soartosucessmagazine.com SOARTOSUCCESS December2022 Magazine WhenThe YogurtHits TheFan TheKeysto Emotional Regulation TimeFor YourEasy Peasy PRPlan
PAT ALTVATER Intentional Marketing Planning Elite Experts Network AFP Marketing PatAltvater.com Are you exhausted just thinking about growing your business using the various marketing strategies available today? Do you find yourself jumping on the latest “hot” thing without analyzing how it fits with your culture and brand? Instead of being haphazard in your marketing efforts, make 2023 the year that you are strategic by creating an intentional marketing plan. An intentional marketing plan is an opportunity for you to envision your business. What do you want it to look like at the end of this year, next year, in 5 years. It’s intentional because it embraces your why and excitement for serving your ideal clients. Everything you do or say while executing your plan is intentional, strategic, and aligns with your success mindset. It outlines themarketing steps to effectively achieve the desired growth. Once an annual plan is created, it is broken down into 90-day increments for flexibility and accountability. Don’t be overwhelmed about the process of creating a marketing plan for your business – we can help. Our initial consultation will help you clarify your goals to evaluate the strategies that fit your budget, will achieve the desired results, and resonate with you. Once you know that, creating the plan is easy. Wishing you a prosperous 2023!
Personal Growth Strategies SOAR to SUCCESS CONTENTS Magazine 04. 10. 14. 18. 16. 12. 36. 34. 32. 30. 21. 29. 22. 24. 26. 38. 40. Core Business Strategies Business Acceleration Strategies What Does Positive Energy Have To Do With Leadership? By Janet Kendall White How Gamification Helps in Employee Retention By Lisa Ryan Performance Management That Motivates Employees By Megan Patton 3 Critical Sales Questions By Diane Helbig Could You Have a Pig In Your Pipeline? By Mark Allen Roberts Cash Management Tips for Small Businesses, Part 2 By Jim Fisher Thrive in 5: Five Steps for Writing Attainable Goals By Heather Wiegering Cloud Makes On-the-Go Work Easy For Your Clients By Jeanne DeWitt Time For Your Easy, Peasy PR Plan By Melanie Rembrant Book Recommendation Soar to Success With Speaking Podcast Systems Bring Your Strategies Alive By Karen Cupp When The Yogurt Hits The Fan By Jack Klemeyer The Keys to Emotional Regulation By Pat Bennett Our Favorite Videos Our Contributors Cover Feature: Christy Cook Drives Solutions for Her Clients to Navigate ESG
Christy Cook Drives Solutions for Her Clients to Navigate ESG One of the newest acronyms that seems to be popping up at every turn is ESG. Christy Cook helps female leaders in small and medium businesses navigate the complex world of ESG and compete in the 21st century. What is ESG? Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) is a structure to help investors evaluate a company’s exposure to risk under the pillars of ESG. Socially conscious investors use ESG as criteria for gauging the viability of a potential investment. Most often, ESG issues include board diversity or employee treatment, supply chain resilience, or carbon accounting. “People often use the word sustainability and ESG interchangeably, but they are quite different. One definition that really resonates with me is that ESG looks at how the world impacts a company, whereas sustainability focuses on how a company impacts the world” Christy began her sustainability work while at Emory University in Atlanta well before there was a course of study for ESG. Her employer asked her to represent them on a committee of department heads that was studying the field of sustainability. The purpose of this group was to create a recommendation about the strategic direction of sustainability for the university. “We spent a year researching and discussing all the various areas of sustainability. Who are the most “sustainable” universities in the world and why? What are the best diets in the world and how do those diets impact the people and planet? The multidisciplinary approach and immersion into these complex topics was the best education.” Christy took that career step that began at Emory University and scaled her solutions to 8,500 sites in North America for Sodexo the 19th largest employer in the world. A career
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Feature Article milestone included building the foundation that became the largest food waste prevention program in the world. Currently, Christy is the Chief Sustainability Officer for vranda, an ESG startup that helps companies track their ESG data for reporting and analysis. She is also the founder of InvestHER Strategies a company that guides female leaders from small to medium enterprises (SMEs) who work in sustainability, succeed. “The pressure is coming, and this is an opportunity for SMEs to excel because while they are likely already making an impact, their story is not being shared like the multinational global enterprises. Oftentimes, the companies are not aware of how much they are already doing, or how they benchmark in their industry.” American companies are lagging behind their peers in the European Union and the United Kingdom on ESG disclosure. SMEs often fail to prioritize ESG, because they categorize it as lower risk at their size and nothing could be further from the truth. In the global economy and with increased pressure of carbon accounting and climate risk, large multinational companies are required to report. This means SME’s in their supply chain could be greatly impacted. And soon. CEO’s are responding to the pressure they are feeling from customers, boards, and investors by hiring someone to address this for the company. In most cases, the CEO doesn’t have the knowledge to provide strategic Christy Cook moderating a panel on the future of work and the employee workplace experience at WORKTECH San Francisco conference
direction to the newly hired person, so they are left to figure things out on their own. This is where I come in. “The two biggest challenges I hear from clients is ‘Where do I start?’ and ‘What should I do first?’ The simple answer is you start where you are today.” The first step you should take to get started is to complete a Materiality Assessment. This will help you identify the largest areas of risk for your company which will guide your strategy and then set you on your way with the associated actions. Christy has two free resources on her website to help companies with this. ESG Components Here are some quick tips and insights to get you started. Carbon is the hottest Environmental topic right now. This is being discussed extensively because there are disclosure requirements in the EU and UK but it’s on the horizon through the SEC in the US. The Federal Government just recently released requirements for contractors. If you have a fleet, consider electric vehicles. Carbon can be complex so if you want to do something that might be easier think about recycling or composting. Social refers to the human side of your business and usually resides under the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) umbrella. Some examples include considerations of the impact on people from the products you source or sell to consumers and the treatment of your own employees. Some simple actions you can consider increasing your DEI performance include ensuring your job descriptions are free of bias or consider implementing a hiring board for employee interviews. “We have one client that is trying to lower employee turnover and we are helping them understand that through the lens of ESG. We have reviewed and updated hiring
