Seting Expectations TheHealthyWayto EmployeEngagement SOARTOSUCCESS 4Solutionsfor De-StresingYour BusinesStartingNow What’sGoten UnderYourSkin? April2022 Magazine
PAT ALTVATER Get Back To The Fun. Elite Experts Network AFP Marketing PatAltvater.com Think back to when you were a kid - to the things that got you really jazzed and excited. For me, it was learning and playing new games, water fun like sailing, skiing and swimming, reading, and hiking in nature. What about you? How many times recently have you said, “I’d love to ___ BUT I can’t because I’m too busy.” I say that way too often. The truth is we’re really saying that we haven’t made that activity enough of a priority in our life. Or that we feel guilty about having fun. Could that be it? If you are like me and most other entrepreneurs, work is our default setting unless we have something else scheduled. I’ve realized that I have been settling for enjoying life only when I can squeeze it in between all my business busyness. All work and no fun, hasn’t energized me. My Mom recently died, at the ripe at of 95, and as I was writing her obituary, I realized how many fun activities she enjoyed during her life. So I’ve decided that starting NOW, I am going to put fun activities and adventures to look forward to on my calendar and protect them like I would any other appointment. As Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz say in their book The Power of Full Engagement, “The richer and deeper the source of emotional recovery, the more we refill our reserves and the more resilient we become.” One important way emotional recovery comes is from having fun! So when you’re feeling burned out or when you’re trying to break free of the all work and no play syndrome, schedule some fun in your life. Let me know how it’s going for you. Wishing you the BEST life has to offer. I hope that the articles in this month’s issue will inspire and motivate you. Don’t forget to take advantage of the links to connect further with our contributors.
Personal Growth Strategies SOAR to SUCCESS CONTENTS Magazine 04. 10. 18. 16. 14. 12. 30. 28. 32. 34. 36. 21. 27. 22. 24. 38. 40. Core Business Strategies Business Acceleration Strategies The 3 Things You Need to Know to Catch a Big One! By Jack Klemeyer Be Intentional About Your Culture By Megan Patton A Cupp of Wisdom: Women Building a Legacy Through Real Estate Investing By Karen Cupp How we Sell is More Important Than What We Sell Today By Mark Allen Roberts Recognizing Opportunities By Janet Kendall White Setting Expectations By Diane Helbig Spring Into Your Communications Plan By Melanie Rembrandt 4 Solutions for De-Stressing Your Business Starting Right Now By Holly Kile Are MSPs Missing Out Not Offering Cloud? By Jeanne DeWitt The Healthy Way to Employee Engagement By Lisa Ryan Book Recommendation Reinvention Uncensored What’s Gotten Under Your Skin? By Pat Bennett Stay Positive and Focused By Fred Altvater Our Favorite Videos Our Contributors Cover Feature: Alicia Forest Helps Online Businesses Soar to Success
Alicia Forest Helps Online Businesses Soar to Success
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Feature Article For over 21 years, Alicia Forest has taught service-based entrepreneurs how to create profitable online businesses in their spare time. Alicia decided to learn about working from home and online marketing when she and her husband were considering starting a family. Even though she earned her MBA, she didn’t want to work for someone else, but she still wanted to make her own money and wanted to be home to raise their children. Alicia has always had a passion for business. In fact, she started with penny carnivals in her front yard at the age of 8. By the time she was a sixth grader, she was selling handmade ribbon braided barrettes for $2 per pair to the other girls in her class, and she continued with other business ventures as a teenager and throughout her twenties. Even when she had a nine to five job working for someone else, she continued to pursue individual business opportunities, like resume writing and editing manuscripts for the selfpublishing arm of Barnes & Noble. “As entrepreneurs, we work hard and we’re passionate about what we do. We put a lot of time and energy into our businesses. But I neverwanted to do that at the expense of living my life. We all have that intention, but sometimes we get busy or bogged down because we’re trying to figure out how to make it all work, and living our life gets pushed aside.” One key strategy that works for Alicia is having a wall-sized calendar that she plans out her work schedule so that she can have the summer months free to spend with her family. Her parents always enjoyed the summer months with family at the lake and she has continued that tradition with her own family. “I’m running my business, it’s not running me. We started spending summers at the lake as a family when my daughter was born, and this year will be our 17th summer.”
In 2014, Alicia published, “6 Simple Steps to 6 Figures for the Solo Service Professional: How to Create Your Lifestyle Business Based on Your Passion for Serving Others.” It is a step-by-step guide about building a successful service business based on real-world proven methods that have helped thousands of solo professionals live the life they desire. It contains proven concepts and basic fundamentals that will help any businessperson build a solid platform to make their new endeavor profitable, as quickly as possible. “It’s important to know your message, your market, audience and core content. What is the one thing that you can teach people to help them move forward? That is the basis of everything I have created, including my book, speaking engagements and all of my coaching and training programs.” One of the things that Alicia discovered early in her marketing efforts was that she had to become more specific and narrow her target market in order to grow her fledgling coaching business. As everyone that has tried to start a business knows, identifying your specific target market it key to becoming a success.
