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.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if your team had the same level of commitment as you do to your business?

While that’s not a realistic expectation, you can cultivate a more earnest sense of commitment and energy to your mission.

I recently wrote about three aspects of creating a high-performing team:

• Ownership

• Transition Time

• Reporting

Ownership is a big one.

Ownership is referring to owning a task or an outcome.

There’s a difference between the two.

One of the toughest aspects of running your business is wearing the many hats it takes to run your company.

However, to get yourself out of the spin cycle of your days, investing in building a high-performing team can elevate not only the space you can gain in your business to focus on strategy and goals, but to elevate your company’s results.

Through my work with my clients who are successful business owners and founders, we’ve been able to elevate their impact and overall company performance by embracing three core steps in building high-level support in their businesses:

There’s much talk these days about a recession and what that could mean for our own businesses. Recessions can be tough for some and yet others thrive. What’s the secret? Is there one?

In my research I’ve identified strategies that can help businesses not only survive, but thrive during economic downturns.

What I found can be summed up in three main areas:

You’re working too hard to not have the profit you need.

You sell your products and services, but realize that after each month, you’re no further ahead.

Your bank account is dismal and there doesn’t seem to be much left to invest back into your company.

Does this sound familiar?

If so, you may be suffering from the profit conundrum.

This is suffered by those businesses who are selling, but not making any money.

This is no bueno.

If you’re not familiar with the 4 Levers of Profit, then you’re going to love today’s article.

Let’s dive in!

As some of you are considering and refining your goals for this year, I want to ask you…do you have a goal to grow your business?

As business owners, ‘growth’ can be a loaded word.

I hear some saying - yes, they’re all about the growth and that’s their focus.

I hear others saying - no, I like my business the way it is, I’m not looking to grow at all.

And also saying - growth means more work from me and I just don’t have more to give.

Maybe there’s even another camp here that isn’t reflected. In spite of what you may think about growth in your own business I think it’s worth deconstructing what growth means.

WOW - can you believe it’s the beginning of October already?

I can’t believe how quickly the year is going already.

The Fall is my favourite time of year with the changing of temperatures, the beautiful colours of the leaves and forests, and cooler sweater-weather (I love wearing sweaters!). And the food I associate with the fall are apples and apple pie, pumpkins and pumpkin pie and warms soups and stews with newly harvested veggies.

Thinking about the next few months also brings up thoughts about how I want to finish the year in my business and I know my clients think about this as well.

So what’s your goal for the remainder of the year?

The unconventional strategy: Create space to think.

This may seem odd to highlight, but stick with me here…

Often, we go and go and go in a business we’re trying to create and build. We feel like there’s never enough time, there are more clients or customers to attract, or new products or services to release in this quest of creating, building, and growing a business. There’s a lot of doing. And a lot of striving.

And that action-taking can be worthwhile.

However, there is another side of the equation to consider….and that side is the opposite of doing.

It’s about taking frequent pauses. Creating space for something else…..

How often are you creating space for thinking, reflecting, planning, and considering?

If you look back on this year, how do you feel about your business?

Do you feel proud of your efforts weathering the uncertainty of this year? Do you feel frustrated or disappointed? Do you feel gratitude? Or perhaps a combination of all those things….

If you were to look ahead at how you would like to feel about your business in the coming year, what would come to mind? Accomplished, proud, successful, fulfilled……

Of all the things you could do in your business, often overlooked is how we want to be in relationship with the work we do and how the business can serve us and the people it depends on.

Particularly, if you’ve identified that HOW you show up in your business has a big impact on what gets accomplished and how the business does.

This sometimes feels so elusive - where are they? How do I get more?

If you’ve been in business for a while then you actually have some data to draw on. Instead of looking outward, look inward to your previous experiences.

These experiences can tell you a LOT about how to find more clients/customers like the ones you already have. It can be a great source of information for you.

Do you listen to podcasts?

I really enjoy podcasts. I love how they can get me thinking about new strategies or different ways to look at things.

One of the topics I enjoy listening to is about productivity. (I know…..but I’m owning it.)

As a business owner, wearing a number of hats can feel overwhelming with all that needs to be done.

I’ve mentioned before that productivity issues can be a symptom of something larger - not keyed into a vision or goals, not focussing on the ‘right’ things, etc.

But at the end of the day sometimes we just need help managing the number of items we have on our plate. So, sometimes a new idea or a strategy is what we need to support our planning and ‘the doing of things’.

If productivity or time management is something that you struggle with or want to learn more about, I thought I would share a list of podcasts that I’ve enjoyed.

I’ve found these podcasts helpful in giving me unique perspectives in how I run my own business, support my clients and apply the concepts to other areas of my life.

Here are 3 to check out:

Have you ever heard this one before?

‘If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing’

I personally don’t like this sentiment at all. But I get the idea behind it.