Top News
Coronavirus Resources
Globally, there has been 1.5 billion people who have been ordered to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many executives and managers are finding that managing remote workers blindly is is like conducting an orchestra without seeing or hearing the musicians. One company, TransparentBusiness, provides the solution that will allow a business to remain productive and profitable, while protecting their employees from the virus risks.
-
Working Remotely? Take Care Of Your Business Online Safety!
Monday, 29 June 2020
-
Is Paycheck Protection Plan Going to Become a Financial Burden?
Monday, 01 June 2020
-
SBA Taking Action for Small Businesses
Monday, 04 May 2020
-
FormAssembly Offers Free COVID-19 Assistance Program
Monday, 06 April 2020
HR/Benefits
Building a successful team is important for the success of any business. Having the right individuals and a strong team can help you achieve your goals and create a positive work environment. However, building a successful team is always easier said than done. It is a complex task that requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a commitment to excellence. Here are some steps you need to take to build a successful team to drive your organization to greater heights.
-
Hiring is Complicated - Simplify With These Practices
Monday, 05 December 2022
-
Get and Keep Staff
Monday, 25 July 2022
-
Remote Work Needs Defined Agreements
Monday, 16 May 2022
-
Offer Your Employees the Best Vacation Policy Option
Monday, 02 May 2022
Legal
You probably know that starting a business requires an innovative idea, a solid business plan, and a funding source to launch. But, do you also have the Registered Agent ready to go? Do you need a Registered Agent?
-
Creating a Promissory Note
Monday, 16 September 2019
-
5 Ways Businesses Can Avoid Becoming Ensnared In An Ethical Lapse
Monday, 30 July 2018
-
Mediate, don’t litigate
Wednesday, 11 October 2017
-
Contemplating legal templates for your small business
Wednesday, 26 April 2017
News
The NFIB is critical of Biden’s new federal budget, reports Moody on the Market Every year, the White House proposes a new federal budget request to drive tax and spending decisions in Congress. The Biden Administration released the Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal last week, which includes tax increases that would further harm small businesses
-
Small Business Surge
Monday, 27 March 2023
-
Retirement Plans Beneficial for Small Business
Monday, 27 March 2023
-
Precise API Gets Updates
Monday, 20 March 2023
-
SVB’s Failure Impacts Small Businesses
Monday, 20 March 2023
Technology
In the midst of escalating international conflicts, cybersecurity experts and government officials are reiterating the importance of a strong cybersecurity posture for all organizations. Now is the time to reexamine any organization’s ability to act upon its cybersecurity and incident response plans.
-
A Company’s Cybersecurity Policy Is Only As Solid As Its Implementation
Monday, 11 April 2022
-
Why Domain Security is Still Important for FinServ Companies
Monday, 29 November 2021
-
Your Small Business Is Not Immune to Ransomware
Tuesday, 18 May 2021
-
How Do Small Businesses Use IoT?
Monday, 15 March 2021
NFIB Not Keen on Biden’s Plan
The NFIB is critical of Biden’s new federal budget, reports Moody on the Market
Every year, the White House proposes a new federal budget request to drive tax and spending decisions in Congress. The Biden Administration released the Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal last week, which includes tax increases that would further harm small businesses
Read the Article Moody on the Market
Small Business Surge
According to Forbes, small businesses are surging across America, surprising economists.
Aundrea Owens grew up in Frankfort, Ky., in the 1960s. Back then, there were still some stores where she and her mother weren’t welcome when they went downtown to buy an Easter dress.
Read the article Forbes
Retirement Plans Beneficial for Small Business
Small businesses should consider offering a retirement plan, it can attract and retain employees, reports Yahoo Finance.
Small business owners can boost employee recruitment and retention and help themselves and their workers save for retirement by establishing a 401(k) plan
Read the article Yahoo Finance
Precise API Gets Updates
7 Challenges Your Small Business Faces
Owning and running a small business is a dream of almost everyone. However, this is a big challenge, especially considering the problems you will likely face. While having the idea is the easiest part, starting and managing a business is not a simple task, as some might want to believe. The first two years of a business are the biggest problem, and most small businesses do not make it past this period. Those brave enough will successfully manage every aspect of the business starting from employees, marketing and administration, and ensure that they do not miss any leads. Here are some challenges that your small business might face.
- Getting customers
While starting a business can be simple, getting customers is a complex undertaking which can be painful sometimes. This is a challenge to startups and multinationals such as Toyota, Coca Cola and Apple, who have the right teams for marketing and customer support. As a startup, you do not have to sit there and wait for people to come and buy your product or service, hopefully. Rather, you must develop a comprehensive strategy to inform people about your product or service and buy it. This is a significant challenge for small businesses because they do not have a recognized brand that people already believe in.
- Cash flow problems
Small businesses often face the challenge of cash, and entrepreneurs are often afraid to start a business due to this reason. To sustain a startup, you need to spend a lot of cash and engage in various transactions, which can sometimes be challenging. As a startup, therefore, you need to track every transaction and be strict in managing your cash flows. Hire an accountant to help with bookkeeping and in managing your finances.
