Ok, you're going to think I'm nuts, but today I'm talking about Gay Hendricks' book Conscious Golf. If you know me, you'll know I'm a new golfer and am terrible at the game although I have a lot of fun because it's so totally different from work and is wonderful stress release for me.
Mr. Hendricks wrote this book for business owners and it's honestly one of the best books I've read on business. It's short and concise. I highly recommend that you read the book yourself. Here's a brief overview - but please consider reading the book - it's worth it.
Time feels different for each of us. For instance spending an hour with someone you love feels like a very short period of time compared to an hour solving a difficult client issue at work. Einstein explained this experience of time. He pointed out that how we are in our daily lives affects how we work and how we view life. It's important to control our emotions and be in the moment. It's all about relationships with people - and with the golf ball.
First secret is to make sure you have hit the ball. Keep your attention on the project at hand. Finish it before you start something else. Don't let your attention wander. Stay focused on the most important tasks at hand. Incompletion saps your energy and stops you from accomplishing more.
TIP: Make a list of the 3-5 things you need to accomplish every day and get them done.
Second secret is to not get so caught up in hitting the ball that you forget the swing. Swing as in a playground swing. Have some fun, find your rhythm. It's not a hack or whack, it's a swing. It needs to come easily and be graceful. You won't always be in the swing of things, but you can get yourself back into the swing. This could also be considered sharpening the saw or taking a moment for a few deep breaths. As Hendricks' recommends, "don't push the river." When you're feeling uncomfortable or feeling fear, you are not going to be working at your best.
TIP: Take a few moments every day to take a few deep breaths, recenter and relax.
The Third Secret is that the ball doesn't go anywhere until you hit it. YOU bring the power and energy it takes to get things going - so do it. Life isn't hard or beautiful or tough or fair. "Life isn't ANYTHING until we IS it." If you're stuck in repeat patterns or not making as much money as you'd like in your business, rethink how you are working and make changes. Figure out what's stopping you and stop it. Don't focus on others and fixing their problems, fix yours. What things do you tell yourself that are no longer true or no longer serving you. Examine yourself carefully and get rid of old patterns.
TIP: Commit yourself to lifelong learning, not only about business or golf, but about yourself.
Now go buy the book and read it. I can't begin to do it justice.
Sally Poole
Poole Communications owner
For more information on this book, and other works by Gay Hendricks': http://www.hendricks.com/amazon/
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We’re so excited for the opportunity to present a workshop at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce on May 29! The topic up for discussion is how to Make the Most of Social Media.
We know that Social Media can be a real headache. Especially for business owners who need to focus on business, but know that social media can be an integral part of business growth.
This workshop will give you the information you need to effectively manage your social media without eating up your time. You’ll learn how to use social media more effectively, best practices in social media and how to make it manageable. Plus, we’ll talk about content management, how to determine which networks and platforms are most beneficial for you, and when it’s time to hire someone to help you out.
The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to noon on May 29, at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce.
Fish Where the Fish Are
Spend your advertising dollars where the market is. The same concept can apply to social media. Use the platform the reaches your specific audience! If you’re customers aren’t using Twitter, but ARE using Facebook, put your time and effort there!
Also, browse our blog for more great marketing tips!
Do you want more tips?
Comment below and let us know what topics are really giving you troubles, or topics you'd just like to know more about!
Today's review comes from our owner, Sally Poole.
Enchantment
by Guy Kawasaki
Build your company by building trust.
“The best overall treatise on interpersonal relationships since Dale Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
— Michael Gartenberg, Research Director, Gartner
If you haven't read anything by Guy Kawasaki, it's time to start. His books are entertaining and filled with usable information you can apply to your business or organization right away. Guy started out as the chief evangelist at Apple and he knows business and marketing.
In Enchantment, he talks about winning over people to your company, product or service. It's much more than persuasion or influencing. It's about providing a lasting benefit to others that transforms people and relationships. It cements customers to you. And the process is outlined in this book.
A few of the chapters include: How to Achieve Likability, How to Achieve Trust, How to Prepare, How to Launch, How to Overcome Resistance, How to Make Enchantment Endure.
I'm going to highlight pertinent points from a few of the chapters. Kawasaki talks about how to align yourself with others by becoming more likable through smiling, acceptance of others and even dressing in similar ways. He talks about building trust by being transparent and fully human. That means admitting mistakes and acknowledging personal flaws and passions. He suggests giving for giving sake.
