Here's a blog post from Hugh Tafel, a great FocalPoint Business Coach who is in Canmore, Alberta. I think you'll enjoy this story... This story really matches Hugh's easy going style and its easy to see why he gets such great reslts. - He just keeps it real.
Thanks Hugh....
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the new sophisticated
ways you could be promoting your product and services? It's
tough
enough designing a good website, understanding key words, SEO,
beta and meta-tags and auto-responders.
Now we are told we must also figure out how to use Web 2.0
with interfaces like Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter and
countless other ways to connect with prospects and move them
to buy from us.
Which is why you'll like this story.
A colleague of mine was telling me recently of challenges he
had in finding tenants for a small house he owned
containing two suites.
Over the past several years, whenever a tenant was vacating a
suite and he needed to find a suitable replacement, he would
simply run a little ad in Craig's List - a popular website for
finding and advertising almost anything.
So a month ago, he does the same thing - runs a small ad in
that site.
Nothing - nada. No response what so ever.
Then to make matters worse, his second tenant also decides to
move out. Now he is looking at an empty house and his previous
method for obtaining tenants is not working. An asset (the
house) is fast becoming a liability.
What to do?
My friend decides to do what nobody seems to do these days. He
gets himself a simple sandwich board sign and writes on both
sides: "For Rent" along with his telephone number and places
this sign on the lawn in front of the house near the sidewalk.
He does this on a Sunday.
24 hours later, he has over 30 calls from potential renters.
Great success right? Not quite.
Almost all of those calls were unqualified because most
understood the sign to mean that the entire house was for
rent. He was renting suites.
So he changed his message to read, "Suites For Rent" with a
contact number. This time, he received a similar number of
"qualified" inquiries and was able to return his property into
the nice, paying asset it was before.
Two principle lessons you should get from this story.
1. Simple is often better, cheaper and more effective than
complicated and sophisticated. Low tech can beat hi-tech.
2. Make sure you match your message to your target audience.
Otherwise you may find you attract a lot of the wrong crowd
and that only wastes your time and money.
Hugh Tafel,
FocalPoint Business Coach
Canmore, Alberta
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
How a Business Coach is Like a Good Fishing Guide
**This is a different sort of blog post. Carlos is a leading FocalPoint Coach and, like many of us is an excellent story teller. He uses this skill to make business improvement easier to understand and relevant. We hope you find his story thought provoking, useful and entertaining.
Dominic Rubino, FocalPoint Coaching
When my youngest son Brennan was in high school, he and I would schedule a trip together just before summer ended and the new school year began. If at all possible, our journey would include fishing.
On one such occasion we went to the White River in northern Arkansas near the Bull Shoals Dam. I had heard about a fishing guide there named Johnny - who was said to be the best- and so we booked him, our hotel, and we headed north. The experience turned out to be one of the best ever and we caught fish everyday.
When I reflect on that experience, it occurs to me that a business coach is a lot like a good fishing guide. As a business coach I guide my clients on not only how to catch more fish (customers,) but I know all the best spots (best business practices) so they will succeed in business.
A good fishing guide usually has four qualities; experience, knowledge, passion & teaching skills.
Experience
Johnny had fished in Northern Arkansas his entire life. His real life experience in all conditions taught him what bait to use, where to look for the big ones and exactly what tackle was best. The first day on the river, all five generators at the dam were running. The river was high and fast. Johnny came prepared. We limited out on Rainbows and I caught a five pound Brown that was a keeper. It was an exciting first day!
Overnight the generators were turned off and we awoke to a totally different scene, the river level had fallen four-feet. The dramatic drop exposed boulders everywhere. I was concerned, but not our guide. Based on his experience, Johnny changed our fishing style and we still caught our limit of Rainbows!
A good business coach comes from a solid business or executive management background with real life experience. Based on this know-how he can navigate the dicey rivers of business and he knows where the dry holes are. He truly understands that as business climates change, his coaching will change as well.
Knowledge
Although Johnny was an experienced guide, he never stopped learning. He kept current on the hottest lures. He knew the best bait for the situation. He also stayed up-to-date on the best tackle and equipment that would maximize his time in the water. Johnny stayed abreast of all the latest rules and regulations making sure he and his clients were always on the right side of the game warden.
Your business coach likewise needs to be fully trained and certified in a coaching discipline. He needs to be a student of business principles always keeping current with trends and the best practices.
