Being a business owner is a challenging thing, there are highs and lows, and everything in between. Some days we have all our ducks in a row and everything goes smoothly. And then the next day a crisis hits and we are struggling to find the right path forward. And no matter how much planning […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, there is a lot to be said for learning how to tap into your network of colleagues to learn new skills and help get past business hurdles. Having a mentor is one of the main ways that some of the best business owners have been able […]
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Have you ever tried to push someone to grow in their position and they simply didn’t want to? Or had a great staff member leave for a new opportunity because they felt stagnant when they worked for you? Most business owners and leaders have experienced these things, and many are left wondering why that person […]
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As humans, we are creatures of habit. We find a way to do something that is easy and efficient, and it’s much easier for us to continue doing it the same way over and over again than to challenge our preconceived notions of how it should be done. This is even more prevalent when it comes […]
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As a business owner with a bit of experience, you may find yourself in a mentorship situation at one time or another. Whether it be with a new business owner seeking help and guidance on their business journey, or maybe with a key team member or two who are looking to get some executive coaching […]
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After 25 years of business coaching, I have seen it all. I have talked to thousands of business owners across the globe in almost every industry imaginable. I have worked with business owners who are just getting their businesses off the ground and I have worked with leaders who have been in their fields for […]
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A large number of entrepreneurs and business owners start their businesses not because they’re fantastic managers, but because they have the vision and drive to put a new product or service out into the marketplace. Most learn very quickly, however, that the ability to manage and coach their employees is a challenging yet important one […]
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Delegation is one of the hardest skills for any leader to learn. Past experiences and internal blocks make it really difficult for some leaders to delegate tasks and projects to their team members…which ultimately causes their businesses to stall or have slower growth patterns. My company recently surveyed a group of our business coaching clients […]
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Over the past 25 years, I have talked to thousands of business leaders from many different industries. I have met with some inspirational leaders who have taken their teams to great heights. And I have met leaders that have subsequently driven their businesses into the ground due to poor leadership. For the most part, both […]
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As a business owner and coach for over 25 years, I have worked with thousands of individuals across various industries and positions. All of them were looking to be better leaders and better managers for their teams. At the end of the day, that is what all business owners ultimately want. They want to figure […]
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If you were to ask most business owners what the one limiting factor is that keeps them from growing and scaling, they will most likely say something about lack of opportunity or lack of qualified sales leads. But for most, that’s actually not true. The one limiting factor to their business growth is often due to the lack of leadership, […]
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As a business coach, I am a firm believer in focusing on the things that you do best and outsourcing the things that you struggle with. For instance, unless you are an accountant, hiring a controller or bookkeeper is probably a good idea for your business. If you don’t have the slightest clue how to write […]
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As a business coach for over 25 years, I can attest to the power of a good business peer group. There is nothing better than sitting down with a bunch of your peers and going over your pain points, brainstorming your next big project, or simply learning from others about what has and hasn’t worked for their businesses. You […]
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Every week, I talk to dozens of business owners looking to grow and scale their businesses, and the majority of them share one trait that stops them from doing so. When I ask those business owners what’s the one thing standing in the way of their success, I often hear lack of sales or lack of qualified staff. Some may […]
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Being a good manager takes a lot of time, effort and self-reflection. There are so many things that you can do to help support your team members: like coaching for development, recognizing them for their success and helping them grow in their positions. Most new business owners and managers know the basics of what it takes to manage […]
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As a business coach who teaches other business owners how to systematize their businesses, I love a good spreadsheet. There is nothing better than a weekly or monthly KPI report that arrives in your inbox to give you a birds eye view of where your business is and where it is headed. But one thing […]
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Are you living your life based on a to-do list? Do you struggle with getting it all done? Do you keep adding more and more to your list, but never make any real progress? You are not alone. Most business owners have a to-do list that never seems to get any smaller. And we wonder […]
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I recently met with one of my coaching clients who had just landed a huge sale. We took a little bit of time to recognize and celebrate the victory, and talked about what that sale (and future renewals) would mean for their business as a whole. My coaching client was of course on cloud nine the entire coaching session, and […]
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In a previous article, I shared with you four situations in which you should never use email, and we got a lot of great comments. So today I want to share with you five times that you should use email instead of an alternative. Because in today’s fast-paced remote workplace, there is still a time and a […]
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The perfect assistant will be able to read your mind. They will complete each task laid before them with precision, and always get them done well before the deadline. They will bring you coffee, just like you like it, and will screen all your calls and emails, giving you back hours and hours of your […]