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Feature Article Alicia originally began reaching out to stay-athome moms who wanted to earn some income from home with their own online business, but she was not able to gain any traction or sales. Even though that seemed to be a specific target, she learned that she needed to clarify what she was teaching and to whom she was teaching it to. Once she focused on servicebased women entrepreneurs who were just getting started with building their online business, her business took off. “By getting slightly more specific and understanding my best audience, all of my marketing, content writing and sales became easier. Step one in starting your own business is finding your unique message and niche.” Once a specific market is identified, the next step is determining what problem is solved by your business for that target market. Becoming very clear on how your product or service will make life better or easier for a potential client is important. Once that clarity is achieved and the solution is evident, your product can be created, packaged and sold. Online Business Breakthrough Alicia’s flagship program is the “Online Business Breakthrough.” Over the years technology has seen tremendous change, so it’s important to Alicia to review and update her program as technology and marketing strategies shift. Doing so has allowedher to streamline andupdateher online offerings to make them even more responsive to current business trends and practices. “I’ve been able to consolidate the 21 steps of my core content down to 15 because of technological evolution and the ease of marketing today. It’s still the same core content, but it has been updated to reflect what’s current right now.” Now at the age of 52, Alicia is planning ahead for early retirement with her husband
while working on the second edition of her book, as well as focusing on Online Business Breakthrough becoming known as the #1 affordable and accessible online training program for new and emerging service-based business owners who want to create a highly profitable business online in less than part-time hours. “I love being at the point of only focusing on my core content now. I’m not trying to market a new program or create something new. I just keep making the Online Business Breakthrough better and better. I’m all in on this core content and helping entrepreneurs with creating and growing their own successful online business.” With two children ages 14 and 17, they are beginning to look at colleges, making travel plans before the kids are off on their own, and of course they are looking forward to more summers at the lake, where they enjoy watersports, board games and being in nature – and together. Alicia Forest has created a successful business online and can help others build a profitable business endeavor as well. We enjoyed our interview with Alicia. You can listen to it on iTunes or watch on YouTube. To learn more, or contact Alicia visit her website: https://aliciaforest.com/
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Feature Article 3 Keys to Soar to Success When Soar to Success asked Alicia what three personality traits she found in most successful people, she said: 2 3 1 Mentor: “I have always had someone to help me work through difficult times or to help solve problems. A successful person isn’t afraid to ask for help or advice and then accept it.” Peer Support: “It can be really hard for people to understand what you are trying to do with an online business. It’s a good thing to have people who understand and can help with things like technology, feedback, review a new business strategy or just offer support.” Tenacity: “There are going to be ups and downs, highs and lows. A successful businessperson understands the rigors of the business world and has the tenacity to weather the storms.”
T h e 3 T h i n g s You Need to Know to Catch a Big One! By Jack Klemeyer This is not your typical fishing story. This particular story is about fishing for a whale and not the kind that lives in the sea. A whale is the type of client that can make a significant and positive impact to your business and on your bottom line. The good news is that it might be easier than you think to catch awhale andhere are three strategies you need to know to get yourself, and your business a whale. clear picture of just what a whale is for you and your business. Who, specifically, is that type of client that will make the significant positive impact on your business’s bottom line and more profit in your pocket? As you define your whale think of all the things that type of person/company would be like. Create a target customer intelligence report, a picture of your whale: How she thinks, where she hangs out, who 1.) You can fish in a small pond. This means you would be using a direct hit list to search them out individually. 2.) You can use a wide net. In this strategy you look for them where they hang out. I like to say “where they nest.” 3.) You can use a wide net and attract them to your bait. This is lead generation. Before you cast off, you first need to define and get a really
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies she associates with and why, what vocabulary she uses. In more formal terms, demographics, psychographics, emotional background, current state of mind (her opinions), etc. I hear you saying, “You’ve got to be kidding, all this work?” My answer is an emphatic, “YES!” Best-selling author and speaker John Maxwell says, “Everything worthwhile is up hill and too many times we expect uphill results from downhill effort.” If you want to catch a whale for you and your business, you cannot just take off in a rowboat with a jar of tartar sauce and expect one to just jump in your boat. It is work. I learned this from Dan Kennedy. Dan is known for his exceptional copywriting. His copywriting is so effective that his sales letters consistently attract and land whales for his clients. He says the key to writing those successful letters is to get in the target customer’s head and see what he sees, hear what he hears and feel like he feels. One simple place to start is with the acronym FORD – From/Family, Occupation, Recreation and Dreams. • Where are you from? • What do you do for a living? • When you’re not working what do you like to spend your time doing? • What is something you’d like to do if money was no object? Remember, too, that whales do not want to know how to do what you sell; they want to understand it and know for certain that you knowhow to do it or how it will specifically benefit them. Select the strategy that you think would work best for you, your type of business and the whale you are looking to land. Then, get to work! Implement it and refine it as you go along to get you closer to catching your whale.
