4 Tips to Get Your Business to Serve You

Do you feel that you are working to the point of exhaustion in your business and don’t feel like you are getting any where? You are not alone. Many business owners suffer from the same business disease of working “in” and not “on” their business.

Most business owners don’t know how to break this cycle even if they recognize these symptoms. The first step to fixing a problem is to understand the problem, so let me explain. Most business owners spend a majority of their time working in their business; doing sales & marketing, invoicing & billing, paying bills, and servicing customers. Then, what ever work they can’t do, they hire employees to fill the gap.

Because there is only so much one human being can possibly do, you quickly get burnt out and become less efficient and effective in doing these tasks. This is why you feel like you are working harder and harder but getting no where.

1. Be a Leader - Your first step to working “on” the business is having the understanding that as business owner you need to be the leader, not the worker bee. You need to stop doing the work of the business and let the business begin to do the work.
2. Serve Your Team - As a business owner and leader your task is to develop and serve your team. You serve them by training them; providing them benefits, and holding them accountable to the results you expect of them. You must help them to grow so your business can grow.
3. Team Serves Your Customers - By inspiring & encouraging your team, they will in turn inspire and serve your customer. They will serve your customers by providing excellent service and being problems solvers. Your team will focus on their customers needs and become their trusted advisor. 
4. Customers Serve Your Business - Your customers will now be inspired to serve your business by buying more products and referring others. This will allow your business to now start serving you the business owner.

Start now! Begin by creating and implementing a plan to train and develop your team so they can serve your customers. This will in turn get your customers to start serving your business and finally getting your business to serve you. In this way you will because the master of your business instead of a slave to it.

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Lead and they will follow, 3 tips to get your team to follow

Why do geese fly in formation?  Scientists found that it is for 2 reasons.  The first, is to conserve their energy.  There is less wind resistance flying in groups, enabling them to fly greater distances with less effort than birds flying solo.

The second reason is that they can easily keep track of each other. By contrast, pelicans who fly alone, beat their wings more often and have higher heart rates than geese.  

 As a leader in your company do feel like the goose or the pelican? 
 Is your team following your lead?
 Does your company or department run like a well oiled machine? 

If not, here are 3 tips to help you become the leader your employees want to follow…

1. Communicate EffectivelyTo be a good leader, you must first be a good communicator. Your team must clearly understand your vision, goals, and expectations in order to help you accomplish them.  True communication is the response that we get.  Good communicators watch for verbal and non-verbal clues that their messages are being received and understood.

This is especially important when starting a new initiative or adding a new team member.  Schedule enough time to review objectives thoroughly and foster an environment that encourages staff members to ask questions.  Have them mirror back what you have said to be sure they understand. 

I found that one of my clients was moving too quickly through new material.  I coached this client on taking frequent pauses when giving instructions  to make sure his team understood what he wanted before he went onto the next subject. Implementing this simple strategy improved his team’s effectiveness and his business’s profitability tremendously.

2. Lead by example
”A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way.” (John C. Maxwell)  Reflect on the words you use and actions you take in front of your team.  Do you pitch in with the “grunt” work during extra busy times?  Do you have stated work hours but, consistently show up late?  Does the quality of your work inspire your team? Be the rule you want your employees to follow not the exception.

3. Be Congruent
Apply the “golden rule.” It is impossible to build a positive, motivated team while possessing a negative attitude and treating others poorly.  Ever hear your boss speaking negatively about a co-worker?  Did you wonder what he was saying about you?  The bottom line is we need to be congruent as leaders.  Being respectful and appreciative of your employees will inspire them to treat each other and you with respect. 

To “BE” a leader, you must “DO” what leaders do and then you will “HAVE” that leaders have. Leadership comes from within.  Focus on making the internal changes necessary to become the person you want to “BE”,  that will inspire others to follow. The people around you will see the changes in your behavior, in your actions and in the decisions that you make. You will soon create a desire in others to follow your lead. Success is contagious.

You will also begin to see success is neither “yours” or “theirs”, it is “ours”.  When the lead goose gets tired, he falls back and lets a new leader take over. They all share in the work and in the success of getting to their migration point. A true leader knows it is not about “me” it’s about “us”.

As Zig Ziglar said,” You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Wishing you much success,

Coach Steve
 

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