Your Hesitation Is Costing You Your Business
For many business owners the only thing worse than hiring, is firing someone. I have seen it far too often with my business coaching clients. It often starts with procrastinating filling a position in the first place, only to find out days, weeks or even months down the road that you chose a team member […]
A Lesson From the 1 Book Warren Buffett Recommends to Everyone
If you’ve been reading my column here on Inc.com you’ll see several hundred articles I’ve written on topics like increasing sales, retaining your best employees, managing cash flow, and growing your profit margins. Many of these ideas started from a seed I read in one of the 1,000+ business books I’ve read over the past […]
How Successful Business Owners Look at Financial Decisions
I recently sat down with Tara, a business owner, who was having trouble with the marketing pillar of her business. She had made it a goal to get new clients and her marketing department head had a ton of ideas on ways that they could market the product line and get the word out, but […]
How to Be Honest With Yourself about Why You’re Not Hiring (and Quit Blaming Budgets)
“I would love to hire help, but I just can’t afford it right now.” I have heard this statement a thousand times over the last twenty five years as a business coach, from business owners that are stressed, overworked and overwhelmed. Their businesses are usually doing well and growing, which leads to the need for […]
Overwhelming Inbox? Here’s a Simple Trick to Try Before Declaring Email Bankruptcy
You arrive in the office at 8:00AM ready to work. Your to-do list is full of high value tasks that will help your business scale and grow. You fire up your laptop and the all too familiar “ping” of your inbox serenades you…drawing you into the depths of mundane tasks and low level activities. The […]
Setting The Foundation For A Business That Can Operate Without You
Over the past 25 years, I have worked with thousands of business owners in all stages of life. These are intelligent, hardworking people who have the drive and passion to go out and start their own consumer or service businesses. But for many, they aren’t the ones calling the shots in their business: It’s been […]
The 1 Thing That Causes Employee Burnout–and Why It’s Your Fault
If you are like most business owners, you crave independence. You are likely one of the business owners who work 60, 70, and even 80 hours a week on their businesses and feel like they are neglecting their personal and home lives in the process. You know that working such long hours with little time […]
Four Ways To Approach A New Task When You Feel Like You Never Have Enough Time
“David, if only I had more time…” “I would love to do that, but I just don’t have the time…” “I work 70 hours a week and still run out of time…” The only thing business owners need more than cash is time. I see it over and over again with the thousands of business […]
At a Crossroads: Deciding What You Really Want Out of Your Business
I was recently re-organizing my office when I came across one of my journals from 2001. In it, I had written about how hard I was working and how close I was to getting burnt out. I was on the road teaching workshops 10 months out of the year, and it was really taking a […]
Working From Home 101: How To Work Remote Successfully
For many business owners, working remotely has become the new normal. The benefit of a flexible schedule can come with a few distractions so it is important to have a plan for success. You can keep your business and productivity on track with a few simple steps. Make (And Keep) A Consistent Remote Work […]
How to Transition to Long-Term Work From Home
In the past, working from home was seen as a flex-work opportunity used for any number of reasons: reducing commute times and the environmental impact of carbon emissions, accommodating employees who needed more flexible schedules, or the ability to hire more employees before upgrading to a larger office building. However, remote work is becoming more […]
How to Achieve a Work Life Balance
For many entrepreneurs and remote workers, achieving a work-life balance that allows them to be productive at work and enjoy their time off to the fullest can be a daunting task. However, this is not just another check mark on your to-do list. A work-life balance is essential to your productivity and helps you avoid […]
How a Morning Routine Can Help Entrepreneurs Develop Good Habits
As an entrepreneur, you know that your day can throw almost anything at you. Creating and sticking to a morning routine can help ground you and prepare you for a successful and productive day. If you create a successful routine, you’ll foster a successful business. Ultimately, you’ll want to create a routine that is tailored […]
Constructing a Personal Development Plan for Entrepreneurs
As entrepreneurs, we may often feel confident about where we are and where we’re headed in our careers. However, sometimes it is a good idea to step back and take a look at the big picture. Personal development plans are essentially a broader set of goals that are similar to a map to get you […]
A Guide To Managing Your Remote Workers
