The Business Success and
Survival Toolkit
How to Get Control of Your Business and Take Back Your Life!

Why Is It So Difficult to
Get Anything Done?
 Too Much to Do
 Not Enough Time
 Inadequate Resources
 Distractions & Interruptions
 Lack of Focus

Success Is a Moving Target

Success Is a Moving Target

Success Is a Moving Target

The Power of Association
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
- Jim Rohn

Surround Yourself With
 Role Models in Your Profession
 Successful People
 Positive People
 People Willing to Try New Things

Mastermind Communities
 In-Person Groups
 Virtual Groups
 Membership Sites
 Personal Board of Directors

Business Reinvention
 Businesses Are Dynamic


What Is Your Core Business?
Reinvent But Don’t Lose Perspective

Reinvention Traps


Beware of Bright Shiny Objects
Just Because You Can Do Something…
 Monkey See, Monkey Do
 Consider the Source

Reinvention Traps
“You get into real trouble when you start believing your own propaganda.”
- Bob Wohlford

Business Survival Strategy #1:
Create an Empowered Environment

If It’s Not a Core Competency…
 Eliminate
 Automate
 Outsource

Why We Can’t Get It All Done
 Not Valuing Time Properly
 Tolerating Interruptions
 Being Too Accessible
 Not Focusing on Core Competencies


Too Much Mental & Physical Clutter
Focusing on “Soft” Goals

What’s Your Time Worth?
How Much You Want to Earn
/ Number of Work Days in a Year
/ Number of Productive Hours In a Day
= Your Hourly Rate

What’s Your Time Worth?
Target Earnings:
# Work Days:
# Productive Hours:
Your Hourly Rate:
Every 5 Minutes:
$200,000
240
4
$208.33
$17.36

Train People on How to Interact
 No Such Thing As a Minute
 Taxi Meter


E-Mail Once or Twice a Day...or Never!
“Quiet Time”
 No Unscheduled Incoming Calls

Schedule Calls with vCita

Your Best Return on Investment



Don’t Spend $200 on a $25 Job
Get Rid of “Busy Work”
Leverage vs. “Manual Labor”
 Hire Specialists

Organize and Prioritize


Do Something Every Day That Helps
Grow the Business
Find Your “Sweet Spot”
 Create a Productive Work Environment

2 Keys to Success
1.
2.
“Good Enough” is Good Enough
“Done” is Better Than “Perfect

Script Your Day
 Eliminate Distractions
 Leave Nothing to Chance




Know What You Want to Accomplish
Appointments vs. “To-Do” Lists
Divide Tasks Into “Binary Elements”
When Time is Up…It’s Done!
 Take Breaks

Give Yourself a Break!
 Within the Day
 90 On, 15 Off
 Throughout the Year


Big Vacations
Mini Vacations
 In Your Life

Teachers’ Sabbaticals

Exercise
What can you do to create an empowering, productive, and energized work environment?

Business Survival Strategy #2:
Embrace the Current Reality

Predictive
Barometer
Knee Injury
SAT Scores
Patterns
Causal
Studying
Floods
Allergies
Unexplainable
Woodpeckers
Pineapples

Patterns
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Recognize Existing Patterns
Break Patterns That Are Unproductive
Be Unpredictable and Open to New Ideas
Anticipate Patterns That Might Affect You
Understand How Patterns Affect Behavior

Fibonacci Sequence
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13

Natural
Seasons
Life and Death
Cycles
Manufactured
Diets
Fashion
Management
Imposed
Traffic Lights
Elections
Taxes

Cycles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Recognize Natural Cycles
Create Manufactured Cycles
Implement Cycles That Improve Productivity
Recognize Cycles Outside the Organization
Understand How Cycles Affect Your Position

Audio Technology








Wax Cylinders
78 RPM Records
45 RPM Records
LP Records
8-Track Tapes
Cassette Tapes
CDs
MP3 / iPod

Video Technology



VHS
DVD
Blu-Ray
 HVD

Video Distribution
 Blockbuster
 NetFlix
 Big Red Box
 Hulu

Communications
 Letters
 Phone Calls
 Fax
 E-Mail
 Texting

Advertising
 Newspapers & Magazines
 Banner Ads
 SEO & PPC

Advertising
 TV Commercials
 DVR/Tivo
 Product Placement
 Ads on Replay Sites

Exercise
What patterns and cycles are affecting your business and how can you utilize this knowledge to get tangible results?

Business Survival Strategy #3:
Shout It From the Mountaintop!

