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Overcoming Cynicism in the New Normal

One of the leading causes that hinders our growth, as well as our personal and financial success is cynicism. In recent years, many have experienced a marked increase in cynicism, and due to social media... possibly envy.

It has become critical for us to move towards trust, enthusiasm and courage through our own acts of willful volition and change of mindset. Should we opt for mental stagnation, we shall never achieve our goals.

 

Here are 3 Effective Ways to Resolve Cynicism as a Barrier to Our Growth:

 

  1. Cultivate Optimism & Positive Thinking:
    • Actively work on shifting negative thoughts towards more positive and optimistic perspectives.
    • Practice gratitude daily by acknowledging and appreciating positive aspects of our lives.
    • Replace cynical thoughts with affirmations that focus on possibilities and constructive outcomes.
  2. Challenge and Reframe Negative Beliefs:
    • Identify and challenge cynical beliefs by questioning their validity and exploring...
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Scaling Up: Maximizing Your Resources

Hi Champ!

Over the next few posts we’re going to talk about how to take a hard look at your current resources and get the most out of them. This can help your capital go further and increase your profit margin.

Today we’ll cover three different ways to maximize what you already have. These include:

  • Recognize the obvious
  • Unconventional breakthroughs
  • Face the facts

 

Recognize the Obvious

Sometimes when you are too close to something, you can’t make out the big picture. You need to step back and really take a hard look at the resources you currently have in front of you. You are surrounded by opportunities that can boost your career and help your business become more successful.  Quick wins can come from focusing on the following.

  • Safety
  • People
  • Cleanliness
  • Accounts Payable

Unconventional Breakthroughs

Don’t sit around waiting for breakthroughs you need to create them yourself. A breakthrough is merely a new way of doing things or finding a new...

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5 Killer Mistakes - Part 3

Hi Champ!

The last 2 posts covered the first four of the killer mistakes you can make that will not only make you lose a big client, but possibly your entire company. Today we’re going to talk about the fifth killer mistake: Up Cash Creek Without a Paddle.

Even when business is good there’s still a chance of running out of cash flow. You have to always be prepared for a slow in sales or a surge in expenses. One of the keys to balancing your cash flow is to get your clients to pay on time. This can seem like a nightmare, but is absolutely essential to a successful business.

Here are some tips to speed up the payment process:

  • Always send invoices on time and adjust your records for potential audits.
  • Learn how the client processes payments on their side and find out precisely where to send invoices.
  • Find out who’s in charge of processing orders and payment, so you know who to contact if needed.
  • Have a follow-up procedure in place, just in case.
  • As a last resort, call...
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Delivering Service + 1

 

Hi champ!

In the last post we talked about how to figure out what your customers want out of a positive shopping experience. Today we’ll talk about the concept of Deliver +1 and how this concept can take your customer service to the next level. I've decided to split up this post so the next one will cover the 1% Rule.

Consistency is the key to any great customer service experience. If you want to take your satisfied customers to Raving Fan status, you have to go above and beyond the average customer service experience.

There are three ways to develop consistency:

1. Avoid offering too many customer service options.

We sometimes get so caught up in giving customers what they want, we get away from our original vision. Instead, stay true to your vision and offer one or two solid customer service techniques that will set you apart from the competition.

You need to fine tune the current systems you are using before you can add anything to the mix. There’s nothing...

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Franchise to Multiply & Fly

Hi Champ!

This strategy is best applied in the Expansion and Mature stages of our Elevate Your Business consulting model. 

The biggest area of turn-key businesses growth is a franchises.  We have worked with a few very successful dealer and franchise models such as MetroPCS/T-Mobile and RX2live. There is a franchise for every industry in the world and they are fairly easy to acquire and come with practically a pop out of the box pre-assembled system. McDonald’s is a prime example. In fact, a $40 billion, 28,707 strong example.   

There are a few things we are going to talk about:

  • Business Format Franchise
  • The Franchise Prototype
  • Franchise Prototype Standards

 

Business Format Franchise

The business format franchise came from an earlier model call the “trade name” franchise. The big change was in the rights. During the “trade name” days the franchise owner only had marketing right’s, now franchise owners have owning...

