Listen to one teleconference or enjoy them all.  Several of our Inside Small Biz members were very busy recently with teleconferences.  You’ll enjoy learning more about each member and gaining new knowledge that will help you develop your skillsets for growing your company. Click here to choose from the following list:

 ”Do More With Less Time,” by Bill Stieber, of Orchestrated Dynamics.  www.stieber.com

“Increase Productivity through Goal Setting,” by Karen Lawson, of Lawson Consulting Group.  www.lawsoncg.com

“Creating a Safe Environment,” by Karen Young, of HR Resolutions.  www.hrresolutions.com

“Win More Business by Creating a Better Image,” by

Lynne Breil, of The Professional Edge, Inc. www.theprofessionaledge,inc.com

 

“Making People Great,” by Tony Chivinski, of Leadership Advisory Services.  www.leadershipadvisory.net

Our professional services members do teleconferences on a monthly basis as a way of sharing their expertise with their customers and prospects.  Join Inside Small Biz and see how you can use this promotional tool to increase your reach and touch your customers and prospects in a powerful way.

In our Monday Professional Services Peer Group Teleconference I asked several of our members for their Success Tip for 2009.  Here are several of the responses that you might want to use:

Karen Young, HR Resolutions:  “Make the calls.  I am committed to making just 3 phone calls a day and making them with intention.  This year I am working my schedule with a purpose.  I make 3 calls the first thing when I get in the office and, last week, as a result of these calls I got 4 new clients.  That’s great motivation!”

Bill Stieber, Orchestrated Dynamics: “Write a book.  This year I’m going to write a second book.  The first one I wrote got me into so many doors, it gave me credibility and it’s not so much about the money from the book as it is about the clients that you get from having a book.  It’s like having a really great business card!”  (Like a business card on steroids, Bill!!! Kae)

Lynne Breil, The Professional Edge:  “Going deeper with clients in finding what they need and then helping them to solve that problem has been successful for me.  Sometimes the solution is for me to connect them to someone else to provide the right resource.  That’s part of being successful, though, giving for the good of the client.”

Kate Eshleman, Strategic Endeavors:  “Our success comes from speaking directly to our target markets and by keeping our message very specific to that market.  Even in tougher times we continue to advertise and to try new things that will speak to our markets.”

There you have it: four great success tips that you can apply to your efforts.  I’m sure you have your own success tips, so send us a comment and we’ll share the knowledge.

Kae  www.insidesmallbiz.com and www.northstar-m.com

Just recession, ead Peter Shankman’s HARO alert (a communication for reporters looking for story sources) and he was writing about an opportunity to participate in a movement that is “anti-recession.” Here’s his comment:

“Today’s HARO comes from the concept that even if there’s some bad economic news, people need to think positive! Holton Sentivan + Gury and j2 communications invite you to stand up and choose NOT to participate in the recession!Everyone who signs up will have their names included in an upcoming Wall Street Journal ad that will tell Wall Street and Americans that we refuse to wallow in bad financial news, and will continue to do what we do even better in ‘09! Stand up and be proud! http://norecessionforme.us/ “

We’ll be watching this story develop and will keep you posted…could be a great way to balance out the huge focus on the downside of the economy. I am always reminded that even when we had 27% unemployment during the Great Depression, we also had an employment rate of 73%.

So, join the anti-recession movement and let’s make 2009 a prosperous year.

Over the weekend I bought Christmas Cards and I wanted to share one of them with you.  It’s titled “The Greatest Gits.”

May we break boundaries, tear down walls, and build on the foundation of goodness inside each of us.  May we look past differences, gain understanding, and embrace acceptance.  May we reach out to each other, rather than resist.  May we be better stewards of the earth, protecting, nurturing and replenishing the beauties of nature.  May we practice gratitude for all we have, rather than complain about our needs.  May we seek cures for the sick, help for the hungry, and love for the lonely.  May we share our talents, give our time, and teach our children.  May we hold hope for the future very tenderly in our hearts and do all we can to build for bright tomorrows.  And, may we love with our whole hearts, for that’s the only way to love.

Thanks to Kathy Davis Studios and Graphique deFrance for sharing those sentiments with us so beautifully.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I was reading Shar McBee’s weekly email (check it out at www.joyofleadership.com) and notice a piece on her website that caught my attention.  She notes that surveys show that these are the things that people want from you:

1. Make my life easier
2. Save me time
3. Don’t rip me off
4. Give my life purpose
5. Pay attention and appreciate me

As I look at this list I realize that keeping customers happy is very simple if you follow these items.  Especially number five.  Research shows that most customers leave because of neglect.  Like in a marriage, it’s easy to take someone you care about for granted.  So, this season, I’m making a promise to myself and to my clients and members that I will make sure that they get these five things from me for Christmas and all year long.

Over the last year I’ve spent hundreds of hours with CEOs and Presidents. In our conversations, we’ve spent a ton of time on product and service improvements, employee issues, market moves, competitive pressures and a whole realm of other things. “Green” and sustainability get a lot of attention as well. But, way too often, what’s missing is the Voice of the Customer.

