Business Owners Success Club

We've moved

2011-02-14T08:00:00.002-04:00

We moved back to WP.

Yes, it was over a year ago. In conversation with Mitch Joel, he said anyone moving a blog should put a redirect post in place. This is it.

It's Social Media month at BOSC and we're talking about my Social Media mix.
I'm on Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn

Come join the converstaion

Year in Review

2009-12-15T12:22:00.004-04:00

I like to pause at this time to look over the past year and into the coming year.

As you look back over your year, ask your self these questions:

What surprised me most in my business?
How my business boomed this year. Usually, when people mention the recession word, business owners look for ways to slash spending which means outside services like bookkeeping are one of the first to go. But not this time. Business owners realized that if they were going to make it through they had better hunker down, with good data, and spend their time effectively.

What was the best thing I did?
I traveled. I took a trip to Iceland and England to attend TEDGlobal, in Oxford; I spent a week with my family on the Bras D'Or Lakes; I went to the Celebrating Communities Conference in Truro and I flew to Toronto to celebrate my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary. I got clarity, new ideas, different perspectives, met amazing people and realized, you know, this is a pretty good world we live in.

What mistakes have I learned from?
Leadership has the responsibility of nurturing and supporting the people around me. This doesn't come naturally to me so I am asking for help and trying to ally with others who can fulfill that role.

Listening is important to make sure that what I am hearing is what the other person is saying. We all see the world in a different way and perceive it through our own lens. I stumbled a couple of times from not having clear communication and expectations with other people.

What is my most proud accomplishment?
That I have taken several visions to completion and that I am bringing several others along. I turned thought into a tangible. Wow.

What did I not accomplish that I hoped I would?
I had hoped I would have several people here in the office working by now. I'm hopeful that I will by early in January.

Looking back, what was the theme of my year?
Going Places
By that I mean travel as well as learning and stepping out of my comfort zone.

As you look ahead, ask yourself these questions:

Where would I like to be in a year from now? ( I don't necessarily mean geographically)
I'd like to have Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd. in 2 locations with 6 staff.
I'd like the Business Owners Success Club to have 600 on-line members making clear progress on their businesses every month.
I'd like to have taken 4 trips during the year, including a cross-Canada odyssey with my family.

What big thing can I accomplish next year?
I want to take the kids across Canada by Travel Trailer. That means getting my businesses to the point where I don't have to be here. That means delivering value from where ever I am.

I've noticed that I have to focus beyond where I am so that I can overcome the fear and just deliver. I find fear rears its head and stalls projects just before completion as I begin to second guess myself and begin to worry about what other people will think. I'm hoping that by focusing on something bigger, I will be able to just deliver all that I can.

What can I get rid of to make room for better things?
I'd like to say fear, but that isn't realistic. I can say that I will get rid of the hesitation that fear brings. Seth Godin has a great video about that here.

Which of my strengths can I highlight this year?
My strengths are Futuristic, Learner, Input, Maximizer, Strategic: I work best when I'm gathering information and figuring out the best way to use it. I've gathered lots of information and now I want to focus on turning it around and putting it back out there.

What would I like the theme for this year to be?
My theme will be Deliver

This is a great exercise to inspire yourself to keep moving forward. We tend to over estimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in 10 years. By doing this exercise every year, I am finding that I am accomplishing more every year while directing my 10 year plans better.

How about you...

What Matters Now

2009-12-14T10:56:00.003-04:00

Seth Godin, thought-leader extrordinaire, has asked more than 70 of today's top thinkers to write a page each about what they are thinking about/planning for the coming year/want to share.

He has compiled it into a pdf that he is encouraging all to share.

Here's what I'm thinking about/planning for the coming year/want to share.

UNITE

If all small business owners were united into a community whose aim is to support each other, the world would be a better place.

Small business supports local sport, culture and community.

Business owners have a vested interest in making sure their communities have good infrastructure.

Small business is the economic life of most communities by providing jobs, buying goods and services, and making goods and services available.

Therefore, the more successful small business is, the better our communities can be. This applies all over the world and is the reason that the Acumen Fund and Kiva are such important charities.

It sure feels like running a small business is a tough road. Why is that?

If we worked together, small business would be more successful.

Support other small business by recognizing that none of us are competitors, we all want to help, the more you give the more you get in return. Share advice/resources/ideas. Buy from your community.

Read What Matters Now, apply it and pass it on. Tell us what you are thinking about/planning for the coming year/want to share.

The Best of 2009

2009-12-09T07:27:00.005-04:00

I went to TEDGlobal in Oxford England July 2009.

This counts as best trip, conference and restaurant meal. (pictures here)

The trip itself was cool because I had an 11-hour stopover in Iceland so; of course, I went to Reykjavik and then for a soak in the Blue Lagoon. I saw the Jeff Koons exhibit at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park and I spent the weekend after the conference with my cousin, Patricia.

This brings me to my best restaurant meal. After touring Borough Market, several churches and the Tate Modern, Patricia and I met up with my sister-in-law and her husband at Imli, an Indian Tapas place in Soho. There we were - 4 Canadians, all related, laughing, eating and drinking for hours.

The TEDGlobal conference was mind-blowing. It is a world-class conference with all the amenities and comfort you could expect. The speakers were amazing. The videos of them don’t capture all the nuances of their personalities that you can see when you are there. The audience is every bit as amazing as the people on stage and everyone is there to immerse themselves in the experience. The venues, the program and the energy were all designed to keep people mixing and moving. It was an enlightening, life-changing experience. It was a stretch for me to get there and I am grateful that I did.

#BEST09

Another Amazing Female Singer

2009-11-30T11:19:00.002-04:00

Imogen Heap wowed us at TEDGlobal this past July. Here is one of her songs. Enjoy.

Room to Fail

2009-11-29T08:29:00.016-04:00

I’ve had some very interesting discussions over the last few months about failing.

One person, a CEO of a billion dollar company, suggested that maybe our goal shouldn’t be to stop failure, but to make it easy for people to not be afraid of failure and to support people who have failed. Fail often and quickly is the mantra. With engineering, I view this year's failure as next year's opportunity to try it again. Failures are not something to be avoided. You want to have them happen as quickly as you can so you can make progress rapidly. Gordon Moore

The Shame in Failure

In our society, there is still shame in failing. Failing is equated with losing, rather than with finding another way. Thomas Edison said he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. If he had thought each was a failure, how could he have continued on to 10,000 more tries? Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently. Henry Ford

What's the Worst That Can Happen?

The best lesson I learn from failure is that the world doesn’t come to an end when I do. With every failure I gain more courage because I know that if it doesn’t work, the worst that can happen is that I will end up back where I started and, well, I’ve been there before. Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power. Seneca

I’m Proud of my Failures

They came about because I had the courage to try something. My high school’s motto was “Not to try is to fail.” We all have to decide how we are going to fail.. by not going far enough or by going too far. Sumner Redstone

Failure is a Nebulous Concept

If I run a series of Lunch & Learn sessions over 3 years that eventually peters out. Was that a failure? What if I told you that it established my reputation within the business community as someone who a) knows a lot about business (I better after listening to the 30 or so business experts I invited to speak) b) is willing to give time and effort within the business community and c) cares about the success of others as much as my own.

I can tell you that other projects have come my way because of that reputation. And that Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd. has grown considerably over the years without paid advertising. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because... All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.
Mark Cuban

Learn From Failure

If I take the time, I learn from my failures and I make the time because failure is the best lesson. Before success in any man's life he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. Napoleon Hill

Fear of Failing is Tied to Skill Level

I am afraid of failing at hiring the right people. I’ve had some real gems and a couple of not-so-gems. I’ve learned every time.

The downside of hiring badly is that it can hurt my business and cost me money. The upside of a good hire is that my business expands and my life is easier.

When I’m stepping into an area of business I don’t know as well, like hiring, recognizing the difference between success and failure - between a gem and a n-s-g - is much harder. Being unsure increases the likelihood of failure and it makes it more difficult to recognize it earlier.

I will try to mitigate it by creating an evaluation sheet that spells out clearly the difference between a g and a n-s-g and use it early and often. In my case, not recognizing when to ask questions, taking too much of my time needlessly and costing more than I can bill are the important indicators. I will evaluate their work weekly and keep in close contact with my clients.

See, I’m learning. Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. Og Mandino

Is failure the opposite of success? Or is it merely a precursor? Does the magnitude of the successful outcome depend on how spectacular the failures were that preceded it? Is success possible without failure? Does success without the stepping-stones of small failures breed a fear of eventual failure? Some people are destroyed by their first failure, while others are destroyed by their first major success. So let's have successes in small amounts, leading up to being able to be successful. Jose Silva

Failure is Inevitable

Failure is an important aspect of business and it’s an inevitability so embrace it and be proud that you have just learned yet another way not to do what you tried. Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes its built on catastrophe. Sumner Redstone

There’s Another Yellow Car

2009-11-29T08:10:00.009-04:00

If you look for yellow cars all of a sudden it seems like every second car is yellow. The same goes for purple, blue, pink or brown ones. Now that I’m looking for information about hiring, there are resources popping out at me from everywhere.

