The Business Scoreboard-Calendar

"Our chance of succeeding is much greater when we organize and take control of our lives."
- Merlin Olson, NFL Tackle & Sports Broadcaster

To win the game of business you have to do many things well. You have to keep all the functions of business working and moving forward at the same time. Drop one out and you will not be as successful. You may, in fact, lose the game. Many businesses fail in the first year because management has not learned how to keep all the functions moving forward.

The value of having a business coach is having someone who makes sure you don’t drop something out. You don’t miss an opportunity. You are covering all the bases. Your coach can teach you how to manage your game plan for success.

People will say they don’t have enough time. They can’t find good people. The economy is bad and sales are down. The truth is they are not managing their weekly Scoreboard/Calendar to make sure that they are including everything they need to win the game.

Your calendar is the scoreboard of your success. I see that many people make lists of things to do and never get them done. I found myself at one time working with several different lists every day. For some unknown reason I never seemed to be able to get everything done by the end of the day.

Finally one day I stopped and took the time to estimate how much time each task on the list was going to take. I totaled the hours only to find that I was trying to put 30 hours of work into a 2 hour timeframe. Not going to happen! I realized that I needed to change the way I operated. I took my task list and put it into my Scoreboard/Calendar. I started scheduling specific times to work on all my tasks. I gave up using a task list. From that point forward I knew where I was going to score points in the game of Business/Life because it showed as scheduled occasions in my Scoreboard/Calendar.

After I experienced the results this lesson taught me, I began coaching my clients to do the same. Did they have time scheduled in their calendars for business development? Did they have time scheduled for sales? Did they have time scheduled to manage production? Did they have time to manage the accounting and collection process?

Using your calendar to keep score not only provides you with a picture of the results, but it gives you a plan for the future. If you do not complete a task one day, you reschedule it into the future. You are always looking at what the future holds as a possibility. You never forget what needs to be done because you collect everything daily and put it into your Scoreboard/Calendar. By following these practices you have a system that keeps you out of the pit of disorganization. This is the foundation for producing more results and having a higher quality of life. You cannot increase your results until you have organized and planned what you have to do and created a system to manage your actions. All of that can be accomplished with daily use of a Scoreboard/Calendar and collecting and scheduling of every daily task.

When you look at your calendar as the scoreboard of your business you can easily see if you are going to be winning at the end of the day/week/year. You can adjust your game plan to respond to the challenges of your circumstances. Your coach can provide perspective for how to work the game plan. And when the buzzer sounds, you will have won the game of business.

Are you ready to win?

How to Play the Game of Twitter – Tweet! Tweet!

"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."

~ Mike Singletary

I started using Twitter so I can advise my clients about it. At first I thought it was a dumb waste of time and thought I was being overly zealous in my need to learn new things. But as I’ve eased into using Twitter, I can say that I have seen some benefits. Not only have I found some interesting people to follow, I find it an interesting way to learn about current events and keep up-to-date with friends.

Here are some rules to help you make a successful foyer into the world of the 140-word tweet:

Watch Before Leaping
It’s a good idea to watch the playing field before sending out a slew of tweets. While it’s not complex, it does have its own culture with specific nomenclature and etiquette. By observing before plunging, you’ll make your initial tweets have more impact.

Give Instead of Take
Twitter is about community. What makes a community? It’s a support system where people share with and help each other. Don’t be all about yourself and your business. It’s great that you want to spread the word, but if that’s all you do, you will be seen as a selfish member of the community. Find a way to offer information. I read a lot of blogs on improving websites, so I often tweet about interesting articles that might be helpful to others. What niche information do you come across regularly that may be helpful to others?

Wait Your Turn
You cannot come to Twitter and in a week, or even a month, expect to have a large following that improves your business. Social networking takes time, and you must exercise patience as your network evolves and grows. It’s important to focus on actions that will make your following grow organically, rather than focus on how big it has gotten.

Be a Team Player
You can develop relationships on Twitter, if you focus on doing so. People post about their personal lives, and you can reply in ways that are meaningful and supportive. What’s important is that your response is genuine, not just words to log another tweet. For example, recently there I followed a stream of tweets by a guy who was having network issues. Over a couple days he talked about it, and while I had no technical knowledge to help, one morning I just wrote him a tweet telling him I hope today was the day he fixed it. I really empathized with his struggle, and his reply to my tweet showed that he appreciated the support.

