Prozac for angels

www.businessstrategyblog.com

Starting and running a small business without a basic strategy is a bit like getting in a car and driving west. You may end up selling things and making money but, as with the car, you’re quite likely to end up getting lost down a dead-end street, in a swamp or going by a place you should have visited. Determining your basic business strategy involves asking what your goals are, how you are going to get there, how your business will interact with your customers, suppliers and partners and how you will position your business in the marketplace. It’s easy to create such a strategy and it doesn’t even have to be written down as long as it is clear in your mind.

The first thing to consider when creating a strategy is your goal. Do you want to be the next Bill Gates or do you want a bit of extra income for part-time work? If you’re going to try to make millions, forget spending time with the kids, spouse, fixing up the house or anything else – your work will be your life for the near future. If you’re after some supplementary income, decide how much time you’re going to spend on your business and stick to it. If you’re somewhere between these extremes, decide on the revenue and profit you want and the time you want to spend at it. Determine what’s reasonable and then plan for that. It’s important to get your goal clear in your mind because otherwise you might end up with the part-time income but the millionaire’s time commitment.

Once you have a clear goal, it’s time to think about how to achieve it. Are you going to sell lots and demand a low price or do you want to specialize in low volume but high price. Generally small businesses can’t achieve the lowest prices effectively but they can give good value at a reasonable price. On the other hand, one of the strengths of a small business is the custom approach where you give the client exactly what they want and, of course, you can charge more for that. Where does quality fit into your strategy? Will you have the top quality, no matter what the cost, or will you cut a few corners to reduce the price? Will you standardize and give all your customers the same thing no matter what they want or give them the quality and value they’re looking for with a corresponding price? The thing about a strategy is that there is no right answer – the answer depends on what you do best, your personal situation and your target market. The key thing is to make the decisions and stick to them unless there is a good reason to change. If you don’t have a strategy and don’t make these decisions, you are likely to end up selling poor quality as custom made at a low price and spend all your time dealing with customer complaints. You won’t achieve any goals that way.

When you have a clear idea of your goals and how to achieve them, the rest is easy. Make sure your relationships with your customers, suppliers and partners match your goals and that you position yourself in the marketplace accordingly. If you decide to be a high-end source of custom products or services, make sure that you have the high quality business cards, letterheads, contracts, telephone system etc. in place and that your promotional literature refers to you accordingly. If you have chosen to concentrate on volume and value, those are your selling points – don’t waste money on items that don’t contribute directly to this strategy. Your customers won’t expect fancy letters or invoices. They will be looking for the best value at the lowest cost.

One more thing – the most successful small business strategies aim at supplying special products or services at a reasonable cost or unique products or services at a substantial but not exorbitant cost. This kind of strategy takes time to build up a customer base and does not lend itself to limitless expansion and becoming the next Microsoft. It does tend to provide a good living once it gets going and it tends to become more profitable as the business matures and you get really good at specializing. It is also copy-proof – the only way to compete with you is to start from scratch and put in the time, just like you did. If you look around at successful small businesses in your area which have been around for a while, you’ll likely find a lot of these.

Let me ask you a simple question. Do you, as a manager, want a highly motivated team who don’t take time off work, who achieve their goals and objectives, and don’t stress you out in the process?
I’m sure the answer is – Yes! However, you’re no doubt asking how you’re supposed to achieve this ‘miracle.’

The one thing you need to know about team motivation is that – there’s no such thing! Okay, so the football manager ‘motivates’ the team by getting them together at half-time and ‘explaining’ how they’re about to lose the game unless they start to play a lot better. (This, of course, is the polite version)

However, the only way to build a highly motivated team is to concentrate on individual motivation and create an environment where the individual ‘motivates them self.’
Every member of your team is a complex and complicated human being and they all have different needs. Your job, as a Motivational Manager, is to find out what these needs are, and satisfy them.

There are 3 actions you can take

1. Spend some quality time with each team member – One or two minutes of quality time on a regular basis is far more productive than an appraisal once a year. You need to get to know the individual better and they need to get to know you. You’ll gain a much better understanding of them and how they’re handling the job. It will also send the message that you care about them and show that you’re there to help with problems, both personal and business.

2. Give feedback and coach them – You need to regularly tell each of your team members when they’re doing well and when not so well.
This is where so many employers and managers fall down in dealing with their people; they’re hopeless at giving feedback! Many managers are uncomfortable telling staff how they feel about their work performance. Some managers still believe – “Why should I praise people when they’re only doing what they’re paid to do!”
However, most employees want to know how they are performing in their job; they want to know if they are doing it right or how they could do it better.
If you really want to motivate your team members then you need to ‘catch them doing something right’ and tell them about it. If, on the other hand, you hear or observe them doing something you’re not happy about, then you need to tell them what needs improved and coach them.
It’s important to tell the team member when they’re not performing. There are too many managers who either ignore poor behaviour or come down on the person like a ton of bricks. There are particular ways to give feedback and coach and they’re described in detail in my book – How to be a Motivational Manager.

