Did You Get Your FUD Shot!

In my travels and conversations with business owners from the east coast to the west and many places in between, I'm becoming optimistic about the future business climate. The great recession was declared done in 2009 and while many parts of the country are still trying to dig out of what resembles an ice age snow storm, business owners are speaking positivity about the future. Back to a FUD shot, it is an acronym attributed to IBM for an illness called "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt." For all I know, the end of the world as we know it could be 12-12-12 or some other pivotal event, regardless, what if it doesn't happen?   Stepping outside the FUD and following your business plan is one way to capture market share while others are not paying attention. If you get this disease, realize that it will last for awhile but you can fight it - it just takes persistence and often less TV news watching.  Not paying attention to your metrics can lead to FUD and you may miss the important opportunity.  If you haven't seen the basketball video by Daniel Simons that helps you analyze your attention to what is suggested, check it out: Basketball  Make sure your attention is focused on what matters in your life. --  Linda Lucas Fayerweather www.ChangingLanes.biz  419-897-0528 linda@changinglanes.biz Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2012 the year of your dreams!

THRIVE! Workshop to Build the Business of Your Dreams. . . Details below

Be SMART

You may have heard the acronym before, but it is well worth mentioning again, S.M.A.R.T. goals. Setting goals the SMART way will help make your goals easier to obtain and help your staff get on the same page for the year ahead. Here is the breakdown of the SMART goal system. S - Specific - Your goals should be able to answer the 5 "W" questions; who, what, where, why, which M - Measurable - If your goal is not measurable, how will you know if you staff is making progress? Set target dates and create spreadsheets. This will keep the motivation high when your staff can see their success in progress. A - Attainable - Be realistic. It is nice to set the bar high, but too high only sets your staff up for failure. This part should answer the "How do we get there" question. R - Relevant - Make sure to choose the goals that are relevant. Are these goals worth your staff and company time? T - Timely - Give your goals a time frame, 6 months, 6 weeks or the entire year, make it clear what your target date is and stick to it. Remember to evaluate your goals often and make sure you are on target for completion. Check out our article at:  SMART --  Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerweather@ChangingLanes.com

It Doesn't Hurt to say "No"

Back when I first started out my professional career as a web designer, I would take on every and any web or media based job I could get my hands on. My list of services was a mile long. I did everything from web design to video work. I was the jack of all trades and the master of none. After about two years of this it became apparent to me that I couldn't keep up with the ever changing web languages, be proficient, feel comfortable providing services that weren't mediocre, and have a life. It was time to focus on a few languages and services. I cut down my services to only a handful that I'm really good at. Focused on them and what I needed to provide them. I am now a master of a few trades. My business has a focus and a niche in the market. My rates dictate that and so does the quality of work you will receive from my business. My clients and potential clients know exactly what my business provides. It was one of the best and most important things I could have done for my business. But it wasn't easy. Money is tempting, especially if you are just starting out and every penny counts or if you just like money (which who doesn't). One of the hardest days for me that tested my business integrity was the day a potential client asked me to do a service my business no longer offered. It was something I could do and it would have been a good pay day. I told the potential client I couldn't help them. I pointed them to a few businesses that could. At first it was hard knowing that I just let a bunch of money walk away from me. But deep down I knew that I wouldn't have been able to provide the best service and I would have spent way to much time on the project because of it. Now I have no problem passing up business even if I provide the service. There are various reasons. Here are a few. The project or service a potential client wants done is beyond what I can do or I'm capable of doing it but I don't offer that service. The potential client has unrealistic expectations for the project and I'm not able to educate them so they will understand a realistic expectation. Such as a web site will automatically generate business for them. After talking to a potential client it becomes clear they want more than they are willing to pay for. After talking to a potential client it becomes clear they are too demanding. There will always be some sort of aspect of the project that they will complain about. It means they won't be happy with my business. It can be have a negative impact that can cause all sorts of problems. At minimum I would lose time and maybe have to refund money. Or even worse, the client could say negative things about my business. If I took on the job that I don't normally do and failed to produce quality results, I'm responsible for that. At minimum I would lose time and have to refund money. Worse than that the client could say negative things about my business or they could sue me. I would rather not do the work, point the potential client to a business that can and have them be happy that I did because that business was able to fulfill their needs. If I don't know of any businesses that can help, I don't point them to any business, I just tell them sorry, I don't know of any. Instead of creating a headache for myself and some one who thinks negative of my business. Take the time to think about what services you offer. Are you actually providing the service to the best of your or your business's abilities? Are there services that your business provides that causes headaches each and every time. Can you improve on that service so it doesn't? Are there any services that you can cut out so you can focus your business and create a better niche market? If you know exactly what your business does and how it does it. It is easy to convey that message to the world. Its easier for people to understand your business. Which will make it easier to get business. --   Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364 --

