Archives for October 2014
Setting Yourself Up for Success with Innovation
In today’s business world, “innovation” has become nothing more than a meaningless buzzword for so many companies. And yet, the actual unadulterated idea of innovation still remains key to the success of growing companies.
So how can you develop a strategy that takes the idea of innovation and changes it from being a flashy marketing tool into an actual tangible attribute of your business? Here are some tips:
- Focus on opportunities. If you’re focused on innovation, then you’re focused on opportunities. Greater output is the end result of all of the opportunities that you have available, so taking advantage of
We bring to the table, over 30 years of business ownership, c-level executive leadership, the experience of managing 100’s of people at once from a remote location, the challenges of balancing family with your entrepreneurship and the objectivity that fuels our insight and oversight of your business. When we’re first approached about the possibility and opportunity of working together on your business, we spend hours getting to know you, your challenges, what makes you tick and the business model you have developed. It’s so important to understand your why of what you do. It’s so important to understand what drives your passion. It’s so important to understand what your goals and objectives are. It’s so important to understand the depth and complexities of what makes you unique.
these opportunities allows you to improve your output in a variety of ways. Stay forward-thinking and results-oriented.
- Measure everything. Here again, it’s important to squash the idea of innovation being some kind of flashy feel-good buzzword that you use to get employees and customers excited. Instead, you need to be able to get into the actual numbers and metrics to measure the success of the new strategies you try. “Innovation” is worthless if you can’t determine exactly how it’s impacting your business.
- Develop strategies. Sit down and plan things out. “Innovation” doesn’t just have to be abstract brainstorming sessions, although it may start off that way. You need to actually be able to put together a thorough plan to act on your innovative ideas.
- Be a strong leader. Innovation doesn’t just happen by itself, which means you as the leader of your company need to be able to foster a culture of innovation that encourages people to think outside the box and find new ways of approaching old problems. Make sure that people aren’t getting completely bogged down by the small, minute details of their jobs and that they feel they have your support in trying new things.
There’s a lot more to innovation than abstract thoughts and warm, fuzzy feelings; it takes a lot of work and planning to be able to establish a culture of innovation in your company and to form strategic plans based on that innovation.
Contact Viral Solutions today for assistance in developing an innovative atmosphere in your business.
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
Lessons Learned from 5 Stages of Small Business Growth
At Viral Solutions, we understand the trials and tribulations that many new owners of small businesses face in the early going. The commitment of time and resources that is necessary at the outset can leave many business owners frustrated or exhausted. We've experienced this ourselves in our own business operations, so we know just how unpleasant it is and how it can come close to crushing the motivation you had that led you to start the business in the first place.
Is what you’re doing today, getting you closer to where you want to be? Every business started small. According to Eric Wagner, Forbes Magazine Contributor, 8 out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. Let that sink in for a moment. Seriously, 80% of business that start today will crash and burn by Spring 2016. Where does that leave you? How long have you been in business and what can you do to grow, rather than crash your business?
Let’s take a stroll down the 5 distinct growth stages of business. In doing so, you’ll be able to identify what phase of the growth cycle you’re at, what you can do to keep moving forward, and lessons learned to not be part of the 80% that crash and burn.
Existing. Perhaps you’re here right now. If not, you certainly remember this phase. This is where you decided to start a business. You bootstrapped, got investors, or rocked out some other aspect of bringing your idea, product, or service to market. For most small business owners, this is the phase that tests your commitment of being in business. Everything is on you. Most start without planning, run amok, and do what needs to be done to bring in the business. Lesson with this phase is to research, plan, know your target customers, market, and provide purposeful actions within your startup that doesn't lead to a preemptive crash and burn.
Survival. Yep, survival. For some of you. The word sends a chill down your spine. Here, small business owners rely on themselves once again. They made it through the existing stage, but, barely. Here, owners have established that there is a need or want for the product or service, however, they’re only making enough to make ends meet. This is where a majority of the 80% crash and burn. Survival is part of human nature, however, here the attention is more towards the cash needed to get by. Getting by is essential, however, it is not the mindset that is needed to move forward. Lesson learned from this stage is yet again, to research, plan, know your target markets, and provide specific actions that help you to not only get by, but to reinvest, grow, and expand your intentions of your business. Plan smart, act smarter or go home broke. The choice is yours.
Success. This is the dust your shoulders off stage. The stage in which you are grateful to move past existing and survival stages. Here, the business is sustaining reasonable profits and growing is doable. Likewise, one may want to put the brake on growth, and be satisfied with maintaining a consistent flow of profits at the level it is at without sacrificing any additional time, resources, or whatever is required to grow. Â Again, the choice is yours, however, whatever aspect that you do, the lesson learned is to research, plan, implement, monitor, and re-evaluate performance to sustain or expand your success.
You require and deserve the best tools available to achieve your goals and find success for your business. You deserve to work with a company that will not compromise your professional or personal ethics and integrity. Simply put, you have a right to the best business advice available, and we have a duty to provide that to you.
Take-Off. Success got you here. Your systems, management, and clear focus is what will make or break your business at this phase. One can have success prior, but if organization, structure, systems, and management are lagging, your business could crash and burn while approaching “success runway”. Don’t let this be your business. Lessons learned from the experts is to research, plan, implement, monitor, and re-evaluate your concepts, processes, systems, management, and markets. Yes, you got to this point, however, that doesn’t mean that you’ll stay at this point. Here, your systems, processes, management, and well, everything is tested. It will make or break your business.
