Birds of a feather

There is something energizing and exciting when you bring a group of people together who are not only on the same wave length, but get what you want to achieve in your business and are keen to help you get there.

That’s how I felt after our team meeting this week.  Lots of great ideas – not all will happen at once – but everyone seemed invested in what we wanted to do.

After a group discussion about what direction we were heading in and our goals for the upcoming year, I’d split everyone into small groups, drawing on their expertise and areas of interest, and each group was tasked with some questions to answer that would give us some direction moving forward.

Then we gathered together as the large group again to hear what the others had to say and toss in our own ideas as well.  Having run Company of Women for fourteen years now, there were times, to be honest, when I had to bite my tongue as a suggestion came up that we had already done, or were already doing.

But nothing kills brainstorming quicker than someone saying “we’ve done that and it didn’t work.”  Well maybe not then, but it might now.  I also find there are new approaches out there, and perhaps we (read I) need to get with the program and go with the times.

But to be honest that is easier said than done, but I am getting there. I am a work in progress.

The thing is if you want to move your business forward and take it to the next level, you have to:

• ·      Build a team, a tribe who will get behind you.
• ·      Listen.
• ·      Give opportunities for others to grow personally and professionally.
• ·      Draw on the expertise of others, especially in areas where you do not excel.
• ·      Realize that you can’t (and shouldn’t) do everything, nor do you have the knowledge and skill set to do so.
• ·      Understand that letting go is not easy, and sometimes it seems like a necessary evil.

So I am getting there, comfortable in the knowledge that at the end of the day, it is still my business, still my decision.  But I need to take heed to the input of others, otherwise why bother asking for their opinions or input in the first place.

As someone said at the meeting, we are birds of a feather, and we’re creating a caring nest for us all.  Just watch us soar and take off in the year ahead.

Trust in the truth

I usually leave it pretty open as to what I am going to write about in my weekly blog.  I prefer to be current, go with the flow and be open.

As I tossed around what I could write … it became clear that the global focus of this week is one of trust.  Between what is happening down south and who to believe, and the recent election in the UK – it seems to me that much of our challenge today is building trust, keeping it and not betraying it.

Who do you believe is working in the best interests of your country? Who do you think is putting the everyday person first, or does everyone have their own agenda, one that does not include you? How do you know what is true or what is all smoke and mirrors?

As a small business owner, there are some crucial lessons to be learned from the global political arena.  First as you work with your clients and potential customers, it is vital that you build their trust.

Because as is often said, people do business with people that they like and trust. So how do you build that trust?

1.              You are authentic in your dealings with people.

2.              You listen.

3.              You provide what people say they need, not necessarily what you want to provide. In other words, you focus on their agenda, not your own.

4.              You deliver what you say you will deliver. On time. On price.

5.              You are honest about what you can and can’t do.

6.              You care and show your client that you are interested in them as people, not as part of your money train.

Bottom line – you drop your agenda because inevitably it does become a win-win for all.

Another lesson - do not underestimate the power of young people.  As we saw in the UK, when you listen, respect and involve millennials, they will support you.  Ignore them at your own peril.  They are our future. Pay attention.

We live in complicated times. Times when it becomes harder to determine what is truth and what is not.  What we can do as individuals and as business owners is be true to ourselves.  

Because when we do that, we can sleep at night, knowing we have done our best, we’ve stuck to our values and believe that at the end of day, people will trust in what we say and do.

Confidence. Don't leave home without it.

“The only thing standing between greatness and me, is me.”

Woody Allen

Isn’t that the truth.  So often we are the ones getting in our own way, letting our fears and lack of confidence hold us back from becoming who we are meant to be.

Another truth is that starting and running your own business is not for the faint of heart.  

Nothing rarely goes to plan and at the first roadblock it would be all too easy to give up.

But we don’t.  Not if we really, really want to have our own business.  

Sometimes it means taking a step back and looking at what we are doing and want to achieve and asking if you’re on the right track or do you have to tweak something to make it better.

In her book She Means Business, Carrie Green identified that the first step to building a business is to look inward.  “Conditioning yourself for success is far more important than any business strategy, because if you don’t have the right mindset, you’ll get in your own way and won’t be able to create the success you want.”

In order to succeed we have to push past the self-doubt, fear and obstacles. In our Good Enough book, we talk about confidence, and how you don’t want to leave home without it.

