Get Your Business in Gear for the End of the Year

Regardless of what kind of business you run or what type of work you do, the end of the year is a wonderful opportunity to close the current year and set into motion your plans for the coming year. This process is actually critical to your success - if you're serious about growth and moving your business forward.

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at the necessary ways to get your business in gear for the end of the year.

• Review your business plan and your marketing plan. What worked? What worked well? What didn't work? What surprised you most? What do you want to replicate for next year? What is most important to focus on in 2007?
• Assess your results with brutal honesty. What do you need to do to improve your overall business in 2007? What systems must be in place in order to make these improvements happen? What do you need more of? What do you need less of? How will you make these improvements happen?
• Be willing to make necessary changes in order to get better results. Who do you need to be in order to be more successful? What do you need to do to sell more products and services? What has held you back? Will you refuse to become stagnant? Will you make the changes your business needs you to make?
• Be specific when planning 2007. How much growth do you want to experience? Do you want to increase production by 15% or by 50%? Do you want to increase sales by $100 per sale or by $5000 per month? It really doesn't matter what numbers you use as long as they are realistic for your business and your market.
• Think outside the box. If you continue to do the same old things, you will continue to get the same old results. If these are the results you want, great! If they are not at all the results you want, you must make the necessary changes in order to get the results you want.

Get your business in gear for the end of the year! You'll be even more ready for 2007!

Ways to Keep the Customers You Have

Following up from yesterday's post, I'm going deeper into some ways to keep the customers you already have. It pays huge dividends to keep your customers - because it is almost always less costly than getting new ones. And, your current customers will likely bring you additional customers with their "word of mouth" marketing of you and your company.

Ways to keep the customers you have:

• Showing your appreciation of each customer. This can be in the form of hand-written notes, holiday cards, a personal thank you note, a phone call from the owner or president, a gift basket or gift card, or even a logo-crested item that advertises your own product or services. Regardless of what it is, appreciation goes a long way to sustain a relationship.
• Invite your customers to lunch. If your customer base is primarily local, you can invite them to your office for a major customer appreciation catered event and really play it up. You can have tours of your facility, introduce your staff, and make an event of it. You can make it an annual event - and really use it to springboard new products and services.
• Invite your customers to a workshop or seminar. It doesn't even have to be related to your products or services. The workshop can be on time managment, New Year's resolutions, or anything motivational and uplifting.
• Publish a company newsletter. Use this as a marketing tool in addition to making it newsworthy. It can be done as a traditional newsletter or as an ezine. As long as it keeps you connected to your customers, it should work for you.
• Fix any and all problems as soon as possible. While the customer may not always be right, the problems should always be fixed - if you want to keep the customer who has the complaint.
• Make yourself available. Return calls in a timely manner. Address issues that arise. Never close your door on a customer - unless you don't want them back.
• Initially be selective when seeking customers - and then it becomes 100% easier to want to keep them!

How to Increase Your Bottom Line

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at how to increase your bottom line by increasing sales and growing your business - any business, actually. I see these as basic fundamentals of business growth.

1. Keep the customers or clients you have. Customer service is extremely important in growing your business. By keeping the customers you already have, it becomes much easier to attract others. Your base should be held in the highest regard and never taken for granted. Reward your customers for their loyalty to you, and you'll have them for as long as you're in business.
2. Attract new customers or clients. Marketing should be an on-going activity that keeps your name in front of your target market at all times. Marketing is not an activity that should be "done" when sales are down. Marketing won't attract customers without follow-up. Attract new customers by following up on every marketing campaign. Follow-up is fundamental - but often lacking. Follow up on all leads and prospects. Increase your base.
3. Add to the average sale. Fast food restaurants do this extremely well with their value and combo meals. This is a strategy that I think can work in any business. Bundle your services or products for a bigger and better sale. Add value to every single sale for the sake of the customer as well as for the sake of the business.
4. Increase repeat business for every customer. This may mean an increase in research and development of new product offerings and services. This also means that you must stay on the cutting edge of your industry in order to increase your bottom line. Take the average time for repeat sales, and cut it in half. When you think about that, you've already doubled your revenue.
5. Refuse to accept all prospects as customers or clients. We all know who we need to get rid of - but we often don't because we feel we need their money. But the reality of the situation is that the worst customers or clients actually zap the life out of the business because we become drained by the aggravation they bring. If we refuse to accept poor candidates for our products and services, we then are more energized to go out and find the very best customers and clients. Be more selective, and you'll automatically increase your bottom line.
6. Remain positive, stay focused, and never give up. Growing your business will almost always take longer than you want it to, but never give up. Have a plan and keep working that plan.

