So what is the key to success for a young business entrepreneur?

Recently I read an article about a woman that started a restaurant business in Canada in 1987. She is Cora Tsouflidou and is the founder of Chez Cora and Cora’s Breakfast & Lunch Restaurants. They now have over 100 stores in Canada and are looking at further growth.

In the article she stated that young entrepreneurs should be dreaming less and have more discipline in their business. So what is the discipline that she speaks of?

Discipline by definition is controlled behavior or self-control. That means having a plan or a way of executing all aspects of your business. It is not flying by the seat of your pants and hoping that things work out right.

How do you get this discipline? It starts in the training or orientation process. Let me give you an example. Have you ever baked a cake? Let’s say if the recipe stated that you put 1 tablespoon of baking soda and you put in 1/2 of a tablespoon? What would be the result? According to my spouse the cake wouldn’t rise. It is the same when you do inappropriate things at the wrong time in your work. So discipline is needed. It is so important that an Operations Manual must be developed for all aspects of your business.

What actions can you take today to become a more disciplined business?

What is holding you and your business back?

Venture capitalist Geoffrey Moore believes that it is your operating plan and the ideas in it.

That sounds pretty harsh considering that you are very pleased with your progress, doesn’t it?

Let me explain that if you are working in your business, you are guaranteed to like the progress you are making. Although if you are working on your business you will never be satisfied with what you did last week never mind last year. This is because you know that if continue to do what you’ve always done, you will be out-paced by some new company or new idea.

Being aware of the competition is very important as if you aren’t aware of them, they will knock you for a loop. To become a better competitor you need to follow what marathon runners do;

1. Endure, that is remember that you are in it for the long-term, the entire contest.
2. Be prepared, you can’t run the race if you haven’t trained and improved on a consistent basis.
3. Improve your health and diet as if you don’t feel good how do you expect to have the energy to do all you need to do.
4. Emphasize and use your strengths during the event.
5. Stick to the fundamentals in your preparation and while running the race.

Can you see what is holding you back?

Do you have balance in your life?

When one area of your life is in disarray do you feel ‘out of control’?

If you feel challenged that is a good thing. I say that because it is your inner being telling you that you don’t have balance in your life. There are 7 areas of your life and you need to be experiencing life through all of these parts in order to be fulfilled;

• Work
• Learning
• Financial
• Physical
• Social
• Family and
• Spiritual

By becoming a more balanced person you will be less stressed and feel better about your life. This is because if one area of your life is ‘out of control’, when you view the other areas of your life and they are good, you can have a more relaxed attitude to life. By being more relaxed, you will also be more effective.

My question to you is; would today be the right day to start to view your life in a more encompassing way?

Have you differentiated your business in your advertising?

Creating an ad is just more than putting your name on it, isn’t it?

The other day I was looking at a publication and noticed that each company’s advertising had great pictures and a few slogans. The ads were so similar that one logo or company name could have been substituted for another. The problem with these ads was that they didn’t identify anything special about any of the companies.

Copy differentiates one company from the other. You probably think that people don’t read copy in advertising. Well research has proven that if an ad is done effectively, the copy is read. In order to get people to read your ad in it’s entirety you need to grab their attention with a headline then expand on the headline with copy. This copy is a full explanation about what the headline offers and what makes you distinctive.

If you aren’t doing that, contact me today at 519-539-2267.

What insights do you have about you customers?

Recently I read about a very large national company that stated they lacked clear data about their customers. This type of admission should be an eye opener to all business owners or managers.

The reason I say that is because how do you expect to make good business decisions with very few customer insights? How in the world do you expect to be marketing effectively if you don’t understand who your regular clients are?

Here are some questions you need to ask your clients;

• What was the most appealing part of the service we provided?
• How could we have improved? (if they say nothing could be improved don’t believe it, instead ask)
• We know we are not perfect, so if there was one thing we could have done better what is it?

If you do this, you will begin to understand your clients and in-turn understand how your service is perceived.

You know this is important, so when can you start this?