Red Flags For Business Owners And How To Avoid Them

Is focus just a bunch of hocus pocus nonsense that adds a little psycho babble to our business day, or is there something to this concept that what we focus on really does make a difference in how something will turn out?

Apparently, focus does matter. Brad Sugars, Founder of ActionCOACH cautions business owners to be careful about what they say, or more importantly, to be aware of where their focus is so as not to head down a path of negativity. Let”s look at a few areas business owners face that have red flags associated with them.

* Where Have My Customers Gone?

Business owners need customers. If you look at the cycle of business, business owners support their team, their team supports the customers, and the customers support the business owners. So, losing customers is obviously critical to survival and growth. According to Brad Sugars, Founder of ActionCOACH business coaching, business owners should focus less on losing the customer and more on why their customers are leaving. If you look at why customers have stopped working with you, the statistics are striking:

* Death and other: (1%)

* Move: (3%)

* Sold by Competitor: (9%)

* Product/Price: (14%)

* Perceived Indifference: (68%)

Many business owners think the reason their customers have gone by the wayside is because of competition, but clearly, the numbers tell a different story. Perceived indifference basically means that the customer is under the impression, for whatever reasons that YOU DON”T CARE!

So, I have to ask you, do you? Sometimes we get so caught up in our own workload, stress, goals, and everyday happenings that we forget about focusing on the one thing that keeps our business alive: our customers.

* If It Wasn”t For Bad Luck, I”d Have No Luck At All!

Sugars further cautions that the messages we give ourselves set up what we expect will happen. Look at his examples:

* At a green light when you think please don”t turn red what happens? It turns red.

* When a football team puts in the prevent defense, what happens? It prevents them from winning.

* When a salesperson thinks about a prospect and hopes they don”t buy from someone else, what happens? The prospect buys elsewhere.

* When a player is shooting a free throw and is focused on not missing, what happens? He or she misses.

Sound like anything you find yourself saying? We all do it, think the worst, but oftentimes we don”t realize that in thinking and voicing the worst, we are inviting the worst to happen.

Now, we have to stay real. As a colleague says, “I can wish to crap gold nuggets, but we can be darn sure that”s not going to happen.” And he”s right. It won”t. But as business owners, our needs are not that elusive. In talking with business owners, I found these to be the top things they strived for:

* To create a business that delivers profitably, productively, and with enough information for me, my team, and my customers to make sound decisions.

* To effectively handle any challenges that come up

* To hire a dream team that understands the company”s vision and mission, and that is enthusiastic and effective at delivering that message

* To have the time, money, and energy to enjoy a life outside the business and to not be strapped to it 24/7

* To grow my business so that I can either pass it along to my kids or sell it at a profit

To start, go ahead and make that wish list of things you want to see happen for your business. Make sure that your focus is positive and goal oriented. For example, look at a recent list a client made:

1. Be better at tracking and measuring everything

2. Get my team to quit complaining and start doing

3. To get the wife off my back about my hours and how tired I always am

4. To get out of the poorhouse. I”m tired of chasing money. I work my ass off and for what?

How can these “wishes” be turned into positives? Sometimes it”s as simple as making them proactive statements rather than focusing on the negative. For instance, the list above revised as a proactive list might look like this:

1. Track and measure everything to allow me to see where systems are working and where improvements need to be made.

2. Provide more training and incentives for my team, making sure they are clear on our company”s vision and mission and motivated to do well.

3. Put more effective systems and processes in place to allow me more time, energy, and money for myself and my family.

4. Invest in my customers by adding value (not discounting my prices), making them feel valued and important and thereby grow my business.

Think this won”t change both your attitude AND the attitude of those customers with the perceived indifference? When you feel yourself slipping into the negative (“We”ll never make budget this month”) force yourself to refocus that concern toward the positive, “What steps can we take to increase the budget this month?” and just watch what happens.

Clearly, focus does matter. We want to be careful not to give too much of our time and energy to things that are drawing us away from what we came to do: grow a successful business. A business coach works with business owners on lead generation, referrals, increasing sales, increasing profits, and staying focused on steps they must take to put effective processes and systems in place. He or she will also help you build a strong team, lead and manage well, and explore ways to wisely invest in your customers.

So, where”s your focus? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this and other business topics.

For advice and access to proven systems that will advance your business, visit: Hestia Olsztyn Jaroty

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