Do you have good systems and planning in place, but still find that interruptions monopolize your time? Do your customers all feel that they must personally speak with you? Read on to find out how to clear time to focus on the important things and eliminate the interruptions.

You have systems handled, but now you need to add a system to manage interruptions. Look at the interruptions and work out where they are coming from. Is it staff questions, or telephone calls or family wanting something or, heaven forbid, clients? Now ask yourself who gave them permission to interrupt you? Chances are there’s only one answer to that. You did.

Begin to change the situation by setting some guidelines. Continue reading →

Are you at the stage in your business where you know you need help, but wondering where to start and what to look for in a business coach? I can help!

I’m a coach, so by definition, you may get a biased answer. I will try to be as unbiased as possible in my advice.

You need to be clear about what you want. Know that a coach won’t do the actual work for you (that’s what you might get a consultant in to do – but after the expense of that, it is quite likely that you, and or your business, will go back to doing things the way they were done before). A good coach will help you shift your thinking about your business and gain an understanding of basic and essential business principles and then guide you in the best way to implement them. Continue reading →

You’ve heard all the talk about systems and their importance, but you’re not sure where to start. Well today I’ll be sharing with you what a system should look like and how you should go about putting them in place.

I will start by defining what a system is? It’s a way of performing any given task in a consistent way that will give a predictable outcome.

The next questions should be, in relation to a specific task, what does the system need to accomplish and who is responsible or accountable for the outcomes? Then get their buy-in and contribution to the development, because without that they will have little incentive or enthusiasm for its success. Now begin developing the system by stating the outcome. Continue reading →

Has your business been making steady progress yet you’ve been feeling you could ramp up from a small business to a mid-sized one by buying one or two competitors, complete with staff?

Today I pose some questions for you to consider regarding expanding your business.

–How ready is your current business to double or treble in size?
–Are all your systems in place?
–Are you clear on your future organisational structure and what needs to be in place to get where you want to go? Continue reading →

Do you have great sales people who look after the majority of your clients and feel that you are losing personal contact with them? Do you need to reconnect with your clients?

Yes, you do. If your clients don’t know who you are, your salesperson could easily take some with her if she leaves. Read on to find out how to reconnect with clients without overstepping your salesperson. Continue reading →