In order to guide his clients, the coach must understand all phases of business: sales, marketing, accounting and production. His comprehension of how a business works and what makes it successful is paramount!
Passion
One thing everyone knew about Johnny was he loved to fish! Not only did he love to fish but he loved the river. He loved the area and most of all he loved to share his passion with others. As we traveled the river we learned many things, not only about the fish that were native to the White River, but many interesting facts about the area. His passion for his craft was contagious!
Any successful business coach must first have a passion for helping people. His passion must also be for business and how to run one successfully. The best business coach understands that he must clearly help align the client’s goals with those of his family and teach him the importance of maintaining balance.
Teaching Skills
One of the things I enjoyed about our time on the river with Johnny was his patience and skill at teaching us about the art of fishing. He took the time to show us how to cast based on different fishing styles. Whether we were drift fishing or trying to hook a big one in a still pool, he was careful to teach us the best technique.
The greatest business coaches are also great teachers. They know how to make the most complex principles understandable. They are experts at helping their clients realize the importance of understanding their individual values and setting clear goals. They thoroughly comprehend how to work with different personalities. They understand that all clients do not learn in the same way.
Changing Conditions
Like Johnny a successful business coach will use these four skills and many more to help clients reach their goals and objectives regardless of the business climate. Whether the river is running fast and high or low and slow - a good business coach will help his client maneuver the waters and always catch the big ones!
Carlos Rosales is a Certified Business Coach and owner of FocalPoint Coaching of Greater Houston. www.fpcgh.com
Copyright protected. Reprint by permission only-Roslan & Company, Inc. Contact us here for permission
Dominic Rubino, FocalPoint Coaching
When my youngest son Brennan was in high school, he and I would schedule a trip together just before summer ended and the new school year began. If at all possible, our journey would include fishing.
On one such occasion we went to the White River in northern Arkansas near the Bull Shoals Dam. I had heard about a fishing guide there named Johnny - who was said to be the best- and so we booked him, our hotel, and we headed north. The experience turned out to be one of the best ever and we caught fish everyday.
When I reflect on that experience, it occurs to me that a business coach is a lot like a good fishing guide. As a business coach I guide my clients on not only how to catch more fish (customers,) but I know all the best spots (best business practices) so they will succeed in business.
A good fishing guide usually has four qualities; experience, knowledge, passion & teaching skills.
Experience
Johnny had fished in Northern Arkansas his entire life. His real life experience in all conditions taught him what bait to use, where to look for the big ones and exactly what tackle was best. The first day on the river, all five generators at the dam were running. The river was high and fast. Johnny came prepared. We limited out on Rainbows and I caught a five pound Brown that was a keeper. It was an exciting first day!
Overnight the generators were turned off and we awoke to a totally different scene, the river level had fallen four-feet. The dramatic drop exposed boulders everywhere. I was concerned, but not our guide. Based on his experience, Johnny changed our fishing style and we still caught our limit of Rainbows!
A good business coach comes from a solid business or executive management background with real life experience. Based on this know-how he can navigate the dicey rivers of business and he knows where the dry holes are. He truly understands that as business climates change, his coaching will change as well.
Knowledge
Although Johnny was an experienced guide, he never stopped learning. He kept current on the hottest lures. He knew the best bait for the situation. He also stayed up-to-date on the best tackle and equipment that would maximize his time in the water. Johnny stayed abreast of all the latest rules and regulations making sure he and his clients were always on the right side of the game warden.
Your business coach likewise needs to be fully trained and certified in a coaching discipline. He needs to be a student of business principles always keeping current with trends and the best practices.
In order to guide his clients, the coach must understand all phases of business: sales, marketing, accounting and production. His comprehension of how a business works and what makes it successful is paramount!
Passion
One thing everyone knew about Johnny was he loved to fish! Not only did he love to fish but he loved the river. He loved the area and most of all he loved to share his passion with others. As we traveled the river we learned many things, not only about the fish that were native to the White River, but many interesting facts about the area. His passion for his craft was contagious!
Any successful business coach must first have a passion for helping people. His passion must also be for business and how to run one successfully. The best business coach understands that he must clearly help align the client’s goals with those of his family and teach him the importance of maintaining balance.
