Client Magnets Official Blog

Posts Tagged ‘team building’

Are you someone that likes to work solo? I’m guessing you said yes to that question. Let’s face it, most business owners are independent type of people that like to do things themselves. That way they know that the quality being delivered is consistent and that the job is being done. The problem with that is as one person you have a limited capacity. How big are your dreams? Most often they will extend beyond your capacity which means that you need to bring a team on board to help you. How do you make that transition from working on your own to working with a team?

There’s more than One Way to Build a Team

Most independent entrepreneurs are wary about bringing additional people on board. In the traditional sense there are added salaries, office space and equipment to be considered. Then there is also the task of finding the right people, employing and training them up and managing them. From that perspective it is easy to see why most individual business owners try stay away from working with a team. It simply adds too many complications to the business process.

However, thanks to advances in technology you do not need to take on all of these things in order to create a team for your business. I have a business team of eight people that are an important part of my growth, yet none of them work for me full time in my office. Instead they are all functioning in a virtual environment and work for me part-time on a free lance basis. This works really well because I do not have the hassle of drawing up employment contracts and trying to keep staff motivated.  Each one of my team has an independent business and they provide their services to me as and when I need them. This results in a great amount of flexibility and improves the efficiency of my business. I am never carrying dead weight in my business. Each task and function that is carried out is specific and over a set period of time.  Being able to work with a team like this can really help you to grow your business.  There are a few new skills that you need to learn in terms of delegating and working with other people but the results are just amazing. A team can help you quickly ramp up your business and get you operating at the level you want to be at.

Tips for Choosing Team Players

•    Think of tasks that take a lot of your time that you may be able to delegate to other skilled people. Things like administration, writing, or planning seminars.

•    Look at the area where you provide the most valuable input to your business. That is what you want to spend most of your time doing. The rest you can start to delegate.

•    Look for people that are operating independent businesses in a virtual environment. Creating a team with these types of people helps you to keep your costs down.

•    Start out with just one person who can take care of some of the admin for you. Then as you get more comfortable with sharing responsibility you can gradually bring more people on board.

Having an efficient team is one way in which you can speed up the growth of your business. Because you are not trying to do everything yourself you have more time to focus on what you are really good at. This could be dealing directly with clients, managing the operations or giving workshops, courses and seminars. A great team can be a valuable asset to your business and can help fast track you to achieving your goals.

Bernadette Doyle specializes in helping entrepreneurs attract a steady stream of ideal clients. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them, sign up at http://www.clientmagnets.com

In order to take your business from where you are now to a soaring success by the end of this year, chances are you’re going to need to make some investments.

In this economy, that word, investments, makes most people shudder. But, the kind of investments I’m talking about aren’t nearly as risky or as scary as placing all your money into some fund, speculating on the market and hoping to see a good return.

The investments I’m talking about are much more secure than that. And, they are guaranteed to produce results.

You may need to invest in software, or in building your team. You may need to invest in attending an event or in recruiting the right people, or getting the right experts to assist you with a certain part of your business. You may need to invest in your education.

Rest assured, there is always some type of investment that you need to make in order for your business to grow.

Personally, I’ve invested a lot in my business. I’ve done all of those things I just mentioned, from building my team, to belonging to mastermind groups and purchasing software systems. These things are all essential to growth.

Before you think, “Sure, Bernadette, that’s easy for you to say, with all this money, your nice big house, your nanny and your housekeeper,” I want you to know that this is not a recent habit for me.

I didn’t allow cost to be the prime motivator in my decisions, even when I was broke. Not that long ago, when I had a small baby and was paying so much of my income to childcare, I was presented the opportunity to jump onboard Yanik Silver’s marketing mastermind group. This was far more than I had ever spent before. But it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made.

Yes, you’ll spend a lot of money on these things year after year, but they’re good investments. They help to grow your business.

Your bank balance shouldn’t determine your decision making. If it does, your balance won’t actually change until you stop making your decisions that way.

The decision to make an investment in your business is as much a psychological stretch as it is a financial stretch. Like any investment, you have to weigh the factors to determine if the investment is sound for you. But, instead of asking, “What will it cost me to do this?” the better question is, “What will it cost me if I don’t do this?”

Even if you think that you simply, physically don’t have the money to invest in software or an assistant, you need to look beyond that. This is where the leap of faith comes in. By putting that person in place or buying that software, you will free up time so you can then go out and bring on one more client.

If that additional client spends $1,000 with you and the assistant or software cost you $300 a month, essentially that investment saved you or made you $700 more per month.

Start looking at investments in your business as what you will be losing by NOT making them. You stand to GAIN SO MUCH MORE by giving your business the support and backing it needs to grow. The returns on your investment will be well worth it in the end.