Successful Blog

Is There a Vote of Confidence for Small Businesses?

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If you ask a lot of small business owners, they’re worried right now.

Whether it is higher costs for health insurance, higher taxes or the inability to hire more workers to meet demand, many small businesses are going through rough times. If that doesn’t already paint a dreary picture, a recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) won’t help matters.

According to the recent survey, small business confidence dropped for a sixth straight month in August, as the NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index dropped to 88.1, the lowest level going back to March 2010. Data shows that the index has steadily declined since February, when it hit a high of 94.5.

Noting that these results are the first to be unveiled since the debate in Washington regarding the debt ceiling, small businesses are not exactly brimming with confidence over the deal struck by lawmakers.

According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg in a statement, “The tumultuous debate over the nation’s debt ceiling and a dramatic 11th hour ‘rescue’ by lawmakers did nothing to improve the outlook of job-makers. In fact, hope for improvement in the economy faded even further throughout the month, proving that short-term fixes will not help.”

Numbers Paint a Grim Picture

As the U.S. Small Business Administration points out, companies with less than 50 employees accounted for 65 percent of all positions created during the last 17 years. Up a point from July, 12 percent of small business owners believe they will decrease their payrolls over the next three months, while just 11 percent say they are likely to increase employment over the same time frame.

Data mined from the recent survey of nearly 1,000 small businesses indicates that the drop in small business confidence in the last month was highly focused on decreased expectations for real sales gains and business factors. Small business owners tabbed sales figures as their biggest concern.

According to the survey, small business owners were also less optimistic regarding business conditions down the road, with the net percentage of owners believing they would see improved conditions down 36 points since a January 2011 survey.

In order to stimulate hiring, President Obama went to Congress with a $447 billion job growth package, including granting businesses a 3.1-point decrease on taxes they must pay on the first $5 million of their payroll. The plan was presented to Congress as the national unemployment rates holds at 9.1 percent.

Should You Hire Now or Hold the Line?

As a small business owner, have you been toiling with the idea of hiring employees heading into the final quarter of 2011?

In the event you are considering hiring, take several factors into consideration:

  • Can the current workload be handled by present staff or do you need extra bodies in the office?
  • What will the implications be financially if you bring on extra people in terms of added health care costs, workers’ compensation etc.?
  • If considering laying off some workers to bring your finances better into line, would you consider rehiring these individuals down the road when times are better?
  • What are your long-term goals for your company?

Being a small business owner comes with a myriad of responsibilities, not least of which is deciding when is the right time to add and subtract employees.

Photo credit: londrescallando.com

Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2b lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like business cash advance and is based in San Diego, California.

10 Steps to Save You and Your Team from Structure Damage

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We All Have Expectations We’ve Not Even Thought About

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I’m not a person who likes to over plan. Still, when I get up in the morning I check in on my calendar and my obligations to have a certain idea of what needs to happen that day. After a little reflection — a few minutes of imagining, sorting, prioritizing, and ordering, I sketch together a loose picture of what, where, when, making sure to leave a couple of hours for the amazing fun surprise or the unexpected hitch in the giddy-up that might enter in.

And if other people weren’t involved this simple way of setting up a day would always win.

But alas, sometimes another person will shift the wind and the fine vision of a smooth sail will sink.
It doesn’t have to be an irritation, a devastation, or a break in a relationship.
It might be a good shift from one way to an even better way that is actually a win.
Still, I sometimes get difficult when the structure of my day caves in.

10 Steps to Save You and Your Team from Structure Damage

It’s a subtle effect, but I see it cause problems almost daily. One person sets up a situation that damages the structure of another person’s vision of how something was going to happen and that other person responds in a negative way. We call it drama, over-reaction, or being touchy, but really it’s a situation that can be avoid with just a little forward thinking.