Teaching Skills
One of the things I enjoyed about our time on the river with Johnny was his patience and skill at teaching us about the art of fishing. He took the time to show us how to cast based on different fishing styles. Whether we were drift fishing or trying to hook a big one in a still pool, he was careful to teach us the best technique.
The greatest business coaches are also great teachers. They know how to make the most complex principles understandable. They are experts at helping their clients realize the importance of understanding their individual values and setting clear goals. They thoroughly comprehend how to work with different personalities. They understand that all clients do not learn in the same way.
Changing Conditions
Like Johnny a successful business coach will use these four skills and many more to help clients reach their goals and objectives regardless of the business climate. Whether the river is running fast and high or low and slow - a good business coach will help his client maneuver the waters and always catch the big ones!
Carlos Rosales is a Certified Business Coach and owner of FocalPoint Coaching of Greater Houston. www.fpcgh.com
Copyright protected. Reprint by permission only-Roslan & Company, Inc. Contact us here for permission
Friday, March 27, 2009
Brad Ness, Business Coach Trainer Press Release
Press Release re: Brad Ness As Trainer March 9, 2009
San Diego, California, and Columbus, Ohio. March 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brad Ness, a FocalPoint Business Coach in Columbus, Ohio was recently promoted to International Coach Trainer for FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy.
Widely recognized for his client results and contributions to the profession of business coaching, Ness is himself an accomplished business coach. He has proven to be “a dynamic and passionate business strategist and leader” says Dominic Rubino, CEO of FocalPoint International. “Our International Training team is growing to keep up with the rapid growth of our franchise system. It only makes sense that we promote from within and leverage the real world experience of our top coaches to train other business coaches.”
FocalPoint Business Coaching is proud to have Brad Ness on the training team, where he joins James (Jim) Masters (Omaha, Nebraska), and Ian Hayman (London, Ontario).
Brad has been proving himself a leader among leaders since he first volunteered his time to join the Strategic Advisory Group at FocalPoint. This group represents the franchise partners in the field and acts as a liaison with Head Office. Ness is no stranger to volunteering, having proudly served in the US Navy from June 1988 to June 1992. During this time Brad, was on board USS Arkansas (CGN-41) and saw action in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in the Philippines, after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, during operation Fiery Vigil.
“Strong leaders make for a strong company”, says Brian Tracy of Brad Ness’ recent appointment. That’s what our clients expect, and that’s what we’re built on.”
FocalPoint Business Coaching uses the long proven methods and strategies of Brian Tracy as the infrastructure for coaching business owners. Tracy is an author of over 40 books and has been speaking, mentoring and training business owners worldwide for over 30 years.
Business Coaching has seen an exponential boom on two fronts. Senior Executives who are disillusioned with corporate America are seeking ways to gain control back of their lives. They join FocalPoint to leverage their past management and consulting expertise and use it in a new and exciting way – as a certified, professional business coach.
Business Owners are also looking to business coaching as an answer to the uncertainties of the current economy. As more business owners use coaches to maintain a competitive advantage, other owners are forced to adapt or fall by the wayside.
For more information on FocalPoint Business Coaching, please contact Dominic Rubino at 702-622-9694 or refer to the website www.focalpointcoaching.com.
To contact Brad Ness directly, email him here, or please call him directly at 1-740-548-7849.
San Diego, California, and Columbus, Ohio. March 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brad Ness, a FocalPoint Business Coach in Columbus, Ohio was recently promoted to International Coach Trainer for FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy.
Widely recognized for his client results and contributions to the profession of business coaching, Ness is himself an accomplished business coach. He has proven to be “a dynamic and passionate business strategist and leader” says Dominic Rubino, CEO of FocalPoint International. “Our International Training team is growing to keep up with the rapid growth of our franchise system. It only makes sense that we promote from within and leverage the real world experience of our top coaches to train other business coaches.”
FocalPoint Business Coaching is proud to have Brad Ness on the training team, where he joins James (Jim) Masters (Omaha, Nebraska), and Ian Hayman (London, Ontario).
Brad has been proving himself a leader among leaders since he first volunteered his time to join the Strategic Advisory Group at FocalPoint. This group represents the franchise partners in the field and acts as a liaison with Head Office. Ness is no stranger to volunteering, having proudly served in the US Navy from June 1988 to June 1992. During this time Brad, was on board USS Arkansas (CGN-41) and saw action in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm and in the Philippines, after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, during operation Fiery Vigil.