An Invitation to Manage Your Time & Stress for the Holidays

This is an invitation from Sara Fitts to Manage Your Time & Reduce Your Stress for the Holidays.

I'll show you 12 ways to have more time and less stress - and enjoy the holidays so much more.

If you have an hour, I have the solution.

Join me for a 1-hour teleclass on Wednesday, December 6 @ 12 noon (EST). The tuition for this one-hour class is $45 (USD) - payable by debit or credit card. This class is limited to 20 people - so reserve your spot right now by emailing thecoach@SLFConsulting.com to register. Please include your name and telephone number in your email.

After you register, you will receive an email confirmation with payment details and call instructions.

I hope you'll join me!

5 More Ways to Reward Employees

Rewarding employees is one way to build loyalty and show appreciation at the same time. All business owners should want their employees to follow them into battle - and a good way to do this is by creating a climate and culture of appreciation.

Here are 5 more ways to reward your hard-working staff:

1. An MP3 player such as I-Pod or the Zen Nano by Creative (which I prefer!) provides a way to listen to music and actually be even more productive at work.
2. Shirts or sweaters with the company logo for casual Fridays create a real team atmosphere. It also provides free advertising when worn by the employees outside the workplace.
3. An afternoon off is an excellent way to show appreciation and to let the worker relax and enjoy a much-needed break. This would be especially nice after a big project or event.
4. A self-development seminar is a fantastic way to reward, energize, and re-awaken hard-working people. If the seminar is out of town, the trip is an extra bonus. To cut costs and save time, you could bring the seminar in-house for everyone.
5. Create a unique item that is exclusively yours as a reward for any extra effort on the part of your staff. For example, it might be something as simple as a paperweight with your company logo. It could be a state-of-the-art flashlight for the "beacons" in your organization. It could be a model of what you manufacture. It could be a framed motivational poster. Anything that references your acknowledgement of their dedication, hard work, and energy is appreciated when given with sincerity and authenticity.

5 Ways to Reward Employees

This Week with Sara Fitts focuses on rewarding employees in today's post. Rewards don't have to be elaborate or expensive - they just need to be a way to say "thank you", "nice job", or "I like your work ethic" to hard-working staff members. They also serve as a motivational tool to boost morale.

1. Gift cards and gift certificates are excellent ways to reward employees. You can get them from restaurants, specialty stores, spas, resorts, or even from American Express, Visa, or MasterCard.
2. Recognition as "Employee of the Month" with a picture and plaque on the office wall of fame is another good way to keep morale up and inspire extra efforts.
3. Order lunch for everyone and set it up in the conference room. As simple as pizza or subs to a more elaborate buffet - any type of lunch provides a way to relax and enjoy the people you employ.
4. Host an off-site staff meeting. Consider a resort, restaurant, or fitness center. After the meeting, provide relaxation in a comfortable setting.
5. Personal notes and letters are always appreciated - and definitely create a climate and culture of appreciation.

These are 5 simple ways to reward employees. They don't have to be expensive or elaborate. Simplicity is a fabulous way to express gratitude and appreciation. The only requirement is that whatever the reward, it must be authentically given. No one wants to be recognized as an afterthought or required agenda item.

How to Build Loyalty with Employees

I think the best way to build loyalty with your employees is, first of all, to be authentic. If you are "real" with your employees and say what you really mean, really mean what you say, and are able to say you're wrong when you're wrong - you will have loyal employees forever.

Here are some rules for building loyalty among your employees:

• Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
• Enjoy the people with whom you work - if you can't enjoy them, then maybe you have the wrong ones around you.
• Motivate them positively. Use rewards.
• Be honest. Criticism isn't necessarily a bad thing.

When Should an Employee be Terminated?