I had lunch with a friend, Shelley Fleckinstein of King’s Physiotherapy, who has grown her company to 26 people. Shelley is a people person so I asked her for her advice and this is what she said:

Be clear about the job
List the benefits you offer
Hire on probation
Create a process for evaluating the new hire

Thank you, Shelley for making it manageable and less scary.

This week the HRSDC (Human Resources and Skills Development Canada) conducted an information workshop about hiring (look, another yellow car). They talked about breaking jobs down into essential skills and then looking at what level of each of those skills are required for the job.

For instance, what level of reading is required?
Reading emails and responding
Reading a full page memo about a new company process
Reading a manual to learn a new computer program
Reading and interpreting government regulations

Each of these is more challenging than the one before. It is important to realize what level of skill is required and to make sure the people you hire have at least the level of this skill that you require.

For more information about Essential Skills, Skills Assessment and Development and for improving HR practices can go check out these links:

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/workplaceskills/essential_skills/general/home.shtml

http://essentialskillsthatwork.com/home.html

When I got to the presentation Shelley was there with her manager, Cheryl, so I knew I was in the right place. It just goes to show you that the learning never ends (that's a good thing) and we can always get better at the skills we need.

Hiring

2009-11-26T11:01:00.004-04:00

When hiring, I’m supposed to consider:

The new people should have the skills to do the tasks

Their strengths should complement what’s already in the company

I need to be able to assess their strengths

I need them to be able to work on their own

I’d like them to be a part of the team.

I should look for people who will fit in with the culture of my company

I need to understand the culture of my business

Staff will be the face of my business and can make or break success

I should consider people who are different than me so that I will have a well-rounded offering

But not too different or they will clash with my customers’ expectations and the other staff

And all this from a resume and an interview.

No pressure!

The End of the Line

2009-11-09T14:40:00.004-04:00

The Future without fish. A very scary documentary about the state of fish world wide.

Final conclusion: we’re at the end of the line especially with large species.

To help: don’t eat endangered species and eat lower on the ocean food chain like anchovies.

I just watched this movie and it got me thinking about my business. What can I do to make my business more environmentally conscious? We already do as much as we can electronically so we don’t use as much paper. For instance, bookkeeping is often about matching one set of data to another. We export one list to a spreadsheet; put both on a wide screen side-by-side, then we can mark the spreadsheet as we match the info to the other program. For an industry known for its paper consumption, we do remarkably well.

What more can we do?

Let’s write a list of our best practices; things small business can do to be more environmentally sound:

Send emails, not letters or invoices by mail.
Use larger screens so you can work from 2 programs rather than print off one.
Have bills sent by email.
Create a great filing system so you don’t have to print off emails.
Walk to the office.
Add your best practices in the comments

Status, Success and Small Business

2009-11-06T11:05:00.006-04:00

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton

This is a book about an almost universal anxiety that rarely gets mentioned directly: an anxiety about what others think about us, about whether we’re judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser.

Alain de Botton explores the different ways we can gain status and the ways people have created their own status. For instance, he explores the Bohemian movement and how they deemed non-status as status.

He spoke at TEDGlobal in July about a more humane way to look at success and I highly recommend you watch his talk.

Business Exposure

One of the things about being a business owner is that we can feel pretty exposed because what we fear is the judgment of others. Richard Branson is fearless about being out there. He built the Virgin brand on providing what people really wanted, taking calculated risks and being very exposed as he did it (sometimes literally).

Building a successful business means we have to be able to stand up and shout it out. “Look at me! I’m the best at what I do! You’d be crazy not to deal with me!” Whether we do this by yelling, being the only one in town or by quietly making it known to the right people, we are still taking a stand and telling others. That feels scary to most people.

Business and Failure

There is a feeling that if a business owner fails in their business it is their fault. Not the economy, not competition, not straight-up bad luck. There is a belief that our society is a pure meritocracy, which means that if you are at the top you deserve it, but if you are at the bottom, well, you deserve that too.

We are exhorted to try often and fail fast. We should be bold enough to push boundaries and ready to accept failure because that is how we learn, right? Edison said he learned 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb.

But society says failure means you are a loser. We are taught not to fail. When someone fails, there is shame.

Too Successful?

It seems like it’s important to look the part of success without being too successful. There is suspicion when the business looks like it is not successful enough or it is too successful as though they must be cheating somehow. Status symbols to a point are acceptable, but not too much. It is expected that a business makes the owner a good living – if not it’s not successful; but not too much because that would be greedy and money-grubbing.

Business and Status

We are afforded a certain status just by virtue of being a business owner. Businesses are deemed to be successful unless they are demonstrably not.

The image of business owners is one of a risk-taker, a commanding presence and making plenty of money on the backs of others (again, the right amount is smart, but too much is taking advantage).

There doesn’t seem to be a vision of a self-employed person toiling away to satisfy their customers. Of a person working long and hard and sometimes not getting paid.

The image of a business owner who works his/her health into the ground as they build a business is alright because they are reaping the rewards. It is acceptable to trade your health for your business, as long as it is a success.

What is success?

We can’t be successful at everything which means there is an element of loss. We have some choice over what we will be successful with, but we will have to choose which things we will pursue. Here is an interesting essay on life business balance by Jay Goltz an entrepreneur. He is, in essence, apologizing and explaining to his wife about the choices he has made as an entrepreneur.

Success from without

Am I successful? My BMW is almost 30 yo and cost what people pay for gas for a year. I don’t have a car payment. I get to go to business events I like. My kids say I’m always working. I get to go to their events at any time of the day or evening. I worry about cash flow. I don’t worry about losing my job. I can’t buy designer clothes. I can wear what I want at my office. I own 4 computers. I have staff. I love what I do. Am I successful? Do I have status?

Accidental Business, I mean, City

2009-11-02T11:27:00.005-04:00

I read Robert Fulford’s Accidental City: The Transformation of Toronto just before my trip to TO. Originally Toronto was laid out neatly by the army engineers 1793 who set it up as Fort York. As with most cities it’s early growth after that time was organic.

Fulford’s tale takes us back to the 1800’s (Toronto incorporated as a city in 1834) and he tells us of how the direction and amenities were decided by the strong personalities of each time. They come complete with prejudices and personal desires.

Businesses grow the same way. We start them with well-thought –and - laid-out-plans. In the early growth phase, the growth is very organic. After a while our prejudices and personal desires begin to assert themselves and our businesses take on our personalities. This can be a good thing and sometimes, not so good.

Eventually, if we are to grow the business beyond ourselves, we will need to let other personalities assert some influence. Our businesses need to attract a range of characters and people to grow and we need to have a well-rounded aspect to attract investment.

My business is bumping up against the top of the personality imposition boundary. As I bring in staff, they are asserting their personalities and we are able to attract different clients, who might not be attracted to my type of service.

I want to grow this business to be much bigger than me. I think that can happen best by allowing the business to not be only about me.

I enjoyed Robert Fulford’s book about Toronto as I made my way around the city. I picked out things he talked about and I Knew why and how some of the buildings came to be.

Hiring 2 More

2009-11-02T08:06:00.000-04:00

I hired Stella a year ago and it was the best move I made. She's a very good bookkeeper, has initiative and works hard. The bottom line in my business looks better than ever and I was able to go on a vacation!

But Stella had to move across the country. She's in Vancouver now. She is still doing work with me, but not at the same level and she’s not holding down the office so I can leave.

I miss her. I miss her and how she was helping my company grow.

The business is growing and I'm having a hard time keeping up. My experience is that the more capacity I have in the office, the more work comes through the door. Now I would like to hire 2 more Stella's.

Hiring more people raises several challenges:
finding great people who are able to do bookkeeping well for small business
managing cash flow when I usually get paid for the work they do several weeks after I have paid them

There are several good hiring programs locally to help me manage the second challenge. Plus I'm pretty good at managing cash flow.

It's that first challenge that I'm going to find the toughest. Going through a hiring program will likely limit the pool from which to chose employees.

Bookkeeping is not the same as accounting, so at this point, there aren’t any local training programs presenting qualified candidates. The challenge we have is that one person is expected to do a full set of books for a company. The existing training assumes that the person will enter an accounting department and look after one portion of a business that has processes in place. Small business isn’t like that. I’m prepared to train the right candidates.

My intention is to hire 2 people and to make sure I can reject candidates fairly quickly. They say to hire slowly (I've been looking for 6 months; even before Stella left) and fire quickly (advice I wish I had taken in the past).

Within a year I'd like to have 4 employees at the office and several part-timers working from home.

I'll keep you posted.

My Pledge to You

2009-10-25T11:12:00.003-04:00

You are going to notice a change in tone in these blog posts.