Problem solving is a critical skill and role for leaders and entrepreneurs. Opportunities generally show up initially as problems. They are opportunities in disguise. Seeing problems as opportunities causes us to bemore openminded and flexible about solutions. Leaders see around, under and over problems beyond the obvious. Recognizing Opportunities By Janet Kendall White
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies As a leader, when you encounter a problem, do you tend to think about possible solutions, or do you tend to focus only on the problem? If you focus on the problem, how long do you focus on the problem before you focus on the solution? The secret to successful leading and entrepreneurship lies in the ability to identify and solve problems regardless of what you have to work with or where you start. Problem solvers can observe, judge, and act quickly when difficulties arise. They can adapt with agility. The process of solving problems includes the following: • Identify the problem • Brainstorm solutions • Test your assumptions • Adapt your solutions • Implementation The above requires skills such as active listening, analysis, research, communication, creativity, and decision-making, all of which are skills you can develop. I encourage you to pay attention as you face situations, problems and see how long it takes you to move to solutions in your mind. Work on closing that gap fromwherever you start. Another needed skill for leaders is not just to solve problems alone but also to facilitate groups of people to solve complex problems. To facilitate group problem solving requires not only the skills identified above but a clear process and framework for engaging others, doing research, collecting data, determining root causes, and then developing solutions. It is both an art and a science because you are engaging others, dealing with interpersonal communication and teamwork, and ideally following a structured process all at the same time. Sounds difficult but is also something that you can learn. It requires some training in facilitation, learning a specific process that you choose to use from the many out there, and practice. Like many other things, you have to be bad before you are good. All of these skills are things you can practice and get good at. Most of the skills we develop as leaders start with our mindsets. Understanding what our beliefs and our assumptions are allows us to either hang on to them or break them down where needed and build up different ones. Recognizing opportunities is no different. What are the opportunities that are right in front of you that you haven’t seen because you aren’t looking? Which of those opportunities could lead to monetization for your business or for the company you work for? Could make a difference in yours or others lives? To learn more about our group problem solving process and facilitation training reach out to me at janet@berkshiregroupinc.com What are the opportunities that are right in front of you that you haven’t seen because you aren’t looking?
I recently delivered a keynote for an association for C-suite leaders. Approximately 160 CEOs, CFOs, and other senior leaders in attendance focused on strategically adapting to the postpandemic new normal. I prefer interactive presentations to create engagement while improving retention when I speak at events. I opened the session with a question: Howmany leaders in attendance feel, with 100% certainty, their sales teams have the right sales structure, process, systems, beliefs, and skills to deliver this years’ sales plan? Notonearmwas raised, so I changedthequestion. How many leaders feel with 75% certainty their sales teams have the sales effectiveness todeliver this years’ sales plan? This time about ten arms were raised. How many leaders feel with 50% certainty their sales teams have the sales effectiveness todeliver this years’ sales plan? By Mark Roberts How we Sell is More Important Than What We Sell Today Now about half the room has their arms raised. We should not be surprised by this lack of sales effectiveness confidence. When CSO Insights surveyed sales leaders, they found that only 16% felt their sales teams had the right sales skills to deliver their sales plans effectively. Recognizing less than 50% of most sales teams have not received any formal sales skills training, we often identify specific sales skills gaps when we assess the sales teams’ current state of sales effectiveness. Common skills gapswe see in sales teams include: Discovery and qualifying skills Prospecting skills Consultative Selling Value Selling Closing Negotiations Decision-makers have had enough of pushy sales reps trying to hit their quotas.
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies What do our buyers want and need today? They want business consultants masquerading as salespeople. Buyers want salespeople who have industry insights and share things not found on their websites. Buyers want and need sales reps to evolve into trusted advisors. What skills do top-performing trusted advisor salespeople have in common? Value Selling Skills Comfort talking about money The need to be respected Business acumen Do you have the right people in the right rolewith the right skills for today? Over 60% of CEOs surveyed shared they have adjusted their sales structure post-pandemic. When we assess the sales skills, beliefs, motivations, systems, and processes today, we can determine if our sales teams need training and coaching. If you want to raise your hand high with 100% confidence that your sales team will deliver the sales plan you promised your shareholders. We suggest the following. 1. Assess sales skills by role 2. Capture the voice of your customers 3. Invest in sales skills training and coaching to close any skills gaps you discover If your team wants to learn more about sales effectiveness, please reach out, and I would be happy to help you.