“Strong leaders make for a strong company”, says Brian Tracy of Brad Ness’ recent appointment. That’s what our clients expect, and that’s what we’re built on.”
FocalPoint Business Coaching uses the long proven methods and strategies of Brian Tracy as the infrastructure for coaching business owners. Tracy is an author of over 40 books and has been speaking, mentoring and training business owners worldwide for over 30 years.
Business Coaching has seen an exponential boom on two fronts. Senior Executives who are disillusioned with corporate America are seeking ways to gain control back of their lives. They join FocalPoint to leverage their past management and consulting expertise and use it in a new and exciting way – as a certified, professional business coach.
Business Owners are also looking to business coaching as an answer to the uncertainties of the current economy. As more business owners use coaches to maintain a competitive advantage, other owners are forced to adapt or fall by the wayside.
For more information on FocalPoint Business Coaching, please contact Dominic Rubino at 702-622-9694 or refer to the website www.focalpointcoaching.com.
To contact Brad Ness directly, email him here, or please call him directly at 1-740-548-7849.
Lance Armstrong Coaches your Business
Lessons Learned from Lance Armstrong....
So often, top athletes provide business owners with wonderful examples of what it takes to be the best.
Take Lance Armstrong for instance.
He is a 7 time Tour de France cycling champion – the toughest test for long-distance cyclists in the world. He did this after being diagnosed, then treated for cancer.
He is back at it again. At 37 years of age, Armstrong is training to win the Tour de France an unprecedented eighth time.
In a recent race in Spain, Armstrong was involved in a crash of riders and broke his collarbone – severely. While this bone heals relatively quickly, he will feel pain for some time to come, particularly when he gets up off the bike and stands on the pedals, bearing more of his weight on the handlebars.
Most people would be depressed and lament on the lost training time or even take this accident as an omen to quit.
Armstrong, instead, almost relishes the accident. Sally Jenkins, (Wall Street Journal, Mar 25) writes: “He views pain as corrective, and cleansing. At a time when so many people seek shortcuts to wealth, and crave indulgences and exquisite personal comfort, he voluntarily seeks out severe discomfort because he likes what it does for him. He wants things the hard way -- in the cold, and rain, with his backside on a bike for six hours at a time -- because he finds it clarifying. He knows exactly who he is: He's the guy who can take it. "I have the will to suffer," he says. "I do have that."”
So – what is the connection for business?
Several things really. But let’s look at the “pain” aspect in particular.
To achieve success down the road, it is critical that you focus on the 1 or 2 most important tasks that you need to do to achieve your long-term goals. Often, the most effective, important thing a business owner can do to move his business forward is something that he actually feels uncomfortable doing.
Let me give you two examples:
1. In many businesses, the easiest and most cost effective method available to them to increase their sales leads is to simply pick up the phone and call qualified prospects. Most people hate cold calling and will do anything to avoid it – even when they know, if done properly, it can and will help them generate needed new business.
2. In another example, a business owner may realize or decide that she should advertise more. She does not, however, spend the necessary time or resources in researching who her best clients are, what they really want and how best to “talk” to them. That is too much work and not as interesting or glamorous as putting out an ad.
In both of these cases, the business owner does not do the necessary work that he knows will help his business. Doing this kind of work takes him out of his comfort zone as it is different or new. It is “painful” to do.
Dr. Phil, love him or hate him, has this great line he directs at those folks who continue the same behaviour – hoping for a different and better result. He says: “How’s that working for you!?”
If you want to improve or change the results of your business, you need to be open to and embrace the “Pain” required to try and implement new ideas and tactics. Adopt this mindset and you too can achieve “Lance Armstrong” like greatness in your business.
Wishing you business success,
Hugh Tafel
Certified Business Coach
P.S. The second key lesson from the Armstrong example, though not visible in this story, is that he sets goals, then works backwards and designs a daily plan, that he follows with great discipline.
I have discovered a great online tool that will help any business owner in setting and writing down goals, assist with drawing up plans to achieve them and then provide a documented trail of what was done to achieve the goal.
Hugh Tafel is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Alberta, Canada.
If you’d like to contact Hugh about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
http://focalpointcoaching.com/
www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
www.briantracy.com/coaching/
www.askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
So often, top athletes provide business owners with wonderful examples of what it takes to be the best.
Take Lance Armstrong for instance.
