Categories
Starting Up

Don’t Over Expand Your Start-Up, You Should Actually Downsize

 

As a start up entrepreneur it’s natural to want to make your new enterprise look as big and as successful as possible. This is because we live in a time when corporations and big companies seem powerful and more trustworthy. Times are changing, though, and it really is in your best interests to maintain your independent status for as long as possible.

The easiest way to do this is to conserve space. Working in a smaller space is cheaper and helps you maintain your “indie street cred,” particularly in cities like New York, Seattle or Chicago where property costs – even to renters and leasers – is astronomical. To save as much money as possible, try one of the following options:

1. Work from home, but employ a virtual office to upgrade your professionalism. Working out of your garage endears you to your buyers and clients and makes you look dedicated and innovative. Google, Microsoft and Apple are all companies that started in someone’s garage. Virtual office space, though gives you a professional mailing address for your business and access to meeting and conference spaces when you need them.

2. Buy cube or office space in a coworking space or loft (such as Guild in Chicago). These spaces look, on the surface, like any other cubicle or professional environment. The main difference, though, is that each cube and office belongs to an entirely different business. These spaces are available for much less than traditional office space but give you the same benefits that come from working in an office: professional mailing address, meeting spaces, break rooms and “coworkers” that you can talk to and bounce ideas off of.

If you truly require office space to call your own – you’ll want to economize on space to save money. Don’t splurge for an expansive loft when the smaller single office with receptionist area will do the job just fine. Remember: save money now so you don’t have as much to make up for in your profits later. And, thanks to the affordable rate of Chicago storage units (and units in other cities) you don’t have to worry about cluttering up your office with extra supplies or files that you only need access to every few months.

There are, of course, other ways to reduce your overhead. Using Skype or Google Voice and forwarding the calls to your cell phone instead of buying an entirely new phone plan is one suggestion. You can also buy office supplies in bulk from a discount outlet or install “green” technology to reduce your energy costs. Also, working with freelancers and independent contractors so that you only pay for the work that is actually done (as opposed to an employee who might spend all day playing games on Facebook) is one of the best options.

People are more sympathetic to startups and indie businesses and you will be more attractive to investors if you don’t try to pretend to be bigger than you are. Pretending to be bigger than you are costs a lot of money – money that you may or may not recoup.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

Categories
Communication Skills

You Just Made me Wrong

I was in a meeting a few weeks ago with a business associate and we were talking about what it means to collaborate.

When he finished his long definition, I made the statement that what he said sounds like adaptability and not collaboration.

Here looked at me as said, “You just made me wrong.”

I have been thinking about this meeting and his statement for a while and I asked myself this question: By suggesting a different definition of what he was saying, did I make him wrong? Or did he decide, that by not agreeing with him, he was wrong.

What I realized is this form of miscommunication is what causes problems in all relationships: family, business, friends, etc.

Recently, I wanted to attend an event and I could not make it because of a schedule conflict. I called the creator of the event and express a desire to attend and I was unable because of a schedule conflict. His comment was, “we can’t please everyone.”

What he was really saying is when you do an event it is hard to accommodate all schedules. What I heard was, “you are not that important.” I know this individual and we discussed the implications of that discussion and we both realized we did not communicate effectively.

Do we make others feel wrong, unimportant or insignificant?   Is it our beliefs that make us feel wrong, unimportant or insignificant?

Did the transmitter communicate wrongness or did the receiver translate what was said into wrongness?

This is where the sales process breaks down. We use words and communicate that meaning that both the transmitter and the receiver do not understand to have the same meeting.

I was in a meeting and the individual used the words, “I want to create a community of…”

When I heard the words “community” I think Facebook, LinkedIn, Monster, etc. I then asked what the word community meant and she gave me an entirely different definition. If I did not ask that question I would have taken her down a marketing path that was not what she wanted to achieve.

The real lesson here is ask, don’t assume. Clarify your words and don’t expect the receiver to understand your meaning. If you are the receiver it is ok to ask for clarification.

Categories
People & Relationships

Basics of Healthy Sales Relationships

Nothing can bring more satisfaction to a business owner than knowing they have a healthy relationship with their customer and vendors.

And, of course, as many people find out, nothing can bring so much pain as a broken relationship.

Yes, relationships make the world go ‘round. For better or for worse. There are basics that govern most human relationships, and these basics are what I want to cover below. So here is my list of the three essentials that I believe make up the basics of healthy business relationships.

1.      Honesty. Honesty is the backbone of a great business relationship. If you do not trust your customers how can you expect them to trust you? I recently had an experience where the vendor really messed up and instead of telling me the truth and letting me decide how to respond, he kept the issues from me. Things got progressive worst until we split on less than friendly terms. I would have preferred to salvage the relationship if possible.

