There's Nothing New Out There

There's Nothing New Out There It's comical, as I read the archived newsletter, from 2 years ago, that I wanted to share with you. http://www.mljcoaching.com/mlji/news_June_08.htm Just more proof that there's nothing new out there in business ... as Rick frequently reminded me was what I had said that helped him invest in turning their ship around. I was feeling like I was losing control of my company. When I heard of Lynne's program, it was actually the tools she provides that helped me decide to invest in the Trade-Contractors' Business Strategies Training . I now find it is easier to set goals and to stick to them to accomplish the goals I set. If you are finding it difficult to decide to make the financial investment, my advice is, simply: "Don't wait! Get the right tools to get what you want out of life and out of your company." It's the consistency that I like most about the T-C BS Training and the way Lynne runs her program. Rick Guitard, GP Garrick Electrical Ltd. In the archived newsletter, http://www.mljcoaching.com/mlji/news_June_08.htm , I'm explaining precisely what I've been explaining to several clients of late ... and the cutest thing is that this is precisely what I'm doing myself these days. In 2 different provinces and 3 different states in the U.S, I just finished a very busy 3 1/2 weeks. Coming home from a MasterMind meeting with one of my mentors and the others in the group, I have to, yet again, become really clear on where I'm spending my time and on which activities.

3 Unique Abilities What are yours? Those 3 things that not only are you the best person to do them but each of these 3 things really charge you, fill you with excitement and a lot more energy. These 3 Unique Abilities increase the FUN FACTOR in your business ... and in you, too. As an example, my 3 Unique Abilities are: 1) coaching and training -- when I'm on the tools, so-to-speak; 2) helping people like you make an informed buying decision; 3) writing ... magazine articles & newsletters, like this one, for example. Get really clear on your 3 Unique Abilities and just hand everything that doesn't fit into those categories to others. Just this Monday, Dave shared with me how he has found that over the past 7 weeks that we've been working together he has been delegating a lot more ... and he finds that his employees are - behaving more responsibly; and, - showing up for work! Taking much less time off. Can you imagine? Just because his boss finally gives him responsibility the employee gets more enthusiastic and more plugged in to his job! Simple as that! What are your 3 Unique Abilities? Getting clear on these is half the battle. The rest is simply delegating everything else ... or letting it go completely. Lionel shared with others in 7 Simple Strategies 4 Success this week how he found it very difficult to believe that he could find the right person and afford to hire out these tasks; and he'd be able to delegate enough of what he spent his time on to make hiring a sound investment. You see, there was another client in the tele-seminar having challenges seeing how he could let go of mundane tasks that can be done by others. You know: Those tasks you hang onto for yourself because it's an "overhead" charge. You can't bill the time to a customer. Want your employees' behaviour to improve and to get the fun back into your daily routine? Let's have a 20-minute chat and see if any of my programs, that help others turn their ships around inside of 4 months, cause improvement in employees' behaviour inside of 7 weeks, earn your investment back twice-over inside of 6 days, and quadruple your annual sales and give you a solid profit margin inside of 2 years, are right for you, so that you, too, can enjoy these results. Give me a call, on my direct line at 613-353-9941, or pop me a line at Lynne@mljcoaching.com. You, too, can be enjoying these results! And more importantly, You deserve these ... and better ... results!

Does your SOFT HEART hurt your business results?

What an appropriate time for the topic of next Monday's no-cost tele-class: The way you do anything is the way you do everything.

E-mail us now for the call-in details.

There's a common thread that runs through the vast majority of businesses:

Soft hearts

Being loving and kind and truly caring about your customers and your employees is an extremely nice quality in you as a person; but just listen to how it affects your business results.

The bottom line is that we are in business to help people ... to offer a solution to people's problems. If you're not offering relief to people's pain then people wouldn't pay you any money.

Even Canadian Tire and Walmart

are offering pain relief to their customers - whether the customers need or want their products, if "feels" pretty much the same. In fact, putting ointment on a "want" feels much more relieving than applying the ointment to a "need." Just think of the last luxurious item you treated yourself to.

I've seen this common thread weaving its way throughout many & varied businesses just this week alone, even. I'll give you some examples:

1) A contractor has an employee who produces less in a day today than he did when he was hired 9 months ago. 3 times already in the past few months this employee's lack of follow-through and slow pace have been the topic of our coaching sessions. And again this week his employer said: For right or wrong, I gave him another chance. Well, this employer would not have been discussing it as an issue in our coaching session if it weren't ... an issue, a.k.a. a problem!

Why would he give this person who's actually putting the company at risk with the way he's not doing what he's been hired to do, and costing the business money ... paying the employee for the hours he puts in even though he's considerably over the labour estimated for the project?

