being your own boss
30 Nov
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Grow Your Expertise

The Good, The Bad, and The Profit of Being Your Own Boss

Being an entrepreneur has its pros and cons. Running a business and being your boss sure has its benefits. However, roses have thorns. A proper understanding of an entrepreneur’s life would help you prepare for the positive and negative aspects of running a business.

While running a business affords you a sense of happiness and fulfillment, stress and pressure are also significant parts of the package. It’s a packaged deal of freedom and control, mixed with long hours and compulsory dedication.

Benefits of being an Entrepreneur

You are the boss

Being the boss is a rather obvious benefit of being an entrepreneur. It is one of the primary reasons why being an entrepreneur is so fulfilling and attractive. You are in control, the captain of the ship calling the shots and making things happen. 

Your thoughts and decisions make real impacts. It is way better than submitting suggestions to a middle manager who ignores them or takes credit for them. Every move you make affects real impact and change. 

You are in charge of your earning and finances

Another significant advantage of being an entrepreneur is that you determine how much you earn. You have the power to improve your earnings. How much you make isn’t left to the mercy of your boss or some obscure company policy. 

How much you make is based on the effort you put into your business and how much you decide to pay yourself. Of course, you must be careful not to suck your business dry. Nevertheless, financial independence is a major source of joy for all entrepreneurs.

Flexible working hours

Another major advantage of being your boss is flexible working hours. You get to decide when and how long you work. You can organize your schedule so you work at the time you are most effective. For instance, if you are a night owl, you can manage your schedule to sleep during the day and work through the night; This is impossible in a corporate 9-5 job.

Flexible working condition

As an entrepreneur, you get to determine and influence the environment in which you work; This ranges from equipment, co-workers, furniture, office location, etc. You get to create the perfect conditions for you and your business to grow by surrounding yourself with the right people and the right ambiance.

Job security

Being an entrepreneur means you can’t get fired. The fear and pressure of getting that threatening letter from your boss don’t exist. Your drive to work hard is based purely on achieving your goal and taking your business to the highest peak possible. Your motivation is positive enthusiasm to meet your full potential.

The joy of building something real

The joy of creating and nurturing a business is so overwhelming and fulfilling. Building your business from the ground up brick by brick, client by client, project by project, and sale by sale is bound to fill you with a sense of achievement. There is a special and joyous pride that comes with being the owner and builder of a successful business. That feeling is worth more than silver or gold.

The good, the bad and the profit of being your own boss.

Cons of Being an Entrepreneur

Your clients and team are your employers

As an entrepreneur, you are your boss. However, you are still accountable for a lot of people. You are responsible for your clients and customers. In many ways, you are responsible for your teammates whose careers are in your hands. If you want to run a successful business and lead an efficient team, you have to relate with everyone with guided respect and care. To be a good entrepreneur, you have to be answerable to your clients, customers, and employees. Treating them with respect and thriving for their joy and satisfaction is a necessary ingredient for success.

Long hours, pressure, and stress

Being an entrepreneur requires impossible hours. Sometimes you had wished there were more than twenty-four hours in a day. Success in entrepreneurship usually requires dedication, consistency, and determination. Everything hangs on your shoulders. There is no pressure or fear of getting fired. However, the task of keeping your business running and growing is enough to keep you busy and under intense pressure.

Financial insecurity

One secret that most people tend to miss is that with financial independence comes financial insecurity. Earning a salary gives you a steady stream of income, making it easy for you to plan for the future. However, as an entrepreneur, your rating is reliant on the success of your business and the market and economic cycles.

In essence, you don’t know for a fact how much you or your company would earn. Plans and projections are essential; however, they are not guaranteed. The business world is very fluid, and so is the financial state of an entrepreneur. To stay in business and avoid brokenness, you would need to have good financial discipline and money management skills.

Conclusion

Most times, entrepreneurship is presented in a single light. Super dark or super bright. However, entrepreneurship is a spectrum, and getting a clear picture would require careful consideration of all pros and cons.

In truth, some features of entrepreneurship double as pros and cons. It all comes down to how well you manage your business.  The good news is the pros outweigh the cons by an extensive margin.