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at how to make the best of an employee termination decision. This type of decision is never really as easy as you might think it is, but there is a way to make it as painless as possible.

First, when should an employee be fired or terminated? There are many reasons why you might fire an employee. Among them might be:

• disregard for their job performance
• disregard for their colleagues
• disregard for the position they hold within the organization
• failure to perform certain (if not all) tasks associated with the job description
• failure to contribute to the overall culture and climate of the work environment
• failure to address the issues brought to their attention during performance reviews
• failure to work as a productive and efficient team member
• refusal to accept responsibility for their work and for the results of their work
• not "showing up" for work

No matter what business you're in, everyone on your payroll should be earning their pay every single day. I firmly believe that everyone should show up for work everyday; however, I also firmly believe that the owner has the responsibility to set the stage for the culture and climate of the business.

If you're the owner, you must motivate your people to work hard for your business, your products and services, and your customers or clients. Creating the right culture and climate for your business is as important as hiring the right people from the start. Everyone should want to be there and should enjoy the work and the environment in which the work is done.

Here are some questions to answer when you are trying to decide whether or not to terminate an employee.

1. How much time have you invested in this employee? How much effort has gone into the "fix" of the problem issue? Has too much time, effort, and energy gone into a lost cause?
2. How has the employee's performance changed over time? Or, was this simply a poor hiring decision initially?
3. What is the benefit to you, your other employees, and the business to terminate the problem employee? What are the risks of terminating this person?
4. How will this decision fuel you and your business? How will this decision drain you and your business?
5. How can you surround yourself with the best people possible?

I think the real key here is that every business owner must take responsibility for all aspects of the business - and make the best business decisions possible at all times, in all cases.

Small business owners and self-employed professionals struggle with growing their businesses and balancing their lives. I provide strategies, techniques, and resources for better time management and goal-setting so they can get better results. I help them move forward faster to experience greater business success as well as greater personal success. The benefits for every one of my clients are freedom from stress and strain, improved cash flow, more balance in their lives, more time and energy, and renewed interest and joy in their businesses.

If you'd like to talk with me about your business, please contact me directly to set up a complimentary 30-minute conversation. Call me directly @ 703.791.4741 to schedule a time to talk. I look forward to it!

Make Good Hiring Decisions

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at how small business owners can surround themselves with the best people possible when they make good hiring decisions. The business will thrive and the workplace climate will lead to greater satisfaction for the owner and the employees. Whether the business employs one person or 100+, good hiring decisions are necessary for the success of the business, the sanity of the owner, and productivity and efficiency of the employees.

While there are many things to consider in the overall hiring process, these are my rules for making good hiring decisions.

• Know why you need the position you are filling. It's your business, but be able to justify (if only to yourself) why this position needs to be filled.
• Identify 5 - 10 characteristics that you must have in the person you hire for this position. It's your business, but know what you ideally want to have in this position before you know who it is that will fill it.
• Write the job description - and list every detail involved. Later this will help in assessing and evaluating the performance of the employee in this position.
• Post the vacancy broadly enough to get a good sample of talent. Utilize all means necessary to recruit the best possible candidates.
• Interview all candidates in the same day if possible.
• Make your hiring decision as if your life depended on it - because the wrong person in the position can make your life miserable. It's your business, but if you surround yourself with the wrong people, you will be less productive, more stressed, and your workplace will be chaotic. Sure, you can fire the person later, but you'll be wasting precious time, effort, and energy.
• Evaluate performance on a regular basis. It's your business and you need to keep it on track for success, efficiency, and productivity.

Apologies are Accepted

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at how we apologize when we are in positions of leadership.

While we always intend to communicate the right thing at the right time, sometimes we stumble and say things or write things that come out wrong or are misunderstood. Sometimes we simply just use bad judgment and unintentionally offend someone - or lots of people. At these times, it is extremely important to acknowledge the error, apologize for its inappropriateness, and move forward to better the relationship.

It doesn't matter if the error is made by the CEO, the owner or president of the company, or an employee - what matters is that it is addressed. When offensive statements are made, many things can happen. For example, conflict can erupt and shut down production or hurt feelings on the part of staff or customers can ruin business deals.