He gives examples of products and companies that enchant, such as Virgin America, and Apple Macintosh. What makes them different is that they are deep, well designed, intelligent, complete, empowering and elegant. I personally love design and to me this is what great work is all about. Thinking a product or service through so that it provides the best possible experience.
I love this book because of all the working examples and the tools he gives you to succeed. One important part of the book is about giving to others. He suggests you give with joy, give early, give often and generously and give unexpectedly. This is part of what builds trust and relationships in business. He even gives you ideas of how to use technology in a better way. For
instance, the six sentence email. Many emails are too long and don't get read. I've even heard of a SIX WORD email. Try it and see what success you have.
Finally he talks about enchanting your employees, your boss and even how to avoid enchantment! Guy Kawasaki covers it all and you'll enjoy his style and information. It's a quick read and it will help you, your business or organization.
To find out more go to: http://www.guykawasaki.com/enchantment/
88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours, according to a Google Mobile Movement Study.
70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour.
Businesses are missing 70% of local content on sites like Twitter and Pinterest because they don’t have location-based sentiment monitoring set up, according to a recent study by Venuelabs.
These are some pretty staggering statistics. You spend lots of time and money building a website and optimizing it for search engines (SEO). But are you optimizing your business for local searches on mobile devices?
Half of mobile users use a local search/map to find businesses.
Let’s start with defining a local search.
Example:
An iPhone user asks Siri to find them a nice local restaurant, while visiting St. Louis. Local searches will include a specific location, city, ZIP code, etc.
Local SEO has one goal: to get to the top of the search results. In this case businesses want to rank on top for local geographic terms related to products and/or services that their businesses provide. The typical consumer performing a mobile search probably won’t scroll through pages and pages of results. They want fast, easy answers; they will likely make their decision based on no more than the first page of results.
So, what do you do?
Here’s a few tips to get you started:
Yelp
Yelp is a community driven review site that enables users to create locations, give details about the businesses, review them, and even post multimedia content.
It’s a major asset; you can thank Apple for that, and here’s why:
When an iPhone or iPad user uses Siri to search for a local business, the results are powered by Yelp. So, if you’re not on Yelp, iPhone users aren’t going to find you in local searches (unless they use their mobile browser and navigate to Google).
But there’s more. Yelp results returned to Siri are based on Yelp reviews. So, the top results returned are going to be the business with the most positive reviews.
But use caution, Yelp reviews can be tricky. If someone creates an account just to write a review for you, it’ll likely never be activated. Yelp likes reviews from active users. Ask your clients if they use Yelp, if they say yes, then ask for a review. Also, you can, and should, thank reviewers and invite them back for another visit, even offer a discount! That person, who’s already a fan, will often post a follow-up review, or answer others’ questions about your business. On the flip side, if someone posts a legitimate complaint, don’t be afraid to publicly apologize – but be sincere. Remember, a scorned customer doesn’t want freebies; they want to be heard.
Google Plus Local Pages
Google Plus Local pages are indexed in more than Android mobile searches. They’re also indexed in three additional types of searches:
Google Plus Local Pages are similar to Facebook business pages, but they have better SEO. You don’t have to post to your Google Plus Local Page as you would on a Facebook business page, although it doesn’t hurt. The essential elements include a complete bio, contact information and some photos.
You’ll also want to ask for reviews. Just like Yelp, the more positive reviews you have, the higher you will rank in searches. And responses to reviews are important here, too.
Other Searches of Note
Not all users search using Siri or Android Google searches. Many people have a favorite app. You should try to have listings on these sites as well. Other sites to consider:
Mobile Websites
To make the most of these local searches, your website needs to be optimized for mobile viewing. Here’s why:
There are plenty of apps, widgets and resources that can help you optimize your website for mobile viewing.
Now’s the time! Go mobile!
If you have more questions, or want to know more, give us a call!
http://www.inman.com/next/3-key-strategies-to-optimize-business-for-local-search-on-mobile-devices/
http://visual.ly/solomo-stats-no-business-can-afford-ignore-infographic
“Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours.” -John Locke
Today we're starting a series of book reviews from our owner Sally Poole, and Poplar Bluff Office Manager Rose Anne Huck. We're reviewing books we've found helpful and want to share with you! We're hoping you find this information valuable and that it inspires you in your business. We'll posting one review a month, so keep checking back!