Position 2 Profit Membership

Position 2 Profit Membership is for an online business community of leaders who want to position their business for profit. Business evolves at a different level when profit begins and how does your business grow from there? The group is led by Allison Todd, Operations & Digital Growth Strategist. Our members are committed to building a network of referrals, resources and accountability.  Entrepreneurship is hard but you don’t have to do it alone.

entrepreneurial spirit
27 Nov
Entrepreneurship, Inspiration

How to Stay Tuned In to Your Entrepreneurial Spirit During the Pandemic

With the coronavirus on the loose and wreaking havoc on every industry globally, the life if an entrepreneur just got harder. Entrepreneurship is riddled with a lot of challenges and uncertainties.

However, this pandemic has heightened these challenges and uncertainties, making it even more difficult to run a business. In some parts of the world, running a business is downright impossible.

With many opinions and views out there on the best course for businesses and entrepreneurs to take, deciding the next step is even harder.

There is so much information and recommendations available, increasing the level of panic and uncertainties in the hearts of entrepreneurs.

What to do?

Rather than add to the growing noise and bombardment of information, we had rather keep things simple. The spirit of entrepreneurship is at its core problem solving and thinking outside the box. It’s the art of managing situations and adjusting to changes.

The virus has been affecting different sectors. While some businesses are facing booms and finding it hard to keep up with demand g. deliveries and logistics. Other companies are facing decline and finding it hard to keep the lights on e.g., restaurants and cab owners.

As an entrepreneur, now is the best time to take a step back and get in-tune with your entrepreneurial spirit. Don’t get carried away by the ocean of information and find yourself in an uncontrollable situation.

Access the situation calmly and choose a specific course of action after weighing the pros and cons, with your business and industry’s factors in mind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the world is changing. And as life returns to a semblance of normalcy, new opportunities would come up, and some old business models would solidify. Ensure that you are in the right mindset to make the best out of the changes.

This is not the time to go with trends or make rash decisions. The key is to find the right balance between flexibility and rashness. Make quick but profoundly informed decisions, not hasty and ill-informed ones.

customer onboarding
25 Nov
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business

Webinar: Customer Onboarding After the Sale

This webinar Customer Onboarding After the Sale will maximize your customers’ success, satisfaction, and retention with an exceptional post-purchase plan. The strategy taught in this webinar will give you the tools to welcome your new customer.

There are two reasons your clients decide not to stay after purchase. And you want to be prepared for both. Firstly, the customer doesn’t see the value in what they purchased. Secondly, the customer doesn’t understand your product or service. As such, you will create a post-purchase system to ensure customer satisfaction and successful product use.

AFTER THE SALE

Your customer wants to hear what you have to say. After all, they made the purchase. During the event, you will create content to ensure your customers achieve their desired results with your products and services. You will also outline the automated components of your post-purchase system. Your host, Coach Allison Todd, will guide you through each module.

  • Plan the Post-Purchase Experience
  • Set Up the First 30 Days
  • Create the Process for the Next Month & Beyond

WEBINAR TAKEAWAYS

During this webinar, you will get the tools and content needed to create your post-purchase process. From start to finish, this framework guides you through the planning and implementation of your customer onboarding process. Plus, all registrants receive a free download of the 3-Step Customer Onboarding Checklist. Tell your customers what to expect up front.

  • Understand the value and necessity of having a structured customer onboarding process to aid in customer retention and future sales
  • A step-by-step process for developing a customer onboarding program
  • Identify the key customer components that motivate future sales

ABOUT COACH

Allison Todd helps micropreneurs scale their teams and their profits through operations and digital marketing strategies. She is an accomplished executive with more than 20 years invested in managing businesses, building brands, and coaching executives. As a result, her work includes a variety of consulting services such as sales, team development, digital marketing, and executive coaching.

CUSTOMER ONBOARDING AFTER THE SALE CHEATSHEET
Customer-Onboarding-After-the-Sale-Cheat-Sheet
scaling your business
23 Nov
Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Productivity

Scale and Grow Your Business with Allison Todd

Scale and grow your business with Allison Todd because building business is not easy. So, don’t do it all by yourself. To make the most of your business, you must consider every detail. Every stage of business has its own set of challenges. And the art of balancing the time and money investment to ensure a profitable outcome isn’t easy. Thus it requires commitment and consistency to see your plan to goal.

