business growth

Why I said goodbye to BALANCE

Human moment: I haven’t felt consistent balance for weeks, and that isn’t going to change for at least a month.  (Could be two.)  Does that make me a hypocrite?  Does that make me a bad mom?  Does that make me a bad wife? Does that mean I am off track in life?  The negative voices in my head are telling me every one of those things.  And guess what I say back to them?  SHUT UP!

I am in a season of massive growth.  I am hustling to launch a new book, 2 new programs, a new website, and a new division of my company.  All of this has taken place between January and September of this year, with the majority of it happening right now!  At this point balance is an unrealistic expectation that will just make me feel like I am failing. So I’ve said goodbye to balance.  For now…

Would I work my business this way all the time?  Heck NO!  But I am doing it now and I would like to share with you WHY I made this decision, HOW I am managing, WHEN you might want to consider this as an option, and WHAT you need to do to make it successful.

WHY?

I realized towards the end of 2014, that my company had grown to it’s max capacity as we were currently structured.  We were doing as much as we could do.  I was working a little harder than I wanted to work.  At that point, I had a choice.  I could either shrink the company so that it would be comfortable for me, or I could restructure and move up to our next level.  I chose growth.  I also chose to do a lot in a short period of time.  Massive growth is actually easier to do in a short period of time than it is over a long period of time.  That is because of the nature of atrophy.  Not everything you work to create will stick.  There will always be clients or team members leaving your business.  There will always be an idea, program or product that is no longer relevant and is on it’s way out.  If you want growth, you have to generate more into the business than is going out of the business.  If you want rapid growth, you need to generate a lot more into the business than is going out.  I opted for rapid growth.

HOW?

How am I managing this?  I have days where I great, and days where I feel like I am hanging on by my fingernails!  Just to be even more real and raw, today is a fingernails kind of a day!  And that is okay.  The bottom line is I am being very patient with myself and very forgiving of the imperfect nature of my execution.  I am however holding myself and my team to being highly committed to our daily activities.  We are working with focus. I am working when I don’t feel like it.  I am working when I do feel like it.  I’m working with discipline.

On the personal front, I am taking 20-60 minutes depending on the day, to get myself spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically grounded each morning.  I am creating quality time with my children and husband each day.  This morning we spent an hour outside before I started working.  I was fully present in the moment.  We weeded our garden, picked some berries, and I caught a frog for the boys.  (Side note, never catch a frog for my boys unless you are prepared for it to end up on your back when you aren’t looking.)  The biggest danger to my family right now is not how busy I am in reality, it’s how busy my mind can get if I am not careful.  Make sure you unplug from work to fully plug into family.

WHEN?

I would not suggest that I or you should work our businesses this way all the time.  Before you consider saying goodbye to balance for a season of massive growth, make sure you enroll your family.  Get your team on board.  Make sure that you have the income producing activities lined up and the people in place so that you are not just spinning your wheels.  Make sure it is really a short term commitment.  Make sure that the benefit outweighs the cost.  And make sure that your emotional and mental bank account are full enough that you can pay the price right now.

What?

If you feel you are ready for massive growth and that the time is right to say goodbye to balance, the first thing to ask yourself is, “What do I need to learn?”  The growth and education will go hand in hand.  Remember that education is an investment that pays you for the rest of your life.  Be a good student and be thorough in learning any new skills required for your next level.  Do not fight to do things the way you have always done them.  This is a time to innovate.  Innovation requires a willingness to change.

Then get ready to run!  Have fun!  Don’t expect to love every minute, but don’t allow yourself to hate every minute either.  Celebrate the little wins and enjoy the journey!  For More Details:  http://amywalkerconsulting.com/

Business leaders

How to Fire an Employee: 3 Dos and Don’ts

Firing people has got to be one of the worst parts of being a manager or business owner.  But believe me, not firing someone who needs to go is worse!  It always amazes me when I see business owners who are dreading firing someone so much that they suffer through months of underperformance, negative attitudes, and conflict resolution conversations.

