Why did you get into coaching? One of the most likely reasons is that you wanted to have a real, positive and lasting impact on the lives of your clients.

Unfortunately, many of the approaches that coaches currently use in their work don’t have this kind of lasting effect, for the simple reason that they focus on what clients currently don’t do well, as opposed to what they do.

It sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? After all, the client has come to you, the coach, because they have an issue in their life (or a host of issues) they want to change. Change, by definition, calls for something new. Surely there can’t be any harm in helping clients figure out new skills that can help them change their circumstances.

Well, yes and no.

A coaching approach based on the usual method of trying to strengthen these acquired skills – i.e., things that don’t come naturally to them – may have an impact on a client’s life, but it is likely to be short lived and superficial. (It’s also, quite honestly, the kind of stuff you find in self-help books and magazines that want to help you, essentially “become someone else.”)

Clients come to us as coaches most often because they don’t know what to do to change and often cannot articulate why what they are trying to do isn’t working. Over the past 30 years of coaching, my business partner and I have found that real results come when we help our clients discover what it is they already do well, and put it to greater use in their lives. We call this strengths-based coaching.

Using their natural gifts consciously in their lives not only tends to help a client blow through whatever blocks they might be facing, it’s more fun for the client. After all, who doesn’t enjoy doing what they do well? It’s a winning combination that inevitably leads to a real, lasting impact.

Of course, a total focus on a client’s strengths isn’t always an option – sometimes, in order to overcome a block, a client really does need to acquire new skills. But even so, we do our best to focus on those new skills in a way that honors who the client is by taking advantage of their natural capacities. When letting go of roles that require acquired capacities is not an option – such as job, for example, that doesn’t really satisfy the client, but which they can’t quit for the time being – then coaching should explore how the client can keep the end objectives (to keep the job) but modify the means used to achieve it so that they use their natural skills and abilities as much as possible.

In the end, it’s all about making room for your client’s brilliance, and how that person can put it to work in overcoming their challenges. Ultimately, the client needs to accomplish his or her personal objectives and goals by using their own natural strengths.

About the Author: 

Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 27 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley.  He is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. He’s a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents.  For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit http://www.YourTalentAdvantage.com

1. It’s easier, faster and helps you make sense of your figures

QuickBooks business accounting software is quicker than doing everything on paper and simpler than using spreadsheets. Sure, it probably won’t make your accounts exciting. But it will help you understand and stay on top of your finances.

2. Stop wasting time on pointless tasks

Still struggling with spreadsheets or plugging away with sheets of paper? Time could be wasted along the way. QuickBooks automates painful accounting tasks so you spend less time on jobs like invoicing, reconciling payments and creating VAT returns.

3. Watch sales like a hawk (or an investor)

Track every sale you make and every expense you incur, with up-to-the second cash flow figures. QuickBooks puts the very latest cash flow figures in front of you – so you can see exactly how you’re doing without bothering your accountant.

4. No maths or spreadsheet skills required

It’s not just faster. It’s easier too – master your accounts without manual calculations or tricky spreadsheet formulas. QuickBooks does the sums for you, using built-in formulas. That’s one in the eye for Excel!

5. You don’t have to commit until you’re sure

No matter which edition of QuickBooks you choose, you’ll get plenty of time to make absolutely sure it’s right for your business. There are both desktop as well as online accounting software. All the packages include either a trial period, or a 60 day money back guarantee – so you can buy with confidence.

This post is a guest blog post from our supporters.

Like many, I rolled my eyes the first time I heard talk of ‘the death of email.’ I personally send and receive over 100 email messages each day, and I can’t imagine conducting my computer-based job without that method of communication.

However, if you’d asked me ten years ago if I’d pay for a digital copy of a rock band’s album, without actually receiving a physical product, I’d have scoffed. My lonely, dusty CD collection now yearns for those days of apprehension.

Although email clearly still defines how we communicate at work, recent developments have begun to foreshadow its decline. Most notably, IT mega-company Atos announced that internal email would be phased out in their offices by 2014 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16055310).

Why would a company that helps to define the state of computer technology abandon the most widely used platform of communication? Read on:

Email Wastes Time

According to a recent market research study (http://www.radicati.com/?p=3237), the typical corporate employee sends and receives 110 emails a day, averaging about 90 seconds per message (many are likely three-second click-and-deletes, making up for ten minute compositions in that calculation). That tally comes to 14 hours a week spent on email — more time than many people spend with their spouses and children!