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Feature Article practices and added some additional employee training. This leads to attracting more diverse and talented employees and reducing the costs of employee turnover. Althoughtheprogramisnewly implemented and we need more data, we have already seen a reduction in new hire turnover.” Governance is related to the inner workings of a business. The most basic level of ethical business practices is compliance with any laws related to your business. However, to ensure long-term and mutually beneficial relationships, companies strive to act with the highest professional standards. A common example of governance is the diversification of boards to ensure minority representation. Consumers are becoming interested in knowing more about the company with which they are interacting. Every business should think of this as a branding opportunity. They need to study their appeal from the consumer’s viewpoint, and what they might want. “I am the happiest when I am helping people. ESG is a buzzword and CEOs want to do something, so they hire new college graduates to their staff without a firm strategy, or even an understanding of what really needs to be done.” That is exactly why Christy started InvestHER Strategies. She offers her experience and mentorship to female sustainability leaders. Christy believes in sustainability and saving the environment so much that she even has a bio-diverse property. “We grow our own food as much as we can plus, I built a greenhouse from scratch using old windows to extend the growing season. We have been working to restore the land with native plants and are chemical free. Monarch Butterflies lay
3 Keys to Soar to Success When Soar to Success asked Christy what three personality traits she found in most successful people, she said: 2 1 3 Adaptability “I sometimes struggle with this. I like to have a to-do list. Do these things and move on. Sustainability and ESG are always evolving and changing. You must continually revisit your overall strategy and adapt it to current situations.” Curiosity “ESG is complicated, and it constantly requires you to learn more. The ability to ask questions and continue learning is important.” Grace “We can be hard on ourselves as humans, especially women leaders. I find that if we can give ourselves just a little grace, that it is helpful. It may take years, or even decades to see the results of a sustainability project, be kind to yourself and find humor. When talking about climate change and the ramifications for future societies it can become dark and overwhelming. Don’t forget to find joy and laugh. Give yourself a break and have grace for yourself.” their eggs on the milkweed and enjoy the blooms in our prairie to fuel up before their migration to Mexico. There is always more to do and learn from nature.” To help discover if Christy can be a resource for you, visit her website and review the free resources to get started now. Learn about the issues you should be working on now and then how to prioritize the actions. To learn more about Christy and her work visit www.investherstrategies.com or http://www. vranda.io. Visit YouTube or iTunes to listen to our podcast with Christy.
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What Does Positive Energy Have To Do With Leadership? By Janet Kendall White Recently when I presented to a client’s board, one of the members made a comment about my positive energy and how needed it was in the organization. That reminded me about how important energy and energymanagement are for a leader but not just any energy, positive energy. There is significant evidence that the leader determines whether a project, change effort, or organization will experience significant success. It is not the strategy, the plan, the processes
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies be fully engaged and fully engage others it requires us to nurture and take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Organizations with positive energy leaders thrive, the energy is palpable to others, and it attracts others that want to be a part of it. Leadership development is a broad topic and there is so much written on and about it. One of the best programs that I have ever taken and gotten certified in is the Corporate Athlete program because it is one of the few programs that focuses on all four aspects of the equation. There are many skills for us to develop as leaders for sure but then there are the 4 areas of our own energy to manage for us to be positively and fully engaged. Choosing an area that you know will have a positive impact on what you bring to the table if you improve is a place to start. Focus on that one area for 90 days, you will be surprised by the difference it makes. To learn more about leadership development or energy management, reach out to have a conversation at janet@berkshiregroupinc. com. or systems, or any other factor, it is the leader. Those things may be important but with a poor leader even if all those things are done well, an organization will not have the great success it could. One definition of energy is the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity. As corporate athletes, sustained energy and energy management are so important and so often overlooked. Full engagement is the sweet spot of human energy. As leaders, it is our role to first manage our own energy so that we have something to give, and then to bring that energy to the relationships with others that we work with and are around. That positive energy is contagious, it elevates, lightens a room, it causes people to want to perform better. I know you have experienced that sensation called “hangry” when you are past the point of needing food in your physical body. At that point are you fully engaged with those around you or is every thought on how to get food? We know it is the latter. When you are emotionally drained are you fully engaged? For us to Organizations with positive energy leaders thrive, the energy is palpable to others, and it attracts others that want to be a part of it.
