Achieving Goals

I have a real interest in football.

Having spent my childhood in Liverpool it would be hard not to! I love the excitement, atmosphere, passion and buzz that it generates. Recently I have been enjoying the World Cup excitement with my family. Even with England (my home country) having a dismal start and Ireland (my adopted country) not even in it at all, it is already getting very exciting.

At half time each team has a chance to review their first half performance and work out their second half strategy.

I imagine their half time dressing room chats would include:

• Have things been going as planned?
• Are we ahead or behind on where we wanted to be?
• What worked well?
• What didn’t work well?
• What impact are our competition having on us?
• What do we need to do in the second half to have achieved our “goals” by full time?
• Do we need to make radical changes?
• In what areas do we need to up our game?
• What Mindset do we need to create to deal with the pressure, unexpected setbacks and to be our best?

This sort of review is also highly applicable to all of us Self Employed Parents, Sole Traders and folks running a business from home.

Why?

Well, because we are half way through the year.

If 2010 was a football match, how was your 1st half? What half time talk do you need to give to yourself?

We should all be scheduling a “drains up” half time review and asking the same sort of questions of ourselves that the managers and teams of the World Cup are asking themselves at half time (maybe the England camp aren’t asking these questions which might account for the shambolic performance on Saturday!!!).

So, schedule your half time review and analysis now (mine is later this week). Make sure you don’t just focus on the business. Think of every area of your life as a player in your team success. Include family life, lifestyle, relationships and so on. Take the World Cup question list above and apply it to all areas of your life. Then create an action plan and go do.

Where will you be by full time on 31st December?

PS Note to England Football Squad – READ THIS POST

It’s Half Time. What’s Your Second Half Strategy? is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Board meetings are most commonly associated with large organisations. Yet all businesses, regardless of their size should be carrying out board meetings. In fact, if you are a sole trader or run your business from home it is essential.

Why Sole Traders must hold board meetings

To create a really successful business, all business functions need to be running effectively. I am talking sales, marketing, finance, IT/technology, admin and so on. If one is under performing, it can screw up the rest of your business results.

It is essential as a sole trader to hold board meetings on a regular basis so that you are fully in control of how each business function is impacting your business results. It is important to your success that every business function is operating effectively. You can’t just pick the areas you enjoy or already have a strong skill set in – you have got to do them all.

Purpose of Board Meetings for Sole Traders

It is important to be clear on what the purpose of having board meetings is. It should provide you with sufficient information about each area of the business to allow you to make effective decisions on future action plans that will deliver your goals. It is also to allow you to spot any potential problems and take action to avoid them becoming a reality. A board meeting should include two key elements:

1. Performance review and action planning.

2. Review business strategy and direction

Each board meeting should include:

• review the performance of key, specific business function – target v actual for previous period
• set targets for each business function for the next set period of time
• review the direction and strategy of each business function to ensure your business is operating effectively, coherently and will deliver the business results you want.

The point is this:

As a sole trader you have got to wear all of the hats a board of directors in a larger company would wear. You can’t be an expert in every function so get help. Hire a coach, consultant or mentor that specialises in the board functions you don’t have experience in and learn what you should be doing. Research what you should be measuring for each board role and implement. The internet can provide a lot of useful information on this.

Underestimating the importance of creating a Board of Directors as a sole trader can hold back business success. If you don’t do this I highly recommend you start.

What are your opinions and experiences on this subject?

Related posts:

1. Is your Business on Track?

2.Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware!

3. How would a crisis impact your business success?

Why Board Meetings are Essential for Sole Traders is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Providing good quality products/services that people want and need is important to business success. However, many sole traders and people running a business from home overlook that this isn’t the decided factor in people’s buying decision. The deciding factor that is often overlooked is this:

YOU

This is important because:

PEOPLE BUY PEOPLE!

People are more likely to buy from people they know, like and trust. You can have a great quality product/service but, unless your potential customers buy into you, you’ve got a problem.

Think about this for a minute. How many other sources can people get your type of product or service from? The answer is loads! So, as a sole trader, whether someone will buy off you will depend on how they feel about YOU. That is why it is essential to allow time in your business activities to develop yourself.

How does your potential customer experience you?

Do you ever consider how you come across, what sort of energy you give off or what impact you have on people? If not, it is time to start. Don’t underestimate the importance of these points to your bottom line.

