Business Owners Freedom Formula With Paul Maskill

We all want more customers...and then we go down a rabbit hole where everyone tells us something different of what we SHOULD do. We should do Facebook ads. We should do more on Instagram. We should be tweeting 6 times per day. We should join BNI. Yet, 99% of business owners will tell you most of their customers come from word of mouth. If that's the case, it's time to give your customers something to talk about :) In today's episode, I break down step-by-step how to give your customers more "things" to talk about.

Many times, we as bosses and business owners feel like we are doing our employees a huge favor for employing them. When in reality, they are doing us a HUGE favor. Without employees, without a team, without people, we don't have a business at all. In a strong economy with the power of the internet, our employees have more options than ever. So we should start treating them as such. Treating them as equals. Following the Golden Rule. In today's episode, I share with you a few ways to build a strong team where people don't want to leave :)

When it comes to communicating with anyone in your business...ASSUME NOTHING! Especially with your employees. You are the expert and what you take for granted others don't even think about. This is espcially true when you are communicating with your team. Unless you specifically tell them something, you can't assume it as "common sense". I share with you a few examples from our landscaping business.

We all want to grow our business...but what does that actually mean? We want to go "crush it" but what does that even mean? Instead of just aimlessly trying everything that we "should" do to "grow" our business, get specific with what that end goal actually looks like. A specific dollar amount. A specific number of customers. Then you can figure out what you need to do TODAY.

A highly sought-after speaker, business alignment coach, and the author of Transform Your Company, Alex Vorobieff has helped scores of business owners replace chaos with clarity and finally attain the success they’ve always imagined. His methods eliminate frustration and find the unique starting line that propels companies past frustration and into success.   After working for 15 years turning around companies by applying business improvement tools, Alex decided to hire himself by acquiring businesses and implementing the best improvement tools.

Everyone hates getting spam email. Everyone hates junk email. Everyone hates unsolicited email. Yet, so many business owners are so hungry to add you to their email list...even if you don't sign up. The thought process of "Something is better than nothing. It doesn't hurt anything and if they don't like it they can delete and unsubscribe" is far from the truth. Today, I share with you the 4 reasons this is killing your business.

Some business owners like to call every dollar that they spend as COSTS. In today's episode I share with you the importance to start looking at every dollar spent as an investment. When you start shifting your mindset to everything you spend money on as an investment, you'll start to see progress in your business. I also discuss the 3 different types of returns that I like to measure in order to ensure it's money well spent.

It's an instant gratification world. We want everything NOW. If we could, we would have wanted it yesterday. Most business owners are the same way when it comes to spending money. They label it as a cost, yet they want a return on it immediately. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. They say "why would I spend more money on my customers when they are already doing business with me anyway?" In today's episode, I break down how much each customer is actually worth...you might be shocked!

You can never make the shot until you're willing to miss 1000's of shots. And you definitely can't make the shot until you get off the sidelines. So many business owners are getting ready to get ready, waiting until it's perfect, reading one more book and on. Those are simply excuses that if you don't actually take action are a waste of time. By the way, a guy named Kobe Bryant has missed more shots in his career than anyone else...it turned out alright for him.

Nobody likes change...the human brain is wired to be afraid of change. Our brain's #1 goal is to keep us alive...and we're still here so why change? The uncertainty keeps us doing the same thing. But as a small business owner, our #1 advantage over the big guys is speed to change. The key is to have empathy and explain the WHY when making changes.

Steve Gordon is the bestselling author of Unstoppable Referrals, 10X Referrals, Half the Effort and the newly released book, The Exponential Network Strategy. He is the founder of The Unstoppable CEO, a marketing and business growth firm that builds systems to attract clients for professional service firms and solo practitioners.

Understand that your employees have more options than ever. And it's expensive to replace them (in time and money). AND without them, you don't have a business. Don't just treat them like another employee. Treat them the way you would want to be treated. You know, that whole golden rule thing?

Whether you're looking to partner with someone or have them become your customer, it's so important to understand the sales process. Stop trying to marry them on the first date. Your #1 goal with the first interaction is to establish your authority as an expert, understand what their goals are (and how you can help them) and figure out who the decision maker is. That's it! Focus on providing value and figuring out how you can help them first. In return, they'll help you even more.

If you’re already feeling stressed out, burned out and frustrated, more revenue isn’t going to solve the problem. In fact, it will only make it worse. Unfortunately, I speak with a lot of business owners every week who believe the solution to their problems is simply bring in more revenue. Add more offerings. Add another truck. This is not only masking the bigger problem…it’s actually making the problem worse. It’s like adding another floor to a house of cards. It’s not a matter of IF it will fall but it’s a matter of WHEN it will fall.

It's time to understand that the 1st person you hire for any position most likely won't work out. And that's GREAT! It's all part of the process. Look at it as a learning process to determine who and what you really need. Because you won't really know what you need until you actually take action. Hiring people is just like any other skill, every time you do it, you'll get better at it. The key is to keep making progress and taking action!

It's so easy to end up sitting in our office all day, every day. We set our intentions for the day and before we know it, it's 6pm and we haven't even left our office. We're just trying to play catch up and put out fires but we can't keep up. In today's episode, I share with you what's working in our dog walking business this week as we are attending a series of vendor fairs at local hospitals. So we can get out, talk to others and build our brand.

As the official Zig Ziglar Small Business Lawyer and a Ziglar Legacy Certified trainer, it’s no wonder that Scott Reib is known as “America’s Legal Coach.” For the last two decades, Scott has been helping business owners, entrepreneurs, and coaches “shatterproof” their businesses by implementing specific strategies for structure, growth, and protection. Over the last three years, Scott has been sharing these strategies with business owners and coaches, and watching them grow and succeed! Even with 20+ years of legal experience, Scott is a firm believer that legal advice doesn’t have to be expensive or intimidating. His passion lies in changing the way we view legal counsel: from “emergency” situations to “primary care provider” relationships.

I 100% get it. Your business is your baby. I feel no different. Unfortunately, we always think that our baby is the cutest, it has no problems and we don't want to change it. And we also let our emtions make decisions instead of the numbers when it's our baby. In today's episode, I share with you why you need to start using the numbers to make business decisions. The numbers don't lie!

Way too many business owners have the mindset of COST. Whenever any business decision comes up, especially about delegation & systematization, it's "what will it COST?" The real question is "what will it COST if I don't take action?" Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should do it. It's time to start valuing your time. Afterall, it's your most valuable asset.

Are you at the point in your business where you could keep growing if you could just find better help? I've heard it a million times "I just can't find good help." "These kids just don't work like we used to." These are simply one big fat excuse based out of fear. Fear to step up into the unknown. We want to grow but we don't really want to take the perceived risk that is going to be there. Besides, we are comfortable where we're at. Yet, if your business still needs you to survive, you don't have a business at all. You simply have a very stressful JOB.