One of my favorite Life Quotes "When Your Gratitude Dies Your Attitude Dies" is also one of my best Business Advice quotes. As business coaches we know many days of business ownership and management are filled with stress, anxiety, and lot's of putting out fires. And we know on the days that are running smooth there are still alot of projects and decisions that fill the day. Take the time to reflect and regroup, and find a place of Gratitude. You have much to be grateful for: Your Family, Your Team, Your Customers, and that is just the start. Staying in touch with a piece of Gratitude will help you make better decisions, smooth out the rough days, and reduce your own anxiety and stress. Now take action on your Gratitude! Once a Week, write a note and mail it to a Family member, a Team member, or a Customer with a heartfelt Thank You. This small action will have a great impact on your own attitude and brighten the day of those who support you! #gratitude #grateful #selflove

In business and in life we all develop some routines, some patterns, some habits. In business these can range from small patterns like starting your day reviewing emails to substantial routines such as holding weekly staff meetings. And once we have these set and in place they become a consistent part of our business routine. Changing them can be challenging, partly because we are all somewhat adverse to change but mainly because they are habits and we are not so sure changing them is for the best, and it's easier to not change. Consistent performance is greatly supported by many routines/habits so I am not suggesting that you randomly undo what is working well! What I am going to suggest is that you have a "heart to heart" with yourself about those routines that are not producing great results. I can give you as example a routine that I recently changed that has worked much better since the change. I do a lot of writing for our clients as well as for our own business. I write content for the websites we develop, for blog articles, and for other marketing. I used to calendar a lot of smaller tasks to myself throughout the week for each individual business project I needed to write for. In recent months I was hitting some major "writers block". So a few weeks ago I changed my routine. I now have a major block of time on my calendar, three days per week, that is a blogging/writing task, and I reference a list of projects that have writing needed that week and pick a couple that I am "in the mood" to write about. This simple change in routine has resulted in much higher productivity in this area as well as a much lower occurrence of my experiencing "writers block". One simple change created great results. Take a look at your routines, patterns, habits... and look for those that you know you are performing below your ability and try a change, see if it provides you with better results. #consistentperformance #business #habits #consistencyiskey

Love Stories about Aha Moments! They inspire me; they intrigue me; they make me ponder life! So when I read this article in Inc.com Magazine I knew it was a great one to share with our own readers. Because as business owners and managers we need to be Inspired & Intrigued & We Need To Ponder Our Businesses! This article featured in Inc.com Magazine is an easy and quick read and I hope you enjoy it too ~ "Aha Moments" That Kicked Off Successful Businesses are Stories of Inspiration from Salesforce's Small Business, Big Impact contest finalists. #businessideas #businessowners #smallbusiness #businessideas

I was sitting around the campfire enjoying a very relaxing evening with friends when an interesting topic was discussed. It was most interesting because the majority of the campfire group were over 40 and business owners or managers. This group rarely talks business or politics when we are out enjoying camping, hiking and kayaking, so it was fun to learn a little about each of our views on Building A Great Business Team. The camper sitting next to me had just spent a great deal of time and effort to hire a new V.P. for his company and he knew I had over 30 years of CEO experience in a variety of industries, and he asked me what the most important personality trait I looked for when I was hiring. My answer: Flexibility. Well it only took a few minutes for this topic to grow around the campfire with many business owners and managers expressing their thoughts as well as their recent experiences and efforts to Build A Great Team being discussed. Ultimately they all agreed that flexibility is key. We can teach someone with applicable experience to do the required tasks for a job, but teaching someone to be flexible is a challenge at best. And being flexible will result in much better overall team performance. After a few minutes of business discussions we moved back to talking about our wonderful hike that day, and the beauty of the night sky. If you have struggled to successfully Build A Great Team, call us 619-798-6774! Your first Coaching Session is Complimentary and you will learn a lot about the best practices when seeking New Hires. #hiring #staff #team

Pricing Strategy is one of the most important elements of creating profitable, sustainable business operations. It is also one of the most challenging aspects of business to do well because it is not a "set it and forget it" topic! It requires frequent review and updates. There are several different approaches to pricing, and if you are doing it well you are probably switching between strategies at different times in your product or service life span. A simple overview of basic Pricing Strategy: Market Penetration - often used at release of a new product to attract customers from competitive products Economy - Walmart & Target do this well as consumers look to save money, but not a good fit for small business Premium - commonly used when a new type of product or service is released until competition evolves Bundle - used to provide higher perceived value and also move more product out of inventory Psychology - selling to the emotion of the buyer whether it is based on fear or other emotions In our business consulting projects we place a high importance on Pricing Strategies, which requires seasoned expertise and a great deal of research to create Pricing Strategies that will create business success. If your business is struggling to create growth and profit, give us a call 619-798-6774 or use our contact form and let's talk about it. #productpricing #businesspricing #marketing #competitiveset