The E-Myth Revisited
Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What To Do About It.
By Michael Gerber
Review by Rose Anne Huck
I was fascinated by the title of this book and further interested by the premise. A business consultant has a conversation with a bakery owner who loves to bake but is burned out and wondering if she has made a big mistake starting this business. The author walks us through a conversation where different aspects of the business are examined. He makes recommendations using a systems approach to the business. There is also a directive to establish your business as it will be when you are fully achieved.
Our author also makes a compelling case for a franchise approach to business development where everyday tasks are dissected for their best practices then duplicated across the whole business.
An examination of the core values of the business owner and the mission of the business yield some exciting options for giving back to the community.
Cleverly, there are references to the author’s website, where business consulting services are a click away, sprinkled throughout the book.
One concept I found particularly interesting was the description of having a job versus owning a business. Gerber tells us there are three personality types necessary to build a business: The Entrepreneur, the Manager and the Technician. The Entrepreneur is the innovator, the person with vision who lives in the future and thrives on change. The Manager sees problems where the Entrepreneur sees opportunity. The Manager builds a house and lives in it forever. The Entrepreneur builds a house and is ready to start planning the next one. The Technician is the doer. As long as the Technician is working, he is happy, but only with one thing at a time. The Technician isn’t interested in ideas; he’s interested in “how to do it”. The Entrepreneur is always creating new and interesting things for the Technician to do.
All three of these profiles are part of each of us. If they were equally balanced, we’d be described as incredibly competent. But that balance is rare. Usually these points of view battle it out in our minds.
Businesses go through three stages of development: Infancy, Adolescence and Maturity. In Infancy, the Technician is in charge getting the work done, reveling in the freedom of owning a business. When you are successful and new customers come and the orders grow, eventually, you must move to the next stage of development where you must hire help. When that happens, often the owner is frantically trying to keep up with orders and business management. They may delegate by abdication meaning they neglect to give proper instruction and establish standards. Quality can suffer and so does the business.
This is the point where many businesses fail. What must happen is that the owner must build the business so that they can create jobs for others, not so much for themselves. If what you want to do is actually work, by all means get a job. Don’t start a business.
To move to Maturity, a business must be more than the person who owns it. It must operate well regardless of whether the owner is there. Quality must remain high. The loyalty of customers must depend not on one person but on the quality of services and products. And the owner must be free to dream, to wonder, to envision a bigger future for the company.
All in all, this book is a really good examination of some business principles and concepts which have helped me see the big picture in new ways. Some of the descriptions hit me between the eyes as errors in my own understanding of the “how” of business growth and management.
Find out more about the book here: http://www.michaelegerbercompanies.com/resources/products/the-e-myth-revisited/
Marketing can greatly enhance your business and help improve your company’s profitability – as long as you plan carefully.
Today we're sharing with you part one of a list of guidelines you can follow to make your marketing dollars work harder for you. Check in tomorrow for part 2! (more…)
Today we’re talking about budgets, specifically marketing budgets. Not many people get excited when talking about numbers and money, but it’s a very important aspect of business. Successful businesses have budgets that include marketing.
Let’s keep this simple. Look at what you spent on marketing last year and set aside a dollar figure for the amount you’re going to spend this year. Look critically at what worked last year and stop any advertising that didn’t work. Check your budget numbers monthly and stick to your plan. Having a budget will help you spend you’re advertising dollars wisely and prevent impulse buys. Take a good look at your marketing numbers this week and fine tune them to do even better!
For a more in depth take on creating a solid marketing budget, check out this article written by Dave Lavinsky for Forbes magazine.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/06/07/three-steps-to-a-solid-marketing-budget/
We have talked about various forms of social media for your business, but are you using one that was created specifically for the business world? Linkedin is a beneficial tool for professional networking. You can build up a valuable contact base of people with similar business pursuits. You can also joing groups of like-minded, business-related people. Linkedin is great when used for employment purposes - both hiring and when looking for a job. Resumes can be posted and employers can list job opportunities. You can even hunt for possible employees that match your job opening. Consider making the most of your professional network. Signing up for Linkedin.com is simple and free. You can get started today.