The difficulty of starting a business is nothing compared to the tasks of scaling a business. One of the many wows of business includes that first time you make a profit. It is the subtle reassurance that you are on the right path. But, the real hurdle is doing that over and over again. Adding resources to business, consistently while adding revenue. This is what it is to scale your business.

Ideas are the foundation of business. And business are built on plans, reliant on execution. Plan BIG. Those plans include streamlining systems and automating processes, selecting the right team, understanding data and measurements of success and more. How you plan your profitability is just the beginning.

Irrespective of your market, from small to big business, a significant determinant of your business success is the scalability. It means you are managing all aspects of your business and making a profit, as you grow. It’s a fine balancing act of every piece of your business.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s the planning, productivity, position, people and profits. This is what the scale to profit package offers. It is more than just a successful marketing plan, it’s your whole business.

Coach Allison Todd and her team will help position your business for profit. They provide an actionable plan for business growth. The scale-to-profit package helps to turn your small idea into a profit-generating business.

marketing strategy to increase sales
20 Nov
Digital Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Productivity

Improve Business Sales with Better Relationships

Advanced Sales and Marketing Services

Improve your business sales by attracting and developing better relationships. For instance, you must have a plan that cultivates your business value. Our sales and marketing model positions your business for profit. In other words, it helps you be less transactional and more relational. With the right customer service approach, you make a direct impact on your bottom line. Is your business ready to grow?

A well designed plan leads your customer to you, over and over again. Therefore, the goal is to focus on your current clients while attracting new ones to improve business sales. The strategy guides your customer acquisition process. Your unique selling proposition to demonstrate your business model and cultivate value.

Sales Consulting, Design and Planning

The key to customer acquisition goes beyond reduced costs. Take our sales journey and develop the road map to better business. The right model improves visibility, increases awareness, and reveals why your business stands out among your competitors. But don’t leave your competitors out of the process. It’s important to keep an eye on your industry and learn as you grow.

Above all, the best marketing plan includes word of mouth advertising to improve business sales. As a result, boost your sales by attracting your prospect. It’s important to gain an understanding of your market analysis, target audience, purchase path and buyer’s map. We are dedicated to working with business leaders who develop a brand story they are eager to share.

Our sales strategies include tactics and methods to acquire new customers and build a strong relationship. Allison Todd and team SiMar help you build the perfect sales and marketing model. For more information about our sales business expertise. Improve your business demand, contact us today!

19 Nov
Grow Your Business, Productivity, Team Management

4 Sales Training Strategies To Build A Powerful Team

Effective sales strategies starts with clear and outlined processes and ends with the right team member. What sales strategies are you using to build your sales team? After all, the sales team determines business growth and stability. They are the people in charge of building good relationships with your customers. You can’t close the sale until you first build trust. Often trust equates to the customer being confident you know what you’re talking about, thus what you are selling. As a result, your sales team is essential to business success.

The most practical way to build a powerful sales team is with consistent and ongoing training. Your training strategies should motivate nurturing relationships while advancing sales. The content of the training should enhance the sales experience, address challenges, increase team performance and create a thriving workplace culture. In addition, your sales team members should have foundational learning and be open to adopt new sales techniques.

As a result, the team will be equipped to drive sales and contribute to business growth. These four sales training strategies will help build a powerful sales team.

Sales Training Strategies

Four Sales Training Strategies To Building A Powerful Sales Team

1. Practice Contributes to Perfection

Practicing your sales techniques is a great way to improve the business experience. The first and most important sales training strategy is practice. This includes role playing, shadowing, self-assessment and more. This also allows the business owner to best understand their teams’ assets. The opportunity for self-assessment, question and answer and collaborative conversations are all aids to the team member. This allows your team member to stay present and up to date in their expertise.