In our Client Coaching Engagements we place a strong focus on the plans to Retain Quality Employees because we know the most important asset of any business is the employees! There are many areas that affect employee retention, here is a list of some key areas to work on: Improve orientation program for a better on-boarding experience Use Exit Interviews to evaluate why employees leave and make needed adjustments as revealed in results Foster open communication Encourage & pay for continued education & training Have a "promote from within" culture Improve or eliminate bad leaders and managers Provide flexible work schedules to support higher quality of life Get rid of low-producing and bad attitude employees Create a heads up program where employees inform key managers if they know someone is considering leaving What is your employee retention program? If you have a pattern of losing quality employees, give us a call 619-798-6774 and let's review your process. #employees #team #teamwork #qualityemployees

The Work From Home Employees topic is not new, in fact it has been used successfully in businesses for many years. But it is still a touchy subject with many business owners and management. The greatest fear is abuse of the situation, that the employee will actually be sitting in front of the TV or surfing the web instead of producing work product for the company. As we coach our business owners and managers on the possibility of allowing work from home employees we suggest they consider these tips: The Obvious First Tip to examine - Is this even viable within the product and services you offer? There are business environments that simply could not be supported with work from home employees. Perhaps a few of the job descriptions could be handled from a remote setup, but if it only works for a few it is probably not a good idea to allow it at all as it would likely create dissatisfaction on the part of the majority who could not enjoy this benefit. We advise our clients to give the overall affect on the company a thorough examination before starting down this path. Consider Flexibility In The Plan - The second tip is to keep an open mind and take a flexible approach during the process of researching and examining how Work From Home Employees might be a fit for your operations. One example of flexibility is maybe it would work to allow them to work at home part of the time, maybe 2 days a week from home and 3 days a week on site. Use Technology - There is an App... well for almost everything! Use them to help you oversee the productivity and work flow of Work From Home Employees. Do not just trust they will do a high level of productive work while they are working from home. Put technology and systems in place that prove out their work output. In fact you should consider doing this even if they work onsite. Some people are able to be highly organized, efficient, and productive without supervision or accountability and some are not. It is not an insult to any employee to put production and accountability in place. And in fact you will likely find that the high producing employees will welcome this. Be Demanding but Do Not MicroManage - Micromanaging is one of the most negative impacts on employee motivation, and it is counterproductive because it means you are spending your time reviewing and watching over everyone's work flow instead of spending that same time planning the growth and prosperity of your business. So how do you be demanding without being a micromanager? See Use Technology above - same topic but set up the systems and technologies with minimum performance requirements daily, weekly & monthly. If offering Work From Home is a good fit for your business, then move forward to create the plan, systems and technologies to put it in place. It is one of the most appreciated benefits you can offer your employees. Many employees would take a work at home option over a pay raise. Not sure if it is a fit or unsure about the best way to set it in motion? Give us a call and Let's Talk About It! #workfromhome #homeoffice #employees #remoteoffice

If you don't have a blog on or off your website, it is time to get one.  Remember "Content is King" when it comes to online search a well-maintained and content rich blog is a powerful tool, for both SEO (search engine optimization) and site visitor / customer value. It allows you to showcase knowledge in your market (and more), providing value to your site visitors and it has the potential to pull internet traffic to your site that over time could potentially result in a new customer. Blog Benefit Basics: Can become a resource to answer your customers’ questions and educate other potential customers Each post you create becomes a new page for Google to index to drive traffic to your site With each new blog post you have also created something new to share on social media Your blog content has staying power and has the potential to drive traffic long after your initial post There is potential to attract external links to your content from viewers which in turn can again drive more traffic to your site Some would have you believe just “build it and they will come” but that is no longer the case. It’s more like “build it, maintain, take pride in your content, and they might come”. That shouldn’t put you off trying though – it just means that it’s easier than you might expect to reach a level of quality on your business’ blog that’s way above the average. #blog #businessblog #marketing #websitecontent

I've always been amazed at people who always run behind. The stress of it would make me cringe. But now that I have learned from one of the most powerful Business Leaders in the world how important his view is on punctuality I am even more committed to continue my style of being on time. Here's a link to an article in Fortune magazine, written by Benjamin Snyder, featuring Billionaire Richard Branson's approach to Importance of Punctuality Read the Article #beingontime #schedule #punctual #punctuality #calendar #stayingontime