Maturity. Hot Diggity Dang. You made this far. Here, you’ve literally fought every stage of growth and continue to be a big player in your field. The biggest challenges are controlling such success. Lessons learned from top-dogs in this department is again, research, plan, implement, monitor, and re-evaluate across all aspects of your organization. At this level, your organization must be controlled, systematized, creative, and flexible to adapt to ever changing internal and external needs. You got this far as a result of purposeful planning and doing, the same is true with maintaining this level of organizational maturity.
Overall, the common thread within each stage of growth was strung together with key elements that are crucial to your organization and industry – research, plan, implement, monitor, evaluate, and continuously strive to improve. Some can wing it through the first two phases, but man, the next three require extensive knowledge, analysis, and creation of systems, processes, management, and creativity to continue that success. Likewise, becoming complacent or arrogant about success can set you up for failure. So, as the wise Benjamin Franklin once said, “failure to plan, is planning to fail,”. Purposefully plan, implement, monitor, and adjust to fit your specific internal and external aspects of the promote growth within your business.
Great Reads…
Dahl, D. (2010). How to develop a business growth strategy. Inc. Retrieved:Â
Wagner, E. (2013). Five reasons 8 out of 10 businesses fail. Forbes. Retrieved:Â
Copyright Viral Solutions llc © 2014. All Rights Reserved
by Katie Doseck, Ph.D.
Chief Visionary and Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve | Viral Solutions LLC
Katie Doseck, PhD | Chief Visionary & Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve. I catapulted my experience with extensive education, trainings, and personal coaching; earning a PhD in Organizational Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management, MBA in Organizational Leadership, and BA in Law & Liberal Arts. Subject Matter Expert (SME) areas: Human Resource Management, Employment Law, Organizational Change, Change Management, Resource Planning, Strategic Planning, Talent Management, Selling & Sales Management, Training & Development, Decision Making Models, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Motivation. Dr. Doseck is based out of Logan, Utah.
What Are the Effects of Verbal Abuse in the Workplace?
- Lack of communication. Employees may become fearful of engaging in communication with other people in the workplace, for fear of being harshly criticized or otherwise abused. As soon as you begin having communication
problems within your workplace, that opens up a whole host of more severe problems for your business.Â
- Depression. Employees may become withdrawn and depressed if they have been persistent targets of verbal abuse in the workplace. They may even suffer from headaches or sleep disruption. This can have a severe impact on their job performance and their happiness with their job.Â
- More absences. Abused workers are far more likely to skip work frequently. As a result, the quality of their work suffers, as will the quality of work on other people within the company who rely on their presence to get their work done. You can’t operate a business when a large number of people are consistently missing.Â
- Insubordination. If employees find themselves to be consistent targets of office bullying, they may be less likely to want to follow you. They might believe that you aren’t doing everything you can to create a safe work environment for them, and could lose trust in you as a leader.Â
- General lack of productivity. People who suffer from verbal abuse in the workplace are much more likely to be distracted while on the job, which will have a drastic impact on their quality of work and general productivity.
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
Verbal Abuse in the Workplace: How Can You Deal With It?
- Address the situation. Approach the abuser and let them know that you are aware of the situation. Perhaps they do not realize their actions or words have been hurtful to the victim, in which case, you should be upfront with them
and have a discussion about the impact of their actions. In other situations, the abuser may be well aware they are hurting the feelings of the victim. In these cases, be careful not to let the confrontation escalate. - Reference your company rules. Employees engaging in verbal abuse should be reminded that your company will not tolerate such behavior. They should understand that there are consequences for these actions, and that if they continue to engage in this kind of abuse, they will be subject to those consequences.Â
- Document the situation. Keep a record of complaints against employees and conversations that you have had with them about their behavior. That way, if the behavior repeats itself, you have clear documentation about previous instances of abuse.Â
- Take appropriate action if the behavior continues. If the abuser fails to correct his or her action after your conversation, it’s up to you what kind of action you should take. If it appears unlikely that the employee will change his or her ways, the best course of action may be termination. The last thing you want is one person “poisoning the well,” so to speak.
You should strive to maintain a happy, healthy workplace for all of your employees.
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
Ways That You Can Avoid Burnout
Get rest. This is the single biggest tip that will help you avoid burnout. Get plenty of sleep, set aside some time to read, take a long walk or do whatever it is you need to do on a daily basis to have some time to yourself where you’re not focusing on work. Get a change of scenery. Don’t feel like you always have to work in the same place. Even if you’re working in an office environment, get out and move around every now and then and take your work with you. If you’re working remotely, get outside and work on nice days, or go to a coffee shop every now and then. A change of scenery can really do you some good.
Reflect on your purpose. Every now and then it’s important to remember why you started your business, the initial excitement of the whole venture and the goals that you are working toward. This will help you to regain some perspective on days where you’re feeling particularly stressed.
Get help. If you find that you’re stretching yourself far too thin, it may be time to add another person to your team to whom you can delegate some of the tasks that are keeping you so busy.
Life is too short to constantly be burned out by your work.
Copyright Viral Solutions llc © 2014. All Rights Reserved
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.