Well ... the employee has these personal issues. The employer has spoken to him about these work-related issues numerous times, now ... always giving him another chance. The employer saw this week how he has a history of hanging on to non-producing employees for years longer than he should. This person is obviously not plugged in to the position. Release him. Let him go. Give him the freedom to find what he's looking for ... and allow the business to find the person who wants to play a major role in the growth of the business.

We are responsible to our employees; not for them. For this contractor to concern himself with the personal issues of his employee is costing the business, the contractor, his family, the employee, the customers and the future employee.

2) A health-care provider started out the day pumped and full of energy. By early-afternoon she sounded like she was carrying quite a load. What was the difference? She so loves the way in which she serves the world, helping people enjoy better health, but she, too, has crossed the line. We are responsible to our customers; not for them.

Easier said that executed, right? After all, that's why we got into business in the first place. When she has done all she can do, and refers her clients to other health-care providers ... that's all she can do. To carry the weight of what others aren't doing serves no one ... not this health-care provider, nor her family, nor her employees, nor her other clients, even!

"When I began working with Lynne, her first question to me was "What do you want to achieve?" My answer was simply "To have customers leave and say 'WOW that was great'". Since working with Lynne I find that not only are the customers leaving and saying "WOW that was great" but so are my staff and myself, making it a fun and happy place to work. I now look at things around me with a holistic view, not compartmentalized and find myself more in tune with people's feelings. I'm now able to be proactive when small things begin to happen, before they get to be big things. Working with Lynne was great, not only for helping me put strategies and systems in place, but also to use her as a sounding board to help clear my thoughts and as someone just to listen to me. Thank you, Lynne, for everything".

Steve Benton

Manager - Auto Service Department

3) Another client is stressing over cash-flow. With the amount of cash-on-hand, from week-to-week, he wants to be able to pay everyone, but as we focus on increasing and freeing up the flow of cash he still doesn't have enough to go all the way. He wants to make sure that the little businesses get as much as they need from him because, after all, they have families to feed.

Whoa! I asked my client to please get out of their kitchens! Feeding their families is their responsibility. What are the payment terms of their invoices? What do they do when people like my client don't pay 100% within those terms? There's a reason why these people continue to do business with my client, even though they don't get paid within 30 days during the slow season. As we focus on honouring their payment terms, he needs to remember that he is responsible to his "subs" not for them.

4) And I, a success coach, who helps people enjoy the results and live the lifestyle they desire through their businesses, have had 2 issues this week with receiving payment. I make it extremely clear to my clients what the payment terms are. On rare occasions I will bend ... and I just had a reminder of why to always stand tall.

I am responsible to my clients - and I deliver on my promise every single time. I just had a wonderful reminder that I am not responsible for my clients ... nor for their results.

Look around in your business ... and in your family and personal life, even.

Where are you giving people a break, a second chance, another and yet another chance? When we are crystal clear on

> the requirements for the position;

> the services we offer;

> the promises we make; and

> the terms of our providing those services and keeping those promises

and then we cave in yet again it costs ... not only us, but it costs our businesses, through our frustration it costs our families, in Case #1, above, it costs the other employees, the customers, etc. etc. I'm sure you get the picture.

What are your systems? What are your ... terms - payment or otherwise? Remember that you set them for a reason. Now ... stick to them! Follow through! It may feel painful at the moment, but you know as well as I do and as well as all of the people involved in the above scenarios, that your toeing your own line benefits everyone and everyone will thank you for it.

Want some help in sticking to your terms? My VIP Coaching Program, originally launched in the Pilot Project stage back in late December, has been helping numerous business owners stick to their terms. In the Pilot Project stage the investment for the services delivered was almost one-third of regular. Within the next few weeks the Pilot will go to Regular and the investment will more than double. Your ROI will still be every bit as fantastic, but if you like getting great deals ... ACT NOW!

E-mail me directly at Lynne@mljcoaching.com or give me a call at 613-353-9941 to see if the VIP Coaching Program is the solution to your problem ... the relief for your pain.

Click here to view the newsletter on the site:

http://www.mljcoaching.com/mlji/news_May_12_2010.html

Federal Grants for small businesses!!! Get them before they're gone for good!

Federal Grants for small businesses are available again. Are they available in your area?

You know a funny thing about these Federal grants? So few businesses take advantage of them ... "because there are just too many hoops to jump through for the little bit you receive," I frequently hear.

Yet, take a look here and see what all the grants cover - and one they don't mention is Skills Training for Entrepreneurs ... and then look around to see if you're in one of the applicable geographical areas.

Want to hear a funny story about me and a recent grant application for Skills Training for me, the entrepreneur?