He is a 7 time Tour de France cycling champion – the toughest test for long-distance cyclists in the world. He did this after being diagnosed, then treated for cancer.
He is back at it again. At 37 years of age, Armstrong is training to win the Tour de France an unprecedented eighth time.
In a recent race in Spain, Armstrong was involved in a crash of riders and broke his collarbone – severely. While this bone heals relatively quickly, he will feel pain for some time to come, particularly when he gets up off the bike and stands on the pedals, bearing more of his weight on the handlebars.
Most people would be depressed and lament on the lost training time or even take this accident as an omen to quit.
Armstrong, instead, almost relishes the accident. Sally Jenkins, (Wall Street Journal, Mar 25) writes: “He views pain as corrective, and cleansing. At a time when so many people seek shortcuts to wealth, and crave indulgences and exquisite personal comfort, he voluntarily seeks out severe discomfort because he likes what it does for him. He wants things the hard way -- in the cold, and rain, with his backside on a bike for six hours at a time -- because he finds it clarifying. He knows exactly who he is: He's the guy who can take it. "I have the will to suffer," he says. "I do have that."”
So – what is the connection for business?
Several things really. But let’s look at the “pain” aspect in particular.
To achieve success down the road, it is critical that you focus on the 1 or 2 most important tasks that you need to do to achieve your long-term goals. Often, the most effective, important thing a business owner can do to move his business forward is something that he actually feels uncomfortable doing.
Let me give you two examples:
1. In many businesses, the easiest and most cost effective method available to them to increase their sales leads is to simply pick up the phone and call qualified prospects. Most people hate cold calling and will do anything to avoid it – even when they know, if done properly, it can and will help them generate needed new business.
2. In another example, a business owner may realize or decide that she should advertise more. She does not, however, spend the necessary time or resources in researching who her best clients are, what they really want and how best to “talk” to them. That is too much work and not as interesting or glamorous as putting out an ad.
In both of these cases, the business owner does not do the necessary work that he knows will help his business. Doing this kind of work takes him out of his comfort zone as it is different or new. It is “painful” to do.
Dr. Phil, love him or hate him, has this great line he directs at those folks who continue the same behaviour – hoping for a different and better result. He says: “How’s that working for you!?”
If you want to improve or change the results of your business, you need to be open to and embrace the “Pain” required to try and implement new ideas and tactics. Adopt this mindset and you too can achieve “Lance Armstrong” like greatness in your business.
Wishing you business success,
Hugh Tafel
Certified Business Coach
P.S. The second key lesson from the Armstrong example, though not visible in this story, is that he sets goals, then works backwards and designs a daily plan, that he follows with great discipline.
I have discovered a great online tool that will help any business owner in setting and writing down goals, assist with drawing up plans to achieve them and then provide a documented trail of what was done to achieve the goal.
Hugh Tafel is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Alberta, Canada.
If you’d like to contact Hugh about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
http://focalpointcoaching.com/
www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
www.briantracy.com/coaching/
www.askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
How to Waste time and not cheat your employer!
How to Waste time and not cheat your employer!
According to a July 2005 survey conducted by Salary.com and AOL, Americans waste more than 2 hours each day at work costing companies $759 Billion annually. That's 2x as much wasted time as employers expect. The top culprits...internet surfing (44.7%) and socializing (23.4%). And now, with March Madness right around the corner, a March 2008 Inc. report, says the NCAA basketball tournament costs our economy $2 Billion in lost productivity.
So, here's how to get in your time wasting and still not cheat your employer. Begin planning every day in advance! According to time management experts, this will save you as much as 2 hours per day because you will get started and stay started instead of doing one task and then stopping to figure out what you should do next.
So at the end of today, make a list of everything you did not get done, that needs to be done tomorrow. Then, add as many things as you can think of to the list. Once you have completed the list, prioritize it. That is re-order the list from most important to least important. Tomorrow morning, when you come in, pull out your list and get to work. Don't stop to visit your Twitter account, Facebook page or ESPN.com until you have completed the most important item on your list. Then, maybe reward yourself with 5 minutes of surfing or a coffee break. As soon as the 5 minutes is up, get back to work and do your next most important task. And so on and so forth until the end of the day.
Try it, take 10-15 minutes at the end of today to make your list. If you will do this, you will find that you are not only being more productive, but that you are staying in integrity because you are giving your employer the full day's work you promised when you accepted the job.