Working remotely with a team of people presents its own set of challenges but it can also be rewarding if you make a few adjustments to your remote management style. Managing a team working from their own homes requires a careful balance of structure and flexibility. Here are a few things to keep in mind when […]
6 Ways to Engage and Connect with Remote Employees
Maintaining a positive and fun office culture is one key to the success of your business and the productivity of your team. When your remote employees are separated by time zones and physical distance it is important to foster and maintain your office culture even more so than in a traditional office setting. Here are […]
3 Ways to Cut Your Customer Acquisition Costs in Half
Over the last twenty five years I have helped thousands of business owners develop and fine-tune their sales funnels. Whether it be pricing challenges, closing tactics or choosing the right salesperson for the job, there are many ways to increase sales within your company. But the one thing that many business owners fail to look […]
6 Tips to Help You Reach Your Goals
You’ve made your vision board and determined where you want to eventually end up as an entrepreneur. Now it’s time to get to the work of reaching those long term goals that you’ve carefully thought about and written down. Even with your vision board and a personal development plan, you might feel like your goals […]
When the Price of Success Is Too Much: The Psychological Costs of Being an Entrepreneur
If you are an entrepreneur, chances are you are working too many hours and focusing on the wrong things. Generally speaking, we are working more hours and taking less vacation than ever before and suffer from more anxiety and stress than previous generations. While this isn’t a new issue for business owners, it’s one that […]
3 Ways to Get New Perspective on Your Business
As a business owner, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. You have employees and customers that are relying on you to know the answers and do the right thing, and sometimes those answers don’t come easy. You don’t know everything and at times you may be stressed and anxious thinking about what the […]
Your To-Do List Is Costing You Money
In the past we have talked a lot about how to grow your business and scale without sacrificing your life and personal relationships. And today, I wanted to introduce you to the concept of “fewer and better” and how this very simple concept has allowed my own business (along with thousands of others) to grow […]
4 Tips to Landing The Sale Every Single Time
Want to close more sales? Of course you do! Every day I talk to business owners in various stages of growth and help them find new ways to reach their target audience and close more sales. No matter what the product or service, 95% of the time the sales process is going to be very […]
6 Great Biohacks From the President of Bulletproof Coffee
For 25 years I have helped thousands of business leaders grow their company and succeed professionally. Some of these high performers needed help scaling their business, some wanted to be able to step away from it all and spend time with their friends and family and a growing number of entrepreneurs are simply physically and […]
The Common Mistake That Can Ruin a Job Interview in 10 Seconds or Less–And How To Hire Smarter
Over the past 25 years, I have helped thousands of small to medium business owners learn how to hire smarter and more efficiently. And if I am being completely honest here, it took me another ten years before that to learn the ins and outs of finding and hiring qualified team members. The biggest mistake […]
According to Science, You Should Schedule Your Focus Time Between These Hours
I have talked about the concept of Focus Fridays before on my column. On how setting aside blocks of time each week to do your best work allows you to clear items off your plate faster and create real value in your business. And thousands of business owners agree that creating focus blocks is a […]
What This Comedian Turned NYT Best-selling Author Taught Me About Business
When it comes to business, entrepreneurs that challenge the status quo are the ones that break out from the pack. Having the ability to see the marketplace in a new and novel way will change the game. In the past, I have talked a lot about how mindset and thought exercises can help you look […]
28 Things You Should Not Be Doing As a Business Owner and 4 Things You Should
I was recently talking to a new business coaching client about their plans to scale their business. After a few minutes of going over our plan of attack he posed the question to me: “How fast do you think I can grow my business?“ My answer: “It all depends on how you handle these thirty-two […]
Writing A Business Book? Do These 4 Things First
Have you ever thought about writing a book? If you are like many business owners, the idea has crossed your mind a time or two. You have knowledge to share and you know that others out there could benefit from that knowledge, but you don’t know where to start. There is often conflicting information or […]
Need to Cross Train Your Staff? Start Here.
