If you are like most business owners, you went into business because you are  passionate about AND good at WHAT you do… and you wanted the autonomy and  financial freedom of owning your own business. You were probably thinking, “as  long as I am good at what I do, how hard can it be to make a decent living and  support my family?” And you have probably discovered that it is actually harder  than you thought.

Here’s the problem…

You may be one of the 97% of small business owners who discover that although  you work incredibly hard and your sales seem to be increasing each month, you  have little to show for it financially. Perhaps you are already doing well but  you are unsure how to accelerate your results or expand your business? Or you  may simply be wondering why you are struggling to pay the bills lately even  though your accountant says that you are making a good “profit”.

One of the biggest problems is that business owners often convince themselves  that being busy is what business is all about. And you tell yourself “as long as  I work hard and do my best, there is not much else that I can do”. Everyone  knows that we’re supposed to work smarter, not harder, but the challenge lies in  knowing HOW to do that. And in the meantime, you may have found it just seems  easier to do everything…just in case it’s important, or makes a  difference.

So, if you’re supposed to do less, HOW do you figure out what is critical or  what will have the biggest impact?

In a typical 8-9 hour day, what percentage of your time and effort has a  positive and tangible impact on your bottom line? Do you strategically plan what  you will focus your time on or do you just try to cover everything on your to-do  list plus whatever emergencies pop up? The bottom line is this, if you cannot  read and understand your financials, it is difficult for you to say for sure WHY  your business is not as successful as you would like it to be. You may think it  is due to the fact that you don’t have enough customers or sales but you could  be missing the point completely. In fact, most of the businesses don’t need more  customers, they need more cash flow. And cash flow issues can often be fixed  without spending a dime on marketing.

And here’s the best part… all of the answers you need are sitting right  there in YOUR financial statements. You just need to learn how to unlock the  insights and use them to your advantage.

Every day that you put off learning how to unlock the insights in your  financials means that you are wasting at least 2-3 hours a day on tasks that are  not improving your bottom line. In fact, it could be the sole reason you are not  as successful as you would like to be.

This bad habit you have developed -of working way too hard and assuming that  success is somehow linked to the amount (not the quality) of work, will take  time to break.

Unfortunately, there are no quick fixes when it comes to breaking or  establishing new habits. In the 1960’s a highly regarded plastic surgeon, Dr.  Maxwell Maltz discovered that it took 21 days for amputees to cease feeling  phantom sensations in their amputated limb. From further observations and  significant research he established that it takes 21 days to create a new habit.  This part of the brain, the limbic system, is a slow learner.

Brain circuits take engrams (“memory traces”) and produce neuro-connections  and neuro-pathways only if they are bombarded with new information for 21 days  in a row. This means that our brain does not accept new data or information for  a change of habit unless it is repeated each day (without fail) for at least 21  days. Changing habits (whether positive or negative) can be done, but it takes  time and consistent effort.

Do yourself a favour and identify just one or two steps that you can take  each day that will enable you understand what your financial statements are  trying to tell you. Make a plan on paper – specific decisions and actions that  you can take to move forward in this aspect every single day for the next month.  Read a book, speak to your accountant, watch a webinar or spend some time  reviewing your statements and comparing the results to last year.

And remember to track your progress each day and find an objective person  outside of your business to hold you accountable to your plan, actions and  desired results.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6047921

Here is an excerpt from a guest post that I recently contributed for IsUtility® is a turnkey Houston Computer Services and Consulting solution that brings accountability back to the IT services industry. You can view it at Houston Cloud Computing or read it now directly below…

I am a big fan and user of cloud computing services/providers – of the hundreds that I have tried over the years, only a small percentage of them turned out to be shams or charlatans. Spotting a good or bad provider is a lot easier than you think and I want to share with you a few valuable tips that I have learned which can SAVE you a lot of time, heartache and money.

Beware of “hard sell” websites
Look for websites that DO NOT rely heavily on affiliate marketing and video to promote their wares. This hard-sell, “so-and-so uses us” approach is a sure sign that it is not a reputable company. Pages and pages of sales copy, clichés, crazy low price act-now offers, and “look wait, there’s more” hype says to me that the company is not legitimate.

If a brand is promoting their service heavily through a group of authors and speakers that I know have a tendency to get caught up in high pressure sales and affiliate marketing schemes, I can almost guarantee that the service will not live up to what you have been promised. There is nothing wrong with using affiliate marketing – however, some people do not care what they promote as long as they make a dollar off of it. Beware of marketers who send an email to you every week promoting someone else’s product. I don’t know about you but when I sign up to receive communications from someone it is because I want to learn from their knowledge – not receive an endless list of offers to buy their friend’s latest workshop or book.