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
http://www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
http://www.briantracy.com/coaching/
http://askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
According to a July 2005 survey conducted by Salary.com and AOL, Americans waste more than 2 hours each day at work costing companies $759 Billion annually. That's 2x as much wasted time as employers expect. The top culprits...internet surfing (44.7%) and socializing (23.4%). And now, with March Madness right around the corner, a March 2008 Inc. report, says the NCAA basketball tournament costs our economy $2 Billion in lost productivity.
So, here's how to get in your time wasting and still not cheat your employer. Begin planning every day in advance! According to time management experts, this will save you as much as 2 hours per day because you will get started and stay started instead of doing one task and then stopping to figure out what you should do next.
So at the end of today, make a list of everything you did not get done, that needs to be done tomorrow. Then, add as many things as you can think of to the list. Once you have completed the list, prioritize it. That is re-order the list from most important to least important. Tomorrow morning, when you come in, pull out your list and get to work. Don't stop to visit your Twitter account, Facebook page or ESPN.com until you have completed the most important item on your list. Then, maybe reward yourself with 5 minutes of surfing or a coffee break. As soon as the 5 minutes is up, get back to work and do your next most important task. And so on and so forth until the end of the day.
Try it, take 10-15 minutes at the end of today to make your list. If you will do this, you will find that you are not only being more productive, but that you are staying in integrity because you are giving your employer the full day's work you promised when you accepted the job.
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
http://www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
http://www.briantracy.com/coaching/
http://askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Concept of Hourly Rate for Better Time Management...
The Concept of Hourly Rate for Better Time Management...
In recent posts, we've talked a lot about improving your skill of time management. Before turning to other subjects for a while, I wanted to offer one last idea to help you better refine your ability to choose your highest value activities.
I've said before that time equals money. Either you spend money for time or time for money. The most important part of the equation is to ensure that you are getting the best return on both your time and your money.
To help our business coaching clients with this differentiation, we often discuss the concept of selecting your highest value activities based on your hourly rate. Why? Because most business owners and entrepreneurs don't think in terms of hourly rate, yet, often do work that does not justify the hourly rate (extrapolated to annual income) they want to earn. Here's a great question to help you focus in on your highest value activities (i.e. activities worthy of your hourly rate), "Would I pay someone else my hourly rate to do this task?"
Don't know your hourly rate? Well, here's a simple formula: determine how much income you want to earn and then divide that number by 2,000 (2,000 is based on fifty, 40 hour work weeks). Obviously, to be more accurate, you would take your actual number of work weeks (read this post if more than 50) and divide by your average number of hours per week.
So for instance, if you plan to earn $200,000 this year, then your hourly rate is approximately $100 per hour ($200,000 / 2,000). Whenever you decide to personally do or not do something, the clarifying question you would ask yourself is this, "Would I pay someone else $100 per hour to complete this task?" If the answer is no, then this is not one of your highest value activities and it should be delegated to an employee or subordinate or outsourced to another firm for completion.
The only way you will earn $200,000 is by consistently doing the tasks that you would pay someone else $100 per hour to complete.
Like any new skill or habit, this will be a struggle at first, because being an entrepreneur, you are used to doing it all yourself.
You will have to make the decision on the outset of the task..."Do I do this task, or do I delegate this task?" Because in my personal experience and in working with many of my coaching clients, I know that once you are into fixing a printer (or whatever the task may be) that you thought would take less than 30 minutes and now it has been two hours, you are more likely to push forward and complete the task yourself.
And at the end of the day, you are either having to work longer to make up for the miss-spent hours or you have missed out on significant opportunities during the time you should have called in a printer repair person to fix your problem. You spent $200 or more of your time on a task worth probably less than $50.
Not a very good return on investment.
The more you discipline yourself to focus on only the things you can do and delegate the rest, the more comfortable you will become with this concept and its application and the more likely you are to earn your desired annual income. Here's a great article on how Pfizer is empowering their managers and employees to utilize this concept to its fullest and spend more time on their core work and highest value activities.
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
http://www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
http://www.briantracy.com/coaching/
http://askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
In recent posts, we've talked a lot about improving your skill of time management. Before turning to other subjects for a while, I wanted to offer one last idea to help you better refine your ability to choose your highest value activities.
