What does your business give you?

What do you get?

What are you able to do ‘because of’ the company you created?

This is what I’m inviting you to consider today…

How often do you celebrate your progress and accomplishments?

I know you have all of them - I see you doing all the things in your business and in leadership.

From getting that new role, hiring a new manager, adding a new admin person, capturing a process you’ve been meaning to, taking more personal time, booking that vacation…..

From small to large these are no easy feats and I invite you to celebrate them.

Thinking about the next 10 years or ‘when’ you’ll be ready to think about handing over your business to prepare for that event is like waiting until the day before you hand over your house keys to its new owner to paint the walls, fix the leaky faucet and renovate run down bathroom. It’s too much too late.

And, consider what you could be leaving on the table by doing so?

You could be passing up, with some adjustments, a beautifully run company that actually reduces your headaches.

You could be passing up additional value in the business by not having some of its functions running more smoothly with a little TLC. AKA leaving money on the table.

You could be passing over obvious headaches to the new owner but that existing employees and customers still have to deal with, jeopardizing retention.

The belief that ‘getting ready to pass’ down is reserved for the actual event is actually robbing you of more money, more joy and likely more stability now.

One of the secrets to being an attractive company to run and purchase? Read more here.

As we build our businesses, we get to practice and gain proficiency in the details of running of it.

Details like hiring: some of us may have hired a few employees over time and each time we do it, we will get a little bit better at it; finding what works and what doesn’t.

When it comes to managing your people: I suspect that you’ve made some mistakes (like we all have) and had some wins, and have attained a decent level of competency in managing your team through the years.

I also bet that how you serve your customers has improved in some way over time as you do this over and over again. There may be still room for improvement, but you practice this day-in and day-out and it’s my observation that your company is very good at serving it's customers.

So what don’t we get to practice?

An unhappy employee, a negotiation, hiring, deciding which product line to build out and grow...

We can be faced with these types of situations and decisions in a given month, week or even day!

So when we feel the intensity heighten and the stakes get higher in our decision-making, there’s one fundamental exercise that I know can be helpful in these situations.

This reminds me about a recent appointment where I was taking one of my children to a physiotherapy session. The physiotherapist spoke about the benefits of working from the ground up to strengthen their legs and base so they can perform higher and get stronger at the sport they are playing. But the exercises were working some of the smallest muscles in the body to do so.

It was so fundamental to higher performance that’s where we started.

So, when faced with challenging business situations or decisions, a similar approach can help you go from uncertainty to assuredness in knowing how to proceed.

If you didn’t show up to work in your business for a day, would it continue to run?

Ensuring your business can run whether you show up to work or not is a sign of a true business.

If the answer to this question is no, then you have yourself a nice job you go to each day.

The day will come when we won’t be able to work in our business either for a day, a week, a month, or longer. The question is, will this be a planned break or an unplanned break?

If that were to happen right now, and it was an unplanned break (think injury, illness or caring for a loved one as examples), what would happen to your business? your employees? your family’s salary?

Has this thought ever gone through your mind?

You keep pouring more of your efforts in but you can’t seem to grow beyond the level you’ve achieved in your business.

You’ve been hitting the same revenue line for the last while, or maybe even the last couple of years and you can’t seem to go beyond, no matter what you do.

Beyond our plans or intentions, there’s a barrier we can’t seem to break.

The pain of this is you want to expand your company and want to hire or build on the services you offer, but without solving this revenue plateau your hands feel tied…

We all have so many plans that we want to accomplish.

Whether you’re growing your customer base, building new relationships, hiring a new team member, leading your team or creating new products and services, whatever it is, we have a lot on the go.

So what can support us to be at our best as we put our efforts forward in meeting our priorities, obligations, and purpose?

There could be a number of answers to this from great to sleep to the latest time management strategy.

But in this video today I wanted to share something that could be a real game-changer in your approach.

This is not a one-and-done. It’s a practice that I encourage you to try each day.

And, I demonstrate in my video how I practiced it in the moment for myself :).

What’s not to love about your favourite customer?

Whether it's the fact they’re wonderful people to work with, provide you with much of your business, they pay on time or you simply look forward to your interactions together; whatever the reason, each time you do business with them, it’s a good day :).

And why not? I love it when business is fun and enjoyable.

But could working with your favourite customer put your business at risk…?

You’re working too hard to not have the profit you need.

You sell your products and services, but realize that after each month, you’re no further ahead.

Your bank account is dismal and there doesn’t seem to be much left to invest back into your company.

Does this sound familiar?

If so, you may be suffering from the profit conundrum.

This is suffered by those businesses who are selling, but not making any money.

This is no bueno.

If you’re not familiar with the 4 Levers of Profit, then you’re going to love today’s article.

Let’s dive in!

Happy May 1st. I simply wanted to take the time to send a note to say that I appreciate you hanging out on my email list.

And, I hope this weekend is filled with moments of ease and rejuvenation.

Filled with pauses where you get to slow down and just BE.

One of the topics that like to talk about, but haven’t in a while is the need for space and a sense of balance. Not work-life-balance, per se but creating a sense of space that balances and offsets the busy moments (ahem – busy stretches.)

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to sell your business?

Or, hand it over to a family member who now works, or will be working, in your company?

Is this something you know you’d like to do in the future…or does it feel more abstract and you have no idea how to make it happen?

We’ve all heard stories of successful businesses, passed down to the next generation who have failed the business in some way.

While we can’t predict what a new owner might do - whether that’s a buyer or your own family member we CAN prepare our business the best we can so it operates well, setting the new owner, existing employees and existing customers up for success.

AND there’s a way to do all this so you enjoy the benefits now even before you are ready to transition.

Have you been in the situation where, no matter what you do, you can’t seem to break through your revenue ceiling? You might be moving the needle a few percentages, but in general, your topline revenue seems to have stalled?

