As a business owner, learning how to delegate tasks to your team can make a huge difference in your ability to reach your company goals and deadlines. But there are a few subtle nuances that can make or break any delegation–which is why today I want to address one of the most common misunderstandings when it comes to delegation, about […]
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When it comes to delegation, practice really makes perfect, but fortunately, there are some tips and tricks along the way that can help you be more efficient at the task without dropping the ball or losing momentum. So today, I wanted to share with you three tips that I teach my business coaching clients on how to improve […]
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In today’s business environment there is an expectation among workers, particularly remote workers that can be really damaging to your business’s overall growth and well being. And that danger is hyper-responsiveness. It can rear its ugly head in the form of emails, chats, slack, team messages and meetings. It’s the expectation that you should be able to […]
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In today’s society, where everything is virtual, it can be really hard to build connections. And it can be especially challenging for a leader who is trying to build a business while also developing a leadership team and staff. So today I wanted to share some tips on how you can create intentional opportunities for connecting with your team. Share Your Lives When […]
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As more and more companies are turning to remote workforce, we are seeing a lot of perks to going remote for both the business owner and your employees. Many of which may have been unexpected at first. So today, I wanted to go over some of the perks that you may not have considered when […]
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As a business owner you probably spend a lot of time working with your sales team to make sure that they have all the information and training needed to sell your products or services. But when was the last time that you spent time and energy training the rest of the staff on how to […]
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When it comes to marketing funnels, there are a lot of things to consider. And depending on your product or service, the sales funnel can be rather lengthy — which means that you need to put a lot of time and effort into crafting a sales funnel that keeps your customer engaged, educated, and ultimately […]
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Over the past 25 years, I have helped thousands of business owners grow their businesses and build systems that allow their business to thrive even when they aren’t in the office. And one of the easiest ways to achieve this kind of growth has to do with the creation and implementation of universal business systems, […]
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When it comes to business, experimenting and trying new things comes with the territory. The best companies will A/B test their headlines, their website graphics, and their email subject lines. They will run marketing campaigns to new demographics and launch new products. There are a million different ways that your business can experiment to help […]
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With 2023 right around the corner, for many business owners that means it’s time to shift gears and start planning for the upcoming new year. So, I want to take a moment and share with you the four things that I think business owners should start focusing on in quarter 3. 1. Reframe Your Focus “But, David, I […]
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If you are like most business owners, you start the day by reviewing your calendar and seeing how many meetings you have for the day. Often, there are quite a few each day, many of which are marked as urgent. This can be a total productivity killer–not to mention a mood killer as well. In […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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 with a new business coaching client who has struggled to scale their marketing efforts over the past few years. They have had some big wins and some losses, but for the most part they have remained rather stagnant. And they weren’t really sure what steps they should take to get to […]
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As business owners, the world as we know it is rapidly changing and evolving. Every day we are confronted with new information, regulations, and choices. How we handle those choices, and how we mitigate risk during this time will be the difference between success and failure during this coronavirus crisis. One of the big things […]
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Now I might be dating myself by saying this, but I remember a time where telephones were used exclusively for making phone calls. I know that time has passed. And I laugh now when I see my wife spend 90% of her phone battery texting or using various apps and not actually talking on the […]
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In a world that is going further and further along the technological spectrum, there are some low-tech things that once upon a time would be considered “old-school” but have now become the new “cool thing.” Think about music. It used to be that people would always want digital, that was the cutting edge. Now there’s […]
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When it comes to customer acquisitions and loyalty, time is of the essence. With each touch point in the funnel, you have the opportunity to grow and strengthen your relationship. Or you have the opportunity to lose that customer to one of your competitors. The difference between keeping or losing clients lies in the drop […]
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Landing a new client or project can be an exciting time for any business owner, but if you are like many entrepreneurs taking on a new client (or several) at one time can put a strain on you financially. Especially if there is going to be a significant amount of time before you are able […]
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When it comes to spending money in your business, not all expenses are created equal. In your business there are certain areas where a small investment can make a leveraged return and there are other areas where a big investment can be a waste of money. The flip side of that is there are places and times […]
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The end of the year is a time for reflection. It’s a time for planning. It’s a time for growth. As a business coach, this is one of my favorite times of the year because I get to sit down with my clients and go over the victories and the struggles of the past year and […]
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As a business owner, you have a lot of responsibilities. And if you are like many of the clients I coach, your to-do list is extensive and filled with meetings and other responsibilities. It’s easy to get caught up in your task list, and to feel overwhelmed and anxious. But what if I told you that very little of that […]
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Over the last 25 years, I have worked with and coached thousands of business owners across the country to help them grow and scale their businesses. And along the way I have had my fair share of business owners who struggled with anxiety, control issues and fear of the future. There is another mental hurdle […]
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“Let’s set up a meeting.” The statement itself seems harmless enough, but for the majority of us, the mere mention of yet another meeting is enough to send you off the deep end. It has been estimated that executives can be in meetings for up to 23 hours per week on average. And business owners […]
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Over the last 25 years, I have worked with thousands of business owners to help grow and scale their companies. One of the biggest hurdles most founders and entrepreneurs experience is the inability to manage their time correctly and focus. Throw into the mix cell phones and emails, and it then becomes nearly impossible to […]
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We hear a lot today in all aspects of life just how important a brand identity is. Branding has made its way outside of just the business world and into the world of individuals and how they interact and present themselves; when a friend does something that’s consistent with how they always act, we call […]
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If you’re the owner of a small business, you want to make sure to do everything in your power to run your business in a way that gets everyone in on the success. When your team wins, you win. Your team is what drives the value of your business, your team is the foundation to […]
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If you’ve ever been curious what my life is like then come over for an evening at my house. As you walk into our calm and peaceful home, I greet you at the door and lead you to our clean and immaculately set kitchen table. My kids are sitting quietly, napkins on laps, patiently waiting […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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“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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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“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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Another day at the office is about to come to an end. You may have answered hundreds of emails, put out a few “fires” and hopefully made some progress on your quarterly action plan. Tomorrow, you plan to do much of the same. But I challenge you to take the day off. Throw caution to […]
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How many meetings have you attended this week? This month? If you are like most business owners, the answer is too many. In my own business coaching firm, I sat down and crunched the numbers on our bimonthly executive meeting, and the results were eye-opening. Every two weeks my executive team and I meet via conference […]
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These days, it seems like business owner is talking about finding a business mentor and the importance of having an experienced mentor. An entrepreneur mentor is essential when an entrepreneur is wondering how to scale a business. There are websites, blogs, podcasts, radio, and television programs popping up all around the globe talking about business […]
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As a business owner, you make decisions each and every day. You have to decide if it’s worth it to get that new equipment that will speed up your production time, you need to decide which candidate to choose for the new sales lead position, or come up with the best way to handle a […]
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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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