Regardless of what the error is, the best way to handle it is to acknowledge that someone has been offended, angered, or hurt. To ignore this is arrogant and will have long-standing negative effects. To apologize for any and all errors will go a very long way to build better business relationships. Apologies are accepted. Often that is all that is needed to move forward in business and in life.

Using Email for Better Business

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at email and how it can be better utilized for developing your business and enhancing your professional image. These are just a few strategies that may make a big difference for business owners and their staffs. These strategies are especially helpful for self-employed professionals with no employees or limited staff support.

• Use a spell check program and read the entire email prior to hitting the "send" button.
• Use the subject line carefully. Make it sound professional and business-oriented.
• Be aware that every email can be forwarded thousands upon thousands of times. Make sure that nothing in your email is offensive to anyone who may receive it. Make sure your email is factual and legitimate.
• Use a signature that is a business builder. Make sure you have all necessary contact information and websites listed in your electronic signature with correct links. Use your signature as a major marketing tool. Make it as professional as possible.
• Use correct rules of grammar. Begin sentences with capital letters and end them with correct punctuation. Never use all capital letters and never use all lowercase letters. Each email should be a business letter from you to a client, customer, or prospect.
• If you are sending the same email to a number of different people, use the BCC feature so as not to "out" all the people receiving your email.
• Check your email several times each weekday. Respond quickly. Clean out your inbox each week at a minimum by deleting all emails that you don't need to keep and setting up folders for those you do need to keep.
• Avoid sending any email when you are angry or upset about the matter at hand. Take time to read and read again your repsonse to make sure that it won't be misinterpretted by the reader. Written words are much more easily misinterpretted than spoken words.
• Remember that email is a tool. The phone is sometimes a better tool at the moment. Send the right message utilizing the best tool for the particular situation.

Email is a necessary strategy and must be used in the best possible way to build and enhance your business reputation.

Sara L. Fitts is a business coach who works with small business owners and self-employed professionals to enhance their business development. If you'd like to find out how she can help you, contact her today.

Enhancing Employee Relationships

Not only do small business owners have to rely on building and developing business relationships, those with employees must develop relationships that boost morale and a culture of making the business work most efficiently and productively.

Whether the small business owner has 1 employee or 500 +, these are some things to think about to enhance employee relationships.

• Every employee is valuable and must be treated as a valuable employee. If the employee is not valuable, why is he or she employed?
• Have only a few rules, regulations, or policies - and apply them to everyone. When employees are treated differently, their loyalty will be destroyed and never recovered.
• Never underestimate the power of "please" and "thank you" because these little words go a long way toward boosting morale and employee relations. These words aren't lost on customers, either!
• Reward exceptional effort and positive results. If you reward mediocre effort and results, you'll get less than mediocre effort the next time.
• Be careful about competition. If you're trying to build a team, there is only one side and not an "us against them" mentality.
• Competition can be healthy and motivational, but it can backfire and lead to team destruction.
• Monthly or quarterly meet with all staff members and inform them of what's going on within the business. This is an excellent opportunity to reward exceptional efforts and big wins within the business.
• Manage by walking around and speaking with your employees. This is a powerful way to find out what is really going on and to show that you care about them as people and employees.
• Have fun at work. Whether scheduled or not, make every attempt to create a climate of care and concern - and enjoyment - within the work environment. When people enjoy what they do, they produce better results.
• Believe in your organization, in your product or service, and believe in your people. Most employees will work harder when they feel validated and cared for.
• Be authentic. If you as a business owner want to enhance employee relationships, you must come from a place of authenticity about it. Sincerity is required for positive results.

There are many additional ways to enhance employee relationships. I've listed the foundation of enhanced employee relationships here.

Relationships that Every Business Owner Needs

Every business owner must cultivate a number of relationships in order to be successful. Without these, sustainable success is very likely to be out of reach. Regardless of industry, geographic area, gender, or clientele, these are the most important business relationships business owners need to develop.

