Archive for the 'Life Plans' Category

May 03 2010

Visions and Missions and Thrusts, Oh Boy! . . .

DREAMERS DREAM

                                      

AND TRYERS TRY,

                                            

BUT DOERS

                                  

GET IT DONE! 

    

     A “Vision Statement” addresses the ultimate objectives or finish line of your business pursuits, and can serve to point your business in a meaningful direction.

     A “Mission Statement” underscores commitment to move toward that finish line, and usually suggests or outlines the pieces of strategy your business needs to follow to get where you want to go.

Great, right? Business owners need all that stuff to pump up the troops and prompt droves of prospects –like Clark Kent peeling off the suit and glasses to burst on the scene as Superman– to run to the cash register and become instant paying customers, right?

Here’s how I size up my own training/coaching/consulting prospects: those who gush forth their vision and mission statements at every turn need my help; they are like kids with new toys, caught up in the moment and oblivious to the fact that what’s important in business is getting things done, not talking about getting things done.

These wannabe visionaries who can readily run amuck with their pocketsful of guiding light statements, often seem to get themselves preoccupied with communicating their aspirations to the rest of the world (in their emails, ads, blog and social media posts, websites, promotional literature, phone messages, and news releases).

They need instead to simply redirect that energy into taking realistic steps for achieving the dreams they’ve verbalized. Somewhere along the way, some company got the idea that the public really cares about the details of their goal pursuits and future plans. Reality check: They don’t.

Generally speaking, small business owners and managers will do best to keep their vision and mission statements to themselves and their employees (and perhaps investors). Hopeful and strategic business thinking are usually best shared with the world-at-large when the world-at-large recognizes the brand as a household name.

To spew private small business goal-focused messages out to the public with the hopes of surreptitiously soliciting, exploiting, and rallying business is like using a shovel for a hammer; sometimes it might work, but it’s not what shovels are intended for.

Anyway, these are the kinds of clients I can easily impact; they are already doing something and simply need to channel their energies more productively. It takes only a few forward thrusts of action to start to make things that really count begin to happen.

Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US 

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals!

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

One response so far

Apr 28 2010

WORDS to pump up employee support:

MONEY

                             

DOESN’T GROW

                                             

 ON YOUR BOSS’S

                                        

TREES EITHER.

                                                          

(SETS OF WORDS TO CHERRY-PICK FROM AND ADAPT AS NEEDED)

                                                                          

     DEAR EMPLOYEE: I know you are a basically honest person or you wouldn’t still be employed where you are, doing what you do. And I greatly appreciate your loyalty.

     This message is intended in the spirit of seeing the business you work for, and your own career pursuits –both– experience unprecedented success in the months and years ahead.  

     You should, first of all, know that –as the Boss– I am working for myself and my family, and for you and your family, and for everyone else involved, to provide the best possible product and service quality for the best possible dollar value to our customers.

     I am doing this when we’re closed as well as when we’re open. There’s hardly more than a few minutes ever pass, day or night, that I am not thinking about ways to improve our business, and ways to provide more opportunities for growth to employees, suppliers, and customers.

     I am writing this to enlist your increased support in attitude and productivity. I can only feel comfortable in making this request because you have proven yourself capable, and you have demonstrated your ongoing commitment to sustain yourself and your family by being conscientious and by working hard.

     Now I am going to ask you to accept increased responsibility without increased compensation, but with the increased assurance that when your extra-effort help starts to kick in, I will be certain to see that you are appropriately rewarded with corresponding job security. The more effort we get from everyone, the more opportunities will surface for participating in management leadership teams. 

     The product of our combined extra efforts will lead to more productive and more protected jobs with greater compensation.

     For me to hold up my end of the deal, I need you to start now acting like more of the leader and teammate you have demonstrated you are capable of being. When you observe personnel, system, or equipment breakdowns that you know how to deal with, step in and deal with them. When you are not sure about what to do, come ask. Sweeping problems under the rug only produces bigger problems.

     When you are aware of someone padding their hours, not honoring the terms of their employment, acting lackadaisical or disinterested, filching supply items, or treating equipment abusively, you are doing this business and your own career a disservice by looking the other way.

     I am not urging risky confrontation or that you play “tattle-tale,” but I am suggesting you consider that avoiding the reality of what’s going on is akin to avoiding your responsibility to do the best you can do to help your own family. Only by protecting and nurturing the interests of this company, can your career here be expected to grow and thrive.