There is nothing stronger than when women come together to achieve goals. As leaders in our families we seek to build a legacy for our children by imparting strong work ethics and concrete values. Our lessons are amplified throughour involvementwithinour community. One of our superpowers is that we teach our children daily while we work, maintain households, and raise families. Everything becomes a lesson we hope will build strong and confident adults. They watch as we continue to struggle to refine our own purpose while teaching work ethic, resilience, relationship, and cooperation. Building a legacy through real estate investing provides a great opportunity to demonstrate these time-tested superpowers to our children, especially our daughters. Until now I had a resistance to being involved in a “women only organization” because as a businesswoman I felt that it meant that I could not hold my own in the business world. That was until I had the opportunity to meet some dynamic women who had dedicated their lives to empowering women to build financial freedom through real estate investing. It was at a virtual event called The Real Estate Invest Her Summit where I experienced the drive and dedication of three women (Liz Faircloth, Andresa Guidelli and Ashley By Karen Cupp A Cupp of Wisdom Women Building Legacy through Real Estate Investing
Wilson) as they strived to build a “well of encouragement and training” so that women could grow themselves and still embrace the wonderful gift of being a momma. Three things that I took away from this experience: The first nugget is that real estate investing, being relational, allows women to practice their natural talents. They have special skills to engage with others to secure what they need, whether it is contractors to do the work or investors to contribute time, talent, or money. Theyhaveauniqueability topresent everything as an opportunitywhich inspires others towant to help. Secondly, women exhibit a special grace to manage the many aspects of leading real estate projects. Their excellent time management SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies skills require them to develop systems and processes so that deals keep moving forward to a successful completion. Thirdly, women are not too proud to ask for help where needed. Their natural ability to connect with others opens doors for them to achieve their goals while building trustworthy relationships. For decades we have been challenged to neutralize our persona in the workplace to get ahead. What if instead we embraced the natural talents, with which we are blessed. As we come together to build amazing legacies for ourselves and our children, we can claim our gifts. I applaud the ladies of Real Estate Invest Her community for coming together to change the investment world, one investment at a time.
Company culture serves as the background for everything the company does. It incorporates philosophies around how the company treats its people, its customers and vendors and how they are perceived both in the marketplace and as an employer. Culture drives conversations around values, implementation of policies, development and growth of employees and how to both on-board and offboard individuals. In short, the culture will define how people behave within the company. Often, a company culture has evolved into something that isn’t really aligned with the overall values and strategic direction of a company. Culture can actually work against the achievement of strategic objectives if it is not aligned properly. One company client with whom I worked was frustrated. The owners’ wanted a flexible workforce, but the employees were timeclock driven, though all were salaried employees. In this company, everyone arrived at exactly 8am, at 12:00 everyone would get up and go to lunch andreturn to theirdesksat exactly1pm. At5pm, there was a steady stream of people walking out the door. No matter how much work was piling up, the employees were committed to an 8-hour day, and not a minute more. This company had at one time in their past established expectations around the workday that encouraged this compliance with an exact number of hours. The new owners wanted a workforce that would focus on job completion within customer deadlines. They By Megan Patton Be Intentional About Your Culture
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies were willing to offer flex time, comp time and other arrangements that would allow their individuals to focus on getting the work done, and not minding the clock. If they stayed late one night, they could come in later the next day. Changing this culture took a significant amount of effort and conversation. Communicating to employees the fact that company values focused on serving the customer and meeting deadlines meant that some days, work would go late. However, when client projects were completed on time, employees could come later or leave earlier to compensate for the times they stayed late. It was fairly difficult to change the mentality of the employees, as the timeclock culture was so prevalent and had been for decades. It took some incentives, a lot of encouragement and level of trust-building in order for the changes to gradually be made. Owners were up front with employees on the impact that ontime delivery had on their ability to be paid on time, which had a positive impact on company cash-flow, resulting in improvements for the employees. Part of the solution had been an increased level of transparency on the part of the owners: sharing their vision and goals with employees and drawing a straight line from employee contributions to company success to employee rewards. Luckily, this company was able to shift their culture successfully. In fact, currently, approximately80%oftheemployeesareremote workers, something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. The key to this culture shift was the willingness of the owners to increase transparency, share expectations, and wildly increase communication. It worked!
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Book Recommendation People Buy You: The Real Secret To What Matters Most in Business By Jeb Blount Your ability to build lasting business relationships that allow you to close more deals, retain clients, increase your income, and advance your small business, depends on your skills for getting other people to like you, trust you, and BUY YOU. ,I \RX KDYH GLIĆFXOW\ VHOOLQJ \RXU products/services, this book offers a straight-forward, actionable formula for creating instant connections with prospects and customers, People Buy You will enable you to achieve a whole new level of success in your EXVLQHVV <RXèOO GLVFRYHU • Three relationship myths that are holding you back • Five levers thatopenthedoor tostronger relationships that quickly increase sales, improve retention, and increase SURĆWV • The real secret to making instant emotional connections that eliminate objections and move buyers to reveal their real problems and needs • How to anchor your business relationships and create loyal customers who will never leave you for a competitor • How to build your personal brand to improve your professional presence and stand-out in the marketplace , HQFRXUDJH \RX WR UHDG WKLV ERRN VR \RX FDQ evaluate your relationship tactics, customize a strategy that works for your business, and create the sales success of your dreams in 2020. By Pat Altvater $ERXW WKH $XWKRU -(% %/2817 LV &(2 DW 6DOHV *UDY\ ,QF DQG RQH RI WKH PRVW VRXJKW DIWHU and transformative speakers in the world today. He is a sales acceleration specialist who helps sales organizations and entrepreneurs reach peak performance—fast—through enhanced emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills in sales, leadership, customer experience, channel management, and strategic account management. -HE KDV EHHQ UHFRJQL]HG DV RQH RI WKH 7RS 0RVW ,QćXHQWLDO /HDGHUV LQ 6DOHV DQG 0DUNHWLQJ E\ 7RS 6DOHV 0DJD]LQH DQG RQH RI WKH :RUOGèV 7RS 6RFLDO 6HOOLQJ ,QćXHQFHUV E\ )RUEHV He is the bestselling author of numerous books, including Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, Fanatical Military Recruiting, People Follow You, and People Buy You.