The Four Ms of Marketing
1.
2.
3.
4.
Message
Market
Media
Moment

Marketing Strategy #1:
Focus on Benefits Instead of Features

Marketing Strategy #2:
Look for Examples Outside
Your Own Industry

Marketing Strategy #3:
Walk to the Edge of the Abyss

Blue Marker – Yellow Marker
Highlight in BLUE If It’s About…
 You


Your Business
Your Products or Services



Your Staff
Your Location
How Long You’ve Been Around

Blue Marker – Yellow Marker
Highlight in YELLOW If It’s About…
 Your Customers




Their Business
How It’s Going to Help Them Make Money
Keeping Them Out of Jail
The Experience of Working With You

Blue Marker – Yellow Marker
Bottom Line:
If You Turn BLUE to YELLOW
Then YELLOW Turns to…
$$$ GREEN $$$

12 Components of an
Compelling Message
5.
6.
7.
3.
4.
1.
2.
Specific Purpose
Killer Headline
Clear Statement of Value
Compelling Story
Irresistible Offer
Overcoming Objections
Testimonials
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Better Than Risk-Free
Guarantee
Definite & Urgent Call to
Action
Multiple Ways to Respond
Bonuses
A “P.S.” Restating The Offer

Timing Is Everything
Who Died on June 25, 2009?
Michael Jackson
Farrah Fawcett

Timing Is Everything
Who Died on June 28, 2009?
Billy Mays
Oxy-Clean
ShamWow
Jupiter Jack
Grater Plater
Fix It! Pro
Awesome Auger
Quick Chop
Mighty Putty

Exercise
What are the key benefits you offer and how can you position them effectively for maximum response?

Business Survival Strategy #6:
Build a Foundation for Success

Stuck in the Mud?

Eliminate…
 Unnecessary Tasks
 Unproductive Tasks
 Unprofitable Tasks

How to Get Real Traction:
 Standardization
 Documentation
 Automation
 Staffing

Why Have a Process?
 Consistent Delivery of Products/Services
 Facilitates Training of New Employees
 Makes It Easy for Backup Coverage
 Easier to Fix Process Gaps

What Functions Need Processes?
 Management
 Sales
 Marketing
 Customer Service
 Operations
 Support

How To Manage a Process

Automation
You Can’t Automate a
Process That Doesn’t Exist!

Why Automate Your Processes?
Computers Don't...
 Call In Sick
 Have Childcare Issues
 Have Personal Problems
 Take Vacation
 Draw a Salary

Why Automate Your Processes?
In All Fairness, Computers Do...
 Crash


Get Viruses
Act “Temperamental”
 Behave Unpredictably

What You Should Look For?
 Multi-Step, Multi Media Campaigns
 Consistent Follow-Up


Niched Marketing Campaigns
“Set It and Forget It”
 Integrates with Internet Marketing Tools

Consider Outsourcing
 Non-Mission-Critical Tasks
 What You Could Do While Watching TV
 Not Related to Customer Satisfaction

Where to Outsource
 Elance
 99 Designs
 oDesk

Elance

Elance

Elance

Elance

Elance

99Designs

oDesk

oDesk

Staffing for Success
95% of People Surveyed Think
They’re Smarter Than Average
Think About How Smart the Average
Person Is…
Then Realize That Half the Population
Isn’t Even That Smart!

Standard Staffing Sequence
1.
Post a Job
2.
Review Hundreds of Resumes
3.
Phone-Screen Candidates
4.
First & Second Interviews
5.
Background Check
6.
Extend Offer

Staffing for Success
If you’re interested in this position,
DO NOT reply to the e-mail listed in this posting.

Staffing for Success

Staffing for Success

Staffing for Success

Staffing for Success

Staffing for Success
To submit an application, please click here…

Staffing for Success

Staffing for Success

Application Questions




Why is this position of interest to you?
What applicable experience and education are you bringing to the table?
Tell us your strategies for effectively handling aggressive deadlines on multiple projects.
Out of all the applications coming in, why would we want to hire you?

Staffing for Success
Because we place a high value on quality work, as do our customers, submissions containing spelling errors and typos will not be considered.
We’re very serious about this please look over your responses carefully before submitting them.

Actual Applicant Responses
Describe a time when you had to learn something new on your own and how you accomplished this.
 When I had to learn something new on my own what I did was see what is was that I needed to learn finetone myself in an area were I can become more focus on what it was for me to learn and master it and that is how and learn the task.

Actual Applicant Responses
Tell us your strategies for effectively handling aggressive deadlines on multiple projects.


Time sensitive assignments are to be diligently to me .
Time management and the ability to work own my own was a must. Excuses where not an option.
 Most importantly is to stay focus and organized.
Its best to remember you are to complete a job or task.And also to have everything needed to complete such projects to lessen unnesscay interruptions

Actual Applicant Responses
Out of all the applications coming in, why would we want to hire you?
 I am maticulous in everything I do.


I am looking for a stabled job where I can build a career
Although I did not finish my degree, I studied as an Englist major, so my proofreading and editing skills are top notch.

Admin Posting Results
 459 Clicked Link for More Info
 85 Clicked Link to Survey (18.5%)
 55 Completed Survey (64.7%)
 5 Selected for Interviews (9.1%)
 4 Showed Up (80%)
 1 Offer

Exercise
How will you manage your available resources to build a platform for continued success?

Business Survival Strategy #5:
Take Action!

Chinese Proverb:
A hungry man can sit on his front porch for a long time waiting for a roast duck to fly into his mouth.