Welcome to February

Welcome to February!

January 2012 is history! By February 1, 65% of people who made a resolution are still on track. By year end only 25% will even remember what their resolution was. A business plan is like a resolution. --You have the desire, --You have the team, --The market share is available, and --How do you hold yourself accountable? That is precisely why a monthly date with your plan is so important.   So . . . Did you review January? 4 Suggestions to get started What was your Gross Revenue? How did it compare to your expectations (projections or budget)? What department of your business exceeded expectations? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? What part of your business was lack luster? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? The first two questions are asking for objective quantifiable answers - it either is or it isn't. Your business may be tracking some very common industry averages for YOUR industry. It might be Gross Profit Margin or it may be traffic - website views, calls in, customers in the door or your close ratio. Maybe you track a debt to assets or debt to equity ratio. Businesses that track at least one financial,one customer, and one quality measure tend to be more in control and achieve goals more quickly. The next two questions with the 5 Whys are designed to have your team delve deeper in to what happened.  Many a business meeting is peppered with quick answers and solutions that may or may not really solve the problem. The 5 Whys are a technique that may help you dig deeper and find the root cause, especially of a reoccurring problem.   Often when working with a team you will discover several underlying problems not just the most obvious. Once a root cause is found, a solution is not far behind. The other added benefit is that instead of blaming, we work as a team to solve problems and make the business a whole lot better. Answering these questions each and every month in 2012 will either help you have a great 2012 or just totally irritate you. Either way, you and your business will be in touch. Linda Lucas Fayerweather www.ChangingLanes.biz 419-897-0528 linda@changinglanes.biz Consider working with a coach or a MasterMind Team to make 2012 the year of your dreams!

THRIVE! Workshop to Build the Business of Your Dreams. . . Details below

Planning for Staff Evaluations

Yearly evaluations can be just as nerve racking for you as it is for your staff. Having some kind of order can help ease your staff into expectations while giving them a chance to communicate their concerns. Both parties are looking for ways to make your business run a little smoother while keeping their sanity. First, be fair and honest. The only way to make sure your staff knows the direction you want them to go is to tell them. Start the meeting off with the direction you would like and ask if they feel they can make some changes. This approach allows both of you to feel more at ease instead of defensive. Have each of your staff complete their own evaluations of their job and of their overall experience. Allowing your staff to address their concerns will open the lines of communication and make them feel their voices are being heard. Be open to hearing a little constructive criticism, there may be ways to improve morale and productivity that you have overlooked. Next, get down to the details. This is where you need to be honest and address situations that require correction or improvement. Whether it is web surfing or just plain lack of motivation, you owe it to your staff member as well as your business to bring it to their attention. Just remember to keep your cool and not play the blame game, talk in a casual and collected manner and don't be over bearing. Always end your evaluations on a positive note. This positive note brings strengths and positive feedback to the top of mind.  Staff evaluations are not a time for lay-offs or firing. These meetings are for the staff you want to keep on board and continue to grow.  Tiffiny Fayerweather tiffiny.fayerweather@ChangingLanes.com

What Do You Mean "Email isn't Secure?"