3. Be a believer – You need to constantly demonstrate to the team member that you trust and believe in them, by what you say, your tone of voice and your body language.
They will very quickly sense if you don’t trust them to carry out their job and they’ll act accordingly.
If you believe that your people are not to be trusted to do their job; that they’ll turn up late and go home early, then that is exactly what they’ll do.
On the other hand, if you believe that your people will do their job well, that they can be trusted to make decisions that are good for the business and that they’ll give you a fair day’s work, then it is more likely this is what you’ll get.
As with all theories, there is no guarantee that this will work every time. However the majority of people in this world are reasonable people; if you treat them as such they’re more likely to behave in a positive manner.

So there you have it; Motivational Managers know that to get the best out of their people they need to concentrate on the human interactions and make that emotional connection with each individual team member.

Let me tell you a quick story. When I started my business in 1993, I faced all the challenges experienced by most new business start-ups. I also had to deal with the all the negative situations; the people who said – “The Speaking and Training business is a hard market to break into, it’s very competitive, you’re very brave! There was also the rejection from potential customers and the people who’d let me down at the last minute.

I quickly realised that if I was going to be successful, there were two things that I really needed. Lots of BRAIN ENERGY and lots of BODY ENERGY.

Sure-fire tip number 1 is – Build your Brain Energy.
Imagine that you’ve just been rejected for a bank loan, or you’ve just been turned down by a potential customer, or a publishing company has rejected the book that you’ve slaved over for the past couple of years.
If you react with – “Oh no, not again, I’m really fed up with this. These people are a real pain. They’re making a big mistake. What am I going to do now?”
This sort of reaction drains your brain of energy, adds to your stress levels and destroys your self motivation.

Reacting drains the brain – thinking less so.

Get the thinking part of your brain working and say to yourself – “I’ll make an appointment today with a better bank! I’ll phone the next potential customer on my list right now! The next publishing company will see the potential in my book!”
There are also many minor situations that happen every day that’ll drain the energy from your brain. If I receive a parking ticket, I pay the fine right away; get rid of it; forget it and move on. Moaning and complaining about it drains the brain and the fine still has to be paid.

Do not, and I repeat, do not say – “Oh no, what am I going to do now?” Every time you say – “Oh no” your brain has a huge drain of energy.
Build up your brain energy using lots positive self-talk.
Your level of success in terms of your happiness, emotional wellbeing and anything else you desire is a direct result of how you talk to yourself. The most important relationship you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself.
Listen to the self-talk that goes on in your head and ask yourself – “Is what I’m saying allowing me to be confident, on top and going for it?” If so – great!
“Or is it holding me back and stopping me achieve my goals?” If this is the case – STOP IT, change the program!
Think about the things you say to yourself and make every statement in the present tense.

Don’t say, for example – “I’m going to make a success of this business” or “I’m going to get organised,” or “I’m going to be much more confident.”
Say – “I am totally in control of my life. I am totally confident and positive. I’m achieving my goals. I have determination and drive.”
What you’re actually doing here is re-programming your subconscious. If you talk to yourself in a positive way, that’s what your subconscious will focus on and you’ll have lots of brain energy

Sure-fire tip number 2 is – Build your Body Energy
The body and the brain are linked together so when the brain drains of energy so does the body. However, the body also does a lot of running about, up and down off the seat and often takes a bit of a beating.
For it to work well, it needs to be in good condition in the first place. We all know by now that if we eat too much or eat the wrong things, smoke too much or drink too much alcohol, then our body is in danger of breaking down.
However, if you want more body energy, then you’re going to have to do some exercise. (Do I hear you saying – “I need the body energy before I can do the exercise!?”) You know as well as I, that if you take more exercise, you will have more energy.

Now I know you think you don’t have the time. You may also be the type that doesn’t want to go to the gym and lift heavy things or leap about in an aerobics class; however, you need to take some exercise that makes you sweat a little.
I’m sorry, but a round of golf doesn’t count, it isn’t the kind of exercise you need. Golf is great and it’s good for the stress but it doesn’t make you sweat.

If you’re going to walk then walk fast for a distance, enough to push up the heart rate and increase the breathing.
Again, get your internal program right and start to think how you can make your exercise enjoyable. I see some people at the health club making the whole business a real chore. They get on a bike or a rowing machine and try to kill themselves for twenty minutes. If that’s your thing then fine but please don’t make it a chore, plug into the sound system and catch up with what’s on TV.