“Far too many businesses are operating in a false sense of security as we approach an economic slowdown.” I recently shared this comment in a keynote address for an industry trade conference that resulted in several discussions after I left the stage . As we speak with business owners, we often hear things like…. We have created some strong sales momentum this year… Our sales are breaking records… We have such a big backlog even if the economy slows down, we will not see a decrease in revenues until next October… We do not need any sales training; we can’t keep up with orders today… What makes this economic slowdown unique is the supply chain constraints we experienced prior to the economic slowdown. Based upon our voice of customer research, we identified a current behavior in response to the supply chain issues: Order more than what Could you have a “Pig in your Pipeline? By Mark Allen Roberts
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies become 3000-piece orders, or worse the entire order is pushed out 3 months or canceled. If enough of your customers adjust their orders due to market slowdowns, you have a decrease in revenue and an increase in inventory tying up precious cash. How healthy is your sales pipeline? What impact would it have on your net income in February 2023 if your orders scheduled to ship dropped 30% chainto 50% or more? Could you have a Pig in your Pipeline Today? Teams that stay very close to their customer orders and demand will have time to adjust production and inventory. If you would like our help as an objective third party to audit your sales pipeline, please contact us. you need assuming your vendors will allocate products to you and hopefully ship what you really need. (After all you can always reduce the order or push the delivery date out.) This behavior becomes the norm, (has been the norm for some time) and no one has any problems if the demand continues to be greater than what we can supply. However, what happens if we see an economic slowdown and your clients start reducing orders in response to reduced demand? You have a Pig in your Pipeline! We are finding many sales pipelines are artificially inflated in response to previous product allocations and not actual demand. Our clients in the building and supply industry are just starting to feel a drop in demand now. When the economic slowdown hits your customers all the 10,000-piece orders you have
How Gamification Helps in Employee Retention By Lisa Ryan Withmore than half of employees open to looking at new opportunities, retention holds the top spot in today’s list of workforce challenges. It’s no longer about higher pay, a promotion or a change in career that is spurring employees to leave their jobs. According to the AchieversWorkforce Institute, 46% of survey respondents said they feel less connected to their company, 42% say that their company culture has decreased since the start of the pandemic and only 21% claim to be very engaged at work. Because today’s employees crave interaction and instant gratification, using gamification can refresh and reimagine your employee engagement and retention efforts. Here are three ways to put gamification to work for you.
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Business Acceleration Strategies guess whose fact he or she read. After he or she guesses, the guessed person simply says “yes” or “no”. If the person guesses correctly, the guessed person can briefly explain what they wrote (if desired). The guessing continues until all cards are exhausted. Everyone reveals who wrote which card at the end. Escape Rooms: Although popular as an in-person event, there are plenty of online options for Escape rooms. In the remote version, teams work together to solve riddles, puzzles, and challenges, letting the entire staff get in on the fun. The benefit of going out to an actual escape room gives your team members opportunities to get to know each other and spend quality time with each other outside of work. Combining employees with technology has the power to impact your business in increased productivity and positivity. Gamification offers the resources, tools, and training that will bring out the best in your team. Game Shows. Customize company topics to help employees learn about your company and get to know each other better. You can easily find templates for several game shows online – including Jeopardy and Family Feud. Test your employees’ knowledge about the company and about each other and have some fun in the process. Throw in a few prizes to go along with the bragging rights, and you have a great way to build connections between coworkers. Trivia Contests. Gather personal “fun facts” about employees along with questions on sports, pop culture and movies that can break the ice and create a lot of fun and laughs. A fun idea is the game “Whodunnit.” To play, have your team members write a fact that most people don’t already know on an index card. Collect the cards, shuffle them, and pass them back out. Each person (or team) takes turns reading aloud their card and then the reader must