     You see, I am not made of money any more than you. You may look at how I live and conclude that it’s like cruise control compared to all your hard peddling. I assure you, the hidden stress makes it a no-contest situation.

     Dealing with the banks, investors, lawyers, bill collectors, insurance agents, the landlord, over-the-top government controls and regulations (and all the accompanying paperwork) is not fun and games. I have no complaints. It’s what I do.

     But for us to get out of this economic crunch, I am going to need you to pull more than your usual share to help me help us to turn things around so that all of us can enjoy greater freedom. Are you with me? What three things can you do this week to help us get this renewed mission started?      

Click Here to work with Hal!

Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! 

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Apr 22 2010

Resentment Batters Family Business

“You’ve been a

                           

pain in the butt

                                                

ever since

                                  

you were born!”

 

                                                                

     You own, operate or manage a family business. God Bless You. Now let’s get down to reality. Odds are that you, or at least someone you work with, harbors resentment. And those upset feelings are getting in the way of business growth, perhaps survival. When we collect negative feelings about someone else, resentment is usually the accompanist.

     Resentment often takes the form of a demand that the other person feel guilty. In the classic Addison-Wesley book Born To Win, authors James and Jongeward suggest, “When you become aware that your resentment is growing, handle each situation as it occurs and with whom it occurs rather than collecting and holding your feelings, and perhaps cashing them in for a big prize or on an ‘innocent’ person.”

     The world renown educator/counselor/co-authors recommend the following steps for dealing effectively with resentment:

  • “Try to talk the problem over with whoever is bugging you.

  • When you attempt this, avoid accusing the other.

  • Tell the other person how the situation is affecting you. Use the pronoun ‘I’ instead of an accusative ‘you.’ [For example, ‘I don’t like smoke; it bothers me,’ instead of  ‘You’re really thoughtless the way you blow your smoke around.’]”

  • Remembering that the solution to any group problem lies within the group, James and Jongeward go on to urge that in a family group, it is helpful to set up “resentment and appreciation sessions,” which they point out need to have specific rules. Here is how they define that process:

  • “Each person in turn verbally states the resentments he holds against the others; (it is important that the others listen but do not defend themselves. The statements of resentment are to be let out but not reacted to.)

  • After resentments have been stated, each person tells the others what he appreciates about them.”

     When first learning how to conduct this kind of session, do it daily. After it can be done with ease, stretch it to weekly.

     In some working situations, resentment and appreciation sessions can be useful, “particularly where people work together closely and personal irritations occur easily. If it is tried, all members should agree to a trial period — say two months.” At the end of this period, the usefulness of the procedure can be re-evaluated. If “participants decide to continue, they could decide on adaptations and establish regular session times, like meeting once every two or three weeks,” or whatever seems “practical.”

     It should go without saying that an outside professional facilitator or family business coach can play an important role in establishing and moderating this kind of program. The more structured and enforced the process, the more likely it is to eliminate or minimize nonproductive ill feelings and be able to help produce positive results.

     Is all of this easy? Probably not. Does it take time? Yes. Is the risk reasonable? If everyone involved is agreeable to pursue positive and productive solutions, yes. Should you try it on your own? Possibly, if you are not personally involved in the resentment exchanges, or directly related to those who are, and have a firm but compassionate leadership quality.  

# # #

Hal@BusinessWorks.US 

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You!

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

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Apr 19 2010

HALF-HEARTED LEADERS

If you’re not gonna

                                            

finish stuff,

                             

don’t start it.

                                                       

     I’ve seen guys who are so slow, you’d think they were going uphill in molasses, backwards, in the middle of a blizzard. And the flip side brings out the best in frenzied, knee-jerk, entrepreneurs with maniac schedules. Then there’s the workaholics who barricade themselves off from the rest of the world to avoid dealing with feelings of intimacy.

     This is, curiously, also one of the main (usually unconscious) reasons for obesity: it’s hard to express feelings when food is going down the throat. So, here we have those who want to work themselves to death, those who prefer death, and don’t those who don’t want to work at all. What a choice!

     My father always told me,“If you’re gonna do something half-assed, don’t do it at all!” and I guess that stuck, but I must admit there have been times when I sure wished I had the capacity to choose to just wing it, instead of seeing a task all the way through to the end. Well, I suppose that sets the stage for taking a brief look at quitters.

     Who cares? I do. Okay, well maybe I don’t anymore; but I did. I always believed in learning something from everyone. Quitters were no exception. What I learned from these partly-pregnant people (and that, believe me, is one very big feat!) is that they shouldn’t be functioning in today’s business world. But they are.