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If you are like most of us, your e-mail inbox is a huge source of distraction and frustration. It’s a bottomless pit that constantly pulls you away from the high-value tasks you should be doing on your business. And, unfortunately, it isn’t going away anytime soon. A few years back my workplace did a survey of small-business […]
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It’s really easy to be a business leader when business is booming, but it’s a whole other thing to lead your team when your business is in crisis. That said, here’s a technique that I have taught thousands of business owners over the past 25 years to get their business out of a rut and […]
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For many small-business owners, sales is one of the toughest areas to master. This is especially true if you sell a high-ticket item that requires a significant time or financial investment on the part of your customers. That said, I want to share with you some of the most common sales objections and how I teach clients […]
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Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve been a sucker for a good to-do list. There is something so satisfying about writing down all the tasks that I plan to do for the day and then marking them off one by one as I complete them. But, if you are like most business owners, that […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, I have seen and heard it all. One of the most common things I come across is new leaders who have an unrealistic idea on how to set goals for their business. The majority of them overestimate what their teams or themselves as leaders will be […]
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Right now, a lot of business owners are struggling to find and keep good talent, and if you are in the market for a new salesperson, you may be looking for a way to stand out from the competition. One way to do so is to rethink your sales compensation plan to make your business […]
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I can’t tell you how many times I hear “everything would be better if I just had more sales” from business owners. Business is slower than they would like, and it brings them to the lead generation side of things. If you want to narrow down the problem in your lead generation process, it is […]
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When it comes to building your business, having a consistent flow of new customers is perhaps one of the most difficult things to achieve. Especially if you don’t have a sales and marketing background. That said, I want to share with you the top four selling strategies that I share with my clients who are small […]
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Being a good leader is a never ending journey of self-discovery. It doesn’t matter if you have been in business for a year or 20, there is always something to improve and work toward. As a business coach for the past 25 years, I have met thousands of leaders across various industries, and I want to […]
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You did all the right things. You put together a nice-looking website, you have great-looking photos, and you wrote clean sales copy. Still, your sales conversions aren’t where you would like them to be. Sound familiar? Many business owners struggle with this same issue. While there are several things that you can do to improve your […]
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When was the last time you celebrated a business win? Now, I don’t mean jotting it down in your notebook each time you meet one of your goals and then moving onto the next task. I mean really taking a moment to stop and take it in. Taking time out of your schedule to celebrate […]
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What’s the right pattern or frequency to get business training? I get this one a lot from business owners. Some think that if a little leadership training is good, a lot of leadership training is better. But usually, that’s not the case. So, today I wanted to talk about how often you should realistically be […]
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How did you decide on your primary client base? The answer to this may be key to success for your business — or the cause of its downfall. As a business coach for over 20 years, I am in the unique position of working with thousands of business owners each and every year. Every business […]
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When it comes to prioritizing tasks and staying productive, Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” That sounds like pretty good advice, and […]
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Shaping your company culture is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner. It is the invisible guiding hand that could make the difference between you reaching your goals or missing the mark. And for many business owners, they struggle with the company culture that they envision in their head, versus the […]
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It’s Friday afternoon and you are about to call it a day. You open up your project management software (or paper planner if you are old school) and you review your task list for the week. Despite your best efforts, and working overtime almost every single day, you still only managed to get about half the […]
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Every year, I talk to thousands of business owners across the country in various industries. Their pain points and problems may vary greatly, but there is one thing they have in common: a lack of accountability. The majority of business owners don’t have a formal process to hold themselves and their team accountable, and it limits […]
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Being a leader is stressful. There is a lot weighing on your shoulders, and this year particularly has been a rough one for so many of us. We have been faced with some new challenges, and even the most calm and collected among us are bound to experience some anxiety. This is normal. Your stress is […]
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“Hello, I am currently out of the office, returning Friday, the 13th. If you need immediate assistance, please contact … “ We have all used auto-reply messages or auto-responders at one point or another. And with the majority of us still working from home, I see them more often than ever before. In the past, I […]
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A few weeks back, we talked about some key things you should think about before promoting someone to your executive team. Today, I wanted to expand on that concept and add one more: emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is someone’s ability to identify and manage their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Which, […]