I am committed to making sure that everyone on my team is a good fit. It’s better for them, and it’s better for me! We have all heard, “Hire slow, fire fast!”  And while that is 100% true, we still don’t enjoy it.

I’ve surprisingly had some very positive firing experiences. I’ve even had some people call me a couple of months later to thank me for letting them go. And the vast majority of the people I have had to let go, have left on good terms. The only ones that didn’t are ones that I should have let go sooner and didn’t.

I don’t want to use any of my do’s for this, but it has to be said. Follow due process and make sure everything is documented!  You’ve got to protect yourself!

DO: Say it quickly. In fact, try making it the first or second sentence so you don’t leave room for confusion or arguments. “Team member, I want to thank you for the time and effort that you have put in here, but I want you to know that today is going to be your last day.”

DO: Clearly explain the process. Is there a severance?  Do you have their last check?  What will happen next?  Lay it out so there is no confusion.

DO: Tell them the positive you see in them and wish them luck in finding a position that utilizes their talents.  Truthfully those words won’t sink in right away. For some people they’ll never sink in. But others will appreciate them when the initial wave of emotion passes.

Don’t: Leave their accounts active in email, data base, or social media. Some people will use that for revenge. Others will post a heart felt goodbye that causes distraction and distress in other team members. It’s better just to make a clean break.

Don’t: Use this as a platform to talk about their mistakes or shortcomings. Most firings will have been preceded by performance reviews and requests for improvement. They already know where they are falling short. Bringing it up now feels more like rubbing salt into an open wound.

Don’t: Say anything to make them feel better if it isn’t true. Don’t say you will give them a great reference if you won’t. Don’t say they are welcome to reapply at a later date if you really don’t want them too. Don’t say that you fought for them, but that the powers that be just didn’t feel they were going to work out unless you really went to battle for them.  There really isn’t much other than time and finding a position that is a better fit that will make them feel better. So flattering attempts aren’t going to help.

Bottom line, no one likes to fire other people. But it does not have to be a long, drawn out, emotional ordeal!  There is a way to fire well. And while I hope you’ll never need this information. Experience tells me you will!  For more Details:  http://amywalkerconsulting.com/

business development strategies

Surprise! Business is Hard!

Surprise! Business is Hard!

I still remember the first time I heard about “The Secret.”  I was out to dinner with a group of successful women.  They were all older than me and all made more money than me.  They kept talking about this “Secret” and how they were creating all of these amazing things in their businesses.  I had no idea what they were talking about and was almost too embarrassed to ask!  Finally I asked, and they told me about the movie.  I went home and bought it, watched it and immediately started shifting my mindset.  I started focusing on creation and visualization.  I stopped focusing on negatives and started waiting for my big paychecks to start showing up on my door.  When things would go wrong in my business I thought something had gone wrong.  And when those big paychecks didn’t start showing up, I really thought there was something wrong!

I love the law of attraction and the power behind learning to co create with God in your business and life.  It is an amazing process to be a part of!  AND it looks a lot like WORK! Here are 5 lessons I wish I had learned quicker in my journey!

1. You will want to quit, and that is NORMAL!  We all have days where we are spent emotionally, physically and financially.  We think the thought, “Is this worth it?  Am I on the right path?”  When the path gets rocky it is normal to think we might have taken the wrong way.  When I was getting started, these types of thoughts would open the door for serious doubt in my business!  Now I accept that I am human and I just let myself quit (for the night) and re-hire myself again the next morning.  And Just in case you are wondering, I do it about twice a month!

2. No money does not mean failure.  We correlate money to success.  If we have money, we are on top, if there is no money, something is wrong.  Not true.  Most businesses start out with business loans to cover cash flow.  They start out in “Debt.”  Most start ups also have times where cash is very scarce and the owners have to get creative.  It isn’t a sign of failure, it is just a challenge to overcome.  It doesn’t necessarily mean you are stuck in scarcity, although you could be.  It is not time to panic or quit.  It is however time to increase your sales!