The Business Owners Success Club started as an offline, monthly business improvement club with a number of local businesses. Over 3 years I amassed several binders and many mgs of info about various topics of interest to small business owners.
This blog was bits and pieces of info that I thought would be interesting to small business owners. It was roughly put together with a monthly theme.

Now here is the confession, I gathered the info, and ran the club and I didn’t engage in the monthly process myself. Sure, I took on some of the best practices and I have continually improved my business, but I didn’t put the effort into continual, monthly incremental improvement.

That’s the change you are going to see. I pledge to work on one aspect of growing my business every month and tell you about it. You are not going to get several generic posts talking about a topic and the resources to go with them. You are going to get to follow along with me. There is plenty of info about what to do and even about how to do it. What most people really need though are examples and inspiration.

I hope that by seeing my triumphs, challenges and mistakes, you will be inspired and encouraged.

My business, Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd. has grown and changed over the years to suit my needs. Now my needs are for it to grow and become a Business.

Let the games begin…

How I stopped being a Serial Entrepreneur and Designed and Built the Business of my Dreams

2009-10-25T10:13:00.001-04:00

It all started because I was pregnant and needed to make a few more dollars on a schedule that worked for my new bundle of joy. I had success in the past with picking up bookkeeping work as a way to pull in money quickly.

By the time the 4rth little sweetie was ready for school, I was working enough to make the extra we needed and within a schedule that worked well for me. But with the kids gone most of the day, the business could expand to fill the extra time. But something had changed. My early clients were comfortable with a self-employed bookkeeper working from home, mostly because they came from referrals from existing clients. Now as I added more clients than I was getting from referrals these new clients had different expectations: expectations of a more professional kind of service.

The other difference I noticed was that I wasn't always ready to finish work when the kids got home. More clients meant that my schedule wasn't as fully under my control as it had been. This was not an unwelcome change, but it did have an effect. It was getting harder to mix work and home life.

These two pressures; need for professionalism and a need to make a clearer separation between home and business; brought me to the decision to get an office. As in a real office, in a building, away from the house, with posted hours and a place to meet clients. I still wanted things my way which meant I wanted to be able to walk to the office and I wanted it to have at least a semblance of welcome and dare I say it, hominess.

I found the perfect lace about a kilometer from home. It used to be the manager's office in a historic former hotel in the professional centre of our community. Tall windows, fireplace (non-working, but you get the idea) and big and bright.

It cost more than I would have advised a client to pay, but within 3 months it was paying for itself in increased business and productivity.

The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain

2009-10-18T10:26:00.002-04:00

Anthony Bourdain calls himself a cook and a writer. He’s been other things, too like a drug addict and a thief. I’m not telling tales, he says it in this book.

Most importantly, right now he looks to be a person living the life he wants. He says he’s too old to head back into a kitchen full on and he loves to travel the world eating everything put in front of him. That’s what he’s doing.

He alludes to some of the conflicts he’s encountered, but this is not a book about how to do it. Instead we can read between the lines for the lessons every business owner can learn.

Lessons to learn:
Have your own voice
Work hard
Aim for where you want to get.

Blog Action Day

2009-10-15T10:26:00.003-04:00

The theme this year is Global Warming. While I’m only a couple of credits shy of a BSc in Environmental Science (life and babies intervened), I’m not going to weigh in here. I’m going to point you to 2 talks that were given at TEDGlobal.

James Balog has sobering time-lapse photography spectacularly depicting vanishing glaciers. There can be no doubt global warming is real.

http://www.ted.com/talks/james_balog_time_lapse_proof_of_extreme_ice_loss.html

Michael Pritchard has the technology to turn dirty water into clean, sterile drinking water. Global warming isn’t just about weather; it is also about access to water. We need to stop global warming, and in the mean time make safe drinking water available. Here’s hope!

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_pritchard_invents_a_water_filter.html

The Dip

2009-09-14T06:39:00.001-04:00

Seth Godin’s book The Dip talks about how every project has at least one ‘dip – a point where you seem to have taken too many steps backwards and you are not sure if you will ever get moving forward again. The Dip is that point where you are askling yourself if it is worth your effort to

“Here’s what we know: it’s easy to record and print a CD and hard to make a hit. Easy to write a book and hard to make it a bestseller. Easy to build a website and hard to create a viral success.”

How do you know when you are in the Dip and when it is time to throw in the towel? Seth answers that question in the interview he does with Guy Kawasaki. “It’s time to quit when you secretly realize you’ve been settling for mediocrity all along. It’s time to quit when the things you’re measuring aren’t improving, and you can’t find anything better to measure.”

Be Bold and Mighty Forces Will Come to Your Aid

2009-09-14T06:28:00.002-04:00

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
Attributed to Goethe but..

Best Conference Experiences

2009-09-14T06:23:00.001-04:00

Share your best conference experiences.
What made it great for you?
What was the worst conference you've had?
What would you like to see at a conference?

Alternative Conferences

2009-09-14T06:01:00.003-04:00

I watched the New York conference for Social Good on Live stream on August 28 from the comfort of my desk – no charge. The TED conferences are simulcast for a fee that is considerably lower than the in-person fee. Streaming your live conference allows people to attend who wouldn’t normally attend because of travel or registration cost. Your focus is on the live conference and the streaming happens around that.

Teleconferencing and video conferencing are options where the presenters and the participants are at their own desks listening and/or watching through their computers or phones. The conference is designed around the feed, the feed is part of the message, to paraphrase Marshall McLuhan. There are many free and fee based services.

Other options include:

Creating content and posting it on a blog, Slideshare or Audible.

Setting up a social network on one of the platforms such as Ning or Bebo.

How to Organize a Conference

2009-09-03T08:57:00.004-04:00

Once you are clear on the why to organize a conference you can start work on the how to organize a conference.

Who Will Attend
Be very clear about your market from the beginning.

Who will attend?
What do they want?
How will you reach them?
What is important to them?

The best way to find out the answers to these questions is to ask the people you want to attend.

Choose a Theme
This will have an impact on every other decision you make from here on. Your theme should be relevant to the people you will entice to come, otherwise they won’t come.

Your theme can be timely or timeless; broad or focused; inclusive or exclusive.
The more focused and exclusive your conference, the more valuable and therefore expensive it can be.

The themes for the Kings County Small Business Conference have been:

Successful Together
Bringing a World of Ideas Home
Thriving in Tough times
This year will be about Being Efficient/Ecological/Using Resources Best – still working on the title.

Program
Your theme and market will dictate who you ask to present, what they will talk about, when the event will take place, what form it will take. Think about your audience would they appreciate scholarly, deep thinking presentations or do they want to get to that rubber meets the road place?

The venue needs to be appropriate for the number of attendees, comfortable for them and have that balance of nice/price that works for you. The same goes for the decoration, food and entertainment. The convention centre and a sit down lunch is a must for executives, while a hall and soup may be best for small shop owners, and consider that the church and sweets will appeal to seniors.

Budget
Conferences can range from a budget of $100’s to $Millions.
Sources of money are usually sponsors and ticket sales.

Sponsors will want to feel that they tie into the conference theme and that the participants are their market. You should spell out clear expectations about what you want from them and what you will give them in return. Some sponsors are looking to sponsor specific portions of events rather than just putting money into a pot. That’s why you will see "LUNCH PRESENTED BY LOCAL BANK".

Ticket prices are one of those tough decisions that are best made with the feedback of your market. Serving lunch is expensive at some venues and may not be valued; people may rather pay less, and finish earlier.

I’m a big fan of free, except when it comes to conference attendance. It’s been proven that the more people pay, the more they value the service. If you can’t make the value proposition work, then don’t do it. Having said that, I will be presenting a free evening event in January; it’s my way of giving back for attending the TEDGlobal event in July.

Keep in mind that there is an optimal price. That is the price/ number of tickets ratio that gives the most profit. For instance selling 30 tickets at $250 for the day (lunch included at your cost of $30 each) will net more than 50 tickets at $150.

Marketing
Everything about organizing conferences is marketing. As soon as you start you are marketing, to partners, sponsors, speakers and finally the people attending. That’s why the biggest part of a conference budget is usually marketing.

The internet and social marketing are making it easier to reach people. You should encourage your speakers, sponsors and partners to spread the word. You can make it easy by providing ready made materials.

One very effective tool people are using is to give away content from the speakers in the weeks leading up to the event. It seems to go against the whole idea of charging for events, as in why would anyone pay to go if they can get the content free, but it works.

Conferences can be win-win-win all around. The bigger your vision, the more exciting you make it for everyone the more likely you will have a successful conference.

Finally, make it easy for people to register and pay.

What are your tips for organizing successful business events?

Why oh why to Organize a Conference

2009-08-27T09:59:00.003-04:00

The main reason for me to organize an annual Small Business Conference was to be able to speak at a conference. I wanted to and people weren’t banging down my door to get me to speak at theirs. Plus I like going to conferences and having one right here in the Annapolis Valley is very convenient for me.

The $$ reason was that it is a way for me to promote my company, Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd, myself and the other things I’m doing like this blog and the Our Business Happenings Group (mail OBH@cleartoyou.com if you want an invite).