  • I have had no fewer than four clients I can recall who hired me, paid me, put me through the wringer with meaningless changes, told me they were delighted with my work, and even paid the next level of application (printer, website designer, and media people), but never finished the job. Two even paid extra for “exceptional” work!
  • One guy delayed printing a brochure I wrote for him for ten months. He paid me and he paid the printer nine months ago. Then one day he decided to finish the job which was — by then — practically outdated, but that didn’t matter.
  • A website client had me write ten pages on a “rush” basis, hurry to get the site designed, pay everyone involved, put the site on a disk, and pack it away. Now, a year and a half later, she decided she wants to launch it. Go figure.
  • Another individual contracted me for writing his business plan, which he said he loved, and then put it on the shelf to collect dust. I could go on. It simply amazes me that people do this.

     Having a sense of urgency about your business will carry your business through the lean times. Foot-dragging will simply be a ball and chain affair in trying to address business ambitions (if there are any). Who could ever know what goes on in these minds? I’m happy to report that most clients I’ve had, have made great successes of the materials I’ve created for them.

     They take the marketing plans and programs and materials and run. And when more business comes in the door, they come back to me for more. That’s the stuff that makes it all worthwhile.

     The other stuff? The stuff that never gets finished? Don’t bother to start it. And if you do, start it somewhere else where people appreciate lethargy and indecision. I’ve learned all I can learn from those folks: that half-hearted leaders get half-hearted results!   

# # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US 302.933.0116

Open Minds Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Apr 18 2010

Think You’ve Heard It All?

Grab Your Hat

                        

and Get Your Coat

                                                             

  . . . Then Take

                                      

These 5 Steps!

                                                       

     Think you’ve heard it all? You have. You’ve read the management books, trade magazines and professional journals. You’ve watched every TV special that’s related to your business. You’ve sat through endless repetitive lectures, webinars, seminars, workshops, blogcasts and stage presentations by big-name motivational speakers.

     You’ve checked hundreds of related websites and thousands of related online stories and emails. You’ve even listened to and interpreted the deep-down meanings of favorite songs and the advice of favorite uncles.

     You’ve listened to the warnings, scoldings, and tidbits of genius dished out over your lifetime by your mother, your father, your teachers, business and marriage partners, and even — in your weaker moments — politicians.

     You’ve heard it all!

     Now it’s time to do something productive with what you know, to put all that input to work. Make it make money for yourself and your family, steer it in the direction of building/strengthening  the reputation you want for yourself and your business, enlist your knowledge in directions that will help others to improve their self-worth. How?

  1. By recognizing first and foremost that what you do or don’t do with what you know is your choice.
  2. By priming your pumpTake some deep breaths; get regular 3- times-a- week exercise; sleep and eat better. The more the merrier, but any and/or all of this will make you feel better and perform better.
  3. By sorting out your ideas and the information that works best for you in your situation right now. [These are different for everyone] Prioritize them, then start on making Number One happen and keep at it to the exclusion of all the others; then, move on to Number Two, etc.. The most important first step is to take the first step. Some action is always better than no action.
  4. By remembering Winston Churchill’s famous battle cry: “Never give up. Never, ever give up!” Be tenacious. Be persistent. Be persevering. Stick-to-it-tive-ness sells! And when you do what you do with grace and respect and confidence, you will engage others, not chase them away.
  5. By recognizing that EVERY customer and prospect has an ego that’s as least as big as yours, but has not perhaps promoted it in the same ways. Back off your own self-indulgence and become a fan of the person/company/organization you seek to sell.

     Bottomline: You HAVE heard it all. You KNOW what to do and how to make it work for you. You know this in your heart and you know it better than anyone else could possibly know. You’ve just spent too much time questioning and delaying and doubting yourself. If the risks involved are reasonable ones, put your peddle to the metal. There’s no such thing as a second first chance.

Click Here to work with Hal!                                        

Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! 

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Apr 13 2010

Watch What You Post!

The Cyberspace

                                     

World Bank 

                                               

is saving our

                             

beat old posts

                                     

for just the

                                  

right occasion! 

                                                                

     Maybe it’s too late to count ourselves out of the award-running for the World Cup of Stupid Internet Comments, considering how dumb that snippy-snappy email or website post was that we angrily tossed off a couple of years back when we were more irate and quick trigger-fingered . . . but we don’t have to have it start an avalanche.