3. Problems will come… frequently The longer I am in business the more I realize that business is really about problem solving.  Low on clients?  Let’s come up with some marketing solutions.  Unhappy clients?  Let’s review our customer service protocols.  Conversion ratios are not where we want them?  Sounds like we’ve got a scripting issue to resolve.  Don’t hide from the problems in your business, address them!

4. You will love what you do, but not all of it!  We usually get into business because we are passionate about our product, our service, or our message.  That does not mean we will love every aspect of our business.  I HATE filing, charging cards, data entry, paying bills, and doing pretty much anything that involves paperwork.  You may hate being on the phone, or networking.  It doesn’t matter, in the beginning you do all of it because you are committed to the outcome.  And then ask you grow, you hire out the parts that you don’t like to do!

5. It takes work! That should be a no-brainer, but it isn’t.  You don’t make money by thinking about working, worrying about working, or avoiding working.  But you do make money when you get out there and sell your product or service.  As a business owner, you will market, sell and fulfill over and over again.  It’s not glamorous!  I had a client ask me once if I could teach her how to make six figures working 10 hours a week.  I told her no!  I don’t know how to do that!  I believe in working hard to launch your business.  Being a business owner is not about working less.  It is about working more so you can have more.  If you are wanting to leave behind your full time job, you can!  Just understand that you will still be working full time until the business is strong and healthy!

Business is AMAZING and I love it!  I love that it is hard.  I love that it causes me to stretch and grow.  I love that I never see stop signs in life.  Every challenge is just a problem waiting to be solved.  It is worth it!  And As soon as I gained peace with these 5 principles, it became so much more fun!  Go out there, work hard and LOVE it!  business growth

business strategy

Business Leaders Make More Money and Have More Fun

Business ownership and business leadership are not synonyms. And let me tell you, you want to be a business leader!

Business owner: Someone that starts and runs a business.

Business leader: A business owner that steps into the role of leadership and is committed to building a fully functional company.

I meet a lot of business owners. It’s rare to meet someone that has achieved the business leader status. Here’s why.

1. Business owners get trapped in their day to day work. They fill their time with providing their primary service, or producing their primary product and basic sales.
2. Business owners take on all of the responsibility in the beginning of their business, and then hold on to too much of their responsibility as they grow. Everyone wears all hats when we get started. But how long have you been wearing all those hats?  I started hiring and training from the very beginning because I knew that my growth would stop as soon as I got maxed out with my time. My goal is to never be the bottle neck in my business.
3. Business owners shy away from doing things they don’t know how to do. Great companies innovate. Business leaders are always looking for better ways to do things. They are always learning more in and surrounding themselves with people who know how to do things they don’t know how to do.
4. Business owners chase trends and hope that it will produce better results. The newest app, the newest social media platform, the newest webinar platform. They are attempting to find something external that will propel change. Business leaders on the other hand put their energy into systems, building sales teams, getting the right people on the team who can move internal processes to the next level. And the trendy new technology is more like icing on the cake.
5. Business owners tend to carry a lot of pressure for the business success. Because their systems are not as strong, and often times they are trying to do too much on their own, they feel the weight of the business bearing down on their shoulders. Business leaders still feel the pressure to perform, but it is not so reliant on personal performance. It is more of a team effort.

As I have worked with thousands of business owners over the last few years, I’ve found that the transition from business owner to business leader happens in two phases. The first phase involves building the systems and structure. The second phase involves expanding and managing the team.

I also find that it takes time to make the transition. It will take a year of solid consistent effort to build all of the systems. And then it will take another 1-3 years of consistent effort as a team to produce the long term results.

And at the end of all that consistent work, you get the rewards of business leadership. You no longer worry if you are going to make money that month. You no longer stress about how you will pay your bills. You no longer have to work ridiculous hours to make sure everything comes together. And you don’t spend time doing jobs you wish you could pay someone else to do.

You get to spend your time in the areas of your business where you produce the most. You get to work at a more manageable pace that allows you to experience peace of mind and work/life balance.

Business leaders truly make the most money, and have the most fun!  For  more details:  http://amywalkerconsulting.com/