Ep 1.23 Patti Mara on Using a Crisis to Future-Proof your Business

03/25/21 • 37 min

For many free agents, the last year has been a period of pivots, adaptations and growth. Even though the entire business world was faced with a huge crisis, many leaders saw past the difficulty and tapped into opportunity. As a result, the companies that used the crisis to reframe and reimagine their businesses externally and internally are now miles ahead of their competition. Businesses that used the recent challenges to create new connections and ease of engagement for their customers have accelerated their success for years to come. They have future-proofed their businesses. When the normal way of doing business is interrupted, those who adapt quickly will realize success, leaving everyone else struggling to catch up. What are the opportunities of a crisis in business and how do we capture them? How can business owners position themselves for success, not stagnancy? In this episode, I’m joined by business coach, speaker, author and entrepreneur, Patti Mara. She shares her greatest insights from the last year, and why we should never waste a crisis. Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode The key thing that determines success in a crisis One of the most fatal mistakes companies made in 2020 was choosing to hunker down to just get through it, and waiting for the crisis to inevitably blow over. Every crisis interrupts our daily patterns, which gives us a wealth of information about what’s working and what’s not. By digging into this information, we can find the insights that help us get better going forward. How to win at the game of business Most independently-owned businesses play the wrong game, they focus on what they’re selling instead of the value and relationships that drive their growth. Our goal should be to understand our customers so well that we can speak to their pain points and create value by coming up with specific solutions. Why business metrics need our constant attention As businesses evolve and mature, metrics need to be the driving force of future decisions and growth. Every business needs to have a dashboard of the top 5 metrics that matter and need regular reviewing. These metrics serve as the barometer of whether we’re on track or not, and we can’t ignore or neglect them. Guest Bio Patti Mara is a business coach, speaker, author, owner of Maranet Inc. and creator of The Profit Generator Program*. She has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurial owned and operated businesses to reposition them for success and dramatically increase their growth, customer retention, and profit. Patti also created the Breaking Through Barriers Program*, which helps business owners identify and eliminate the bottlenecks that impede growth and success. Patti is a popular speaker to groups from diverse industries, ranging from finance and commercial real estate, to restoration and cleaning, restaurants, and independent pharmacies. She has also been a featured speaker to North American women’s and entrepreneurs’ groups. For more information, visit https://www.pattimara.com for more information. To get Patti’s free resource, training and a copy of her book visit https://www.pattimara.com/freeagent.

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Ep 1.22 Robert Krieghoff On Going From Uncertainty and Inconsistency to Entrepreneurial Staying Power

Free agents start their business in order to have more control over their lives, and more fulfillment from the work they do - but our ventures also have to be financially rewarding and sustainable. It’s impossible to build something financially stable without systems and procedures that keep the pipeline full. What we’ve learned from the last year is that the state of the economy doesn’t always spell success. When we build a sustainable referral-based business and diversify our income streams, we can always navigate challenging times. What are the most important systems free agents need to be aware of? How do we find the most beneficial and productive networking opportunities? Why is a healthy business pipeline so important? In this episode, I’m joined by entrepreneur, B2C & B2B ad pro and real estate agent, Robert Krieghoff. He shares the most important business lessons he’s learned on his journey and how he has created a diversified and self-sustaining business model. Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode How to find a productive networking group Networking is about being willing to give. You can’t go into it from the perspective of what you’re going to get out of it. Focus on being a resource for other people and learning from that environment. If you find yourself in a networking community where people are selfish and impatient, you’re in the wrong place. The two things business owners have to focus on to have sustainable results As business owners, we have to spend a lot of time cultivating the business, while also doing the actual work at a high level. If we focus on current business at the expense of our future pipeline, our income will always be unstable. It’s really important to have systems and people in place to help us manage both sides of this equation. Why pivoting can be dangerous There’s a difference between making a pivot and getting away from our purpose, and the things our clients hire us for. Sometimes, when we pivot, we actually end up eliminating the things that drive our results and make us different from everyone else. It’s also a common mistake to veer away from our purpose by working with the wrong clients. Business isn’t just about adapting, it’s also about staying true to ourselves. Guest Bio Robert Krieghoff is an entrepreneur, B2C & B2B Ad Pro and Real Estate agent. He is a 27-year veteran of the media industry who has achieved success as an Account Executive, Sales Manager and independent consultant in Madison and Milwaukee. His areas of expertise are account management, digital sales, and statewide campaign strategies. Robert uses proven solutions for local business owners looking to get more out of their English and Spanish advertising. For more information on Robert and Amy Krieghoff’s real estate business visit https://amykrieghoff.firstweber.com and email [email protected].

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Ep 1.24 Terry McDougall On Maximizing the Overlap Between Professional Success & Personal Happiness

“Successful but not satisfied” is a very common experience high achievers have in the corporate world. Many people find themselves paying a high price for their success, and they have to reconnect, reground and pivot in order to get career happiness on their own terms. We all have a wellspring of information and data within us that tells us what lights us up. In corporate, we’re so focused on what the job expects of us, we end up defined by other people. How do we step out of the corporate mental silo, and leverage being the multidimensional people we are? How can we feel more confident about the pricing of our services? In this episode, executive and career coach, speaker and best-selling author of Winning the Game of Work, Terry McDougall shares how she empowers people to find true happiness and fulfillment at work. Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode How to re-establish fulfillment in our careersWhether we excel and find joy working with people, ideas, problems or data, there’s a thread that runs through the work we love doing, our zone of genius is also found in that area. When we get away from those things, that’s when we start feeling unhappy in our careers. If we have an important value and a place we derive our professional energy from, moving away from it will make us unhappy. How to price our services without undervaluing ourselvesOne of the biggest challenges of stepping out of the corporate structure and becoming a consultant is knowing how to price the service we offer, and determine the value of the coaching we provide. It’s so important not to undervalue ourselves and overlook the costs that go into running a business. Why our limiting beliefs hold us back from getting what we wantA lot of the times, when we want something, we hold ourselves back from getting it because we immediately think about why we can’t get it, or that we don’t deserve it. Wanting something and going after it are two separate things. When you admit that you want something, and step into the feeling of deserving it, you put yourself in alignment to receive it from the Universe.