3 tips for upgrading how you impact on other people:

1. Create a real kick ass self care programme. Your mental, physical and emotional fitness has a dramatic impact on the energy you give off. The energy you give off will influence how people feel about you. How they feel about you will influence if they are going to buy off you. It’s a total no brainer. If you don’t have a self care programme, don’t wait – get started now.

2. Build genuine relationships. We have probably all experienced networking events when we felt pinned to the wall by people whose only interest was selling their stuff. Not attractive huh? I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t buy off these people in a million years and would certainly never recommend them to my network. Don’t be that person. Be interested in people. Listen. Help them without strings.

3. Self development. I know a lot of people don’t like the phrase “self development” as it conjures up all sorts of images off woo-woo stuff for them. But like it or not, people who continually develop themselves are more likely to be successful in all areas of their life. What areas do you need to upgrade yourself in?

So the next time you are putting time into upgrading your products and services, don’t forget to also review how you can upgrade yourself. Your results depend on it.

What do you think?

Why your product/service isn’t what people are buying. is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

It has been a couple of months since I started this blog. The whole process of losing my blogging virginity has been a steep learning curve. Losing your virginity in other aspects of life is, usually, a private affair. But losing your blogging virginity requires that you do it in full view of anyone that wants to watch!

Now, that raises quite a few emotions – Will my audience enjoy my performance? Will it satisfy them? Will it be something they want to talk about to their mates? Will they want to come back for more?

Blogging for Business

Starting this blog was a business decision. Part of a new business model linked to my three year vision for where I want my business and lifestyle to go. The last two months I have been learning about blogging to serve,connect and engage with my audience; raise visibility and build reputation. I totally “get” why blogging is a great tool from a business perspective.

Confession time

However, having started this blog as part of my business strategy, I have a confession to make:

The reason I love blogging most is NOT for business reasons but for personal reasons.

I love blogging because:

• it feels liberating after 14 years of having to conform to speaking with the corporate voice to speak in my own voice, my way. Boy does that feel good!
• it connects me to like minded people who share similar passions, interests and values – I LOVE that
• to allows real relationships and community to form on a personal level, not just a business level
• it allows me to learn, share and connect with interesting people all over the world. How cool is that?

Blogging is without doubt a great business tool for any Home Based or Small Business Owner. If you don’t do it yet I highly recommend it. Something that gives as much benefit personally as it does professionally should be grabbed with both hands and made the most off.

Tip:

One of the things I have learnt is that it is important to learn about blogging from people who really know their stuff. There are many people calling themselves experts that aren’t. Set yourself up to succeed by making a commitment to learn from high quality resources and people. Winging it isn’t going to cut it if you are a blogging virgin.

Would love to hear your experiences and opinions on blogging from both a business and personal perspective.

Related posts:

Confessions of a Social Media Virgin!

Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware!

Confessions of a Blogging Virgin! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Do you buy, or are you thinking of buying online products? If so, why?

It is an important question to ask because many people are buying online products that aren’t necessarily right for them or that they are unlikely to implement.

Not all online products are creating equally!

Now, before we go on let me state that I am not anti online products. In fact, it is something I plan to offer myself later this year (shameless plug!). However, as with all these things, there are high quality ones out there and some real crap too. So it is very important to know the reasons you are buying and what to be aware of.

3 Tips when buying online products

1. Buy with your business head on – people generally buy products from an emotional level. Look at adverts on the TV. They are designed to evoke emotions because that is how people buy. If you are thinking of buying an online product, use your business head to make the decision. Ask yourself:

• Why am I buying this?
• What results do I need to achieve for it to be a good investment?
• How will I implement this? (This is absolutely key).
• Where is the hard evidence that this product does what it says on the tin?
• Is this product offered by a high quality, high reputation business/person?

2. See through the Sales pitch – sales pitches are most often directed at emotions because people buy at an emotional level. Watch out for phrases such as “the secrets you must know”. By the way, there are no “secrets”. Everything you could possible need to know about being a successful business owner is already out there. Your job is to work out the best source/person to learn this from.

3. Beware the “I’ve done it this way and made a gazillion dollars and you should do it this way too” brigade – there are many ways to achieve business success and make money. Don’t be a sheep just following what someone else has done. Just because they did it that way doesn’t mean it is right for you, your business or brand to do it that way.

In summary, always make sure you use your business head to evaluate if on online product is right for you. Watch out for your emotions driving your decision making.

Do you have any tips and experiences to share on this subject?

Related post:

Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware!