- Lead generation
Most businesses face the challenge of lead generation, especially in generating enough leads to satisfy the sales team. Marketers also report that this is a key challenge that business leaders face. Given this problem, it is hard to ensure there is a steady stream of sales and income.
- Overreliance on one customer
A single, large paying-on-time customer is excellent news for any small business. However, it can also be a major problem. Depending on a single customer for payments makes you appear like a contractor. If they suspend or stop their services, you might end up doing no business at all. While it is important to attract and maintain any customer, you need to find new ones to keep you going when others stop buying from you.
- Hiring talented employees
Getting the right people to work for your startup is one of the hardest things you may encounter as you start your business. This is a difficult challenge, especially since most quality employees are attracted to bigger brands. According to statistics, 52% of respondents in a CNBC study claimed that the biggest challenge they face is labour quality. This makes it hard for small businesses to get the right people who understand business goals and can work together.
- Managing workflow
Once you have the right people in place, the next big challenge is to manage the workflow. You must ensure that your team has the right tools and processes to do the right things and work efficiently. This is a problem for startups because some of these processes are new or not tried and tested.
- Financial planning
Finances are the backbone of any business. Unfortunately, many small businesses have a problem managing and planning their finances. With this problem, some overspend or fail to use their financial resources prudently, ending their businesses due to cash flow issues. Given this issue, small businesses must find the right planning methods for their finances to last longer in the markets.
Check These Options for Small Business Loans
Although many potential entrepreneurs have great business ideas, most of them face financial difficulties. This makes starting a small business daunting. Although a great business plan is critical for such a venture, financing is the top element that you need to realize success. Sadly, coming up with the right amount demands discipline and the ability to impress lenders. This may mean that you should have more than one financing option on the table because the traditional lenders have some range they consider before they can fund your idea. If you have a low credit score or lack collateral to give to the lender, there are other alternatives you can try out for your startup. Check these options for small business loans if they can help in your venture.
- SBA loans
The US Small Business Administration loans program is an amount of up to $50,000 given to small businesses looking to start or expand. The average amount is 13,000 administered by nonprofit community lenders. The SBA loans are easier to qualify for compared to larger loans. However, the key downside is that the funds might not be enough for all borrowers. The SBA’s flagship 7(a) loan program finances borrowers that want to start a business. However, the SBA 7(a) loans are hard to come by. They are given to established businesses with collateral, which can be an asset such as equipment or real estate that can be sold in case of a default. It can also take months to access the loans.
- Microloans
Microloans allow microlenders and nonprofit lenders to access startup business loans with little complexity, unlike the SBA program. The microloans are available outside the SBA program and help lenders, mainly those with shaky finances. The majority of microlenders focus on underserved small business owners whom traditional lenders often overlook. The terms for these loans are also better than others because they are given by mission-based organizations. This makes it possible for you to grow your business and establish better credit.
- Personal loans
As a business owner, you can also access personal loans such as those offered by online lenders. These loans are based on the personal credit history of the borrower. This makes personal loans a competitive option if your small business is too new to qualify for other non-personal loans. They can have high APRs of up to 36%, especially for bad credit borrowers. Therefore, this type of loan is the best option for borrowers with strong personal credit and income.
- Crowdfunding
This method has become one of the popular methods that small businesses use to raise money. Thanks to various platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo that allow entrepreneurs to solicit cash through online campaigns, you can also do this. Instead of paying back the donors in the future, you give them gifts. Therefore, the online-crowdfunding campaigns are known as rewards-based crowdfunding. This approach is great for business owners who want to test their product or service with a specific customer base without debt.
- Grants
Small grants targeted at businesses by private foundations and government agencies are another great way of raising funds for your small business. The good thing about these grants is that they are not loans, and therefore they will not be hard to get. The challenge is that it might not be enough for a small business that struggles to start.
- Loans from family and friends
This is the most common way of financing startups. It entails borrowing money from friends or family who can lend. However, like a bank, if your credit is bad, you will have to convince them to pay back their money. When exploring this option, find the individuals who understand the risks involved and your plans.
Your Business Can Still Avoid Bankruptcy
The coronavirus pandemic has indeed subjected many businesses to untold suffering and losses. If your business is struggling, now is not the time to give up. Instead, you should think of ways to remain afloat during these difficult moments. For a small business, there is a lot of pressure to perform after launch. This often leads to the failure of roughly 20% of small businesses. On the contrary, as many as 45% fail within their first five years. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, their chances of remaining afloat have become slimmer. As such, the number of bankruptcies has risen more than ever before, with Bloomberg's report showing that bankruptcies have increased by over 36%. While bankruptcies cannot be overstated, there are many ways for small business owners to safeguard against the folding over. Here are a few of them.
- Take advantage of the existing government programs
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is one of the programs that have assisted many businesses to remain afloat during the pandemic. The program, which was created through the Coronavirus AID, Relief, and Economic Security Act, has assisted more than 800,000 businesses distributing more than $210 billion in loans. Although the PPP ended in May, you can look for other similar opportunities provided by other agencies or institutions. These loans will keep you going until things return to normal. If one institution fails to consider your loan request, try another. Start by looking at the banks that you have a higher chance of getting a loan and go for it.