Think about your inbox. Even though the classic chain-letter forward emails have fallen from favor in the last few years, they’ve just been replaced with Groupon deals, special offers, and only the occasional personal note. Spam comprised 81 percent of email traffic in 2009.

The Youth Have Abandoned It

During college and while studying abroad, I can recall anxiously checking my email account, hoping for a message from a girlfriend or family member. The notion of email as the new letter writing has fallen aside, replaced by the instant, close connectivity of Facebook, SMS, and Skype and FaceTime chats. Teens are no longer using email to talk to each other. Atos found that many of their fresh hires had never even used an email platform like Outlook before being hired.

The Monopoly Has Dissolved

Even in business climates where email still plays the primary role, it’s lost its hold as the only way. Got a new PDF to share? Put it on Google Docs. Quick question for the guy in Human Resources? Send an SMS over your phone. Bottom line? Email no longer has to do it all, and it’s no longer the best tool for many purposes.

Streamline to Eliminate Residue

Let’s say you’ve got six people at your office all collaborating on a project. Someone completes a proposal, and shoots it out to everyone via email, soliciting feedback. Six ‘reply to alls’ later, you’ve got a confusing array of suggestions and ideas scattershot around your inbox. In the past, I’ve taken these emails and created a folder for them (of which there are now hundreds) in my Apple Mail email program. Alternatively, I might cut and paste the text of the emails into a single text document to better digest them all at once.

We all have our own methods for compiling varied information arriving at different times via email, but most of them are now unnecessary. With the advent of ‘cloud’ technology, the ‘reply to all’ scenario can be completely avoided. Person 1 posts their document to the cloud (or Google Docs, or wherever), and Persons 2-6 can then add to it and leave notes at their convenience. The end result is a collaborative growth that eliminates wait times for others to reply, keeping the process clean and transparent for everyone.

Email Allows Us to Ignore Each Other

Consider the difference between your phone number and email address (or addresses — I have eight!). Many of us post an email address online, but keep our numbers relatively private. That’s because a phone call is more urgent. It rings and demands answering. Even if you send it to voicemail, if you never reply, you’re sending a clear message of disinterest.

Email is far more vague. We let messages sit for hours, days, or months, ignoring a large number of them altogether. Even if we run into someone who sent an email that we never replied to, we can brush it off: “My inbox is always overflowing.” It’s not personal.

But in many cases, that stymies work flow and progress. Perhaps the reason we didn’t reply in the first place is because our inbox actually is overflowing, creating a constant distraction that takes away from our ability to finish our real job. When a tool becomes a hindrance, it’s time to look for a new tool. For email, that day is arriving.

About the Author:

Christopher Wallace is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Amsterdam Printing, one of the nation’s largest providers of promotional products for businesses large and small. Amsterdam specializes in promotional pens, personalized pens and other personalized items such as calendars, laptop bags and T-shirts.

Fresh Ideas For Your Brand (That Won’t Freak Your Clients Out)

Now, that sounds just like exactly what you need to get your business fired up and moving along! But then reality creeps in. There’s the pressure of creating a fresh, interesting and new idea. You can’t just reach into a magic hat and pull that perfect idea out. Sitting and waiting around for that genius to strike…

Continued in BIZNESS! Newsletter Issue 123 >>>

- BiKN Helps You Keep Track of Your Life
- Touchscreen Waiter
- Pretty FieldCandy Tents
- Coffee Joulies
- Lytro – Capture Everything Instantly
- QR Haircut for Football Fans
- Dragon Phones from Vertu

Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>

- Three Things You Gotta Believe about Your Business
- 3 Steps to Implementing Your 2012 Marketing Plan
- Entrepreneur’s Journey: Finding A Place in the World
- Entrepreneurship – The Road Less Travelled
- 5 Tips for Starting a Business on a Shoe-String Budget
- Positive Partnering for Greater Business Success
- 5 Hot Retail Sectors for Start-ups

Continue reading these top stories in the BIZNESS! Newsletter >>>

Can’t stand your demanding boss anymore? Start your own business! Before that, be sure to subscribe to our free informative newsletter. BIZNESS! is jointly published by CoolBusinessIdeas.com and GetEntrepreneurial.com What you get in BIZNESS! – the latest new business ideas, small business advice, business tips and info and entrepreneur resources. Everything you need for your brand new business!

