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Early in my career I had zero aspirations to become an entrepreneur. Even after I started my own business, it took me a year to realize that I actually was an entrepreneur. This fun infographic shows how entrepreneurship has evolved over the years. It made me wonder if I would have pursued my own business if I had been born decades earlier? While, many things have changed, one constant is the mental toughness and determination to not only start but sustain a business.
Academy Award Oscar
Last night Hollywood honored its own with the Annual Oscars. Whether or not you’re a fan of award shows (admittedly I am not) there is an opportunity to learn what it takes to have an award winning performance. Below are 5 lessons that I learned from this year’s Oscars:
Choose great projects. Do not limit yourself to only taking on big budget or high profile projects. Choose work that excites you, and even scares you a little. A project that ignites your creativity and makes you want to explore and learn more will have a bigger payoff than going after dollars or “star value” alone.
Prepare for your role. Oscar winning actors do not rely on innate ability. They show up to a set ready for the job at hand. They may do background research to understand characters or time periods. They not only learn their lines but practice the best way to deliver them. With every project, seek to deepen your craft. Do not rely on a template formula but personalize the approach to the problem. Bring your best each and every time.
Commit to the work. Matthew McConaughey completely transformed his appearance for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. Don’t just accept a project but commit to it. Be willing to dig deep into your toolbox of skills to make it a success. You may be the agency of record or a subcontractor. Whatever your part, dedicate yourself completely to doing your best work.
Do another take. Even the best actors don’t always nail a scene in one take. If you flub a line or make a mistake, adjust and do it again. Give yourself enough time in a project to do a full dress rehearsal before the performance so that you have time to do another take if necessary.
Surround yourself with a great cast. If you are an independent business owner, you may feel like Sandra Bullock in Gravity. While Bullock seemingly carried the film alone, she did not write the script, direct the movie or provide all the support it takes to make a film. Your cast may include a family that supports your independent business, employees who excel in their jobs or consultants who help you to stay focused on doing the work. Surround yourself with the right people and you will shine.
…and the award goes to…No actor knows which role will bring them an Oscar. The only certainty is what you bring to the role. To have an Oscar worthy performance we need to do more than simply show up. Some projects require us to step outside of our comfort zone. Others may require a few extra hours. We may have to make sacrifices in the short term in order to give the work our best. When the work is done the academy may not thank you but your clients will know that they got their money’s worth for the price of admission.
How do you make sure you’re turning in an award winning performance? Share your tips and insights in the comments below!
I received a phone call from a service that I have been using for nearly a decade. The call came in the middle of an early afternoon run. I had decided to take a lunch time run to clear my head and recharge. Seeing the service pop up on my caller ID, I answered thinking that there was a problem. I picked up and the cheery customer service representative informed me that it was a customer check-up call.
Customer service phone call
She never took a breath before launching into a series of increasingly annoying questions. I kept running while providing short answers. I was annoyed but curious where this was headed. It quickly became apparent that this was far from a “check-up” call it was an attempt to sell me services I had no desire to buy.
For almost 10 years I have been happy with the service and often recommended it to others. In less than 10 minutes, my largely favorable view of the company had been tainted. It is not the attempt to upsell me that rankled but the poor way in which it was handled.
I am not outing the company as I have no desire to damage their reputation. I’d rather use this as an opportunity to learn and assess our own behaviors with customers. So listed below are the three key mistakes this company made and what we can learn from it.
Mistake #1: Treating customers like strangers. The rep had access to my account information. A quick look at my history would have revealed the number of years I have been a customer and the products I am currently using. Instead, the rep treated me like a brand new customer asking me if I knew about different features that are basic to the service. The entire conversation could have gone differently if she had immediately acknowledged me as a long term customer and led with what she knew about me and my business. Instead it felt like meeting an old friend who shakes your hand and says, “Where do I know you from?”
Mistake #2: The conversation was a lie. The representative said it was a customer check-up call but she never asked about my current service. She simply launched into a series of scripted questions about features. Be honest about why you’re calling and set the expectation up front. If you’re calling to tell me about services I may not be using, say that.