- Renegotiate the existing contracts and loans
Payment terms and timelines might be affected substantially by the pandemic. This might leave your small business unable to repay its loans or complete all the contracts due to financial constraints. However, you can avoid problems with your financiers or clients by renegotiating the loans or contracts that you currently have. Look at your account payable and find how you can renegotiate them to favor your current situation. Although some of your clients might not agree, others will understand your situation. You can also talk to your property owner regarding rent payment.
- Minimize staff costs
Although it may be a painful decision, you should consider reducing your staff as much as possible. Try furloughing or layoffs to reduce the amount of money you spend on employees. This is often the most sensitive area that needs to be handled with care considering its effects on the future of your organization. For those who remain, consider pay cuts until things improve.
- Collect the debts
Money that people or companies owe you can save your business from going under. Although the time is difficult for everybody, some of those who owe you may have the ability to pay. Therefore, you should reach out to them and collect this cash. If there is an invoice you have been holding until work is completed, do not wait any further—Bill for the portion that has been completed. You can also ask your customers for prepayment for a service. This strategy will allow your business to stay alive. Consider giving those who pay upfront a discount to attract them.
If you feel that you have done all it takes but are still unable to pay your bills, seek advice from an attorney. They might have a word or two on how you should move ahead. Some of the advice from your attorney may turn things around and shed more light on what you should or should not do or the procedure of filing for bankruptcy. The good news is that businesses will recover soon, and you will embark on normal service provision.
Fraud is Becoming Prevalent around PPP Loans
It is now more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic brought the world's economy almost to a standstill, and we are witnessing changes in businesses that we have never seen before. As the Small Business Administration (SBA) rolled out a massive lending program ever seen in the United States history, fraudsters saw a potential area to exploit, which is the reason for the rising cases of COVID-19-related fraud. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has termed the high levels of fraud as “historic” and focuses on taking a high level of enforcement action to counter the threat.
The DOJ has in within a year after Congress passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, managed to criminally charge over 474 people for allegedly obtaining $569 million fraudulently through COVID-19-related schemes since banks started processing Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of the SBA. Among the problems that SBA cites are forged companies receiving thousands of dollars, businesses getting money even if their payrolls is more than the 500-employee caps, and others receiving money even when the law prohibits them due to existing government debts.
Most cases are perpetrated by people who see the economic intervention by the government as a way of making quick money. While these individuals are now focused on the PPP loans, DOJ notes that the fraud will likely turn into something more complex and more significant in the coming months if not addressed now. Due to the sensitivity and possibility of the matter getting out of hand if left unchecked, sweeping investigations by the DOJ have commenced with the law enforcement now pursuing charges against large companies that received millions of dollars in PPP loans and individuals who are accused of fraudulently receiving PPP loans to finance their lavish personal lifestyles.
DOJ is responding to this in a variety of ways. Recently, it advertised a vacancy for a trial attorney whose work will be to prosecute cases under the CARES Act, including PPP fraud. This adds to the DOJ’s Market Integrity and Major Funds (MIMF) Unit that prosecutes cases involving government procured fraud and stopping fraud in the SBA COVID-19 disaster relief programs such as the PPP and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).
Fraud liability comes in a variety of ways. The first one is from the certifications that companies need to have before participating in the CIVID-19 relief programs. For instance, to participate in the PPP, companies must have multiple certifications on their loans and forgiveness applications. This is where the fraud begins. Some companies obtain false certificates that show that they have no other government loans or are not involved in any bankruptcy proceedings when the facts are different. This increases the risk of companies falling victim to more sophisticated fraud.
As the rate of fraud continues increasing during this season of COVD-19, several companies will soon find themselves subject to government investigation related to the PPP loans. This is shown by the number of whistleblower reports and lawsuits under the FCA (False Claims Act), that has been on the rise, the cooperation among several law enforcement agencies at local and federal levels and internationally, and the audits being conducted on all companies that borrowed more than $2 million under the PPP. Businesses with foreign affiliates or operations are equally at risk due to footprints and the cooperation between the US agencies and their international counterparts.
While the companies that did not take advantage of COVID-19 relief have nothing to worry about, they sometimes get asked questions by the regulators and law enforcers. This can be avoided by maintaining robust files that will support presentations and answer all questions that law enforcers might want to know.
How to Create an Effective Business Plan for Your Small Business
Unlike how many people may think, starting a small business is a challenging undertaking. However, it is an enlightening and exciting venture if done properly. To make your business successful, you need a solid business plan. A business plan is like a roadmap that will guide you through the process of starting and running a business. This roadmap will help you identify potential problems, create strategies to overcome them, and set goals for your business. As you seek to start your venture, here are some steps you can take to create an effective business plan for your small business.