Free 23-page PDF report – “Top 50 New Business Ideas of 2010″ – included with your subscription. Some of the innovations featured in this free report: Ritmo iPod for Babies, ‘You and Me’ Clock, Travel Tours for Toys, Custom Boardshorts, and more. Learn more here.

Article Contributed by Gary Jordan

What does it take for 800 people to work together on a project with minimum friction? Back in 1983, that’s exactly what my partner Lynda-Ross and I aimed to figure out.

When I fist met Lynda-Ross, she was managing a very large multi-year systems development project for a major corporation, and she was searching for tools to help the people working on the project stay motivated, reduce conflict, and perform to the best of their capabilities.

Through my years of college and graduate school, I had been fascinated by theories about psychological styles—such as those posited by Carl Jung—but none of the theories I studied fit my personal experience. Beginning with my doctoral dissertation and continuing through 18 years in private practice, I had worked to create a practical, useable psychological styles theory that integrated internal experience with observable behavior.

Lynda-Ross brought me in as a consultant to the project to help the management staff learn tools and techniques to improve teamwork and optimize the talents of the existing staff.  The more we observed and worked with people, the more we discovered.

One of the things we learned was that, not only do people who perceive the world similarly get along better, but they also had many of the same skills and abilities. As we thought about it, it made sense to us that people who perceived things similarly would possess similar skills. It was the next logical step to realize that the skill and ability similarities we observed were based on a similar style of perception, and that each of the six Perceptual Styles had an innate set of natural capacities.

Together we developed processes and training that used the Perceptual Styles Theory to help build teams, diffuse unnecessary conflict, and help people to understand that seeing things differently is not wrong, just different.

More than thirty years later, the same things we observed on that first project have held true, and they remain the basis of our work as coaches. Why? Because what it took for that huge team to succeed is what it takes for any team to succeed. Here are the four main components:

1. It takes people with different Perceptual Styles filling different positions on the team. After all, skills and abilities are directly tied to the ways that we perceive the world as individuals. The person who excels at accounting is generally not the same type of person who thrives in customer service.

2. It takes all of those people learning how to communicate effectively with one another, despite the differences in their Perceptual Styles. Simple adjustments in language and message delivery can eliminate 90 percent of all communication conflicts.

3. It takes all of those people feeling motivated, even though the differences in their Perceptual Styles means that they will be motivated in different ways. A range of incentives are required for optimum momentum on a project.

4. It takes leadership based on the team leader’s actual skills and abilities. There are many different ways to lead, but the only right way for any given person is the one that fits their innate Perceptual Style.

At every level of development, psychological styles are a huge factor in the success or failure of a business—because no matter what it is or what it does, people are what make your business tick.

About the Author: 

Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 27 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley.  He is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. He’s a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents.  For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.YourTalentAdvantage.com

Article Contributed by Michele PW

On the surface, starting an internet-based business may seem like a dream come true. A business owner can start a business out of her home, selling her products and services everywhere and anywhere in the world without big marketing budgets or lots of advertising. However, once she puts up her first web site, that dream often comes crashing down – it’s not nearly as easy as it first looks.

So, she does her research. She starts learning everything she can about Internet Marketing.

But it’s still not as simple as what the “gurus” say. Maybe the business owner is still stuck at her current revenue goals and she knows she could be making more. Maybe she feels uncomfortable or “icky” around her marketing. Maybe she agonizes over every negative email and feedback she gets. And maybe she feels like there must be a better way.

Here are 3 tips to use to get more success through Internet Marketing:

1. Pull up those big girl panties and get some business training. People start businesses for all sorts of reasons that have really nothing to do with owning their own business. They want freedom, to provide for their families, to not have a boss, to get their message out into the world, to make a difference. None of those reasons started with the words, “I love business.”

