Business Coach and Business Coaching Articles

Summer is finally here and in full swing! It is also the slow season in business as the kids are out of school, we have trips planned, it is too hard to stay indoors...sound familiar? While these are certainly valid points, why not take the opportunity to use summer downtime to freshen up your business and breathe some new life into it? Here are some ideas to build your business while everyone else is busy playing and not paying attention, all while you still have plenty of time to enjoy your summer:r

Building a business is the best personal development training you'll ever experience. Everything that is in the way of your business, is in YOUR way. Though it can be both exhilarating and frustrating, it's a fantastic adventure that will create extraordinary opportunities for growth and expansion. The key to success is to master your mindset. Easier said than done, right? Here are 5 keys to help you create and sustain a positive mindset so you can attain the success you desire.

Professional cleaning business industry is growing at a fast pace and not surprisingly because everyone wants to keep their homes and business premises clean without getting their hands dirty or wasting their valuable time on the job. The cleaning industry is divided into two main groups: consumer cleaning and commercial cleaning. The consumer cleaning business includes residential maid services, carpet cleaners, window cleaners and cleaning your residential premises. Commerc

Somewhere along the line, back when you were working your way up the corporate ladder, someone probably gave you advice.The advice made sense at the time, you followed it, and today you’re the owner, leader, or manager of your organization. Congratulations! Now is the perfect time to take a moment and assess whether that long-ago advice still serves you. In other words, I’m asking you to consider if there’s anything you’re still doing, not because it feels right to you, but because you think you should. Whenever I pose that question to my clients, I get some revealing answers.

“Change” has been the big topic of conversation for some time now. For the most part, the change that everyone writes about and talks about is economic change. There has been much written about the change from a manufacturing economy to a service economy and there has been much written about the ...

In our complex and ever evolving world, another crisis is just around the corner. Just turn on the news and witness much of the “breaking news” within local state and federal governments and in the private sector business community. Crisis leadership consists of leadership skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that the crisis is under control.

When it comes to finding a job at some time in our lives we all need to do it. We all create our own pathways whether we pursue education and then into work or straight out of school and into a job. Over the years we work our way up through companies and pursue other job vacancies that can inspire us. A few years ago vacancies would have been advertised in magazines, newspapers and job fairs, these days it’s all about the internet and the available online job boards. An onl

What do children and sales consultants have in common? Ask them to play and they’ll jump in. Tap into this natural ability and you’ll unlock the secret to whiteboard presenting. In more organizations and small businesses, sales professionals and subject matter experts are turning to whiteboards. Presenting at the whiteboard is a flexible way to sell ideas, simplify solutions and connect with clients. Let’s look closely at how to build your skills. Use these tips to for successful selling at the whiteboard…in minutes not weeks. Playing

Is business starting to feel like a slow drain on your soul? Are you beginning to begrudge every moment spent in front of your computer, or do you attack it, frisky and excited for what's to come? If you're feeling somewhat slumped at the sight of your work, it's probably time to implement the three R's – and fast. The moment has come to Recalibrate, Restore, and Revive Your Business. It happens to all of us, from time to time.

What makes a great team? We have all heard the saying a champion team will beat a team of champions and in sport as well as business this is true. Below are a few tips on improving your team. 1) Keep decision making teams small, groups of 6 or more reduces the decision making process and most meetings end up as a talk feast. 2) Basic Needs Met. That is, Physical comfort, security, safety, and maintenance of an environment that supports these. If lower order needs are neglected, higher group function is unlikely. 3) Mutual Trust.