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As a business coach, I have talked to thousands of business owners across all industries over the last few months of this pandemic. Many of you have risen to the occasion and found innovative ways to serve your customers and your employees, while others, understandably, are struggling to settle into this new normal. One thing […]
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Webinars are a great way to connect with your customers, teach, and sell your services. And given the current travel restrictions, being able to host a webinar and do it well has become crucial to the success of businesses no matter what the industry. I don’t claim to be an expert in the webinar space, […]
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For many of us, working remotely is now the new normal. Your team has been doing it for a few months now and you likely have discovered a few issues or areas where your communication channels break down. In my 25 years of experience working remotely and helping others do the same, most businesses fall […]
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We are all spending a lot more time on Zoom calls these days and as such, I have seen a lot of conference call faux pas. Here at Maui Mastermind, we have been working virtually for over 10 years so while we may be pros, it’s understandable that for many this is a completely new […]
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Marketing in times of crisis can be a difficult thing for business owners. On the one hand, you have the urge to retreat and cut nonessential spending to protect your bottom line. But those cuts can end up hurting your business in the long run, which is why it’s crucial to learn how to mitigate […]
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There is nothing I love more than a good strategic plan. A carefully considered quarterly or yearly action plan can really help propel your business forward and put you on the path for success. But even the most dedicated business owners have only 24 hours in a day to get it all done. But the really successful […]
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As a business owner, your plate is already really full. Your to-do list is several pages long, and your calendar is full of meetings and phone calls. Throw in a few fire drills throughout the day, and it’s a wonder that you get anything accomplished. It’s no surprise, when I bring up productivity with my […]
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Being a business owner is never an easy job, but if you add on the past few years of stress, the vast majority of us are overwhelmed. There are so many things on our plate, and it just keeps piling up. As a business coach, I work with leaders every day to help them feel […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, I get the unique opportunity of talking to thousands of business owners every year. I get to hear what is working for them and what isn’t, and over time you start noticing patterns that can help predict whether someone’s business is on the right track for […]
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I have seen the scenario play out a thousand times before: Your to-do list is pages long and your email box is overflowing, yet you keep finding yourself being pulled into YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You know deep down that you should be working on more important things, and that time is in short […]
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Finding yourself short staffed right now? You’re not alone. Millions of business owners across the country are struggling to keep their businesses running while dealing with a large number of call outs from their staff. While this certainly makes business more difficult, there is something that you can start doing right now that will ease […]
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It’s hiring season, and for many of us that means that it’s time to look for a few new employees. You have the budget ready, and the job descriptions have been carefully crafted and you are ready to start making offers. But before you do that, I want you to take a pause and look […]
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This past year, we leaders learned how to grow and scale our businesses during some really difficult challenges. We struggled with supply issues and we dealt with long lead times and increased prices. Most of all, we learned just how difficult hiring and retaining good talent can be. I have spoken with many business owners over this past […]
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I was recently talking to a business owner who was struggling to meet his project deadlines. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed like every project that he took on over the past few months has ended up way over budget or late. When I delved a little deeper into the problem, I realized […]
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If you have a service business, the chances are very high that you are losing money to scope creep. What is scope creep you ask? It’s when a project starts off with a defined set of parameters, and by the end of the project it has morphed into something completely different. Often costing you a […]
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Running a business can be really challenging, and managing a team of employees is perhaps one of the more difficult aspects of the job. Not only do you have your team with widely different personalities, learning styles and strengths and weaknesses to contend with but you have your own management style and tendencies that can […]
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Negotiation is one of those things that a lot of business owners struggle with. And it’s also one of the most often used skills in a business owner’s arsenal, whether it is negotiating salary and benefits for your new key team member, trying to get better pricing or terms with one of your vendors, or […]
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I was recently talking to a business owner who has really been struggling to get ahead. They have been working 80-plus hours a week and burning the candle at both ends. They weren’t sleeping, they barely saw their family, and, as time progressed, they appeared to make even less progress each week than they did […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, I have heard a lot of business advice from leaders and other business coaches in the industry. And much of it, while it may seem well intentioned, is actually pretty bad advice. And there are a few pieces of it that I have heard over and […]
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There is no shortage of business owners with dreams of growing and scaling their businesses. Almost every owner I talk to has a vision of what the future of their business should look like, whether that is growing to a point where they make a significant amount of money on their exit, or maybe they […]
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