This is exactly the situation a very talented and accomplished friend was in when she was telling me the story of her business. She went on to say that no matter what she did (reminding me she already worked long hours) that she can’t seem to generate more revenue, year over year. Each year she thinks it will be different, but somehow doesn’t end up making significantly more to consider it meaningful growth.

I was asking her deeper questions about how she operated in her business and who and what brought in the most revenue.

“It’s me brining in revenue and I’ve changed up my services, but I’m not getting the type of growth I’m looking for.”

After hearing her story, I started to see a couple of reasons why she was experiencing a revenue plateau.

Are you waiting for things to ‘slow down’ to focus on your goals?

When I was a Relationship Manager selling Professional Services back in the day, I had a number of prospects tell me to call them back when they weren’t as busy. When I did call back, guess what they had to say? It’s still not a good time, I’m still so busy!

Granted, I also understood for some, this was likely a way of deferring a ‘sales’ conversation, but this response also came from many current clients who were in the middle of project with my company. After leaving that role and years later moving into working with my clients, the same message was popping up - that was, in its essence - I have this goal, but I have too much going on to pursue it.

It’s like saying, I want to start running, but I don’t have time to buy the shoes.

Isn’t this the point of prioritization?

If life or the demands of the business are getting in the way of your most important goals, then are you really prioritizing them?

I’m saying this as much for me as for anyone else who sees themselves here.

I too, have said the words - “I just don’t have time to do that thing that I know is going to help me move forward and has been on my goal list for a while.”

This is what I call…

Our vision is to see more purpose-driven companies excel and sustain through generations, making a positive lasting impact on the world.

How does my company contribute to this?

We coach founders & owners to grow by adding transferrable value, create a succession platform and take a vacation.

Part of lasting through generations is capturing the brilliance, savvy and know-how of you, the founder and owner, to ensure you don’t leave a knowledge gap when you decide not to be directly involved in your business anymore.

Your knowledge is gold and is the foundation of how your company started and what contributes to its ongoing success.

Even if you are aren’t thinking about passing your business to another in the future, or at the point where this has even entered your mind; capturing and transferring knowledge is a skill that takes practice and planning. It’s possible and it doesn’t have to be perfect or complex. And, it can be a process that evolves.

Powerful =

“…having control and influence over people and events.” In this case, I’m referring to control and influence over ourselves and our own impact.

“…having a strong effect on people's feelings or thoughts.” In this case, being intentional with our own thoughts and feelings that support us in our efforts.

We all know the Wealthy Barber story where he saved and invested 10% of his income each month, and over time and the power of compound interest, he became a millionaire. It took time and small increments of his paycheque each and every month.

It’s the commitment, regular modest investment, and the compound effect over time that I’m drawn to in this story as a parallel to consistently making space for your own personal leadership practice.

Having a personal leadership practice allows us to show up powerfully each week.

Here’s a thought: If we don’t have a personal leadership practice, how can we expect our employees to show up powerfully too?

A personal leadership practice doesn’t have to be developed through grand gestures, but can be small, focussed and consistent. (A few minutes of regular planning will go a long way.)

First, what does personal leadership look like for us?

When I was younger I loved to dance. (Well I still do, but I actually took lessons and performed in my youth). What I admired about professional dancers was their athleticism, their grace and their superb amounts of skill. The way they could capture an audience and tell a story through movement.

What I learned was in order to get to be so skilled and master their craft, they practiced all the time and often practiced the basics. Like a musician mastering and warming up with scales. It’s the foundational steps and method that help them to hone their craft. It’s focussing on the foundations of their craft that built the muscle memory and capacity that they have today. The ballet dancers always came back to their pliés.

When I hear and speak to business owners and founders today who want to grow their companies, some of them have all sorts of plans and initiatives. I always love hearing about their plans and vision. It’s inspiring. Until I hear about their method…

Do you enjoy reading?

I love to read. I’m slowly making my way through stacks of books that I have around the house.

An ideal vacation for me would be to sit somewhere peaceful and read. (Preferably somewhere in or near nature.)

But reading for me is a way to learn, escape, grow, expand, or deepen my understanding of the world around me and of myself.

While I love a great fiction novel I do read many non-fiction and professional development books. Some have really made an impact on my own growth and the growth of my career and business.

I’d love to share some with you today…

Several years ago my husband and I were asking questions like: Will we have enough to retire? How much is ‘enough’? What do we need? What do we want our future to look like?

We’ve both worked in the financial industry and we have a good understanding and knowledge of personal finance. However, we wanted more than our general understanding and wanted to speak with an expert in retirement planning.

We explored possibilities and chose someone who we love working with and has the expertise we needed.

Once we made that move I felt incredibly relieved. Like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders because we now have a plan built for us.

And, I feel more confident in our ongoing day-to-day financial decisions because I know where we are in relation to where we are going with our ‘plan’. It was a very smart decision for us and I’m so thrilled we made it.

Getting help in the areas you need it is important. We can’t be all the things.

And we don’t know what we don’t know.

You can apply this to a number of areas in life.

There are common mis-steps that I’ve made and I see others making. I’m highlighting them here so we can support each other in our collective pursuit of our personal and professional goal achievement.

Three common areas where even high-achieving professionals can become derailed:

1. Allowing urgent items to take priority over our schedule, nudging goal efforts aside.

You may be thinking - of course…it’s urgent.

Well, is it urgent for you or someone else? Many times what’s urgent for someone else lands on your plate with a deadline attached, creating a sense of urgency for you. Particularly if you’re in a line of work where this is the norm rather than the exception, this can be a challenging environment to pursue those important but not urgent activities, which is the category that many goal efforts fall into. But, note I said challenging, not impossible.