Business Insights

Creativity is a must-have skill for running any small business, especially in this current economic climate. There are the technical aspects of running your business, but it’s the creative aspect that will truly separate you from your competitors. If you think you’re not creative you must realize that everyone is creative. Creativity isn‘t exhibited only by artists, designers, musicians, and the like.

As a business-owner, you can demonstrate your creativity by coming up with a new approach for what you do (having a “thinking outside the box” mentality). It might take some time to hone in on this skill, but it’s definitely worth it. Your business will be rewarded by your innovation.

Here are a few ways that may help you find your inner creativity:

1. Relax
Have you ever noticed that you often come up with a great idea when you least expect it? You might be driving, exercising, or playing a video game and then all of a sudden an idea presents itself. Your mind can generate new ideas when you take a break from your usual routine, as opposed to when you’re under pressure and feeling rushed. Instead of concentrating too hard on an issue, let the ideas flow to you.

2. Record any ideas immediately.
Write down all of the things that come to your mind. It’s a great way to reference your train of thought of at the time, so you can easily go back to it and branch off from there. Keep a notepad and pen handy or even save your ideas on your phone with a recording. Brainstorming is an old tool that should never be underestimated!

3. Tell others about your ideas.
Give it the proper care and attention. Don’t immediately dismiss an idea until you’ve finished brainstorming because it might shut down your creative process. Evaluate the ideas later and incorporate the effective ones into your business.

4. Encourage innovation.
An environment of creativity plays a significant role in building a successful business. Create a company culture that welcomes ideas and be sure that people feel comfortable sharing them. Richard Florida said, “Access to talented and creative people is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore was to steelmaking.”

Your creativity is crucial in getting your message across and separating you from your competition. Get your creative mind working to break free from what is preventing you from being more productive and bringing in more revenue.

Do you have any more ideas on how to be creative in your business? Share them with us by commenting below!

If you are a new business owner, one of your first objectives must be to brand yourself. Business coaches and consultants alike will all tell you how important it is to establish your identity. You want to be noticed. You want to be remembered. You want to stand out from the rest. You want your business to grow. Just what will creating a brand accomplish for you and your business? Consider these points:

A brand makes you memorable
Obviously, for clients or customers to come to you, they have to first remember you. By creating a brand that sticks in their minds, you increase the odds that yours will be the name that pops into their head when they’re looking for the types of services you provide. Whether it’s your logo design, add campaign or radio jingle, creating a solid brand will help drive business in your direction.

A brand creates credibility
Whether it’s factual or simply perceived, branding lends credibility to your business. When people see or hear about you over and over in a positive context they naturally believe that you must be good, reliable, trustworthy, etc. After all, they see your logo everywhere. They hear your ads repeated on the radio, or they simply hear your name connected with something they need or want. Therefore, you must be the go to person for that service.

A good brand saves you time
In business, time is money. Establishing a good brand for your company right from the start can save you hours of introduction time that can be better used as selling time. Imagine if every time you met with a potential customer you first had to explain who you are, what you do, and how you do it, before you even begin your sales pitch! Now imagine meeting with that same customer who has already been exposed to your brand and knows that information already! The time you save there is time you can put into giving a good sales presentation and getting the business.

A good brand helps you attract the right kinds of clients
A well thought out and relevant brand will make it easy for clients to connect you with the product or service they are looking for. To use a very simple example, if you were to brand your company as an insurance company for seniors, you won’t likely be the company Mom calls when her teens start to drive, but you will be the one that all those folks over 50 will call to get some reward for their years of good driving.

A brand provides a solid base from which your business can expand
A good business does not remain stagnant but grows and changes over time. Once you’ve established a memorable brand, it’s much easier to incorporate change under that same umbrella than it would be to try to create a whole new business. By expanding within your brand you never lose the valuable customer base that you have spent so much time developing.

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Every winner has a coach. From star basketball players to Olympic athletes… they all have a coach. Did you know that having a business coach can help take your business to the next level?

Here are some reasons to highly consider getting a business coach:

1. Having accountability
It’s more than just motivation. It’s knowing that you’re not in it alone. Every business owner needs someone to give them that extra push to make a plan and then execute it. You’ll have an advantage from having a business coach by your side to make sure that you’re doing the things that you should be doing and avoiding the things that are hindering your progress. They’ll also help you keep on track with your business goals and recognize the rewards from your hard work. As a business owner, you probably don’t have all the answers, and it’s great to have someone help you overcome any doubts, fears, or ideas you may have and give you feedback and reassurance. A business coach will also not only make sure you are learning the right strategies and tactics to grow your business, but they’ll help you apply what you have learned.

2. The right direction
With so many things going on in your business, where do you go for guidance to steer you down the right path? Are you constantly hitting roadblocks and stumbling in areas where you need improvement? The business climate is continuously changing, especially with new forms of communication (e.g., social media, smart phones, search engine optimization), and it can be very overwhelming for small-business owners. It’s essential to have a business coach to guide you and make sure that you stay up to date with the current trends. Like any star athlete, it’s important to have a coach there to push you past your mental limits and to help you view your business from a fresh perspective.

3. Getting the proper plan
Whether it’s your marketing, your team, or anything else, excellent business coaching will reveal the reasons why you’re not getting the results you want. You’ll be able to focus more on growing your business instead of making the common mistakes that many small business owners make. The right business coach will show you a proven process with tools, strategies, and tactics that you can apply to your business immediately.

