I was talking with my friend Kathy over lunch who had a clever idea for a business but did not believe she had the skills necessary to execute it. This made me think of how most people believe successful people are multi-skilled individuals with jack-of-all trade talents and abilities. But the truth is one of the most ubiquitous trait of a successful business owner is being able to find and keep the right people for the right jobs. Successful businesses attract the right talent. Therefore, becoming a talent magnet should be at the top of every manager’s list. Here are three habits you should cultivate in order to create a team of talented individuals: 1. Build relationships with talented people before you need them. Don’t wait until you need someone with a specific skill before engaging with such a person. For example, you might be able to handle your own accounting now, but when your business grows you’ll want a talented and reliable accountant to handle that end of your business. Never stop networking in your industry. Determine who has the talent are and what inspires them about their work. Cultivate these relationships early because they will come in handy [...]
By Ja-Naé Duane
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Also posted in Business Tools, Strategy, Uncategorized
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Tagged business, entrepreneurs, home-based business, how to start a business, leadership, small business, the freelancer, wahm, working from home
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I ran into an old friend at a recent networking event who has worked at an office for many years. Probably his biggest complaint about the business world is the constant meetings. How often do we hear about meetings where nothing is accomplished and everyone feels like they wasted their time? It’s become an office cliché. There’s even a website called meetordie where you can determine just how much money a business wastes on an unproductive meeting. But, believe it or not, meetings were originally intended to serve a purpose. And, whether we like it or not, meetings are a necessary evil for just about any business to get work done. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t improve on the concept of meetings and make them valuable to you and your attendees. Follow these four steps to make your meetings more meaningful: 1. The fewer the better. Getting everyone’s input can be valuable, but when time is of the essence it just isn’t worth it to invite that guy who works in the mail room. Keep attendance limited to just the people who are directly involved in the meeting’s objectives. Before sending out the meeting memo, ask yourself if all [...]
My buddy Luke is having trouble collecting from a client of his. The client wants him to continue doing work, but has not paid him for the work he has already done. As a freelancer, every single dollar means the world to him. Like many small business owners, Luke has to feed his family at the end of the day. Has this ever happened to you? Does it still. Well, you are absolutely not alone. Most of the entrepreneurs that I know deal with this in one form or another. Even me. So, when you’re trying to do the right thing by your client and still keep yourself in business, where is the line drawn? What could you have done even before the work began? Mike Monteiro doesn’t mess around when it comes to collecting payment. In his Creative Mornings video, “F*ck You. Pay Me” he shares some hilarious insight into his strategies for collective payment for creative service industries. Check it out: 2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings on Vimeo. Here are some familiar and irrational excuses he’s heard from clients. Do any of them sound familiar: “We ended up not using the work” “Really [...]
I have a friend who has acquired many different skills, from automobile repair to computer programming. One time when I asked him where he learned so many skills, his answer was simple – he taught himself through “trial and error.” He allowed himself to fail until he learned the skill. This has made me think a lot about failure and how important it is to allow yourself to fail. All of my successes have come from failure. Projects never end up the way I originally intend, people who seemed like they could be accountable could not, and businesses took longer to make a profit than I had anticipated. But the English language has made us equate failing with being a failure, when in fact failing is necessary in order to succeed. If we never allow ourselves to fail, then, unless we are born perfect, we’ll never attempt to learn or do anything that risks failure. When I started my first business, I made many mistakes and “failures” before I got it right. I didn’t give up or get discouraged because I understood that failing was just a step towards success. And I was right. In order to succeed, you must [...]
April 11, 2011 – 10:06 am
This morning, I spoke to a group of women entrepreneurs over breakfast. After the talk, one of them came up to me and asked how I assess risk. She disclosed that she had a few businesses and they have never really taken off the way she thought they would. She asked me what I would do if I was in her situation. That’s easy for me to answer, because I’ve been in that situation many times! There are a ton of ideas that I thought would be good project and ventures – and they just weren’t. I’ve had ideas crash and burn just like everyone. It’s all part of the process and it led and led to a lot of trial and error (and a loss of money). Fortunately, I have learned from these experiences and developed a system for what businesses I start and how I invest in them. And now you can benefit from my mistakes and experience by following my rules: 1. Less is More. When I am assessing a new product or service, I determine the value of the minimum product or service I can create to shop around. How can I bundle the most minimal version [...]