Communication is so important because it is the vehicle that allows us to verbalize what is inside us and enables it to connect with another person. Isn’t communication amazing? One person is feeling one thing, and through communication, another person can find that out and feel it, too—amazing. And this is a vital goal in good relationships—to communicate, to tell each other what we are thinking and what we are feeling. It enables us to make a connection. Sometimes we are the one speaking, and other times we are listening. Either way, the central tenet is communication for the sake of building the relationship and making it stronger. And here’s what’s exciting: If we just communicate, we can get by. But if we communicate skillfully, we can work miracles!

It helps if we can communication our message in a way our customers understand. There are six questions our prospects wants answered before they buy from us. Go to the Business Growth Experience web site  and download this report. This report documents the basic communications our prospects and customers want from us.

2.      Integrity. Do what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. Nothing is more frustrating than making a plan based on the action of someone else and then at the last-minute finding out they did not do it. Be respectful of your customers and business partners and expect the same in return. People make decisions on what you say and do; sometimes very important decisions. We need to respect that.

I once had a vendor who never returned calls. I could not make any plans and any decisions that were made always changed because of his lack of follow through. Needless to say that relationship did not last long. If he had only responded and followed through things would have been great.

3.      Common Sense. Every relationship must have a win-win component. If either person in the relationship feels taken advantage of, feelings are hurt and rash decisions are made.  Jim Rohn calls this common purpose. Think about how many friends you have met through the years while working on a common purpose. With common purpose there is something in it for everyone. You had that strong common bond of purpose that brought you together and held you together. Working together, building together, failing and succeeding together—all while pursuing a common purpose—that is what relationships are made of. Find people with whom you have common purposes and sow the seeds of great relationships, and then reap the long-lasting benefits.

Categories
Success Attitude

GUSTO

Article Contributed by John Bittleston 

One of my colleagues once described a mutual friend as having ‘infectious enthusiasm’, a lovely description and a great compliment. The person so described was full of beans and their enthusiasm was catching. Just being in the presence of such a person is a privilege. Enthusiasm will make you friends but it will not make you a fortune.

It requires more to drive a business. I call the mixture GUSTO. Two doses taken daily will transform your life.

If your life is transformed, so will be the lives of all the people around you. Here’s how it works.

GUSTO is a combination of guts, enthusiasm, energy, drive and Sheer Bloody-Mindedness. Ever seen a baby demanding attention? If so, you’ve seen SBM. How do we set about practicing GUSTO?

First, we must care deeply about everybody and everything. We must care about success. We must care about money, too, but not to the exclusion of other things. We must care about standards – personal, business, quality, service. We must care about demonstrating those standards. If you have not read the story of how James Dyson invented and marketed a new design of vacuum cleaner, you should do so. He is a model of passionate care.

Genuine, passionate care creates fortunes

Next we must give. There’s an old saying that you get out what you put in. It’s not true. If you put in very little you get out nothing. If you put in a lot you get out much more than you put in. Why do some people succeed and others not? The successful have generosity of spirit, an ability to give. They may appear careful, even mean sometimes. Their life style will be magnanimous.

Unstinting generosity creates fortunes

It is vital, too, that we have, and stick to, our opinions and beliefs. Not in a dogmatic, closed-minded way but in a way that prevents us from changing our views with each new bit of information. We all know vacillating managers who change direction more often than an outback swarm of locusts. They may consume everything on which they alight but they will die in the end. Not enough singleness of purpose.

Standards, resolutely pursued and strongly maintained, create fortunes

We do however need to have regard to the feelings and concerns of others. Infectious enthusiasm is compatible with sensitivity. Sensitivity guides us to the correct timing of what we want to achieve.

Timing with sensitivity creates fortunes

We need help to create a fortune in the form of expertise, advice, guidance, practical work and support. As John Steinbeck put it: “The last, clear definite function of Man, muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need. This is Man.” Enthusiastic, magnanimous managers call for help when they need it.

Other peoples’ help is vital in creating fortunes

So, to sum up. What is it that creates fortunes?

  • Genuine, passionate care.
  • Unstinting generosity.
  • Standards strongly maintained.
  • Timing with sensitivity.
  • Other peoples’ help.

Hello. That spells GUSTO, doesn’t it?

About the Author

Founded 20 years ago by Mentor, Business CEO and Author John Bittleston, TerrificMentors is a group of skilled mentors and coaches with considerable management experience who share a passion for reviving human spirits and balance sheets; the two often go together.

Categories
Newsletter

BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 152

BIZNESS! Newsletter

 

Cover Story

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This AirBnB hotel is Germany encourage guests to imbibe choice libations from their regional brewery – and you can even spend the night in a beer barrel bed! The hotel room for the ultimate beer baron invites guests to snooze in a giant 19th Century beer barrel that has been converted into cozy sleeping quarters…

Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 152 >>>

 

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