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Are You A Business Manager?
I recently spoke with the CFO of a large local firm and we discussed the differences between management of small and large business. We discussed not only the tools and methods for managing both but also the different metrics to consider.
From our discussion it was confirmed that whether its big or small business, the way a business is effectively managed is essentially the same. The truth is that all businesses need to keep an eye their cash flow, revenues, expenditures and profit margins. All businesses need to understand where the business is coming from, the effective strategies to get new business and how they keep existing clients. Businesses also need to know how the market is changing – because it is always changing. And all businesses need to understand their clients every want and need from their product or services and be consistently developing new ways to add value.
Back in my days of working in corporate, when I was responsible for business management activities, I was analyzing the business activities on a weekly basis. I looked at current and revenue forecasts, expenditures, proposal activity, customer contacts, project status, and marketing activity. This was my job, it was was paid to do.
In the early stages of my coaching business I put on the “Business Manager” hat, once a month. As my business has grown, I am at a new stage that requires me to be the Business Manager on a weekly basis.
Many of my clients understand that business management is an aspect of their job as an entrepreneur and that they need to spend time really knowing where their business stands. The challenge is whether they have the skills and experience to be efficient and effective at it.
Here’s what I recommend to my clients who are starting their business management:
- Understanding how often to do your business analysis based on the following:
- Cash- flow
- Your sales cycle
- The phase of business you are in
- Expected growth in the next six months and year
- Collect data for the last 6 months of the following – revenue, expenses, # of client contacts, hrs spent doing each type of perceived revenue generating activity, etc.
- Identify key indicators that reveal what’s working and what’s not in terms of – revenue generation, close ratio, profit margin, and ROI (return on investment) for your time.
- Identify where you want to be in the next 6 months regarding profit margin, sales revenues, and client service (number of clients/accounts, or number of services to clients/accounts).
For those entrepreneurs who have experience, natural gifting or burning desire to do business management, you are in a great position. For those who are not interested, experienced or skilled, it’s time to delegate!
If you would like to learn more about key metrics when running a business, contact me to learn more about my Accelerate Results Action Plan Self Study and Accelerate Results Strategy Session.
Falling Into Success – How Skydiving is Like Owning Your Own Business
Many years ago I went skydiving and it was an absolute thrill of a lifetime. Watch the video and check out the coaching lessons below.
In your business are you
- Saying yes to the opportunity?
- Taking calculated risks?
- Setting yourself up to be successful?
- Open to the learning?
- Creating a situation where there is no other option than to succeed?
- Enjoying the experience of being a business owner?
- Landin safely in success with new perspective and confidence?
If these questions brought you to a place of more questions and you want some additional support, type your questions below and I will respond with coaching perspective and support.
What does it take to really “go-BIG”?
Several weeks ago I was at a business networking event and gifted an Accelerate Results Jump Start Session for the give away table. I told the audience “Please only take this item if you are really serious about taking your business to the next level”. What happened during the actual give away simply amazed me. There were several individuals who’s name was drawn that came up, looked at my gift and had a visible physical response to NOT take the session. One person even picked up the gift, said “this one is if I am serious about taking my business to the next level” and put it back down.
I was simply astounded at the response. As a business coach, I work with my clients to take action courageously. Whether that is to take action they have never taken, think in ways they never thought of, or dig deeper than they every thought to dig. I work with people all the time who act in spite of the initial hesitation. I started thinking…when have I felt an aversion to the thought of being serious about the next level – and better yet, an aversion to take action, period.
Funny how life gives you the answers right when you need them because I recently had this very experience with a coach friend of mine, Traci Brown (Personal Trainer for Your Mind / Professional Speaker). Traci and I agreed to exchange sessions so we could get to know each other’s work at a deeper level. Traci said “come when you are REALLY ready to tackle something big” and I said “absolutely!!”. The day before my appointment I had that twinge of discomfort, actually I felt sick to my stomach. I had that feeling of fear and anxiety that I really didn’t know how “big” of a thing I was ready to tackle. How would the session help?..What would change?…How would I be different after the session? I even thought about canceling but decided to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning. Well, the next morning I woke up and decided to go anyway. Go in spite of knowing how it would help, in spite of the fear and in spite of the anxiety. During the session I expressed to Traci that I was a little nervous and in her humorous and loving way she said “hey, it’s go big or go home right?” and I agreed. The outcome was nothing short of amazing! I am different, I did change and it did help. And equally important, I acted in courage and proved to myself that I could “go BIG”.
Every time my clients face a business challenge that stretches them to act in courage and, as Nike says, JUST DO IT, they experience the results of their efforts but also the confidence to act in courage more often.
So, what does it take to “go BIG”? It takes courage. To act in spite of the fear, anxiety or what ever holds you back.
I just wonder, what would have happened if some of those people who passed on the free gift would have acted in spite of what ever it was that held them back.
Lesson from Getting Knocked Off Center
This last week has been quite interesting. My business has been growing and very exciting projects are coming to fruition. My family and I have been preparing for testing for our red belts in tae kwon do and we just came off of a wonderful Easter weekend with family. Having an emergency kitchen counter top replacement completely knocked me off center.
Here are my lessons learned from the “counter project”.
Lesson 1 – Plan and Mange what you can
The counter project required some over site during business hours which inevitably took time away from my normal business activities. This was probably the biggest contributor to really knocking me off center. Because I hired a contractor, I viewed it as their project” so I didn’t schedule in time to manage it nor did I plan to work extra hours during off hours to make up for lost production time in my business. In hind site, I needed to plan this project as if it were my own and schedule my business activities accordingly.
Lesson 2 – Get over it!
Going without a sink for 9 days was such an interesting experience. I found myself at the mercy of my little 1/2 bath sink or the upstairs bathtub for running water. Interestingly enough I kept begrudgingly going to the little sink or even going without because I kept telling myself “just a few more days”. I realized that I was “suffering through” the situation and quite honestly allowed my frustration with the inconvenience to prevent me from doing the best thing that needed to be done – go to the sink! I truly needed to accept the situation and just get over it!
Lesson 3 – Self Care
Self neglect is one of the top things many high achievers are prone to. Sometimes it is because they are habitually putting everyone/everything else first and sometimes it is because they don’t realize how easy self care really is. During the last week and a half, I have ensured that I got the important and urgent things done AND I also needed a few minutes each day to “relax, relate and release”. Relax my mind and body of all things that were in a state of flux. Relate with my friends, family, colleagues so that I could be energized by those who weren’t in the middle of it. Release from the things that I truly had no influence/impact on.
Every business owner will experience something that can knock them off center – a counter project, a flu, an illness in the family, etc. The trick is to do the things that bring you back in balance so that you recover quickly.
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