When you’re a business person (especially an entrepreneur), you have to be willing to do the fun stuff as well as the not-so-fun stuff.  Unfortunately, a lot of people think that they can just delegate the not-so-fun stuff away.

While that may be true in some areas, it’s not true if you’re just “passing the buck” and forcing someone else to do your dirty work.

For instance, if you’re the boss, you shouldn’t “pass the buck” to someone else to fire an employee just because you don’t like to do it yourself.  Instead, you need to learn how to handle all aspects of your responsibility as a boss.  Yet there’s nothing wrong with delegating tasks to another — confirming appointments, putting together your company’s marketing plan, etc.  That makes sense.

If you’ve found yourself in a cycle of avoiding the “bad parts” of your job and just passing them on to others when you know you really should be doing them yourself, I urge you to consider hiring a professional business coach.  (Like me!)  A coach will help you understand how to get over your hurdles and be the best business person you can.

Have you lost your mojo?  Feel like there’s NOTHING new under the sun that could possibly be done in terms of advertising and marketing? 

Then watch and learn!

Heineken took a chance with this campaign and it’s gone viral.  Will it make Heineken more popular?  Maybe… maybe not. 

But it’s opening a lot of minds to the possibilities that exist for getting brands noticed in a big, fun, memorable way!

Ten years ago, this business was just a hope, a dream.  But it was one about which I was passionate.  Fast forward a decade and JAD Coaching & Consulting has grown by leaps and bounds!

Recently, a colleague interviewed me about my start-up experiences.  I’d like to share the results of that dialogue with you now.  Enjoy!

Question:  What were you doing 11 years ago?

I was the Area Marketing Manager for Nextel Partners, overseeing the marketing and public relations for Pennsylvania and part of New York. In addition to my “regular” position, I also wore the hat of National Sales Trainer, flying to new markets and training the sales team.

Question: Why did you make the decision to launch your own business?

Ten years ago, I was attending a business meeting in Seattle. In a posh room, overlooking the beautiful shores of Lake Washington, I sat surrounded by marketing professionals that were supposedly “hand picked” to be on this team, and I found myself wondering:

A.  Why these people were earning the same amount of money as me but only doing half the work.

B.  Why I spent my time working at least 80 hours a week only to hear my manager tell the top brass what creative ideas the “marketing department” was generating and tout how the latest campaign produced more results than any other. It wasn’t the “marketing department” producing. It was me! 90% of those ideas were mine and I wasn’t being compensated or acknowledged for them!

It was at that moment I made the decision that enough was enough.

Question: What were the biggest challenges to opening your business?

Dealing with self-induced pressure.   I was (and sometimes still am) my own worst critic and measured myself against people who had 15+ years more experience than I did.

Setting realistic goals. I didn’t believe the facts I read… that most businesses don’t show a profit for 3-5 years…I thought I’d set the world on fire and make boatloads of money in year one!

Identifying what I needed. It seems that young business owners feel the need to have the best office products and equipment and will also spend money on lots of marketing materials that aren’t going to generate immediate revenue for them. (And they need immediate revenue!)

Identifying my USP. I couldn’t figure out what made me different from my competition and what type of clients were a good fit for me. This was, in part, due to lack of experience but also because no one ever got me to think about my business that way.

Question: What was your first year in business like?

Difficult, yet exciting! I still remember the feeling I got each time I told someone what I did… that I owned a business.  I got butterflies in my stomach.  I remember working all of the time and in retrospect really didn’t spend my time as wisely as I should have.

Question: What would you change if you were to go back and do it again?

I would have spent less time networking at local chamber of commerce events and more time networking at trade organizations or at specialized events.

I would have identified my USP much sooner.

I would have spent my limited resources on cutting edge, results-focused marketing programs instead of traditional marketing programs that worked while I was in the corporate world.

I would have plugged into a coaching group or mastermind group to learn and surround myself with more experienced business owners.

Question: What have been the biggest benefits to having your own business?

Flexibility. I’m able to work anywhere as long as I have my laptop and blackberry.

Sense of Accomplishment.Owning a business has been one of my greatest accomplishments. I am very proud of myself and am ok saying that.

Question: Will you launch other businesses in the future?

Yes! I just launched Your Written Book which is a business focused on helping business owners and entrepreneurs write and market a book in order to increase revenues and open up new possibilities

Question: What suggestions do you have for people who want to start businesses in 2010?

Have a 12 month plan.

Start marketing immediately.

Carve out your own niche. Identify a need and fill it.

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Join my Marketing Made Easy for Small Businesses Program today! 

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Set your 2010 marketing goals in an interactive, group setting!  Join my Marketing Made Easy for Small Businesses Program! 

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When I was at the shore earlier this month, I saw people lugging their laptops and cell phones along with their sunscreen and beach towels. Sure, they were away from the office, but were they really on a vacation? No! All they’d accomplished was making their office mobile.

They were still cranking out reports and proposals and checking their email the entire time. They might have been in a luxurious location, but they certainly weren’t on vacation.

And I get it. You are an entrepreneur focused on growing your business.  Consequently, for a variety of reasons, you believe that you can’t remove yourself from your work - even on vacation - so as a “compromise” your office becomes mobile.

But you aren’t helping anyone by doing this - including yourself.

Of course, I am not advocating that it is wrong to be engrossed in your business. In fact, I am the first to admit that I am totally absorbed in mine. However, taking a “real” vacation - meaning no cell phones, no project files, and no email - actually increases your business’ financial health.

Here’s why:

When you take a vacation - a “real” vacation - you gain clarity and perspective about your business. This time away allows you to rejuvenate and refocus; thus, you come back from your vacation with a clear, rested mind. You have a fresh outlook on your business, which often results in increased revenue.