2. Train In the Field

The knowledge acquired from sales training is golden. And applying that knowledge in the field, also known as real world experiences, is critical to team development. Much of what you learn as a salesperson focuses on your ability to listen, problem solve and offer solutions to your customer. As such, a consistent customer service approach, will prevent you from responding to emotion vs rational. Therefore, real world experiences strengthen professional expertise. Teaming up a new sales member with an experienced sales member is an avenue to creating additional techniques. Each party can shadow the other, collaborate to develop new ideas, discuss techniques and troubleshoot challenges. Other real time experiences include business meetings, conferences, call reviews and customer reviews all provide real time practice and feedback.

3. Motivate Your Team Through Success Stories

Be okay with showing the team what works and what doesn’t. With transparency and constructive criticism, you provide your team member as much value as training. It’s also helpful to provide reasoning with action.  Apart from teaching sales theories, sharing success stories can inspire and motivate your team. Let your team hear other experiences and the different methods others use to overcome challenges. These strategies should be broken into digestible lessons reps can implement. Allow the team to analyze business process and expose them to strategies behind every successful sale.

4. Collaborations With Thought Leaders

These are valuable lessons transmitted from years of industry experience. And there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Leaders in your industry and in your business should be invited to discuss and share their sales experience. Oftentimes, you can learn as much from an expert as you can in a training class. Your team members can discuss and review the shared lessons with people who have an in depth understanding of their goals. Thus meaningful patterns of information provide the team member and the business owner value.

Conclusion

If you are getting the sales training right, then your sales team is responding with more sales. Don’t be afraid to adopt a “think out loud” method in your meetings. And recognize that your sales teams are constantly evolving. Insight, information and discussion are invaluable. Invest in your sales department, empower your employees, and give them access to the best sales training technique and resources.As a result, your business and the team will grow.

Teach Them to Sell

This e-book helps you identify the reasons your team isn’t performing as well as they should be. It offers tried and tested sales strategies to help you build the most productive and profitable team.

Four Sales Training Strategies To Building A Powerful Sales Team

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19 Nov
Grow Your Expertise, Start Your Business

How Can I Monetize My Skills and Expertise?

Are you the one people always call for advice on a certain subject? The truth is when you are an expert in your field; people value your knowledge and opinion. The question is how will you monetize your expertise and create multiple streams of income.

Online courses, seminars, workshops and keynote speeches are some of the many way to create income streams. The goal is to create ways that allow you to be recognized for the things you are good at while you teach your audiences new skills. Your knowledge is why your friends and family trust you, so spend some time creating your offerings.

Being knowledgeable is one thing; knowing how to utilize, package and monetize that knowledge is another thing. Choosing the right strategy to diversify your skills. Then spend time in discovery and experimentation until you get it just right. By all means, don’t forget personality is as much science as art.

Monetize Your Expertise

Here are a few steps to help you strategically monetize your expertise in a profitable way.

1.    Audit Your Experience

Monetizing your skills and expertise goes beyond knowing your expertise or your field. It involves knowing yourself. You must know your strengths and how it compliments your expertise. As such, audit your experience. What skills do you possess? How will those skills solve other people’s problems?

The key to this step is to realize what you have in terms of skill and talent. Are you an accountant with great organization skills? Or are you a good marketer with super sales techniques? Perhaps you are a successful entrepreneur who is excellent at public speaking. You are an expert already, so how will you present that expertise? After you audit your skills and knowledge, combine what you have into a perfect and easy-to-consume product(s).

2. Who is your Target Market?

Before deciding what to do with your skill and expertise, you have to closely analyze your target audience. While you want to create a product from your talent and knowledge, you also want to create a product that your customers would appreciate. 

You have to figure out those who need your expertise and focus your energy on producing for them and selling them. 

For example, a writer can write any type of content, but if his target audience wants useful information and wants it fast, then a blog post would be most convenient.

Figuring out who your target market is would help you create the perfect product and content. It would also help you market yourself and your business strategically.

It is unwise to market an online class to busy execs. Consultancy or short, summarized content would be more suitable for their needs and schedule.

3. Creating your product

After analyzing yourself and the market, you are finally set to produce value. At the core of monetizing your expertise is creating value. People would pay for the amount you add to their lives and business.

