Archive for November, 2009

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Become A Better Business Person

November 30th, 2009



Let me ask you this… What makes a successful business owner?

Well for me, a successful business owner is someone that earns well into six figures or more each year from their business, working around 3 to 4 days (or less) per week.

I call this ‘successful’ because if they can make a few hundred thousand a year from their business, and only work a few days per week – they have to have a lot of great things in place…

Not just in their business – but in their personal life.

It tells me that in their business they have fabulous systems and staff members that are willing and able to work even when the owner isn’t there.

And the business would have great information systems so that the business owner would know everything that’s going on (even though they’re not there) – so they can still ‘control’ the business.

They’d have excellent marketing and sales systems that day in day out draw in ‘ideal’ customers that willingly buy from the business, at full price.

Plus because of the level of service and quality in the business the customers are loyal and enthusiastically refer other people to the business.

The business owner would also have a high level of trust in their staff to run the business – which shows me a couple of things.

Number 1, they’d have excellent staff recruitment and training programs to build their staff into competent team members.

And Number 2 – They’d have a high level emotional maturity to allow this to happen.

In their personal life, I’d consider these business owners successful because they would have enough free time during the week to spend on their own doing exercise or their favourite hobbies.

This recharges their ‘batteries’ and keeps them fresh. Thus they always seem to be ‘on-the-ball’.

Plus, they spend good quality time with their partner at home and their family.

And that’s crucial.

Just ask anyone whose business has caused a marriage break up, and/or illness through stress.

You see, growing a business that overtakes your life – is very, very easy. Most business owners achieve this within the first couple of weeks of starting!

Growing a business that also enhances your lifestyle – is a lot more difficult.

But it is possible.

And that’s what I do with the business owners I work with.

We create profitable business growth – that enhance their lifestyles

For me it’s about – Business and Life Harmony.

So what’s the underlying secret to achieving it?

Commit to becoming a better business person.

Every successful business owner will tell you this…

It’s not one single thing that will make the difference to your business growth.

It’s a lot of things.

You see most business owners are waiting for the ‘one big’ order or the ‘one great year’ or the ‘one great staff member’ that will make all the difference.

The successful business owners know differently.

The successful business owners know that to have an extraordinary business – they must be an extraordinary business person.

They know that if they want to grow to $2 Million… they have to learn how to become a $2 Million business owner. And this requires improving their business skills.

There are many skills to learn.

You’ve got to know how to make the product or deliver the service.
You’ve got to know how to market your business
How to sell, how to find suppliers, how to negotiate, how to hire people, how to train people, how to read and understand financial statements the list goes on and on.

Yet – it can be, and is simple… when you learn how to do it simply.

And that’s my role with you.

You see as a business coach my skill is making your business growth predictable, controllable and a hell of a lot easier.

All of my clients will tell you that.

So back to you.

If you want to grow your business – you may realize that you need to learn some new information and skills.

And that’s what Super successful business owners have done before you.

They realize that to really grow their business – they MUST become a better business person.

Most ‘unsuccessful’ business owners believe that the way to grow their business is by making a better product, or providing a better service.

They feel that if they have the ‘best’ product – the market will come to them.

Well the product or service is only one part of your business. It’s not enough.

Super successful business owners initially build their business on a good product or service. Then when it comes time to grow… they focus on areas that will grow their business.

Super successful business owners focus on areas that most unsuccessful business owner’s neglect or are too busy to focus on.

Areas like…

• Creating Vision, Mission and Values Statements

• Marketing

• Sales

• Customer Care

• Operations

• People

• Team building

• Financial statement

• Financial analysis

• Taxation

• Law

• Technology

• Key Performance Indicators

• Business/life balance

• And building their wealth through

All of these areas sound separate yet they are extremely interconnected and dependant on each other. And as we travel through each session you’ll hear how each topic is linked to, and how much each topic relies on the other topics for its success.

That’s what makes a great business person – using all the areas.

It may seem like a long list. If it does or doesn’t don’t worry. It’s a list that I’m absolutely passionate about helping you with.

Because that’s the first step to growing your business.

Become a better business person by working on your business, rather than just working in it.

It’s what I do with clients that I work with one-on-one over a couple of years in my Business Coaching Program.