Buying Online Products? Buyer Beware! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Is your business going to achieve what you want it to achieve this year? Is it performing and reaching the targets you have set? Do you have targets for your business that you are reviewing and actioning regularly?

If you don’t know the answer to these question, now is the perfect time to address this. As we come to the end of the first quarter of the year all Home Based and Small Business Owners should be preparing for an end of first quarter Business Performance Review.

Why is this Important?

It’s important because if you don’t focus on these areas how can you put action plans together for the next quarter and the rest of the year that will deliver the results you want? Measuring performance is a critical part of creating success in your business.

All business owners should be holding quarterly business review meetings. Are you?

If not, here are some things to do right now:

Planning Quarterly Business Review and Strategy Meetings

• Open your diary.
• Put a date and a time in your diary for the first week of April, July and October.
• These are your quarterly Business Strategy Review Meetings.
• Set an agenda for them. Include reviewing your business model, strategic plans, goals and action plans.
• Review in detail how every area of your business is performing – finances, marketing, sales, customer service, effective business operations and so on
• Ask yourself “am I on track to achieve what I want in the next quarter and rest of the year?”
• If yes, check your action plans are water tight for moving forward
• If no, what do you need to put in place NOW to get back on track?
• Set targets for every area of the business
• Hold your meetings away from your home office where you can’t be disturbed or distracted.

These meetings are essential because they are the steering wheel of your business. Used and applied correctly they will get you to where you want to be.

Tip: include your lifestyle goals in these meetings so that you can ensure your business is supporting living the life you want. Many people make the mistake of looking at business and lifestyle in isolation. There is a time and place for that, but in your quarterly review meetings look at them together.

Don’t put it off. Action this now.

Related post:

5 Days to Change for Success – Day 4: How to Avoid Failure

Is your Business on Track? is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

Hiring an expert can be a great way to achieve results in your business and life. Especially for areas you lack experience of or that aren’t your strength. The problem is that whilst there are high quality operators out there, there are also many wolves in sheep’s clothing. The message is simple when hiring an expert – Buyer Beware!

A Personal Story

Over the last 10 years, on and off, I have hired a few experts. I have a strict criteria for hiring experts. As a result, I have worked with really good quality people and achieved great results by working with them – until last year!

Last year, for the first time ever and for reasons that still elude me, I broke my own hiring experts rules. As a result, I got my fingers badly burnt. I was so annoyed with myself afterwards and felt so stupid for making such a huge mistake, especially as the warning signs were all there from the start. I learnt a hard but valuable lesson on what can happen if you don’t follow your own rules.

Warnings!

• Some people will portray themselves as experts in a field even when they are not.
• Don’t confuse having a high profile with being a high quality expert. Having a high profile doesn’t always mean they are good at what they do. Sometimes it is just means they are good at self promotion.
• Not everyone operates on the same level of standards, ethics and integrity.

Tips when hiring experts

• Do NOT pay up front in full without a watertight agreement in place that covers getting your money back if you are not happy with the quality of their service. If your expert doesn’t offer an agreement or contract at the start that includes this point, walk away.
• Are they REALLY an expert in their field? Really dig behind the public image and sales pitch. Where is the hard evidence?
• Be clear and specific on what you want to achieve before hiring. Check they have the credentials, skills and experience to deliver this.
• If you have made a mistake get out and get out fast before any more damage can be done to your business.

Remember the onus is on YOU to have a strict hiring criteria and stick to it.

What are you experiences of hiring experts? Feel free to share them and any tips or advice you might have on this subject in the comments below.

Hiring an Expert? Buyer Beware! is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

This is day 4 in the 5 day Change for Success Series. Links to the previous posts in the series are at the end of this post.

Even with a really strong business vision, strategy, goals and action plans you are not immune from failing to achieve the success you want. Let me explain why:

A key factor in failing to achieve success

When Small Business Owners create their business vision, strategy, goals and action plans they sometimes stop right there thinking they have done what they need to do to create change and success. Huge mistake!

The key to avoid failure – Performance Measurement

In order to create consistent and sustainable results it is essential that you have a Performance Measurement Strategy. Here’s why:

Why Performance Measurement is Critical to avoid failure

Ok, so there you are with your business vision, a real kick ass strategy, great goals and thorough action plans. How do you know it is or will deliver the results you want? How will you spot, in advance, potential problems so that you can take action to avoid them? The answer is that without a Performance Measurement Strategy you can’t. The bottom line is this:

If you aren’t measuring the results of your action plans as you are going along it is like going off on a journey blindfolded. You are setting yourself up for lots of setbacks, obstacles and possibly failure.

