Stop Reacting, Start Planning

Developing a Long-Term Purpose for Your Small Business

Only 25% of small business owners outsource key business activities like marketing, IT, bookkeeping, legal, strategic planning, people development, and customer services. Many small business owners think they cannot afford to hire experts to help them grow their business. They put off hiring a virtual assistant, bookkeeper, lawyers, marketing and IT specialist, or business coach. American Express reports concerns around the time it takes to find and onboard the right help, privacy concerns, fear of losing control, and uncertainty around expense as the primary reasons more small businesses do not outsource key activities. Lack of planning how to leverage outside resources puts 75% of small businesses at a disadvantage because they are not leveraging talent outside their organization.

Hesitation to seek professional help can become a bottleneck in small business growth. Your business has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The more time your company can spend focused on its strengths, the stronger it can be. One of the best ways for you and your employees to spend more time within your strengths is by outsourcing weaknesses and low-value tasks to vendors and contractors outside your company. Finding the proper support can help you reduce costs and improve business performance. It all starts with developing a plan for expanding the capabilities of your company.

Start planning

Three years ago, a small business owner reached out to Your Path Coaching and Consulting because he was frustrated by the amount of net profit he was generating. When we started working together, he had been in business for 10 years and had run a successful business, but he felt he was working too hard for the money he was earning. At the time, he was managing much of his business on impulse. He occasionally developed long-term plans for his company but struggled to stick to those plans. Problems would arise. He would address them, but in the process, he would lose sight of the long-term goals he was striving to accomplish. His business's strength was in providing outstanding service to his customers. The business's weakness at the time was prioritization and strategic consistency. He knew he could drive profitable growth if he could get help clarifying key objectives and improving personal and team accountability, so he brought us in to help him put processes and systems in place to improve business operations.

Define your purpose

One of the first things small business owners should do is get clear on the purpose of their business. Understanding your business's purpose is essential because time is the scarcest resource. There are many ways to make money, but only a few align with your business's strengths. That is because your business's strengths are a mix of your employees, values, goals, experiences, processes, and ability to work together towards a shared goal. No other business is exactly like yours, and you maximize your business's value and impact when you can identify your business's niche. Declaring your business's purpose will help you attract the right talent, which will better position you to maximize the value you can provide clients. Providing exceptional customer value is the strongest differentiator you can create, and positions you for profitable growth.

Set goals that align with your purpose

The next action a business owner must take is to define their goals and align them with the business's purpose. Your business purpose is aspirational and will change over time as your business's capabilities expand and grow. The University of Massachusetts teaches that taking the time to convert your purpose into goals will

• Motivate your employees because they will understand what is important.

• Help employees work together because they will better understand what is important to you.

• Can improve accountability by giving you a way to measure progress.

• Help you quantify success.

• Bring more fulfillment to employees by assisting them in seeing how their contribution helps the great organization.

 Failure to set goals can create an environment where your employees are unfocused, misaligned, and unmotivated. Being clear on what you are measuring provides certainty to employees about where they should be focusing their time and the company's money and resources.

Building your current situation analysis (CSA)

Beyond purpose and goals, business owners need to understand the macro and micro environments in which they operate. Crafting a situational analysis means taking the time to understand customer needs, competition, industry trends, environmental factors, current products and services, and your supply chain. All of these factors will influence what types of products and services customers are looking for and their willingness to pay for solutions. Business owners can analyze their current situation by answering these questions.

Consider your competition:  

• What products do they sell?

• Who are their clients?

• How do they market to them?

• What are their strengths?

• What are their weaknesses?

Consider your customers:

• Who are the most loyal?

• Who purchases the most services?

• How did they find your business?

• What needs do they have that your business could serve?

• What would cause them to stop purchasing from you?

Consider your business:

• Who is on the team? 

• What do they do well?

• Who is most engaged?

• What gaps does the business have that need to be filled?

• How could the team be more productive?

By getting this information on paper, you can better understand the business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information can inform the development of a strategy focused on capabilities and market opportunities while being mindful of risk and uncertainty. Nothing in business is certain until you take action, so the primary focus of building your current situation analysis is to help you slow down, take in information, think critically, and make informed decisions about how you spend time, money, and resources.