In the first 2 years I managed to break even, although the revenue in my company took a big hit as I spent my time doing this and not bookkeeping. In the 3^rd year, I made some money and I hope to do it again this year.

Organizing the Kings County Small Business Conference isn’t necessarily an effective use of my time if I am looking for direct dollar pay backs. But, it is a terrific strategy in the design of my life. More about that in a month or two when we talk about lifestyle design.

Getting the most out of conferences

2009-08-27T09:41:00.002-04:00

It's June and I’m thinking about conferences right about now for 2 reasons: I’m working towards going to one of the coolest international conferences I know of and I’m thinking about starting to work on putting together the 4^th annual Kings County Small Business Conference during Small Business Week again this year.

I’m working on going to TEDGlobal in July in Oxford England. They have a great page on how to enjoy their conference that should apply to all conferences you attend. If it doesn’t, don’t go.

This link will take you to the TEDIndia Conference page. It’s the same one for every Ted conference and it’s not really a hint – not really ;

Social Networking

2009-08-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

Are Social Networking Tools time and energy suckers or do they give you measurable results?

People who use them well swear by them.

There are several types:

Social Groups such as FaceBook and LinkIn

Bogging on Wordpress, Blogger etc

Micro Blogging like Twitter

All of these are tools which means you should have a strategy for using them. Otherwise you will find they eat your time and you don’t get any results. Once you know what you want to accomplish you can choose the right mix of tactics and the best ways to use them.

Social sites are for finding people like you and connecting with them.

Blogging is a way to show people you know what you are talking about. Your posts should be about the theme of your blog and they should be relevant, helpful and for the benefit of your readers not you.

Micro blogging should follow the same rules as blogging. Don’t really tell people what you are doing if it’s what you ate for breakfast, but if you are reading a great book, well then share. Here’s a great place to get tips on how to use twitter effectively.

Community

2009-06-02T09:39:00.003-04:00

Chris Guillebeau just posted a great article about Community.

I just forwarded it to my mastermind group because we are building an online community for off-line business. I think that small business is the backbone of most economies and I think that many of the world's problems would be solved through strong small businesses all over the world. A business owner who has reached a level of success looks into the wider community and solves issues around infrstructure, resource availablity and happy, healthy citizenry who will be employees and customers. Our hope is to help small business owners reach that stage.

This group will be a support, guidance, accountability partner and resource for small business owners everywhere. Small business is a tribe that is a million years old and has a billion members. All the problems have been encountered and solved many times over. We are all experts in some aspect of business. We want to share those stories.

We are set up on the ning.com platform - a great tool for communities to interact.

It is by invitation only and will be open to Beta trials by the end of June. I will post the link when it is ready. The domain we bought is OurBusinessHappenings.com We plan to launch on 30 September, 2009

May belongs to Tribes

2009-05-18T19:33:00.004-04:00

In Tribes Seth Godin tells us to step up and lead. In these days, when people don't talk to their neighbours, they are looking for ways to connect and it remains to us to help them do that.

People are looking for relevance. They aren't interested in small talk, they want to talk about what is interesting to them.

People can sort themselves into any type of tribe. They are no longer constrained by geography. They can get together about purple wave petunias or be the tribe of people who don't like purple wave petunias. All people want is someone to help them talk to each other.

I belong to Seth Godin's Triiibes, an online group he started and let loose on the world. We've written a Q&A book about tribes. Here is a promo made by one of the members of Triiibes. It's in a contest and could use your vote. Have a look and vote:

Who can you help to connect? What is your passion to share?

2009-05-18T19:32:00.001-04:00

The Blue Sweater

2009-05-18T19:10:00.003-04:00

The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz

Here's a woman not afraid to start.

Sometimes you just have to step forward and do. Once you start, you can check in and make adjustments as needed.

Jacquline got a dream job out of university as an international banker traveling the world. Something about the culture of the industry didn't feel right. She had heard about microfinance and decided to look into it. It didn't take long before she was offered a place with an organization in Africa - not Brazil which is where she felt called to work. She took the job even though she didn't quite know what her job would be or even exactly what the organization did. What she did know was that it was getting her closer to where she wanted to go.

She took the step. Many steps and many lessons later she started the Acumen Fund.

You don't always have to know what the end will look like, sometimes it's enough to know what you want to accomplish and head in that direction. For Jacqueline, that end was to bridge grassroots organizations with the resources and skills of mainstream corporations. That is exactly what she has accomplished with the Acumen Fund.

How to Start

2009-05-18T18:42:00.003-04:00

A deep breath then one two three GO

Suspended in air before the stomach clenching feeling of falling hundreds of feet straight down towards the water. A scream torn from my throat. Woohoo!

photo New Zealand Tourism

Could you do that?

Talk about a difficult start. It goes against all that is in us fighting to keep us safe.

Why is starting so hard to do? Here are 4 tips for starting:

Be clear about why you are doing it
Make yourself as safe as possible
It helps to have support (or someone pushing you)
Take a deep breath and go

What to Start

2009-05-18T18:25:00.003-04:00

What project would be the best use of your time to get you to your goals?

If your goal is to travel the world. What is the next thing you have to do to begin traveling?

That will depend upon where you are on your path. For some people it might mean getting themselves to the airport for their flight, for others it might mean make a savings plan so they can put some money aside.

What you need to start next to reach your goals depends upon where you are going and where you are now in relation to that goal. It is essential that you know where you are going and it is equally essential that you know where you are now.

It's much easier to get going when we know where we want to go. Have you ever tried to start a project without really knowing what you wanted to accomplish? This usually happens when it's someone else's project.

Getting where we want to go isn't all that hard to do - we do it all the time. The hard part is deciding where we want to end up.

April is All About Starting

2009-05-18T18:01:00.002-04:00

Starting is half the battle and yet we have such a hard time doing it.

Once we start, that's it. There's no starting over. Feels like we better start it right.

Starting is the time when we make choices about what we are going to do and more importantly, what we are not going to do. We have to set a direction, use what we have, ignore other possibilities. Sounds scary.

Once we do it, once we take the first step, all other possibilities collapse and we now have a direction and a course. Once we get over the fear of starting, we are free to follow the direction we have set.

Now we can make some progress.

Finding your Strengths

2009-05-18T17:40:00.003-04:00

It makes sense to work to your strengths, but how do you figure out what they are?

You know you are working to your strengths when you feel energized, excited and happy doing a task. What were you doing the last time you felt like that?

Break down the job into it's component parts to get at the part that made you feel so good. Is it the creativity of cooking - a dash of this; a pinch of that? Or is it the chopping, measuring and handling of the ingredients? Do you love coordinating all the parts so they done at the same time? Or do you love thinking up new ways to pair interesting foods?

Think about what you do to that makes you happy and try to do more of it.

If you are stuck about how to do that, leave a comment here, maybe others can help.

Strengths Based Leadership

2009-05-18T17:25:00.004-04:00

Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath

Our book club studied this book last time and it sparked deep and meaningful discussions about what leadership means and where it begins and ends.

Do we have the responsibilty as leaders to ensure that all of our staff are working to their strengths or is it their responsibility to bring their strengths to the job?

What happens if a staff person is not able to work to their strength in their present job? Do you let them go if you can't move them or change their job? Is it enough if they can work to their strength outside of their job?

We'd like everyone to be working to their strengths, but jobs entail many tasks.

The consensus was to hire with strengths in mind. This means being very clear about what strengths are necessary for the jobs you are filling.

March 2009 Working from Your Strengths in Small Business

2009-03-05T10:06:00.003-04:00

I believe in working from your strengths.

Everything I've read about it is focussed on a work environment; usually a corporation. Not a one-person shop, not a 2 or 2 1/2 person business, net even a small group.

Here's how you can use this if you are just you, or you and a few:

1. Change the focus of your business. This is the most aggressive use of this concept and it is the one I opted for. Of course you must keep in mind your market, but you may find that you were doing this anyway. We tend to slide towards doing what we are best at doing. For example, if your business is baking pies, but you really love teaching about baking pies; you may find you were giving your customers hints and tips to make their own pies, all the while wondering if you were killing your business by empowering your customers to make their own pies instead of buying them from you. If your strength is teaching, then start teaching - offer classes and workshops.

2. Hire strengths. Most of my bookkeeping business comes from people who are great at what they do, but don't like (or even hate) bookkeeping. We love doing it. That's one of the things that makes this such a wonderful world: we all love different things.

3. Reframe it. Maybe you hate calling customers for late payments. Change the way you think about it. You could use it as an opportunity to connect with your customers and offer support (while still asking for the money). You could make a contest of it by seeing how much money you can collect in 1 hours worth of calling. You could decide on a reward for yourself based on how much you collect such as give yourself the rest of the afternoon off.

There will always be things you have to do that are not playing to your strengths. Take a breath and do them. Be happy that overall you are the boss of you and you love what you do, or you wouldn't be doing it.

