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Five Steps You Can Take
To Bring Order To Your World |
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Each of these steps is completely normal -- but may have been forgotten in the rush to increase our income and net worth.
ONE. Define your Target Market. As a trainer for Critical Contacts Inc., I work closely with the founder, Charles Legalos. We train people taking our classes to recognize that your Target Market chooses you; you do not choose your Target Market. When this fact becomes known, it leads to a whole new level of focused marketing activity. Whether you are obtaining referrals from existing clients, obtaining referrals from Centers of Influence, or accessing a network of people serving your Target Market, it is critically important to know who you're looking for. The Critical Contacts Inc. three-step process is designed to help you discover your Target Market. Contact me for more information.
TWO. Develop your business plan, and then execute your plan. As a Certified Provider of The One Page Business Plan, I have been well-trained by the owner of the company, Jim Hortan. This program helps you clarify and define your business plan -- and put it on one page. Being a good advisor means being a good business person. Good business people operate from well-thought-out plans. I can help you do this -- contact me for more information.
THREE. Develop your skills by concentrating on your strengths -- not your weaknesses. Everybody has both; by developing your skills you optimize your opportunity for growth. I work closely with Barbara Spector, President of Smart Moves Inc. Barbara is a specialist in providing assessments and training for entrepreneurs, financial advisors and independent businesspeople. We recommend two assessment tests: the Harrison Assessment and Profile XT. These proven assessment tests can be customized for the kind of business you're engaged in, and have proven validity and reliability. I use these tests regularly, and am pleased with their effectiveness. Please contact me if you'd like to investigate further.
FOUR. Now, more than ever, it is the time to manage and monitor your cash flow. As the Bible says, there are seven years of fat and seven years of lean. I hope that you have saved some money from the fat years to help you out in these lean times. You should also be running a monthly profit and loss statement so that you'll be able to monitor your financial well-being. We use Quick Books.
FIVE. Now is also the time to maintain your financial reserves. Even in tough times, it is important to have good saving habits.
As a business coach, my job is to help my clients become better business people. These five recommendations are the foundation of building a good business. Please let me know if I can be of help to you or one of your colleagues with any of these programs. |
Nick is available to answer any of your coaching concerns, and as always, will provide a complimentary coaching session to anyone interested in pursuing a coaching program. Please call Nick at (510) 898-3245 or
email him to set up a session.
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Newsletter
Issue No. 13
January 2009 |
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What would you do if we were not in a recession?
What kind of planning would you do, what kind of financial standards would you be following? These are typical questions that any advisor or business person asks at the beginning of a new year. In good times perhaps it wouldn't be as critical to ask these questions -- but it is important today.
As we are obviously not in good times, and even if your business is not hurting, you are probably experiencing more than an average amount of stress. I have found that the best antidote to stress is taking positive and constructive action. Taking action does not guarantee an immediate solution to the problem at hand, but it is very helpful in lowering the stress level.
As mentioned in earlier columns, I have no magical solutions to our current economic situation. Certainly the causes of the global recession are financial imprudence; but it seems this time around we can add a moral component. Business people around the world, our elected officials, and of course ourselves, were all seduced by the dream of an ever-rising economy. Now, we have seen the error of our ways and are paying our dues by cutting back on spending; in extreme cases losing our jobs or our houses; suffering reduced incomes, or at the very least, experiencing increased worry and anxiety.
With these dire comments in mind, I believe that there are some practical steps that we can take to right our individual ships. If enough people take these steps, the global economic situation will be much improved, and the travail we are now suffering will have had a beneficial impact.
When you read the body of the newsletter you'll see five suggestions -- eminently practical -- which each of us can follow. Using some or all of the suggestions will help you get back on track -- and probably sooner than you would have imagined.
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