Eileen Bistrisky - Vice-president, Erickson Coaching International
To grow from six to seven figures, business owners must shift from being in charge of everything to empowering others, while pursuing a shared vision.
Often, the creative visionaries who can turn on a dime, create everything custom from scratch and say yes to everyone hit the most roadblocks when trying to make their businesses scalable.
Scalability requires business owners either to stop doing and start leading or to hire a leader to help build the team for growth. Great leaders are not the best at everything. They surround themselves with people who are the best at different things. Each area of a business requires a different skill set and expertise. Owners should figure out what they are best at and do that. This is critical to leading a team to success.
Aligning the team around core values can keep employees engaged and moving in the same direction. Narrowing down key strategic priorities for growth and developing SMART (specific, manageable, actionable, relevant and trending) metrics for measuring and achieving objectives keep people on track. Leading the team through these strategic planning exercises is a highly specialized skill set that can easily be outsourced. Once the right people are in the right positions and have a strategic plan for growth, the odds of moving from six to seven figures dramatically increase.
Having the confidence to let go and empower others to succeed will allow an owner to take a business to seven figures and beyond.
Anne C. Graham - Author, Profit in Plain Sight
It may be surprising to learn that achieving better financial results starts with the small, everyday activities. Our busy minds are constantly doubting and noisy with negative self-talk. It holds you back, so neutralize it instead of fighting it by following these tips:
•Acknowledge the noise. It may be saying “Who do you think you are?” or “You’ve tried and failed before.”
•Decide honestly if your uncertainty stems from fact or fiction by asking a trusted friend about how he or she sees you.
•Take action on the facts. If you need money or credentials, make it happen. For fiction, say “Thanks for the input!” and move on. Additionally, there are daily activities that either help or hinder getting work done. How often have you had a great plan derailed by distractions?
•Delegate the $25 per hour jobs and fire yourself as “chief doing officer.” Use virtual assistants and become the “chief growing officer.”
•Make efficient use of your time by billing for outcomes instead of charging by the hour, and build programs or services to serve one-to-many instead of one-to-one.
•Time-block your calendar with double the time you think you’ll need. A jammed-with-trivia calendar, late nights and working weekends mean failure. Focusing on less will let you get more done and achieve greater success. Use leftover time to accelerate your results.
Michela Quilici - Marketing and business development adviser, Q. Consulting
There are five major questions that business owners should ask themselves if they want to grow their business from six to seven figures. Ask yourself the following:
•Am I willing and committed to step outside of my comfort zone and into the unknown? Our limiting beliefs and discomfort with change keep us playing small. Our definition of success, our relationship with mistakes and our negative self-talk fuelling fear and self-doubt play a key role in a business owner’s self-imposed ceiling. Our business will grow only to the level of our own personal awareness, confidence and self-esteem.
•Who am I showing up as in my organization? Think and act like a CEO. Stepping into the shoes of the CEO is like being the conductor of an orchestra. The CEO should focus only on the things that can strengthen his or her team to do the rest. Ask yourself what roles you need to fire yourself from in your business.
•Are my systems and processes in place? Building a business that scales beyond you is critical. Think about the areas of your company that can be automated and delegated. How can you take advantage of technology? How can you systematize operations?
•Do I have a compelling vision? Clarity of business purpose and direction is the blueprint for why the business exists and the glue that holds your people together. It is also a key motivator for you to stay committed to the dream, despite how difficult and challenging the journey is.