The Matrix of Business

2009-02-10T10:49:00.006-04:00

There are 4 acknowledged pillars of business: marketing, production, human resources and finance. The theory is, if you can master each of them separately, you will have a successful business.

Let's look at this a different way. What if they are inter-related and the goal isn’t to master each separately, but to master the relationships between them. What if they looked like this instead:

Marketing

Production

Resources

Marshalling the skill sets you need to ultimately sell your wares

Having everything you need to produce what you sell

Finance

Telling you how much you need to get and which of your marketing efforts are giving you the best results

Telling you if your business is financially viable and what you need to do to make it more profitable.

If this were the way business was, how would you manage your business differently?

Business is really just 2 steps– making things to sell and selling them. Managing resources and having financial information helps you do that in the most efficient way.

Given that, what are the most important skills you need for business? Leave a comment to share your ideas.

Hard Skills/Soft Skills

2009-02-05T11:48:00.003-04:00

What do you call HARD SKILLS? Accounting (my fave), copywriting, inventory control, employee relations, sales, collections, purchasing, etc. These are acknowledged to be essential for business success.

Then there are the SOFT SKILLS: listening, empathizing, being optimistic, problem solving, showing compassion. They are much more difficult to measure. They are not the focus of the curricula of business schools - maybe because they are so hard to mark.

What is it that makes you go to one store and not another; to get your haircut at the same place or use the accountant you do? Skill is a factor, but customers and employees want more than that.

The factors that make for the most successful businesses and the "best places to work" are more in the realm of soft skills.

Hard skills are essential - and so are soft skills.

What soft skills do you see missing? Which ones do you think are the most important?

The Peter Principle

2009-02-03T16:04:00.004-04:00

Most people start a business because they are good at what they do - bookkeeping, hairdressing, selling, fixing cars, cooking etc. They start off as self employed...(bookkeepers, hairdressers, mechanics ) and do fine. Over time they decide to grow their business. Soon they find they spend less time doing their business and they have to spend more time working on and growing their business.

That's a whole new skill set and they find they get over their heads pretty quickly.

Here's where the Peter Principle kicks in. It states: "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence." The related and satirical Dilbert Principle created by cartoonist Scott Adams states that companies tend to promote their least competent employees to "remove morons from the productivity flow."

Can the same be said for business owners?

Do we grow our companies just beyond the point of our ability to manage them? The businesses that make the transition are often the ones that hire professional management.

Or following the Dilbert Principle - do you know any people who started their businesses because they were not employable?

Sometimes people start a business because they figure they can run a business better than their boss can. Michael Gerber, in his E-Myth book, talks about how a person with a skill is hit by an entrepreneurial seizure and starts a business. This technician believes that because they know how to do the work of a business, they know how to run that business.

What do you think? Do the Peter Principle and the Dilbert Principle apply? Do you know of any examples? Do you see it in yourself?

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Why do 80% of Businesses Fail?

2009-02-02T11:58:00.004-04:00

The statistics tell us that 80% of businesses fail in the first 5 years.

The reasons cited include:
lack of basic business skills
not enough good advice
cash flow problems
lack of sales
losing focus
pricing poorly
not seeking help
underestimating the competition and the market
undervalueing promotion

Usually the reasons are directly related to the product or service sold by the person citing the statistics.

This month, in the Business Owners Success Club, we are going to look at what it takes to make sure your business succeeds. Is it a matter of discovering the 36 or 100 or 78 business competencies and mastering them?
Is it a mindset? Is it as simple as making a great product or service and selling it at the right price?

Follow along as we explore this and please comment to share your ideas about what it takes to be successful in business.

Best Business Books That Make a Difference

2008-12-18T13:43:00.003-04:00

Take a look at my Squidoo lens.

You can vote for your favourite books or add the business books that made a difference to you.

While you are there, think about making your own lens. It's an easy way to aggregate information that's important to you and that you want to share. I've set mine up to pay out to the charity of my choice - Grameen Bank.

You'll get to:

check out another web application
find out about good business books
share information
help out Grameen Bank.

Good all around

Productive! Magazine

2008-12-01T15:30:00.003-04:00

Hot off the blogoshere presses: a new magazine.

Gathering the best of the productivity bloggers offering their best in productivity tips.

This is Stress-Less month, here at BOSC. This magazine will help you do that. There are articles on happiness at work, Getting Things Done, Zen to Done and many others.

What can you do right now to make the biggest impact on your success?

2008-11-24T11:50:00.006-04:00

Answer:
Write down your goals.
Start by pretending it is 1 year from now. Write down where you are. For example: I have the best kitchen. The walls are painted a pretty colour and the new south-facing windows bring in a ton of light for my window sill herb jungle. There is plenty of counter top space and I love cooking great meals for my family.

Write statements for a few different things you want to accomplish - where you've traveled, who you spend time with, how you make your living.

Do it for 6 months and again for 3 months from now. This will form the basis for your planning. If in a year I want a renovated kitchen, in 6 months I should be starting it and in 3 months I should have the plans done and be looking for quotes.

Which brings me to today. What can you do this week, today to move you forward on this goal?

For me, I will stop by the local building supply and start gathering ideas for counter tops, flooring and cabinets.

The Long Tail

2008-11-02T17:08:00.005-04:00

It's not about hits any more. We can listen to any music we want, buy more books than any book store can hold, access books from anywhere through the library system and hear from anyone anywhere.

It used to be that we listened to what Casey Casem told us were the top 40. We didn't get to hear other music unless we had a friend with an older brother or sister who bought and played other albums.

Now there are sites that will take your favourite songs and suggest others that have similar qualities. You can refine the search with feedback about what they suggest.

what does this mean for your business?

People are becoming used to getting what they want. If you can make that easy for them, you can take advantage of this trend.

Here's a link to Chris Anderson's blog where he talks about his book, The Long Tail.

Blog Action Day

2008-10-15T19:02:00.006-04:00

Today is blog action day.

Today thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!

After reading Inspire by Lance Secretan, I closeted myself in my bedroom and worked out my destiny, cause and calling - why I'm here on this earth. Here's where I ended up:

To unite and empower small business owners into a community whose aim is to live the lives we want.

I believe that people's freedom from persecution, hunger, fear comes from controling their own economic destiny. My prefered way to do that is to own a small business.

I believe that people have been doing business for millions of years and that there are a billion businesses on this planet right now. That means every problem has been encountered and solved many times over.

I believe that if we work together we will all thrive. I believe that running a business should allow people the freedom to look out for themselves, their families and their communities. My mission is to help as many small business owners as I can to achieve that freedom.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Productive and Super Productive Time

2008-10-01T10:08:00.009-04:00

Productive time is spent building your business, marketing and working on billable tasks.

Super productive time is spent creating systems that will bring you money and do your marketing without you having to be there.

For instance you can bake pies for your shop, or you can hire and train others to do that. Then your income is not tied to the amount of time you spend.

Rich Shefren talks about this in his Attention Age Doctrine. It's a relatively quick read, packed with great insights and how-tos.

Perkonomics

2008-09-30T11:41:00.007-04:00

What Perks can you offer your best clients? How can you make them feel very special?

October's Trend briefing on TrendWatching.com explains the concept of giving your best clients something special. Airlines and hotels have been doing it for years. It's not about elitism, rather it's creating incentives to make all your clients want to be your best clients.

To read the full briefing you can skip right on over to here. http://trendwatching.com/trends/perkonomics/

Back up your computer

2008-09-28T13:23:00.001-04:00

It's not a matter of IF, but of WHEN.

Success Factors

2008-08-08T15:01:00.003-04:00

“We didn’t get the house tea blend with this shipment and we’re almost out.”
Mary had reluctantly interrupted our meeting. She knew that Joanne held our pow wow sessions as inviolable, but she also knew that a Tea House without tea wasn’t good either.

Joanne excused herself to straighten out the situation.

She was back very quickly, and I asked her what had happened.

“Our supplier produces a special blend of tea for us. It includes a unique tea plant from Africa that sometimes is in short supply because of the weather. We already identified a more common plant that can be used when that happens. I asked Mary to call them and find out which one they will be shipping and when. We should be able to make it another 5 days with our current supply.”

I congratulated her on having a unique blend and on having a back up plan. I asked her if she wanted to follow up on it. I needed her full attention to go over the monthly figures.

“No. Mary can take care of it.”

Now I was the one who needed a minute to process what had just happened. This is one of the few clients I have who never gets frazzled. Everything works exactly the way it’s supposed to. What was it she was doing and how could I bottle it up and sell it to my other clients?

As I drove home after our afternoon meeting, I thought about the clients I have who are most successful. What was it about all of them that made them better than the others?

Let’s see:
They tend to be in action mode not reaction mode.
They empower their staff to take care of their duties.
They know who to call when things don’t go as planned.
They get things done.
They are relaxed, yet driven
Busy not frazzled
On top not overwhelmed

If I had to break it down into three things it would be

1) They are very clear about where they are headed.
2) They delegate like crazy.
3) They create processes for everything.

