Are you looking for a break through for your business?
Why wait to seek professional business advice?
I recently commissioned a survey of 500 people on LinkedIn: Business owners running companies from 10-50 employees in the Greater New York metro area.
The results were fascinating. Overall, 86% of respondents would consider recommending a business coach to a friend for one of four reasons:
- You see their business is struggling (14%)
- You worked with a coach and got results (26%)
- You support professional development (31%)
- They’ve confided in you that they need help (15%)
- Only 14% would not recommend a business coach for any reason.
- Although men responded at a higher level to the survey than women (57% vs. 43%), women were more likely to recommend a business coach (93% vs. 84%).
- That said, one of the more interesting aspects of the survey is that while 30% of adults 18-34 would never recommend a business coach only 15% of adults 35-55+ feel the same way.
Ironically, adults 18-34 are the most likely to start a business: They have either just graduated from high school or college, or who have recently spent the last five to ten years working for a company (i.e. for someone else).
So, assuming they’ve run a financial analysis in advance and know their breakeven point, they would freely spend money on a lawyer to register their business, an accountant and bookkeeper to set up the financials and of course spend thousands of dollars building a website and developing brochures and other advertising materials. Yet fully 1/3 of this age group would never even consider the idea of bringing in a business coach to help them develop proper fundamentals and ensure that the business got off to the right start.
This is particularly startling when you look at the statistics on business failures. Because according to Dun & Bradstreet,
“Businesses with fewer than 20 employees – i.e. privately-owned entrepreneurial enterprises – have only a 37% chance of surviving after four years of business and only a 9% chance of surviving in business for 10 years.”[1]
So the group that is actually the most resistant to hiring a business coach is also the most likely to fail in business!
Most of my clients have been in business for at least 20 years and fit the definition of successful business people – they’ve certainly beaten the D&B statistics… But at the same time, I start working with them because they realize they are blocked. They’re reaching retirement age, they can’t seem to break through to the next level of financial growth or they have no strategy for creating a succession plan or developing the business for sale. I can’t help but wonder what might have happened if these people started working with me 10 years earlier, or even more.
If I helped them learn how to make just $50,000/year more in net profits, that would be an additional $500,000 for their retirement. They would be implementing a transition strategy so that they could either generate passive income or sell the business for its maximum value.
If you think you need to establish your business before you would ever seek out a business coach, I encourage you to really think about the wisdom of waiting 10-20 before coming to work ActionCOACH of CT.
Why get off on the wrong foot and make all sorts of unnecessary mistakes when you can start your business the right way and realize the kind of profits you want, to achieve the lifestyle you want, when you want it.
Are You Fully Utilizing Your Technology To Achieve Business Growth?
Using Technology to Achieve Business Growth
My wife and I recently took our son to Sesame Place. When we submitted our e-tickets at the entrance to the park, a fingerprint was taken of our index fingers. When I asked why, I was told that this would be a way to confirm our identities in the event that our son wound up in the “Missing Adults” office.
At the time, I was really impressed that this theme park was using a fairly sophisticated technology to address a very important business issue – child safety. That got me thinking about whether most business owners are making full use of the technology they have available to them.
Here are a couple of technology related things that any small business should be doing – If you’re not doing them, you are leaving money on the table:
- 1. You use Quickbooks, but have you actually sat down with your bookkeeper to determine which financial reports you should be printing off WEEKLY to determine the health of your business. How about using multiple years of Quickbooks data to determine which are your most profitable months and more importantly what are least most profitable months so you can determine what to do about making them more profitable?
- You have a database of clients, but how often do you review the list to determine if all your client info is up-to-date and which clients have not purchased from you in a while?
- Are you making full use of LinkedIn? Are you actively mining your contacts’ contacts to see if there are any potential referrals that can be made on your behalf? Same for Facebook. And have you joined various organization groups on these sites to identify networking opportunities.
- Are you posting testimonials on your website, asking for testimonials on LinkedIn and posting videomonials on your website – if you have a website – as well as Facebook?
- Do you have a blog, and an e-blast system in your e-mail software so that you can keep your clients informed of your full range of services and offerings?
- Do you use Constant Contact or other electronic marketing vehicles to reach your past and current customers?
If you are NOT doing at least these six things, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage in the marketplace. Most importantly, they are either NO COST or LOW COST ways to generate warm leads and increase sales.
Would you like to receive a free evaluation of how effectively you’re using systems to maximize your profitability?
To make a difference in your business you have to change the way you do things. It begins by having a business coach evaluate your business.
To get started today click the link above or call us at 203.210.7003. We look forward to helping you grow your business and making the kind of money you always thought possible.
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