BOM Call Episode 93 – Business Owners Biggest Challenges Series
3 of 3

WELCOME to Business Owner Challanges call series 3 of 3. I am going to share my expertise and skills to address challenges, and provide you with the best possible outcomes. In my Business Owner Challenges Series I collect data and find out the biggest challenges real business owners are facing today.

We live in rapidly changing times, especially for businesses. Consider that, in a single generation, businesses have had to adapt to entirely new marketing channels (web and social), decide how to invest in and utilize new technologies, and compete on a global stage.

Let’s Get to Work! Today I will be addressing How to Stay Current and Letting Go of Processes and Procedures that are NOT working.

Staying Current:

Small business owners can be so busy they forget to keep up with what’s current in their sector. It takes so much time just to keep on top of the work that blue-sky thinking can seem an unnecessary burden. Nevertheless, you need to keep up. When you’re scheduling your week, don’t forget to allocate time to track competitors and undertake awareness-raising activities such as reading (or writing) blog posts. Create Google Alerts, use Twitter hashtags to keep up with what’s trending, and mine the wealth of free, and very targeted online information out there on sites like newsnow. If you can schedule days out to go to sector conferences and exhibitions, the payback in terms of contacts and potential sales can be massive. Research events thoroughly to make sure that their target audience is precisely your target client group. If an event is really important, you could also investigate becoming a speaker, positioning yourself as a thought leader among your peers.

Try to set aside up to two hours each week to do one or more of the following activities to help you keep current:

Subscribe to Business Journals, Magazines and Newspapers

Subscribing to a couple publications can yield big dividends for your business. Bloomberg Business Week, Consumer Reports, Fast Company, Inc, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired and this website, Small Business Trends, are just a few of the popular mainstream business publications that cover the latest small business and economic trends.
Keep publications where you spend the most time so you can quickly access them, both online and offline. If you subscribe to print editions, publications often provide free and full access to the digital version, which typically includes interactive content such as informative videos and helpful online tools.

Engage on Social Media

One of the best ways to stay connected is through social media. Through LinkedIn and Facebook groups, you can exchange tips with those within your industry. Groups are also a good place to ask questions about emerging trends and best practice.
Create Twitter lists of influential people in your industry to track what movers and shakers are talking about it in real time. Google+ also has communities where you can find what’s trending and ask other small business owners about industry patterns they are seeing.
Check out MeetUp to find gatherings of others in your industry where you can discuss business trends in person.
Keep an Eye on Business Stats
Agencies such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census Bureau and National Bureau of Economic Research all report industry data and statistics that will help you get an idea of national, regional and state trends.

Join Industry Associations

Although you may not be able to fully commit to an industry or trade organization, joining one can be beneficial to your business. These groups are a great way to network and explore how others in your field are addressing challenges and developing new ways to serve their customers.

Take Advantage of Free Training

SCORE,the Small Business Administration and Small Business DevelopmentCenters all have free online training, courses, webinars, blogs and other resources that will help you expand your business and stay up-to-date on important national issues related to your business.
As a small business owner, you know that time is money. So devoting just a small amount of time to understanding emerging trends in your industry can yield big dividends.

Letting Go of Procedures and/or Processes that are NOT working:
“WHEN IT’S TIME TO GROW, IT’S TIME TO LET GO”!

FEAR.

It’s probably the most powerful force that holds you back from accomplishing anything. It’s a well known fact that more than 90% of startups fails; there is a 100% chance that as an entrepreneur you will meet failure at least once. If you let those points stop you from taking that first step, you’ve already lost the game. Going for it knowing you will fail is what makes a real and successful entrepreneur later on.

“…money is not the motivating factor….money is the trophy you get from doing a job well; and a lot of people don’t understand that and what they do is they reach for money first. Well I’m not reaching for money, I’m reaching for development, I’m reaching for the top, the best, and I know that once you do those things, then the money is the reward…”

Figure out if and how to rely on your staff to run your business that way you want, and expect, it to be run.
Here’s the key.
Your staff must be up to it.

In conclusion, overcoming the main challenges that small businesses face involves a number of key actions:

1. Use software to manage your cashflow and keep money rolling in
2. Delegate, automate, and set aside time for yourself
3. Target your most profitable customers to maximize your returns
4. Work hard to create employee satisfaction
5. Ruthlessly cut back your overheads
6. Keep your finger firmly on the pulse of your sector

With forethought and tenacity, there’s no issue that can’t be overcome. As a business entrepreneur you already have these skills in abundance, and applying them to boost your business should come naturally.

YOUR EGO.

It goes back to that saying that in order to be able to lead, you have to learn how to follow first. Some entrepreneurs just can’t drop their huge egos that make them the douchebag “bosses” they think they are; they fail to realize that real respect is earned through modesty and grace. Jason Strauss, co-founder of some of the hottest nightclubs in the world like Marquee and Tao, shared what annoys him most about entrepreneurs who think they are bigger than they are:

“…A lot of entrepreneurs get into a business and their operating almost like a CEO standard and they haven’t gone from the ground up. They have an idea and they want to be a president and they’re sitting there managing employees, but they’ve never been an actual employee.”

LAZINESS.

If there are two things an entrepreneur needs to have to reach success, it’s balls and the drive to do whatever it takes- most of the time, it just takes a ton of hard work. I know too many young entrepreneurs who’s definition of hard work is a few measly hours a day spent on their startup. A real entrepreneur knows that working on a startup is realistically a 24/7 job with no days off. If you want to reach success, you have to accept that there’s no path to real success without going through hard work.

Please email my assistant Ashley at avandenburg@johnpyron.co what other challenges have you faced, and how have you overcome them?

WHO IS JOHN PYRON “THE SALES DOCTOR”?
John is an International Business & Sales Expert and is the CEO of John Pyron Coaching , which has trained thousands of people across 10 countries in business and sales principles. Through his Front-of-the-Room Talks, Webinars, Conference Calls, One-on-One Coaching, Corporate Sales Training, and His Coveted 10x Mastermind Groups, You can tap into John’s 25 years of actual real-world experience as a PROVEN Entrepreneur and Master Sales Trainer, to create an environment that capitalizes on YOUR unique gifts and talents, so YOU can live the life YOU are MEANT to live.

On September 24, 2010, John was featured as the center page spotlight business for the Sacramento Business Journal’s Fastest Growing Companies list, primary because he built a company from $0 to $1Million in annual sales during the largest economic crash since the Great Depression (2006-2009). John sold this company to a national investor on June 1, 2013 to pursue his life’s passion of helping Small Business Owner’s achieve their Business Dreams and Goals.