What’s Gotten Under Your Skin? By Pat Bennett I’m not talking about dishes in the sink, socks left on the floor, or someone forgetting to take the dog out and he has an accident. Yes, these are irritations. The expression, getting under your skin, no doubt alludes to burrowing or stinging insects that cause itching or similar skin irritations. [A definition I found from the late 1800s]. Ouch! However, when an individual triggers a genuine uncontrolled physical reaction in you, and not in a good way, it can have lasting effects. Worse, the feeling persists, and the negativity infiltrates your body like some kind of virus and completely ruins your day. To allow something to get under your skin negatively affects us physically as well as mentally. A commentmade intentionallyoreven in jest, radiatesnegativeenergy. Youmight recognize thephysical reactions: heart pounding, heightened energy, difficulty thinking clearly or tensing of muscles.
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies Years ago, I attended a breakout session on this very topic during an annual sales conference. The presenter, a psychologist, stated that when we are truly self-aware, we are able to recognize in the moment that something has triggered an emotion and we are able to step back and choose how to respond. Your first impulse may be to strike back verbally because our brain perceives what was said to be an attack or threat. When I worked in retail banking, it wasn’t unusual for me to work on Saturdays. This was the worst day of my week because customers came in with the most challenging problems. I quickly learned that if I was going to survive working there so I could get promoted and move on, it required me to replace any negativity (rude comments, raised voices, impatience) with a place of calm self-awareness, rather than emotional reaction. It also helped to be compassionate, even when the customers weren’t kind. I often put myself in the shoes of the customer so I could get to the root of the actual issue. More times than not, it wasn’t the financial transaction that triggered bad behavior. If they raised their voice, I’d lower mine requiring them to lean in to listen. By applying self-awareness in the heat of the moment resulted in responding thoughtfully rather than overreacting. It was a brilliant strategy that helped get me promoted. Here are a few tips to help avoid people getting under your skin: • Acknowledge or at least become more aware of what your hair triggers are. • Take a deep breath, in fact, take two deep breaths before your respond or react. • Try to distance yourself, if possible, from the agitation. • Write down what got under your skin and the behavior exhibited. • Is there anything that can be learned to bring about new possibilities and better relationship dynamics? • Put yourself in the other persons shoes, at least for a moment. The way you treat other people is how they will most often treat you too in the long run.
Stay Positive and Focused By Fred Altvater One of the greatest golfers of all time, Jack Nicklaus, won 18 major championships, but did you know, he finished runner-up 19 times. Why did Nicklaus fare so much better than other golfers in major championships? He was a master at preparation and stuck to the basic principles of his golf swing that he learned under the tutelage of Jack Grout when he was a teenager at Scioto Country Club. But more than that, Nicklaus always maintained a positive attitude about the course, the conditions and his competition. When he heard players complaining about the difficulty, or condition of the golf course early in the week, he knew he could eliminate that player as a serious contender. Nicklaus learned at a young age not to let outside distractions, or elements you cannot control affect your performance. At the elite level, whether in golf, or your work, putting focus on the task and adhering to the plan must be the main goal every day. When Nicklaus heard a fellow competitor complain about something, it made him more focused on his plan of attack for the week. Recently, we have witnessed one of the most disruptive environments to our business
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies economy in history. The COVID-19 virus has forced many businesses to shorten hours or even close. Even now, two years later we are experiencing the effects of supply chain disruption and the great resignation. To complicate matters, the Russians are causing havoc that will affect our economy as well. Anguish, complaints and blame are still heard every day. Are you joining in the choir, or are you revising your business plan, and figuring out how to stay relevant to your clients and customers? Are you staying in contact with your existing and former clients? Are you considering new ways of doing business or streamlining old procedures? Are you updating your client lists and learning new methods of communication? While your competitors are complaining about the government,thecoronavirus, and the Russians, be like the Golden Bear, stay focused and maintain a positive attitude. If you do, you’ll be much better off, in the days to come. PS – hope you take a second to enter to win the twosome at Firestone Country Club that we at the Ohio Golf Journal are sponsoring. Details are below.