I recently told you about a business coaching client of mine: Josh. He had been in business over five years, and had done a great job of building up a loyal clientele and solid product portfolio. But he suffered from a lack of cross training in his business. He wasn’t sure where to start and […]
9 Things You Can Do Right Now to Cut Costs at Your Business
Business costs is something that no business, even the most successful ones, can overlook. However, there are ways a business owner can cut back on these costs and save money in the long run. I recently shared with you 17 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Overhead Costs within your business, and the tips […]
6 Ways to Make Sure Your Company Never Runs Out of Cash Again
Over the years, I have shared with you many tips and tricks to improving your profitability. Things like raising pricing, focusing on your winning products and services and redesigning workflow and systems, all play a huge part in your bottom line. Today I want to address some ways that you can look at your cash […]
Why Fear Is The Biggest Success Killer – And How To Overcome It
I love talking to business owners about their businesses. The way that their eyes light up and they lean in as they tell you about their product or service. The way that they share with you how they took their business from an idea scribbled into a notebook to the business that they have today. […]
How To Cross Train Your Staff In 30 Days Or Less
Josh had been in business over five years, and had done a great job of building up a loyal clientele and solid product portfolio. His biggest reason for coming to Maui Mastermind had to do with his lack of owner-independence. He felt that if he were to take a vacation or got sick, the business […]
The Top 5 Mistakes Every Business Owner Makes When Hiring a Salesperson
Hiring a solid sales team can be a challenge for any business owner, especially one who doesn’t feel particularly confident with sales themselves. Over the past 25 years, I have spoken with thousands of business owners who struggle with hiring and keeping a sales pillar running smoothly. So I wanted to share my top five […]
The 1 Financial Indicator You Aren’t Looking At
Do you ever wish that there was a magic number that would give you an insider view on your profitability? Do you wish that there was an easier way to take the pulse of your business’s financial health? Do you wish that there was one financial metric that you could use to help determine if […]
17 Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Overhead Costs Today
“I would love to scale my business, David. But I am really struggling with cash flow issues right now.” I hear this every single day from small to medium business owners. They have a great product and a loyal customer base, yet they still can’t seem to make ends meet and cash flow is always […]
Try This Thought Exercise the Next Time You Need a New Product Offering
I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the Late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about the hat that is going to change the way you look at your business. This creative hat will help you find new and innovative ways to serve your customer […]
Flip the Hiring Model on Its Head With 1 Simple Move
I’ve been an entrepreneur for 25 years, and the majority of that time I’ve hired just like most people do: When I had an opening, I’d write an ad, sort through résumés, and hire the best candidate I could find. Is it any wonder that the stats on bad hires are so shocking? According to a survey […]
The 9 Most Common Small-Business Bookkeeping Mistakes–and How to Avoid Them
Over the last 25 years, I have helped thousands of business owners grow and scale their businesses. I have had the privilege of helping business coaching clients increase their revenue in a short period of time by teaching them how to create systems and controls and making smarter business choices. Unfortunately, for many business owners […]
Make Your Meetings More Productive By Doing This 1 Thing
Over the past few weeks I have been sharing the business coaching concept of the six hats from the Late Dr. de Bono with our readership. Today, I wanted to focus in on the blue hat, which has to do with organization and planning. This particular hat is one that I wear on every team […]
The Thought Exercise Business Coaches Do Every Single Session — and Why You Should Do It Too
I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the Late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about one of my favorite hats: the yellow hat. This hat is the one that the majority of business owners struggle to wear, and […]
A Case For Playing Devil’s Advocate
I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the Late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about the third hat in the series: The Black Hat. This hat is often one that doesn’t go over very well in meetings. It’s […]
The First Thing You Should Do About When Scaling Your Business
I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about the second hat in the series: The Red Hat. This hat is often one of the first hats that you will put on […]
Why the Timing for Hiring Top Talent Has Never Been Better
Just a few short months ago, businesses were flourishing. In February, the unemployment rate was hovering around 3.5 percent . It was the perfect situation for job seekers and as employers we had to work hard to attract, recruit and retain top talent. Fast forward to the present. Job seekers are facing a completely different […]
This Trick Will Change The Way You Look At Your Business
I recently shared the idea of the business coaching concept of the six hats from the late Dr. de Bono with our readership and I wanted to go into more detail about the first hat in the series: The White Hat. This hat is often one of the first hats that you will put on […]
