Business Owner Newsletter - 2012 Archive

We are a celebratory society. We celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and other milestones. In our personal lives we celebrate just about every chance we get. But what about our professional lives? When was the last time your business celebrated a birthday, anniversary, or mid-year production goal? With their eye on the finish line, business owners can miss the little successes, milestones, and personal achievements that happen on the way to that finish line.

So, what does celebrate really mean? Does it mean that every time something good happens you have to throw a party? Of course not, but it does mean that as the owner, you will need to be intentional about acknowledging the successes of the business and its employees. There is any number of ways a business can celebrate success.

Now that the C.A.T. (Communication, Accountability partner, and Take action) is out of the bag  regarding the importance of accountability, how can you create a structure of accountability?  Ask and answer the following questions and you will on your way to creating an accountability structure that will help ensure you gain the results you desire.

It’s the time of year when you start to think ahead to your goals for 2013.  Your inbox starts to become filled with newsletters such as ours that talk about the importance of setting goals.  Putting goals on paper is an important step.  They provide you and your business with direction for the upcoming months, but before you set those goals, there’s an important step that many business owners overlook.  That step is looking at the accountability structure you need in place to meet your goals.

Many businesses owners feel as if they are isolated from the rest of the world and believe that accountability within the business stops with them.  They feel there’s no one to talk to when things are not working as planned.  There’s no one to vent to when they are frustrated or to encourage them to take that next step.  There’s no one to celebrate the many small steps they take each day to reach their goals.  Were you surprised the last time you did not meet a goal? The scary answer is probably not. Did you want to meet your goals? Of course, but by not having that measure of accountability in place, the journey becomes long and lonely.  There are a number of ways to establish accountability for yourself with in your business.

We are thinking of our clients that are facing the complications brought on by Hurricane Sandy.  We hope that those of you impacted are hunkered down and safe.  This storm obviously has the potential to impact all of us as travel and suppliers are impacted.  While you might not be in the direct path of the storm we encourage thinking and preparing for the ways that your business might be impacted.  Preparing for a natural disaster is hard on a personal level, but as business owners you have more complications to deal with than the average person.   Preparedness and communication with customers, employees, and vendors is often the key to surviving a natural disaster.  Whether you are impacted by Sandy or not, below are our “Air Force One” tips on being prepared and keeping in communication during business interruptions. 

When was the last time you took a good, long look at your financial reports? Do you remember what your income statement looks like? What does a balance sheet have to do with the day to day operations of your business? What types of investing in the company infrastructure do you need to do before the end of the year? These are some of the questions business owners have to ask themselves as they take stock of their current financial situation and plan for the push to the end of the year. Now is the time to take a look at what your support system looks like and what resources you have at your disposal to insure your finances are as strong as possible.

It happens to nearly every one of us. When summer arrives and the kids are out of school, life outside of the business becomes more prevalent, if not more important. Family vacations become the priority. Spending more time with your children when they have the free time becomes more important. The work/life balance you strive for has become skewed. Then, you wake up one morning and find that the business goals you set for 2012 are still a long way off. Your desk is a mess and you have no idea where information is. Your thoughts are scattered and you are having trouble identifying how to get back on track. Take heart! This is not a unique situation. You are still in the fight. You just need to get back on track.