I've said before that time equals money. Either you spend money for time or time for money. The most important part of the equation is to ensure that you are getting the best return on both your time and your money.
To help our business coaching clients with this differentiation, we often discuss the concept of selecting your highest value activities based on your hourly rate. Why? Because most business owners and entrepreneurs don't think in terms of hourly rate, yet, often do work that does not justify the hourly rate (extrapolated to annual income) they want to earn. Here's a great question to help you focus in on your highest value activities (i.e. activities worthy of your hourly rate), "Would I pay someone else my hourly rate to do this task?"
Don't know your hourly rate? Well, here's a simple formula: determine how much income you want to earn and then divide that number by 2,000 (2,000 is based on fifty, 40 hour work weeks). Obviously, to be more accurate, you would take your actual number of work weeks (read this post if more than 50) and divide by your average number of hours per week.
So for instance, if you plan to earn $200,000 this year, then your hourly rate is approximately $100 per hour ($200,000 / 2,000). Whenever you decide to personally do or not do something, the clarifying question you would ask yourself is this, "Would I pay someone else $100 per hour to complete this task?" If the answer is no, then this is not one of your highest value activities and it should be delegated to an employee or subordinate or outsourced to another firm for completion.
The only way you will earn $200,000 is by consistently doing the tasks that you would pay someone else $100 per hour to complete.
Like any new skill or habit, this will be a struggle at first, because being an entrepreneur, you are used to doing it all yourself.
You will have to make the decision on the outset of the task..."Do I do this task, or do I delegate this task?" Because in my personal experience and in working with many of my coaching clients, I know that once you are into fixing a printer (or whatever the task may be) that you thought would take less than 30 minutes and now it has been two hours, you are more likely to push forward and complete the task yourself.
And at the end of the day, you are either having to work longer to make up for the miss-spent hours or you have missed out on significant opportunities during the time you should have called in a printer repair person to fix your problem. You spent $200 or more of your time on a task worth probably less than $50.
Not a very good return on investment.
The more you discipline yourself to focus on only the things you can do and delegate the rest, the more comfortable you will become with this concept and its application and the more likely you are to earn your desired annual income. Here's a great article on how Pfizer is empowering their managers and employees to utilize this concept to its fullest and spend more time on their core work and highest value activities.
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
http://www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
http://www.briantracy.com/coaching/
http://askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
The "1 Thing" Concept...
The "1 Thing" Concept...
Brian Tracy often talks about a clarifying time management question aimed at helping you focus in on the most important things in your business and life and get those things done first.
Here is the prioritizing question he recommends: "If I could do only '1 Thing' all day long, what '1 Thing' would provide the greatest value to my business or life?" From your list of things to do today, choose that '1 Thing' and put a #1 next to it.
Then go back through your list and ask the same question again, "If I could do just '1 More Thing' all day long, what '1 Thing' would provide the greatest value to my business or life?" Answer this question and put a #2 next to that item.
Continue to ask and answer this question until you have gone through your entire list prioritizing the list based on the value of your activities from highest value to lowest value.
Armed with this clarifying question, will you begin to prioritize your tasks better and focus on your most valuable tasks?
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
www.briantracy.com/coaching/
www.askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
Brian Tracy often talks about a clarifying time management question aimed at helping you focus in on the most important things in your business and life and get those things done first.
Here is the prioritizing question he recommends: "If I could do only '1 Thing' all day long, what '1 Thing' would provide the greatest value to my business or life?" From your list of things to do today, choose that '1 Thing' and put a #1 next to it.
Then go back through your list and ask the same question again, "If I could do just '1 More Thing' all day long, what '1 Thing' would provide the greatest value to my business or life?" Answer this question and put a #2 next to that item.
Continue to ask and answer this question until you have gone through your entire list prioritizing the list based on the value of your activities from highest value to lowest value.
Armed with this clarifying question, will you begin to prioritize your tasks better and focus on your most valuable tasks?
Ron McNutt is a certified FocalPoint Coach in Charleston, South Carolina.
If you’d like to contact Ron about this article or on any business improvement strategies, you can email him here.
Thanks for joining us,
Steve Thompson,
President,
FocalPoint Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
www.focalpointcoaching.com
www.fbr50.com/profile/FocalPoint-Coaching
www.briantracy.com/coaching/
www.askabusinesscoach.blogspot.com/
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