If there’s one thing most business owners struggle with (okay, aside from creating a budget), it’s the transition from managing no one to managing everyone. Most clients who come to us simply don’t want to deal with management responsibilities—period. They hope (and act on the belief) that if they hire good people...
Every entrepreneur has a different story for how they came to run their own business, whether they inherited a company from family or associates, or struck out on their own with a dream of working for themselves, building something new that would inspire them professionally and give them the life that they always ...
As we enter the last quarter of the year, many businesses are in their sixth month of working from home, and many business owners are still struggling with the remoteness of their employees. Every day, they’re asking themselves, “What are they actually doing from home?” and strategizing ways to encourage engagemen...
If you’re like many business owners, you started your business by letting customers choose you—you hung a sign up outside and said yes to anyone who walked through the door. And while this is a great way to get your business off the ground initially (and sometimes the only way), it’s not sustainable in the long ru...
In the current economic downturn, small businesses everywhere are suffering and too many will tragically close their doors permanently. For many business owners, it’s been a sobering lesson: Ignoring the practice of reviewing your company’s financial metrics is a high-risk decision with serious consequences. Numbe...
Finding the right employees can feel like a constant struggle. The hires you’re not crazy about end up staying while the great ones always seem to leave, causing you to wonder again and again, “Am I missing something or is this just the way it is to manage people?”
Now is a particularly challenging moment to show up for and manage your people. As a business owner weathering a global economic crisis, you have so many demands on your time and focus—not least of which may be keeping your business financially afloat. So making sure your team has what they need to do their jobs a...
Creating the environment you need to be a better business owner—to do the work that matters most to your business—takes structure. You need to structure your communication system, workspace and calendar in a way that lets you escape the tactical work that gets in the way of being a true Entrepreneur. And once you’...
If you’ve followed along in this series, you’ve (hopefully) started the work of organizing your inbox and your physical environment in a way that allows you to focus on your priorities as a business owner. In this piece, we’ll home in on your most valuable resource—time.
To grow your business, you need a dedicated physical space to do the strategic work of growing it—a place for dreaming, thinking and planning. And many business owners don’t have that. Instead, they work from a mobile location, share a space with employees, or have a desk that’s more of a dump zone than a place ...
As the owner-operator of your business, you’re often the first point of contact for anyone trying to connect with any part of your company. So no doubt your inbox is a constant distraction—even a point of overwhelm. And no matter how diligent you are about managing your email, messages can still build up quickly. ...
As a business owner, you’re the person primarily responsible for your company’s finances. Not your bookkeeper. Not your accountant. You.
When our clients start business coaching, it’s not uncommon to hear, “I only want one thing: for you to help me hire better people.”