Begin with an executive summary
An executive summary is an important component of a business plan. This brief overview of the business plan summarizes the key points, which should describe your business, goals, target market, and competitive advantage. This section aims to grab the reader's attention and provide a clear understanding of your business.
Describe your business
The first step in creating a business plan is to describe your business. This includes a description of the products or services you offer, your industry, and your target market. Furthermore, you should include information about the structure of your business, such as whether you are a sole proprietor, partnership, or corporation.
Conduct market research
Market research is important in writing a business plan. It helps you understand your target market and your competition. Therefore, you must research your industry, competition, and target market to determine the demand for your product or service. This information will help you develop a marketing strategy and set pricing for your product or service.
Define your goals and objectives
Before you go deeper into the business plan, you must define your goals and objectives. The goals and objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Your definition should be clear, quantifiable, realistic, and aligned with your business. They should be related to your business strategy and help you achieve your mission.
Develop a marketing strategy
A marketing strategy outlines how you will promote your product or service to your target market. Therefore, your marketing strategy should include the identification of your unique selling proposition, pricing, distribution channels, and promotional activities. You should also identify potential risks or challenges and how to overcome them.
Create a financial plan
A financial plan comprises a cash flow statement, profit and loss statement, and balance sheet. This plan can help determine the financial viability of your business and set financial goals. You should also include information about your funding sources and any loans or investments you may need.
Show your team
For any business, regardless of size, a team is an important part that shows seriousness. Therefore, as a small business owner, you should highlight the roles and responsibilities of each team member and determine the skills and experience needed for each position. Doing so helps determine the staffing needs of your business and ensure that you have the right people in the right positions.
Review and revise your business plan
Even after doing everything right, you should know that a business plan is a living document that must be reviewed and revised regularly. Therefore, update your business plan as it grows and changes to ensure it remains relevant and effective. Furthermore, use your business plan to track your progress and measure your success.
In conclusion, creating an effective business plan is essential to the success of your small business. Following the above steps, you can create a solid business plan for starting and running a successful small business.
The Benefits of Outsourcing for Small Businesses
Small businesses face many challenges, some of them being limited resources, including time, money, and labour. As a result, it is not easy for small business owners to manage every aspect of their business effectively. However, with outsourcing, small businesses can manage tasks they may not have the time or expertise to handle in-house. As a small business owner who needs help handling some of the tasks, here are the benefits of outsourcing for your small business.
- Allows access to specialized expertise
Outsourcing tasks to experts with specific knowledge and experience in their field gives you access to specialized knowledge. For example, most small businesses may not have an in-house accountant or bookkeeper. However, when these tasks are outsourced to a professional accounting firm, they can access individuals with specialized expertise in accounting and bookkeeping that their businesses need to operate. Similarly, when you outsource your business’ IT services to a specialized IT company, you can access the latest technology and expertise, ensuring that your infrastructure is secure and up-to-date.
- Leads to time and cost savings
As a small business owner, you always want to do everything because of a small budget. However, time is never on your side. By outsourcing certain tasks, you can focus on your core competencies and devote most of your time to more important aspects of your venture. Additionally, outsourcing can be more cost-effective than hiring a full-time employee to manage a specific task. Furthermore, it can help you eliminate the need for in-house training, employee benefits, and overhead expenses associated with hiring a full-time employee.
- Improves flexibility and scalability
Outsourcing allows you to run your operations and grants you the flexibility and scalability to manage your business efficiently. It allows you to adjust your business operations according to changes in demand or business needs. For instance, if your small business experiences increased demand, you can outsource additional resources to manage the increased workload. Similarly, if demand decreases, you can scale down your outsourcing services accordingly.
- Enhances efficiency and productivity
Outsourcing your operations can improve the efficiency and productivity of your businesses. By outsourcing certain tasks, you can free up your time and resources to focus on core competencies like product development, customer service, or marketing. Additionally, outsourcing can give you access to specialized technology and resources to enhance your productivity and efficiency.
- Helps in risk management and compliance
Small businesses face many risks. However, when you outsource some of your operations, you can manage risks and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. For instance, when you outsource human resources functions like payroll processing or compliance with labour laws, you can ensure that your business complies with legal requirements. Similarly, outsourcing IT services can help you manage security risks associated with technology and data management.
- Allows access to advanced technology and resources
Outsourcing is the easiest way of ensuring that your small business has access to advanced technology and resources that may not be feasible to implement in-house. For instance, when you allow another specialized company to run your IT services, you gain access to the latest technology and software to improve your operations and enhance your company’s productivity. Similarly, outsourcing marketing and advertising functions can provide your business with advanced marketing tools and analytics that can help you target specific audiences more effectively.
Outsourcing can give you significant benefits as you look for better ways to make your business prosper. Some of these include access to specialized expertise while helping save time and cost, flexibility, and scalability. Furthermore, with outsourcing, you can improve efficiency and productivity, which are key for running a venture that has just started.
The F’n Dream Killers
Fear and failure—they’re not the same thing, but they certainly swing in the same circles. Fear is a primal emotion triggered by the thought that someone or something is risky or dangerous and could likely cause us harm or pain. While our fears can be healthy, they’re often not proportionate to the threats we face. As an example:
Your odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 3.75 million.4 Your odds of dying in a car crash are 1 in 103.5 We want to know: What are you more afraid of?