Other than being conscious of your strengths and taste in the market, you must also ensure that your service or content offers value. 

A book, online course, or keynote speech, whatever you are selling, must change your customer’s life for the better. If it isn’t doing this, then your product is useless, and you have to go back to the drawing board.

4. Marketing

Irrespective of what your monetization strategy is, marketing plays a significant role in the level of your success. You must be able to convince your audience of your skill and the value of your product.

All marketing avenues are fair game, from online ads to free videos on YouTube and publicizing your portfolio. The key is to establish yourself as an authority and back it up with quality.

People wouldn’t buy anything you are selling until they are convinced that it is valuable. It is your job to do the convincing and no one else’s.

Conclusion

The process of monetizing your expertise is very technical and intentional. You can’t just wing it and hope for the best. Without adequate planning and in-depth analysis of yourself and the market, failure is a very likely outcome.

To get the best value out of your expertise, you have to offer the best value possible. With in-depth planning and execution, you can create multiple channels to monetize your skill and expertise with ease and convenience.

executive leadership coaching services
05 Nov
Team Management

Team Development: Allowing Businesses to Go from Fine to Excellent

The key to transforming your business into a highly lucrative venture is team building and development. The growth and performance of a company depend on the efficiency and performance of its workforce. 

Business efficiency is fueled by synergy in teamwork. The process of proper team development requires proper guidance and orientation.

As a leading business coaching agency, We at Si Mar Inc are dedicated to transforming your current team into the dream team. Our team-building approaches and systems are highly customizable to meet your business’s needs and improve overall performance.

At SiMar Inc, we focus on promoting your team’s ability and building an efficient and intelligent workforce. We at SiMar Inc understand that communication is the foundation of every team, and that is where we start our building process.

Through carefully planned and designed exercises ranging from group discussions, team retreats to conflict resolution, our experts on team building would have your team running at full capacity in no time.

A well-developed team has no issues identifying its roles and responsibilities and executing its objectives. At SiMar Inc, our ultimate goal is to improve your business’s overall health by developing your team to perfection.

Comprehensive Team Building and Development Services for Small Businesses

At SiMar, we are highly efficient at facilitating team development strategies. The process of team development usually involves;

  • the analysis of issues
  • The assessment of available options
  • Arriving at shared agreements and plans to implement action.

At SiMar Inc, we offer a broad range of services to address your team’s real weakness. Each of our team development packages is designed to meet specific needs.

Different groups and different businesses require different team development strategies. At Si Mar Inc, we take it upon ourselves to help you figure out your team’s needs and how we can help.

Team or Brand Formation

Is your team made up of the right people? If yes, are your team members in the correct position. At Si Mar Inc, we offer an in-depth assessment and implementation of team formulation strategies. The strategies are designed to help you select individuals with the right skills and attributes and fit them into the right positions. 

The first step to building an efficient team is selecting team members and sharing roles and duties. Si Mar Inc’s in-depth team formulation strategies are sure to guide your decision towards efficiency.

Strategic Planning

Team Development can not be adequately executed without proper strategic planning. At Si Mar Inc, we help businesses create plans for effective implementation of the team development process.

These plans and strategies can easily be adjusted to fit your business units, departments, branches, and subgroups. With strategically planned and implemented team development, your business would always be on track for growth and progress.

Board Leadership Management

The success of a team is highly dependent on the effectiveness of its leader. Board leaders, Executives, and Managers need to identify the leadership styles that work best with their strengths and attributes. There is no one size fits all leadership style.

At Si Mar Inc, we recognize and recommend the leadership styles that work perfectly for your team and your executives through our detailed analysis and insights into behavioral tendencies.

Executive Coaching

Effective leadership is a skill that must be obtained and honed. Your executives and team leaders must understand basic leadership principles must know if your business is to succeed.

At Si Mar inc, we offer executive coaching services with the sole aim of equipping your executives with the necessary principles and skills to take your business to the next level.

Team Innovation

Teams tend to get stuck when faced with expansion or new circumstances. The ability to adapt and innovate very quickly determines the survival of a business. Things are always changing, and only teams and companies that can innovate would keep up and stay in place.