Spiritual Sugar The Divine Ingredients to Heal Yourself With Love By Lisa Manyon Spiritual Sugar will guide you to tap into the inner sweetness of your soul and divine guidance to enhance all areas of your life. Lisa shares her personal awakening, spiritual tools, and the seven Spiritual Sugar principles to help you develop your own practice. Spiritual Sugar is inspired by Lisa’s healing with L♥VE journey, where she received a divine download from the Creator to write this book and didn’t immediately take action. Two years later, she navigated the unchartered water of a cancer diagnosis. This book isn’t all about cancer - that just happened to be Lisa’s wake-up call. It’s a poignant reminder about faith, hope, healing, mortality, and your ability to heal. I enjoy books that allow you to take notes within the chapters and this book does that; however, Lisa suggests you get a journey to keep your “Spiritual Sugar Heart Sparks” as well. I found that helpful. Spiritual Sugar is designed to inspire you to COMMIT to yourself before a serious health crisis requires you to. Lisa offers ideas for energy management modalities to amplify your immune system at an energetic level, such as, Sound Healing, Music, Acupuncture, just to name a few. Through Spiritual Sugar, Lisa shares the divine ingredients to create your recipe to heal yourself with L♥VE and guide you home to yourself. It’s time for you to give yourself some Spiritual Sugar. Learn more at www.SpiritualSugar.com and get a copy of this book on Amazon. By Pat Altvater
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Book Recommendation About Lisa Lisa Manyon is the business marketing architect and president of Write On Creative www.WriteOnCreative. com. She pioneered the values-based “Challenge. Solution. Invitation™” communication framework. it’s designed to improve all communication and create marketing messages with integrity by focusing on PASSION points. Her marketing and business strategies are known to create million-dollar results. Lisa supports mission-driven entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders of B-corps with custom content strategies, consulting, coaching, and messaging. Lisa is an award-winning author, speaker, and blogger. Her philosophies have been featured in multiple #1 bestselling books, including The Silver Lining of Cancer. She teaches, trains, and transforms via customworkshops and interactive Business Marketing Boutiques on the topics of marketing with integrity and healing with love. Lisa has created a mobile business and lifestyle so she can work and play anywhere she chooses. She currently resides in Ashland Oregon where she enjoys local wineries, live music, and nature. She is also a business, travel, and entertainment writer for various magazines including Southern Oregon Magazine, Oregon Wine Press, and Southern OregonWine Scene. Learn more about Lisa at https://writeoncreative.com/
Systems Bring Your Strategies Alive By Karen Cupp Living a life by design requires more than wishful thinking. It takes developing an action plan, strategies for growth, and adopting resources you need to keep moving forward. The greatest secret to personal growth and high productivity is adopting and developing systems for everything. Michael Gerber the author of the E-Myth says that “systems permit ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results predictably.” What is a system? It is a process for predictably achieving a goal based on repeatable practices. These repeatable practices are well defined and developed with the end in mind.
As an avid collector of interesting quotes, thoughts, concepts, and ideas, I found I lacked a system. My office was cluttered with stacks of “yellow tablets” with random bits and pieces of interestingwisdom. I lovingly calledmy process of filing “the piled higher and deeper method.“ I once told my children “When I die, they will discover that I was crazy, or I was brilliant.” I finally created a system. When reading an article, I would tear out the page, note the topic on the top and denote where it should be filed. When I read a book, if I found an idea, phrase, topic, or quote, I would make a note in the front of the bookwith the page number and the topic. My assistant would then find the pages, type the material, and save it in a computer folder under the specific topic. After defining the system and testing my theory, I began to go through each “yellow pad” and scan them myself, saving the content in a general folder. I dropped the folder into the google drive shared with my virtual assistant, Melanie, who would then review and type the documents and store them under the designated topic. This action alone has cleared my desk and my mind of clutter. My second system was for thinking. When I drive, mymind is freed to think of ideas or listen to podcasts. If I ran across a topic that I wanted to save, my struggle was how to document this content while driving. That was the case until I found a recording app on my phone that could record and transcribe. It is called voice recorder. This simple app allows me to use my thinking time wisely and save those valuable nuggets of thought for a later time. Strategies and systems have freed me to be more organized and more productive in my writing, teaching, and speaking business. These strategic systems have allowed me to create more content and spend more time sharing my knowledge with others. SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies
When The Yogurt Hits The Fan By Jack Klemeyer One thing I can guarantee you is that even when you have the best made plans, something will go wrong or at least not according to plan. Some people call it failure. I’ve experienced it so many times I’ve lost count. Many folks don’t respond well when things do go as planned and “the yogurt hits the fan” so here are six things to remember when that happens to you. 1. Remember and understand that failure is part of success, and that failure happens in front of or before success in almost every case. Knowing that, then failure could be seen as just another step closer to success. 2. There is always gold in the failure so be sure to mine the gold and the lessons from the failure. But how? You have to take time to reflect on what happened. Mind your self-talk during this