Look for sites that follow best practices in layout
There are many cloud sites that are presented well and offer great service. They stand out. I look to these as a guide when evaluating potential new cloud providers. The more time that has gone into clean design and ease of use (navigation), the more confidence you will have in their underlying service.

Security next
Look for safety – assurances that your data is kept safe from hackers. I expect to see seals, guarantees etc. in plain view.

All proof is not created equal
Anyone can claim that their website is “the BEST provider in the world of X” but it’s another thing to back it up with proof. Client testimonials are the most powerful form of proof. I look for real results from real people. “Debbie for Texas said…” doesn’t cut it in my world. Unfortunately, you cannot simply rely on someone’s homepage claim which says how many customers they have – many companies fudge the truth to suit their own purpose and there is little recourse to protect the consumer from false claims.

Do your homework
One of the most valuable tools at your hands for research is Google. When in doubt, I check what others are saying about this service. Charlatans cannot hide forever. You’d be surprised how much is out there on companies who are not good operators. In fact, last year I took on a monthly subscription service with Traffic Geyser who claimed to be able to syndicate my articles and videos to over 100 sites each month. What they neglected to tell me was that over 50% of my attempts to syndicate would ultimately get rejected and that I would have to spend hours to manually chase up all the bounce backs. The ROI on my investment was appalling and their customer service was the worst I have ever experienced online. Bottom line, their software doesn’t work properly and it is just easier to use something cheap or free like Tube mogul.

Conduct a customer service test
Send a note to customer service and see what you get back. Their willingness to answer your questions completely, promptness and attention to detail will tell you a lot about who you are dealing with before you hand over your hard earned money. Also, make sure it is easy to unsubscribe from the service. Cloud services that make it difficult for you to get help or quit, are not to be trusted.

Also remember to verify the claims and credentials of the person running the business – what qualifies him/her to provide this service? Who is behind this company? Is it a one man band? Can you trust them? Do the look like they know what they are doing? Sometimes watching 1-2 videos of them on youtube can give you a very clear perspective on whether or not they are the real deal.

Selecting a vendor online is no different than doing your due diligence off line. Luckily, many cloud services are reasonably priced and you are less likely to get locked into a long term contract with a charlatan. However, the exposure (financial, personal and strategic) is much greater than the actual cost of the service, and therefore, you need to be much more vigilant before you hand over your credit card number.

Many different factors have the potential to cause stress in a person’s life. If you take a look around you will see that some people have learned to manage and control their levels of stress much better than others. Even though there is no 1 specific key or “secret” to managing stress, the answer lies in learning to balance of a combination of little things and your physiology.

High levels of stress can lead to various medical conditions, negatively impact your daily routine and impair your ability learn and recall. The hormones which the brain releases in stressful situations are meant for fight or flight situations only – over use of these can actually be detrimental to the health of your brain and body.

Work (whether you own your own business or not) is filled with challenges, obstacles and opportunities that have the potential to cause stress. Knowing how this impacts you physically is the first step leading you to new insights and understandings on how to manage and control your reactions in an empowering way.

Your body language is a powerful indication of your ability to handle stress and problems. When your body encounters a stressful situation, hormones are automatically released into your adrenal glands to counterbalance the cortisol in your brain. Equilibrium is established when these stimulating and tranquilizing forces become equal. When one is greater than the other, you will experience a sense of imbalance, commonly referred to as stress.

In fact, your body goes to great lengths to prevent you from experiencing imbalance or stress. Your sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system essentially battle each other to bring your body back to equilibrium. This fight or flight response to stress also necessitates the shutting down of many of the other key systems in the body – which makes it much more difficult to reason, react and communicate while in this agitated state.

It is next to impossible to eliminate stress completely from your life. Some stress is actually good for us. However, learning how to quickly and reliably relieve stress and become focused will enable you to tackle challenges with a clear head, communicate clearly and navigate tense situations. In fact, the best way to reduce stress quickly and reliably is through managing the sensory input received by the body: through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Each person responds differently to various levels and types of sensory input – the trick is to find out what works best for you.

We all have different preferences, tolerances and needs. For example, certain kinds of music or distinctive smells may relax one person but irritate another. Take the time to discover what works best for you at home, in your car, at the office, or wherever you may encounter stress. Simple deep breathing and relaxation techniques also work wonders and they are free, easy to implement and produce quick results.

