For most solo-business owners, when you first start your business you find yourself focused on how to find enough clients and enough money coming in.  The idea that you might get so busy that you would need help sounds like a dream!

In fact, this issue throws most solo-business owners into a tail spin. As your business grows, you become busier and often unprepared.

•  The work piles up and you begin working more and more hours.
•  Some things fall through the cracks and don’t get done or you forget to do them.
•  Your office becomes an organizational nightmare.

If this sounds familiar you are needing to develop new systems to support your growth.  I’ve worked with many clients who unconsciously keep themselves small in order to stay in control. It is not uncommon for people to feel that:

•  No one else can do the work as well as they can.
• They have no time to train someone else.
• They don’t have the money to pay someone else.
• There are no written systems – it’s all in their head.
• They feel unsure how to manage someone else.

If you can relate to the above lists then you need to make a big change in your business structure in order to pave the way for your business to grow.

Here are a few suggestions.

1.  Isolate one or two jobs that you would like to be able to give to someone else.
2. Begin to keep a running list of all the tasks associated with this job.
3. Notice how much time you spend on these tasks each week.  Add those times to your list.
4. Look for someone who you can hire for just a few hours per week to do this one job.
5. Look at this as a learning in how to manage someone.
6. Hire an intern who is willing to work in exchange for your help. Your intern can also learn about management in the process.

When you change your focus from, ” I can’t,” to “I must find a way,” the opportunities will appear and you will make time to grow your business, not just run it.

Today I was reminded about how important it is to have excellent and impeccable customer service.

I went to my favorite Computer shop. I’ve been their customer for five years, having bought two computers there and a pile of other computer related  stuff.

I have sent other people there and in a funny way, it’s given me a good feeling of security knowing they were my shop.

I discovered today that my picture was flawed.  Until now my only dealings had been with the clerks, as there have been no problems.  Now there was a bit of a problem that happened and I needed  support. My clerk was very nice but said he didn’t have the authority and he looked a bit uncomfortable. I wondered why until I met his boss, the manager.

This guy was cut from a different cloth. He seemed arrogant, condescending and patronizing.  After attempting to speak to him all I wanted was to get out of the store as fast as possible. I told him he had lost a really good customer. He clearly didn’t care. He didn’t even offer me a compromise.

I share this today to make a point. It is so important to honor your long term customers and do whatever you can to keep them happy and coming  back for another five years. It costs nothing to listen and be supportive, but it costs a huge amount to be uncaring.

The sad part is that this guy didn’t own the store. He was a hired manager. I have no idea if the owner carried these same values, but I can only assume he does.  Here is my credo for customer service.

1. Treat your customers like they are your sales team because they are.
2. Offer them a good deal to make them feel special because they are.
3. Never let them go away unhappy. You can’t always fix everything but you can listen and try to find a solution.

Customer service is the 7th piece of the marketing circle. Good customer service needs to be a part of your marketing plan. Do whatever you can to make your customers and clients feel special and valued.

Some days I feel that I am my own worst enemy. I remember reading Pogo cartoons when I was growing  up  ( I realize this probably dates me). I remember his famous line, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

If I could just get out of my own way, everything would just run so smoothly. I would get so much done and be so productive.

Whether you call them mental blocks, internal obstacles or thinking errors, they do the same thing. They stop you in your tracks and keep you from moving forward. They are all based on fear and self doubt.

Here are the most common five blocks and  suggestions to get past them.

1. Thinking you can’t afford it.
Some costs are actually investments in your business, and will in fact, bring you more money. Learn to differentiate between an investment and an expense. Focus on developing a positive prosperity attitude. Eliminating the words “can’t afford it,” is the first step.

2. Feeling like there is just not enough time to do everything.
Time is, in fact, endless and never runs out. It’s all about how you use your time. It could be that the real issue is your organizational systems.

3.Needing to do everything yourself and it’s just too much.
Your business will stay small unless you can let go and trust your ability to manage a team that can help you. Look for creative ways to get help.

4. Stuff that feels too hard and out of your comfort zone.
Everyone can’t be good at everything. If something is too hard you need to find someone to either do it for you or teach you, but don’t avoid it if it’s important.

5. The poor economy will affects your  business no matter what you do.
Focus on what you have total control over. You have the ability to spiff up your marketing, your organization, your leadership and your products. Focus on that and you can make a huge difference regardless.

Are you ready to make that shift from feeling blocked?

Join my  new 6 class seminar that begins in March 9. Get instant clarity, focus and transformation. Low investment and huge benefit.   Wake-up Your Marketing

Sign-up for my Free Prosperity Challenge.

Do you want your potential clients to stay on your website, sign-up for your newsletter and  maybe even call you?  Of course you do  because your website is your most important marketing tool.

Most of us know this and almost every business has a website these days.  However, most websites I look at miss the mark completely in one huge area. They fail to build empathy with their potential clients.

What exactly does this mean?  One definition on Wikepedia says “To empathize means to share, to experience the feelings of another person.” When a person feels empathy from you, they feel that you get it and you understand them. If you feel that someone really understands you, you are much more likely to trust, that they can also help you.

The very first thing on your website needs to be about your client and how they are feeling about their own situation.  Talking about you or your services doesn’t build empathy in any way shape or form.

Have a look at your website from the eyes of your clients and their issues and their needs. If someone has a back ache, they don’t necessarily need a massage. They do need relief from pain and hope that they can stay pain free. They want to feel good.

If someone is stressed about their debts, they don’t need your financial advice. What they do need is a feeling of hope and to be free from financial stress. This formula is true for whatever your service or product, whether you are selling vacuum cleaners or acupuncture.

If you aren’t sure how to do this get some help, because this one tweak on your website will transform your whole business and your potential clients will stay on  your site longer and are more likely to get involved.

Have a quick look at my website and notice the headline and the first sentence. Does it speak to you? Notice it doesn’t say anything about me or what I offer. Look at your own website and see if you are hitting the mark or whether you need to adjust your content. Contact me if you need help.

I met with a small group of entrepreneurs last week and as people shared about their business, one thing everyone had in common was a feeling of overwhelm when it came to business planning. Each person could easily state some goals they wanted to accomplish, but the next part got foggy.

One thing I noticed was that the goals were usually big and very general, and therefore overwhelming. It’s one thing to have a goal and quite another thing to know how to reach that goal and make it real. Here is a simple three step process that will help you to make it more manageable and therefore attainable.

1. Vision
Create a crystal clear vision of what you want to attain. The more details the better. The process of making a vivid vision will force you to work out the unclear parts. If you were building a house, you would need to have detailed blueprints to follow. Your goal needs to be just like that; a blueprint of where you want to be and what you want to develop.

2. Plan
Once you have the vision, the next part is to write out a step-by-step plan of what needs to happen. “I need to call this person, get this information, complete this project, hire this person etc.” This is sort of a to do list of everything you can think of that would help to bring this vision into completion.

3. Action
It is one thing to have a goal and vision with the knowledge of what you need to do, and quite another thing to actually take action and do it. The first thing is to identify the obstacles in yourself  that are keeping you from taking action. How will you face these obstacles and what is the first action you will take. That first action will begin a domino effect and get you going.

You can use this simple formula for anything you want to accomplish.