11.12.08
Posted in Entrepreneurs at 10:14 pm by Karen Donaldson
Recently talking with Julie Flakstad who successfully launched Blow, a New York blow dry bar, I found one of her early “lessons learned” to be a common one for entrepreneurs. She mentioned that after her first year in business, she realized that product sales are a key component to strong margins in the hair salon business. Something Julie says she wishes she would have realized earlier. She is capitalizing on this now and is preparing for an ‘09 QVC appearance where she will offer Blow’s specially formulated hair products to QVC’s widespread audience.
A way to keep the learning curve short so you build your business and discover keys to profitability is to remain open to others in your network. Keep meeting other CEOs as a priority in your schedule. The time away from your business can pay back dividends to your business as you uncover fresh insights and approaches from others’ experiences. Include CEOs within your industry as well as outside of it. Sometimes the best ideas emerge from interactions that spark new ideas, and some emerge from tried and true industry approaches, both of which could help you maximize your profits.
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10.02.08
Posted in Entrepreneurs at 5:40 pm by Karen Donaldson
Elaine Osgood, founder of Atlas Travel International, named one of the fastest –growing women-led companies by Entrepreneur magazine, knows the importance of surrounding herself with strong people. When I talked with her recently, she said the most important thing to do when growing a company is to have a strong top management team. She said she has members of her team that she identified and waited for, some for years, for them to join her team. Her democratic style of leadership means she doesn’t make decisions without input from her management team. “They are all experts in their departments.” And she values their expertise and their input into company decisions. Even a solo-practitioner or start-up can take advantage of a strong team, through an advisory board, which can assist with strategy, marketing, and investment decisions.
At Atlas Travel, Elaine Osgood treats her employees with the respect and value she expects them to, in turn, use when dealing with customers. She regularly sends out e-mails to acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries, and ask employee opinions. By connecting with individuals in an organization that is remote, as her travel agency is, she creates a bond and communicates a powerful message as a leader. The individual is important. It is the same message she wants transferred to her customers. Treating customers with respect and making people feel special is one of the ways Atlas Travel works toward being the best in the travel management industry.
As a company grows, the role of the CEO evolves. Elaine Osgood has seen her role shift as CEO and become more of a figurehead role. “There’s no course, CEO 101, to help CEO’s figure out the role,” she said. Talking with other CEOs is a way to shorten the learning curve as a CEO grows his or her business. Networking is often shortchanged due to the long hours required to grow a business, but the investment in networking with those experiencing similar growth provides a great return. By connecting with her management team and employees, Elaine Osgood has changed with the growth of her company to provide the leadership it needs for continued growth.
Key people in strategically important positions and strong communication with employees at all levels have helped Atlas Travel’s growth. As an entrepreneur, consider the critical components that impact your business’s success. Are people part of it? If your answer is yes, what are you doing to get the best? And keep them?
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09.15.08
Posted in Entrepreneurs at 9:30 pm by Karen Donaldson
You can’t run a business by yourself; at a minimum you need customers. You can increase your customer base with a strong network, a passion for your work, and a reputation that customers value.
Often the stronger your network, the greater your business results will be. Beth Silver of Doubet Consulting, http://www.doubetllc.com/, talks about how the strength of her network has impacted her business success. “I have a great support system, with great mentors.” She credits her strong support system for helping her during her start-up phase and growth of her marketing consulting firm. She specializes in crafting effective marketing and PR strategies for entrepreneurs and small to mid-sized businesses, and she is known for her networking.
Entrepreneurs who follow their passion increase their chances of success. Beth is aware of why her clients hire her and part of it is enthusiasm for and belief in what she does. Her passion for her business was evident when she called a client a few hours after giving birth to her son. She puts it simply, “my first child is my business.” She prizes honesty, and willingly admits if she is the wrong person to do the work a client is looking for. In this way she has built a reputation for providing a truthful appraisal of her firm’s capabilities. This builds trust between Beth and current and future clients.
Entrepreneurs often get tripped up when they think they need to be an expert in every aspect of their business. It’s okay to not have all the answers, and can even strengthen relationships when you admit it. Asking for help is not a weakness. Entrepreneurs shorten their learning curve and gain new ideas through simply asking the right people for help. You may be surprised how willing people are to help. Asking for help can even build your business. Entrepreneurs assume the opposite effect and often don’t ask for help in the first place.
Want to build your reputation and increase your number of customers? Try connecting with others, working in a business you love, and asking for help when you need it. This worked for Beth Silver, and it can work for you.
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08.06.08
Posted in Entrepreneurs at 10:09 am by Karen Donaldson
Entrepreneurs often run their businesses using expertise in a particular area, but give little thought to how their leadership skills impact their business results. In my coaching practice, I see many entrepreneurs that improve their results by improving their leadership. Some leadership skills are adaptability, self-awareness, displaying drive and purpose, and building and maintaining relationships. I recently talked with Michelle Lederman, founder of Executive Essentials, www.executiveessentials.org , a successful training company, on how her skills have impacted her success. Her leadership skills have helped her create focus yet remain flexible in her approach to achieving her vision.
Business owners are torn in so many directions that many fine it difficult to figure out how to spend their time. Having a sense of purpose sets up criteria to measure activities and prioritize. Michelle’s approach to determining how to spend her time is straightforward. She created a list for herself of her top 6 goals. When she evaluates how to spend her time, she matches up the activity to the list. If the activity doesn’t relate to reaching her goals, she doesn’t do it.
Her success in running her business has come in part from her leadership skill of self-awareness. She is aware that goals motivate her toward achievement and uses this self-awareness to achieve business results and reach a level of purpose. Other entrepreneurs may be motivated by goals around revenue targets or client contracts.
Her ability to build and maintain strong relationships with clients and colleagues has helped her succeed as a business owner. She subcontracts with trainers to offer large-scale training solutions and has used her measure of who she “wants to work with,” as part of the criteria for developing successful subcontractor and client relationships. She doesn’t work with those who fall into the “should” or “have to” end of the spectrum.
She applies her self-awareness of the energy she gets from interaction and builds in opportunities to connect as part of her day. She bounces ideas off others to maintain her motivation and increase her interaction with others. She also applies these skills to her clients, which has created long-term relationships and repeat business.
Michelle’s adaptability has helped her succeed as she has maintains a flexible approach to achieving her vision. She says, “You don’t have to figure it out on Day One of starting your business. You can try different things and see what you enjoy most what makes money and what doesn’t.” Entrepreneurs should “Keep going. Believe it will work out. Failure cannot be an option.” This attitude is one of the best indicators of entrepreneurial success I have seen.
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