Don’t Hog the Ball
It’s great to have a lot to say, but Twitter is not the place to say it all. Don’t send out massive numbers of tweets just to be heard. Recently somebody followed me on Twitter, so I opted to follow him back. Then I went to my home page and saw ALL the tweets on the page were from him, and half the second page as well, and they were basically personal commentary on his moves in the past half hour. I don’t want to read 30 stream of consciousness tweets from the same person. Boring! Use your discretion in how much you tweet, and remember, make it meaningful.

Give Encouraging Pats on the Back
It feels good when somebody re-tweets your comment or replies to you, so remember to do it to others. People are genuinely looking for a give-and-take on Twitter, so don’t be afraid to give when it’s right. Re-tweeting helpful blurbs, or thanking others for their feedback, are excellent ways to give social recognition to the people you follow. I occasionally do a tweet where I just say: I love reading your tweets: [list names of people]. This may encourage others to follow them too, which means you’re a nice person for recommending them.

Don’t Forget to Pass the Ball!
This one really cracks me up. Don’t sign up for Twitter, do nothing, and expect something. Remember, you have to use it to get a result. If you don’t engage, it won’t be ringing your doorbell.

Done the right way, you can generate a following of individuals who look forward to hearing your tweets and you can gain a lot of information from them. And once you’ve established this crowd, the occasional self-promotion will have an impact on the bottom line.

My 5 Favorite People to Follow on Twitter:
@cmsreport
@problogger
@steverubel
@robertbravery
@zen_habits

Follow Possibilities Unlimited on Twitter:
Bonnie Landau
Ralph White

Five Biggest Money Mistakes and the Solutions

Many people have gone from broke to multi-millionaire by following some simple concepts that allow anyone to move from debt to wealth, on any income. One thing you will note about the following money mistakes; they deal more about attitudes, beliefs and values, versus failing to review a restaurant receipt for errors.

1. There is no reason to track my cash spending because it doesn’t add up to enough money. People have the attitude that small amounts of money are not important, only large amounts of money are important. They will not be concerned about how invest hundreds of dollars, but only thousands of dollars. They will think nothing of spending $5 on a cup of coffee and a muffin at Starbucks when they can make the same things at home for 50 cents. The fallacy is you can’t get to the large amounts of money to invest if you spend all the small amounts. You must have respect for the small amounts too. Over a 30-year time frame, $5 per day can create a $1,000,000 portfolio when invested appropriately.
Solution: Use a small notebook or spending register to track all cash spending. You cannot change behavior you are unaware of. Create awareness by tracking your cash spending.

2. Emergencies always show up and ruin my savings goals. In studying the spending habits of thousands of people for more than 10 years it was discovered that many people live on 105% to 115% of what they earn. They didn’t plan for a vacation, back to school clothes or for the car to break down. But it happens, and when it does people turn to their credit cards and the balance grows and grows.
Solution: In addition to saving for retirement, set aside 10% of your income to spend later on the emergencies you didn’t plan for that will happen anyway. This will also cover back to school clothes, vacations, and even property taxes.

3. Credit cards are more convenient than cash or checks. This is one of the most frightening mistakes many people make. They operate unconsciously when it comes to using credit. They think that someday, magically, they will have enough money to pay off their credit card debts. Unfortunately, even if they refinance their home, get an inheritance or win a lottery and pay off the credit cards, the debts only come back again. Getting the money from anywhere other than systemically paying off the debts teaches nothing about how to get rid of debt. It only teaches them that they can get another family gift or a consolidation loan.
Solution: Drop the credit cards cold turkey and live the lifestyle of “pay as you go.” Use the money you set aside for emergencies to replace the times when you would have used a credit card. Also, wake up and realize the credit issuers are not your friends. Their advertisements are designed to put you in bondage, not provide freedom. Ads to borrow money against your home to go on a vacation is crazy.

4. If I just made more money everything would work out fine. This is one of the biggest lies we can tell ourselves. Just like an alcoholic can’t get enough liquor or an overeater can’t get enough food, more money will not solve a problem of over spending. Things work out fine when expenses are addressed first, and figuring out how to increase your income is addressed second.
Solution: Start by listing your fixed expenses, like mortgage or rent, car payments and insurance. Next, list your variable expenses, like food or utilities. You will have these each month, but the amount will vary. Finally, list your discretionary expenses. These are the items you have complete control over like entertainment, clothes, meals out or vacations. When you include the items that don’t show up every month, like taxes or auto repairs, and convert them to a monthly amount, you will have a picture of your total monthly expenses. Now make this smaller than your monthly income and also factor in regular monthly savings.