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies stage too. This reflection isn’t a rehash of what all whenwrong and epic the failurewas. Use these three simple after action review questions: a. What went right? b. What went wrong? c. What can we do different next time? 3. Keep your sense of humor. I guarantee you someone else is laughing at your failure so you might as well laugh too. There is humor in the situation so take minute and laugh at yourself. There have been plenty of times where I thought…”Wow!” and then had a good laugh. 4. Keep your perspective on the situation. Remember it was a bad fewminutes during a day not a badday.Work to compartmentalize the situation and failure so you can keep it in perspective. Remember too that the situation was the failure not you! Even though I don’t knowyou, I can guarantee that you are not a failure! 5. Don’t become familiar with failure. Embrace it as part of the process, just a step in the journey to success and do not let it into your heart. When you let a failure into your heart it begins to erode your self-image and you lose perspective. 6. As the famous Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II, Winston Churchill famously said: “……never give in, never give in, never, never, never…” Churchill was talking to the whole world when he uttered those famous words in 1941 right at the beginning of World War II. He wanted the people to look at the days of war as days of change and greatness, not as dark days. The fact that the days of war were hard and difficult could not be ignored but it was how people looked at them that gave them hope. The next time things don’t go as planned… take a step back and run through these six steps to gain perspective and the build your muscles of resilience. Doing this will help you to become more resilient. In addition, you will learn to respond to a situation and not default to the reaction. Remember when that stimulus of things not going according to plan occurs, you have a choice in how you respond. Viktor Fankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning, says it this way: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor Fankl
The Keys to Emotional Regulation By Pat Bennett Emotions can sometimes be hard to control. You’ve reached the end of your rope at a colleagues continued missed deadlines and you erupttosaythingsonlytoregretall.Youremotions are controlling you rather than you control them. Psychology Today defines emotional regulation as the ability to exert control over one’s own emotional state. It may involve behaviors such as rethinking a challenging situation to reduce anger or anxiety, hiding visible signs of sadness or fear, or focusing on reasons to feel happy or calm. And, while emotional regulation doesn’t meanwe never show our upset, it means that we innately
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Personal Growth Strategies understand the right moments to do so. So, we don’t freak out if another driver yells at us as we aren’t driving fast enough for their liking. But if a colleague steals our work and claims it is their own, we can make our fury clear and refuse to be manipulated. According to UKs Harley Therapy, poor regulation doesn’t mean that we are constantly a mess and incapable of any control at all. We are regulating our emotions all the time, with each decision and social interaction. Emotions are part of everyday life and are also useful. Anger helps us to set boundaries, or sadness helps to process grief and mourning. You mightdojustfine,despitepoorregulation, if things stick to routine or the familiar. Unfortunately, though, life tends to present challenges. Therapist Amita K. Patel LCSW of Aligned Holistics in New York City offers the following tips to self-regulatewhenemotions are triggered: Get grounded. When triggered, your nervous system freaks out. Remind your nervous system that it’s safe to be in your body by breathing, doing a body scan, and/or orienting yourself to the present moment. Identify something to touch, see, hear, smell and taste as an immediate distraction. Get outside. Nature, even NYC’s version of nature, is better than fluorescent lights and stale air. If it feels safe to get your body moving, try going for a short walk. I know we’ve all heard this before, but it really does work and thus bears repeating. Get space (from the trigger). As a reminder, you can end a conversation that’s triggering you by telling people you need a time out. Literally. Get connected (to the right people). Call a friend/ family member and tell them you need them to listen without giving you advice. So only do this with someone who can take direction prior to divulging your feelings. Get support (from a professional). If you feel like this is a pattern, don’t go it alone. Seek a professional therapist and make sure you feel safe and understood. Don’t be afraid to speak up and let them know what you need less and more of. It’s about you. In situations when I’ve felt like I’m about to lose control, I calm myself by taking several deep cleansing breaths while counting slowly to 10. It allows me space and grace. What about you?
