Can describe your business in one word? Take the challenge here…

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Laura Humphreys

Here’s an interesting question: What’s the one word that sums up what you and your business are all about?

A client asked me this question why we were working together yesterday. I had to pause for a moment. But only for a moment mind you. The first word that popped out of my mind for me was ‘Vision’. I followed this up with a quick explanation. liber8yourbusiness helps people get clear what their vision for the future looks like, and then build a plan to get there. Which brings me back to one of my favourite sayings:

“If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?”

The other word I wanted to say was ‘freedom’. My purpose on the planet is to help people create a free and happy life. Which leads to another of my favourite sayings:

“The purpose of a business is to set the owner free”

So what is it for you? What one word describes the purpose you and your business fulfil on the planet?

Ask yourself the question and now… immediately… write down the first answer that pops into your head.

Take a good look at it. What did you say and why did you say it? How clear can you really get on the true purpose of your business? Clarity of purpose is one of the most empowering tools of business success. Take the challenge now… and let me know how you get on.

Love to hear what your one word is and why.

Be free

From the desk of liber8yourbusiness. Business mentors and publisher of Liber8yourBusiness: The revolutionary planning technique that will set every business owners free.

How to impress the world in 5 minutes… getting clear on your business ‘platform’

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Laura Humphreys

“What is your platform?”

This is the question I’ve been asking my small business clients recently. But what do I mean?

Here’s an imaginary scenario to help explain:

Imagine you are on a plane with 20 other business owners in the same industry as you, selling products or services in a similar genre to yours. Your destination is an airport in a country with a massive potential market for your product. Greeting you all at the airport is the CEO of the largest global company in your industry. His brief is to acquire a small company he believes has the most potential for growth. When you get off the plane you firstly have to make the short list by waving a placard that will make him pick you. Everyone else will be waving a placard too. He’s only allowed to pick five. What will your placard say? What is the message you have to take to the world? What are you and your business there to champion on a world stage?

If you are selected to the short list you will have five minutes to present your business and convince him to buy you. He wants to know why your product or service is better than the rest. He wants to know why he should pick your business. What are you going to tell him? Remember, your main competitors are also presenting their case. Why is yours so different? Why are you so passionate about this? What is it you really have to say to him?

Now bring yourself back to today and ask yourself the same questions. What is it that you are really about? What is your message to the world (or your Country) and why is your offering so important? Why? Why? Why?

Forget about what you are selling for a moment and focus on why it is needed. And what makes it better and different from all the others in your space.

This message to the world is your platform. This is the why behind your business…. the wind beneath your wings. (Sorry, but I do feel a Bette Midler moment coming on here because this is about emotion… being a hero, flying higher than an eagle, touching the sky…) With a business you have an opportunity to do something meaningful and to create change in the world around you. It doesn’t have to be what you sell that makes the difference, it can be the way you go about it. Whatever you are selling, you will sell a whole lot more if you are clear on your platform. You will have something meaningful to say and people will want to listen.

And on that note I’ll leave you with another lyric that’s bouncing round my head:

‘You’re the voice try and understand it, make the noise and make it clear…’

Make it happen

From the desk of liber8yourbusiness. Business mentors and publisher of Liber8 Your Business: The revolutionary business planning technique that will set every small business owner free

Tired of being tired? Here are 3 steps to overcome business fatigue.

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Laura Humphreys

I talk with small business owners every day and there are two words I hear all the time: “busy” and “exhausted”. It’s a common ailment of the business owner operator. I’m sure you know how it feels.

So how can you look after yourself and try to minimize that feeling of overwhelm that sometimes feels like it will consume you? Here are three strategies I’ve found useful…

Schedule ‘time out days’ in advance. Make sure you keep a calendar that shows a month at a glance. Look at your calendar for the next 6 months and see where you can find two whole days that you could take off each month. They don’t have to be consecutive. If you can’t see two days, then juggle things around. Shift appointments onto other days. This is a discipline and a habit. I schedule the first week of every month ‘off’. I have no appointments during this week and I won’t allow any to be scheduled for me. If this means I have some pretty crazy days during the rest of the month, so be it. Once you have these days scheduled let your team, clients and suppliers (or anyone else who might want a piece of you) that you will not be available on these days.
Plan how you will use your time out days. Remember the purpose of these days is to help you with those feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion. However, if you are anything like me then you won’t be able to just lie down for the day. Your brain will be too busy thinking and worrying and going over every little thing that you should be doing. The guilt will get the better of you and you will be on the phone or answering emails before you know it! So rather than take the time ‘off’, take the time ‘out’ and use it to work on your long term planning and strategies. Or to write that blog you’ve been meaning to write. Or to catch up on some important reading that you never have time for. Use the time constructively but with relish and gusto. Enjoy being productive rather than busy. Believe me, it will re-energize you as much as a day at the beach!
Plan your to do’s a week in advance. A business owner’s to do list is a scary thing and more likely to keep you awake at night than any monster under the bed. The overwhelm you often feel comes from a sense of being out of control. This happens when the to do list gets longer than the hours in the day and starts to encroach into your personal space in an unhealthy way (you know what I mean don’t you?). My personal discipline to help combat this involves getting up extra early on a Monday morning (I can’t bring myself to sacrifice my Sunday evening) to map out my to do’s across the week. I use a paper diary (shock horror!) to do this. Once I’ve put my appointments in for the week (taken from my online diary) I then spread my to dos across each day, taking into account what else I have on that day. On days that are quite full I give myself less other items to do and on quiet days I make the to do list longer. Of course I prioritize them by importance and urgency as I go too. If my to do list is looking particularly ominous for the week then I won’t allow any other appointments to be booked in. I make a conscious decision to put my health and well being first at this point. And note: my running and yoga times are already scheduled in the diary for the week and are not to be moved.

It does help to know that you are not alone in the feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion. Many before you have trodden that lonely and sometimes depressing path. Most survive and as your business grows and you build a good team around you, it improves I promise.

In the meantime, try my three steps and let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear of any suggestions you have for managing the busy side of business too. Share them here and I’ll pass them on to other business owners out there.

Be kind to yourself

From the desk of liber8yourbusiness. Business mentors and publisher of Liber8 your Business: The revolutionary business planning technique that will set every business owner free