The pandemic affected many businesses, those in resort towns especially, so I thought it would be interesting to profile some businesses that survived, reinvented, and came out even stronger. In Cadillac, Michigan, we found a standout business, with two names –Willow Market and Primos BBQ. Watch my interview with Jason Towers to hear the story of why his business has two names. There are several things you can learn from Jason’s reinvention story by watching this video: 1. Start your business because the public wants what you’ve got. He and his partner started Primos BBQ with a food truck because of public demand for their BBQ, that they started out just making for their families. 2. When you realize things aren’t ideal, shift right away. They purchased a party store and kept the truck in front of it, but soon realized that wasn’t a perfect situation so when someone offered them the opportunity to sell the building, they jumped. 3. Always be thinking of how to help others and stay relevant when the environment changes. They closed on another business (Willow Market) a month before the Covid lockdown, but managed to figure out what the public, as well as their fellow business owners needed so they could stay in business and be open during that time. 4. Continually innovate. They changed up some of the product offerings in the Willow Market and in 2022 opened an event venue, in The Willow’s former greenhouse space. One thing I especially enjoyed about my interview with Jason was how they used their financials to make decisions and didn’t just jump on ideas because of emotions. When you are in Cadillac, MI you need to stop by WillowMarket/Primos BBQ. SOAR TO SUCCESS / Reinvention Uncensored Pat Profiles: Jason Towers Resort Town Standouts Reinvention Uncensored 916 S. Mitchell St, Cadillac, MI 49601 231-468-2682 https://willowmarket.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ WillowMarketMI/ https://www.facebook.com/ PrimosBBQ
Woot! You’ve made it through winter’s cold temperatures, groundhogs giving their two cents, and more. Now, you just need to prep your umbrella for the April showers that lead to May flowers! Yes! Spring is finally here, and that means warmer temperatures and outdoor adventures are on the way. But are your business communications in place for the months ahead so that you can actually enjoy that much-needed summer vacation? If you plan now, you’ll be able to get away from your desk and truly get the rest and relaxation you so deserve. So where do you begin? Here is a quick, Spring Starter Communication Checklist: • Set communication goals. What do you want to accomplish in the months ahead? Write down all of your goals and the tactics necessary for each. For example, if you want to get more media mentions, research the reporters you need to contact, learn about the information they want and add it to a personal, media database. If you want to improve sales, think about what your targetmarket reallywants and develop unique products and services, special coupons, giveaways, events, and more with this in mind. By Melanie Rembrandt Spring Into Your Communications Plan (Psst. Summer will be here before you know it!)
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies Then, create a spreadsheet (Editorial Calendar) with all of the messaging you plan to send out via email, direct mail, social media, online, and more. • Prepare your team. Once you know what you want to accomplish and communicate to your audience, get some help. Do you need a publicist to help you pitch the media, an SEO copywriter to write all of your content, a social media manager to handle your posts on various sites, an administrative professional to organize tasks, or someone else? Find and hire your team members now. Remember, you can’t do everything, and there are experts available for various budgets. • Review the plan. With the people, strategies and tactics in place, review expectations, timelines and responsibilities, and ensure everyone is ready for success. Then… • Initiate action. Inspire your teammembers to go above and beyond their daily tasks to reach their individual goals. Offer recognition when small wins happen and avoid micro-managing to develop a positive work-environment where everyone thrives. • Notice what’s going on. As things progress, evaluate what’s working and what isn’t. Test different versions of your content, review analytics and listen to your team members’ concerns. Then, make the appropriate changes to reach your goals faster. Rinse and repeat. • Go have fun! Phew! Now, have a smooth communications plan in place that allows you to leave the office and actually take a break! Warmer, sunnier days are on the way. It’s time to relax and have some fun. What will you do in the months ahead with your time off?
Setting Expectations The other day, I saw a post on Twitter from a business owner who was frustrated and upset because a client emailed him at 4:30 in the afternoon one day and then left a voicemail message early the next morning seeking a response. The owner was feeling frustrated that he wasn’t given any time to respond. He felt like he was really being pushed. He was wondering if he was right to be annoyed. You have to set expectations for your customers early and often.When you get a newclient there’s By Diane Helbig real value in learning about them. Try to discover how they need to receive information. We are aware of what’s going on so we assume everyone is in the know. However, silence to a customer equals no activity, no progress. There are a couple of things that we can do to help ourselves and help our clients. The first one is to set up a communication structure so that it is part of the policy and process for communicating progress or lack of it, aswell aswhatwe’redoingabout it. This shouldbe