(We’re more afraid of sharks, too.)
Our fears can, clearly, also be irrational, yet they’re there to inform us that the possibility of failure is certain. Failure is, after all, our shared number one fear.
When we talk about failure, we often think of catastrophic loss, though there are many shades of failure. It can be felt when we’re embarrassed, make mistakes or missteps, or when we experience disappointments or setbacks. For example:
- Your family makes the final rounds of an adoption process and isn’t selected.
- You poured hours into a proposal, and it didn’t win the bid.
- You spent a weekend working to organize your house, and you didn’t make it past the garage.
- You “replied all” to an email meant for just one reader (and what you wrote should never have been expressed in an email).
The dictionary defines failure broadly as the “lack of success.” In this case, there are probably failure moments we encounter every day. What’s key, though, is how you think about fears and failures, which comes down to how you choose to experience them. This will inevitably determine your relationship with them and, more important, the outcome.
STRATEGIES TO MOVE THROUGH FEAR AND PLAN FOR FAILURE
Our fears are, most definitely, real. So is the power of our attention in the moments when we feel them. When you’re experiencing the sensations that signal you’re afraid, don’t let them hijack your focus and consume you. Rather, employ strategies to allow you to manage them, rationalize them, and rightsize them. This will allow you to work through them on your Bet on You journey, so you experience the success that awaits you on the other side of what scares you.
Strategy 1: Save Your “Perfect” for Never
The fear of imperfection can invoke procrastination at best, and stop a dream in its track at worst. We’ve met self-proclaimed perfectionists who:
- Were afraid to apply for a role because they needed just one more experience.
- Didn’t buy their first home because they couldn’t find the exact, right one.
- Never launched their Etsy business because their work still wasn’t good enough.
We’ve talked about goal attainment throughout this book as a series of steps that involve missteps, mistakes, experiments and tries, starts and stops, and step backs to step forward. Betting on you isn’t a neat, straightforward, perfect process. If you’re a perfectionist, you may fear risk-taking, because doing nothing could seem like a better idea than doing something that may not turn out right—by “right,” we mean by your often-too-high, and sometimes impossible-to-meet, standards.
When it comes to betting on you, abandon your perfectionist goals. They’re futile and unrealistic. Instead, plan and prepare for the goals you’ve identified for yourself in your kaleidoscope with reality in mind. Strive for good enough. We have a saying here at Lead Star: Our good enough is pretty damn great. This forces us to take action when we feel that we’re applying a perfectionist standard to something that just can’t be perfected. And if we feel there’s a chance that we’ll learn more in our journey and further perfect the idea along the way? Then, hey, great, we’ll apply an iterative development mindset. Good enough is a reliable gateway to the path to greatness.
There will be things you’re afraid of on your journey. There will be areas and activities that you won’t be good at. Uncertainty can be maddening. Be aware, but don’t fear imperfection.
If you still feel the need to try to perfect something, perfect your response to managing your perfectionist tendencies—the effort you invest in knowing how to squelch them will give you the courage to move through them.
Strategy 2: War-Game Your Fears
We’re Sun Tzu devotees. If you’re not familiar with The Art of War, it’s never too late to pick up a copy and absorb the wisdom and philosophies of this ancient Chinese general whose guidance is applicable to warfighting, business, and everything in between. His work reminds us that: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
We talked about self-awareness in chapter two, the “know yourself” aspect of this quote. But what about your fears? How well do you know those enemies?
It’s near impossible to conquer the unknown. On your Bet on You journey, get to the brass tacks of it, make a list of what scares you, what you’re nervous about, and how the emotion of uncertainty makes you feel. Know that it’s common to feel everything that you’ve identified; we’ve yet to meet any warrior who doesn’t fight scared.
Fear is healthy; familiarity with fears allows you to rightsize them to ensure you’re not overblowing them. Your fears also are an indicator that you respect the challenge that you’re up against, aren’t too cocky or confident in the face of it, and that your direct action is needed to move through them.
Unchecked fears, though, aren’t healthy, especially when they run rampant. What’s usually behind these are complex feelings of worry, insecurity, lack of worthiness, or long-held doubts (often planted by someone else, but long accepted by you without question).
If you don’t sort and confront what you’re afraid of, your fears can amplify and easily rule your life since the feelings build on how often you experience them. This is called potentiation and can manifest in many unproductive, unhelpful ways. For example, if you’re worried about losing your job, even the most uneventful meeting with your boss can trigger a fear response. Or if you’re nervous about the new selling method you’re using in your sales role, one lukewarm comment from a customer about your product—not your method—can send you sideways.
Once you’ve got your fears named, war-game them. Like Billie Jean King did, imagine how you’ll handle them when you meet them, all of them. See yourself navigating them, stepping beyond them, and experiencing success despite them. The mental war games make you feel rehearsed and prepared. Businesses do this all the time in the continuity of operations planning. We need to do this in our life.