5. Rich people don’t have to budget. I shouldn’t have to either. This is just plain false. The richest people in the world know where every dollar goes that they spend. If you saw someone jogging down the road, and they looked like they were in ideal physical shape, you wouldn’t say, “They don’t need to exercise. They look great.” You know that is how they got in good shape, and that is how they stay in good shape.
Solution: Read any biography of the richest people in the world, from John D. Rockefeller to John Paul Getty, and you will see they knew about every expense that they had. They made sure they made more money than they spent, and they invested wisely and took calculated risks that they could afford to take. Warren Buffet has an annual income of about $120,000 per year, but he’s worth billions.

Rennie Gabriel – Rennie@RennieGabriel.com
Author of Wealth on Any Income: 12 Steps to Freedom

The Physical Fitness Plan

"You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there." -- Edwin Louis Cole

In addition to fiscal fitness, business owners have to be concerned with physical fitness as well. Their own as well as that of their workers. Healthy, fit individuals are more effective at work, have more energy, take fewer sick days and reduce health care costs. Many people have trouble managing personal stress and business stress. Soon they become intertwined and the business suffers.

Lead by example. Take care of your whole body, mind and spirit and it will take care of you. Essentials to fitness include:

Make your health and well-being the number one priority in your life. When you tend to your own body, mind and spirit, you are better able to care for your family, employees and your clients.

Set short- and long-term goals. If you have health problems, speak with your doctor about things you can do in the short term to prepare your body for exercise and other activities that will reduce your stress.

Incorporate activities in your every day life that get you closer to achieving your fitness goals. Make taking a walk, riding a bike, or going to the gym an every day routine, just as you do with brushing your teeth, etc.

Keep balance in your life. It’s not all or nothing; downtime is also part of fitness. Find time to be alone with your thoughts and keep a perspective and focus on all things important to you in your life.

Get plenty of sleep. For most days of the week try to get 8 hours of sleep a night to allow your body to renew itself so you can function more optimally the next day.

Commit to making permanent lifestyle changes that improve and elongate your life. Determine to stay on course so you can life to be 100….

You wouldn't run your business without a business plan. Why not have a plan for your physical fitness and well-being? If you want to win in business and life, you need to be healthy for the long haul.

Are you ready to win?

Why Start a Blog for Your Business?

"True competitors know it's exhilarating to be involved in something that's very challenging. They don't fear it. They seek it. Is it fun to do that which is ordinary, easy, simple, something anyone can do? Not at all."

~ John Wooden, Former UCLA Basketball Coach,

Winner of 10 NCAA Championships

Blogging has been quite the rage for the past several years. First begun as an online means of recording a diary, blogs have become about sharing all sorts of information. You can find blogs on every subject, sub-subject and in every medium found online. With so many blogs out there, why would you start a blog for your business?

1. Demonstrate your knowledge: A blog is a quick and easy way to share information that shows your knowledge in your field. You can have multiple authors to share the knowledge throughout your organization. There are many ways to demonstrate knowledge:

• Commenting on trends
• Eliciting customer input
• Announcing your latest launch
• Explaining a new idea
• Giving instructions
• Reference industry blogs/websites with useful information

2. Share your personality: Blogging doesn’t have to be formal writing, so you can interject a bit of humor and personality into your posts. It’s an opportunity to help clients get to know the people in your company. This can often help to further relationship-building, which is key to building a larger customer base.

3. Educate your clients: Do you find yourself answering the same questions over and over to your clients? Do you wish you had a collection of these answers? This is one of the reasons the Landau Design blog was created. As we work with many companies that are just delving into the web space, we created a blog to explain web terminology and opportunities. We can demonstrate knowledge and help clients who feel lost in the world of the web.

4. Receive feedback from your clients: Blogs have a built-in mechanism for commenting, so it creates the perfect opportunity for getting input from clients. You can include polls and questions to elicit feedback, as well as reading comments on informational posts. It’s the optimum situation for getting input and suggestions that you might otherwise never hear.

5. Improve your search engine ranking: Blogging by nature lends itself to increased search engine indexing. While the indexing will be for your blog and not your website, you will tie the two together so it benefits your website. Why is this so?

• You have more content to index, which means more opportunities for indexing
• You have an easy way to give and get links (optimum way to increase page rank)
• You have a built-in keyword index that the search engines pick up on
• If you blog with Blogger, they are owned by Google and rumored to index their blogs daily

More information:

• Should You Start a Business Blog?
• 12 Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog
• 23 Questions for Prospective Bloggers - Is a Blog Right for You?
• How Do I Start a Blog?