Heirarchy of Needs for Business

2008-07-08T11:11:00.005-04:00

You've heard of Maslow's Heirarchy of needs, right?

The same concept applies to business.
You start by established your product/service, your marketing, your staff and all those other things that make your business work. Then you get a sense of security, knowing that it will all carry on again next week. The sense of security increases inversely proportional to how much of your presence is required to keep things working.

This is the whole working in your business that everyone talks about. The working on your business comes as you move up the heirarchy to become established within your industry and your customer communities. Esteem comes when you are recognized as a leader and self actualization comes when you teach or mentor.

Your job as a business owner is to move your business through the security phase to the community (love /belonging) phase to begin working on your business as Michael Gerber exhorts us to do.

Bookkeeping Manifesto

2008-05-10T10:11:00.003-04:00

I live and breathe bookkeeping. Accounting is almost my first language - my first year english professor at Dal was convinced English was not my first language, and maybe he's right.

Not everyone does. A large component of my business is training people how to do their bookkeeping. But, I also I hear from people that they are not sure about the best ways to go about getting their bookkeeping done and what to do with the information when they get it.

So I'm writing a Bookkeeping Manifesto. It will answer all questions about the who what where when and why of bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping isn't just about satisfying reporting requirements. The information people get from their bookkeeping is like a map they can use to chart the best course for them to reach their goals. They can find out what parts of their business make the most money, where they can do better and make plans for how to reach their ultimate goals.

I want to clear away the mists and make small business finance clear.

My request of you is to comment here with questions you have about your bookkeeping and, indeed, any aspect of your business. I'll use these questions to make sure the Manifesto is addressing the most relevant issues facing small business today.

Thanks for your help!

A New Way to Tell Stories

2008-04-10T11:00:00.003-04:00

Here's a new way to tell stories. They use the leading edge of technology in new ways to create and to communicate. It couldn't have happened even 2 years ago.

As you participate, enjoy the stories, and think about how you could use the same ideas or other ideas that are sparked from this.

http://www.wetellstories.co.uk/

Before you buy your next ad

2008-03-30T14:42:00.001-04:00

From Seth Godin:
Before you buy your next ad, my suggestion is that you spend 1 minute watching this ad

Accounts Receivable

2008-03-28T12:57:00.005-04:00

Getting work is the goal of every business, but even more important is getting paid for that work. There’s been much talk lately about how the economy is taking a downturn. This seems to cause many people to try and hold onto their money for longer, meaning they are paying their bills more slowly.

Not getting paid on time plays havoc with a business’s cash flow costing money and stress. When the money doesn’t come in on time, the business owner can’t pay their bills and that costs money, either through line of credit interest or late charges. Or there are lost opportunity costs of what else could be done with that money.

Getting paid on time comes down to doing 2 things:

Make your credit policy explicit.

Have logical consequences.

Think about your credit policy. When will you extend credit, for how long, how much, what will it cost your clients and what will you do if they get behind?

Make sure your clients understand that if they don’t pay you when the work is done, they are getting credit. They owe you that money and the clock is ticking on it.

Make sure your clients understand when you expect the money. That you are not just letting it go until ‘later’ but that you need it by a certain date.

Remember that the bill with the highest interest rate is the one that gets paid, so make sure that you, quite logically, charge them for their use of your resources.

Finally, have a step by step procedure in place for when things aren’t the way you expect them.

It could go something like this:
1. Make it clear when you expect your invoices to be paid before you do the work.
2. Send invoices promptly
3. Send a statement every month with finance charges for unpaid balances.
4. Once an invoice is 15 days late send a copy of the invoice with a coloured stamp stating it is overdue.
5. Once an invoice is a month late call and ask for the payment, making it clear they have broken your agreement.
6. If it remains unpaid after they have promised a payment, suspend work with them until they pay.
7. If it reaches several months and they have stopped taking your calls, then it is delinquent and you will have to take it to the next step. That usually involves making a concerted effort to collect on your part, sending it to collection, taking legal action, or writing it off.

This is most people’s least desirable part of running a business, but it is vital to running a profitable business. Business owners have responsibilities to pay their bills, your staff, their obligations and their family. That means collecting the money due in a timely manner.

So take a deep breath and do what needs doing.

More of the Best

2008-03-23T06:51:00.005-04:00

KD Lang's Juno Awards performance in Winnipeg. She has an awesome voice. Thanks to Carrie and Danielle once again for pointing this out.

A free day today

2008-03-05T11:40:00.001-04:00

It’s a storm day around here today.

The kids are off school. My day’s appointments are cancelled. I have a free day. I’m using it to do some of the fun tasks I like to do once in a while.

When you lose a day from your schedule this way, you find a way to work around it. If you have to you can always figure out ways to be more efficient, to drop tasks, or to double up on work done.

What if we made a point of popping ‘unstorm’ days into our schedules? Wouldn’t that make life more fun?

Next week is March Break here in Canada and I’ve decided to take the week off. Before today, my plan was to come to the office for at least one day – it is the best office in Kentville – for planning, writing and other fun things. After today I will reschedule today’s missed appointments into part of one of those drop in times.

Not a bad trade off for a free day today.

I'm a Yummy Mummy

2008-03-05T11:05:00.002-04:00

I love my business and I love my kids. Both those things are part of what defines me.

So when Erica Ehm of the Yummy Mummy club called for articles about Yummy Mummy's at work, I just had to chime in.

You can read my article here http://www.yummymummysite.com/index.cfm?PID=19772&PIDList=16915,15873,19772

Note:
I have taken a little artistic licence so please know that I am always happy to hear from you.

5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

2008-02-08T10:11:00.000-04:00

This is my favourite kind of business book- the information is presented as a story.

We read the story of how Kathryn was thrown into the CEO position of DecisionTech. The current CEO was the founder of the company who had great startup skills, but lacked the ability to run a large business.

Her executive team display all the dysfunctions in the book ;) and we take the position of a fly on the wall as she deals with them.

The accompanying workbook is not as much fun because it delves more deeply into the whys and hows of the dysfunctions. It offers real exercises so it would be a great resource for anyone dealing with the issues raised in the book.

What if Small Business Were Fun and Easy

2008-01-30T13:27:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking, and that's always a dangerous thing. If we've been doing small business for a million years since the first people traded fish for rabbits or salt for apples; and there are a billion small businesses on the planet right now; why do we all feel alone and overhelmed? Why do we feel like we have to reinvent the way to do it?

Why do so many businesses fail? Why do we feel like we are never doing enough, or the right things?

Could it be that we expect too much of small business owners?

Small business owners are expected to wear all the hats.

What if...
What if a couple of small businesses get together and shared the work. The numbers person did numbers for all of them, the marketing person did marketing for all of them and the people person did all the hiring for all of them?

What if a small business were really a group?

What if we eached worked with our strengths?

What if we worked as a team?

What if it were fun and easy?

Theme Words for 2008

2008-01-18T12:08:00.001-04:00

Carrie and Daniel got me started last year.

They suggested everyone should choose a word or two to be a theme for the year.

So, as I start 2008, I gave it much thought and decided on Continual Improvement.
That will apply to me, Crystal Clear Bookkeeping, The Friends of the Kentville Public Library Society and you, dear readers.

I'm on the hunt for tools, ideas, examples and suggestions I can use and share.

What word or words would you like to make as your theme for this year?

Continual Improvement

2008-01-18T11:52:00.001-04:00

I like to choose one or two words as a theme for the year. The words for this year are continual improvement. That’s for me, for Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd and for you. My pledge to you is to keep giving you information and opportunities to continually improve your business and therefore your life.

I’ve identified 10 things that will help me with that. In no particular order…

Education

My company can only grow as big as I can. In business I am constantly running into new situations. I need as much education as I can get. Anyone in a job with any amount of responsibility gets training; so should I.

Most people take in and process information based on information they already have (I can only understand multiplying after I get adding). That’s why it is important to start and keep at it. I aim to glean 1-2 good nuggets and one good contact for every day of training.

Network

A network is the people I have around me. They support me or not, add to my knowledge or not, introduce me to new things or not, open my mind to new ways of seeing or not and connect with me or not.

I surround myself with the people who make me feel the best about myself.

Become an Expert

Everyone is an expert at something and usually about a few things. All it takes is to know more than 95% of the population of the world about something. I’m going to embrace my expertise. Spend time practicing it, reading and researching about it, talking about it and if I really want to lock in my learning, I’ll teach it.

Then blog or vlog (video blog) about it. Share it.

Advice

There are a few people who I turn to for advice on a regular basis. My husband is the first person I talk to.

I enjoy working with people who are experts at what they do and I find it’s a treat that is humbling and empowering at the same time. I go to people I know who know more than I do or are great at seeing the core of an issue. People are usually very good about sharing if I ask. If it’s their business, then it’s not polite to ask for free advice. Having said that, most professional experts have packaged advice they are happy to share.