Beyond the benefit of planning how to step through your fears, war-gaming allows you to set your boundaries, the lines you won’t cross on your journey, because you’ve had a chance to visualize what your fears and potential fails can look like. Some fails you’ll be fine with absorbing. Then there will be times in your thought experiments when you’ll realize other fails you just can’t accept.
In the military, we call this establishing go-no-go criteria. In other words, if we can push beyond our fears and find ourselves on our journey, our go-no-go criteria is there to govern whether we should persist (go!), or relent (no go!).
When we started our business, having go-no-go criteria allowed us to test both the viability and sustainability of our business. In the early years, if we didn’t meet certain revenue targets, we knew we’d need to close up shop because we wouldn’t last. Later, when we were exceeding targets and working around the clock to meet client demands, we established new go-no-go criteria to meet is-it-worth-it? goals, which were more related to the idea that if we lost our life to our business, then what’s the point of it all?
Your go-no-go criteria helps you understand when you need to evoke courage, informs you of when you need to heighten and sustain effort, and often indicates when you need to yield
because success, at least the way you envisioned, isn’t going to be achieved.
And when the latter happens, success can’t be achieved, you need to employ the next strategy because fails hurt. There’s no way around it. And, paradoxically, fails can be the greatest gifts we receive in life because of all the learning and growth they offer that gives us an opportunity to build resiliency. The hard thing, though, when you’re failing, is believing in the value of the experience so much so that you lean into it by telling yourself, “My future self is going to be so grateful for all the suffering I’m enduring right now.”
Strategy 3: Plan for Fails
We celebrate fails when we’re exercising. Broken down, torn muscles are the typical precursor to stronger, more durable ones. We can value this notion as it relates to life in the gym, but it’s a concept really difficult to put into practice in the rest of our lives. In other words, push our life to failure points so we can grow.
No one likes to fail. Yet, there’s so much good that can come from a bad situation. It’s like the Japanese art of Kintsugi. It’s the process in which broken pottery is restored by mending the pieces together with lacquer that’s mixed with powdered gold, silver, or any other fine element. It’s a beautiful art form born from imperfection. In fact, it’s the near-perfect symbol of resilience.
We want you to prepare for fails, plan for them to happen. Not plan for specific events to fail, like “I’m going to blow this client meeting on Tuesday.” That’d be defeatist. You should approach your client meeting prepared, rehearsed, and confident that you can crush it. If it doesn’t work out your way, though, you need to have a plan of attack on what you’ll do so that fails don’t influence future successes.
A simple fail plan is to learn, adapt, and apply.
Simply stated, that is. Like anything in life, it’s easier said than done.
Failure that’s repeated is foolish; that means learning didn’t happen. You had the experience but didn’t get the benefit from the mistake. Next, learning without changing is pointless; what’s the point of knowing better and not adapting? Changing without application means you miss out on the opportunity to express growth from the experience.
One fail shouldn’t influence another. If you had a bad meeting, you had a bad meeting—learn, adapt, apply and make the next meeting better. There’s no need to create and carry your baggage around with you. Also, don’t be tempted to associate unconnected fails. One bad meeting followed by a flat tire the next day doesn’t mean that the world is conspiring against you. These are two separate, unrelated situations.
Yet, in the same breath, if you’re noticing repeated mistakes, missteps, and small warning signs related to a specific area of your life, like your past several meetings haven’t gone as planned, then perhaps it’s time to pay attention. The rare, catastrophic, unrecoverable failure usually comes with plenty of warning signs. When you see them, you have options—you can:
- Accelerate your learning, adapting, and applying.
- Pivot with or without grace.
- Do nothing and risk going down with the ship.
Notice that none of these options include placing blame. That’s not leadership behavior and, besides, excuses only satisfy those who give them.
It’s a delicate walk, we know, to understand when to persist and when to relent. Yet, the more attuned and accountable you are to your missteps, the better presence and judgment you can exercise in those moments when a good, solid decision is needed. Like, the decision to quit.
Adaptation from BET ON YOU: How to Win with Risk (2022) by Angie Morgan Witkowski is an executive, leadership, and life coach and NY Times best-selling author of business books like SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater (2017), and Leading from the Front: No-Excuse Leadership Tactics For Women (2006).
Ways To Stay Up-To-Date On The Latest Industry Trends And Developments
With the current fast-changing business landscape, staying up-to-date on the latest industry trends and developments has never been critical for professionals in any field. Being always up-to-date allows you to keep pace with the changes in your industry and prepares you to adapt to these trends, technologies, and challenges. While staying updated is a good thing, it is often easier than done, and it can be challenging to stay current with the latest industry trends. However, with the right approach, staying ahead of the curve is possible. Here are some of the best ways to stay up-to-date on the latest industry trends and developments.
- Attend Industry Events
One of the best ways to stay updated on the latest industry trends and developments is to attend industry events. Attending these events allows you to network with industry leaders, learn about the latest trends, and discover new technologies. Furthermore, these events can also help you gain new insights into your industry’s challenges and stay abreast of the latest best practices.
