Question from Neel, Knoxville, TN from the ASK Roger page.

Entrepreneurs face this question every day.  Your start-up phase (the first 3 years; if you make it that far) will challenge most people way beyond their original thoughts and expectations; for instance:

• long days with after hours spent in administration and bookkeeping
• time away from family; evening networking events, Saturdays and Sundays re-stocking
• no time to rest; inability to take a vacation
• last person to be paid; employees, landlord and suppliers come first

Everyone who starts a business has a plan and they work diligently towards execution.  This is the “fun” period where every purchase reinforces the owner’s freedom to make decisions…but remember you are not open yet there are no day to day demands from customers and staff.  Most entrepreneurs trust their instincts when it comes to being boss and rely on the people skills they have acquired from adolescence, however unless you are a licensed Human Resources professional most of us are ill equipped to handle the people issues.  This takes away some of the passion when we get bogged down with the motivational and people issues of others.

So how do you stay positive and passionate as you work through your first three years?

• ensure you have a built in profit margin to sustain growth; cash in the bank will make you want to tackle the next day
• differentiate your product and service and attract a wide following of loyal customers; traditional media and social combined
• treat your staff with respect and train them to see the bigger picture; you can impart confidence and willingness by helping them prepare for greater future responsibility
• elevate and mentor someone to relieve you so you can take a vacation
• read more business books and articles; this helps foster new ideas
• align yourself with other business owners and associations; attract a mentor and coach

Last but not least hug your wife and kids daily or someone special in your life to let them know you care about them too.

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Jim Collins, the bestselling author of Good to Great[1] offers this nugget of wisdom: “get the right people on the bus”.  He  explores how to get your people in the right seats.  The idea is that everyone is driven forward by definition of the goals and through proper placement within the organization.

In the business world people management is critical.  The goal is to have productive people engaged in their work in an empowered meaningful manner.  To improve employee performance today’s leaders learn first to respect their workers before earning the right to coach them to new heights.

Yes, coaching.  Like a hockey game you have to get the most from your team to win.  You promote their core strengths and you help them improve and to stretch.  Together you work on the individual becoming stronger.  When the employee realizes you have their back and are helping them achieve success the greater the engagement.  The result leads to greater sales and production or maybe even the Stanley Cup.

Here are a few tips on encouraging employee engagement:

• Get to know employees as people not slaves; be accessible, visible and listen well.  Take an interest; how can you benefit them, what can you teach?
• Be transparent; explain “why things are done” with common sense reasoning behind methods, protocols and policy;
• Involve them in big picture thinking; employees who shine are those who share the company’s vision.  Recognize your stars.
• Encourage them to share their ideas and skills with others.

How do you know when you have earned respect, trust and engagement?  When the feedback you get sounds like: “I got that”; “I’m on it!”;   The empowered worker gets included in the big picture and an engaged team will differentiate your business from your competitors.

This is not only a good read but makes a marvelous reference manual.  Before reading David’s book I considered myself a dinosaur when it came to understanding social media, blogs, and the internet in creating brand awareness.

Scott sheds incredible light on new age marketing as he explores traditional advertising media and compares it to why today’s entrepreneur must adopt to rules that are constantly evolving.

Scott begins his book in Chapter I with How the Web Has Changed the Rules of Marketing and PR. He advises; “If you…have an interesting story to tell, you need to tell it yourself.  Fortunately the Web is a terrific place to do so.”

Chapter II describes Web-based Communication to Reach Buyers Directly. He asks, “What is Social Media anyway?”  He likens it to a cocktail party where many people vie for attention by working the room and handing out their business cards. However, that model only works if it becomes the starting point of a new relationship.  “The popular people on the cocktail circuit make friends. People like to do business with people they like. And they are eager to introduce their friends to each other.”

Scott uses the metaphor of the Web as a city.  “Corporate sites are the storefronts on main street…Craigslist is like the bulletin board at the entrance of the corner store; eBay is a garage sale; Amazon a bookstore.”  Imagine yourself walking down your main street.  You walk a block and meet someone you know on the sidewalk, you chat, learn something then move on and meet someone else , you chat and learn something more and a business lead and follow-up plan is hatched.  Now think of being able to do that every day without leaving your office…that is social networking.

The book is more than this brief description it goes much further in “thinking like a publisher”.  The main message for me was being able to realize that the Web and all the related enhancements with blogs, video, viral campaigns, news releases and overall content can help my customers reach out to their customers and build upon their existing relationship through electronic touches.    I highly recommend adding this book to your business library.

We talk about contribution all the time.  What is the aging quarterback able to deliver?  How far can we stretch ourselves to the greater glory of the organizations we represent?  How do we balance home and work life?

The unexpected death of our daughter this past week served to provide perspective and humility to our definition of contribution.

Our daughter was mentally and physically challenged but she fought on for 28 years to give those that cared for her a special place in her and our hearts.  This past week has taught us there are other ways to measure her gift to society and it’s not in numbers.  What about the social element and emotional connections made over a lifetime?  Here is what we have learned:

• All life matters
• The disabled enjoy life in ways we “:normal” folk cannot understand
• The disabled learn to trust their caregivers for being fed, clothed, bathed and touched, you can see it in their eyes and movements…a non-verbal thank you
• Caregivers of all stripes can and do make a difference
• The disabled can and do love back

We said goodbye to our daughter Friday at a simple tree planting and balloon ceremony. Although she had her special needs she was loved by all who met and interacted with her.

Our daughter’s contribution was the ability to get normal folk to love her and by so doing leave behind in them a spirit of wanting to do more for others.

Contribution therefore, can be measured not in numbers alone but in the knowledge that giving of one’s self and leading by example can inspire others to do more for the overall good of the cause you choose to champion…work or at home.

I walk into my office everyday and am reminded of both my past and my future.  I have adorned my ego wall with award plaques, recognitions and photo collages with celebrities.  The impression I want to leave my visitor(s) is simple; “this guy has been there, done that and has experience.  I want to know more about him.”

The achievements while worth noting are of course past history; the question a customer really wants to know is what can you do for me today?

If we can be completely honest here as human beings we tend to gravitate to the reward model of life.  Generally this is where we plateau after we accomplish something of importance, tending to want to bask in the spotlight for the moment, take a well deserved rest and then maybe plan for the next goal.  We actually de-motivate ourselves because we only see what we’ve done not what we can yet accomplish.

True winners and achievers like Olympian athletes continue to strive for greater achievement even after winning gold; why else would we have athletes collecting multiple medals?  What drives them to be the best…better?  If we could only tap into the magic of their motivation we too could win Gold more often. Right?

The truth is its part drive and it’s more coaching.  Someone is driving them to stretch beyond what they accomplished yesterday.  The past is the past the future is now and tomorrow.

If you’ve reached your plateau and want to go further but lack the understanding of how then you may need a business coach and mentor, someone who can challenge you to be your best while imparting enough wisdom to make the quest educational and enjoyable.

Look at your achievements as part of an exciting past; now figure out how to channel that experience to meet the future.