It is our passion to help you grow your business, but we are also very aware that you need to be profitable, so it is also our desire to compel you to become laser focused on profit, to start taking immediate actions that will create more profit.  Right now!  Today!  We expect you have over the years; read great books on business management, attended top notch business seminars and trainings, completed hours of web research, and listened to the best business educators.  We understand you have learned a great deal about many business solutions, have been inspired, have been motivated, and that you have implemented some of these changes. But... Have you transformed your business operations?  Has your business profitability dramatically improved?  Or do you still have serious questions about your business strategies? The fact that you are still reading this reveals to us that you are seeking help with the growth and success of your business. We love consulting with our clients, and it is our truest passion to help them find the success they desire.  Throughout our years of business consulting and business marketing we have found many owners and managers who are on a… Detour to Success! “Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans”.  This is never more true than with a business owner. Owning your own business was what you dreamed of, and you were so excited as you made your plans.  Then came that wonderful day when you first opened your doors. And then, at some point you realized, you had found yourself on a detour, not yet achieving the level of success you had anticipated. You wonder why others have success in their business, providing them free time to enjoy their family; play golf; go to the spa; go fishing; even take vacations; while you struggle to keep the doors of your business open.  Get off the detour starting right now! How?  The same way professional athletes improve their game.  Hire a Business Coach.  Sounds easy, but the steps to choosing the right business coach for your particular industry and challenges is not as easy as it sounds.  Here are a few key elements to finding the right coach for you: Industry Knowledge & Experience - do not hire a "generic cookie cutter" coach.  There are business education and coaching companies that are specific to almost every industry. Coaching Method - Before you choose, ask the prospective coach some questions about their approach - there are different types of coaching methods used.Some coaching companies have a specific process that they use for the start up of every coaching client which involves a series of steps they take the client through.  These series of steps often use three to six of the client coaching calls, and often take up to three months of time to complete.  In this type of coaching method, you (the client), have paid for a lot of coaching calls and worked with the coach to go through their required steps, but the true work on growing your business has not even begun!  Another approach is an aggressive method of prompt analysis of your situation, and immediate implementation of improvements that will quickly result in increased revenue and profits. Ask enough questions that you begin to understand which coach is a better fit for your needs. If you are still reading this post... then you need to take that important step and contact a business coach and get started on a renewed path to success!  Get off the detour today! Call us at 619-798-6774 and Let's Talk! #businessplan #businesswebsite #website #businessdirection

An incredible amount of time is spent in the hiring process to: advertise, review resumes, interview candidates, interview final candidates, negotiate terms, hire, complete intake interview. And that is just the beginning of the investment your company makes in the employment of a new team member. Now that you've hired them you begin the process that often takes months to get them well trained and functioning in the position. This places a huge value on Hiring the Right person for the job. There is no perfect way to complete the process that will guarantee they will be a successful long term addition, but there are some important steps you can implement that will improve your odds. Advertise: Make the content of your job posting ad as factual and detailed as possible and have thorough details of the job duties and the must have and want to have skills and personalities you are searching for. Be bold in clearly stating the must have skills and qualities vs. the want to haves; separating this out will make it very easy to sort through the resumes. And be sure your must haves are truly not negotiable! Resumes: On the first review of each resume look for these two ways to Eliminate candidates: 1) The match of your Must Haves. If any are missing eliminate this resume. (see last comment about Advertise above - if your Must Haves are truly not negotiable than it should feel easy for you to eliminate a resume that does not include ALL Must Haves). 2) Job Hopping. Odds are if the candidate has changed jobs more frequently than once every 2 years averaged, then that pattern will continue. Based on the fact that you spend all the time and money to find, hire, and train them you want to see a pattern of longer than 2 years averaged terms. Interview: Spend a little time reviewing their employment history with them and a lot of time examining their potential: do they seem to be flexible; a quick learner; socially capable; feels that they will fit in with their peer team; does their personality fit the job requirements. These questions are good to include because they help you learn things that reflect on who they are as a person: Who will you be in 10 years from now? What do you do for fun? Why do you work? What makes you the most excited to get up in the morning? And give them an opportunity to ask you questions, to interview you about the company and the job. Take very thorough notes! Eliminate again and create a short list, prefer no more than 4, for a final interview process. Use other team members for the final interview process either in a group setting, or individually, whichever fits your company personality best. This can be modeled off of the first interview questions with a few changes as you find best for this particular job. Share your notes from the initial interview with the other interviewers so they can prepare customized question sets for each individual candidate. Have each interviewer take very thorough notes! Quite often by the time the 2nd interviews are complete there will be a natural forerunner that has the right aptitude, attitude, skills, and personality for the job. Check References! Check Their Social Media Pages! Search them on the Web! Investigate as thoroughly as you can! Remember, there are no perfect solutions that insure an employee will be a great fit and will have longevity with the company, so don't expect perfection and don't get discouraged. Just use a thorough and informed process and you will greatly improve your odds at hiring and retaining high quality team members. #employees #hiring #team #interviewing #interviews

In every client engagement that involves the aspect of building a powerful team we always begin with a focus on the company culture.  As we ask questions about the client's perspective of their culture we get some interesting answers. The client begins to verbalize their uncertainty about our approach as they expected us to start our focus on the process and job posting channels they use to attract new hires, or what their interview process looks like, or whether their compensation package is competitive. Once we talk through the importance of company culture and the ownership and management team are on board with the plan to improve company culture, they are very pleased with the result of our consulting project. We are always excited to see this topic discussion on a source that is much larger and more believable than us here at Business Infusion. So take a few minutes and read this article written by Ryan Seller for Entrepreneur.com: Six Tips for Business Owners on How to Improve Company Culture #companyculture #businessowners #employees #businessmanagement