Mistake #3: Focus on quota, not customer. Clearly the company has an internal initiative to improve revenues and shift customers into a higher priced featured product. I felt like little more than a “mark” rather than a valued customer. It would have been nice to hear “thanks for being our customer for so long,” or some acknowledgement of our history. It would have been even nicer to have a real conversation that was relevant to me and my business. Rather than scripted questions, ask real questions about my business and goals and offer solutions that make sense.
Proactive calls to customers are a wonderful way to nurture relationships, and yes even grow your business. However, it is important to ensure that in every interaction you put the customer first. Today, even small companies have access to huge amounts of data about their customers. Use that data to serve up messages that are relevant to your customer base.
In this particular case, no service would have been a better option. I was perfectly happy before the awkward fake customer check up call. The call put the company on my radar in a different way. It has made me hyper aware of their marketing messages on other platforms, and I am not sure I like the new direction. A once loyal customer is now eyeing other options.
I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever been on the receiving end of proactive service that went bad? How do you prevent this in your own business?
Raise your hand if you have ever had conference brain? After a conference you are brimming with ideas and have a long list of things that you want to try, implement or learn more about. I don’t know about you but I often come down from the conference high, and land back in the real world with deadlines to manage, campaigns to organize and clients to please. I may get to one or two things on the list but far too often that list become one more of my kids with no shoes.
Overwhelmed (Photo credit: Walt Stoneburner)
Last week I attended the first ever Solo PR Pro Summit. It was an amazing event with a great lineup of speakers. The information shared was too valuable to languish in the “land of knowledge never applied” so I decided to try a different approach.
Post conference I started my day off with the #workhacks idea presented by Sarah Evans. As someone who was a Six Sigma trainer I truly appreciate efficiency improvements that are repeatable and help you reproduce the same high quality results in less time. The idea of #workhacks is to get more done in less time by strategically automating tasks and centralizing workflow to one hub.
My first workhack was to set up an account with Tracky which would function as my centralized hub for projects, ideas and status updates. Tracky will take time to really use effectively but is one of those hacks that has immediate payoff.
I cannot possibly implement everything I learned at the summit so made a prioritized list of tips that I could begin hacking away at over the next several months. I used Tracky to set up tips as tracks with links to the accompanying presentations and other resources that will help me work my way through putting insight into action. I can track my progress, and break up larger tasks into milestones. I can also add people to each track. This allows me to add subcontractors, subject matter experts or accountability partners to each specific project.
By using a project management approach, I am treating myself like a client (thanks to Heather Whaling for the reminder on this one) with a commitment to work on and not just in my business. The bonus is that I also have a personal development plan for the year to keep me growing, learning and becoming an even greater resource for clients.
How about you, do you have workhacks that help you to be more productive?
Valentine’s Day Chocolates (Photo credit: SimonQ錫濛譙)
As Valentine’s Day approaches, the last minute stress of finding the perfect gift begins to slowly creep into our brains…and our wallets. A holiday born from the unwavering dedication of St. Valentine to marry Roman soldiers and preserve the tradition of love has somehow been transformed into a celebration of love through the purchase of goods. Huh? If St. Valentine knew how misconstrued his intentions have become, his heart would break…
Love it or hate it, there is no avoiding Valentine’s Day. More than half of the U.S. population observes Valentine’s Day; making it extremely valuable to any business seeking to make it a holiday to remember. The restaurant, hotel, flower, online dating, card, jewelry and chocolate industries all bank on consumers wanting to express their love and impress their sweeties. To accommodate the surge in product demand, these industries adjust their costs and edit their services. The price inflation of goods for the occasion doesn’t seem to distract love addicts from participating. In fact, Valentine’s Day sees steady to increasing profits annually and comes in second to Christmas as the most expensive holiday. This year’s holiday is estimated to contribute around $18.6 billion dollars to the economy; which is about $1 billion more than 2012’s spending and to date the highest projected revenue on record.
