How can you be outstanding (out standing!) in your field? You need to leverage your uniqueness. Don’t let what makes you, you be invisible. You don’t need to fit in in order to succeed in your chosen business path. Even the most staid industry — attorney or accountant, for example — can leverage the uniqueness of the business owner to set themselves apart from the competition. How can you use your uniqueness to find the clients you want?
I know many business owners want to fit in and they sometimes don’t show the world who they are, who they can be and why you should work with them. Don’t be dragged down by societal pressure to conform. Your ideal client will find you and be drawn to your uniqueness.
If everyone was the same, why would we consider them significant or a good fit for your business? What is your unique selling proposition (USP)? Know it. Embrace it. Use it as a marketing tool. Those who thrive are those who are authentic and reveal themselves for who they are and that’s why we are drawn to them.
Rex Richard — I — may seem like I am the life of the party, especially if you see my social media posts, but I am quiet and an introvert and perhaps even “ADD.” In my business as a coach who works with entrepreneurs and business owners in the swimming pool industry, I delve into research and data. When I talk with my clients I am highly introspective. I may not be comfortable in large networking settings but I am an empath and can understand how others think and feel and can relate to them when we meet.
How Can You Use Your Uniqueness?
I am a highly sought-after speaker and can speak to large audiences and am able to project my voice, my thoughts and explain the benefits of the services and products I sell. Although I may feel awkward and even out of place when surrounded by people whom I don’t know well, I know I can work the room then go back and recharge my emotional batteries. I enjoy recharging through trips, alone or with a friend; I enjoy the mountains, the ocean and would rather be in the company of people whom I know well than spend time with strangers.
What does that have to do with being unique? It’s because I can relate to other empaths. I can connect on a deeper level with those who have the same sensitivity as I do. If I am forced to “be on stage” all the time, I will burn out emotionally and it will take a long, long time to recharge my batteries.
Remember, you’re special. You’re unique. Harness the power of your personality to attract those you want to interact with and it will almost naturally weed out those you don’t want to work with.
Don’t use your individuality as a weapon. Don’t use it to be crass and brash and injure the feelings of others. Don’t use your uniqueness to control or disrupt those who don’t agree with your point of view.
I may be quiet and introverted, but I love to help others and see them succeed. I spend dozens of hours on the phone, and in person in small groups or one on one with my clients. My spirit of giving is what sets me apart and energizes me.
We know that post-covid may not be happening yet for many entrepreneurs. Some are still struggling to pick up the pieces, others are back up and running but are struggling to find workers, but there are others who are thriving and thrived during the entire past year. We know though that it is hard to be productive, no matter when, but we have tips on how to be more productive post-covid.
No matter where you are on the spectrum, I find that there are entrepreneurs who I work with that struggle to get it all done and we typically find out that the reason they aren’t getting everything done that they need to get done is that they’re doing tasks they should be delegating. In other cases, entrepreneurs will focus on tasks that are unnecessary because they are procrastinating on what truly needs to be done.
How To Be More Productive Post-Covid
Here are tips to regain your organizational and productive mojo.
Build a system with a structure that fits your personality. You can only be efficient and effective if you have a system in place. Use a synced calendar so you don’t miss meetings. Use a shared calendar with your staff. Respect your calendar, schedule downtime so you can recharge and so you can also make plans for the future.
What tasks can be automated.
What tasks can be delegated.
Where can you streamline operations?
Are you using too many applications to track projects that you spend too much time on the tech and less on the task
Are you focusing on the future? Don’t get stuck spinning your wheels in the present. Put together steps to move into the future with your goals.
Take a look at your schedule, your to-do lists and then take a long, hard look at what you accomplish daily or weekly. Are you moving toward future goals or are you stuck in tasks that are holding you back?
Do you know that one person who everyone goes to when they need something? There’s the one handyman that everyone uses, that one swimming pool service pro they can’t live without, that entrepreneur that has the answers? Have you ever wondered how to be a business resource go-to?
Rex Richard of Peak Dynamics, has spent his career nurturing not only his own coaching clients, but his swimming pool clients and other entrepreneurs. He is the go-to for answers or to be pointed in the direction of someone who has the answers.
How To Be A Business Resource Go-To
What can you to do hone your go-to-ability? Rex has compiled this list for your review and implementation.
Talk to your customers. Really talk to them. Get to know them, personally. Dig until you find the reasons why they need to work with you and buy and use the products and services you offer.
Listen to the customer. Keep in mind they are buying your expertise and even your personality as much as they’re buying what you have to sell. If you have two options of a business owner from whom to buy widgets and all things being equal, one of those business owners took time to talk with you and was more personable wouldn’t you choose that person? Of course you would.
Ask question. Remember it is not all about you. It is about the customer. Don’t assume you know what they want. You don’t. Or even if you do, their reasons may be different than the features or benefits you spout off.
Analyze what’s worked… and what hasn’t. Pivot and course correct until most all your interactions are wins.
Ask the customer why he or she would refer you. What experience did they have with you that would make them want to work with you?
Making a sale is great. Making a sale is important if you want to stay in business, but what about building relationships. The better the relationship the more loyal a customer will be to you and it’s much more cost effective to keep a customer than to bring on a new one.
As an entrepreneur, you need to stay on top of your projects. If you don’t you will drop the ball, miss deadlines, disappoint clients and potentially lose them. You need to stay focused and hearn how to effectively manage your projects.