Tips for Creating a Performance Measurement Strategy:

• For every area of your business write down key factors that impact you achieving success. For example, revenue targets, lead conversion rate, no of clients, and so on.
• Set monthly targets for each point on the list.
• Set up a chart that shows target and actual figures for each point
• Complete and review the chart monthly
• Ask yourself questions like why has that figure gone up (or down)
• Use the information to drive your action plans for the following month

I can’t stress enough how important doing this is yet it is an often overlooked area by many Small Business Owners. If you really want to reduce your risk of failure in your business, set up a Performance Measurement Strategy today and use it to drive your decision making and action plans.

The key to consistent and sustainable results lies in this activity. Ignoring it is literally gambling with your chances of success.

Related posts:

Is your Business a Vampire?

5 days to Change for Success – Day 1: Clear the decks!

5 days to Change for Success – Day 2: Building Strong Foundations

5 Days to Change for Success – Day 3: Getting into Action

5 Days to Change for Success – Day 4: How to Avoid Failure is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

In the previous posts in this series of three Creating change for Small Business Success and Why change is essential for small business survival. we looked at some of the challenges and first steps relating to effective change management strategies that will deliver results and small business success.

3 Common Mistakes

In this post we are going to focus on mistakes that stop small business owners making change that delivers consistent and sustainable results. There are, of course, many but here are three common ones:

1. Impulse changes. When a situation arises it is easy to just focus on what needs changing about that situation in isolation. This leads to making impulse changes without considering the knock on effect for other areas of your business and lifestyle.

Tip – always ensure that changes are linked to your vision and are part of a strategic change management plan.

2. Doing nothing! Many small business owners keep doing the same things they have been doing for years even though it isn’t delivering the results they want and is damaging their potential for success. This is often a symptom of not knowing how to make change that really delivers results. Not knowing how to do something doesn’t mean you should do nothing.

Tip – if you don’t know how to make change happen, just take a first step – get help, do some research, get training. DO SOMETHING! Don’t get caught up by having to know all the answers before you start. Taking the first step will lead to the next steps.
Remember:

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step – Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. No follow up. If you are going to make a change but not monitor what impact it has on your business then you are not going to maximise the potential for successful change and results.

Tip – always follow the mantra Measure-Review-Take Action-Repeat

Avoiding these common mistakes will significantly increase your effectiveness at making change that delivers consistent and sustainable results. What do you think?

This is post three in a series of three. Post one – Creating change for Small Business Success Post two – Why change is essential for small business survival.

3 mistakes to avoid when making business change is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom

In the previous post we talked about the challenges business owners face around effective change management. You can see that post here Creating change for Small Business Success

Change is vital for business survival

Change is essential – period! The world outside you and your business is constantly changing. Ways of doing business, competition and connecting with clients are constantly changing. The list could go on and on but the point is this – if you don’t have a change management strategy you are becoming less relevant in the marketplace. Not good!

Also, if you don’t have an effective change management strategy you aren’t moving towards your vision of Business Success and Lifestyle Freedom. Why? Because…

If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you always got – source unknown

To create something different to what you have now, you have to change.

Getting the Change Management ball rolling

There are many elements of an effective change management strategy. Here are a few points to get started:

1. Change strategy MUST be linked to your vision. Ensure the vision for your business and lifestyle is clearly defined before you go any further.

2.Make sure you have a business plan, goals and action plan. These should all be designed to achieve your vision.

3. Implement a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) strategy. Measuring your business  performance is an essential element for creating an effective change management strategy.  It will provide you with the information you need to know what needs changing.

(Note: if KPI’s are new to you or you don’t know how to set them up, don’t worry, I will be covering this in more detail in upcoming blog posts).

4. Measure, Review, Take Action. Keep repeating this cycle. This cycle should always include points 1 – 3 above

Important note: your change management strategy should always be focussed on delivering  specific, tangible, measureable and consistent results.

Have fun playing with the points above. In the next post we will investigate what stops many Small Business Owners from creating change that would deliver the success they desire.

For more detailed information and resources relating to this topic and other business and lifestyle material, sign up for my monthly newsletter in the top right hand corner of this page.

Why change is essential for small business survival. is a post from: Ali Davies Small Business Success & Lifestyle Freedom