• Accountant
• Attorney
• Estate attorney / planner
• Financial planner
• Business coach
• Stockbroker
• Banker
• Commercial printer
• Insurance broker
• Networker
• Physician - internist
• Web designer / host / programmer
• Plumber
• Mechanic
• Dentist
• Electrician
• Handyman or handywoman
• Florist
• Virtual Assitant - or a live and in-person adminstrative assistant

When you really think about all the relationships that are cultivated and developed over the course of building a business, there are many people that have a tremendous impact on the rate of success experienced by the business owner. These relationships are priceless and must be kept in a place of honor within the business.

Take a few minutes and list your key relationships - let me know what I've left off my list.

Small Business Dashboard

This Week with Sara Fitts looks at the Small Business Dashboard - an instrument panel on which business owners set their focus. While each business owner looks at unique aspects of his or her company, there are certain items that apply to every single business owner - regardless of what type of business it is.

These are the crucial items on the Small Business Dashboard I use with my clients - as well as my own business.

• Revenue
• Sales
• Costs / Expenses
• Staff / Staffing
• Profit / Loss
• Long-term goals of the business (5+ years)
• Short-term goals of the business (30 days - 1 year)
• Mid-range goals of the business (2 - 5 years)
• Marketing Plan
• Business Plan
• Client / Customer Base
• Economic forecasts
• Target market trends
• Business trends
• Industry news and trends
• Worth of the business
• Growth options
• When to sell or close (retirement considerations)

Each business owner determines the specific gauges on the dashboard and how often they are monitored. I design dashboards for each business owner with whom I work - so I can provide them with the best tools for growing and managing their businesses. This is a powerful tool that creates a baseline for our coaching partnership and sets the stage for crafting the best goals to get the best possible results.

If you'd like to know more about how I work with business owners, please contact me directly for a collaborative interview.

Keep Your Focus

This Week with Sara Fitts is about keeping your focus - no matter what you do to earn a living. Entrepreneurs, self-employed, small business owners, and any other person who works for a living knows this - but we often lose sight of what it takes to keep our focus when we are in the midst of running our businesses or living our lives. These are a few tips that I've learned along my way - some from clients, some from books, and a few from my father. I hope you find them helpful.

These are some tips to help you keep your focus:

• Know what you want to do, why you want to do it, and what it will take to get it done
• Be realistic about finances and timelines
• Believe in all the possibilities that exist
• Define your distractions and keep them away from you during work hours - you can do this!
• Work at tasks for certain amounts of time - and keep these start and stop times sacred
• Begin with the end in mind - keep your eye on the prize - know that you will reach the pot of gold
• Exercise for energy, health, and fitness
• Rest and relax
• Know whose rules you are following - make your own rules
• Define what drains you - and avoid your drains
• Define what fuels you - and embrace these
• Change your mindset to reflect what you want to focus on - and use the power of your mind to succeed
• Take time to enjoy what you already have worked for and achieved - don't wait for it to be finished or perfected
• Stay fresh by doing something new or something different

There are many ways to keep your focus and these are just a sampling of them. I'd love to hear from you on how you keep your focus.

Successfully Self-Employed

This Week with Sara Fitts focuses on the characteristics of the successfully self-employed. Self-employment isn't for everyone; however, for some, it is the only way to earn a living. What makes self-employment a viable option for some and not others? We'll explore those very qualitites and traits that make self-employment a successful enterprise.

What does it take to be successfully self-employed?

• Motivation
• Strong self-management skills
• Integrity and accountability to oneself
• Patience, persistence, and perspiration
• Commitment to doing whatever it takes to make it happen and never settling for less

What else does it take to be successfully self-employed?

• Talent
• Seeing the opportunities that exist - and making the most of them
• Creating more opportunities - and making the most of them
• Building the strongest team of experts that can be put together
• Building relationships that will last a lifetime
• Making the best decisions on a daily basis
• Stepping out of fear and comfort - into boldness that creates and sustains success

Self-employment is sometimes a lonely existence and is often filled with struggles uniquely owned by this group (of which I am one!); however, self-employment can be made better and stronger with the ingredients mentioned above.

Self-employment can also be a fabulous way to earn a living and provide needed goods and services to the world at large.

Filters for Success

This Week with Sara Fitts will focus on the filters for success - both personal and business success. [Filters for success refers to the filters through which we see reality and life.]