But how do you build confidence?  Because it is not something you can put on and leave on.  It is a fair weather friend. In some situations, we can be self-assured and willing to step up to the challenge; in others, we hold back, tentative and fearful of making a mistake.  

And maybe that’s the key.  It’s letting go of that fear of failure and realizing that mistakes are just feedback that we need to listen to and move on.  As we heard from our panel of trailblazers at the conference, just do it.  The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to step out of your comfort zone.

Knowing yourself helps you to better understand what you strengths are and where you may need help.  Ask your friends and family what strengths you bring to your business.  You might be surprised with what they say.

Talking of friends, you want to hang out with people you believe in you, who are supportive and are there to give you honest feedback, and if necessary, the kick you need to get moving. 

Carrie Green is right.  If we don’t believe in ourselves, how can we ask other people to do so.  Her book is divided up into three sections. Interestingly only one is dedicated to the actual business planning process, the other two are devoted to helping you understand yourself, your motivation and developing the right mindset to succeed.

It is one of the reasons why at Company of Women we will be introducing a new series of programs to help build women’s self confidence, because without that component, it is hard to succeed – whether you are in start-up mode or more seasoned and want to take your business to the next level.

Make time to work ON your business

Between the conference and the launch of our new book Good Enough, I’ve been really busy working IN my business, knowing only too well, that I needed to spend time ON the business.

Where do I see the business going?  What’s our vision moving forward? How is the business evolving?  Do we need to change up what we are doing?   

Good questions for you to ask yourself too.

To help me I hired a consultant to walk and guide me through the process, and then held several planning sessions with the key members of my team as well as strong supporters who brought an objective perspective to the conversation.

But I still hadn’t really sat down to digest and reflect on all that’s been said and the recommendations in place.  Until today.

We were having work done at the farmhouse and I had to vacate the premises for four hours.  I didn’t have access to a computer, so I was back to paper and pen but I used that time to regroup, to think about what’s unfolded through all these planning sessions and what I  liked, wanted to continue, and what we could perhaps drop.

I highly recommend doing this because when you start to look at what you want to start, continue and stop – it makes your choices and direction much clearer.

 I have this tendency to keep adding to the menu, and in some ways, maybe I still am, but the key difference is the “stop” component. M y major conclusion is that I have to stop.  I have to stop being involved in every detail of what is offered.  I have to stop doing the admin behind the scenes (I suck at it) and I have to stop thinking it all relies on me, because it doesn’t.

I now have a great team, who all get what we are trying to achieve and why.  They are authentic, real and genuinely want to help women.  That makes a huge difference, as we are all on the same page, each bringing our unique talents to the organization.

I am excited about where we are heading.  Our new direction will, I believe, positively impact more women.  Stay tuned.

And take my advice, try to eke out time alone to reflect on your business. 

It’s worth it.  You’re worth it.

What business are you in?

Remember when you started your business?  What was the first thing you did? Likely got a logo and business cards printed.  But according to our recent speaker  Charmian Christie, we’ve got it all wrong.  Doing the logo is the last thing we should be doing.

Why?  Because first we need to think about what business are we in.  We need to work out what we want to do and even more important, what we don’t want to do, and why.

Charmian was speaking from experience as she shared the dips and turns she went through to get to her current business.   She found that she just kept saying yes to everything that came her way.  And I remember doing that when I had my consulting practice, partly because you don’t know when the next contract is going to come in.  The freelance life can be a feast or a famine.

But Chairman found that she was taking on too much, doing stuff she didn’t really like or work that didn’t sit well with her values.  So she started to make two lists, one of the work she wanted to do, and the other of work that she didn’t.

She also drew up standards for herself in terms of what she would do to promote her brand on social media, and again what she would not do – such as make political comments.  Although as she laughingly acknowledged, these days that is hard, but she has drawn a line in the sand and just won’t go there.

Only after she’d gone through this process did she determine the name of her business, the look and the design of her logo.  Then she had a brand, a brand that she was proud to promote.

She encouraged us all to come up with one word to describe the business we are in.

As your business evolves, know that this can change. 

If you had asked me this question when I first started Company of Women, my answer would have been we were in the support business.  But today… while we still provide support, I think we are moving more towards the confidence business.  In other words, I’d like to think we give you the tools and confidence to succeed, and most importantly, it's success on your own terms.

Let me ask you, what business are you in?