From talking with many of my clients, I am happy to report that they tend to think that the difficulties in the economy are overly exaggerated.  Many of the business owners that I know are continuing to grow their top line or, at worst, holding steady.  However, they are getting squeezed on the expense side with the rising cost of raw materials and utilities.

One way to offset this squeeze on margins is to increase prices.  But before you run off and increase your prices to offset your increased costs, I suggest you pause and reflect strategically:

1)  First, how do you wish to position your products or services?  Are you competing in the lower end of the market where volume is king or at the higher end where service is.  Your pricing should reflect where you wish to participate in the market.

2)  Were your prices positioned correctly before your costs began to skyrocket?  Do you have some backpedaling just to get where you should have been all along?

3)  What role does branding and marketing play in your strategy?  Maintaining marketing and advertising during turbulent times is often vital to success.

4)  And, finally, consider the entire picture.  Look at the margins both gross margins and profit margins on all of your products and services.  Don't just arbitrarily raise prices to cover costs.  Think about repositioning some products, adding services, increasing advertising, changing marketing tactics and, then finally, how does all of that affect the pricing of each product and service individually and as a whole?

As a final note, think about the long term - where do you want your business to be positioned once we are past this blip in the economy?  I'll bet you want to be financial sound and well positioned with your customers.  Keep that long term perspective in mind and think strategically about pricing.  Your Thoughts?

We, at The Growth Coach, have concept called the FUDS which is an acronym for Fears, Uncertainties, Doubts and Suspicions.

The FUDS is that little nagging feeling of self-doubt that holds us back from doing what we need or want to do.  For example, its the FUDS that keeps us from making those phone calls on our to-do list because "I'm just not very good on the phone".  Or, limits our growth with larger clients because "I don't think we're ready to handle that large of a project".

Don't get me wrong - everyone suffers from the FUDS on occasion, after all, we are human!  But often times we procrastinate on a project or task and don't even realize that it's the FUDS at work. 

So, next time you are hesitating to start a project or can't seem to get something important done, ask yourself:  Do I have the FUDS?  What am I unsure of?  And, then put a plan in place to get past it.  Sometimes just recognizing those dastardly FUDS is more than half the battle!  As a coach, I often help my client recognize their FUDS and identify ways to overcome them.  What are some of your FUDS?

If time management is an endless series of decisions then it is very important for us to make strong and appropriate decisions every minute of every day.

Inappropriate decisions produce frustration, low self-esteem and increased stress.  Often these poor decisions are symptoms of poor time management.  We can improve our time management skills by learning to:

• Establish priorities based upon our most important long term goals
• Realistically scheduling our time
• Eliminating low priority tasks
• Taking action on only those tasks that will drive us toward reaching our goals or, alternatively, give us pleasure
• Making timely decisions
• Make a decision to not procrastinate

What are your time management/priority mangement challenges?  No worries - We all have them?  Let's go about making baby step improvements this week!

I was driving through Washington DC the other day and listening to talk radio when I heard an ad for the Ready.gov website.  I think you should check this out:

 http://www.ready.gov/

This website outlines programs, plans and actions both families and businesses can take to prepare for a potential disaster whether it be natural or man-made.  Disaster planning takes on additional importance as we come into full hurricane season.  We also must consider our need for preparedness and constant vigilance as a nation to protect ourselves from terrorist attacks.  Visit the Ready America section which outlines the items needed for a Basic Emergency Supply Kit.

Then visit the Ready Business section especially if you work in an office, away from home and you have employees.  What would you do if you and your employees were trapped in your office for some period of time?  Do you have a store of non-perishable food and water to hold you for even a day?

http://www.ready.gov/business/_downloads/readybusiness-brochure.pdf

This is a thought-provoking and action-oriented website about a serious topic.  I recommend it highly.  Your Thoughts? 

A deer in the headlights!  Does that describe you as you enter a networking event? 

Many of our clients say that they just don't enjoy networking.  It's overwhelming to walk into a room full of people that we don't know.  "Where should I stand?  Who should I talk to?  I just remembered an important appointment that I'm late for - better head out..."

May I suggest a slight change in mindset.  Before attending your next networking event, decide on one or two types of people that you would like to meet - folks who can help to move your business forward or potentially become a good referral source - for example, a realtor.  Enter the room and seek out someone you know.  Ask them "Do you know anyone here who is a realtor?"  If so, ask them for an introduction to that person.  And then just talk to that person, make conversation, get to know them.  Finish the conversation by asking to get together sometime for a cup of coffee and Voilà!  You've networked!  You've expanded your circle.

Now, all you have to do is follow-up.

Don't feel as though you need to meet a few dozen people every time you head out.  One or two targeted relationships can be much more valuable than many superficial ones.  Now, take those antlers off and introduce yourself!  Your Thoughts? 

Sending out special thanks to my clients in my workshop this week for this great blog idea.

We spent a good amount of time in this session talking about employees - motivating them,  improving performance and making sure that they have the right seat on the bus.

As I've mentioned in a previous blog, I've often heard from many successful business owners, "I have great employees!"  Do these businesses truly have inherently "great' employees or do the owners perceive them to be great and therefore they are.  Does employee performance rise to the level of expectations?  If we expect less, well what will we get?  And, if we expect more, if we expect excellent, what will we get?

Many of us remember that one really great boss that we had somewhere during our career.  Perhaps, he or she was our manager during our early years as an employee and helped to shape our work ethic or self-confidence.  Or, perhaps, it was a boss later in our careers who became a true mentor and friend.  In either case,  we will most likely hold this special person in high regard for the rest of our lives.

Would you like to be one of those really great bosses?  Would you like to be 'The One' your employees remember as helping to shape their careers?  Perhaps, expecting the best and expecting excellence from each employee everyday can produce just those results.  Say a heart-felt "I have great employees" today and see what happens.  Your Thoughts?

Please pardon my indulgence as I include a picture of Mark, myself and our teens, Jessica and Matt in front of the Dublin Castle in Ireland.  We had a wonderful vacation full of special times with friends and lots of touring. 

I promise that my next blog entry will be back on-track!

We are getting ready to leave on a family vacation to Ireland tomorrow so you won't be hearing too much from The Growth Coach over the next 10 days.  Try not to miss us too much!

Going to Ireland is an especially wonderful way to vacation but there are many great ways to get away from the 'daily grind' that don't require nearly as much time, effort or expense.  A weekend trip to the beach or to an out-of-town friend's home, a day at Busch Gardens, or my personal favorite, Water Country, or even, an evening of steaks on the grill and chatting with neighbors on the back porch.  Any of these can be the perfect escape at just the right time.

Taking some time away from work is absolutely vital to success.  We are in this for the long term and need those times of respite to revive our spirits and renew our relationships - not to mention to catch up on some sleep.  Don't feel guilty for taking time off.  Do feel guilty if you don't!

How do you plan to get away this summer?  Please share some of your plans and then we can get some great ideas from one another.  Where are you heading off to - backyard or beach?  Your Thoughts? 

Taking time regularly to set your priorities can seem like a daunting task.  You might ask yourself, "How can I find the time each day and each week just to think about what I'm going to do?  I just need to get stuff done!"  I suggest that it really takes very little time at all - just 10 minutes a day.  Apply the "pay yourself" concept to your time each day and pay yourself with 10 minutes of dedicated time to intentionally decide what you will accomplish that day.  Be sure those tasks will move you closer to your longer term goals, assess how well you did the day before and set yourself with a productive and positive attitude.   And then close each week by reviewing your overall progress.  Just 10 minutes a day.  Your Thoughts?