This happens most often when we gather a new team. Everyone brings their old work ideas, interpersonal rules, and process structures to the new group and seldom do we all have the same clear vision of what we’re going to do. Here are some ways to manage expectations to save yourself (and others) from structure damage when planning your next meeting, event, or project:

  • Define the meeting, event, or project goal / outcome clearly.. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing.
  • Set meaningful priorities based on your values. Describe how you will recognize a great version of the meeting, event, or project.
  • Enlist the right participants. Identify, enlist, and invite the people who share the same values and priorities.
  • Determine roles and process that builds from the strengths of the participants. Explain the purpose and the value behind the activity. Take time to invite participants to suggest what their role should include more of and what it should include less of for optimal performance.
  • Review the objectives, the process, and the necessary resources with the participants. Ask them to help determine the time and materials needed to achieve the best version of success. While you work out the process also work out the vocabulary — agreeing from the beginning on what we call things will avoid semantic miscommunications that could explode!
  • Provide the resources and the time agreed upon to execute the meeting, event, or project.
  • Decide on a standard way of alerting the group to things that aren’t working.
  • Track and communicate progress.
  • Discuss outcomes and compare them to the original goal definitions.
  • Celebrate successes and change that exceeded expectations!

Planning a project, meeting, or event is a exercise in change. The act of forming a new team or adding a new event is an alteration of past events. Every person brings slightly different expectations to how and why we do things. Investing time to manage those expectations before we start can minimize the drama and the structure damage caused by those different visions of how the whole thing should work.

Depending on the size and scope of a meeting or project and the team gathering to make it happen, you may not need every step. But with an eye to the commonality of values, goals, vocabulary, process, and standards, you’ll know which need the most attention. Spend your time re-aligning places where people may have different expectations and the chances of structure damage will decrease exponentially despite a high rate of change.

The key to change is to manage expectations.

How do you minimize the stress of change when a new team gathers to work?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

3 Keys to Keeping Women Leaders in Your Company

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A Guest Post by
Jacqueline Snider

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Don’t Let the Women Leave

When women leaders leave a company, the company loses talent, mentorship, and a distinct point of view. If it’s happening regularly, you might wonder about their reasons for leaving. It’s probably not what you’re thinking.

Did they leave because of the work schedule?
No.

Did they leave because of the salary?
No.

Did they leave because of the workload?
No.

Changing those circumstances might make a happy woman leader even happier, but those aren’t the keys to keeping strong women leaders. Why did the women leaders leave?

When asked why they left, women leaders often say the company just wasn’t worth the sacrifice.

So what are the keys to keeping great women leaders?

Key #1: Acknowledge the power of ‘broad spectrum’ vision

If you only reward the leaders that focus on single tasks and perceptions, you are alienating your broad spectrum thinkers and ultimately losing a lot of your talent.

Women leaders tend to notice a variety of things all at the same time. Rather than focusing narrowly on a single perception or task, women leaders are able to simultaneously engage in a variety of thought processes. They are using ‘broad spectrum noticing,’ a way of engaging in an all-encompassing way with their coworkers.

While women are working they may be aware of their coworkers’ emotions, may be anticipating what other people need or want in a given situation and may then make subtle adjustments in their environment to avoid conflicts that could arise. Most companies don’t encourage this way of thinking and their women leaders leave once they approach senior positions.

Acknowledge their unique way of viewing their work world.

And then reward that vision.

Key#2: Acknowledge the value of daily work experiences

A lot of organizations try to motivate their employees by emphasizing the possibility of upward advancement in their companies. Women leaders, however, do not perceive their trade-offs—including stress, time and relationships—to be adequately compensated by the rewards being offered in return, such as promotions, higher salaries and higher profiles.

Women leaders don’t see their present work experience as only a stepping stone to their future. The quality of their everyday work life affects them significantly and women leaders are not satisfied with sacrificing their now simply for some goal in their future.

What do women leaders want everyday?

Women place a higher value on carrying out their daily work experiences than what the job might give them as far as future career goals and advancement. That doesn’t mean women aren’t concerned with their career advancement possibilities, but it does mean that they’re not willing to work in a suboptimal work experience to get to the next level.

When management says things like, “Everyone has to takes their bumps and knocks when they first start out. Putting up with some bad managers and difficult working conditions is all part of getting promoted,” it just doesn’t ring true.

Women leaders simply aren’t interested in slogging away at a difficult position everyday just to get somewhere higher up once they’ve paid their dues. In fact, they’ll leave that position for another and another until they find a job that pays attention to the texture of their everyday experiences while they’re at work.

This means that if you want to keep talented, driven women in your company you must encourage a daily work experience that is rewarding for your employees.

Believing your women leaders will put up with and hang in until they are eventually promoted is an old-school mentality that’s outdated.

