Successful Blog

How To Get Out Of The Habit Of Concealing Flaws

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By Lindsey Tolino

I’ve had acne since 7th grade. It’s been 15 years now. By the second year of my struggle with acne, I learned to conceal it. I have bought countless bottles of concealer in 14 years. I have learned how to conceal my flaws well.

Makeup

We’re taught to conceal. Not to admit our flaws, but to bury them under a mask. This is true of our businesses too. I’ve seen businesses try to conceal their flaws with social media campaigns, investing in more marketing and pouring energy into public relations, all trying to change public perception without resolving the underlying problems.

When you live with something for 15 years, you hardly even notice it. It becomes a part of life. But, every once and a while, the acne is painful.

Then I notice it.

I think about addressing it, maybe trying to resolve it. But once the pain subsides, I mostly go back to living with it.

Is it like this in your business?

If I stopped wearing makeup to conceal my acne, then I’d have to face the reality that I have it and should do something to resolve it. This is what so many businesses need to do. We need to stop concealing our flaws. We need to stop blinding ourselves to the fact that employees are unhappy, that sales are lower than expected and that our businesses aren’t as healthy as we’d hoped.

But I can’t just stop wearing concealer and say “I love this face of mine, pimples and all.” Because I don’t love it. I don’t want to have broken, unhealthy skin.

We can’t just stop concealing our business flaws and say “I love this business, high turnover and all.” Because if we’re honest, we don’t love it.

We don’t want to have broken, unhealthy businesses.

Our businesses aren’t perfect, but we can’t simply cover it with concealer and expect it to get better. We can’t be content to blindly love them in all their imperfection. We need to care that things aren’t healthy. We need to resolve core issues to make them healthier.

We need to do this if we want to have sustainable, profitable businesses.

So how do we resolve issues in our businesses instead of trying to conceal them?

1. Acknowledge that our businesses have flaws that are making them unhealthy.

This is often presented in a variety of symptoms such as high turnover, high customer complaints or a low number of repeat customers.

2. Investigate the flaws.

At this point, you have to resist the desire to simply treat the symptoms, because ultimately you want to cure the disease. You have to resist the urge to hurriedly pour money into marketing, to hire better salesman or to increase employee salaries. You have to investigate to make sure you understand the underlying cause of the symptoms. This may mean inviting honest conversations with your employees, scrutinizing finances and digging into your own thought process.

3. Decide how much you want to invest in resolving flaws in order to create a sustainable business.

This is an important step, not only to plan out what you’re able to invest, but also to intentionally move forward in resolving issues. When you’ve decided to set money and time aside to resolve an issue, it makes it easier to execute the plan.

4. Work to resolve the issue with what you decided to invest.

Don’t get discouraged in the process. Be persistent and do what you can with what you have.

5. Evaluate and repeat as needed.

Your consistent hard work to resolve issues at their core will benefit your business. When you stop trying to conceal flaws and invest in resolving core issues, you put your business on a healthier, more sustainable path.

Image info: Royalty-free image from http://www.freeimages.com/photo/909988.

Author’s Bio: Lindsey Tolino is a young creative who helps make businesses better. She serves business owners with her words at ToBusinessOwners.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTolino or connect with her on Google+.

Find out where your ideal client is hiding

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My parents used to live near a famous fishing stream, the Yellow Breeches. Over the years, I noticed that on certain days, there would be a lot more fisherman out there in the water, decked out in their waders, waiting hopefully.

Turns out it wasn’t coincidence. They stock the stream periodically, and the fishermen know when that happens, so they show up to fish when there is a newly stocked stream.

(This seems like cheating to me, but whatever.)

fisherman in stream

The point is, fish where the fish are biting.

It’s so important to find out where your ideal client likes to hang out.

Once you have established a strong picture of the person or business that will absolutely love and benefit from your service, go out and find where that person spends time.

How to find out where your ideal client hangs out

1. Ask Them

This seems obvious, but many business people forget to actually talk to their customers.

Either do a formal survey of your existing customers, or do it more casually. Next time you’re in conversation with a prospect who you think fits your ideal profile, ask them what their go-to social network is, what magazines they read, what association they belong to, what conferences they attend.

2. Look at Available Data

There are resources online that will help you sort through the demographics and composition of most of the social networks. Check out the Pew Research Internet Project for yearly updates on social network usage. Edison Research has a wealth of information on social habits.

3. They Gather in Pools

If your ideal customer’s industry has a trade association or magazine, this is a good place to find them congregating.

Look for the association website and see if they have an online community. If it’s open, you can join the community and be helpful (no promoting, just be useful). See if they accept guest posts on their association blog.