     Remember that comment we posted on some website way back when? You know the one. It went something like:  

“If you knew even the first thing about business, you dumb geek, you’d get out of that garage of yours and get a real job while you return to the college you dropped out of, and furthermore, Billy Gates, if you think I would ever consider hiring you to even sweep my floors you’re sadly mistaken. You’ll never succeed unless you can stop dreaming and finish your education!”

     Like an elephant, Cyberspace never forgets. The comments we make today on mover and shaker sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BizBrag, Salesblogcast, iSALESMAN, Google, PoorIrishman, TBDConsulting and InterlakenInn are being watched and talked about. But so are the posts we put on downscale, disreputable sites like those commandeered by network media, incompetent government agencies, and porn purveyors — where what we have to say is given no more credibility than what’s said by the hosts.

     Almost all of what we have to say today that has any substance to it, carries with it the promise of coming back to haunt us (if not bite us in our respective butts) ten or twenty years down the road.

     Never before in history have we the people subjected our innermost thoughts and most volatile expressions to such states of accessible public permanence. Today’s passing thought will not land in a ribbon-tied bundle of letters socked away in a shoebox on some closet shelf or in some attic trunk waiting for discovery by distant generations.

     When we hit that email “Send” click, or website “Post” button, we are literally donating our private thoughts and feelings to eternal public scrutiny. It’s taking some time for this to sink in, but the reality of it is striking. Where else in history did people set themselves up to make scathing, heat-of-the-moment remarks only to have them be dissected and subjected to overkill, out-of-context evaluation 24 hours a day, every day for lifetimes beyond their own?

     The trick here is to:  

A) Think before we click  

B) Realize that anything we say, can and will be used against us in a court of public opinion (and having the right to an attorney won’t make a hill of beans difference!) 

C) Trash our computers and never look back! 

D) Overwhelm all of our friends and followers with a tsunami of upbeat messages that even our severest critics can’t help but cry tears of joy at our transformations. (“Kill ’em with kindness!” me mother usedta say.)

So, uh, before you comment below . . .                                                                             

Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! 

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Apr 12 2010

Keeping “Family” Out Of The Family Business!

When you add

                           

a splash of red

                                     

to a sea of blue,

                                   

people stop

                                              

noticing the blue…

                                                                                           

     My wife Kathy (God Bless Her!) has been my business partner for 23 years. It takes an extraordinarily special relationship to survive and thrive in the same workspace AND the same homespace. 

     Oh, but don’t thinkI have a limited perspective on this. I’ve worked with every kind of FAMILY business imaginable … from restaurants, HVAC, farms, clothing, sewage, chiropractic services, heart surgery, landscaping, mattresses, trucking, dentistry, lumber, accounting, candy and travel, to manufacturing of computer and rocket-ship parts that fit under your fingernail. And that’s just my tip- of-the-iceberg list.

     Yeah, you might say, but just doing their brochures and websites doesn’t put you in the thick of things. How do you know what it’s really like? As a management consultant, trainer, coach, and counselor, believe me I’ve seen it all. I’ve managed succession planning, rookie coaching, crisis intervention, family foundations, partnership formations, partnership separations, and one fist fight.  

     The biggest problem with family business is family. Family relation-ships are a hotbed of emotions. Consider the statistics that claim every one comes from a dysfunctional family, which means there are an awful lot of weirdos out there. When the dysfunctional types become part of the family business, people see the business as dysfunctional. When you add a splash of red to a sea of blue, people stop noticing the blue.

Only a handful of really smart family business leaders have the good sense to realize a proven professional can help grow the business AND save the family.”

     When high emotions reign in a family business, you can be sure the business will not be a recommended long-term investment. Business ventures can be immensely emotional and supercharged, but keeping control of all that energy requires great leadership finesse, objectivity, and balance.

     Imagine a ship in a stormy sea, with an angry, blood-vessel-on-the-cusp-of-bursting, near-incoherent, screaming captain at the controls. You’d want to be figuring out the quickest route to the lifeboats. Some family businesses keep these stormy sea antics below deck, but they still take their toll.

You’d want to be figuring out the

quickest route to the lifeboats.”

     Here’s the good news: None of it is necessary. Here’s the bad news: Only a handful of family business leaders have the good sense to realize a proven professional can help grow the business AND save the family. The basic principles of anger management, stress management, time management, communication skills (especially effective listening), goal-setting, and leadership transparency are the ingredients of family business transformation and success. Someone who knows how and when to use these tools can help you get the red splash out of your sea of blue, and steady the controls.  