- Follow Industry Leaders and Influencers on Social Media
Over the years, social media has become an excellent news source. Therefore, to remain current on the latest industry trends and developments, you should sign up for a social media account. After signing up, you should follow industry leaders, influencers, and experts on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These people often share their insights, opinions, and updates on the latest industry trends. This information can be valuable for staying informed.
- Read Industry Publications
As a professional, reading should always be your friend. Try to read industry publications like magazines, journals, and newsletters, as these provide in-depth analysis, news, and commentary on the latest developments in your industry. You can also subscribe to email newsletters, and RSS feeds to receive the latest industry news directly in your email inbox.
- Attend Webinars and Online Events
Webinars and online events have become crucial for any professional in the modern world. Therefore, besides attending in-person industry events, you can also attend webinars and online events where topics on your area of specialization are discussed. If you are thinking of where you can get such, most industry organizations offer webinars and online events where you can learn about the latest developments in your industry from the comfort of your home or office.
- Participate in Industry Groups and Associations
Joining industry groups and associations is another excellent way to remain updated on industry trends and developments. Participating in these groups allows you to share insights, knowledge, and experiences with others in your industry. Furthermore, you can also participate in online forums and discussion boards where you can connect with other professionals and learn about news and trends in your industry.
- Subscribe to Blogs and Podcasts
Blogs and podcasts have become an excellent way of keeping people updated on industry trends and developments. Many industry experts and influencers are now launching blogs and podcasts where they share their insights and opinions on the latest news and trends in their industry. As you seek to remain abreast of the events in your field, you should consider subscribing to these blogs and podcasts relevant to your industry while on the go.
In conclusion, remaining updated on your industry’s trends and developments is crucial for your continued growth in your field. As a professional, you should consider attending industry events, following industry leaders and influencers on social media, reading industry publications, and attending webinars and online events as some of the methods to remain up-to-date.
Grants Still Available
According to Small Business Trends, the federal American Rescue Grant continues to provide grants to small businesses.
The economic stimulus grants provide small businesses can be the difference between staying open and closing entirely. Even before the pandemic, small business grants offered great opportunities to keep operating as well as support growth with strategic funding.
Read the article Small Business Trends
Small Business Owners' Health Needs Constant Attention
Running your own business can be hectic for many business owners. For small business owners, however, having all the responsibility to all operations, including successes and failures, can be detrimental to one’s health. Sadly, health among small business owners has not been taken seriously as it should despite the economic significance of such businesses to society and the economy. The mental health of small business leaders leads to a healthy working environment. It also leads to effective teams that are characterized by respect and trust in one another.
Large corporations with complex and well-structured succession plans can hardly be affected by health issues that may affect their leaders. The well-laid down succession plan ensures that in the absence of the CEO, operations run without hitches. Unlike big multinationals whose operations cannot be affected by the health issues among those in the high offices, poor health among the leaders of small businesses can end operations and render employees jobless. The simple structure of a small business is risky, and the impact of the demise of a CEO is unimaginable. With an instant disease or a condition such as a heart attack, everything can go down the drain since everything revolves around an individual. From this, it is evident that health is the greatest capital of small business owners. The smaller the firm, the higher the vulnerability in case the owner develops health complications, either physical or mental.
The health of such business owners may have damaging consequences not only for those that have been employed but can also impact those that depend on them entirely. For example, the family members who rely on the owners can also be significantly impacted. Similarly, health problems among the personnel and family members can destabilize operations and how the business runs. Small business owners face many challenges that often affect their mental wellbeing. According to a Danish study, there is a significant link between entering entrepreneurship and receiving prescriptions for sedative or hypnotics and/or their spouses. This is a clear suggestion that entering entrepreneurship is a health risk as it is a potential source of stress for entrepreneurs and their family members.
Many studies have found out that stress level among the business owners is higher than those of the employed. The always conflicting issues such as ambiguity in the business environment, lack of adequate resources, and daily hassles as well as failure to clarify roles increase stress and the possibility of health complications. Work overload is another factor that many small business owners face and may result in a complication. Entrepreneurs often work for more than 50 hours a week. Working for long hours, including weekends doing intensive tasks, is a potential cause of stress.
Uncertainty is often identified as another factor that can cause health problems among self-employed individuals. The fast-changing business environment is always a concern for entrepreneurs who are always worried about their businesses in case things do not go as planned. These owners have many things to worry about, including their employees, government regulations, and reduction in profits, all of which determines the success of their businesses. Loneliness of business owners also results in burnouts, which in itself is a potential contributor to mental health. Loneliness can be harmful in an environment where difficult decisions are to be taken, such as firing or hiring employees.
As seen above, health issues among the small business owners have severe spillover effects on those they employ and their families. Unlike CEOs of large companies that have a proper succession plan, health challenges among small business owners can cripple operations. As such, it is crucial to always stay ahead by addressing potential causes of health problems before they manifest into catastrophes.
Is Now the Perfect Opportunity to Retire?