Cross Industry

Some of the greatest ideas and inventions are merely combining 2 formerly separate components together. I have the distinct advantage of working with business owners in many different industries. I note how specific issues, problems or challenges are handled and see if the same strategies can be applied within other industries.

Health

Maintaining my health is essential to having the focus and stamina to work on improvement. I’ve seen health issues push people into survival mode and they lose interest in anything else (as they should).

A healthy body helps to create a clear, healthy mind.

Have Fun be Happy

Can I be creative if I’m not having fun? Fun is a very good reason for doing anything. New studies show that happy people are more successful. The success follows the happiness, not the other way around which was the original thesis.

We all need to have some short term happiness while working towards long term happiness.

My hobbies are pottery and adventure. Deborah Nicholson and I get together at least once a month to do something we wouldn’t normally do. We’ve walked the beach by torchlight, gone snowshoeing and we plan to go whale watching and kayaking (anyone interested in joining us?).

These hobbies are useful ways to bring fun into my life, especially for those times when I’m forgoing immediate fun for long term fun. They also introduce new ways of looking that can spark creativity; new people and renewed energy.

So go have fun.

Thank You’s

I’m creating the habit of sending Thank You notes every week.

The habit of sending a couple a week will, also put me into an appreciative frame of mind. When I focus on how others help me, I am open to how I can help others and when I help others become successful, I become successful.

Efficient and Effective

I know a few people who get an incredible amount of stuff done in the same amount of time we mortals spend just trying to get the basics done. They do it by being very clear about what their goals are and what activities will get them to those goals the fastest. They develop systems that make repeated tasks easier and they concentrate on completing each task in front of them.

For more information about how I plan to do that see the box below.

Set SMART goals – and write them down

I told you last week about the Harvard study where after 10 years the 3% of graduates who had clear written goals were earning 10x as much as the other 97% put together.

This is important.

I have written my goals for this year and they include clear measurements that will let me know when I have reached them.

HOW?

Now, I know what you are saying, “Who has time for anything other than keeping heads above water?”

That’s the first place I can help. You’ll find some great time use tools and websites on my blog. Or read the book “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferris.

All this is possible by continually improving what you are doing and how you are doing it. If I can help you in any way, let me know - after all, that’s what I’m doing this year!

*******************************************************************************************

And if you are really serious about this and want to find 16 hours every week that you could use have I got the course for you. The 4 hour work week group will meet for 4 Friday mornings over 4 months to try and clear at least 4 hours per week every month. This is doable with some planning and attention. Working on it in a group increases our support, ideas and accountability.

I have the plan, and together we can make it happen.

Invest the time to learn how to do more in less time.

February 8th, 8am-noon Definition - What does it mean and how do you do it?
March 7th, 8am-noon Elimination - Eliminate time, energy and money wasters.
April 4th, 8am-noon Automation - Designing and implementing systems to get work done.

May 2nd, 8am-noon Liberation - Now what? Getting out and away.

Each meeting will be 4 hours as we plot a course for the coming month and assemble the tools we’ll need. You will have support and resources at all times as you require them.

$497 for the 4 months with unlimited support.

Limited to 6 people

Frances Schagen of Crystal Clear Bookkeeping Ltd has worked with 100’s of business owners over the years to help them make their lives easier.
This has given her a unique porthole into what works best. Using this intelligence she is growing a thriving business- part time (shh, don’t tell anyone).

She is using the ideas from this book to compress her work into even less time while continuing to grow her business. Come along for the ride and see how low you can go - while still increasing your profits.

Call 678-1607 or email 4in4@cleartoyou.com today, first class starts soon.

More New Year's Planning Tools

2008-01-14T13:29:00.001-04:00

There's a whole bunch written about the Secret - some of it good and some written by people who haven't read the book or seen the movie.

Just to make things very straight. The Secret is not about wishful thinking. It's about being clear about what you want and going for it. As such, it's not new thinking. Think and Grow Rich was written in 1937. Dale Carnege, born in 1888, said much the same; and Henry Ford said, "If you think you can or you think you can't - you're right"

On that note here are a few interesting web sites:
http://www.choosingprosperity.com/
http://www.universallawstoday.com/secret.html The Secret Movie

New Year's Planning Tools

2008-01-04T14:39:00.002-04:00

I look forward to Carrie and Danielle's email every week. They've got a great tool. "You can use it as the basis for your New Year's plans, a weekly to-do list in your day timer or on the fridge, or as a guidepost for your journaling or reflective time." It's a lifestyle map.

The intelligence behind success.
Your Time Quotient (TQ) is a Gold Standard measurement of the actions you take to produce the Results you get over Time.
TQ measures how smart you ACT, not how smart you ARE.
More Results In Less Time: The Key To Lasting Success.

Simpleology is a great way to stay on top of your game.

Jack Canfield has a couple of very helpful worksheets for you here.

Rich Schefren has taken the internet by storm. He asks 3 important questions in this blog post.

Close your eyes and listen

2007-12-27T19:06:00.001-04:00

Because everyone should have beauty in their life. There's magic in experiencing the best. Lakmé Flower Duet Erika Miklosa and Bernadett Wiedemann

The New Advertising

2007-12-09T18:43:00.000-04:00

Are you challenged to get your market to hear you?
Like this:

Rich Shefern has the answer
http://www.strategicprofits.com/doctrinenew/

Creativity

2007-11-30T14:37:00.001-04:00

Here's a little known way to increase creativity in your life: Read a magazine you've never read before. There are thousands of magazines about every imaginable topic. Pick one up and you'll find yourself whisked away to a place with a new language and where they look at the world in a little different way than you do.

Perfect for sparking those creative juices.

Here's a link to browse around for some magazines you might like:
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/tplclick?lid=41000000000669930&pubid=21000000000073650

The Next Internet Millionaire - On-Line

2007-09-06T07:17:00.000-04:00

The email I got asked the question: "Why do shows have to be 30 minutes long?"

When I clicked through I found the The Next Internet Millionaire. Joel Comm, an internet millionaire, has invited 12 hopefuls to his compound to compete for the chance to do a joint venture with him. Each episode he brings in an expert to teach the contestants an aspect of on-line business. The first time he had Mark Joyner; the next he had Armand Morin.

The episodes are posted as they are completed. Take a look at history in the making...
The Next Internet Millionaire

Technorati

2007-06-28T07:56:00.000-04:00

Technorati Profile

Communicating Your Brand

2007-05-11T10:18:00.000-04:00

We’ve talked about Branding and we’ve talked about Communicating. Now let’s talk about Communicating your Brand.

Your advertising is an opportunity for you to explicitly communicate your brand. You have complete control over what others think about your brand. You are telling potential customers who you are, who you deal with and what they can expect. The language you use is critical to getting this right.

Michel Fortin has an uncanny knack for writing persuasively. A direct response copywriter and consultant for close to 20 years, he knows how to use words to "grab readers by the eyeballs," boost response to record rates and transform floundering businesses into mega-moneymaking machines.

See. Those are his words, not mine and that’s why I’ll defer to him. He wrote a blog post about the 5 copywriting formulas he uses to write great copy. You can check that out here.

Crystal Clear Action

Go to the Marketing Brainstorm Lunch & Learn on May 17 for ideas
Read Michel’s blog post
Write your ad
Review your ad with each formula
Test, test and test

Communications

2007-04-30T13:00:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I’m speaking another language when someone reflects back to me what I just said and it sounds very different than what I thought I said. There are many reasons for that and I’ve listed a few here:

How many languages do you speak? I speak accounting, business, construction, community planning, environment, pop science, food services and some agriculture and art. Each industry uses words that have specific meanings. Even the concepts and ways of thinking can be very different ( think lawyer and artist). All are appropriate in their own ways and they are necessary to do the work of that industry.

Most of what is communicated is not even about words. I can say, “Yeah” tersely, laughingly, loudly, softly, with rolled eyes, with crossed arms, close to your face, while looking away and with my eyes closed and every time it means something different. If you are thinking it, it comes across when you communicate: be careful what you are thinking. That’s why they tell you to smile when talking on the phone.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and you knew you were meeting as far as the ideas were concerned, but there was still some irritation there? You weren’t connecting on a personal level. It may be because your personalities just don’t click. Some people like to take things slowly and mull them over for a while; others like making lightening fast decisions and moving on. Some people need to connect on a personal level; some just want the facts. Some like to talk fast, some talk slowly; some want eye and body contact, some are uncomfortable if they are too close. Some want to know all the possibilities and some just want to know the answer.

And sometimes emotion gets in the middle. When the words have nothing to do with the conversation, the subtext is the thing. Whatever the emotion: love, anger, fear, joy; the words take on new meanings and what is said is interpreted very differently. Try this. Take on an emotion and react to this statement, “Did you read that paper?” Seems like a pretty innocuous statement, but depending upon what lens you are listening through it can sound suggestive, accusing, threatening, or joking.