     The more generations involved, the greater the need. The more family members involved, the greater the need. The solution direction is simple. It takes a commitment to want to succeed, a willingness to share “dirty laundry” with an “outsider” (and a sense of partnership and perseverance with that outsider) to combine forces to make a difference.

     Family business growth and development is directly tied to the 4 R’s: Receptivity, Responsiveness, Responsibility and Respect. If those are present, an experienced coach can help them all work for the good of the business, and the good of the family.  

                                                                                                                                                                     

Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! 

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Apr 10 2010

Are YOU really worth “an arm and a leg”?

“Start savin’ your

                         

toenails, kid!”

                                                                       

     Growing up, my father always told me things were too expensive by saying “they cost an arm and a leg.”

     Heaven forbid, I used to think, that we should ever willfully exchange body parts for materialistic possessions! Unless of course hair, and toe and fingernails suddenly blast the roof off the commodities market, and can be traded in collector jars or Ziploc bags for cars, flat screen TVs, Wii programs, iTunes, and sushi hand-rolls.

     But remembering the exaggerated childhood lesson in economics, I am prompted to raise the question: Am I really worth what I charge? I look around me and see a zillion other businesspeople, who haven’t a fraction of my hard-earned experience, charging outrageous fees for services they clearly haven’t a clue about, like strategic marketing and leadership development (or HRD, or CRM, or SEO, whatever those are).

     I see even more zillions of people who are self-proclaimed writers (minus of course the ability to communicate) or “social media experts” (can you believe even: “Twitter Coaches”?), yet when I weigh my worth, I rationalize that I write as well if not better than many of those over-the-top-paid authors out there. And only God knows about the rah-rah Twitter Coaches? (And the crowd roared: “FF, RT, Give ’em a Tweet and break their feet!”).

     It gets tiring to be so overloaded with pinkie finger talent and only be getting 35-cents an hour. So what’s the answer? Wayne Dyer? Zig Ziglar? How many dollars have you spent buying quick-fix books, tapes, pyramid marketing schemes, CDs, instant cash programs, seminars, webinars . . . huh? And who’s making money on whom? 

     Oh, and a great interview the other night on Delaware TV with a man (who looked like he was wearing Salvation Army clothes) captioned “Avid Gambling Fan.” The slot machine puller noted how wonderful more casinos would be because “it’s a great way to be able to donate to charity and not pay taxes.” 

     The point is that you’re worth to others whatever you think you’re worth to yourself, and if your life is all about thinking you’re worth 35-cents an hour, you are! If you are so blind as to see slot machines and casinos as your savior, you are surely headed back to the Salvation Army for a full wardrobe. Wayne and Zig? They have plenty of right answers, but your brain has to be open and receptive enough to gain their value.

     Twitter Coaches? Pfffffft! Good luck! The answer about what you’re really worth is in your spirit. It’s in your attitude. It’s what you believe about you. And all of that is a choice. So stop sitting around choosing to drag yourself down when you can just as easily choose to pull yourself up? Hmmmmm? That’s maybe a better question. 

 

               Comment below or Hal@BusinessWorks.US Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You! Make it a GREAT Day! 

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Apr 08 2010

Is Your Business Having A Power Outage?

“We’ve been

                                    

without power

                                                   

for days, and

                              

all we hear is

                              

‘Yeah, soon!'”

                                 

     Been there and done that just a few weeks ago. Let me tell you it’s no fun, especially with an in-home office at 40-degrees, prohibited road travel and no computer access for a computer-based business. Thank God that’s passed (88-degrees today), but recalling the no-heat/no-hot-water/no-power-anything experience, I am prompted to propose that a periodic “Leadership Power Assessment” might prove to be a valuable checkpoint for business owners and managers.

Do your business power shortages promote internal power struggles? Do circuits get overloaded? Do you bring in power washers or introduce power plays with a power lineup capable of delivering a power punch during peak power hours?  . . . Or just rely on flower-power? 

     We all have it. Many wield it. Many use it ineffectively, at the “wrong” times, with the “wrong” people, and in the “wrong” settings. True leaders (military, spiritual, business, educational, sports, home and family, and maybe a handful of government/political types in a few states and lots of small towns) recognize that leadership has more to do with HOW power is exercised than with the amount available. But it must be available. Appliances only work when they’re plugged in.

