Five Reasons You’re Spending Too Much Time Putting Out Fires

September 18, 2019

How much of your day do you spend putting out fires?

10%

50%

Maybe it seems like it’s all day, every day.

If you feel you’re spending too much time tackling roaring issues, emergency flare-ups, team crises, customer complaints, technology failures or escalations to you that others could handle, these (and more) are clear signs your business is crying out for a pivot.

Your business is screaming at you, “Hey you!  Something must change!”

You probably already know this.  You might be struggling to read this because you’ve got a few too many fires on your desk right now.

Your big question is…what must change?

If you knew what would relieve the pressure, you would already be in action to flip something on its head for a new direction.

What is your pivot?

Examine the primary causes of your fires.

  1. Are they coming from certain reoccurring client issues?
  2. Do they end up on your desk because your team isn’t capable of handling the problem…or worse, is capable but don’t believe they have the authority (after all, you’re the business owner)?
  3. Are your fires caused by programs your Ideal Customer no longer wants (evidence: they aren’t buying like they used to)?
  4. Perhaps your programs are fine, but they need to be directed towards a new, better-suited Ideal Customer?

Of course, a strong reason fires end up with you might be

  1. Your leadership talents need an upgrade.

You’re more comfortable in the trenches than in the executive seat.

No one knows how to do it better than you.

You haven’t empowered your team…or they don’t feel like they’ve been given the authority.

When you’re tired of being your business’ Firefighter-in-Chief, examine the source of your fires.  Then imagine all the better things you could be doing with that time…like making more money or reclaiming time for yourself.

 

Go forth and do great things,

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams

 

Is It Time to Pivot?

September 11, 2019

If you’re going to be successful in business, you’re going to have a day when a very large decision looms…

…do you keep doing what you’ve been doing though it hasn’t yielded the results you want?  Or do you pivot?

Frankly, you already have pivoted at least once.  That’s how you got into business for yourself.  Because you used to be a nurse or a manager/director/big mahoff at a large company.  And now you’re doing your own thing.

That was a pivot.  And a very big one.

You left whatever you were doing, being paid by someone else, to go do your own thing because it made you happier, more profitable, more fulfilled.

I’m sure that wasn’t an easy decision.  And I’m equally sure you have another pivot facing you right now (or there’s one coming down the pike).

This pivot might be more challenging because your choice is to stop doing something you believe in or adjust it…

…but first, you must stare down the reality that it’s time to pivot.

Like many things in life, your business throws off signs indicating you should be pivoting.  But can you see them?

 

Here they are.  Signs it’s time to pivot:

  1. You know your business can be a stronger, better version of itself. That means you must break something…a routine, a way of marketing, how much time you spend selling, letting a team member go, adjusting a product that isn’t working.  You’ve got to step up to being willing to change.
  2. Your customers’ needs are changing. If you keep offering what they’ve wanted in the past, but they don’t seem to want as much now, that’s a clear sign it’s time for a pivot in what you offer.  Customers and markets never stay the same forever.  Keep your ear to the ground and your Spidey senses clued into what they are doing rather than what they are saying.
  3. You’re spending way too much time firefighting. If at the end of each day you leave your business feeling you’ve accomplished nothing on your “to do” list because you’ve been tending to fire-after-daily-fire, it’s time to step back, reassess and make a change.  You’re operating in the weeds, and it’s time to get out!
  4. You’re stuck and no longer growing. Growth is a clear sign your business is working.  When growth stops…when you get stuck, plateaued or feeling like you’ve tried everything you know how to do, your business is flashing a clear sign it’s time for a pivot.
  5. You can’t see a path for growth anymore. It’s time for a new path, to look in other directions, to investigate new areas.  You don’t have to completely abandon what you’ve been doing.  However, the right pivot will reinvigorate your results.
  6. You’re bored. Why are you bored?  Don’t pivot just to get excited again.  Pivot when your boredom is a result of a lack of results.
  7. Your Spidey Senses are telling you to pivot. But we don’t always pay attention to our intuition, do we?  If your results are starting to tail off, perhaps the business hasn’t shifted as you have.  When you’re in perfect alignment with your business, it’s in perfect alignment with you.

Now I also know knowing it’s time for a pivot is one thing.  Knowing where and how to pivot is another.

Every business owner committed to their business should have a business coach or mentor as part of their Team.  A coach/mentor brings fresh eyes to see what you cannot.  A coach/mentor brings experience from their business and that of others they’ve worked with, and you don’t have that experience.

If your business could use a shot in the arm (or maybe a punch in the face) to wake it up, pivot.  And if you can’t see how to pivot, it’s time you brought a coach/mentor into your world.

Go forth and do great things,

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams

Martha Hanlon and Chris Williams

 

P.S.  We coach and mentor.  Maybe you knew that.  If not, let’s talk about how we can figure out your business pivot to reinvigorate your results…an easier, simpler, more profitable business.

 

Learning to Pivot

September 4, 2019
Pivot

Image from teepublic.com

 

 

Are you doing all the right things…without getting the right results?

Frustrating, isn’t it?  Maybe even a little scary.

Something’s got to give.  But what?

Maybe you’ll see yourself in Tim’s story.

 

 

Nobody is immune from the blocks and barriers. Sooner or later, every business needs to pivot…even ours!

We’re having one of those moments right now in our business, so we’re giving you a “behind-the-scenes” look at the art of pivoting.

Here’s the story.

We’re gearing up for a live event in Atlanta on September 28-29. It’s been called “Show Me the Money Live,” and we’ve been promoting it in every way that’s worked for us in the past:

  • Facebook ad campaigns
  • Preview Webinars
  • Email marketing to our list
  • A Facebook Challenge event
  • Phone calls to prospects
  • Marketing through affiliates.

We did this event in London this summer with great results, so we know it works.

So far…crickets.

Today’s Marketing Team Meeting was the pivot point for us. And here’s what we did.

First – We faced the situation head on and agreed that we needed to pivot.

Next –We looked at where the process was getting stuck. For us, it was that we weren’t attracting enough interest from the start.

Then – We got some feedback from trusted friends and customers and discovered that the event title was falling flat. It didn’t speak to what our customers were looking for from a live event. Customers also told us that they were looking for something beyond the same old business and sales workshops.

 

 

 

Finally – We made a plan…and pivoted.

  • The event is now called “10 Steps to an Easier, Simpler, More Profitable Business“
  • We’re highlighting the unique combination of expert presentations, building sales skills and practice selling your product in the event – you could go home with money in your pocket!
  • Chris is holding “office hours” online every Friday until the event to answer questions and make sure that this event is right for you.
  • Phone calls will continue with an emphasis on the “easier, simpler, more profitable” message and highlighting how different this event is from many others
  • We’re sending new emails to our customers to make sure they know exactly what the event is and why it’s such a great opportunity.

They say the “proof is in the pudding.” We’ll see where we are this time next week.

We know one thing for sure. If you want to survive in business, learn to pivot.

 

Go forth and do great things,

Martha & Chris

P.S. If you want more of this straight-talk, real life approach to doing business, join us in Atlanta.

CLICK HERE to find out more.