Every internet marketer knows that having an impressive page rank is the ticket to succeed in the online arena. If your website appears on the top search page results each time keywords related to your products are being used by your prospects, you have better chances of getting these people to give you a visit. Based on surveys, online users usually just pay attention to the first 10 web pages they see on the search results. You can improve your page rank through article mar

We all love to be pampered and made to feel special. Many people are willing to pay extra for that first class experience. Sometimes though, we get caught off guard by spectacular customer service that it just makes the relationship with the business that much more special. I recently had the experience of staying at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their customer service was superb. Does your business offer over the top experiences for your customers? My tips will help all business owners recreate that first class experience. Five Tips for Offering First Class Customer Service

Business News Blog by Steve Daines - Read Business and Development News by Business Expert Steve Daines: Customer relationship management (CRM) provides strategies for managing an enterprises interactions with its clients and potential prospects. The industry provides vast array of technological platforms and applications which can be integrated into the enterprise infrastructure and then used to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes. While most CRM platforms

In a brilliant book entitled "Job-Shift: How to Prosper in a World Without Jobs,” William Bridges says we are living in a jobless society. What you ask? There are no jobs? Let me explain. In the U.S., the concept that we have of jobs has only been in existence for about the last 150 years. It was at that time that the industrial revolution took us from farms and craft work to "jobs" in the factory. It completely changed our daily lives. It made traditional crafts obsolete an

In today’s competitive business world, trust is critical for a successful business and for successful relationships. I firmly believe that trust is the main ingredient in making any relationship work. Without trust in a relationship, a prospect will never become a valued client. And without ...

Have you ever noticed how young children say what they think? They tend to speak up and show us their real selves. They haven't been conditioned otherwise – at least not at that point. But, ultimately, what have we learned as we're growing up? To hide away our real selves in order to be liked by as many people as possible. To hide away our feelings and opinions and passions for fear that someone else will disapprove.

February is International Expect Success Month. As a business owner, professional, student or parent why would you do anything without expecting the outcome to be successful? We should expect success in every endeavor or why are we doing it? This requires a mindset shift. My five tips below will help you achieve success.

Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides. Rita Mae Brown Words are way more than a means of communication; they shape your beliefs, behaviors, feelings and ultimately your actions. Written or spoken, words continuously propel you through life. They make you or break you. They lift you up, drag you down, wound you, and heal you. Words paint the landscape of your world. “In the beginning was the word, and the word was made flesh.” Yeah, you’ve got that kind of power. The words you speak have a profound effect on the people they touch.

Attracting the right clients and opportunities for your business can seem like a tough task. It may feel like your ideal client is an elusive needle in a haystack. But the truth is that your ideal client is likely searching for exactly what you have to offer. You don't need to be in prospecting mode or think of your marketing efforts as client-hunting. I know you want to attract more clients in order to build your business. But prospecting isn't the way to go about it. Skeptical? I know. But hear me out. Let's do a little reverse engineering and flip this challenge around.

Every day, entrepreneurs act on their assumptions. Making assumptions is a part of doing business. Assumptions are often based on our experiences and are not often questioned. It’s part of our system of beliefs. If our beliefs are not sound, our assumptions are not sound. These assumptions can serve you or they can deter you from getting your products and services out into the world in a big way. If limiting, they get in the way of creating and selling products or closing on more sales.

As we sit here the day after the USA had taken back the Ryder Cup (This is not the cup left in a Ryder rental truck) from Europe. As Wall Street unravels we sure can use some good news. Here was this young inexperienced group of men who were being lead by a man who had a different idea. They ...

At one time or another, we have to deal with negative influences. You know the people…the ones that are discouraging you from your ultimate goal. Here are a few ways to deal with “negative nellies” in a positive manner. The important thing to remember is that your attackers are acting negative and hostile because they are jealous and attempting to destroy someone else’s somehow makes themselves feel better. Their actions are more about THEM than about YOU. VIEW IT AS

Would low cost creative activities help you get lower-cost leads and more sales? You bet! Find out how to reduce the cost-per-lead, increase effective presentation skills and transform your sales results. One of the most under-used activities for sales presenters is staring you right in the face. Virtual events. Sure, I bet you're already hosting virtual events to discuss products, services and solutions. You and your team are working hard: pitching products and sharing tons of data. You're racing against the clock to give "X" number of virtual events per week.