L-o-n-g story, greatly condensed, is that when I refused to fit inside CFDC's box, which "I" found limiting, less-than-honest, downright wrong I had my Operations Manager withdraw our Application.

I LET GO!

And then, no longer resisting, I received an idea: Just reword the application to say "this." The "this" was, essentially, all they were asking for in the first place.

I had so needed it to go my way but I'm not in their position. They have certain systems they need to follow in their business ... and especially because they're agencies distributing government funding ... but I was resisting playing their game by their rules.

I WAS RESISTING because the very thing I said I wanted was right there ... trying to come to me, and I was blocking the way for it to reach me. I was the only obstacle between me and reaching my hefty income goal for that month. I was the only obstacle between me and the next step toward GREATNESS!

So, if you're one of those solo-preneurs, entrepreneurs, small business owners in the catchment areas in Canada of these FedNor Business Development grants ...

GET THE HECK OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY

and apply for the grant to develop your entrepreneurial skills ...
... through the 7 Simple Strategies 4 Success business strategies training & group coaching tele-seminar program ...

... or to develop a brand-new up-to-date created-for-growth-and-fun Business Plan through our VIP Coaching Program...

or apply for the grant to develop your employees' skills through the Team Development Coaching Program.

If you have ever considered developing your skills, developing your business, developing your team ... jfdi. (www.jfdi.ca)

Larry & Holly took advantage of a Federal Grant a few years ago, and taking advantage of creating a compelling Business Plan within months, mere months, they moved into Larry's 5-year goal - that is, the business in the city. And all while stepping into moving the business ... read more

NOTE #1: I don't know all the areas where this FedNor money is available, but I do know that it's available to those of us in Southeastern Ontario, excluding the cities of Ottawa and Kingston, and it's also available in Western Ontario ... and the Maritime Provinces.

NOTE #2: I've heard whispers that this is the last year of these grants being made available and I can only wonder why they would stop. Because people are too resistant to jump through the hoops to receive the funding? It's not for the entrepreneur to do anyway. It's for your assistant!

NOTE #3: If you're outside of Canada, why not have your assistant check into business development programs in your area? I know they exist in every country where I've connected with entrepreneurs.

AND HOW DID MY STORY of resistance END?

Well, by my getting the heck out of my own way, obviously, or else I wouldn't yet have had the awareness of the way in which I sabotage and stop myself from enjoying the very results I say I want! Bless Sue at Frontenac CFDC for her patience with me! And thank you to our area's Board of Directors for their favourable decision (despite the fact that my application was submitted late!)

Team Development Coaching Program

Providing tips to help you more easily STRENGTHEN, IMPROVE and/or GROW your BUSINESS.

Get your NO-COST Special Report
today at www.mljcoaching.com

Learn about the 3 HUGE OBSTACLES keeping people in different walks of life feeling FRUSTRATED, EXHAUSTED and DISILLUSIONED about their businesses and their lives and how you, too, can OVERCOME them.

"What I learned in more than 20 years of managerial training at Avon in Montreal, Lynne covered in one day with these strategies she teaches. I was absolutely amazed!" - Tom Robertson

Your Company's Growth

Is your company like a child, a teenager or an adult?

As a business coach, I work with business owners and managers who want to have happier, healthier businesses that run smoothly even when you aren't there running the whole show.

Business owners envision certain lifestyles that they'll get from all the hassles of being an entrepreneur. I work with business owners to help them reconnect with why they ever got into business for themselves in the first place. I help them reconnect with their passion ... so they never work another day in their lives -- they get back to LOVING what they do by DOING what they love.

My clients' benefits are:

• more time to get things done thanks to the great systems they create and implement
  
• tons more fun by sticking to what they enjoy best ... and hiring out the rest!
  
• significantly increased net worth by having more time to work on improving and growing the business
  
• an enjoyable life outside of the business, feeling less guilt while being away, knowing your support team is operating like a champion.

Many of our clients, in various industries, are what I refer to as "teenager companies".

They've outgrown childhood ... the beginning years where the founder of the company could do it all by him/herself.

They're not yet into adulthood, though, where the child has matured and feels totally confident with the wisdom you've acquired throughout your childhood and teenage-hood. The teacher likely lacks confidence in successfully passing on to your employees the knowledge they require to perform the daily operations without your needing to be so "hands-on". It boils down to lack of trust that there won't be huge problems.