consistent and worked into the implementation plan. While they are welcome to reach out at any time that doesn’t mean we will be responding at any time. Let them know when they can expect to hear back from you. They’re going to reach out when they have a question, when they have information, or when something changes. That could be any time of the day, night, or weekend. Ensure they understand your response policy. For example, we could have an auto responder on our email that lets them know we received their email and will be responding within x timeframe. The key is to follow through. If you say you are going to respond within a certain timeframe you must do that. You never want a customer to feel like they have to hunt you down to gain information. It creates mistrust and signals that SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies you might not be giving them the level of service, quality, or care they expect. Take a look inward and ask, have you set expectations early and often? Are you reminding your customers of those expectations when it’s necessary to do so? Are you being responsive and communicative? Are you ahead of the game in situations where you should be? It’s important that the relationshipyouhavewithyour customer is one where there’s an understanding of how things are going to go and then make sure things go that way. You don’t want your customers leaving because they feel like you’re not being responsive or attentive when there’s an easy way to just implement a process that guarantees you are going to keep them posted and respond to them effectively. ©2022 Helbig Enterprises
What if you could save an hour a day starting tomorrow? That’s 5 hours per week, or more than a half-day off. Imagine closing up shop at 11am every Friday without worrying about all the stuff that didn’t get done. By Holly Kile Solutions for De-Stressing Your Business Starting Right N w 4
You can do that, when you put these 4 solutions in place, and you can do it right now. Proper project management. If you’re still managing your team with email and Skype messages, stop it. Things get lost, messages are forgotten (or never received) and balls are dropped. Not tomention all the time you spend sifting through your endless list of emails for that one piece of information you need. There are several great project management systems to consider. You can use Asana, Trello, or Basecamp to keep projects organized andeveryoneontrack. You’ll have one place to look for tasks that are still outstanding and be able to tell at a glance what needs your immediate attention. Proper documentation. Do you find yourself reinventing the wheel every time you have to record a podcast or upload a video to your blog? Take 5 minutes and document the steps, then next time you have to do it (or better yet, when you hand it off to aVA) you’ll be able to quicklywork out what needs to happen. There will be fewer mistakes, and the work will get done faster. Create a business organization chart. If you have multiple people on your team, this is SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies critical. Rather than everyone coming to you for questions—or worse, asking the wrong person and getting the wrong answer—take the time to create an organization chart. Add it to your operations manual and make sure your team knows where it is and what it’s for. Now, rather than your Skype chat, email or text messages blowing up with questions all day long, you’ll have time for the more important tasks. Use time blocking. Get out your calendar and start making appointments with yourself. Decide when you’ll check email and when you’ll work on client projects, then stick to the schedule. These selfimposed deadlines will not only force you to get the work done, but they’ll help keep you focused, so rather than wasting time on Facebook, you’ll be working on your business. All of these systems can be set up in an afternoon—at least initially. But the time they save you when you use them consistently is phenomenal. An hour a day is just the beginning, but you have to take action. You have to put in the work first, before you can earn the rewards, but the benefits are sweet. In the end, you’ll wonder how you ever managed before you did these four things to improve your business. You have to put in the work first, before you can earn the rewards, but the benefits are sweet.
Are MSPs Missing Out Not Offering Cloud? Is your MSP Business missing out if you aren’t offering cloud? Here is the importance of providing the option. There’s no doubt that since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud computing has had a huge jump forward in terms of popularity and technology. But how will offering cloud impact your MSP’s growth and success? Here’s a quick look at some of the top reasons why managed service providers must be offering cloud to their customers: Why you’re missing out if you aren’t offering cloud • Your customers want it. When everyone was suddenly working from home during By Jeanne DeWitt the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses suddenly realized that they had a problem. It would be prohibitively expensive to add new licenses to install software onto their employees’ home computers. For that reason, cloud solutions, based on accounts rather than installed systems, became a strong trend. • It provides cost savings to your customers. Because they can go month by month in many cases, the customer can see significant savings over a high up-front expense for software that may not work effectively for their situation. This allows you to onboard more new customers that would be priced out of higher-priced options and lead
them into using your other services as well, improving your profitability. • It keeps the customer working with you. Though some of your customers may have started using cloud services during the pandemic, managing cloud services may be onerous to their IT staff. When you offer to handle the management of their cloud services, you offer a benefit to the client that keeps themworking with you. • Superior security. How many times have you been called in for expensive on-site consultations just to realize that the customer didn’t update their software, had holes in their security system, or similar issues?When youoffermanaged cloud services, you control much of the security, limiting these types of calls and keeping customers happy. • Opportunity for additional work. Once your customers have begun working with SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies cloud services, you can begin to upsell them on related products and services. As an example, you could create a workflow that reduces inputs from human sources, improving their digital transformation process and reducing the amount of human labor needed to get the job done on a daily basis. This both improves your revenue and gives the customer an advantage over the competition. As you can see, offering cloud to your clients offers a huge benefit over not offering it. By adding cloud services to your MSP, you c an ensure that you’ll be able to retain customers who want the service, gain customers looking for MSPs who do offer it, and enjoy the benefits of reduced localized infrastructure maintenance at your client’s business. Why not take the time to investigate what’s involved in adding cloud services to your MSPs offerings? Give us a call.
