I really miss connecting via my blog and social networks, and plan to set aside some time to explain some great concepts and techniques that have propelled my businesses (and client’s businesses) over the past months.

It can be done! Don’t let the doom and gloom dishearten you in your business goals. I have witnessed some awesome innovation and determination over the past few months, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

True Innovation and Business Success

This really made me think a lot about innovating in general. How many businesses do you see out there that are consistently trying to bring new into the world? New concepts, new ideas, new territory? Not too many, right? I mean, we all know Apple leads the way in this territory, simply because their type of innovation is generally the kind that most people can afford. Even I have an iPhone.  It was new, and it was very different. Truly an impressive piece of gadgetry.

Then we have the big money innovator companies like ultra high luxury car manufacturers, and amazingly high fashion clothing. These industries are in a consistent state of innovation. Last year’s product is hardly relevant today. Could you say the same about your business? If not, what if you could?

It would make you more money! It would be easier to market! HEY, it would be CHEAPER to market!

What if you took your concepts, and strived for innovation every time you re-marketed them? Consistent innovation where is generally isn’t called for… reminds me a lot of what Apple did. They changed a lot about technology in a relatively short amount of time. They made it trendy, colorful, and downright awesome at times. (and I’m not even a fangirl!)  They took a great product and made it more interesting. Gave it more appeal, and then charged quite a bit more money for it.

Innovating Makes Marketing Simpler

Imagine how tweaking a few of your products or services for the times can render better results when it comes to marketing? If your sales are down, perhaps you aren’t offering exactly what is being needed at that time. We fail and we learn. Tweaking a product or a service isn’t really admitting failure, it’s being strong, dedicated, and best of all; flexible. If you aren’t flexible, you’re losing out on a lot of money.

So go forth, grow your sales, make more money and sprinkle some innovation into your ideas!

Without further ado, I give to thee: “5 Steps to a Smooth Running Business”

• Be more observant: The sheer number of business owners that aren’t taking a look at the big picture is really shocking to me. I’ve learned that entrepreneurs and business owners have a tendency to be stubborn. (This is a good trait, and a bad one). It is because of this, we often overlook the true health of our business. Perhaps we’re still in love with the whole idea of our business’s concept, that we often overlook little things that could go wrong. Some business owners just can’t bear see their idea failing, and sometimes they are quick to pass off little details that could be vital to their business’s success.
• Don’t Wing-it: No more working on the fly. It’s far easier to waste time during work time if it’s not planned out in advance.  It’s time to go back to that list of goals you’ve probably written somewhere and sit down with it for at least an hour. Each goal likely has a task that you need to be working on everyday to achieve it. Your staff should be in on these goals, or at least your management team. Having everyone on the same page of what needs to be achieved is essential. Don’t let your office’s daily tasks become aimless or ‘on the fly’. Sit down with your management team, and tell them exactly what is going down for the rest of the week. Be militant! Don’t let them divert from the task at hand. Organize work time into segments that are focused on each task, and make sure they stick to it. The results will speak for themselves.
• De-Flaw your Customer Relationship Management System: If your company is one that deals with clients, customers, or some type of database of contact information for the people who generate your business’s source of money, then you are in need of a CRM or a Customer Relationship Management system. Your CRM should be highly scalable, and should be easily modified by someone on your staff. Ask yourself these three questions: “How smooth is the data flow in my company”? Is my office organized in their dealings with our customers? Are my staff organized in each step of involvement they have in the sales/service process? If you had a negative response to any of these questions, your CRM needs to be updated or implemented. The end goal is a completely personalized central data flow that will inform everyone (including you) what’s really going on with each and every client, down to the tiniest detail. This step is imperative for our next step.
• Perform weekly Check-ups: To build your business up to the well-oiled machine that you’d like it to be, you need to be honest with yourself at least once a week on how healthy your business really is. Like a growing child, your business really does need a periodic check-up. In our current economy, this is more crucial than ever. To perform a four-point check-up on your business simply take a closer look at your marketing, accounting + expenses, profits +margins, along with customer service/support. Develop a weekly worksheet or template that each department head fills out (honestly), that details the important data from each department’s happenings that week. How’s the money, marketing and customer service? Did an employee upset a customer today? Discuss what happened and how to rectify it. A few dollars are missing? Find out where your staff went wrong, and make sure it doesn’t happen again, with more than just a few dollars.
• Build Burning Passion within your Team: If no one really cares about any of your business’s ultimate goals, none of the aforementioned steps will do anything to help your business run smoothly. Slacking and complaining generally comes from employees that don’t believe in the company they work for. As much as you’d like to think that all of your employees are really in it for the long-haul to see you succeed, you are very wrong… and possibly a bit delusional. (it’s okay, it happens to the best of us). The truth is that most employees are thinking about what they’re going to get out of their experience with your company. Are they getting more money? More vacation time? More perks, stocks, or benefits? Building passion isn’t at difficult as it may seem. Right out of college, kids line up at the front door to work at great companies like Google and Apple. Why is that? Well, Google, being the “cool” company that it is, has a game room, a gym, and all kinds of other crazy perks to keep their employees happy and motivated. Their theory that happier employees work better is likely true, considering they are one of the world’s largest and most successful entities.  So ask yourself… “What is a company that I admire, and how do they create passion within their team?” Chances are, you’ll find out some great ways to keep your staff motivated and happy.

