Once his kids are officially out of school he starts ‘Summer Hours’ for his business.  Basically he takes every Friday off during the summer – primarily so he can spend it with his kids, but also so he can recharge and attack his next big thing with inspiration and energy!

In his particular case, summer works out well, both for him personally, but also for his industry where his clients and prospects tend to be harder to reach due to travel, vacations and kids being out of school. 

In my case, I could potentially do a variation of summer hours but a better idea might be when things naturally slow down during the winter holidays (basically the time between Thanksgiving and the end of the year).  Taking a big chunk of that as time off wouldn’t cost much in missed opportunities and would give me a great chance to breathe and look at the big picture!

What about you – do you have Summer Hours?

Right now I’m imagining a lot of you reading this are thinking…”What world do you live in?  I can’t find the time to go to lunch and I’m lucky to see my family at the end of the day, much less take a whole day off every week during the summer!”

Realistically for most business owners a full day off during the summer isn’t practical, but it is a great future goal to shoot for.  In my friend’s case, he has employees who aren’t taking Fridays off, so work is still getting done and he’s making money on his day off.  That sounds like a pretty smart move to me!

In fact, the process of pulling yourself away from the day to day…even if it’s for a brief period, would help you establish the precedent that you don’t personally have to be involved in every single transaction, activity and minute of your business.

Try this:  Figure out a block of time (at least a few hours every couple of weeks) that you can claim as your summer hours.  Maybe it’s every other Friday afternoon, maybe it’s coming in late on Monday mornings…or maybe it’s being home by 4:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays so you can get a glimpse of your kids! 

Whatever you think you could make work, block it out on your calendar and then make sure actually shut all the work stuff down and use the time for you.  You’ll be better prepared to handle the stresses of owning a business, you’ll be more creative, more relaxed and overall you’ll get just as much done as you would if you tied yourself to the desk for that same period of time.  Studies have shown that productivity drops dramatically as you get around 40 hours of work per week…making all that over time not terribly useful (and really stressful).

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Summer Hours – share them in the comments below.

Inspiring Summer Hours Photo by Bethan

Shawn Kinkade  Kansas City Business Coach

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Imagine your business as an elite athlete…how would it compete against others in your field doing the same thing? I mean really compete head-to head; take the gloves off and the best person wins.

This past weekend the World Team Wrestling Trials were held in Oklahoma City. These are not characters of the WWE, Smackdown, or one of the other Pro Wrestling productions. These are the real modern day gladiators of one of the oldest sports in history. There are few sports that require the level of conditioning and commitment that is demanded of an elite wrestler.

This annual tournament is an event where men and women prepare a lifetime for the opportunity to represent the USA on a world stage. And ultimately, a chance to stand on a podium, as the USA Flag is raised to the sound of the Star-Spangled Banner. But in the end, only one person from a very limited number of weight classes earns the opportunity to move on to either the World Championships or the Olympics. Anything less than 1st Place challenges the emotional fortitude of the even the strongest willed individuals.

At this high level, physically most of the athletes are not that much different from one another. Yet some of the athletes clearly perform at a higher level than their opponents. What is the difference? What makes one athlete perform better than another on a given day? Certainly luck plays a part, but for many it’s the preparation leading up to the event.

What kind of preparation are we talking about? As an elite athlete you are already in great physical shape, so there has to be much more than just that.

“I’m a big believer in starting with high standards and raising them. We make progress only when we push ourselves to the highest level. If we don’t progress, we backslide into bad habits, laziness and poor attitude.”

“Raising your level of performance requires a proper mentality and meaning from within. This gives you the ability and drive to work on the things necessary to go to a higher level. When people ask me how to raise their level of performance, the first thing I ask is, How important is it to you?”

- Dan Gable ’72 Olympic Gold Medalist

In the sport of wrestling there is no other single individual in the modern era that is more decorated then Dan Gable. Obviously top of the line as an athlete with a gold medal, but also as a coach where he lead Iowa University to 15 NCAA Championships over 21 years and he retired with a team record of 355-21-5 (94.4%)!!!!  That is a staggering percentage!  Imagine if you sold your product or service to 94.4% of the people who were potential buyers?!

Dan has many famous quotes, but the above quote is one that challenges every individual, regardless of their profession, to evaluate where there are today and where they want to be tomorrow.

From a business perspective, think about how you (and your team) perform and what you’re doing to raise that level of performance? As an athlete it is more than saying “I am going to work out harder tomorrow”. In your business it is more than saying “I am going to try to sharpen my skill set in this area”.  Simply thinking about it and trying aren’t going to cut it.

Let’s face it, for most businesses competitors provide very similar products and services to what ever you offer. Success is not found by simply putting out a “widgets for sale” sign and hoping things go well.

If your goal is to raise your level of performance it will not be achieved by just doing the status quo, it will be achieved by setting high standards, holding yourself accountable to those high standards… and then continuing to raise your standards. If you’re serious about wanting to win, you have to ask…How important is it to YOU?

Share your thoughts or give an example of one thing you are going to do to raise your level of performance in your business in the comments below. If you don’t want to share, write one down and put it in the corner of your monitor or on your bathroom mirror and hold yourself accountable to it. 

Chris Steinlage   Kansas City Business Coach

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I had a great discussion the other day at one of my Peer Group Advisory Boards – we were talking about rolling out a new marketing initiative and that it would be a real challenge.

At that point, one of the members used a phrase that summarizes one of the primary secrets of business success:

“If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.”

On the surface that sounds like a pretty obvious thought…almost a ‘duh’ moment.  But if you think about it a bit longer, it uncovers a lot of the issues that business owners face all the time.

Think about all the things that most business owners don’t like to do because they’re hard:

• Thoroughly interview a lot of people to make sure you end up with the best fit.
• Follow-up with everyone you met at that last networking event.
• Measure detailed metrics of your marketing initiatives so you can tweak the results over time.
• Meet with your employees at least once a quarter and make sure they have everything they need to be successful in the long run.
• Network, prospect, actively market your business…every single week regardless of how busy you are.
• Make sure every client has a great outcome and gets more than they expect.
• Create and update a detailed ‘profit plan’ that projects your revenue and expenses over the next 12 months.

That’s just a partial list, but everyone of those things is often considered to be ‘hard’ to do…and therefore most business owners don’t do them.  But the ones that do are raking in premium revenue and growing their market share.  They’ve learned the secret:

“If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.”

If you want to stand out from the crowd, if you want results that are above average, then the only way to do that is by doing the stuff that that everyone else thinks is too hard.

What’s something you should be doing, but you’re holding back because it seems too hard?  Share your thoughts in the comments below, I’d love to hear them.

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