Don’t ignore print magazines–many associations have print materials that present an opportunity for articles or advertising.

Another offline opportunity is the time-honored trade show. You don’t have to drag an exhibit with you, just attend and form some relationships. Seek out the chance to be a presenter if the show includes sessions or workshops. Just keep your “knowledgeable expert” hat on and leave the “sneaky marketer” hip waders at home. The more helpful you are, the more leads will naturally flow in your direction.

And then maybe you’ll land the “big one!”

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: Chris | christopherharrison.net via Compfight cc

The Business of Preventing Fraud

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fraud-calculator-indicates-rip-off-and-calculate-100303071While both large and small businesses can fall victim to fraud, its small businesses that are at the highest risk, with a frequency around 31 percent, according to Association of Certified Financial Examiner’s (ACFE) 2012 Report to the Nations.

The report states that the most common types of fraud amongst small businesses are billing fraud, corruption, check tampering, skimming and expense reimbursement fraud.

Sadly enough, close to half of the fraudulent individuals had been with the company between one and five years.

Breakdown of fraud in the workplace: The ACFE found that of those that are guilty of fraud, 42 percent are employees, 38 percent are managers and 18 percent are business owners or executives.

Fraud Can Occur Just About Anywhere

Surprisingly, even physicians can be affected by fraudulent acts.

The article “Physicians and Stolen Tax Returns: Avoiding medical malpractice fraud” states that physicians in Texas, in addition to other states, are victims of bogus filers that are trying to scheme millions of dollars from the federal government.

While typically the physicians aren’t responsible for these acts, being a victim of fraud takes a tremendous toll on one’s life by adding an immense amount of stress that could have been avoided.

How to Stay a Step Ahead of Fraud

For individuals, such as the physicians mentioned above, they can protect themselves by contacting the Identity Protection Specialization Unit and filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the US Department of Justice and the Social Security Administration.

Businesses can protect themselves by:

  • Use highly-secured computers – For all banking and financial duties, you should have a computer strictly for those needs and those needs only. No surfing the web, no sending emails and no playing games. Install antivirus software on the computer to prevent your information from being hacked.
  • Keep tabs on your money and personal information – Never wire money unless you know for sure that the recipient can be trusted. Also, do not give out your personal business information to those that you do not know. Check all your bank statements on a regular basis to make sure there is nothing sketchy going on with your accounts.
  • Always perform background checks on employees – Ensure that their past is clear by performing background checks on all potential employees.
  • Insist employees take time off – A main characteristic of a fraudulent employee is someone who insists on never taking any time off of work. The reason being is that they do not want anyone else doing their job for them and perhaps catching them in their fraudulent activities. Have employees work in teams and check each other’s work regularly.
  • Encourage an honest environment – By encouraging honesty throughout your company, keeping tabs on employees and even setting up an anonymous “fraud tip” phone line, you lesson your business’s chances of falling victim to fraud.

While fraud cannot always be prevented, it does tend to happen more often in businesses that are not actively trying to avoid it.

Always have your guard up, follow your accounts closely and if you suspect something suspicious, confront that employee immediately.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Sarah Brooks is a freelance writer living in Charlotte, NC. She writes on a variety of topics including small business, social media and personal finance.

Are you trying to win? Or win them over?

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By Deb Bixler

Dale Carnegie says that the only way to get someone to do something that you want them to do is to make them want to do it themselves.

If you are always trying to win, then you are fighting. It doesn’t matter whether you are using logic or a club, then you are not communicating. Communication takes practice.

Good communicators do not focus on winning.

Good communicators practice the art of communication and compromise.

Good communication is not winning, but winning others over.

Logic rarely works

Anyone who has tried to argue with children can tell you that logic never works. The same is true with adults. When you couple logic with emotions, then you have a better chance of effective communication.

Humor, anger, virtue, pride, happiness, excitement or even irony can be very effective communication tools. When you are emotionally involving the participant in the conversation, there is a better chance of creating a situation in which they may want to do what you want them to do.

Using logic as a tool to “win” an argument is not effective. Incorporating emotional connections into the conversation will bring better results.

Anger prompts action

It has been proven that people who are angry are more prone to action. However, this type of emotional involvement might not result in the type of action you are looking for. A hole in the wall or a black eye is not the result we are after in most communication efforts.

Creating the emotion of anger in someone is one sure way to get results. The problem is that the result may not be predictable nor the one you want.

Humor is a connector

The ability to use humor in communication efforts will almost always elicit good response even when the co-communicator is not prone to your opinion. The challenge here is to get the other party to see the humor in the situation.

A recent conversation with my 5 year old niece about combing her hair is a good example.