So it only stands to reason they have little to no training or experience in business. If that’s the case, it’s unlikely that business will come naturally. Learning to run a business is like learning to do any skill. Learn to run an effective, profitable business, and put Internet Marketing in its proper place, which is …

2. Internet Marketing is a tool in a business owner’s marketing toolbox, it is NOT a business model. There’s a certain amount of confusion about this whole Internet Marketing thing, that this somehow is a business model rather than a collection of strategies. While it certainly CAN turn into a business model, that’s not a desirable situation. Typically, when that happens, the business has turned itself into a “launch after launch” model, which is highly stressful on a number of levels (not to mention it’s not sustainable, long-term).

When a business owner views Internet Marketing as simply another tool in her toolbox, then her mindset changes. It’s just another tool – nothing more, nothing less. Certainly nothing to agonize about. Next step: focus on using that tool correctly.

3. If there’s a part of Internet Marketing a business owner really struggles with, she should take a good hard look at it. One of two things will most likely happen – either she’ll see the reason she struggles is because she has a block around something else, and if she wants to fix it she will work on the block. Or she realizes this piece is just not going to happen – either she really hates doing it or maybe she feels like it doesn’t align with her or her business. If it’s the latter, she will have to find another way to get the same results, or she’s going to have to accept the consequences of not doing it.

But how does she know which one it is? If it’s a block or something else? And if it’s something else, how does she make the choice to do something different? And how does she know what the consequences even are, before it’s too late?

This is a problem I’ve seen over and over again – conscious entrepreneurs making a choice around Internet Marketing based on faulty or incomplete information and not realizing the consequences until it’s too late. It’s something no one else is talking about… but I am.  Stay tuned for more!

About the Author: 

Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) is your Ka-Ching! Marketing strategist and owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC, a premiere direct response copywriting and marketing company that helps entrepreneurs attract more clients, sell more products and services and boost their business.  Grab her latest FREE special report “Why EVERYTHING You’ve Been Taught About Marketing on the Internet Will NOT Work for You and What You Can Do To Turn it Around” here: http://www.MichelePW.com/sand

As an entrepreneur it can be all too easy to focus on making money and re-investing in your business, and neglect the prudent measure of developing some savings. Saving accounts can be an essential back up when you experience cash flow problems, a challenge that your business will inevitably face at some point. If you have yet to think about opening additional saving accounts to act as reserve finance for your business the most important thing is to act now – and this process need not take up a lot of time. There are a range of saving accounts and other savings vehicles that are easily accessible through retail banking. Here we will take a snapshot of the options typically provided through retail banking by looking at the saving accounts provided by Santander, one of the major players in the market.

The Instant Access Account offered by Santander is in many ways an ideal option for the small business. The instant access descriptor could be viewed as applying in a couple of ways, as this account is managed online, and so easily accessible in a hurry. This account also offers instant access to the cash within, without incurring any penalties for withdrawal. At the time of writing, the interest rate of 3.1% on offer for the initial deal period of 12 months is not far off what more restrictive savings vehicles can offer. This all means that this type of account should be used as reserve for at least a portion of your savings, as the accessibility of the money is perfect for dealing with temporary cash flow problems.

If you expect to have significant cash to park in a savings account in the near future you can look to develop more growth on the balance by locking the money away in a bond. As is typical of the market, the Fixed Rate Bonds offered by Santander deliver superior interest when compared with the Instant Access option, provided of course that you sacrifice the ability to get your hands on the cash before the term of the bond ends. Fixed rate bonds therefore present a more long term saving strategy, delivering better growth the longer you agree to keep the cash locked away. On the flip side, the inflexibility of the deal means that fixed rate bonds are definitely not suitable as your sole savings vehicle, as you will not be able to access the money early – before the bond matures – to address cash flow problems without incurring a penalty that will pretty much wipe out any growth that has been achieved.

Those that are registered as ordinarily resident in the UK for tax purposes can also look at the tax free savings options provided by the range of ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts). This type of account was introduced by the UK government to encourage citizens to save, offering tax free growth on balances up to a specified annual limit. For more information on ISAs and who qualifies to open these accounts, try looking at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/isa/faqs.htm.

Businesses are more aware of the bonuses associated with green procurement than ever before, given the vast number of benefits that it can bring. Essentially, green procurement ensures that businesses protect local environments and economies from the effects of their operations, all the while allowing a business to deliver goods, services

Now, it seems that there are plenty of financial incentives to encourage manufacturers to design environmentally-friendly items, whether it’s to avoid taxes and additional costs levied against those uninterested in resource conservation, or the extra outgoings paid through utility bills because of inefficient use of energy and water.