4. Having more time
Is your business negatively affecting your personal life? Then it’s time for a business coach. Many business owners are consumed by running their business on a daily basis and crave more time for themselves and their family. A business coach will help you become a true business owner, not an employee, so that you’ll no longer have to worry about doing everything yourself such as marketing, accounting, training, managing, customer service, etc. At OneCoach, our business coaches will help you focus on your highest income-producing activities and show you where you can be most productive.

What are you waiting for? If you’re ready to hire a business coach, we would love to see if our coaches are a good fit for you. Click here for more information!

This is the fourth and final part in a series of posts excerpted from a conference call between OneCoach CEO John Assaraf and Jill Lublin, CEO of Promising Promotion and author of  “Guerrilla Publicity” and “Networking Magic.” See the first post in this series here.

Networking is a great way to generate publicity and build a business. Yet, many business owners are reluctant to even attempt it.

They don’t know how to do it. They don’t know where to do it. They don’t know what to say, or they’re just plain shy.

You may not have much experience “working a room” at networking events. But the reality is, if you have a great message and can clearly state who you are and how you support people, you can network effectively.

To boost your networking results, try the following:

• Develop a compelling sound bite. Your sound bite is what you use to introduce yourself to people. The secret is to focus on the other person rather than you. Specifically, your sound bite should focus on the other person’s problem and your solution for them. Use your sound bite with everyone you meet.

• Establish a networking goal. Most people go into networking events without a clear idea of what they want to accomplish. (Hint: it’s not to eat the free buffet or make new friends.) Set a goal for what you want to accomplish that will benefit your business and/or your publicity efforts, and stay focused on that goal throughout the event.

• Have a specific request. When you meet people, make a request of them. Your request should consist of an introduction, a contact or some action that, if accomplished, will move you up to the next rung on the ladder of success. For example, suppose you want to meet a certain TV producer. Your request might be, “Who do you know that could put me in touch with this producer?” Limit your request to something that you need within the next 30 days. This gives people a sense of urgency and focuses their thinking on how they can help you.

• Ask how you can help. Before making your request, ask people you meet what they need in the next 30 days. Then ask, “How can I help you?” People will be amazed when you ask, because most networkers are only looking out for themselves. When people see you are sincere in your desire to help, they will fall over themselves trying to help you.

• Keep your contacts handy. You’d look silly carrying around a circular Rolodex. But with Blackberries, PDAs, Treos and the like, it’s easy to keep your important contacts close at hand. When somebody needs a hair stylist or small business banker, share your contacts willingly.

To get the best results from a networking event, shift your mindset from “What can I get out of this?” to “What can I give to whoever I meet?” Put your focus on serving others rather than on seeing what you can get.

The best networkers love to give. Go into the event with the mindset of “How can I help?” and “Who can I help?” When you’re clear about your support for others, it will come back to you many times over.

Members of the OneCoach Business Coaching program have unlimited access to hundreds of interviews like this one — see OneCoach.com to learn more about building your business fast.

At OneCoach, we’re dedicated to helping small business owners around the world become more successful. Small business owners are attributing their success to OneCoach for overcoming the many challenges that have prevented them from growing their business. Here is Lee Hinsley’s story.

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Lee Hinsley has been a OneCoach client since June 2008. He owns Global Plastic Sheeting Inc., a flexible plastic sheeting/film company in Vista, California. For more information on Global Plastic Sheeting Inc., you can visit www.globalplasticsheeting.com.

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Problem
His business was struggling to sell plastic sheeting and related goods in the construction, shipbuilding/repair, and automotive marketplaces, all of which were depressed because of the economy. He was interested in having a mastermind type of experience where you can have a group of people that get together and talk about things and bounce ideas off of each other. He wanted to grow his business and stay well-versed in the changing business climate. He knew that business coaching would help him in all the areas of his business.

Some of the challenges he faced:

• Not enough cash flow
• Not enough customers
• Didn’t understand Web 2.0

Solution
Since becoming a OneCoach client, Lee has achieved tremendous results. Despite the economy, Lee has:

• Experienced a 340% increase in sales the next 6 months after joining OneCoach (June 2008), and finished 2008 with sales of over $1,100,000
• Broke the $1,000,000 mark on July of 2009

How OneCoach Helped
“The conferences have been great. The speakers that they’ve had are unbelievable. The one-on-one coaching has been amazing. We’ve received a lot from the Millionaire Mastermind Group and the people that we’ve met from there. Plus, we’ve received a tremendous amount of support from our business advisor, Matt Morea. He’s a really great person to work with. Overall, the biggest thing is all of the access to the information and help to be able to stay ahead of the competition. There is so much depth of information and great ideas that are available with the people at OneCoach,” said Lee.

The “aha” moment
“The experts being blunt in giving advice with the tough steps I needed to take in order to significantly cut down on our expenses was a big change for me. We revealed holes in our business where money was going away where money shouldn’t have been spent given the economy. We analyzed things and put together a whole new plan and I instituted all of it. We were able to cut back about $20,000 a month in expenses. I wasn’t thinking along those lines before,” said Lee.

Why OneCoach?
“I’ve never found any place where I can go and get the answers to all of the things I can find out at OneCoach and have them be current and relevant. They do a really great job with all of it,” said Lee. “I think what you offer is exactly what many small businesses need. I’ve been in business for over 30 years and never found a resource quite like this before.”

Continuing to grow
Lee has set a goal for 2010—a 500% increase in sales from 2008.

Learn more about what we do at OneCoach…check out these 7 FREE videos!