Training Solutions

I have now met with 3 clients who added goals are to pay themselves.  What’s the fun in having a business if you can’t pay you?  Yes in the beginning a lot of money has to go back into the business to keep it going.  Even if you only take $20 a week you are a line item and you are paying you. You could also write a full check for you and just not cash it until you are ready but at least you are listed.

Let’s talk a little about pricing especially for those of you who sell a service.  How do you determine prices?  Products are easier as you take the wholesale price and usually double it to include overhead.  Are you including all the expenses?  With a service you must set a price for your time and more importantly for your expertise!  Your knowledge is worth something!  You evaluate what the competition is doing and begin somewhere in the middle between the high and low ends.  Too often people undercut themselves. 

I remember colleagues just starting out being so grateful to have a client they low balled the price then because the client kept them on they couldn’t raise it and actually lost money.  They were tied into a low paying client and didn’t have time to attract higher paying ones. 

Remember this business is because you had a dream, a passion, a purpose, and it would not have existed without your idea.  You deserve to be paid

If you want to ask more about pricing, harriet@trainingsolutions-hlc.com

Yes it’s Thursday and my blog usually goes out on Mondays and yes I started one, but.  You guessed it other things got in the way and before I knew it it’s 4 days later.  So here I am writing a new blog; I’ll save the started one for next week.  I am writing about something I teach my clients, setting priorities and managing the work they have in the time they have.  Yes, it’s a lesson I need to revisit.

 I know better!  I don’t spend lots of time on social media.  I don’t check e-mail the minute it appears, but I do answer the phone and I do respond to my clients immediately.  I know they don’t expect me to drop everything for them.  When I do this I get crazed I forget my priorities and worse yet I start making appointments too close together.  That’s a huge mistake in LA where we can rely on traffic usually being against us. 

Last night was my wake-up call as I was doing work that I wanted to do during the day and week, and staying up until almost midnight.  So here I am today reviewing what needs to be done this week setting my priorities going back to the basics of managing my time.

Divide your day and your week based on the priorities for your business.  Remember panic from others usually does not mean an emergency for you.  Determine who it is important for and deal with it accordingly.  One of my favorite quotes is proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance.  Make sure your time is being used effectively and efficiently for what you want to accomplish.  Get the help of an organizer if you need one.  www.thespacemasters.com is great!  Learn how to delegate and remember you don’t have to do it all today! Even more importantly if you don’t take time to balance your life between work and time for you, no one else will.

I will now start singing “time is on my side”..  If you need ideas on managing time just e-mail me harriet@trainingsolutions-hlc.com

What is leadership?  Is it the person we defer to because they are the boss? Is it the person we fear, or the one we admire?  Do we share their beliefs or vision?

Whether teaching the management class at UCLA or working with clients the topic of leadership comes up.  How do you define a leader?  Who do you model your leadership after?  Why should I follow you?

When I define the characteristics of a leader it can fit so many from Attila the Hun to Steve Jobs.  Some people lead with kindness and develop others while some lead with an iron fist; threatening and coercing.  Many leaders are defined as forward thinking, honest, inspiring, or confident and sadly many are not.  Listening to the debates who would you follow?  The first 2 characteristics can be a problem.

Is the leader performing a role?  Do they lead to fulfill their vision or the vision of others?  Are they simply higher on the organizational chart and thereby seen as a leader?  Leaders are on all levels and great leaders have a special persona that makes us want to listen to them.  Steve Jobs admitted to being a less than stellar boss yet we wanted to learn from him and hear what he had to say.

John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to learn more, dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

January 16, 2012 we celebrated the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His famous speech on the mall was heard by a quarter of a million people.  There was no internet or social media to tell people about the event; no cell phones, e-mail or faxes.  Yet look how many were there, why, because they shared a belief.  He influenced them with his words. 

Who do you influence and how do you lead?  What do your words and actions say about you? Are you showing your staff that you care by your actions and words?  Do they share your vision and beliefs?  Ask them. 

As we begin the New Year and set goals, (You did do them didn’t you?), it is time to think of new uses for some of the things we do or have.  Look at the next few examples and see if it can get your “what if” brain cells working.