Acknowledge their experiences.

Key #3: Acknowledge that larger vision motivates daily actions

A lot of old-style companies link performance to game metaphors. For example, If you attain this volume of sales you’ll be able to spin the ‘Leaders wheel’ and win a great prize. Women leaders find these ideas, which traditionally defined purpose, as too limiting and often pointless and childish.

Women leaders are motivated by their daily work when it is tied to a larger vision. They see their work through a social lens and are most inspired when their work performance is acknowledged as being tied to relationships—not treated like a game.

Women are concerned with their work relationships and the social fabric and climate of their everyday work experience. They feel encouraged when their work relationships are strong and dynamic, ever-growing and evolving. These building blocks of a successful team are central to women leaders’ work goals.

Games, on the other hand, encourage competition—pitting individuals against each other. After all, there can only be one winner. This type of reinforcement doesn’t foster teamwork and doesn’t recognize that other people helped get that ‘winner’ to the Leaders wheel.

Acknowledge the larger vision that drives the people of the organization.

As companies grow more web-focused and rely more on the quality of their relationships to survive and thrive, the social fabric of their everyday company experience becomes more important. If organizations want to keep their top talent, women leaders’ visions need to be acknowledged and rewarded meaningfully.

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Author’s Bio:
Jacqueline Snider writes and works at Snider Editing and Writing where she creates images for clients through words she chooses. You can find her on Twitter as @JackieSnider

Thank you, Jackie. Great thinking. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Top 3 Little Challenges of Working From Home

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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Last week, we covered some of the big, client-end challenges of working from home, but what about those little challenges you’ll face on a daily basis? The top three little challenges of working from home are:

Trouble Staying Motivated –

Without a big bad boss checking your every keystroke, motivation can tank when you work from home. Remember that you’re working to survive, not to please a boss. Set an honest goal just above what you need to do each day and do everything you can to achieve it. It takes a while to switch your mindset over to working because you want to, not because you need to make someone else money. But you will get the hang of it.

Too Many Distractions –

This is a big one. You can literally do almost anything you want when you work from home. I often put a movie on when I’m working on something boring, but this doesn’t work for most people. Try different things when working from home and pay attention to how they impact your productivity. Sometimes having some music on while working can make you more productive, but again, this isn’t the case for everyone. This challenge will require some trial and error.

Taxes –

Most people can look forward to tax season with the possibility of a refund. Work-from-home people dread April. Keep track of everything you do in a spreadsheet, and have it ready for tax season. Try to save 20% of all the money you make in a separate account meant only for taxes. Better yet, pay the government 20% of your earnings every quarter. If you put off taxes until the last minute, you could find yourself in a terrible money pit with the government. I still owe taxes from my first year working from home because tax season caught me by surprise. Don’t make this same mistake – it can cost you thousands of dollars in fees and more than a few sleepless nights.

Every job has challenges. What are the little challenges that get in your way when you work at home?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. Great follow up to last week’s post!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

My First Big Failure and What It Meant …

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about my first big failure and what it meant

When I was in my 20s, I lost my job. The guy who said good-bye, my boss, did it in the nicest way. He talked about territory restructuring and other changes. The company gave me a lovely package so that I could move back to my home in Chicago. I might have tried to believe that I had no part in what happened, but in my heart I knew my job was gone because of nonperformance.

It was the first time I had failed at anything.

I’m not going to tell it was fun or that I learned a lesson then that changed my life. It wasn’t and I didn’t.

It took me a long time to even make sense of it. I was a winner, always successful. How was it that I totally missed on this one? How was it that I couldn’t seem to find a way to get to the winning? How did I get myself lost in a spiral of unhappiness that made every small loss lead to another slightly bigger one? What was I not doing or seeing?

Really I was blind to one HUGE thing.

It was the wrong job for me.

How hard I’d tried to fit myself into a space that didn’t fit me.

I bent and twisted, smashed and squished, curled and flattened, until I was walking in circles without direction. All the time that I was doing that, I was sure that my lack of performance was the problem — it was only a symptom. The problem was that I was trying to reconfigure myself to fit a job I’d taken.

We live in a time finding the right job may seem a challenge, but living in the wrong one still isn’t the answer.

Ever wonder what you bring to the world? … where you belong?