Most days I think  CEOs would love the business if they just didn’t have to deal with customers. I even had one CEO tell me he didn’t want to do a customer meeting because “all the customer does is complain.”

So, Mr. CEO, get a clue. Customers complain for a reason. They’re dissatisfied. They want you to pay attention. They need something better. If you don’t listen, they’ll find it somewhere else.

In 2009 your customer will have a ton of your competitors knocking on his door, often at a lower price, willing to do anything to pick up new business. So, pay attention. Listen up. Make 2009 the year that you hear the customer loud and clear. You just might find that you’ll hear some good news, too!

In today’s email “The Daily Stat” from Harvard Business Review, they’ve listed the Top Ten Business Phrases to avoid.

“Thinking outside of the box” is the most hated phrase of business jargon in Britain, according to a recent study by international research agency YouGov. Its close relation “out of the box” also made the top ten.

Not subscribed to “The Daily Stat?”  It’s a daily round-up of interesting business facts and data that’s always interesting, unique and satisfies the curious mind.  Click here to sign up.

 

Here are four strategies to setting up goals to help you make next year a great success, courtesy of our colleagues at Wolf Creek Business Creek Institute.

1. Use the S.M.A.R.T. Tool - For each goal, make sure that it is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive. It is not enough to say “I want to spend more time with my kids” or “I want my business to grow”. Be specific. “I want to increase my quality time with my children by 2 hours each week and will dedicate Saturdays for this” or “I want to increase my top line sales by 3% and reduce my cost of operations by 1%”. Once you define it, you can move to building a “how to” plan to completing each.
2. Align, Align, Align - Most people think that reaching goals is an individual act. Most of our goals are dependent on the support and alignment of people close to us whether at work or home. By aligning goals with those close to you, you increase your chances for both of you to succeed. Your teamwork and trust can greatly improve.
3. Protect Your Schedule – Secure the time in your weekly schedule to reach your goals. Break down your goals to small weekly milestones (with wiggle room for backsliding) and build a habit where you review progress (preferably with someone else) to reward accomplishment and refresh efforts. Recommendation: by Thursday set up next week’s meetings, on Friday coordinate your next week schedule with daily tasks. Saturday & Sunday enjoy the weekend. Monday morning hit the ground running. Daily work your schedule. At 4:30pm each day invest 30 minutes to review and adjust for tomorrow. 
4. Chill out - When you backslide, chill out. Don’t beat yourself up and don’t re-tool. Simply start again and repeat the process until it becomes habitual. This takes time but it’s worth the effort. 

So, last week I went to get an iPhone.  I’ve had iPhone envy for several months now; watching my non-techy husband, Dwight, having a great time getting his e-mail, checking his stocks and the latest weather report and I’ve been stuck with a Blackberry that sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

Couldn’t stand it anymore so I went to buy the latest and greatest iPhone from Steve Jobs.  And, I love it.  It is so fabulous, everyone should have one.  For me, there was no down time going through a learning curve – everything worked immediately and so brilliantly.

The thing about the iPhone is that it thinks like a computer in a phone body.  I love the interface, the brilliance of the screen, the noises and the movement – even the feel of it in my hand.  Apple nailed every aspect of great branding and great product development with the iPhone.

But, here’s what’s ironic.  About a week after I buy my iPhone I get a phone call from ATT – my provider.  They would like to do a survey and see how satisfied I am with my iPhone.  I say, “Sure, I love it.  I’d be happy to do a survey.”

Then they ask me for a landline phone number that they can call me on to do the survey.  I say that I don’t have a landline – I just use my iPhone.  Isn’t that the point and isn’t that great?

They don’t see the irony here and they are absolutely humorless.  They tell me they can’t do the survey on a cell phone because of security issues!!!  I say, what security issues???  We’re doing a survey – about a phone.  This is not the CIA calling me – it’s ATT!

WOW!  I thought that was the funniest thing I’ve heard in a long time.  So, we ended the call and I guess I’ll never get to do the iPhone survey and rant and rave about how much I love it and that I think everyone should get one.

Their data on satisfied customers will just have to be compiled without me!!!

Kae

In an August report from the Discover Small Business Watch, Small Business Owners reported an increase in their confidence in the direction of the overall economy.  However, more Small Business Owners also said they are having cash flow issues.

Key Findings in the report:

• The number of owners who think the economy is getting worse dropped to 60 percent from 71 percent in July.  In addition, 23 percent of Small Business Owners feel the U.S. economy is getting better, which is the highest rating since August 2007.
• 51 percent rate the economy as poor, a decrease from 54 percent in July; while 15 percent ranked it as good, up from 11 percent in July.
• 42 percent say they have experienced cash flow issues over the last 90 days, a significant increase from 33 percent in July 2008.
• Forty-three percent of owners believe the economy is the number one issue for this year’s candidates, down slightly from the 47 percent who cited the economy as the most important issue in March 2008.

So, while our confidence is going up a bit, our cash flow is still tightening.  It means we still need to contain costs, make even more sales calls and find new sources of revenue and continue the hard work and visionary passion that got us this far.

Talk to you soon.  Kae