Copyright © 2006 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved

By: Casey Gollan

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Laminated Business Cards – Outstanding Features

November 30th, 2009



Business cards are your most valuable and readily accessible tools in terms of marketing yourself and your business. That is why it is only fitting to spend money on the finest and most creative laminated business cards.

Make laminated business cards for your workforce and ask them to hand the cards out to whoever they meet – friends, acquaintances, a stranger on the street…the list goes on. You should take note of the fact that anyone you and your workforce meet is a prospective client! Having this kind of mindset will take your business’s employee-client relationship to the next level.

Your business card should act as your mini-business ad. Make it very unique and interesting in terms of fonts, color, and execution of message. Incorporating the logo of your company and your company name is not enough. You should also include all pertinent details.
It is extremely important that you remember to write more than five words of description about your business. By doing so, your prospective clients can particularly remember your company and what its principal nature is about. Additionally, business card deals are two-way streets. If you provide someone with your laminated business card and request his/her card in return, you will be provided with written details of that person’s business which would help you keep him or her in mind.

Since laminated business cards are very essential and functional, always be sure that they include relevant details about your company or business, such as: your name, company name, mailing and e-mail addresses, website, telephone and fax numbers, and all other data which you consider important to your company.

Do not request laminated business cards that are glossy because if you give them out, people will not be able to scribble their remarks about you on the card. Moreover, do not create atypical, double-sized, or folding cards because they look self-centered, and there may be problems on placing them in typical size cardholders. If this is the case, people will more likely dispose of them rather than keep them. Lastly, do not create cards that are made of plastic because their edges are sharp and can cause cuts.

Most of the business cards today are tinier than usual and use smaller-type fonts. This is something that you should not conform with because the last thing you want to do is damage the eyesight of the client reading your business card.

You want these people to be able to read the contents of your card. What you need to do is keep the most important details – your name and contact number – in larger fonts than the rest of the text in the card. Also, if you’re a big spender, you might take into account using raised ink for printing and letting an expert design your business cards.

Whatever you’re planning to do with your laminated business cards, always remember that they should be attention-grabbers. Through them, your business should be noticed and more likely to be “engraved” in people’s minds.

By: David Faulkner

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Business Management Books – A Must For Every Businessman’s Library

November 29th, 2009



Business management books are available on all topics related to it, forming a truly great body of information. There are books on every aspect, every situation, every practice, and principle related to business management. The books are also all-inclusive, ranging from small, proprietary businesses, to business management of big, multinational companies.

Mostly these books fall into the following categories, as these categories form the basic elements or aspects of business management:

Financial management: Capital or financial resources form the very basics of any business. Such books guide you about the aspects related to managing your financial resources.

Marketing management: These books show you a way to design a marketing plan that works. It is also possible to find out some hitherto unknown factors such as some mistakes or false assumptions in your marketing methods, case studies discussed in such books. You might find some interesting new ideas that will be useful for your business.

HR management: Effective and efficient use of human resources makes any business successful. Books on HR management provide information about the latest theories and practices in this field.

Strategic management: The decision-making is a multi-level process. It needs to consider various situations, processes, requirements and various changing factors such as the market, customer, competition, production and cost issues in line with overall planning and goals of the organization. Such books provide a clearer view to look at the problem, as well as make us aware of some important aspects that might be ignored otherwise.

Production management: There could be some other factors that affect the overall productivity or internal losses. You can find some useful information about such unanticipated aspects and methods to deal with such issues from these books.

Service management: Retaining and increasing the customer base is very important for the growth of any business. These books on service management provide useful information, data, and helpful and effective policies to be applied for better service management.

IT management: The latest of management science, IT management covers all the issues related to the management of IT resources. You can learn how to make the most from your IT resources, how to use it cost effectively, make profit and expand your business.

Business Intelligence: You need a lot of data related to production, financial inputs, competition, customer requirements, market trends, etc. to make business decisions. Comparative analysis and various aspects of particular business methods or practices are discussed in such books. Many successful businesspeople make use of any such books available in their decision-making.

There are also a variety of journals and periodicals that publish useful data pertaining to their respective fields. It is helpful to keep abreast of the latest market updates through such publications.

To stay ahead of the competition, it is necessary to keep yourself updated with in-depth information. Any businessperson knows the importance of acquiring such resources. It makes sense for a businessperson to stock his personal library with the latest business management books.

By: Victor Epand

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