Over the past 25 years, I have met with thousands of business owners struggling to take their businesses to the next level. They are often overworked, anxious and stuck. They have great ideas and products, and the means to bring them to their client base, yet they suffer from a debilitating condition that really hinders […]
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When most people think about setting up systems and controls for their business, they think of a traditional employee handbook or manual. A central place to keep all the companies processes and procedures. You sit down and think about all the repetitive processes and write out the steps needed to complete each job to satisfaction. […]
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Over the past 25 years of business coaching, I have had the opportunity to coach thousands of business owners from all walks of life, with great success. Recently, I have noticed an influx in CEO moms looking to scale their businesses and I couldn’t be more thrilled with this turn of events. As I have […]
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In the past, owning a business was the epitome of the American dream. You worked for yourself, you made your own hours, you had control over your wealth, and eventually you got to sell the business (or pass it down to your offspring) and buy a little beach house in Boca Raton. The perfect way […]
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It was one of those overcast nights where it seems like you are sitting in a cloud. I was alone, immersed in the hot tub on my patio. Soaking in the water, it occurred to me this was the first time I’d used the hot tub since I purchased the house almost a year prior. […]
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Planning, starting, running, and growing a small business is not a small undertaking for any entrepreneur. It takes detailed planning, long hours of hands-on work, and a healthy dose of determination, flexibility, and versatility to overcome all the obstacles that come your way. But if you’re an entrepreneur that’s already started your own business, or […]
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As a business coach, one of the first things we help our clients do is create solid systems and controls to accelerate growth. We also share our tips and tricks to getting the entire team on board with using the systems put in place. But what happens when your team only adopts bits and pieces […]
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Whether you are a small business owner or medium business owner, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. And it’s also never too late to learn from an executive business coach. Working with an experienced business coach is the secret weapon to help entrepreneurs, executives, and business owners increase their wealth potential AND quality of […]
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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 […]
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There are 4 main ways to find a business coach: Utilize your personal network Search online Search locally Start with your favorite business author A business coach is an experienced business leader and trusted advisor who can help a less experienced owner and their company to reach new heights. Finding the right business coach provides […]
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When it comes to marketing strategies for your small to medium-sized business, there are many ways to play the game. You can do paid advertisements, email marketing, influencer marketing or emotional marketing….just to name a few. But when it comes down to results, nothing beats expertise marketing. What is Expertise Marketing? The concept of expertise […]
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A business coach does four essential things for their clients: Provide structure for growing and developing their business Provide an invaluable outside perspective that solves internal problems Provide accountability to make sure you follow through Provide support through the tough moments leaders inevitably endure The goal of a business coach is to accelerate the growth […]
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Looking to scale your business? Begin by setting up a solid foundation on which to build. But be careful on how you set up that foundation. The best businesses consist of not one….not two…but five core pillars for strategic depth. So in order to scale your business you need a rock-solid base in all the […]
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Systemizing If you’ve followed any of my articles in the past, you’ve noticed that I talk a lot about systemizing businesses. When done properly, a master system of controls can make scaling your business not only possible but much easier to achieve. Having a set of systems in place will allow you to grow an […]
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How To Succeed In Business Without Sacrificing Your Family, Health or Life BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY AND CAREER DOESN’T MEAN SACRIFICING YOUR FAMILY, HEALTH, OR LIFE. You check email the moment you lift your head off the pillow in the morning. You bring work with you on vacation, sneak glances at your smart phone during […]
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To a new business owner the words “Exit Strategy” are akin to “quitting.” The majority of new small to medium business owners are so wrapped up in the passionate phase of growing and scaling their businesses, getting out doesn’t even cross their mind. They have a romantic notion that they will still be actively working […]
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When it comes to owning a business, managing employees is one of the most difficult aspects of the job. A great deal of your time and energy is spent developing a positive company culture and connecting with and coaching your key staff members. A lot of hard work goes into creating a nurturing work environment […]
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Tired of working longer hours with no increase in revenue? Try these 5 simple things that you can do today to increase your bottom line. I recently shared with you my top 5 Ways to Increase Your Profits, and the response was very positive. So much in fact, that I would like to share you […]
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Intimidated by negotiations? Focus on these five simple negotiation skills first and get much better. Think of all the times in your business week you negotiate: with new hires and existing employees; with sales prospects and long-term clients; with vendors and suppliers. If you’re a business owner or leader, you need to know how to […]
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Here’s a 3-step small business hack to improve internal and customer facing processes and boost your company’s efficiency fast!