1. Be proactive - seek solutions instead of rehashing the reasons for lack of success.
2. Take action - any action to move forward.
3. Believe in the possibilities - and focus on them.
4. Don't procrastinate - rapidly respond to new opportunities.
5. Be accountable - to yourself and others.
6. Do something different - and see what happens.
7. Honestly and candidly assess how well what you are currently doing is actually working for you.
8. Make necessary changes.
9. Variety is the key - you must keep it fresh.
10. Stop talking and start making it happen!

How we view anything is as important as what we are viewing. We must see things through the right filter - or risk sabotaging ourselves and our success.

Reflections

This Week with Sara Fitts is back on track after a 10-day break. For the past few years this was my annual vacation at the beach; however, this year I had other responsibilities and the beach wasn't in the equation. Instead of rest and relaxation, I instead used this time for reflection. I'm sharing some of my profound period of growth with you here.

The first thing I gained from this period of deep reflection is that reflection is needed. All of us are busy. All of us have certain stresses. All of us have more on our plates than we probably want. Reflection helps us re-adjust and re-align our lives and our work. Reflection is needed.

Another thing I re-discovered is that our purpose and mission must stay in front of us and that everything else we do has to fit. If our purpose and mission isn't in alignment with what we are doing, then we aren't as productive and efficient as we need to be. Actually, we sabbotage ourselves every time we do anything that isn't in agreement with our mission. Businesses have failed for this very reason. Purpose and mission must lead the way.

And probably the most important thing gained from this period of deep reflection is that when we believe in what we are doing, everything else will fall into place. When we doubt ourselves and let the doubt from others seep into our thoughts and actions, we lose our sense of who we are and why we are here. We must believe in what we are doing, and everything else will fall into place.

Today is a special day for me because I'm announcing something that I've been working on for more than 5 years. I'm extremely pleased and proud of this work and this product. In the weeks ahead it will sit on a bigger stage and will be available for the owners of small businesses and their top management teams. It can even support self-employed professionals. It is a coaching system - not a program or seminar or workshop - it is a system that will provide a structure for increased success, growth, and revenue of small businesses and corporations. The market is Fortune 500 companies, Inc 500 businesses, and those businesses who want to make either list. More will be announced later - but the name of my trademark coaching system is Simple Little Formula.

Stay tuned....

Stop Trying

How many times in a day do you hear someone say that they will "try" to call you back, that they will "try" to meet you for lunch next week, that they will "try" to get a particular task done? How many times do you ever use the word "try" in the same context? Now the flip side of the original question: How often do they call you back, meet you for lunch, accomplish the task "tried"?

I feel that "try" is a word of inaction and disempowerment. Just using this word creates a climate of uncertainty - will it get done or not? I propose that we do not use this word - personally or in business - and instead be more decisive by stating clearly what we will do or not do. Almost immediately we have more credibility in the eyes of colleagues, clients, and customers. This is an empowering posture that can help us hold our own accountability.

A quick way to increase your position and credibility is to stop trying - and start doing or not doing. Either do something or don't, but stop trying. This is the best way to get into action, hold your accountability, and set yourself apart from others. The only thing left to do is follow up and follow through.

Reasons We Get Stuck

From time to time all of us experience the feeling of getting stuck. While I think it's much more important to get unstuck than to focus on being stuck, the reasons are important to note - so we can move forward faster.

The major reason we get stuck is that our choice of goal doesn't fit our priorities. Sometimes the goal we've chosen is one we've had continuously for months or even years. And sometimes our goal is simply too big and we need to break it down into smaller pieces. The cure for this could possibly be that we need a fresh perspective - and a fresh goal. We need to have a reachable, realistic goal that can be achieved in particular steps.

Another reason we get stuck is fear. Fear isn't always bad - it sometimes keeps us alive. Fear needs to be addressed and acknowledged for what it is. We must respect the fear. And then we must build reserves in order to reduce the consequences of our fears.

Yet another source of our "stuckness" is attitude and mentality. Positive attitudes get more positive results. Negativism breeds a contempt that creates an environment detrimental to growth and postive change. We can get unstuck and move forward if we adjust our attitudes and our mentality.

While there are many sources of why we can get stuck, these are at the top of the list. If we can address these sources, we all will move forward faster.