Few skills make such a dramatic impact on the quality of your life as effective communication. At home. In the workplace. In daily life. When it comes to speaking, listening and presenting for impact…a little learning will bring you tremendous success. In today’s workplace, professionals often rely on communication skills to bridge gaps in experience, culture, education, language and age. If you’re noticing that people don’t seem to trust you—because of your background, there are specific steps to take to be more approachable and credible.

Believe it or not, having a successful mindset begins first in your head and then manifests into everything you do including the people you interact with - your friends, family, colleagues, business associates, clients and customers. Your mental attitude dictates whether you will be receptive ...

Summer brings with it certain seasonal joys and tonight I saw my first lightning bug. Not my first ever mind you. Not a Somali and snow sort of ‘see’ but saw it nevertheless; a little yellow dot just across the street on the median near the very little new tree; (Very little - it’s new. New as ...

If your self esteem has lowered due to unfortunate circumstances I recommend taking some time to create a brag book and start adding to it. Go back as far as you can and collect all those achievements and clippings that represent who you are and your growth over the years and compile them into ...

Today I read a quote, “Mountains are made for movin’ not just sitting there lookin’ pretty! So get out there & get to movin’!” With that thought you will work your butt off. Seriously! Where is the progress in moving a mountain? Where the heck are we to move that mountain? Remember that life is not about large unrealistic goals ~ which is the norm mindset of successful people.

Imagine one day you wake up, jump out of bed, and are excited about starting your day. You head toward the kitchen to pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit down to breakfast. As you start zoning out while drinking your first sip of java, your excitement turns into anxiousness as you think through all of the things you need to get done that day. An overwhelming realization that you can’t possibly get it all done starts to envelop you.

Bakeries are places that smell of yummy chocolate, freshly baked biscuits and breads, and sweet cakes, tarts, and pies. For the owner of the bakery, all the sweetness boils down to satisfying his customers and making them come back for more. Competition in a bakery business is too much. While it may appear that there is space for everyone, there could be more to the situation. A bakery could just be a bakery and not a confectionery. Bakers can supply to different confectioner

We all like being appreciated by our bosses, colleagues, and co-workers for what we do; no one likes being taken for granted. Appreciation is a small yet powerful gesture that leaves us with a smile, motivating us to keep on providing our excellent service.nnWriting a short, yet effective business thank you letter to a partner who closed an important deal for the company, an employee who stayed overtime last night, or a customer who recently made a large-scale purchase, can w

Have you ever noticed how business seems to have its own language? Even small business owners seem to speak with a language that is all their own, and if you are new to the world of commerce, all that jargon can be daunting.

One of the difficulties of creating business systems is that there is a learning curve. You will make mistakes, you will learn what does and does not work by trial and error, and you will lose both time and money. There are things that you can do that can help you minimize time and money lost to your business as you develop great systems for your business. I suggest finding a great coach or a mentor to help you.

Many website owners quickly become very frustrated by the lack of visitors to their site. They have tried several different strategies but their hard work has not had any effect on bringing traffic to their site. The leading method to attract more visitors to your site is to increase your ranking in all of the search engines like Google. The most effective way to accomplish this is to use a Professional SEO service in London.

When you get in front of a prospect or customer for that important meeting – What are you saying? Are you clear on what you need to say and how you are coming across? Are you prepared and presentable? What is your prospect or customer hearing and seeing? How do you come across? What is it that people see when they meet you for the first time? Are you dressed appropriately and look like you are ready for business? What is your mental chatter saying as you enter your prospect

In a world of continuous connectivity, creating focus is a challenge for even the most disciplined small business owners. Some studies even suggest that only 20-30% of focused time is spent on priority areas. The news of the day, email, and texts can have you getting sidetracked never accomplishing those three most important things on your task list.

Last week we talked about what a business coach is and what they can do for you and your business. You may have read it and thought, yeah that's nice, but Margie things are great and I'm growing at a steady clip. Fantastic! So let me ask you this: How would you like to shorten the timeframe to success, avoid painful (and unnecessary) mistakes, and have more confidence in your decisions and path forward?