My good friend Chuck is a big ideas guy. You know, one of those guys who has about 15 fantastic ideas a day. But when he starts to implement them, he often stops suddenly, usually right before the work finally pays off. Why? Maybe it’s a loss of interest, or new projects come up, or it’s just a lack of follow-through required to be successful. So, when we sit down and talk, he wonders why he isn’t as successful as he thinks he should be and cannot understand why. Sound familiar? Maybe like someone you know or are. Allow me to let you in on a big secret that I have learned through my own countless trial and error. Successful people do not necessarily have some incredible talent, skill, or ability that makes them a success. They simply have learned to deal with the biggest obstacle in the way of success, themselves. Why does Chuck, and a lot of people you and I both probably know, so often abandon big ideas when they are so close to completion? The reason might be because of how we feel about our goals and dreams. Dreaming of success makes us feel better about [...]
Have you ever gotten back from vacation or a conference and realized that life has not stopped while you were gone; that there are over 1,000 emails in your inbox, projects are awaiting your blood, sweat, and tears; and that friends and family are clamoring for your attention? Ringing any bells? When I returned from a month on the road (check out Our Revolution), I found myself in the unusual position of having to play catch up. I travel constantly and have a time management system for when I am on the road. So then why do I find myself inundated with an endless to-do list? For me, there were unexpected circumstances about the trip that left me doing most of the driving (close to 3,000 miles worth) and unable to have the time or energy to keep my regiment. Have you ever found yourself in that situation? If so, here are some tips on How to Catch Up: 1. Strategy. Do not start “doing” anything until you have laid out what needs to be done and you have formulated a week long strategy to tackle all of them. Set aside time in the morning to decide what you will [...]
March 22, 2011 – 10:57 am
As I’ve taken on more leadership positions, I’ve had to redefine my decision-making process to accommodate new challenges and find a balance between individual and group decisions. It has taken some practice, but I now feel my decisions are best when they are a product of groupthinking. When decisions are made by us as individuals, they can be an empowering exercise of autonomy. But leaders must make decisions based on input from their teams and organizations – these decisions are an entirely different beast. Here are some strategies I’ve used: Evaluate Decisions: Decision-making is a skill and like any other skill it must be honed, sharpened, and refined after each use. If you’re not evaluating the decisions made then nothing is learned from the decision. Upon completion of a project, ask teams to discuss which things they would do again and which things they would not. Reflecting on the decisions made and their results allows you to make better decisions during the next project. Accept Mistakes: Mistakes happen and they should be thought of as learning opportunities. A good leader knows when to be flexible enough to allow for the possibility of mistakes and what actions to take to move [...]
Things don’t always go as planned. On Friday, the Revolution Road trip embarked on our month long journey to promote social good and inspire change. However, before we actually got on the road, anything that could go wrong did go wrong. Half of my team had personal tribulations that forced them to stay home, there were last minute venue changes, and then I found out that our van was having engine issues. What’s a control freak to do but let go? Both personally and professionally, life keeps showing me that I need to learn to be flexible – to let go and trust. I just have to take what life throws at me and say, “Ok, what can I make with this pile of Legos?” The poet Robert Brown once wrote, “The best laid schemes of mice and men go often askew.” The trick is to remain flexible enough so that you can adapt to sudden and drastic changes in your plans. Here are some ways to do just that: Accept what you cannot change. Sometimes the milk spills, and there is no use crying over it. You need to relax and accept the inevitability that things almost never quite [...]
As you may already know, I am a strong advocate for innovation and believe it to be the backbone of any successful endeavor – whether it applies to your business or your own life. However, innovation is – by definition – risky. New ideas do not always turn out to be good ideas. And now with the economy the way it is, tightening budgets kill innovation because no one can afford any risks. Yet, without innovation, we end up stagnating – always playing it safe without ever advancing. I’ve always looked for areas in my company or my life that could stand withstand a little risk in order to find better ways of doing things. The trick is to manage your risks. You can optimize innovation to gain great new ideas while minimizing the effects of bad new ideas by following these steps: Evaluate Risk-Taking: How often do you or the people in your employment take risks? Take an honest look at your business by holding interviews, skip-level meetings, or anonymous surveys to gauge risk aversion. You may realize you have created an environment where people feel anxious and hold back ideas. Open a Dialogue: Invite anyone into an open [...]
