Four Myths That Can Sink Your Business…

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Ellen Rohr

Business is easy:  Be of service.  Charge more than it costs.  Take the money now.  We really make it harder than it is.  Perhaps it’s not the mechanics of business that get in our way.  Maybe it’s the emotional baggage we attach to money.  Or the things we think we “know” about business.  Once upon a time, I nearly sank the family plumbing business.  To fix it, I had to un-learn a few commonly held myths that that were tripping me up. Continue reading →

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Weekend Love and Business Planning

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Ellen Rohr

Jack Boykin and his wife, Muffin…short for Love Muffin, own an electrical service company, The Sign Doctor. Not long ago, I suggested that the two of them take a weekend and put together a business plan.  Family businesses can get a lttle kooky, and a focused plan can help.  Jack reported in on the planning weekend:

“We decided on new year’s weekend for our business planning adventure. Start off the new year right.  We have 8 kids, but we feel like empty nesters with only 6 still at home.  The older kids can take care of the littler ones now, so we booked a room at a local hotel.  The hotel is one of our commercial customers, and they set us up in a deluxe room. We traded out a few light bulb changes.

“Friday afternoon, we did a run through of what we wanted to cover over the weekend.  We brought the computer, your books, our business plan binder and plenty of paper. We went out to dinner and started asking the big questions:  What do we want?  Why are we in this business?  Is it working?  What can we do to make it better?  Continue reading →

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Be Making Money by Monday

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Ellen Rohr

Figure out how to sell something – a product or service – for more than it costs to create it, and you manufacture money out of nothing.  Sells stuff for more than it costs.  Create profits.  Collect the cash.  Pass GO and play the game of LIFE.  A business of your own can help you expand your options and freedoms.  Learn how in a post I contributed to rockstar Blogger Jennifer Gresham’s site Everyday Bright!

 

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Have Your Boss Bankroll Your Business

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

Recently, Michelle (our Director of Marketing) and I went to New York City to attend a seminar.  We wanted to learn new, relevant ways to expand our message of “Freedom through profitable businesses of our own.”  That we did…and we met some super interesting people, too.  One of my new best friends is Jennifer Gresham. Jen ended her “real” job working for the US Military and started business as a professional blogger.  Yep, there is money in them thar hills.  Jen just secured a major contract teaching business professionals how to communicate successfully through blogging.  Her new customer?  Her old employee…the US Military. Continue reading →

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The ‘S’ Word

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

“We aren’t using the ‘S’ word at our company anymore,” my friend announced, in response to my “How’s biz?” greeting.

“Really?  Why not?” I asked.

“My service plumbers are offended by the ‘S’ word.  I wouldn’t use the ‘S’ word even if I stepped right in it.”

“How do you pull that off?” I pressed.  “What do you call it?”

“Service!  Education!  Communication!  Anything but….SALES.”

He continued, “You see, the SALES word drives my plumbers crazy.  They can’t stand to think of themselves as salesmen.  The word SALES reminds them of Snake Oil, Sleaze Ball, and that other ‘S’ word.”

Can you relate to my friend?  Do you like the idea of calling it something else?  Do you HATE asking your plumbers to – gulp – make a SALE?  Are you thinking, “Yeah, if we didn’t have to do the SALES part, I would really enjoy business!”?

Yes?

Well, get over it. Continue reading →

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Tracking Contractor Jobs

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

Contractors are notorious for shortchanging themselves.  They often don’t charge enough per hour.  Or, put enough hours in the Job.

How about you?

Do you know if your prices are right?  Do you know if you are properly bidding your Jobs?

The bottom line is the bottom line.  Hurray for you…if you are making all the money you want, if you are providing a real retirement investment program for yourself and your team members and if you could take a major hit to your business (disaster, disability, divorce?) and still be in positive cash flow.  If so, you can stop right here. Continue reading →

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Skip the Pep Talk – Part Two

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

Do you have an underperformer?  Dreading the confrontational conversation about his performance?  Here’s a little Role Play video with ideas for being clear, gaining understanding and getting commitment to improved performance!  Skip the pep talk.  Help him WIN!

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Skip the Pep Talk – How to Improve Employee Morale

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

Attitude:  a mental position or feeling with regard to a fact or state.

As business owners, we love to discuss ways to improve our employees’ attitudes.  Throw a party!  Tell inspiring stories at the company meeting!  Put Successories™ posters on the wall!  Give ‘em a pep talk.

These things aren’t bad.  But, none of those things will improve an employee’s attitude.   Attitude is a purely mental and personal condition.  You can’t get into someone else’s head.  So, quit trying.  Skip the pep talk.

We have it all backwards!  We think that if we pump people up with happy words and lots of “Go get ‘em’s,” then they will start to produce.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Once they start to produce, their attitudes will improve.

Now, understand that I think the right attitude makes a huge difference in life.  Just work on your own attitude, and quit talking to your employees about their attitudes. Continue reading →

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Public Relations Tips for Small Business

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

These tips are just a BASIC outline.  This will get you started for a creating effective conversations, systems and training at your company.

The best plan is to prevent customer and public relation challenges by doing a great job and communicating effectively. Communication Rescue is about turning an unhappy customer into a happy customer…and keeping a bad situation from getting worse.  A bad situation can turn into a legal issue.  Let your team know how and when they need to contact you so that you can get the appropriate help.

Customize, Practice and Role Play each tip.

Remember…stuff happens.  Relax and trust that if you are motivated by what is in the best interests of your customers, you will be operating from a solid position. Continue reading →

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It’s About Time.

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Ellen Rohr

The older I get, the more comfortable I am with seemingly opposite concepts which both prove to be true.

Time is an illusion.  But I apparently haven’t figured out how to make the illusion disappear.  Every day, time kicks me in the butt.

I have found that the more productive I am, the less time it takes.  The less productive I am, the more time it takes.  Inspired, right-purpose activities deliver a lot of production…in very little time.  On the contrary, note how interminable time is when you are doing absolutely nothing…like waiting in the DMV line to renew your driver’s license. Continue reading →

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