You’re Not The Only One: Getting Your Business Together
The way you run your business can have a huge impact on you. It can affect your bottom line, productivity, client retention, and your self-esteem. It can cause frustration, stress, and drain your energy. Your physical and mental health can suffer.
But you’re not the only one who’s affected. Your lack of processes and systems in your business can greatly impact your clients, too. So why do some business owners avoid getting their sh#%t together?
I want to illustrate a few examples here for you, starting with my personal experience as the client.
Scenario #1
Recently, I had an upcoming meeting with a service provider I work with. The day of the meeting, I sent an email to confirm the appointment. Less than three hours before our call they asked me to produce all sorts of information. They stressed that they couldn’t do the call without the information. So I ran around, putting my work day on hold, to find what they needed. They didn’t plan their time appropriately in dealing with me, so I couldn’t spend my time appropriately, either.
Once we were on the call they were aggressive, pressuring me to make crucial decisions without any time to think them over. They must have realized that they could lose me as a client because of the disorganization, and instead of rescheduling the meeting so we all had time to prepare, they put the pressure on me to make it work.
Scenario #2
“Loretta” could not send proposals out quickly because she had not committed to fixed rates. She would end a discovery call promising to send a proposal over. Instead, she would spend days overthinking the value of what she was offering, allowing self-doubt to paralyze her. She never charged the same amount for the same thing twice, which meant she couldn’t get a handle on her cash flow. And there was a lot of money left on the table.
Loretta’s clients suffered, too. They needed her service to move forward in their business. She left them in limbo, questioning Loretta’s reliability. Sometimes out of embarrassment and procrastination, some clients never heard from her at all.
I advised her to choose a reputable CRM, and get some assistance in setting it up so she could automate sending proposals, contracts, invoices, and other necessary communications to her clients.
Scenario #3
"Allan” didn’t have a process for invoicing, so didn’t send invoices. Talk about seizing your cash flow! That meant he couldn’t pay bills, personal expenses, rent, or anything else necessary for daily living. When there’s no practical system in place, you give yourself room for second guessing price and short changing yourself.
Allan’s clients were confused, and anxious about maintaining their budgets because they knew they had to pay but had no idea when and how much. His repeat business suffered. His clients were one and done. People feel good about paying you for your work, but they are not going to chase you down to do it.
My advice was to hire someone to delegate the invoicing tasks to. When you remove yourself, you take the emotional up and down out of it.
Scenario #4
Several clients I’ve worked with were struggling with dysfunctional calendars. They missed meetings, and had multiple calendars, none of them connected properly to their schedulers. Instead, they were wasting precious time moving dates manually from one place to another.
Everyone misses a meeting once in a while. But if it’s more of a weekly occurrence, it doesn’t say much about you or your professionalism. If you keep messing up your calendar, people will stop connecting with you.
I recommended using Google calendar to simplify and a compatible scheduler.
When we’re impacted by these issues, we feel scattered and can’t focus or be productive. We also can’t service our clients the way they deserve. That means your professionalism and reliability are on the line.
Whatever your challenges are in your business I have seen it or heard about it. One of the things I practice in my work is non-judgement. I meet my clients wherever they are when they’re ready to run their businesses more efficiently.
I’d love to hear about what’s keeping you from a more successful and prosperous business, and see how we can change that. Set up a call with me today.
P.S. Ready to stop spinning in place and get to the other side of your goals? Here are several ways I can help:
Download my free resource Show Your Schedule Who's Boss - these tips and strategies will help you take control of your time. This is the first step in taking control of your business - kathleen-lawson.com/show-your-schedule-whos-boss
Join our next CEO Power Planning Session and spend two and a half hours ON your business. During this facilitated workshop, you’ll set and prioritize your next 12-week goals, break them down into an executable action plan and create a resource plan - kathleen-lawson.com/ceo-power-planning
Schedule a Laser Consult Session. This is a one-time 90-minute session for the entrepreneur who needs expert strategic guidance. Use this time to work through an idea, develop an executable 12 week action plan, streamline or create a process or system, or improve routines around daily and weekly execution. kathleen-lawson.com/laser-consult