Lisa Ryan Lisa Ryan is a best-selling author and awardwinning speaker who brings real world insight, a high content message, and immediately actionable ideas to her fun, inspirational and engaging programs. Focusing on workplace culture, employee engagement, and gratitude strategies (“Grategies”) for personal and professional transformation. Her high energy, enthusiasm, sense of humor, and passion for what she does makes her the ideal speaker for your upcoming conference, leadership retreat, or professional development workshop. As Chief Appreciation Strategist at Grategy, Lisa Ryan brings more than twenty years of experience to her clients and audiences. She helps organizations keep their top talent and best customers from becoming someone else’s by instilling principles which build stronger emotional connections between the organization and its employees and clients. To contact her, or to find out more visit: https:// lisaryanspeaks.com/ Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www. linkedin.com/in/asklisaryan/ Lisa Ryan discusses how she grew her speaking business and how it really took off once she started working exclusively with a niche market where she had prior experience. The strategies provided by Lisa will help a person looking to grow a speaking business or a person who wants to use speaking to grow their business. She offers insights into how to get speaking engagements with associations, how to get contact information from the audience and what types of collateral you need to have on hand. This podcast is full of information…way more than we could cover here. Be sure to tune in. You can either watch on YouTube or listen to the podcast on iTunes or other places where podcasts are found. SOAR TO SUCCESS / Reinvention Uncensored Lisa Ryan Shares Strategies to Grow a Speaking Business / Soar to Success Podcast
Do you have your public relations or PR plan ready for 2023? This is a document that helps you plan how you will communicate with media members and your customers in the year ahead. It’s important because: A. Media coverage can give you third-party credibility you can’t get any other way. B. One good feature story in a media venue that your target market follows can boost sales and positive awareness overnight (or sooner!) across the Internet. C. (Drumroll… this is the best point of all!) This media coverage costs you nothing but time and effort! By Melanie Rembrandt Time For Your Easy, Peasy PR Plan Get ready for publicity in the year ahead
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies N – NoticeWhat’s Happening! As you move forward, notice how media members, and your customers, react to your activities. What’s working and what isn’t? Make appropriate changes and repeat this process on a regular basis for the best results. Your PR Plan is Ready! You can use the “power of the press” to boost sales, awareness and credibility for your business. But you need a PR Plan to get organized and experience the best results. No worries! Keep it simple. Research the media and practice your message. Develop and implement fun, newsworthy events and share your news. Track results andmake appropriate changes as needed. Before you know it, you’ll enjoy some great media-coverage, and your PR Plan will be a top priority each year! Now, before you get discouraged with yet one more thing to add to your “To Do” list, this doesn’t need to be difficult. Here is an Easy Peasy PR Plan Checklist to Help You Get Started: P – People! First, think about the people you want to reach. Make a list of all the newspapers, podcasts, televisions shows and other media venues they pay attention to and when. R – Research! Next, research each of the media venues on your list. Who covers business news at your local newspaper? Is there an industry trade magazine that would love to hear how your new product helped a local charity? Add the contact data to your list. P – Practice! Now that you have a media contact list, practice your message. Think about what they care about and why they will want to share your story with others. How can you help them? L – Look At The Possibilities! As you prepare your messaging, think about all of the ways that your business can be newsworthy. Meet with your team to develop creative events, contests, presentations, and more for the months ahead. This way, your staff will have fun, and you’ll attract more media attention… and customers. A – Act! You know what you want to do. Now, it’s time to act on your plan! Create timelines for each activity on your list along with tracking mechanisms, responsible parties, etc. Hold your events, announce your news and let media members know what you’re doing. You can use the “power of the press” to boost sales, awareness and credibility for your business.
24/7 cloud access brings a suite of advantages, each of which can be utilized immediately after migration. Some of these advantages are outwardly obvious, while others provide more subtle benefits. Remote work will continue to grow in popularity as the years go on, and its relevancy now means that MSPs such as yours need to be thinking one step ahead of your clients. Enter the cloud, the logical next step for businesses on the fence about integrating remote working options. By Jeanne DeWitt Cloud Makes On-the-Go Work Easy For Your Clients implementation to work on an even playing field to on-premise employees. Businesses who avoid investing in cloud are usually neglecting a significant part of their workforce. Cloud accessibility is relevant to awiderangeof employees. From workers with long commutes, to sales staff who are traveling, to freelanced employees who need access to specific company information, the cloud gives every employee a way to work from any location. The best part? With the cloud, no functionality is lost when Read on for our breakdown of the quality ways that the cloud benefits remote workplaces, which you can use in client conversations to prompt a cloud migration. Employee Accessibility This is the most obvious advantage that you probably recognized from the title of this article: the cloud and accessibility go hand-in-hand. Most remote employees need some form of cloud
working remote compared to on-premise. Make sure to communicate this to put your clients at ease. Quality Control The term quality control is thrown around a lot when referring to work, without much focus on what a lack of it actually means. In a business setting, a lack of quality control translates to inconsistency in information, leaving different employees on different pages. Why does this happen? Simple: it’s often a result of human error. Inadequate methods of storing files and lapses in communication are two pitfalls that the majority of businesses have fallen into at some point. It’s likely your MSP has fallen into them as well! The cloud allows all employees to access the same information, which is available at all times. SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies This succeeds in maintaining consistency in data and minimizing human error as much as possible. Business Continuity Our final benefit is crucial to all of your clients: foolproof business continuity that protects against the unexpected. Of course, the above benefit of accessibility is relevant in the case of disaster, as employees are able to work from any safe location. However, the key benefit that cloud business continuity provides is the preservation and protection of your client’s data. From power outages to natural disasters to ransomware attacks, your clients can rest easy knowing that the cloud is keeping a comprehensive backup of their most important information. As an MSP, make sure to communicate these benefits to your clients: they will only continue to become more relevant.
