WĀ-HINE

It may seem strange to talk about selling a service-based business as a business coach, but Sarah Davies from Sweet Spot Business Coaching points out it’s one of the many ways she helps her clients. To be fair, it’s just another stage of business ownership many of us go through when you think of it. But it’s a notoriously hard one to pull off successfully! BECAUSE... When you’re a service-based bu...

ARE YOU PROPOSAL HUNTING? In case you’re confused, I’m not asking if you’re trying to get somebody to go on one knee. Rather, I’m wondering if you’re constantly looking for the next opportunity to get a business  proposal in front of somebody.  🤔 SEE... At one point, my event business was counting 12 staff over 2 different locations. It felt like this massive hungry beast that was always demandin...

A GOOD PROPOSAL IS NOT A QUOTE! That’s important, because if you have been sending out quotes, rather than proposals, you’re going to win (or lose) business on price, not value . Because... you’re not letting your potential clients know WHY they should pick YOU. And before you know it... You’re dropping your price to match everybody else’s. You’re chasing more leads (because those bills need payin...

PROPOSALS ARE MIGHTY IMPORTANT! From one small service provider to another  . . . W hat can you do to increase your proposal success rate? How can you play to your strength in the proposal writing game? I had a good think about this and figured it all boils down to 3 proposal writing myths   that hold you back. (I’m sure you’ll recognise them.) But also (and maybe even more important), what can yo...

CALLING ALL SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS . . .  As a small business owner, there’s a good chance putting on your leadership boots is NOT part of our natural skill set. Maybe, l ike I was, you are  fighting a daily battle with imposter syndrome. BUT BEING A LEADER IS INDISPENSABLE IN A SMALL BUSINESS ! So how can you be a good business leader, even when your business is small? Jen Meyers of ‘Gener8 Leader...

IT’S HARD TO OVERESTIMATE THE ROLE OF PEOPLE IN BUSINESS SYSTEMS. Undeniably, tools and processes are core components (we spoke about that in part 1 and 2 of our mini - series), BUT without the humans involved in your business, they mean nothing ! Your clients, your team, and the leadership team all play their part. But a few things need to fall into place to get the best out of your business tool...

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS PROCESSES CAN MAKE YOUR SERVICE- BASED BUSINESS GO POW! When you hone in on them in  conjunction  with your business tools and your team, they provide the key to growing your business from small to large. See, for us service - based business owners, the right software will free up time for all the other things you have to do in your business. We spoke  about this last week. But...

Much of my conversation with you about growing your business boils down to 3 things: Finding t he best systems and tools appropriate for a small business Setting up t he procedures that take them to the next level . Looking after t he people that use the tools and follow the procedures . Get these 3 right and you’re well on your way to success. So, I’m taking you on a 3 episode journey, and you’re...

Can I afford to hire an employee? It’s a question I received from a podcast listener. The answer is not always straightforward. So, I’m sharing a 3 step checklist I use to get a confident YES to the question. I f you want to know when to hire for your small business , y ou N eed to deeply understand your business financials . Have a vision of who you are, where you are going, and how you want to d...

Today on the podcast, I talk with Julee Yokoyama. Julee helps people with their CYA plan. That’s short for Cover Your Ass .  😂 Because when sh *t hits the fan and you (for whatever reason) are unable to be present in your business, Who will figure out where to find the flipping passwords? How do they know what payments need to be done NOW or can be expected to come in? Should they cancel any subs...

Are you feeling like you are running close to the wire with important deadlines, doing all the easy tasks first and procrastinating on those “feel too hard” items, and micro managing your team? WELL you’re not alone my friend, and I am here to tell you there is a better way. TASK TRACKING IS CRUCIAL for staying organised in business, avoiding missed deadlines, forgotten responsibilities . . .  . ....

  It’s a fresh, new year and you know you need a plan for your business to achieve those goals that you want for yourself and your business. BUT it’s in the too hard basket, am I right? LIFE GETS BUSY! Then the plans in your head go out the window and a whole year goes by without you achieving those goals! HOW DO I KNOW THIS?  Because I never used to have an annual plan and it kept me stuck for wa...

FAILURE IS A VALUABLE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY! You might not feel so at the time BUT Reframing and viewing failure as a learning opportunity c an lead to growth and improvement in your business. In this shorty episode I'll discuss the failure, the fear, the obstacle it can become and how to develop a growth mindset instead.   SO . . .  If you're SCARED TO FAIL at this entrepreneurship game,...