4 Strategic Ways to Tap Into Your Competitors’ Client Lists
For many small business owners the idea of working with the competition can make their blood boil. It seems counterintuitive. But after twenty five years of business coaching, I can tell you that some of best boosts in profit and revenue come from thinking outside of the box. So today I wanted to share six […]
Change the Way You Think About Your Business With These 6 Thought Exercises
Many entrepreneurs have taken to wearing the same thing day in and day out to reduce decision fatigue and free up their time to focus on more important matters. Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and the late Steve Jobs all believed in minimalist wardrobes. And while I agree the concept is a sound one, I want to […]
2 Things Top CEOs Always Do When Creating Business Plans
I have talked many times about the importance of having a focus day. The act of setting aside a day (or two) once a week to work on your business’s top goal and taking steps to make it a reality is crucial to growing your business and gaining independence. We have seen first hand the […]
Want to Stay in Business Longer? Keep Your Company Small–Very Small. Here’s Why
I was recently talking with Ian, a business coaching client who had seen amazing growth over the course of the past year. He had increased his revenue by almost three hundred percent and had reduced his overhead and staffing costs by almost seventy five percent. He had great systems and controls in place, and was […]
Do This One Thing Every Week To Grow Your Business
As a business owner, you are constantly looking for ways to be more productive. You use the latest software programs, read all the books and try to make your time spent working in the business the most valuable possible. But ultimately, you end up putting out fires and dealing with staffing issues and training. Which […]
Your Impossible Standards Are Ruining Your Company Culture. Here’s How to Fix It
A few days ago I took my kids to the local public library. As I sat there in an uncomfortably small chair waiting for my oldest son to pick out another ninja book, I happened to overhear a father and a son at the table next to me. The boy, no more than eleven or […]
The 1 Word Successful CEOs Say More Than 35 Times a Day
I recently wrote a piece entitled The 6 Words Successful CEOs Say Everyday and the response has been overwhelming. So many of you resonated with the piece, and let us know via social media and through email what your favorite word was and why. So I thought that I would expand on the idea of […]
2 Huge Mistakes That Are Causing 99 Percent Of Your Staffing Problems
As a business owner, you know how important your team members are to your success. And like many, you spend a great deal of time in the hiring and firing process. It can seem like a never-ending quest to find the right team members. Over the course of the last 25 years as a business […]
The Real Reason Business Partnerships Fail–and How to Save Yours
I met Jake (name changed to protect the innocent) at one of our business workshops recently. He had been in business for almost ten years now, and was looking to scale his business and gain more independence. When I asked him about his business, his eyes lit up with excitement as he talked about his […]
6 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Any Big Business Decision
As a business coach, I have helped thousands of business owners make major business decisions. We have worked through major key hires, acquisitions, exit strategies, large equipment purchases and everything in between. And for many business owners, making a big business decision can be paralyzing. It’s not uncommon to get caught up in the details […]
5 Things You Should Do Right Before a Big Negotiation
Want to make more money? Negotiate. Want to get a better price with a vendor? Negotiate. Want to hire that rock star new hire? Yup, you guessed it….negotiate. Negotiating is a tactic that is used in many different situations at work with an intended purpose of coming to an agreement. It is something that is […]
Think You Understand Your Financial Statements? Ask Yourself These 4 Questions
Do you know how to read a profit and loss statement? Do you know what your gross profit margin is and what it means for your bottom line? How about your Cost of Goods Sold? If you are like many business owners, you have a basic understanding of your financial statements but leave the heavy […]
Effective Communication – What Does It Really Mean And How Can You Improve Yours
Almost every job description for a manager includes some variation of “must be an effective communicator” as part of the requirements. Problem with this is that if you poll (as I often do in my workshops) what people define as “Effective Communication” you will get a lot of different definitions. And that’s where the problem […]
The Real Reason Customers Won’t Buy From You (and How to Convince Them)
Last week, I took my son to the orthodontist. While he has had countless cleanings over the years, he was experiencing quite a bit of anxiety over the unknown of a trip to the orthodontist. Would he need braces? Would they want to put them on right away? How long would he have to wear […]
3 Things You Need to Know About Hiring Top Talent in Today’s Job Market
As you are probably aware, finding and motivating talent to fill your job openings is becoming increasingly difficult in today’s very competitive job market. The following will provide you some insight to the reasons why and what you can do to be more effective. There’s a shortage of great talent We are at a historically […]