So, how would you describe your company? If you are like the vast majority of companies out there, and find yourself more like a teenager, you can first congratulate yourself. Your company is still alive. The percentage of companies that do survive infancy and then "childhood" is extremely low. So, first give yourself a pat on the back. However, is this how hard you want to work for another number of years until retirement? Let's continue with the analogy:

Who has control over a child? The adults, of course. You, the founder of the company. It's a one-man band, maybe with one helper. You're busy, so you get someone in to help you, but you're still doing all the day-to-day work ... always hoping to steal some moments to get caught up with the paperwork. "It's all good," you tell yourself, "because the company is totally under (my) control."

Who has control over teenagers? Ask any teenager. They'll tell you that they don't appreciate the control adults think they should have over them. That said, one day a teenager feels vulnerable, out-of-control, and wishes he were still a child. The next day the teenager's thrusting his chest out assuring the adults that he knows it all. We all know that teenagers, actually, have little control over themselves; and as much as adults would like teenagers to be more controllable, under the adults' control, we also expect a lot out of them and encourage them to grow, develop, become a healthy, well-rounded, successful adult.

Teenaged companies go through the same thing. The adult parent - you, the company owner - want things to run smoothly. After all, the company's no longer a child. It can do some things on its own, now. This is true, but while one day it needs more attention than you have to give it - wishing it were a child, still - the next day the company has so much business that try as it might to behave like an adult it just isn't capable of doing that, yet. It doesn't yet have the systems in place to be an adult.

So, who has control over teenagers? No one. Not even the teenagers themselves. They go through constant change, day-by-day. They haven't yet developed the ability to plan ... to really plan. Their future isn't much more than a few days, if not only a few hours, away. They "fly by the seat of their pants" and spend a lot of time "putting out fires."

Here's a powerful question you need to ask yourself:

If my company is a teenager, for how much longer can I continue like this ... wishing and hoping for the company to be able to sustain itself?

Let's look at the options:

Do I downsize to be a child again?

Or do I take that leap of faith and develop into an adult company? (Remember, adulthood is not merely a question of age. I'm sure you know people who are old enough to be adults, yet still behave as teenagers.)

Discussing this issue with a client the other day, she said "You're talking about us. Everyone who asks me about getting into this business, I tell them it's a good business, but be sure you stay small." This is a typical response of someone stuck & struggling in teenage-hood.

It's essential, however, that you be consciously aware of the
Law of Expansion.

Your business, too, like every organism in the universe, is either GROWING ... or, sadly, it's dying.

If you make no conscious changes to your business operations, where will you be 7 years from now?

If, on the other hand, you were to make one small change every week during the next 7 years, where could you be in 7 years' time?

7 Simple Strategies 4 Success business training & group coaching 7-month tele-seminar program for businesses in every industry with annual sales up to $650K
http://mljcoaching.com/success/7ss4s/

or

Trade-Contractors' Business Strategies Training
1-year-long-and-deep business strategies
training and professional coaching
exclusively for entrepreneurs in the construction industry
with annual sales exceeding $500K

Visit http://mljcoaching.com/tc/bc/ to view a Slidecast audio-visual seminar giving you 7 Simple Exercises to enjoy better results in your business immediately!

You may find this peculiar, but there are more people AFRAID of being successful than there are those who have the courage to DARE to make changes, in the hopes of being successful. Few of us even know what courage even is: It's simply FAITH in oneself. How much faith do you have in yourself?

You CAN design the perfect life;

You CAN design the perfect business;

and

You CAN have ... BOTH.

Want proof? Review some Case Studies: http://www.mljcoaching.com/cases/
& Testimonials: http://www.mljcoaching.com/testimonials/ on our website.

What's your inspiring and compelling vision of the future?

If getting the FUN back into your business, finally living the lifestyle you dreamed of when first getting into business, and preparing for RETIREMENT ... on your terms ... by practicing taking much more TIME OFF and having TONS more FUN ... while watching more PROFITS simply flow in the back door speaks to you ...

... but you're a bit skeptical ... then

I recommend you start with a NO-OBLIGATION Business Analysis Consultation. I guarantee you will receive 3 "simple" recommendations for moving forward ... and not necessarily with my services.

The regular investment is $397 (at certain periods of the year, I offer it at $197.00) and as my gift to you for following along this far through this e-mail J, I'm offering it to you RIGHT NOW for $147 (+ applicable taxes). Should you decide to step up and step into any of my programs, ranging from $1,477 to $50,000 you'll be credited 100% of your investment in the Business Analysis Consultation.

If you decide not to move forward with training and/or coaching support ... you'll still receive 3 simple recommendations. When acted upon, they'll knock your socks off ... with the ROI (Return on Investment) you'll receive on your investment in the Business Analysis Consultation ... so quickly and so easily!

** Follow this link to the newsletter: http://www.mljcoaching.com/mlji/news_Apr_21_2010.html