Converting purpose into profits

Circling back to the business owner I mentioned earlier.  We followed the abovementioned process to develop a SWOT analysis, Balanced Scorecard, and began using a continuous improvement process to improve business performance. The SWOT allowed us to identify marketing and operational opportunities; the Balance Scorecard helped us to identify goals for improving financial, customer, process, and employee development objectives. The continuous improvement process provided us with a framework for testing new ideas, implementing them, and learning from the experience. 

As a result of the business planning and our ongoing cadence of meetings, the business owner achieved many of his business goals ahead of schedule. He has grown revenue by 30% over the last 2 years and achieved his 3-year earnings goal a year ahead of schedule. When asked what the most significant benefit the business owner has gained from coaching is, he said, "Keeping me focused on the goals I've set for my company". It is one thing to have a purpose. It is another to bring that purpose to life. Running a business is challenging. Especially when you do not have the proper support. Making time to clarify your business strategy, outsourcing low-value tasks, and seeking experts to help you grow can unlock your business's potential and help you accelerate your business growth.

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Your Partner in Business Success

I'm not just a writer; I'm also a father, husband, executive coach, and former retail executive. My 21 years of experience leading operations, sales, and marketing teams have given me firsthand knowledge to position me to help you grow your business.

We offer personalized coaching and consulting services to empower you at every stage of business growth. Our expertise includes:

Executive Coaching: Guiding leaders to enhance their leadership skills, communication abilities, and team dynamics.

Business Consulting: Helping organizations optimize strategies, foster growth, and build high-performing teams.

Career Coaching: Assisting individuals in defining a career path and building the skills, network, and competencies needed to maximize their potential.

Our holistic approach combines proven techniques with a deep understanding of your needs and aspirations.

Connect with us:

Website: www.yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-path-coaching-and-consulting

A Guide to Delegating Effectively

Every business leader knows they need to delegate to achieve better results. The problem comes when leaders try to move from thought to action. Their beliefs about themselves, their team, and the work they are trying to accomplish prevent them from letting go of tasks and trusting others to do work they have traditionally completed. This resistance to delegation slows growth, creates workflow bottlenecks, and negatively impacts company performance.

What should a leader do?

Delegation is a skill. Like all skills, starting small and building up to more difficult tasks is best as you gain mastery. Leaders frequently get frustrated with the delegation process because they start it with the wrong mindset. They are accustomed to performing tasks at a high level and expect perfect results the first time they delegate a task. The reality is that most people do not do tasks perfectly the first time they attempt them. As a leader, you must learn to delegate effectively, and your employee or contractor must learn through practice how to do the task to your expectations. The more you delegate, the better you will get, and the more your employee does the task, the better they will perform, provided that you have a system for delegation.

How do you start?

The Power6 Leader program teaches the ACES system of delegation. ACES stands for Assess, Communication, Empower, and Support. This four-step approach to delegation reduces uncertainty and provides a systematic method for evaluating employees and tasks, setting expectations, building trust, and ensuring that employee competency is built over time.

How to assess tasks to be delegated?

To help you get started, we have developed this worksheet to help you assess the tasks you should be delegating and the people you should be delegating those tasks to.

Download this tool, read the instructions, and email Dorian Cunion if you have any questions about how to use it. dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolution.com

First Step in Delegating_ Assessing.docx

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Breaking the Ceiling: Navigating Leadership Challenges to Advance Your Career

Have you recently stepped into a management role and feel you're navigating uncharted territory? Or perhaps you're an experienced leader who's hit a glass ceiling, unsure how to break through to the next level? You may recognize areas where your leadership could be more impactful. You're not alone. The journey of leadership is continuous, filled with challenges that can hinder your progress or become stepping stones to greater success. This blog post delves into common leadership hurdles and offers insights from real-world experiences to help you navigate these challenges and accelerate your career trajectory.

Advancing your career as a leader requires more than just technical skills; it demands strong interpersonal abilities, strategic thinking, and the capacity to navigate complex team dynamics. Let's explore some key challenges and how to address them.

