Even as You Grow, Maintain Small Business Customer Service
While it's the mission of virtually every entrepreneur to grow his or her business, getting bigger doesn't mean you have to abandon some of the best characteristics of smaller organizations.
Insulate Yourself From Operational Risk
Every entrepreneur has to develop a tolerance for a certain amount of risk. However, this does not mean they have to be vulnerable. By taking steps to assess and mitigate
Create an Ongoing Recruitment Strategy
A firm is only as strong as its people. Although that adage may seem trite, it is true - your business will only be successful if you have created a
Define Your Business’ Role in its Industry
As a business builder, it is not enough to decide who is your ideal client and how much revenue you want to generate. You must also determine whether your company
Setting Objectives Is Essential to Driving Growth
Sometimes running a business can feel like you have been thrown overboard from a ship. If you just tread water to stay afloat and maintain daily operations, you will not
Breaking Down the Business Builder Model
As our team prepares for our upcoming Pinnacle Conference, I look forward to sharing with our audience how entrepreneurs can create a business model that enables growth. In my experience,
Don’t Allow New Technologies to Impede Communications
With the development of smartphones, text messaging capabilities, email, social media and other tools, it is easier than ever to communicate with people in the next room or around the
After Delegating to Technology, Seek Harmony
It can be difficult for some entrepreneurs to delegate functions to others - who but themselves knows how to fulfill these responsibilities correctly. However, as I have outlined in my
What Role do You Want to Play in Your Business?
What makes being a business builder, considering all the stress, long hours and headaches associated with the job, worth it? At least partially, it is the freedom and ability to
Run a Business Operation Guided by Values
Your business plan is probably one of the most important documents you will create for your company. It is valuable because it is not just a few pages that you
Who Mentors You?
Business professionals fill many roles, some where they are the teacher and some where they are the student. On occasion, they may assume both positions in a single relationship, teaching
What’s Missing in Your Business Plan?
Type "write a business plan" into a search engine and you will get millions of results. If you merely base one of the foundational documents for your business on a
Align Business Decisions With Your Values Every Day
Although the News of the World phone-hacking scandal came to a head more than one year ago, the story continues to serve as a prime example of what can go
Prepare for the Shift in CEO-Employee Relations
Increasingly, interactions between CEOs, business owners and their employees have switched from a top-down order of command to a more collaborative, symbiotic relationship. Communications technology has been a main driver of
Be A Millionaire Advisor
Consider the reasons you decided to become an independent financial advisor. Did you want to be your own boss? Address a client need that you felt was going unfilled? Desire
Scaffolding Yourself to Success
Are you feeling stretched? Like there aren’t enough hours in the day and you never have enough time to do the really important or really enjoyable work. I would like
Serve Your Employees as Well as Your Clients
Many companies, regardless of industry, make earning and keeping clients' loyalty a central goal in their operations. Employee loyalty is often ignored or pushed further down the list of priorities,
Add Variety to Your Product Offerings
Seeking out new products and finding new avenues you can use to help your clients reach their professional and personal goals lies at the foundation of providing value-added service. Do
Ensure a High-Performing Business with These Steps
Developing a vision for your company is the first step in laying a solid foundation upon which to build your business. When you have a sound understanding of what you
Identify Business Opportunity
In my last post, I discussed the importance of determining a vision and strategy to guide you through the myriad challenges of leadership. While creating plans for how you will
Making the Business Run Without You
A common problem that many entrepreneurs face is getting the business to run without them. After all, who else knows the ins and outs of your firm better than you?
Delegate Effectively
Have you organized your staff in a way that allows them to work independently on projects and tasks while still delivering results that meet your expectations? Or do they regularly
Getting Employees to Work Smarter, not Harder
It seems to be an affliction many entrepreneurs share - they think that by putting in long work weeks and thinking about nothing but their burgeoning businesses, they will be
Pulling Financial Levers for Better Operations
As I explain in The Entrepreneurial Journey, there are five financial levers that sales professionals must control in order to run their firms smoothly. Product and service mix - Do you offer a wide