Are You Your Own BEST Competition?

1. Does your customer service set you apart?

Customer service is more than saying hello when a client enters your doors, or calls you on the phone. Customer service is a mindset that allows a business to be filled with friends and not just clients. It helps you be the place that people want to return to and not one they remember to forget. Customer service is the difference in always picking you first, not because of price, but because they know you will do them right no matter what. Do your clients feel this way?

2. Are you working in your business or on your business?

There  can be confusion on what it takes to create the success in business.  Being busy is not always a sign of success. We can be busy doing things that will never create the business you want.  Knowing the difference in being busy for busy’s sake or actually doing those very important actions that will change our results.   Those actions can be  an unknown or not understood.  Working in your business vs. working on your business.  What is it you are working on?  What are the results?  How will it change the health and growth of your business?

3. Do you know what risks your business has, and what way you can turn it into a reward?

Owning your own business can be fun and rewarding. On the other hand, if you don’t see the risks that you have and change them, it can cost you not only your business but it can create a complete financial breakdown. Most business owners don’t have the expertise to know what to look for in many areas from hiring to taxes.  Do you?

4. Why are you in business?

The idea of being in business can be exciting. But how long ago was that? So do you remember why you got in business? Has the everyday pressure of making the bills go away changed your reason?  Are you just working on making money and not caring about those people who you are serving?

Wouldn’t it be great to own the business you wanted and not the one you got stuck with?

5. Do you have a system that will get your business to where you want it to be ?

Most business owners got in business because they have a passion for something they love but have no idea what it takes to be successful.  Having the system that will take you from ground zero to blast off seems hard to find.  So, what should you do to find it?  Would it be worth having that system and having the ability to know what to do each day and doing it?

Remember, doing the right thing the wrong way, still makes it wrong.

What are you doing today?

6. Are you using all the resources that you have to make your business more profitable?

Every single one of us has resources that are known and resources that are unknown.   Using these resources correctly will change the results we have.  Know what makes the most impact on your business and who else is on your team that can do things you don’t want to or don’t have the skills for.  Make sure the investments you are making into your business are the right ones that will have a greater ROI.   Don’t let the bank dictate what you can and can not do to grow your business.

7. Do you have a team of experts that you can learn from to help you grow your business?

You love being in business for yourself.  But that does not mean you have to be in business by yourself?   Would you like to have a team who has been down this road and knows the traps and what they can cost you?   How would  it change your business if had  a team who would guide you down this road who has years of experience and wisdom?  Knowing you don’t have to make the mistakes that others have before you.   Doing the right things in the right ways and getting better results than you would have alone. Do you have that team put together?

8. When was the last time you enjoyed a day growing your business?

Are you working harder and harder and working for less and less?  How would you like to get back to the point where you loved being in business and take the pressure off of where you are going to find your next client?  You can love what you do and know what needs to be done as well.  Do you?

So many times we don’t need other business to have competition, all we need is to do the wrong things and we shove our clients into the arms of others.

Why Does one Business Grow and Expand When the Business Next door is Going Out of Business?

We have all seen businesses maybe new or old but the economy does not seem to effect what they do.  Looking at the headlines for months if not years about how the economy is heading south.  People are losing their homes, jobs and lives. The stock market is a roller coaster.  People are being taken advantage of and things seem to be going wrong.

The thing is there are businesses and individuals who are prospering no matter what happens around them.  But why? or mostly How?  Are they lucky and just have hit the right combination or is it something else?

All businesses just like all people have good news and bad news. We all must learn through life experiences.

But seriously why does one business grow and expand when the business next door is going out of business? Or more importantly how can you be the business that survives this economy and grows.  During the great depression. There were many results that took place.  Both of my parents lived during that time, they grew up during that time. The thing is they had completely different experiences.  One had a very tough time when the other did not take place in the depression at all.  Talking to them you would not even know it was during the depression they were talking about.

There is a fact we often skip when learning about this period in time in history.  That is there were more MILLIONAIRES created during this time, than another time since then. The economy is having a hard time right now.  When times are hard there is great opportunity for better results… but there is also opportunity for worse results. Which results will be yours?

There is still great opportunity right now. People are spending money everyday on things they need and people they are also not spending on things they do not need or feel that can be left out for the moment. There is also the factor that the baby boomers are still retiring or at least reaching the retirement age. 10,000 Baby boomers reach that age every single day, they need ways to change the results they have in their life right now, since they were not expecting the economy to take a downturn right when they wanted to travel the world over.

To be in business and grow we need to think differently than we have in the past. We need prepare and take advantage of what is going on right now all around us. “MacDonald’s” is one of those companies who are growing. Why? Because they have expanded their dollar menu. A family of four can go and eat at “Mac Donalds” for a very reasonable price and not worry about cleaning the kitchen afterwards. Now it is not as healthy as some of us prefer and we take our own risks with that. But results are results.

Thinking in new ways is very important to the success to our lives and our businesses and our homes. I believe that once again, during this time there will be once again lots of Millionaires created. Will you be one of them?

The Internet advertising and word of mouth.

The strongest form of advertising is word of mouth. So the first question I have for you is how are you treating your current clients and employees or team members? What do they go away saying about your business? What they say will either create more clients or not. Are you looking out for their best interest and creating a long term business relationship or is it a one time sale for you?

The evolving of the Internet has created ( as I am sure you are aware of ) social media networking. This has taken our ability to connect and grow our sphere of influence and warm market through an amazing system on the web to new heights. We can work with other business owners or people to collaborate and create a much better result for the clients we have and create more. We are no long unknown faces behind a screen there is video pictures blogs microblogs, facebook and more. We can connect literally through friends and find the people who are looking for us and create a thriving business right now. A website for your business is much like what a sign used to be. As we used to say A business with no sign is a sign of no business. Ha Ha that is a funny one but with no connections that is true.

Products of the time:

Most business create a cash-flow by A) sales of products B) sales of services or C) a combination of both. The problem as my dear sweet husband says so often. The problem with most businesses is they believe they are in business to make money. They are not in business to make money but to serve people and must make money in order to have the ability to serve more people. So what ever your products or services are, are you serving people to the best of your ability? You will need products that have profit meaning there is competition going on right now and people will buy it. People are buying products that are necessary or that help them create a better life. People are not buying things from companies that do not serve them well.

Personal Growth and Understanding People

It does not matter if we work at a grocery store or run your own company we all must deal with other people every single day. People who may or may not agree with us that has their own agendas and needs. People who we may like or not like. The single most important thing that can change to change the results you have in your business is to change you. Investing in your own personal growth and understanding why and how you work with other personalities. I know this my results changed dramatically when I learned about the personalities and why I had knee jerks to certain people. It gave me the ability to choose how I work and how I deal with my own emotions and skills.

Gods Blessings

Now I am going to say something many of you who are reading this will not agree with. You might peg me as a wacko and crazy person. But this is what has been real in my life. Lets pretend you had great connections great service great understanding of people but you are completely out of the will of God. Then nothing is going to grow anyway. Ultimately as it says in the Bible “one plants the seed, another one waters, But He creates the increase. Being underneath, the flow of Gods will and blessing is very important. Is this what you were called to be doing? If it is not them STOP and find what He is calling you to.

Results speak for themselves! That is what I have been taught. What new results will you have today?

nancy@team2percenters.com