Thrive in 5: Five Steps for Writing Attainable Goals By Heather Wiegering, PhD Have you ever found yourself feeling overwhelmed or spinning in circles? Perhaps too many ideas and too little results? Whether it is a business deal, schoolwork, home project or financial planning, it’s a great time to step back, evaluate and re-write your goals. In this article, we help you to thrive with 5 key action steps. But before even jumping into these 5 key action steps, ask yourself what has worked and what hasn’t in pertaining to your goal. Be honest with yourself. Look at numbers, talkwithpeople anduse all appropriate resources to gather relevant information. Don’t just use your own gut instincts. Ask your ego to step aside and get real, verifiable data as the basis for your vision, beliefs and action plan. Next, reflect on how you got to where you are in this very moment. Think of lessons and information you learned
through every step: the ones that propelled you higher, the ones that made you stronger and the ones you learned to steer clear of for future success. See every step on your path as an important moment for either winning or learning. This is an essential mindset for success. Are you ready to thrive in 5? Let’s go. Step 1. What do you want? Pick one focused goal. Use the classic ‘SMART’ goal writing strategy to organize your goal as specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Step 2. What evidence will prove you have attained your goal? For example, a promotion, certificate, accomplishment either seen or unseen. Step 3. What impact will achieving your goal have in your life? List the pros, cons and potential risks to yourself, family, team, community, etc. Step 4. What resources are necessary for you to achieve this goal? List the ones you currently have access to first and then expand into additional resources youmay need to reach outside of your immediate contacts and comfort zone. Step 5. What daily activities are necessary to achieve and maintain your goal? Start a daily checklist of action items that can be measured as complete, work in progress or no longer necessary. Be sure to include specific people, timelines or events for accountability. Some of these items may impact the immediate timeline, while other action items will be geared toward securing and maintaining the longevity of your success. Use these 5 steps to thrive in a variety of personal and professional pursuits. Start to become very clear about what you want and very specific about how you will attain it. Give yourself grace and humor as you navigate your path. Also give yourself freedom to be flexible, as long as you stay focused and committed to your goals. Commit to an accountability person or team for regular check-ins. Success takes a team and is rarely achieved by oneself. Success also requires sacrifice of other activities, energies and pursuits in order to thrive. Now go, select what you want in life. Achieve your goals and enjoy the life of your dreams. SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies
The first step toward taking control of your company’s cash flow is to analyze the components that affect the timing of your cash inflows andoutflows. Athoroughanalysisof these components will reveal problem areas that lead to cash flow gaps in your business. Narrowing, or even closing, these gaps is the key to cash flow management. Some of the most important components to examine are: • Accounts receivable. Accounts receivable represent sales that have not By Jim Fisher Cash Management Tips for Small Businesses, Part 2 yet been collected in the form of cash. An accounts receivable balance sheet is created when you sell something to a customer in return for his or her promise to pay at a later date. The longer it takes for your customers to pay on their accounts, the more negative the effect on your cash flow. • Credit terms. Credit terms are the time limits you set for your customers’ promise to pay for their purchases. Credit terms affect the timing of your cash inflows. A simple way to improve cash flow is to get customers to pay their bills more quickly.
SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies business. This business may normally have cash flow gaps during its slow season and then later fill the gaps with cash surpluses from the peak part of its season. Cash flow gaps are often filled by external financing sources. Revolving lines of credit, bank loans, and trade credit are just a few of the external financing options available that you may want to discuss with us. Monitoring and managing your cash flow is important for the vitality of your business. The first signs of financial woe appear in your cash flow statement, giving you time to recognize a forthcoming problem and plan a strategy to deal with it. Furthermore, with periodic cash flow analysis, you can head off those unpleasant financial glitches by recognizing which aspects of your business have the potential to cause cash flow gaps. Need Help? Without adequate funds to cover day-to-day expenses, your business could fail. Why take that chance? If you need help analyzing and managing your cash flow more effectively, please call and speak to a tax professional who can help. Come back next month when we discuss analyzing your cash flow in detail. Copyright © 2022 All materials contained in this document are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. All other trade names, trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Any accounting, business or tax advice contained in this communication, including attachments and enclosures, is not intended as a thorough, in-depth analysis of specific issues, nor a substitute for a formal opinion, nor is it sufficient to avoid tax-related penalties. If desired, we would be pleased to perform the requisite research and provide you with a detailed written analysis. Such an engagement may be the subject of a separate engagement letter that would define the scope and limits of the desired consultation services. • Credit policy. A credit policy is the blueprint you use when deciding to extend credit to a customer. The correct credit policy - neither too strict nor too generous - is crucial for a healthy cash flow. • Inventory. Inventory describes the extra merchandise or supplies your business keeps on hand to meet the demands of customers. An excessive amount of inventory hurts your cash flow by using up money that could be used for other cash outflows. Too many business owners buy inventory based on hopes and dreams instead of what they can realistically sell. Keep your inventory as low as possible. • Accounts payable and cash flow. Accounts payable are amounts you owe to your suppliers that are payable at some point in the near future - “near” meaning 30 to 90 days. Without payables and trade credit, you’d have to pay for all goods and services at the time you purchase them. For optimum cash flow management, examine your payables schedule. Some cash flow gaps are created intentionally. For example, a business may purchase extra inventory to take advantage of quantity discounts, accelerate cash outflows to take advantage of significant trade discounts or spend extra cash to expand its line of business. For other businesses, cash flow gaps are unavoidable. Take, for example, a company that experiences seasonal fluctuations in its line of Monitoring and managing your cash flow is important for the vitality of your business.”
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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 Tina’s Video Series Jeanne DeWitt Diane Helbig Tina began her career in public accounting in 1994 while earning her undergraduate degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. In July 2002, she spun off on her own, formed A.C.T. Services, obtained her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license, and began building her business. Her practice has grown to greater than 1,200 clientele and over a dozen staff members. Tina is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Indiana CPA Society. Connect with CPA, Tina Moe, at A.C.T. Services and on Tina Moe Janet Kendall White is founder of Berkshire Group, Inc., a WBE and WOSB certified award-winning organization. Janet and Berkshire Group have been developing leaders, teams, boards, and organizations for more than two decades. Through strategic planning, group facilitation and one on one coaching Janet has a track record of success. She is a sought-after speaker and facilitator locally and nationally, has authored several training books 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 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, go-tosource for expert advice in the IT Industry including Cloud Services, Infrastructure Security and Support, Cybersecurity, VoIP Ph ne Technologies, Enterprise Resour Planning and Busi ess Co tinuity Planning. Connect with Jeanne at her website, Hire An IT Expert as well as on James R Fisher, CPA/PFS, CTC, Wealth Creations Education and Tax Coach has a unique approach to helping people find money they are currently transferring away unknowingly and unnecessarily. His str tegy is to have a bigger impact on your financial future by h lping you avoid the wealth tra fer losses rather than speculating on the next winning investment. Jim specializes in empowering people to take control of their investment decisions, middle class family financial wealth creation and security and tax reduction strategies for small business owner . n ect with Jim Fisher at Fisher Wealth Creations and 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 oper te more constructively and profi ably. Diane’s no nonsense, straightforward r ch 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 James’s Video Series Watch Diane’s Video Series Deb Jeanne DeWitt James R Fisher Diane Helbig Debra Reis is a nurs , teacher and uthor 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 ounder of the Supportiv Therapy Engagement Program STE ) to assist organ zations to implement and integrate supportive therapies into a patient treatment plan for better outcomes. Connect with Deb at DebraReis.com and on Debra Reis enda l White is founder and CEO of Berkshire Group, Inc., a WBE an WOSB certified, and award-win ing organization fo Everything DiSC® and The Five Behavior ™. For more than two decades Berkshire Group has helped organiz ions grow throu h strateg c planni g facilitation, leadership and culture d velopment and process mprovemen . Janet is soughtafter speaker f cilit tor locally and nationally and has een featured in Entrepreneur, Fortu e and Bloomberg Business Week. Would you like to experience more success in your professional or personal life? Reach out to Heather Wiegering, PhD to create personal tion plans to remove blocks, reach your goals and live the life of your dreams. For helpful tips, recipes, videos and mor , visit WellnessEssentials.Today. Also connect with her on Heather Wiegering The founder of Rembrandt Communications®, LLC, Melanie Rembrandt is an award-winning publicist and copywriter. Sh has helped thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide find more time to thrive via her articles in leading publications, presentations at Dan Kennedy’s No B.S., Rich Dad, AWAI, PINK, and many other events, and the “Simplify Your Business” podcast. Melanie has appeared on all of the major television networks and is the author of “Simple Publicity,” “Secrets of Becoming a Publicist” and “Danc Class Etiquette.” Not at her desk? You’ll probably find Melanie helping others, kickboxing, dancing, or scuba diving with sharks! Find out more at www.rembrandtwrites.com. Also connect with her on Watch Hea her 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 p pular 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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