A few weeks ago my business friend, Steve told me he was signing up for a conference that I might be interested in attending. It's a national conference hosted by a pretty big company. Upon checking out the conference, I thought it would be a pretty good conference to attend. I clicked the register link to see my options and was horrified by what I saw. One of the options was to fill out a PDF and email in your registration. Not Fax, email it. They wanted Credit Card Information, Company Information, some personal information, and a digital signature. I closed the PDF and immediately called Steve to see how he registered. Luckily he registered through the site and submitted his info over a secure connection. But he was confused as to why I was so livid about the register by email option.  When I told him email is not secure whatsoever and is one of the most hacked area's in the Internet world, he agreed but I could tell in his voice he didn't believe me. So I asked Steve to tell me about his email accounts. He uses a standard email program like Outlook or Thunderbird. He pulls in three email accounts. One from his business, (a .com), two personal accounts from free email services such as GMAIL, Hotmail, or Yahoo. He was keeping his email on each email server for about 10 days before his email program deleted it, which is normal.  I then asked Steve to tell me about the last ten days worth of email (email that would still be on the server). Besides all the promo/marketing emails, he had a bunch of email from his clients, and several emails that contained login info. A gold mine of information.  Then Steve admitted to me that his one email accounts was hacked about a year ago! The hacker sent out a bunch of spam emails but they could have gotten access to a lot more. The hacker had access to a good chunk of Steve's emails. They could have gotten access to his accounts on Amazon, eBay, PayPal, and more. It clicked for him as to why I was so livid about the email registration option. All the hacker would have had to do is open up some of his emails... That's all any one would have to do.  It doesn't take much to get into an email account due to a weak password, a virus, hacking into the server, or a disgruntle or nosey co-worker that has access to your server. Once in, what do they have access to? Emails from clients, username and passwords to sites, private information, you name it. They could even setup a forward to collect your emails and you wouldn't be the wiser.  Email is not secure. Period. It is rarely sent and received through a secure connection, it is rarely encrypted, lives on the server or a computer for way too long, and more people could have access to it then you think. The bottom line is don't send any sensitive data through email, EVER and don't send any thing you wouldn't want some one else to read.  Then it got me thinking, if this company is that oblivious or lazy about security what other security holes do they have? Will my data actually be safe with them?  It doesn't take much to be secure. Create strong passwords. Don't use one word dictionary passwords. Use a minimum combination of 8 alpha-numeric characters. Or a 4 word sentence. Don't send or receive sensitive data. If you wouldn't feel comfortable letting someone else read your emails then don't send it. Make sure to clean up old emails, delete them from your Deleted Folder both on your computer and on the server. Be aware of who has access to your email accounts. Make sure they are people you can trust. Setup surprise security audits on a regular basis. If you are storing information make sure it is encrypted and protected. Make sure you have firewalls, anti-virus, and other security software in place, update to date and running. If you want to learn more do some Internet searches for "Email Security Best Practices" and "Creating a Security Audit". Or find a security consultant that can help you. Taking these extra steps I often hear people complain that it complicates things or makes accessing their data difficult. To those people I respond, What would happen if your merchant account or the credit card companies found out you were dealing with credit card information in a non secure way? Answer, you would lose your merchant account and possible be blacklisted from being able to accept certain types of credit cards, until the issues are fixed. What would happen to your company if you had a breach of security and lost client information? By law, you are required to inform your customers.  For most big companies it's pretty damaging both to their profits and in customer relations. For smaller companies it can destroy the company. How would your clients feel? How would you feel if a company you did business with had a breach of security and fraud was committed with your lost information? This article isn't meant to scare you into never using email again. It is meant to help you realize the limits of what you should use email for and what you should do to protect yourself and your clients. Think of security as a form of insurance. Protect yourself while protecting others. -- Jeff Mendelsohn Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364