What can you do to:
Stay focused
Hit your targets
If you’re ready to get a handle on your tasks and to get focused so you’re not feeling so overwhelmed and so you feel — and are — more accomplished, let’s go.
First things first:
Grab paper
Grab a pen or pencil
OR open a document on your computer — whatever your planning tool of choice your plan and ideas down on paper. I’ve found it can be helpful to use sticky notes to plan out your road map. I recommend writing with a marker you can easily read from afar, using multiple colors for sticky notes or markers for categorization, and writing on the top of the note so you can tear off the nonadhesive part to prevent curling.
If you don’t write down what you want to accomplish, you will miss deadlines, forget projects or miss steps. Also, writing items down makes them seem more doable and achievable because you’re taking them out of your head where they grow in power and looking at them on paper and you can see, they aren’t as overwhelming as you’d imagined.
How To Effectively Manage Your Projects
Let’s get planning.
As mentioned write down all the big goals you want to achieve
Write down the steps and resources you need to achieve them
Write down the deadlines
Write down all the other engagements that could potentially interfere with these projects (you need to plan for them, though)
Write down your outside of work responsibilities like family and friends
Make note of which items are high priority and which are time-sensitive and which have a loose deadline
Look at your calendar and make blocks of time for each of the projects
Stick to your plan. It doesn’t help you to do this exercise only to toss it aside a day or week later.
Before you leave your office at the end of the day, mark off the items you’ve completed, carry others forward and plan for your next day. Planning for your day before you leave the office means you will sit down to work and already have a plan — it is a great time saver. If the past year has taught us nothing it’s that you need to be flexible with your plans but you do need to have a plan!
Money is a stressor for so many people and entrepreneurs are no different. In fact, money — or lack of it — is one of the major stressors for business owners. You can start your business on a shoestring, but then the shoestring gets frayed because of a lack of clients and you want to give up. We have 5 ways to overcome business finance stress. It may not take all your financial stresses away, but it may help you gain or regain perspective.
Take a deep breath. Take a step back. Remember why you started your own business and center your thoughts.
5 Ways To Overcome Business Finance Stress
Know what you need to make. Do you need to earn $1,000 a month or $10,000 a month in order to pay your bills and live what you deem a comfortable life. If you don’t know what you need, you may always be under stress of thinking you need to make more.
Keep a to-do list. To keep stress at bay, write down a clear and concise list of what is lying ahead and what you can do about it. Can you truly bring on more clients? Will you need to hire someone to help you grow? Write the to-do list and that will help keep your tasks in persepctive.
Let someone know what you’re stressing about. If you keep it all to yourself it will truly eat away at you. Whether you talk with a family member, business colleague or a business coach like Rex Richard, getting an outside perspective might be just what you need.
Write down: what you’re making, what you’re spending (you may be frittering away money you aren’t even aware of — fancy morning coffees for example truly take a bite out of your budget.,” what are your fixed expenses, what are fluctuating expenses. How can you make more and spend less? Keep track of all your spending for an entire week — it could be very eye opening.
Now that you’ve looked at income and expenses, create a monthly budget. When all the income and expenses are accounted for it’s easier for you to stick to the spending habits you’re trying to build.
Listing out recurring expenses such as gas, groceries, utilities, etc.
Prioritize contributing to your emergency fund each month
Set up automatic payments to avoid late fees or interest
Is there a silver bullet to entrepreneurial success? No. That is the harsh truth. To be a success in business you need to be willing to work hard, not take shortcuts, and to reach out to a business coach or mentor in order to move forward. That outside perspective could be just what you need to push through a block and come out the other side with clarity and direction.
If you’re looking for the easy way out, then business ownership may not be in the cards for you. The answers to what you need to do next in order to grow, may be painful. May take you out of your comfort zone or they may be something simple that you just never saw because you were too close.
Some of the things Rex helps his clients work through are:
Limited perspective. You can only see and only know what you know. Your information is limited to your experiences. When you reach outside of yourself, you open up to a new spectrum of awareness
Incorrect perspective. This could be anything from, “that’s the way we’ve always done it” thinking to the filters of your upbringing or experiences in business. Your incorrect perspectives need to be looked at, discussed and perhaps changed to a new perspective.
Why You Need A Business Coach
Don’t let this message discourage you. You’re not wrong, you just need to look at problems and formulate solutions in a way that you need an outside perspective to help you with.
You’re looking for external input and observation. Along with this external input and observation comes accountability. That is one of the main reasons that working with a coach works. They hold you accountable to your goals and help you find ways to meet them!
Who is a business coach? It could be someone in the same or a complementary line of business. It could be someone whose sole job is to help entrepreneurs succeed — that is what Rex Richard does. He dedicates his time to coaching, helping you open up to perception, observations and new ideas. He provides direction, acts as a sounding board and helps you move your business toward its goals.
You may sometimes receive information and direction from a coach that is like a slap to the forehead and you’ll be saying, “that was right in front of my face… why didn’t I see it?” It’s because you’re too close, the solution does seem obvious — and that’s not wrong thinking — sometimes the most clear path is the one that’s teetering right on the edge of your consciousness. You just need that outside observer to validate your thinking.
If you want to grow. If you want to achieve more. If you want to increase your wealth or your influence or sphere of knowledge, then invest in yourself and your life and your business — hire a business coach.
Rex Richard provides vision expanding and results engineered coaching programs specifically designed to help small to medium sized businesses to break through their barriers and experience renewed life, vitality, and expansion. He can be contacted via LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/rexrichard/ #rexsays