Harnessing the power of sensory stress-busting techniques will provide you with a powerful technique for staying calm, collected and in control. You’ll have the assurance to face adversity and challenge in every aspect of your life, knowing that you have the ability to bring your body back into a state of equilibrium and ease.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2646119

For those of you who are in the retail industry, you may have noticed a recent trend to clean up in-store environments – reduce shelf heights, remove dense ends and dump bins, widen aisles etc. – in order to increase comfort and make the shopping experience less stressful for customers.

The big question then becomes “does clean make customers keen? According to Walmart, arguably the largest and most successful retailer in the world, clean stores mean fewer beans (on the bottom line).

As reported in the New York Times, Walmart conducted a massive in-store experiment to improve sight-lines, rationalize the overall number of items offered, remove warehouse-like merchandising in centre aisles, and increase the width of core aisles. According to Walmart’s CEO William S. Simon, “(Customers) loved the experience. They just bought less.”

As a result, Walmart reverted back to its original strategy of offering more products, with tighter aisles, more clutter and lots of bargain bins in the hopes that customers would spend more because of a perception “there were bargains to be had”.

If you do a quick search on the internet, there are dozens of experts who subscribe to the view that a larger selection, more bargain bins, and sales signage equates to “better value”. In essence, the more you look like a market stall, the better it is to generate buzz and sales. They argue that if your merchandise is neatly presented on the walls and in well organized aisles, with no point of sale impulse offers and dense ends full of 2-for-1 specials, customers will tend to think your store is expensive (i.e. overpriced) and they will not buy from you.

And if you think about it, you can probably name a whole list of retailers who subscribe to this “clutter is good for business” philosophy and they seem to be successful. But how can we be sure that clutter makes customers keen? Have we been too quick and prematurely jumped to a conclusion that clean is a traffic and transaction turn-off?
Recent empirical evidence from the science of neurology sheds new light on how we think, and more importantly, how we make decisions. In fact, the decision making part of your brain responds strongly to certain stimuli only.

Did you know that your brain consumes 25% of your body’s energy? As a result, you brain wants to conserve energy so you tend to pay attention and be attracted to things that have sharp contrast, high visual appeal, strong emotional cues and a clear beginning vs. end message.

Now what does this mean for you in the context of your shopping environment?

A chaotic, cluttered store is cumbersome for your brain to navigate – you have to work hard mentally to hunt down and search for bargains. It may create some emotional appeal but it is likely perceived as having low contrast, low visual appeal and no clear beginning vs. end. Shopping in this environment takes time and energy and it also forces your brain to go into “thinking” mode. This is a critical point because thinking is counter-productive to deciding. Thinking takes place in one part of your brain (the neo-cortex), while deciding happens much more quickly (and automatically) in your old or “reptilian” brain.

So what does this research mean for the strategy and conclusions reached by Walmart?

Based on science, the strongest buying cue that you can give your customers is this – if your store (or business) has incredible bargains, people will buy (and even sift through a maze of clutter) because something is in it for them. The “what’s in it for me” (WIFM) principle is one of the strongest influences on the part of your brain that decides.

There is no hard evidence to suggest that clutter makes your customers keen.

Walmart and many others have come to a conclusion based on what they THINK people are doing to reach a buying decision in-store. However, neuroscience has empirical evidence to support the opposite conclusion is more probable. Clutter and chaos create an environment where your customers have to think too hard, which is exhausting for the brain. They will do it if they have to, as long as the perceived bargains and value are very high.

Doesn’t it make more sense to find another way to communicate good value and service without exhausting your customers and causing them to waste their time? Wouldn’t you be more likely to get more sales and word of mouth referrals from your delighted customers?

In the end, Walmart may be correct about the fact people buy more in a certain circumstances but they are wrong about WHY that is. The best way to create more excitement and sales is to make it easier for your customers to decide. You need to show them what’s in it for them, increase the contrast between your solution and your competitors and communicate a strong, clean visual message that compels them to say “YES”.

“I think financials are fun because having money is fun,” said Rhondalynn Korolak, author of Financial Foreplay®, during a recent interview at Kochie’s Business Builders Boot Camp.

Not everyone shares her view. Finances are often left last after marketing, networking, social media, etc.

“I’ve noticed that everyone’s afraid of their financials, or they just hate them,” continued Rhondalynn. So I thought, ‘What I’m going to do here is help people move their business forward. I’ve got to make financials fun. I’ve got to make it easy and practical, and to do that, I’ve just created this concept of sexiness in business and relationships to tell the story”.

Read the full interview at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website