Leading with Confidence: Overcoming Self-Doubt and Building Influence

Stepping into a leadership role or aiming for the next one can often be accompanied by feelings of self-doubt.

• The Imposter Syndrome: Many capable leaders, especially those newly promoted, grapple with imposter syndrome—the feeling that they're not truly qualified for their role. Imposter syndrome can manifest as a lack of confidence in their decisions or an inability to own their achievements fully.

• Building Executive Presence: To advance your career, you must cultivate executive presence – the ability to command respect, inspire trust, and communicate effectively. Executive presence involves more than just what you say; it's also about how you say it and carry yourself.

• Navigating Difficult Conversations: Leadership often involves addressing conflict and having tough conversations with team members. Becoming comfortable with direct yet compassionate communication is crucial for resolving issues and fostering a healthy team environment.

Mastering Team Dynamics and Delegation for Career Growth

Your ability to lead and develop your team directly impacts your career advancement.

• Effective Delegation: Leaders who try to do everything themselves often hit a ceiling. Learning to delegate effectively frees up time for strategic initiatives, empowers your team members, and fosters their growth. Trust and clear expectations are foundational for successful delegation.

• Managing Different Personalities and Communication Styles: Leading a team means working with individuals with diverse communication preferences and work styles. Understanding and adapting to these differences is key to minimizing conflict and maximizing team performance.

• Developing Future Leaders: Organizations increasingly value leaders who can identify and develop talent within their teams. Mentoring and coaching your direct reports benefits the organization and showcases your leadership capabilities.

Strategic Thinking and Planning for Career Advancement

Moving up the career ladder requires a shift from focusing solely on day-to-day tasks to thinking strategically about the bigger picture.

• Developing a Long-Term Vision: Leaders who can articulate a clear vision for the future and inspire their teams to work towards it are highly valued. Visioning involves looking beyond immediate goals and understanding where your business needs to be 3 to 5 years in the future.

• Prioritization and Time Management: As you take on more responsibility, effective prioritization and time management become critical. Learning to focus on high-impact activities and delegate less important tasks is essential for staying productive and avoiding overwhelm.

• Continuous Learning and Adaptation: The business world constantly evolves, with new technologies and trends emerging regularly. Staying curious, seeking new information (through resources like Harvard Business Review and industry publications), and adapting to change are vital for continued career growth.

The Power of Clarity and Strategy: A Real-World Example

Consider Sarah (not her real name), a Director of Marketing at a growing tech company. She was a high performer, consistently delivering excellent results and driving significant organizational growth. Despite her hard work and achievements, Sarah felt underappreciated and overlooked by her CEO for advancement opportunities. She knew she could do more but lacked clarity on positioning herself for promotion and felt her contributions weren't being fully recognized.

Sarah sought executive coaching to address these frustrations. Over six months, we focused on developing her executive presence, tackling underlying imposter syndrome that sometimes held her back from fully owning her accomplishments, and refining her business strategy to align more closely with the CEO's vision. Sarah did all the heavy lifting – she implemented new communication strategies, proactively presented her strategic insights, and confidently articulated her value. Our work together gave her clarity and a strategic framework to showcase her leadership potential more effectively.

Within a year of our engagement, Sarah's impact became undeniable. She received a significant raise and, more importantly, was promoted to Vice President of Marketing, a role that better reflected her capabilities and contributions. Sarah's story underscores the power of gaining clarity and developing a targeted strategy to unlock career advancement.

Executive Coaching Accelerates Growth:

Advancing your career as a leader is a continuous learning and development journey. You can break through career ceilings and achieve your professional aspirations by building confidence, mastering team dynamics, cultivating strategic thinking, and gaining clarity on your value and direction. Remember that seeking guidance and building a strong network of peers and mentors can provide invaluable support along the way.

Are you ready to take the next step in your leadership journey and gain the clarity and strategy needed for career advancement? Visit our website to explore our executive and career coaching services and schedule a free consultation. Let Your Path Coaching and Consulting empower you to navigate leadership challenges and achieve your career goals.