She hates to comb her hair, as it is long and pulls when being brushed out after sleeping.

She would go forever without combing her hair if allowed to do so.

For example, on a recent 2-day sleepover, on day one no amount of convincing on my part could get her to allow me to comb her hair. We ended up going out and about with her hair looking like a rat’s nest.

I am sure that people we met thought I was terrible for allowing her out like that.

It was that or anger! I chose the rat’s nest.

Day 2 brought a new scenario.

I got up and did not comb my hair.

My hair always comes out of bed looking like a total lunatic. Flat on one side, sticking straight out on the other and in 10 different directions all over.

If I went out in public anyone who would see me surely would think I escaped from the insane asylum.

We got ready to go to “Special Persons” day at kindergarten and I asked her if I could comb her hair, and she said no.

I said That’s ok, me neither, I’m not combing my hair either.

She looked at me and we both laughed and we ate breakfast. After breakfast she went upstairs and combed her hair and we both laughed at mine again and I combed mine and we went to school.

Three things happened here.

1. I allowed her to win. She didn’t have to comb her hair if she didn’t want to.

2. We laughed together

3. She chose to comb her hair.

The emotion of humor coupled with me not “needing” to win, allowed her to make her own choice. When I stopped trying to win, I won her over!

Emotions always sell

In sales, when someone has an emotional experience they buy.

The same is true in almost all communications.

Learning to communicate on a level of connection takes practice. It is easier to depend on convincing people of our way through logic than it is to take the time to actually learn their motivations and then make an emotional commitment to connect.

People buy with their emotions. They view products and services emotionally and they also buy into what it is you are communicating when they are emotionally involved.

Author’s Bio: is a direct sales educator who teaches proven systems that work in all direct sales companies. Treat your business like a profession and you will get professional results. Learn more home business systems at: http://www.CreateACashFlowShow.com

What it takes to be successful in today’s business world

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By Teddy Hunt

Are you starting out on a new business endeavor and wondering what it takes to be successful? It’s a journey you must take with the understanding that it’s about more than just yourself or acquiring money. To be successful in today’s business world, read the following five tips and implement them today.

1. The Journey to Success

To complete the journey, you must be ready to take the long and uneasy road to success. As with any journey, you need to have a destination chosen. This destination can be to own your own company, to reach a particular net worth, or to expand to an international client base. This will be how you define your business success.

On this journey, you’ll need to do much more than just want it. You must work hard, think positive, read collaborative books, and study your mentors who are already where you want to be. It’s a mental and physical journey to take. Are you ready to walk the walk and talk the talk?

While you are on your journey, remember the old phrase, “you are the company you keep.” If you are surrounded by those who are negative, you can be sure there will be negativity along your journey. They will make a rough path seem impossible to cross.

So it’s important to keep positive influencers around you who are looking to take the journey to success as well.

2. Be Persistent and Consistent

Have you ever met a successful person who tried to promote a new product and then quickly decided to let it go? Probably not. The most successful people in today’s business world are extremely persistent and consistent. These are two positive habits that will keep the money rolling in, over long term.

3. Don’t Chase the Money

Sure, in the end, it’s great to have wealth. However, you should not chase the money to define your success. As a business owner, do focus on your sales, cash flow, and net profit. This will help you determine how well your business is doing. Evaluate your business success by how well you are meeting your customers’ needs, and the money will follow naturally.

4. Manage Your Money Wisely

Just because you have money coming in like crazy, does not mean you’ll keep it in your bank account. You need to manage your money wisely.

  • Join an investment club.
  • Set up an investment account.
  • Learn about the various types of securities.

Some of the most successful individuals realize everything is not handed to them on a silver platter. They must work hard for it, and in turn, they learn to appreciate their wealth.

They are frugal individuals– yes, this includes even Warren Buffett. So take baby steps with your money. Keep your old vehicle as long as it runs and keep a smaller home. Leverage your frugality so that you can reinvest in your business or new ventures down the road.

5. Create Value in Your Life and Others

You need to have something to offer people for them to pay attention to you. Others purchasing your products and services, of course, is the way you will become successful.

So, you need to create value in their lives for them to support you. In turn, you’ll provide value in your own life toward your success.

Money is not always the top priority in successful people’s lives; it’s making others happy and providing value.

Business Insider has a list of 23 successful people who failed and kept going. From Thomas Edison to Stephen King, they never gave up. In order for you to be the next successful person, remember the above five tips, and never let greed get in your way.

Author’s Bio: Teddy Hunt is a freelance content writer with a focus on technology, writing for clients such as Ria Money Transfer. When not behind a computer, Teddy spends the majority of his free time outdoors and resides in Tampa, Florida.