1. Funeral chapels are being used for weddings, graduations, and birthdays.  They are often free of charge and the staff knows how to plan an event in 2 days.
2. Mall walkers is a “new use” that has been around for a while and some stores are posting signs just for the walkers, codes for discounts that are removed when the mall opens.
3. Many of us need more exercise so why not the exercise ball as a chair?  Helps with posture and bouncing is exercise.  Some offices are even removing chairs and raising desks to have people stand which burns more calories than sitting
4. We’ve all heard of the classic “new use” which is aspirin for the heart.  First it was take children’s aspirin, now the aspirin companies have low dosage for adults specifically to meet the needs.  It’s similar to other medicines finding new usages for their products.  Did you know botox can help with migraines?
5. The one that is intriguing me is the “start-up” store in NY; it shows like a gallery changes like a magazine and is a retail store. It’s a unique concept, check it out at http://www.inc.com/nicole-carter/a-brick-and-mortar-start-up-store-rachel-shechtman.html

Now the question for you, is what new uses can you imagine for your business?  Is the influx of video offering new ideas?  Are there other new uses you can imagine for what you do?  A therapist told me about the new way she’ll be delivering services.  I am going to start brainstorming and imagining for my business.

It’s the beginning of a new year and the resolutions are running rampant; the gyms are crowded and diet foods bought.  Trader Joe’s was mobbed yesterday!

What resolutions did you make in your business?  Are you creating task lists and promising you will enter every transaction in Quickbooks immediately; put everything in files and clean you desk everyday??  Snap out of it!!!  If that’s not your style it won’t happen.  Get real!

Now is the time to set realistic goals, outcomes that are strategic, and then create the list of how you will accomplish them.  It’s also the time to look at your weaknesses and decide which you will fix and which “just are”. If you are not detailed enough to enter transactions or file then hire someone to do it.  It may take 4 hours a week at $10/hour, but it will save you time and money.  If you don’t like doing something how long will it take you? How much business could you do if they were handling the things you don’t like or don’t do well?

Whether you believe in the law of attraction or not, even that won’t work from just saying you will do something, there has to be an action, (note the last part attraction).  Your dreams lead to the creation of goals and those goals become a reality when you act!  Another way to think about it is thoughts become words, words become actions and actions become habits.  This is not an overnight process each step each strategic planned out action takes you closer to your success.

If you want to know more about goal setting basics and SWOT I have an e-book that covers it for only $5.99 + tax. E-mail me for it..

Make this your banner year set the realistic, strategic, goals and create the action plan to achieve them.  Happy New Year

As the year winds down and we get ready for a new year, I want to thank a few people.  I want to thank all of you for reading my blogs.  I hope I have given you some tips and ideas that have helped you in your business or rethink some of your decisions and guide your focus to achieve your goals.

Starting next year I’ll also be writing a bi-monthly (that means twice a month right?  I never get that clear) e-mail that offers trends, tips, and suggestions to help you more.

 Now for the reason for the title of this blog; I want to thank my heroes of today.  The 1^st most obvious group is the soldiers. As some of you may know I am against war but I fully support the men and women who serve in the military. Because of their commitment and dedication I can have the life I have.  Every year I donate to veteran groups to say thank you, I am truly grateful they do what they do.

 The next group includes the fire and police departments.  They risk their lives to keep all of us safe. Having worked with many of the firefighters in LA County I see them always being “at the ready” to handle any emergency.   The other often overlooked civil servant in this group is the teachers.  Many of them get a bad rap because of a few incompetents but the ones I encounter are truly committed to their profession; continuously learning and honing their skills.

 The last groups of people I want to thank are smart managers and business people.  These are the ones who know how to mentor and develop employees.  They care about the people they hire and they know that the success of their business relies on the people and how engaged they are. Because of this group our economy grows .

 Who are your heroes and have you thanked them? May you all have a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year

I was in a store recently waiting my turn and over hearing conversations.  Ok, I admit it I eavesdrop and I people watch!  In one conversation one woman was telling another about an incident she had heard and she was so surprised a person acted the way they did.  The other woman kept saying how do you know and the 1^st person was adamant that what she heard was correct.  Another conversation was about something in the news that a man was sure was one way but the woman wasn’t sure but because he was so adamant she believed his version.  By the way I had read the same story and he was wrong on his facts.