The window of opportunity to innovate is still short, and most couples find it difficult to move fast enough or at all. At Si Mar Inc, we help teams get unstuck and set them on the path of innovation and dexterity. Insights from our highly experienced experts are the best way to keep your team ready to innovate with the times, on time.

For more information on our expertise in team building for your business, contact us now!

02 Nov
Team Management

What are The Five Stages of Team Development?

Team development is crucial in ensuring the efficiency and improved productivity of your team. If your team isn’t well developed, you will find your workforce operating far below its full potential. 

The benefits of team development are numerous. As a business owner, the continuous review and development of your team is a prerequisite for success.

It is one thing to know the benefits of team development and identifies it as a necessity. However, knowing how to go about developing your team is even more critical. 

Without proper knowledge of organizing and implementing your team’s development, you might end up wasting your team’s time rather than improving cooperation and attaining synergy.

The first thing to note about team development is that there are stages. Identifying the set your team currently occupies and the next step in your team’s progress would give the process of your team’s development focus and direction.

As an entrepreneur, you are the captain of your team. Therefore, knowing your team’s roadmap and destination is necessary for taking your team to greater heights.

Stages of Team Development

Team development is known as the effective process of learning to work together. According to Bruce Tuckman, an educational psychologist, there are five stages of team development, namely:

What are The Five Stages of Team Development?

Forming

Forming is the first stage in team development. Here team members are just getting to know each other—the stage where the team members find out their roles and other team members’ roles. During the stage, the basic structure of your team is developed. 

The stage is a very crucial point in the development of your team. It would be best to orientate your team’s duties and how they fit in with other team members’ responsibilities.

This is also your first time proofing yourself as a competent leader. This stage requires you to convince every team member that you have a plan and their careers are in good hands.

If you are working with an old team, then a structure would have been established. In a situation whereby your team’s structure isn’t optimum for productivity, you might have to go back to this stage and make some necessary reforms.

Storming

Storming is the second stage of team development. In this stage, your conflict resolution skills as a leader would be put to the test. This stage is filled with conflict and competition. 

The initial politeness fades, and your team members reveal their real personalities. This stage is quite problematic, and in most cases, production is greatly affected negatively. 

It is your job to ensure that no conflict or clash goes unresolved or unaddressed. Seeds of discord that lead to long term damage in the team are sown at this stage. Failure to address disagreements at this stage would stunt the growth and development of your team. 

Most business owners find it challenging to handle this stage of team development. However, once you cross this stage, your team would develop at a fast pace.

Norming

This stage involves your teammates adjusting to their roles. Unity and cohesion begin to emerge as team members find it easy to corporate. They are familiar with their roles as well as the personalities of their team members. 

However, this isn’t a guarantee of peace and progress. The norming stage is a stage of fragile peace and unity. Now and then, little spats might spring up, and old conflicts might reemerge. 

It is important to note that the norming stage is not a guarantee that a team cannot fall back to the storming stage. The norming stage marks the beginning of synergy. However, this fragile stage must be protected and guided with care and intention.

Performing

At this stage, you have finally developed your team into the dream team. Production is at its peak, and cooperation is smooth and seamless. Few issues might arise, but at this stage, your team has developed simple conflict resolution strategies.

All efforts of your team members are geared towards the success of the firm. Productivity and efficiency are rarely affected by distractions and conflict.

Adjourning

This isn’t a stage in the normal sense of the word. We can tag the adjourning stage as the review stage. There should be a scheduled meeting in which the progress of the team is reviewed. 

This usually entails acknowledging the team’s progress and awarding praises to team members who performed exceptionally well. This is also the perfect time to discuss ways to move the team forward and new strategies for further development. 

The Adjourning stage is necessary to keep your team performing at optimum. Neglecting this stage could lead to your team slipping back into a state of chaos and storm.

Conclusion

Team development is a continuous process that requires constant and intentional effort. Properly developing your team ensures that your team members work at optimum capacity while enjoying happiness and fulfillment in their careers. 

Position to Profit Membership

Entrepreneurship is hard but you don’t have to do it alone. Members learns about the Scale to Profit System, business development, business operations, sales techniques, building the perfect team.

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