If you want more information about clean communication check out Dr Jeffrey Hosick’s Toolbox newsletter by emailing Sharon@JeffreyHosick.com He has a series of articles about Clean Communication and how to solve some of the problems I’ve listed.

Branding

2007-03-30T08:57:00.000-04:00

Your brand is the face you show the world. It is the way people perceive your company. They gather evidence to build the picture of your company in their minds. They get their clues from your communications, what they hear and from their experience when doing business with you.

Everything you do or don’t do goes to building an image of your company in people’s minds. You are constantly branding your business. Seth Godin has a formula that explains the power of Brands. He shows that your Brand will be most powerful when your customers know what to expect and they have an emotional response to what you do.

You communicate your Brand in all advertising, and all material your customers take with them including packaging, bags, sales slip etc. It includes what you say when you describe your business, what’s written about your business, your signs, website, store decoration... You get the picture.

Your customer’s experience starts with how they hear about you, how easy or difficult you are to find, what it’s like to do business with you and ends with what happens after. As you can see, a good part of the experience doesn’t even include your involvement. That’s where a clear picture of your brand in other people’s minds is essential.

Crystal Clear Action:

Take some time today to think about your business image.
Write down the three words that best describe what you think your brand is.
Try them out on some of your customers to see if they fit with their perception.
Look at all your business communications and operations to make sure they reinforce your brand.

Resource:
Robert Middleton has a great free start up marketing kit for professionals. It's a workbook and audio that everyone can use to quickly and clearly guide you through this exercise.

March's theme is Pricing

2007-03-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

The first quarter of 2007 is dedicated to business money. January we looked at other ways to bring in money to our businesses. February we looked at cash flow - increasing it and this month, March is about pricing.

There are 2 mistakes many business owners make about pricing.

1 They don't calculate all their costs, so they don't have an accurate starting point

2 They aren't strategic about their pricing.

Here's a story about a gift shop in the American South West. Just before the owner left on vacation, she wrote a note to one of her staff instructing the staff member to cut the price of some slow moving jewelry in half to clear it out. When she returned, she saw the empty case and asked how the sale went. The staff member said, "Sale? I thought you said to double the price. When I did, the pieces moved like hot cakes."

Strategy in pricing is an important way to position your business and reflect the value you offer your customers.

For more information about the local chapter see http://businessownerssuccessclub.wordpress.com/.

Cash Flow

2007-02-02T13:37:00.000-04:00

For some great tips about how to increase your cash flow see the most recent post on the Crystal Clarion

Here's a great way to help you understand Cash Flow. This was developed by Robert Kiosaki of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame. After he became rich, he wanted to figure out a way to help everyone become rich. He realized his Rich Dad taught him through repitition, so he developed this game.

This month's Business Owner's Success Club theme is Cash Flow. For more information see http://businessownerssuccessclub.wordpress.com/.

Financial Statements

2007-01-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

The best way to get your financial statements is to let someone else do them for you and present you with the results. There are several important reasons why I am making that statement and only one of them has to do with the fact that this is what I do.

The most important reason to have someone else do your books is that it is not what you do. You do your business. It is what makes you your money. Your time and energy should go towards managing and growing your business.

If you have someone else do your books, you have another set of eyes on your books looking for opportunities and anomalies. When you pass it off to someone who does books for several different companies, in different industries, you get a wealth of experience on your side. You get someone who knows and can share the best practices available.

Bookkeeping and small business tax can be tricky. It is important to have someone who is keeping up with the latest information doing your books. Make sure your bookkeeper has access to several good, reliable sources of information.

Your focus should be on making your business work better. Use your strengths and delegate the rest. If you find bookkeeping, or any task, saps your energy, pass it on. I tell people, “We can do your books faster than you can worry about it”.

The value of the information is in your financial statements not in the entering of the receipts. When you transact your business, when you sell things and buy things, you know what you are doing. Taking your time to sit down and enter each one of those receipts will not give you any more information. It is not until they are compiled and presented to you in a standard format like a profit and loss statement that you can start to look at your information and see how you are doing.

This advice applies to all tasks that sap your energy. It may seem like it doesn’t make sense to pay someone to do work that you can do, but if you can spend that time increasing your profit by more than it costs you, you will be farther ahead. Save your energy for the work that is important and that gives you pleasure.

Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life!

Giving To Get

2007-01-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

I've heard this said many times about money, but never about time.

Yesterday in discussion about customer service, someone said to me,"You give alot of your time for the library and these Lunch & Learn sessions. Do you find you get time back in return?"
I'd not thought of it that way and the fact is: yes, I do.

The only area of my life where I feel time pressure is with my clients. And it is the only area where I have recently begun to be more careful with my time. So, I'm going to stop doing that. From now on I'll be more generous with my client time.

Resource:
I don't have one of these, yet, but it's on my wish list:

Making More Money

2007-01-05T08:50:00.000-04:00

The first step in making more money is believing that you can.

T.Harv Ecker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind says,"Give me 5 minutes and I can predict YOUR financial future for the rest of your life!" How? By identifying your personal money and success blueprint! Have a listen to what he says here: http://www.millionairemind.com/a/?wid=350047&page=/preview/replay

Let’s face it, if all it took were hard work and some knowledge, we’d all be rich right now. Studies have shown that people have a predetermined money thermometer that sets how much money they will make.

If it feels like you’re working hard and not really getting anywhere, you may be up smack against this barrier.

Abraham Hicks says, “The world is awash in money! Do you hear what that means? It is awash in money. It is flowing for everyone. It is like Niagara Falls. And most of you are showing up with your teaspoons.”

Open your mind and heart to the abundant flow of money around you. One way to help you do that is to play the Prosperity Game http://www.choosingprosperity.com/game/

Each time you log in the universe gives you a larger cheque that you get to spend any way you want (in your mind). Our minds don’t distinguish between what has happened and what we imagine has happened This is especially true of feelings. Have you ever gone through a whole day still holding on to a feeling you got from a dream?

This game helps open your mind to the largess of the universe.

First believe that you can and remember what Goethe said
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe

Success With Marketing Skills

2006-12-28T16:50:00.000-04:00

Marketing Best Practices

All your marketing should be consistent

Your marketing should talk about things that are important to your customers

Your marketing should reach your customers

Your marketing should include a call to action

Sample Budget Breakdown:

70% to existing customers

25% targeted

5% untargeted

Marketing Experts I trust:

Robert Middleton

Get a great free marketing workbook here: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=263827

I bought his InfoGuru Marketing book. It was full of targeted information that I have been using for the past year. This is the information age. We are all Information Gurus. This book has so many ideas you’ll find many to use.

David Frey

David sends wonderful examples of marketing pieces he comes across – and he comes across many because he’s always looking. Sign up for his newsletter and check out the Small Business Marketing Bible.

http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=534779&u=www.TheMarketingBible.com

Bob Oros

Bob has a 90 day sales course I’ve gone through twice, now. Check it out if you want to hone your sales skills. www.boboros.com

Success With Financial Skills

2006-12-28T16:49:00.000-04:00

Financial SMARTS

STATEMENTS
Financial statements give you a precise measure of how well you are doing.

MEASUREMENTS
Successful business owners focus on a couple of key figures, watching how they change over time. The specific measurements change over time and depend upon the business practices you are tracking.

ASSESS
The numbers tell you if what you are doing is working or not. Are they trending up or down? Which way do you want them to go?

RE-EXAMINE
If you are not getting the numbers you want or you want to improve your results, dig deeper to determine which functional areas can affect your results.

TACKLE SOMETHING NEW
Once you know what areas to work on, try something new. If you keep doing the same old things you will keep getting the same results.

SUCCESS
Success comes from continued improvement. Small increments, over time add up to big improvements.

www.squidoo.com/financialSMARTS

Success With Personal Skills

2006-12-28T16:40:00.001-04:00

Prioritizing Tools

· Why prioritize? TQ page 5 http http://www.thinktq.com/training/todaystq/index.cfm?sa=109316

· What are your values? Vision and Values page 7

· How will you spend your time here? Secretan page 10 http://www.secretan.com/

· Where are you now? Benchmarking page 11

· Where are you going? Simpleology page 15 http://www.simpleology.com/indexs12.php

· How will you get there? Action Plan

Time Best Practices

know what you want to achieve
make it easy
do it
Monitor, assess and change

Success Blocks

Why is it that with all the information available today on how to be successful in small business, so few people really are?
- Michael Gerber www.e-myth.com

Success With Leadership Skills

2006-12-28T16:36:00.000-04:00

Entrepreneurial Planning

Create / clarify your personal vision
Create a new vision for your business that supports & aligns with your personal vision
Reconcile your new vision for the business with your key business stakeholders
Create & implement an action plan to move from your current business to
your new vision

Project Management

Break the job into manageable tasks
Analyze how long each will take and what resources are necessary
Arrange them in the order they need to be done
Put them in the schedule
Review the logic

Trends

www.springwise.com

Practice
Practice your leadership skills by taking a leadership role with a local charity see http://kentvillelibrary.wordpress.com/