Even before the coronavirus pandemic struck and sank the world’s economy, retiring at the age of 65 was already becoming a hot topic among many professionals. Now that the pandemic has impaired many businesses, both small and large plans of many organizations are in shambles. One of the areas that have been significantly affected is retirement. Business owners that were planning to retire are now forced to rethink. This could mean that the retirement age is likely to fall further as employees try to pick up from where they left once the economy reopens and the pandemic eases.
Although the recovery is expected to happen sooner or later, it may take some time. This is if the 2007-2009 recession is an example to go by. The recovery time can even be longer considering the severity of COVID-19 compared to the recession witnessed in 2009. As such, many small business owners may be tempted to consider selling their businesses rather than waiting for things to get better.
A study by StreetWise Retirement Confidence Index in May indicated that 26% of those interviewed stated that they would postpone their retirement plans after the coronavirus. Their decision is due to the economic conditions that the virus has caused. As damaging as they may seem, the decision is not surprising, given the uncertainty and fear that the pandemic has caused in many industries in different countries. The uncertainties have had an impact on the financial strategies of organizations and have forced many businesses to change their priorities. Another study by Allianz Life Insurance Company found out that almost half of Americans interviewed went into early retirement for reasons beyond their control. One of the reasons that were cited in the research is job loss. This was cited by 34% of the respondents, while 25% cited health challenges as their primary reason for retiring early. As an entrepreneur or employee who is willing to persevere and try their best to achieve their dreams, all is not lost. Taking some steps can enhance value and build your business so that you can sell more and retire as you planned or even early.
Creativity is one of the ways that can help you remain open in the current era of uncertainty. As a business owner, try your best to find creative ways that can adapt to the changes in the business environment. One way you can do this is by adding other services that will replace the revenue that has been lost. For example, as a restaurant owner, you can supplement the revenue lot by ordering food and selling them. This will create a new stream of income and increase profits even when other sources of revenue are not doing well enough.
A good rapport with banks is also crucial to businesses. Regardless of the size of your organization, always ensure that you have a good relationship with financial institutions. Having a wrong sense of security will only deceive you, and you will not have anyone to turn to in case things become tough. With the right relationship, you will have someone to run to for loans when the revenue stream dries up, and you need additional funds to keep running. Always ask yourself, is my bank relationship stable? If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place.
Coming up with a transition plan is another approach that you must consider. Just because you are delaying your retirement plans does not mean that you should not establish a transition plan. Take time to build a working transition plan that will not leave your organization in chaos when the right time comes. Most business owners lack a proper transition plan. This leads to a lack of focus on what is needed for a business to operate successfully.
Thinking Ahead About Getaways
It’s a good strategy to be forward-thinking and plan for the future, so now is a fine time to consider future vacation ideas. Not only will you have something exciting to look forward to, but you may need a longer lead time to put one of these plans in motion.
There are few places on Earth that are more remote, exotic, and accessible as Hawaii. With direct flights from almost all major US cities, and no passport required, Hawaii is a great destination to feel like you have left the monotony of day-to-day life behind. What’s even more exciting about getting to the most far-flung US State is that there are multiple islands, with 4 very different vacation styles for every taste. The big island offers no shortage of adventures, from walking across a volcano to snorkeling with sea turtles and manta rays, to tropical hikes with breathtaking waterfalls. Oahu provides the familiar hustle and bustle of city life with picturesque beaches. Maui is the most popular destination, with relaxing beaches and lively nightlife both. Finally, Kawaii is the most relaxing and serene of the islands.
If you prefer to stay in the continental US, the Southwest has plenty of adventure! From riding dune buggies through the desert to a train ride to the Grand Canyon, there is a right-pace adventure for everyone. Relax in a hot air balloon over Albuquerque or relive the old west with a trip through Tombstone, Arizona and other gold-rush towns. Few images are as inspiring as a desert sunset over the mountains, and once the sun goes down, the action never stops in Las Vegas.
Stretching along the Coast, there’s many options for a memorable vacation. Traveling to New England may seem like quite a change of pace, but there is plenty to keep one busy from Maine down to Connecticut along the coast. Enjoy a lobster dinner on the oceanside, hike through some of the nations oldest states and national forests, and get lost in miles of winding roads. Boston or Portland make perfect bases of operation to go a few hours north to the backwoods of Maine or to enjoy the finest foods from a wide variety of different cultures right in Boston or Providence.
While you won’t be able to enjoy an ocean view, the Midwest offers plenty of excitement as well. The mighty Mississippi touches 10 different states, each one with different scenery to enjoy. Whether you’re up for rugged hiking in Minnesota or a leisurely cruise on the river in Louisiana, the Mississippi River has dozens of perfect destinations along it’s 2320 miles. St. Louis boasts some of the region’s best museums while Memphis, Tennessee is a must-see for Elvis fans everywhere.
No matter where your interests take you, across our vast nation, there are ideal vacation destinations to be had. From coast to coast, you can’t go wrong planning your vacation in any region. Take your mind off any current worries, let your dreams loose, and plan ahead.
Popular Articles
- Most read