Sometimes in business, we focus somuch on the health of our company that we overlook the health of our employee and perhaps even ourselves. With ever-increasing workloads that are taking a toll on employees’ health by exhausting them and interrupting their sleep cycles, your staff is at an increased risk for developing health challenges. Finding ways to bring more wellness into your workplace culture is essential to upleveling your engagement levels. The wellness industry is a $4.2 trillion dollar market and growing. Not only are employees interested in healthy habits and lifestyle choices, but they are also looking for employers that understand their need for better physical and mental health. When you provide opportunities for better health, your company will benefit from increased employee wellness and a potential decrease in insurance premiums. By Lisa Ryan The Healthy Way to Employee Engagement
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies Herearethreeways to incorporatemorewellness into your workday. Survey your employees. Before you create a program that you THINK will work for everyone, ask your employees for their ideas and suggestions. They are the ones that you want the buy-in from and asking them to share what they want will help increase participation rates. Surveys are a crucial first step in the process that helps ensure your wellness programs are tailored to your team, are fun and engaging, and are optimized to provide long term value, both for employees and your business. Offer incentives. Motivate your employees by offering prizes such as a Fitbit, smartwatch, PTO, gift cards and more. Participation generally goes up when there are incentives or prizes. It’s interesting to note that companies that don’t use incentives report lower participation rates—a median of just 20 percent. Employers with comprehensive incentive programs reported the highest participation rate, at 59 percent. Promote health. Provide healthy snacks in the breakroom. Encourage standup or walking meetings – preferably outdoors. Even the most sedentary jobs have room for some simple stretches or exercises. Encourage employees to do desk exercises like stretches throughout the day. If they want to go the extra mile, they can keep a resistance band or hand weights at their desk. Make it okay to talk about mental health and offer resources for employees who may want counseling but don’t know where to go to get it. Offer yoga and meditation classes. Keep a consistent message of wellness and you’ll encourage your employees to take part in the fun. When you pay attention to the health and wellness of your employees, the health and prosperity of your business is bound to increase!
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Our Contributors Author, entrepreneur, IT expert and speaker, Jeanne DeWitt has over 30 years of IT experience helping businesses navigate their way through the ever changing world of technology. Starting CPU, Inc. back in 1986, along with her partner David Hood, she has now become an international, goto-source for expert advice in the IT Industry including Cloud Services, Infrastructure Security and Support, Cybersecurity, VoIP Phone Technologies, Enterprise Resource Planning and Business Continuity Planning. Connect with Jeanne at her website, Hire An IT Expert as well as on Diane Helbig is a business and leadership advisor and trainer, author, award-winning speaker, and podcast host. As president of Helbig Enterprises, Diane helps businesses and organizations operate more constructively and profitably. Diane’s no nonsense, straightforward approach cuts through the noise and allows her clients and training participants opportunities to realistically and enthusiastically implement the plans they devise. Diane is the author of Succeed Without Selling, Lemonade Stand Selling, and Expert Insights. She is the host of the Accelerate Your Business Growth podcast. Diane is a member of the Newsweek Expert Forum and NSBA Leadership Council. Connect with Diane at Helbig Enterprises and on Watch Jeanne’s Video Series Watch Diane’s Video Series Watch Deb’s Video Series Jeanne DeWitt Diane Helbig Debra Reis is a nurse, teacher and author specializing in holistic health and supportive therapies. She is the director and an instructor for the Certification in Clinical Aromatherapy program for the Institute of Spiritual Healing & Aromatherapy and nationally known expert in the area of essential oils for cancer care. Deb is also a Nia Black Belt instructor with current research and recent publication in the area of Nia benefits for women with a breast cancer diagnosis. She is the founder of the Supportive Therapy Engagement Program (STEP) to assist organizations to implement and integrate supportive therapies into a patient treatment plan for better outcomes. Connect with Deb at DebraReis.com and on Debra Reis Janet Kendall White is founder and CEO of Berkshire Group, Inc., a WBE and WOSB certified, and award-winning organization for Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors™. For more than two decades Berkshire Group has helped organizations grow through strategic planning facilitation, leadership and culture development and process improvement. Janet is a soughtafter speaker and facilitator locally and nationally and has been featured in Entrepreneur, Fortune and Bloomberg Business Week. Connect with Janet at Berkshire Group, Inc. and on Janet Kendall White Stella Nsong is the state director of the Ohio Elder Care Planning Council and the creator and care designer of the unique program called Assisted Living At Home. With over two decades of experience as a registered nurse, she practices as a certified professional geriatric care manager, elder care consultant and a certified Delay The Disease instructor. Stella is a bestselling author, speaker, trainer and health care columnist. In 1990, she won the Gold Medal for practical nursing in Georgia. Connect with Stella at StellaNsong. com and on Stella Nsong Melanie Rembrandt is an award-winning publicist, content strategist and speaker who helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs have more time to thrive! If you want to boost sales, awareness and credibility fast with an experienced, Fractional PR Director and a unique combination of targeted, SEO copywriting and public relations, get more information at Rembrandt Communications, https:// www.rembrandtwrites.com and on Melanie Rembrandt Watch Stella’s Video Series Mark Roberts is a senior level sales and marketing leader with over 35 years’ experience driving profitable sales growth in market leading organizations. He is the founder and president of OTB Sales where he helps clients diagnose and improve sales effectiveness and hire and develop their sales talent to improve sales results. Mark is an author, public speaker, sales trainer, sales strategist and sales coach and writes the popular business development blog, www. nosmokeandmirrors.com, ranked #1 in fixing sales problems. Connect with Mark at OTB Solutions, LLC and on Watch Mark’s Video Series Mark Roberts
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