My suggestion?  When you think you can’t afford to take a “real” vacation, it’s a sign that you absolutely need one.

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In the 1990s, the book “What Color is Your Parachute?” came into vogue.  And it really opened many people’s eyes, allowing them to think about their careers in a whole new light.

Today, men and women are more open than ever to changing the way they perceive and run their professional lives, but that doesn’t mean that they no longer get into “funks”.  After all, work can be… well… work!  And sometimes, that work is less than fulfilling, pleasant or exciting.

So I’m asking you the question — What color is your funk? 

Obviously, I’m not talking color literally (though if it helps you to envision your funk as a hue, go for it!)  I’m speaking of the overarching essence of your “funk”. 

For instance, for many people, their “funk” is a direct result of how their clients speak to them.  One bad conversation ruins their whole day.  For other entrepreneurs, their “funk” is determined primarily by numbers — cash flow, savings, profitability.

Naming the color of your funk doesn’t make it go away, but it does give you a good starting point for recognizing the triggers that lead you into a negative place. 

What color is your funk?  And what can you do to get beyond it?

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Just found out about this cool opportunity and wanted to pass the word onto you… 

It’s called the “Office Depot Adopt a Small Business Contest” and seems like a potentially rewarding way for you to get your business out there.

Whether you win the contest or not, it’ll give you the chance to build some business buzz and make moolah anyway.  How?  Try these ideas on for size:

1.  Enter the contest and then put your entry on YouTube.

2.  Put your entry on your blog or website.

3.  Use the contest as a venue to get in touch with other entrepreneurs.

4.  Get your colleagues excited about your business by spending a morning or afternoon strategizing how to develop the best entry possible.

5.  Contact your best, most loyal clients and see what they would suggest you do for a contest entry.  Offer to give them discounts for a specified period if you win!  (That should get them excited, too!)

Again, whether you win the contest or lose the contest, it won’t matter — you will have used it wisely to savvily market your company!

• Visit JADCC for more business coaching and marketing ideas.
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Image Source:  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net

One of the most well-respected marketers in the country has to be Seth Godin.  Even his blog pages and Tweets are awash with great ideas.  Though some of them may be a tad aggressive for those with a low risk profile, they still make you sit back and think about the direction in which you are… or aren’t… going.

A recent blog post entitled “Can You Change Everything?” really caught my eye.  It’s a list of simple (and radical) ideas meant not to be taken as a definitive “to do” worksheet but as a way to stir up creative thinking.

What excited me most as I read through his brainstorms was how “free” the thoughts are.  As a business coach, I am constantly working with clients who have become trapped into the “we have to do things this way” mentality.  They’re literally pigeonholing themselves into depression, low profitability and submission.

So my suggestion to you is that you start embracing the “What Ifs”. 

Make a list of things you could do that would shake up your business model or personal goals.  Be imaginative and have fun!  Don’t worry — no one will force you to do everything.  The purpose of the exercise isn’t to give you more work.  It’s to help you escape from the limited thinking that so often keeps us locked in a cage.  (Ironically, it’s a cage to which WE hold the keys!)

I’d love to start a running tab of “What Ifs” in the comment section… feel free to add your zaniest thoughts. 

I’ll start off the process:

• What If You… Outsourced your favorite work responsibility?
• What If You… Franchised your business?
• What If You… Took a college course in a topic that truly excites you but has nothing to do with your current career?

YOUR TURN!

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Are you happy? 

I mean in an overall sense. 

Not 100%, every-minute-of-the-day, jump-up-and-shout-about-it ecstatic.  That’s not realistic.  But are you happy in a fulfilled sense?  Are you where you need to be to maximize your talents and passions?

If you answered “yes”, good for you!

If you answered “no”… why not?

It’s fascinating how long we will wallow in unhappiness, somehow believing that we don’t deserve to be happy or content.  All the while, a small voice inside us whispers, “Is this all there is?”

It’s time to increase the volume on that little voice and pay attention to its plea for an answer.

As a professional business coach, I constantly challenge clients to become the person they know they should be.  My goal isn’t to have them experience a life without pain, without pressure or without worries, of course; as I said before, that’s not reasonable.  But I know that a sense of honest-to-goodness happiness is achievable for those who really want it.

So what’s holding you back from experiencing this type of fulfillment?  Not sure?  Check out the mirror.  Stare at the person looking back at you.  He or she has the real power to make you happy.  Not your boss.  Not your spouse.  Not your best friend.  You.

Seize your power today and discover the path to contentment.  And if you’re having trouble figuring out how to get started, give JADCC a call.

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You’ve probably seen this commercial for EDS before, but it’s definitely worth watching again:

Obviously, it’s humorous, but it also hits home to anyone who has ever been assigned to manage anything — a business, a household, a team, a group of kids.  Let’s face it… as professionals we’ve all had our personal “cats” to herd.  And it’s never easy.  However, it has to be done.

The problem, of course, is that you can’t change the cats.  They’ll do what they instinctively want to do.  Instead, you have to change your point of view to match the needs of the felines.  (It’s a direct corrolation between the way we have to think about marketing to clients who have different expectations from our own.)

So my question for you is:  How will you herd your “cats” today? 

How will you ensure that you’re keeping everything organized despite the natural chaos of the universe?  How will you make certain that, at the end of the day, you’ve done your job to the best of your ability?  And how will you avoid complaining about the hard stuff during the process?

We all have our “cats”, but as the fictitious catboys (they can’t be cowboys, can they?) in the commercial are quick to remind us, if you keep the goal in mind, you can reap both tangible and intangible rewards.

• Visit JADCC today for more marketing solutions and ideas.
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