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Do you have an open position that you just can’t seem to fill? Having an open position for longer then 30 days has turned out to be a real hot spot for our business coaching clients – recruiting more effectively to find the right people for your open seats on the bus. In fact, I […]
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At business conferences I speak at, I often get asked, “If you had just five techniques you could use to improve a sales process, what five techniques would you use more than any other?” Well here is my answer. This list holds my 5 favorite sales techniques has been proven over the past 20 years […]
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Brian grew up in business. His dad, Ronnie, started a manufacturing firm, his mom, Marge, ran much of the administrative and financial aspects of the company, and family life revolved around the company. Brian studied engineering and earned his degree. After college he came back home and went to work for the family business, quickly […]
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In a few weeks, I’m going to be speaking at a one-day conference on scaling a medical practice in Tampa. As I was preparing for this event, I started writing out my best strategy to help a medical business leader refine and strengthen its core systems. What I realized was this business coaching system would […]
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Alan’s firm was growing, but growth was constrained because he needed new talent. His last two rounds of job postings on indeed.com brought a lot of inquiries, but none of them of the caliber he wanted. He made a simple mistake of thinking all he needed to do was think like an “employer” and just […]
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On a recent web enabled round table with 12 of my top business coaching clients we dived deep into the subject of key employee business coaching. What became clear that a big part of our job on our respective companies’ payroll was to develop our respective teams to grow as producers, team members, and leaders. […]
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6 Tips to help Your New Employee Help You Both Stay Productive You know you need help to get even a fraction of your to do list done, but unless you have deep experience on how to best leverage the admin help you have in the office, often it feels like more work to get […]
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Tired to trying to get your team to engage? Try these 15 non financial ways to engage your team. The statistics are depressing: • A January 2016 Gallup daily tracking survey showed that only 32% of workers are engaged. • Only 49% of employees would recommend their current employer to a friend! (Glassdoor Data Labs, […]
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Johnathon, one of our business coaching clients, ran a successful professional services firm with just under $4 million a year in revenue. In his niche the firm had a strong reputation. When I questioned him about his pricing strategy he shared that he billed hourly for his professional staff. A deeper dive found that his […]
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When you give lots of keynotes or public talks to business owner and entrepreneurial groups like I do you get hit with the same questions over and over. One of the most common questions I get is, “How do I increase my profitability?” It’s a great question. Here in one list are 30 simple strategies […]
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Over the past 20 years of coaching business owners I’ve enjoyed a number of business coaching clients who ran small and mid-sized manufacturing businesses. Here is my take on the four main leverage points to scale a manufacturing business. My thinking on this was deeply influence by my friend and co-author of, Build a Business, […]
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One your key jobs as a leader in your company is to help your team feel employee success, especially your direct reports, feel the progress they are making. All too often business leaders focus on all that’s left to be done, glossing over the very real victories and successes that their team has accomplished. This […]
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Over the past twenty years I’ve sold multiple companies and helped my business coaching clients sell many more. Here are the six most costly mistakes that I’ve seen entrepreneurs (including myself!) make when selling a company. Mistake #1: Celebrating the sale before it has closed. You need to make sure you run your business well […]
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Based on the popularity of my earlier article, 10 Tips to Leverage Your Personal Assistant to Get More Done in Less Time, here is a list of 27 things you can ask your assistant to do. 1. Organize your travel (including learning your travel preferences). This includes making all your travel arrangements, organizing all your […]
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Have you ever felt like you were talking with a strong prospect for your product or service but somehow the sales process stalled? Here are the ten most powerful “action activators” to help you push through to close the sale. 1. Set an Up-Front Agreement. This powerful sales technique is used at the start of […]
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Over the past twenty years I’ve coached thousands of companies in dozens of industries. One of the most common reasons someone reaches out to my company, Maui Mastermind, to help them scale their business is a painful cash flow challenge. Here is the diagnostic process we’ve refined over the years to help pinpoint the precise […]
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Dr. Kim had owned two successful dental clinics for over a decade by the time she became a business coaching client. Over the years competition had gotten stiffer, resulting in periods when one or both of her two clinics suffered low patient volume. Because there was no pattern to these ebbs and flows of patient […]
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This past weekend I was leading a leadership retreat for business owners and CEOs when the topic of “strategy” came up. It’s been my experience that there are two layers to strategy. Layer one is your “stated” strategy. This is where you say you company will invest its best time, attention, talent, and money to […]
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Are you thinking about staring a business partnership? Or formalizing a strategic relationship? Here are seven of the most critical lessons to consider before you finalize the deal. Lesson One: Only bring on a formal partner if that is the only way you can gain the talent, resources, or other element from your prospective partner. […]