     Unfortunately, mainstream media continues to believe that the only way to sell advertising time and space is to accentuate the negative, and to focus on making incompetent government leaders appear skillful, well-intentioned, and visionary when they are none of the above. Just imagine one of these national “leaders” running your business for even a week . . . talk about power failure nightmares!

     For effective leadership to happen, power must be exercised transparently with appropriate disclosure of the rationale for a request. Power must be exercised respectfully and diplomatically (except perhaps in military and quasi-military type stress conditions, where captains in storms must order crew compliances without regard for niceties).

     Effective leadership needs also to be anchored in the the reality of best available intelligence resources and findings (turning, for example, to real small business owners for input on legislation impacting small business, or holding customer focus group studies to find out what your customers really think).

     In your own business— as with our national best interests — there cannot be successful exercising of power without the fulltime vigilance it takes to ensure freedom, without carrying Theodore Roosevelt’s big stick while speaking softly. The tools of power must be in place to start with, and fully oiled and maintained if the gentle, warm and fuzzy motivating approach is to ever produce meaningful results. Those who think otherwise are naive in their judgement of terrorist limitations because there are none.

     There is a thin line between flaunting power and quietly having others know it’s available. But removing power from the equation will greatly weaken your business clout and ability to get things done. On a national level, it’s an unforgivable and highly threatening decision . . . all the more reason to shore up what you’ve got invested in your business now, and begin to work at it with a stronger sales focus. Sales are, after all, the only business activity capable of driving economic turnaround. 

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Apr 07 2010

Selling Services? REINVENT YOURSELF!

“Go West, young man!

                                                          

Then South, then East,

                                                  

then North, then West

                                           

again, then . . .”

 

You may think you’re a creature of habit and that you have your daily routines to follow, but as truth will have it, you consciously or unconsciously reinvent little pieces of yourself every day by choosing the clothes you wear and the foods you eat, the ideas you think about, and even the people you choose to smile or snarl at.

So, you’re already on the path of reconstruction. How about re-visiting the parts of you and your business that are most exposed to others, and decide if those parts are really holding their own, or if maybe it’s time to consider reinventing yourself . . . or your storefront, or your website, or your business name, or your logo, or branding identity, or lineup of services you offer, or the ways you communicate your business message to the the outside world?

I learned that most successful entrepreneurs, and particularly those with service-oriented businesses — whether run from a garage, a kitchen, a fancy office, a warehouse, or the back of a truck — are those who work at staying flexible and at communicating that flexibility to their investors, employees, and customers with the frequency of a Twitter Tweet.

In applying that thinking over the years, I changed the name and identity of my business many times to best fit changing operational logistics and market dynamics. When I left the NY ad agency life for NJ college professorship and was still restlessly seeking a more entrepreneurial existence, I went into business to compete with the college that I believed was too invested in status quo curricula, and I started UNcollege.

As more businesses sent participants to the nontraditional instructional programs UNcollege provided, I switched gears to become Management Training Center. When the recession wiped out business training budgets, I segmented the training programs and took them onto the air waves with my own daily radio show, BusinessWorks On The Air, then into editing Business Talk magazine, as I folded Management Training Center into BusinessWorks.

The media exposure drove more business startups and revitalization consulting and marketing projects my way and BusinessWorks  evolved to specialize in healthcare practice development work. I wrote and published two well-received “doctor” books and opened HealthCareWorks.

As my writing turned more literary, and then more marketing focused, I closed down BusinessWorks and HealthCareWorks and opened my four year-old business, TheWriterWorks.com, LLC. which hosts this blog site and www.BusinessWorks.US and within a week will add a third site while participating as partner in two other upcoming online ventures. I now write business websites, ads, news releases, articles, and books . . . and specialize in reviving struggling organizations with customized ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP consulting services that get results!

None of this is job-hopping, or suggesting of insecurity or fly-by-night businesses. It is the layering on of ongoing knowledge pursuits with fresh, new-look entities — each providing better, more targeted services than the last.

Has it been easy? No. Worth it? Yes. Exciting? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Has it cost client relationships? No; it’s called: “Stay in touch!” Has it cost reputation? No; I’m still me and I still deliver overkill value. Has it opened more doors? Yes.

Reinventing what you do is a reasonable risk because it’s not changing what you do; it’s changing the ways you communicate what you do to better apply your services to take advantage of market need opportunities. Scared? Stay as you are. Bored? Reinvent yourself by challenging the business you currently run to be as spirited as the business you once started.

# # #

Hal@Businessworks.US  931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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