Why am I telling you about this?  Rumors affect your business both internally and externally that’s why good communication is so critical.  When you decide to change a process or product for whatever reason, it is imperative the reasoning is communicated to everyone involved.  They will be more willing to support the new initiative if they understand the impact it will have on them and the logic behind the change.  Information truly is powerful.

Externally it’s important for you to know how you are perceived by colleagues and clients.  Using google alerts is a great way to see if anyone is talking about you.  Here again communication is key.  Be clear and concise on messages you send out on social media, but remain neutral in areas that could impact your business.  This is not the place to discuss politics, religion or other subjects that could start rumors.

Let’s face it we love to gossip.  Make sure you eliminate as many opportunities as possible by being a good communicator with your employees and customers. 

A recent experience reminded me of the behavior we often see in others when change occurs.   When I first learned of the change that was necessary I told myself no biggie it is what it is deal with it and move on.  However, as time passed and I saw inconvenience and changes that need to be made in various areas I suddenly became very angry.  Why me?  Why do I have to do this?  Why can’t I just continue the way I was I was fine!

Sound familiar?  All of a sudden all the things I taught my clients came rushing back and I realized the anger was all part of the process of change and it was the part that was created out of fear and lack of knowledge.  It was the anger that reduces us to the pouting 5 year old that says no until they are shown how much better the “new” will be.  Gradually, as they try the “new”, the pout goes away. 

For me I’m getting as much knowledge as I can and slowly, step by step the anger is dissipating and I’m learning to accept change.  It’s still 3 steps forward and 1 or 2 back. 

What are you doing to help your clients, your staff, or yourself, to embrace change?  Is information provided before the process starts and is it done in a usable format?  Too often if questions aren’t asked we don’t offer more yet many times we don’t know what to ask.  Give more information than requested, answer honestly but don’t overwhelm.  Once the change process begins they need you more than ever to answer questions, quell fears and discuss concerns and options.  If you don’t know the answers tell them and together find alternatives that work for all of you.

When going through any kind of change process information is power and the more anger or other emotions you can reduce, the better.  Remember it is a process that takes time and we need to go through all of it; unfortunately. J

Instinctively we all seem to be on a school schedule whether we have kids or not.  We become energized in September with the start of a new year; similar to January.  We are reminded of the clean notebooks and sharpened pencils ready to create new business and achieve our goals. 

In summer we slow down because ah it’s the lazy hazy days of summer; vacation time and re-energizing.  Now it’s almost the holidays and we can’t do a lot of work because well it’s the holidays and people aren’t working now are they?

As Chersaid to Nicholas Cage in one of my favorite movies, “Moonstruck”, Snap out of it!  There is still lots of money to be had, business to be done, and new business to be created.  This doesn’t even include the planning to get ready for next year. 

People are still finding jobs, clients still want products, and work is still going on.  Here are a few reminders of things to do.

1. Reconnect with past clients check on how they are doing and what they might need.
2. Network for results.  Keep going to networking events with a purpose.
3. Let clients know of any new products.
4. Create new products and sell them.
5. Continue blogging and using social networking.
6. Review your year end goals and kick it up a notch to achieve it.
7. Identify new ways to work and sell

Finish the year with gusto and start next year even better.

I just saw a great video of a TED presentation by Simon Sinek. http://www.startwithwhy.com/  He reinforced so much of what I have been talking about to my UCLA class, to my clients, and in my presentations.  Why do you do what you do?

Your why is your passion.  It is what drives you when you need that extra push to go further.  Simon tells about a man named Samuel Pierpont Langley who had a lot of money and support to create a flying machine yet the Wright Brothers succeeded.  Why?  BecauseLangley wanted fame and money and the brothers believed if they could figure out how man could fly it would change the course of the world. Additionally their crew had the same belief and worked together to solve the problem of man flying.

People don’t buy what you do or how you do it they buy your why.  You share a belief.  My clients know their goals and their well being is my mission.  I want to see their businesses thrive.  I want to see people enjoy their careers.  That’s my why, because people do business with people who share their belief.

What is your why?