Based on working with clients and learning from my own experiences, I’ve seen a few common mistakes that can completely derail us in achieving the goals we set in our business.

My hope is in highlighting these mistakes, it can help to avoid them, helping you to be more successful when aiming for great things in your business…

Not an easy thing for a business owner to do.

As much as we think it should be a switch we can turn off - letting go of something we know we can do well, easily and quickly in our businesses - especially if that task brings in revenue - takes one critical piece.

Trust

Trust has to be established. If you’re lacking trust….you won’t be able to hand things off.

And establishing trust goes beyond whether we believe our team member to have the best interests of our business at heart.

There are components to trusting and letting go…

Don’t you love hearing about what people are reading or listening to?

I thought I’d share some of what I’ve been listening to lately…and would love to hear what’s in your feed.

Below is a brief summary of each podcast from each show’s About page so the summaries are theirs; they best describe their shows.

Do you ever want to be given a plan, a step-by step approach or a list of instructions, “Do this and your business will grow”?

Well this is pretty close…

In the ever-evolving world of business, achieving sustainable growth is a goal that's often easier said than done. It requires a well-thought-out strategy and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.

To help you navigate this journey, I’d like to share the SVO Model of Sustainability and Growth TM – a simple yet effective framework that emphasizes simplicity, verification, and seizing opportunities. By following this model, you can create a robust foundation for your business's long-term success.

Are you caught in a never-ending cycle of day-to-day tasks, feeling like you're always putting out fires, and never making the progress you dream of in your business? You're not alone.

Many entrepreneurs and professionals find themselves trapped in the whirlwind of immediate demands, leaving little room for strategic growth. But fear not; there is a solution, and it's called future-oriented work.

In this blog post, we'll delve into the significance of focusing on future-oriented tasks and how it can transform your business.

When I was in university my degree was a Co-Op program - which meant that I had several work-terms through my degree that allowed me to experience different businesses and industries. It was fantastic. I loved my degree and experiences at that time.

In one particular experience, I had the privilege of working in two businesses that shared admin resources (me) which was a partnership between two individuals - one an interior designer and the other a marketing consultant. It was a fascinating look inside these two diverse industries.

At the time, I noticed two hard-working Business Owners with a passion for their work. It was only years after that experience that I really understood the significance of how they ran their business. 

What I learned:

I want to share a story about a business owner who was consistently feeling behind the eight ball…Always feeling 2 steps behind each week.

She was growing but everything was chaotic and she was exhausted.

She was struggling to deliver her services to her clients and grow her business - She was engaged in most of the business development, dealt with many of the clients and was the primary contact for any customer service issue.

She was onboarding a new team member yet because she was still a small business of only six, she was still wearing many hats each day.

Then, after working together, she was able to turn things around.

How?

Have you experienced those times when you feel:

• Consistently overwhelmed thinking: How am I going to get it all done?

• You have too much to do but feel like you have so little time

• You can’t focus on what needs to be done

• Continuously checking your emails, for the next thing to do

These can all be signs of not implementing a few intentional and savvy strategies that can take you from wondering how to get it all done….to moving your biggest initiatives - and your business - forward.

If this is you or if you’ve dipped in an out of these phases, here’s what you can do about it.

Has this ever happened to you?

You’re looking at your numbers and year over year, you don’t see any movement in your top-line revenue?

This could be an indication that your business is overly dependent on YOU for its sales.

You might think - of course - I’m the only one who can do sales! — and there’s the issue. For companies with teams there are more options to have others involved in connecting with customers and owning a piece of sales.

For soloprenuers, there are other considerations but there are definitely things to consider and focus on for both types of business owners to get you moving in the right direction.

Listen in for what those are…

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be a ‘customer’ of your business?

To walk in their shoes?

You may use your own products and services but what I’m talking about is different. I’m talking about experiencing what they would experience.

How do you think your service delivery would stack up?

This is probably one of the most impactful exercises a business owner can do…

Thinking about the next 10 years or ‘when’ you’ll be ready to think about handing over your business to prepare for that event is like waiting until the day before you hand over your house keys to its new owner to paint the walls, fix the leaky faucet and renovate run down bathroom. It’s too much too late.

And, consider what you could be leaving on the table by doing so?

You could be passing up, with some adjustments, a beautifully run company that actually reduces your headaches.

You could be passing up additional value in the business by not having some of its functions running more smoothly with a little TLC. AKA leaving money on the table.

You could be passing over obvious headaches to the new owner but that existing employees and customers still have to deal with, jeopardizing retention.

The belief that ‘getting ready to pass’ down is reserved for the actual event is actually robbing you of more money, more joy and likely more stability now.

One of the secrets to being an attractive company to run and purchase? Read more here.

An unhappy employee, a negotiation, hiring, deciding which product line to build out and grow...

We can be faced with these types of situations and decisions in a given month, week or even day!

So when we feel the intensity heighten and the stakes get higher in our decision-making, there’s one fundamental exercise that I know can be helpful in these situations.

This reminds me about a recent appointment where I was taking one of my children to a physiotherapy session. The physiotherapist spoke about the benefits of working from the ground up to strengthen their legs and base so they can perform higher and get stronger at the sport they are playing. But the exercises were working some of the smallest muscles in the body to do so.

It was so fundamental to higher performance that’s where we started.

So, when faced with challenging business situations or decisions, a similar approach can help you go from uncertainty to assuredness in knowing how to proceed.

Has this thought ever gone through your mind?

You keep pouring more of your efforts in but you can’t seem to grow beyond the level you’ve achieved in your business.

You’ve been hitting the same revenue line for the last while, or maybe even the last couple of years and you can’t seem to go beyond, no matter what you do.

Beyond our plans or intentions, there’s a barrier we can’t seem to break.

The pain of this is you want to expand your company and want to hire or build on the services you offer, but without solving this revenue plateau your hands feel tied…

What’s not to love about your favourite customer?

Whether it's the fact they’re wonderful people to work with, provide you with much of your business, they pay on time or you simply look forward to your interactions together; whatever the reason, each time you do business with them, it’s a good day :).

And why not? I love it when business is fun and enjoyable.

But could working with your favourite customer put your business at risk…?

I've been thinking about the relationship between intent and behaviour.  

In life, so many of us have goals - to eat better, to increase our exercise, to be present at home more...

I'm guessing you can relate to the idea of intending to eat well and then making a poor choice of snack. Or, intending to get more sleep, yet, making the decision to check your social media accounts late into the night.

When it comes to your business or career, we also set goals and then find ourselves making poor decisions that don't get us close.....

I always find it interesting to look at our behaviours towards those goals because it tells us what our relationship is to them, and it can reveal something deeper at play....