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Building Blocks for Business Expansion

Hi Champ!

We have been talking about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each maturity level.  Today we will dive a bit deeper into the Expansion stage to outline key building blocks for success.

As a reminder, the five different stages of a business life cycle are:

  1. Inception
  2. Survival
  3. Growth
  4. Expansion
  5. Mature

Stage 4 Expansion

In order for a business to expand successfully it is recommended that they have shored up any holes that may exist in the previous life cycle stages of stage 2.)Survival and 3.)Growth.  We work to develop key targeted improvements for companies looking to add locations or franchise.  Filling these holes in the business maturity helps to build a steady foundation as one expands.  It is in this phase, successful entrepreneurs and leaders start to understand the phrase – “You can’t get to where you want to go with the same thinking that got you here”.  This is often difficult to hear or...

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Expand the Life of Your Business

Today I'm going to talk about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while also extending the lifespan of your business.  At Springboard Consulting we use our Elevate Your Business consulting model, NewBizSpringboard & ElevateYourBiz e-learning platforms to identify key objectives necessary to springboard companies to the next level.

The five different stages of a business life cycle are:

  1. Inception
  2. Survival
  3. Growth
  4. Expansion
  5. Mature

Let’s talk a little about what each of these cycle’s means and how they can each help expand your business’ lifespan.  At each level of maturity there are also eight factors that influence growth and the high gain objectives (Springboard's) in each of these change based on maturity. 

The eight Springboard's are:

  • Owner Focus
  • Strategic Direction
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Cash Flow Management
  • Performance Management
  • Processes and Systems
  • Risk Management
  • Business Funding

Inception

This is...

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Building Blocks For Growth

Today I'd like to chat about the different types of capabilities and potential staff roles necessary as one grows from inception and survival into growth mode.  At Springboard Consulting we developed a business consulting tool that helps to identify key objectives necessary to springboard your business to the next level.  These levels represent the maturity of the business and here is a brief explanation of the model.

  • Inception / Startups; Less than 2 years old
  • Survival / More than 2 years or making a profit
  • Growth / Business experiencing fast growth, growing staff needs
  • Expansion / Planning Franchising, Licensing, or Multiple Locations business models
  • Maturity / Brand recognition, People, Process, and Technology needs fulfilled

As a company moves towards the growth level, there are essentially three key roles that need to be filled as a building block for growth.

  • The Expert
  • The Manager
  • The Leader

All of these roles need to be played simultaneously by different people...

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Springboard Your Marketing

Today I’d like to teach you about the three most important startup marketing tools you need to get and keep new customers.  By the way, these startup tools should be a checklist for those of you who have been in business for over 2 years.  If you don't have these keys to success you should plug the holes and use this as a roadmap for success.  

Get ready for value and some behaviors to help you Sell Like A Champ!

In person:

It’s essential you meet with customers/clients in person whenever possible. This shows you respect them and take the time to work with your clients to give personal attention to each of them.

Follow up letter:

Always take a moment to send a follow up letter or email about what you talked about, new agreements or partnerships made and to thank them for taking the time to meet with you. Likewise, you should always send thank you letters or small gifts to partners you find success with.


Phone call:

Use a telephone call to follow up...

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The unfortunate must in sales- Self Promotion

Today we’ll talk about shameless self-promotion. That’s right, I said it! Shameless! After all, we are learning from Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, high profile CEO's, and politicians here.

It’s all about self-promotion! Self-promotion comes in many forms and you can use different tactics to get your name out there. Look at politicians! Talk about self-promotion and in some not so discreet ways, at that. But, seriously, consider some of the major superstars we all know. Madonna, Donald Trump, Howard Stern and Bill Clinton, just to name a few.

We all self promote. Did you raise your hand in class to show the teacher you knew the answer? Of course! That’s self-promotion. This is the kind of self-promotion we are talking about. With dignity, class and the knowledge to back it up. If you self-promote only to prove you don’t really know what you’re talking about, you’re going to lose business.

Natural self-promoters are the former and I want to...

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The pain itself is the love of the pain, the main ecological problems, but I give this kind of time to fall down, so that some great pain and pain.