“What do you think your greatest weaknesses are?”

      I remember hearing this question for the first time and thinking “Dude, are you serious? Shouldn’t you be giving me the opportunity to stroke my ego?” There’s a reason that 99% of employers ask potential employees this question, and I truly believe it’s because they want to know that their candidate has the ability to be accountable.

     Accountability is something that I’ve really learned a lot about over the past few years, especially since I’ve worked for myself for the duration of most of my career. There are times when things go wrong in our business or our personal lives, and it becomes increasingly easy to act as though we are victims of circumstance.  Once one can learn to become accountable on many different levels of their lives, although it’s not easy for everyone. I can really only tell you that the results of pure and honest accountability bring ineffable success when it comes to your professional and even your personal well-being.

      The Three major components to dilligenty persuing and actually achieving any goal:

1. The ability to be truly motivated
2. The ability disciplined
3. The ability to be accountable to yourself.

     The accountability factor is majorly overlooked by many. We spend so much time building ourselves up, that we often forget the meaning of learning is to never overlook our failures and weaknesses.

It’s Ego-Checking Time. The Demise of a Business    

     When thinking of this topic, I’m often reminded of a past colleague who was derelict in his ego-checking and accountability tactics. He never admitted when he was wrong (even when he was, and everyone else knew it but him), and at certain points when his business was about to explode, he’d somehow fail in a thoughtless manner that almost made me think he had an inadvertent fear of success. From the outside, it was easy to tell what his major weaknessess were. He was egotistical, arrogant, and he wasn’t ever able to hand off control of his business to his managers so they could properly do their jobs. Instead he’d make a mess of things that he wasn’t sure about because he was  afraid to let go of his control. His arrogance cost him his entire business. He became hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, and lost everything he had, personally and professionally. In addition to this, he created a very bad name for himself in his industry, as many promises and projects went unfulfilled.

Admitting My Own Weaknesses, and Using them To Achieve a Better Outcome

     The pros of admitting weakness are far greater than the cons. I remember when I started writing my book (which isn’t yet complete). I first had to really take a step outside of myself and take a hard look at my writing. The conclusion: I’m not a great writer. I know I’m not the worst writer around, but for a book, it’s got to be top-notch all the way. I immediately knew that I needed to hire a talented writer as an editor. This person’s life is writing, which is great, because my life consists of my businesses and my consulting. That was the best decision I made for that project. The editor takes my concepts and writes them out more eloquently than I ever could, making it easy to take in, and easy to get enthusiastic about. It was hard to let someone else take the reigns on a project that I deemed “my baby”. In the end, it was a good decision, and to make it, I had to admit that I wasn’t perfect at everything.

       So why is it that successful people are able to admit weakness?

     Successful people learn that not being great at something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a roadblock. Every experience for us to fail and learn something from it is truly a gift. I can recall many failures and personal roadblocks that I’ve encountered on my quest for success. Each one taught me something priceless about myself and my abilities.  Some weaknesses have opened the door to opportunities that helped me better myself, and others simply taught me more about what I am and am not capable of.  Learning one’s limits is also another imperative factor not only for just being a product member of society, but even more important, if you actually plan to accomplish great things in your life.

Each of us have unique abilities, and our weaknesses definitely compliment one another’s strengths. This is what makes life interesting, fun, and even why we happen to choose the friends and networks that we choose.

What are your weaknesses, and how have you come to terms with them?

The Internet and Mobile tech are quickly merging, and social marketing is the new catch phrase for many. The line between online and offline is being blurred by all of the great emerging technologies. There is really so much opportunity out there…. It’s amazing!

I hope 2009 treats you all well! Much success, happiness, and awesomeness to everyone!

And now… The ball has dropped!

What is your hope for the New Year?

    Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson about using private servers. No more of that! I’ll be back up and in the swing of things very soon!

   I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks before Christmas!