So what are people buying? A survey was conducted that showed on average consumers would spend around $131, with men spending more than women. Typically, married couples spend less money to woo their honeys, spending around $74 per spouse. Popular purchases such as flowers are projected to bring in around $13.19 billion while its yummy counterpart chocolate holds its ground at $1.6 billion. Jewelry is not the most popular gift, as only 1 in 5 are looking to splurge on the shiny presents. However few those shoppers are, big ticket price tags result in big time sales – contributing $4.4 billion to the jewelry industry. On average, most consumers indulge in practical gifts such as clothing and the least chosen Valentine’s Day gift option is gift cards, coming in at a lowly $1.5 billion.
Judging by numbers, it seems as if consumers are wildly spending. In reality, more people are discount shopping this year as compared to last year’s budget. Fewer purchases are being made in department stores. Instead, customers are bargain hunting and shopping around for the best deals within a myriad of retailers. Helping shoppers find deals is use of tables and smartphones. Discount apps and mobile websites allow for consumers to peruse online inventory, redeem coupons and bid for items all without stepping foot in a retail store.
Even in the midst of economic rehabilitation in America, Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday and a multi-billion dollar business that continues to see growth with no signs of decline. As long as there are new couples, secret admirers or spouses looking to keep the love flame burning, there will be Valentine’s Day gifts. Who says money can’t buy love?
Image via Wikipedia
This week we have been discussing Mrs. Teague, a woman who had a storehouse of content that she wanted to offer for free. She had definite attitudes about fee versus free. You can read part 1 here and the follow-up here.
In my discussion with Mrs. Teague I shared that I had no problem with anyone making a profit. My disclosure prompted her to protest “But I’m a giver! Her sentiment seemed to imply that giving and profit are mutually exclusive. This is one of the common beliefs I encounter that hint at our complex attitudes about money and in particular wealth.
I talk to so many small business owners who struggle with charging for their services. They do things for free, go beyond an established scope of work and very often charge too little for their services. They seem almost ashamed to make money, and are uncomfortable asking for it.
Money is not evil. It is inanimate and only has the power we assign to it. Having money does not make a person bad or less virtuous than those who have less. In this country we have these complex ideas about money. I have not heard anyone scream that they want less money but we have definitive ideas about how much is “too much” and how money should be spent when you live in abundance.
As a business owner you have to delve into your attitudes and relationship with money so that you can be a responsible steward of your life’s work. Getting to the root of any dysfunction can uncover attitudes that may be limiting you in multiple areas of your life.
Making a profit from your time and expertise does not make you a selfish, money grubbing charlatan. Profit is part of being a responsible business. Ensuring that you have a good and healthy cash flow says that you respect the precious gift which has been entrusted to you. Profit also allows you to be a giver. When you make money you can invest in other businesses goods and services, create jobs indirectly or directly and support the nonprofits and charities of your choice.
Unless you have taken a personal vow of poverty, your goal as a business owner should be to develop and sustain a profitable business.
Just as I am not against profit, I am not against free. With both, comes a responsibility to do what is right by your customers and your business. If “free” is going to bankrupt your business, then it’s not a smart decision. You should also reconsider free if you cannot afford to offer true value without a price tag. Even free comes with a cost and a decision as to how those costs are allocated – shared with the recipients or solely the burden of the giver.
Deciding on how much you want to profit is up to you. The first step is to understand your costs. Some businesses give so much that they struggle to cover the basics. MBO Partners has a great free online tool that will help you to determine your billable rate based on your costs and desired profit.
You can also begin to examine your attitude about money. Does money make you feel guilty, and if so why? Taking time to discover how you really feel about money provides an opportunity for you to become a much stronger financial manager, business owner and person.
Do you or someone you know struggle with making money or charge for services? How has it impacted your business and/or your relationships? Do you have any advice for others struggling with this issue?
Resources:
The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and LifeConscious Finance: Uncover Your Hidden Money Beliefs and Transform the Role of Money in Your Life