Sourcing locally can certainly boost sales. Flyerzone, an eco-friendly supplier, works particularly hard to forge relationships with nearby clients to boost their productivity, environmental credentials and save themselves money along the way. Many other organisations are very happy to broker regional deals to save money, even if local sourcing demands is becoming a bigger public desire.

Supermarkets in particular are angling themselves towards these programs. Waitrose, Asda and Tesco are particularly proud of highlighting times when they have sourced directly from a farmer in the region, while online stores such as Farmison.com solely market around these individuals and even give you specific insights into the companies and families that sustain their sales.

Procurement policies are also beginning to heavily centre on waste regulations, for money-saving reasons as much as ethical ones. The Packaging Directive tries to minimise extraneous materials and goes on to promote energy recovery as well as the re-use of packaging; it has effectively led to EU member states introducing national policies to set a minimum level of recycling, which is steadily increasing as recovery technologies improveThe UN advocates sustainable development of products made from popular materials such as woods and metals, and the United Nations Environment Program has proposed incentives for companies to replant and recycle to limit potentially devastating deforestation and water pollution. This is limiting international companies from visiting foreign nations such as Brazil and harvesting their wares, avoiding local and national regulations through importing. When businesses demand local produce, it is becoming clearer that this approach simply isn’t acceptable.

By adopting environmentally and locally-friendly initiatives, procurement managers can reduce overall production costs, create new standards and keep a solid supply chain in their area and beyond – all the while adhering to compliance regulations..

This post is a guest blog post from our supporters.

Article Contributed by Dr. Joey Faucette

What do you believe about your business?

Your business beliefs are the core values of your “how” in leading your relationships and managing the details. Have you ever taken four minutes and written them down?

Make sure you include these three things you gotta believe about your business:

Business Pace

When my daughter ran distance races, she trained her body to build endurance by putting in the necessary miles daily. She also exercised her mind to learn course management.

She discovered in her first races that adrenaline would push her out hard and fast from the start and carry her for a while. If she kept up that pace, she often led, but when she approached the finish, she had no energy left and fell way back. The only result that counts is when you cross the finish line.

She discovered how to pace herself, starting strong, settling into a comfortable, economical pace, with enough reserve for a powerful finish kick. Such a pace allowed her to compete and succeed.

Your business has a pace. Adjusting your intensity to reflect it is a key to Work Positive success. You run sprints one way. Maybe that’s your 4Q. You run 5K’s an entirely different way. That might be your 1Q.

You gotta believe that your business has a pace and rhythm all its own. Adjust your intensity accordingly and train for it.

Balance People and Tasks

You can focus your business efforts on people—employees, vendors, and customers—but when you do, you lose sight of your company goals.

You can focus your energy on accomplishing tasks—your goals and action plan—but when you do, you forget that its people who accomplish those tasks.

My grandmother gave me a chocolate bunny every spring for Easter. Some years, I bit into it to find only air inside. Other years, it was marshmallow. My favorite years were those when I discovered chocolate through and through.

Balancing people and tasks means you lead your business consistently—through and through. You lead people to accomplish tasks and focus on tasks for people to achieve.

You gotta believe that your business succeeds when you balance people and tasks.

Beyond the Obvious

You’re staring at your P&L and balance sheets for 2011 about now. What do you believe happened in 2011 in your business?

A pair of sisters enjoyed shopping in a Goodwill shop in Virginia. One of them saw a pearl necklace, found it attractive, and since it was only $.69, bought it, believing that it was just costume jewelry.

Wearing it back home in Arizona, a friend commented on how beautiful it was and encouraged her to get it appraised. She did and discovered that it was worth a little more than the $.69 purchase price.

Like $50,000 more.

As you look back on 2011 and forward into 2012, you gotta believe beyond the obvious. Believe that at least some of your investments in adjusting your business pace will pay off this year. Believe that by balancing people and tasks you will discover unimagined value.

You gotta believe in your business in 2012!

About the Author:

Best-selling author, speaker, and coach Dr. Joey Faucette shares how all of us working together create a more positive world this week. Adapted from his #1 Amazon best-seller, Work Positive in a Negative World.