If you’re really not into exercise then please make sure you have other activities outside of your workplace and make them fun. Too many people are going home and slumping in front of the TV – successful people don’t do that.

Make no mistake about it; if you look after the body and the brain; you’ll have lots of VROOM! (And that’s another word for self-motivation)

Financing, Loans and Commercial Finance for Churches at Church-Financing.com.

Nearly all Churches necessitate the need of a commercial real estate financing. The financial sources for real and substantial estate includes: Regional banks, Private investors, Insurance companies, Saving and Loan institutions and Mortgage banking firms. First let’s touch on the obstacles that occur during the process of acquiring the church mortgage loans & church financing.

The Major Church Financing Difficulties:
(1) Church properties are unique and so, for this reason Lenders have a great apprehension regarding this matter because if the loans are not paid within a stipulated time, Lenders will be accounted for it. They have to assume ownership of the property. Owing to unique property features, it is not going to be easy to come across a new owner.
(2) For getting the hold of church loans, Lenders often entail the need of “personal guarantors” especially on account of prior observation with reference to the complexities that are involved in selling the church property again.
(3) When the church financing needs are attained, there are many objectionable terms that get exist. Such as: Minute amount of loans, low loan-to-value (LTV) of 50% to 60%, short-period time of loans and rates of high interest. By this, churches get many possibilities to face the countless financial difficulties.
(4) More than Purchasing and/or Refinancing, Church Financing, Church Construction Loans, Church Renovation and Land acquisition loans are considered as more intricate to deal with. Therefore, needed repairs are delayed for an indefinite period and new churches take lots of years to become a reality.

The Practical Solutions for the Problems which have been Issued above are:
(1) High LTV: High LTV of 75% to 85% would generate a realistic amount of about 15% to 25% that can be utilized for the purpose of down payment or non-financed portion in refinancing.(2) Long-term loans: To make the church financing more successful, rather than short-term, church financing should be of a long term, i.e. up to at least time period of 30 years.
(3) Non-Recourse Loans: Being reluctant towards individual guarantors fetches a non-traditional church lender. And than through this approach, church lending will no more rely on individual guarantors for the church financing.(4) Large sum of Loan: Ability to accommodate large church loan needs, at least of $500,000. This move would than persuade churches to finish their most business financing in one stage rather than by going through many stages.
(5) Low interest rates: Churches are being charged with the sky-scraping interest rates than it is actually required. Church financing payments can be phenomenally reduced if the payments are restricted to prime plus 1% or less than that. As a result, long-term church loan as well as decrease in overall payment will improve the church cash flow considerably.

For more detail log on to www.church-financing.com. Church Financing is a church loan division of Griffin Capital Funding offers church financing and loans with no personal guarantees, favorable rates and good terms.

These are the all around best network marketing tips for success. This check list will not only provide you with a recipe for success with network marketing but success in anything you choose to apply the method to.

I’d say that’s pretty powerful stuff eh…?

What many people seem to have trouble grasping is the fact that success it self, be it with business, sports or even academics, has the very same formula. Basically, if you know what it takes to be successful at one thing, you can often apply the very same approach in a different context and duplicate that same kind of success for yourself over and over again.

Network Marketing Tips #1:

This first tip for success is also one of the most difficult to master. Time management may sound like a simple thing, but that’s far from the truth of things.

Ask yourself,” how do I spend my average day?” How many hours do you spend working, sleeping, eating, traveling between places, etc.? There are only so many hours in a day. If you work 8 hours, and get 8 hours of sleep, you only have 8 more left to do everything else.

The point I hope to make here is that your time is extremely valuable. The average American watches 4 or more hours of television a day. That 4 hours a day, equals a 28 hours a week that could be spent building your success.

Network Marketing Tips #2:

This second tip is nearly as important as the first. Being able to properly budget your finances is a must for any successful business owner. Being aware of how you spend your valuable resources, like your time and your money, will allow you to decide how to use them to your best advantage.

Also when planning to advertise and promote your business or service, preparing a set budget will help motivate you to promote your business as wisely and effectively as possible.

Network Marketing Tips #3:

This third tip is one that keeps on giving. Be sure to a lot both time and finances toward continuing education with your chosen industry niche. Think of this as an investment that will undoubtedly give you a serious return provided you stick to it.

There are possibly dozens of helpful hints to be lain at your feet in hopes that the right combination will guarantee success for you and your business. However, if you can properly manage your time and you finances as well as maintain the focus to continually increase your business knowledge you will all but have such a guarantee already in hand.

Successfully mastering just these three network marketing tips will require focus, discipline, and dedication. These are characteristics a great majority of successful individuals share. Work hard to develop them within yourself and success is sure to follow.