Do you ever wonder why hundreds of thousands of internet marketers are now spending so much time, effort, and energy in writing articles? Well, it’s because countless of ebusiness owners and affiliate marketers have proven the effectiveness of this internet marketing tool. They’ve realized that if you write informative, useful articles, people will pay attention to your website and later on to the products or services that you offer. The process of getting them to buy fro

During a recent lunch time conversation with a friend of mine, he said that he couldn’t be sure that the Eiffel Tower was really there. After a bit of questioning I almost had to agree with him. We have all heard the saying “I’ll believe it when I see it” and many people live by this, almost mantra like!

As the calendar changes from summer to fall, it’s time to refocus your energy on your fourth-quarter objectives. One great way to do this is to build – or rebuild – your pipeline of prospects. As I’ve said many times, it doesn’t pay to go solo, even if you’re a “solopreneur.” One proven way to build your business is to reach out to people who can help you. In fact, that’s what I did in order to create this week’s Tip! I got in touch with five colleagues who work with business owners and asked for their #1 piece of advice on networking.

Did you ever notice on an automobile dashboard that some of the lights are green, orange or red? And sometimes multiple lights come on? Red lights and two simultaneous lights scream, “Call your auto repair of choice immediately.” The next three sales action indicators for a sales person can ...

It is estimated that 65% of marketing budgets, on average, are spent on activities designed to generate leads to potential new customers. Yet entrepreneurs only follow up on an estimated 20% of the leads – the rest of the leads generated fall into the abyss of sales leads. Entrepreneurs often spend a lot of their energy attending networking event after networking event but fail to realize they’re actually leaving money on the table by not having a follow up system. They are also working way too hard because they are not automating their pre-qualification process.

As a business owner you know that branding is important. Branding encompasses not only your logo, marketing message, your personal appearance but your store front or home office. When was the last time you looked at your business from the eyes of the customer? My five tips for branding your business with curb appeal will walk you step by step through the eyes of your customer. Five Tips for Branding Your Business using Curb Appeal

One of the advantages of being the owner of a business, specifically one that is taxed as an S-Corp is that you have some flexibility in how, when and how much you pay in taxes. In case the S-Corp term is unfamiliar to you, it is basically forming a corporation or an LLC and filing the correct follow-on forms with the IRS.

Chronic insecurity? Drug and/or alcohol abuse? Procrastination? Those are just a few of the symptoms that can haunt your life and your career when The Fear of Being Fabulous threatens to undermine your newly acquired success. Mind you, those are only the symptoms—not the cause!

The fear of making a mistake is a HUGE obstacle that keeps many consumers from opening up their wallets. That's understandable. We all hate to be wrong, especially when it comes to making a purchase. Offering a guarantee of satisfaction means that there's no chance that the consumer can go ...

BE GREAT! I recently received an email from a busy atto ey that said simply, "Lynnea, help! I need abundance! Contact me." Hmmm. What's wrong with this picture? He's busy, but he doesn't feel like he has abundance in his life. How often do you feel that way? I believe that most of us yearn to ...

The biggest difference between people who create wealth in a down economy and those who don’t is in them owning and applying the right knowledge. It's amazing how so many highly educated people continue to make the same stupid mistakes while others, even less fortunate people, get it so crystal clearly. Pink slip in hand – mortgage payment due – unfulfilled dreams -- tears on cheek. The killer procrastination; they waited too long to take action and had no plans to enab

I've got a bit of news for you. That version of you, the previous one, the one you keep referencing, is old news. If you're spending time reminiscing about who you were before, identifying with that version of yourself, then you are seriously limiting who you can become. Who you were and what you did last year, last decade, or even last night is no more. Often we draw from our past to describe ourselves in the present, when that might not be who we are today, or more importantly who we want to be today.

Of course we all want our clients to succeed. They win; we win. Part of our job as service providers is to build the confidence of those we serve so that they may go out and better help others. It's a wonderful cycle. Let it begin with you. But we've all had that client who just couldn't get out of their own way and SEE how wonderful they were, and the value they provide to the world – in fact I'm sure we've each been that client ourselves at one time or another.