SELF-DEVELOPMENT IS KEY TO UNLOCKING YOUR POTENTIAL. And who doesn't want to be THE BEST THAT WE CAN BE in our personal and business lives? Choosing a word or phrase that resonates with you to help guide your decisions and actions throughout the year will help you move out of your comfort zone and experience life and business in a whole new way. In today's world of shiny new objects left...

Creating your future business by design rather than default? IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE! Because the best way to predict the future is for us to create it. And we are more than capable of creating our own futures. It is super easy to create a business by default, especially as service providers when we start out in our business - before you know it, you are saying yes to all the things . . . and...

When I'm working with a client, one of the first things I always ask is what they want their business to give to them? It’s THAT important! Do you know? WHY ARE YOU IN BUSINESS? Sadly, t here's an expectation that it has to be deep and meaningful. And I want you to dispel that thought today. Your WHY is whatever you want it to be ! Frankly, it's not for anybody else to say if your W...

CALENDARS You’ve got to love them ... or hate them. Love them, because... can you even imagine running a business without them? And hate them... BECAUSE IT’S SO EASY TO BECOME THE SLAVE OF YOUR CALENDAR. Which means... It’s time we take control of our calendars, before anybody else does. Because... they will!!!   😳 And in this ‘Shortie’ I’m going to talk you through what  I’ve learned over the ye...

OUR BELIEF S  SHAPE OUR REALITY . Take a moment to let that sink in, because this is important. See... we may be setting goals all we want, but if we have this inner belief that, for whatever reason, we’re not good enough, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. And that’s kinda sad, wouldn’t you agree?   🥲 So, it makes an awful lot of sense to address those limiting beliefs. Which is exactly why...

Michael Hyatt nails it when he says: “ To accomplish our goals, we must distil our dreams into daily actions. ” But that  is easier said than done. When we live our daily life, we go through the motions. And it’s hard to keep your eye on the price, with all the day - to - day noise going on around us. SO ....HOW DO YOU BREAK DOWN YOUR BIG LOFTY GOALS INTO DO - ABLE DAILY ACTIONS WITHOUT GETTING LO...

WHAT GOT YOU HERE  IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU THERE . Huh? A s we embark on a new year full of promise, we like to dream about big lofty goals for our business. But what we like to forget is that the person who you are now  is not the person who is going to get you to that destination. So if in 2023 you've got s ome big dreams for your business, before you do anything else, I want you to conside...

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THE END OF A YEAR... AND THE START OF A NEW ONE. For me, it’s a natural point in time to draft up a plan for 2023. WHAT WILL MY KEY FOCUS FOR BUSINESS IN THE NEW YEAR BE? Call it my ‘ New Year’s Resolution For Business Success ’  if you must. Fact is that I have my process that I revisit every year. It’s simple, but ... also dynamite. AND I LOVE IT! 😍 FREE resources you wi...

ARE YOU MISSING OPPORTUNITIES BY IGNORING CLIENT OFFBOARDING? I say you probably are. 😭 See, when the project is done, we’re eager to move on to the next big thing. All excited, ready to hit the ground running. BUT I’ve spoken before about the power of data. I’ve mentioned the importance of getting a clear view of your client profile, your unique position in the market, your client’s pain-points,...

Why bother with client onboarding, you ask? Here’s some advice from an agency owner who’s done the miles: CLIENT ONBOARDING IS A MAKE - IT - OR - BREAK - IT MOMENT. No, I’m not being over - dramatic. See... If you get it right, you’re guaranteed to have a happy client for life, who will - no doubt - refer you on.  But, if you get it wrong, they’ll be taking their business elsewhere at the first op...

ARE YOU THAT PERSON WHO FINDS SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES BORING? OR RESTRICTIVE? While, of course, everybody is free to do what floats their boat, I’m also here to point out that a lack of systems and processes will at some stage restrict the growth of your business . And I’m going to assume that this is not quite what you have in mind... I'm saying this because you NEED systems and processes to o...

When scaling your done-for-you service based business is on your mind, your attention should go to the systems instead of stubbornly sticking with the hustling practice.  WHY? Because there’s only so much hustling you can successfully fit in a day as a business owner without paying the price. 🥴 BUT when you streamline the processes and systems, on the other hand, you can hand over the job to the...