Look at what you’ve always done well, what problems you’ve always solved for other people, the things you do that other folks rely on. You’ve been successful before. Look inside those successes. You’ll find the answers have always been there.

I can say it’s so.
I know.
I’ve lived it.

All that my first big failure meant was that wasn’t MY path to change the world.

Be irresistible.

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The Big Challenges of Working at Home

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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BIG Challenges of Working From Home

One memory of my experience working from home sticks out to me – a video Skype meeting with one of my first clients. I rushed to put on some nice clothes, cleaned up my office a little and prepared as best I could. When the meeting finally happened, the client remarked “I expected to see a person in their pajamas in a tiny one bedroom apartment.”

And that’s a part of the “work from home problem” isn’t it? Normal business people, as they like to think of themselves, have some fairly critical prejudices against work-from-home workers. With that one remark, I realized that the client thought of people who work from home with two things in mind:

  • I was probably too lazy to put on some decent clothes for a meeting.
  • I was more than likely not making enough money to have more than a studio apartment.

This misconception is one of the biggest challenges of working from home – among many others. Once you convince your clients that you aren’t some slob, furiously clamoring for a living from the scraps of “real businesses,” you have an opportunity to overcome all the challenges and become a successful entrepreneur.

Setting Reasonable Hours

It’s true that few of us work the 9-5 grind. And why do so if you don’t have to? What is it really about that eight-hour period that makes it so “work-worthy?” I honestly admit that I hate working 9-5, and I don’t normally work in periods longer than four hours. When you work with clients, however, you have to set reasonable hours for when they can contact you. Try the following to keep those hours, without interfering with your preferred work schedule:

  • Make yourself available for calls at a normal schedule (like 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.). If you’re getting so many calls that it’s interfering with your life, you have a very good problem and might need to consider hiring some help. It should go without saying that a mobile phone is essential.
  • If you don’t want your mobile number published, simply forward your number through Phone.com with a more professional 888 number that you can give your clients. This has the added benefit of allowing you to see when it’s a work call (and avoid answering with a hearty “what’s up?”).

Competing With the “Big Box” Providers

This seems to be a bit of a misconception carried over from the brick and mortar business world. You can actually compete with larger companies quite easily. In fact, you have some decisive advantages:

  • You don’t have much overhead, meaning you can usually undercut like crazy. But don’t get carried away. Do some research to find out how much your major competitors are charging for similar services and set your prices just under theirs. If you go too cheap, clients won’t believe that you do good work.
  • You are a single person. Always highlight the fact that you are the only person a client needs to speak to – you take the order and finish it yourself. Clients usually love this. In many situations, you can even beat the turnaround times offered by large companies simply because of the lack of red tape.
  • Do research on every client and gear your pitch towards their needs. If they are a small company, they’ll love that you work alone. Larger companies might get concerned with your slower turnaround time. With these types of clients, you don’t need to stress that you work from home. You do need to stress that you have an unprecedented personal dedication to each client.
  • You can establish a deeply personal brand. If you design business cards, for example, and have received many compliments on your attention to raised print designs, leverage this with future clients. While larger companies have an army of professionals doing the same thing, nothing can beat your personal approach.

Meeting With Clients

It’s fairly rare that a client requests a face-to-face meeting. Actually, most of your clients will be very busy (or will want to seem like they are) and will convert after a single phone call or email. Some will prefer to do a video chat. If you serve some local clients, they might want to meet. But as a general rule, never invite the client to your home to do business. Instead, learn to love lunch meetings. Offering to take a client out to lunch to discuss a new contract is a great way to avoid having to reveal that you work from home, while showing a potential client that you have a professional attitude towards business.

On the other hand, I’ve secured more contracts over a beer than over lunch. If you work in a particularly casual industry like web development, SEO, or content writing, your best tool can be a clean, quiet bar. This works well for meetings after 5 p.m.

But remember that working from home is just an alternative to working in an office, not necessarily a license to show up in shorts and a t-shirt. Business people will still expect you to look professional, and you have to be very careful about casual business conversations. You still have a product to sell, and you need to project an image of professionalism at all times.

Sure there are little challenges that we face at home or in an office, but …

What do you find are the big challenges of working at home for you?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. You covered this big topic in fresh way.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!