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Brian ran a successful manufacturing business selling consumer products in a specific sporting niche. They had reached sales of just over $15 million per year and wanted to increase sales and profitability. So where should they look for business growth? Focus on new markets? Improve their production efficiencies? Here is a simple tool that they […]
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An international study by the Center for Creative Leadership titled, Always On, Never Done?, which surveyed professionals, executives and managers in the U.S. and 36 other countries found that the average respondent works a whopping 72 hours or more a week. And who do you think they blame for the stress and overload from their […]
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In my last article I shared some business advice with our readers. Three time-tested, broad-stroke strategies to protect your company from fraud and embezzlement. Let’s dive deeper into the nitty-gritty details of financial controls. Here are the top 20 financial controls to safeguard your company and protect your bottom line. I’ve divided these powerful suggestions […]
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Karl (not his real name) ran a successful medical group specializing in elder care in the Midwest. Smart and hardworking, Karl was like a lot of small business owners we know. He was focused on the operational side of his business, in his case the practice of medicine, and didn’t pay close attention to the […]
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I’m sure you’ve read articles about the importance of “culture” to shape the behaviors of your employees. One of my favorite descriptions of company culture was as “the invisible hand that shapes team behavior when there is no defined process or system to tell them what to do.” But understanding the concept of culture doesn’t […]
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How to Increase Productivity What’s Your Biggest Time Waster at Work? What is your biggest productivity killer at work? Is it: A. Phone calls? B. Meetings? C. Email? D. Staff interruptions? If you are anything like the 353 U.S. business owners my company Maui Mastermind surveyed you’re likely answer is “email” (57%), followed by either […]
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A recent article in the Harvard Business Review reported on an international study by the Center for Creative Leadership titled, Always On, Never Done?, which shows that professionals, executives and business owners in the U.S. and 36 other countries now work a whopping 72-hour week. The study went into depth explaining that one of the […]
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The world today is different in many ways, one key way is how the most successful business leaders have learned to break the chain between one hour of time worked and one unit of value created. Time cards and grueling days don’t help business leaders create value. We create value by what we do with […]
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Leading your company is never easy. A key function is for you to craft a clear strategy and map for the coming year. Here are my top 7 strategic planning suggestions to help you start your year off in the most powerful and profitable way possible. 1. Clarify the business you are trying to build. […]
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In my last article on the power of your written trail to protect yourself and your company I shared the two key “filters” you need to pass your written paper trail through. I want to share more details on the nuts and bolts of documenting your business deals and relationships so that you see it […]
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I wanted to follow up on an earlier article on the ten stupidest things business people do that get them sued with a simple practice that will help keep you safer – documenting your files. In the old world this often meant crafting “cover yourself” memos for your physical files, but in today’s world this […]
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“David, you’re never satisfied with the work I do. It’s just like with my dad, you’re never happy.” Those were the words I heard from a key team member 7 years ago now, and they stung. I wanted to be an enlightened boss and saw myself as an empowering leader. But here was direct evidence […]
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Over twenty years now I’ve been coaching business owners on the value of building a systems driven company. But what about those situations that your staff finds themselves in for which there isn’t a clear system to lay out how best to handle it? This is where your company culture comes in. Your company culture […]
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I was talking with Jim, owner of a $50 million per year boutique private equity company that we coach about the coming year. As we clarified the most important initiatives and goals for his company this year what became clear to me was that every company needed to go through this same clarifying and focusing […]
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In a recent business owner survey we conducted with several thousand of our business owner clients it became very clear that email had eclipsed phone calls and meetings as the single biggest time distraction in business. It’s addictive; it’s never ending; and it’s overwhelming. Here are our top 10 e-mail best practices we think every […]
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Leadership Training: One of our biggest responsibilities as a leader of a company is to help intentionally shape our company culture. Your leadership habits have an oversize impact on the culture you’re creating. Your team watches everything you do. Even when you think no one is looking, everyone is. Here are 7 leadership habits that […]
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Which of these 10 all-to-common things are you are your staff unintentionally doing that is putting your company at risk of getting sued…
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Are you a “micromanager”? An “abdicator”? Learn how to spot your management style and how to help your team produce more.
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Here’s a simple yet powerful strategy to create a compelling process to lead greater numbers of prospective customers into deeper, richer relationships with your company.
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