Written by Matthew Heggem

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can make a huge difference in your business. Simply put, KPIs use data to track a key aspect of your organization’s performance. With precise growth objectives and accurate data, a dashboard of KPIs can paint a clear picture of what’s happening in your company and suggest new directions for growth and/or improvement.

Think of a doctor checking the electronic medical record next to a hospital patient’s bed to see at a glance whether they’re getting better or worse. Is the patient progressing as expected? Or is it time for a medication change or another procedure? If you can see and measure a problem, you can act on it, identifying and solving any performance issues.

Written by Suzanne Taylor-King

Sales slumps can do more harm than good for your business and your morale if you do not address them quickly and begin moving forward. The ideas below will help you address your sales slump immediately so you can begin the process of shaking the slump and propelling your business and your profits onward and upward.

The good news is that you do not have to implement all of these ideas at the same time. Go through the list one by one and begin making the changes you feel will offer the best results fastest.

Written By Michael Goldberg

Business Networking Mistakes
Here are my favorite ways to NOT make a connection, NOT develop a relationship, and NOT generate more prospects, more referrals, and more business when networking. 

Make It All About You
Ever meet someone and all they talk about is them? Most people don’t even realize they’re doing it. If this is you, see how you are? Talking about yourself exclusively is not a good way to learn, help others, connect, have fun, and develop meaningful relationships. In fact, most people will just avoid you! One less thing to worry about. 

Written by Machen MacDonald

Stop wasting time and energy trying to figure out what to do to grow your business.

Successful professionals and business owners have a proven daily routine you can borrow.

Written by John Rod

Recreating a brand for your company – The challenges are often frustrating and time-consuming.  How can you ensure you create a recognizable brand with lasting impact?

by Garrett Grega

As your team progresses through its own performance curve, you notice that some people are reaching for that next stage in career development. Are you prepared for what happens in the next stage? For that matter, do you recognize the career stage that you represent as a leader? How can you continue to develop people that are “rapid risers” in the organization?

Last time we discussed The “Four Stages Model” by Gene Dalton and Paul Thompson. You will recall that the model describes four different stages of career development: Dependent Contributor, Independent Contributor, Coach / Mentor, and Visionary. The 2 stages we will address today are Stage 3, Coach / Mentor, and Stage 4, Visionary.

Written by:  Alan Goldberg

Most of us are happiest operating within our “comfort zone” -- where everything is routine, familiar & safe. Inside our comfort zone, though, we rarely unlock our fullest potential. We often stay at a job or in a relationship, longer than we should -- because of its familiarity. There's comfort in security. The unknown can seem daunting.

Entrepreneurship is treacherous ground. You may face great risks, from the inception of a company through its growth stage, and even as you stabilize and gain momentum. If you’re going to be successful as a business owner, you need to be prepared for risk and address your fears proactively.

While each entrepreneur and each business is unique, there are five common fears almost every entrepreneur will need to face before starting a business:

Money
A business costs a lot of money to start and run. Capital is one of the biggest concerns most entrepreneurs have, and with good reason. Funding usually comes directly from an entrepreneur's savings or the pockets of independent investors. If you can't secure a reliable revenue stream by the time that initial startup capital runs out, the business -- and all that money -- is in jeopardy of being lost for good. Disappointing investors is one thing but losing your life savings is another!

Skills
Running a business takes specific talents and skills. Whether you're worried that you aren't good enough as an entrepreneur or that your product isn't good enough to be competitive, these fears can be debilitating.

Remember a simple concept that applies to all businesses launching with a minimum viable product. Your product doesn't have to be perfect when it first launches, nor does it have to be the best. It just has to be acceptable. From there, you'll have plenty of room to make improvements over time. No product ever starts out perfect. As an entrepreneur, you too can be a minimum viable product. You don't have to make all the right decisions, and you don't need to be a perfect leader. You just have to be passable until you have the time and experience to improve yourself.

Stress
The entrepreneurial life isn't chosen because it's easy. It's chosen because it's a challenge with many rewards along the way. If you're getting into entrepreneurship because it seems like an easy way to get rich quickly, someone has lied to you.

Entrepreneurship is riddled with obstacles, stress, and hard work. But, the flip side of entrepreneurship is control. Yes, you will inevitably feel overwhelmed at times, but it's all completely within your power to change.

Knowledge
You don't know what you don't know. The unknown is indescribable and impossible to prepare for. When you first get started with a business plan, a bit of money, and maybe a partner or a mentor by your side, you'll have no idea what to expect in your first year. For many, it's a thrilling thought, but it's also terrifying.

Entrepreneurship isn't a job. It becomes a lifestyle. You're choosing to be in this role because you're a risk-taker, you're passionate, you work hard and you believe in your idea.

Failure
The fear of failure gets the better of all of us occasionally. There are small failures -- such as a botched email-marketing campaign or a major bug you discover post-launch, and massive failures -- such as your company's going under. Failure will set you back no matter what. But, you can't let the fear of failure stop you from making a decision. Failure is only the end of the road if you let it be. Otherwise, it's just a temporary stopping point in a long path to a final destination. More important, failures are learning opportunities. Every failure you experience yields a lesson you can incorporate into your business or your life.

The above is more than enough to conquer any obstacle that gets in your way -- even the unknown ones. So put those fears to rest and believe in yourself. Risks shouldn't steer you away from pursuing entrepreneurship. Instead, see them for what they are: necessary obstacles on a greater path. There's no way to avoid the risks you'll face as an entrepreneur, but by recognizing them, you can prepare and mitigate them.

Written by Garrett Grega

You are supervising a new team.  How can you assess your team’s ability to succeed?  What do you need to do to achieve a high-performance team?  Over 15 years ago, I was introduced to the “Four Stages Model” of career development.  While simple in construct, the “Four Stages Model” provides a powerful tool in assessing not only your personal development but the development of your team.

The “Four Stages Model” is based on the research of Harvard Professors, Gene Dalton, and Paul Thompson.  The model describes four different stages of career development:  Dependent Contributor, Independent Contributor, Coach / Mentor, and Visionary.

Written by MerriLyn Gibbs

In our current work-from-home climate, the use of LinkedIn has become more and more important. It is a means of connecting, nurturing relationships, and promoting business and career development. Still, there also seems to be a lot of confusion on how to use it properly and what to actually "DO" with the platform.

Written by Machen MacDonald

2020 into 2021 is anybody’s guess. As business owners and as citizens, the quality of our lives is in direct proportion to our ability to handle uncertainty. We can’t control situations and circumstance we find ourselves in. However, we always have the power to choose the brightest perspective.

We have a unique opportunity to build our mental and emotional strength by frequenting the G.Y.M (Guide Your Mind) each day. Philosopher Marcus Aurelius stated, “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” In this case the G.Y.M. can also mean - Guard Your Mind. Once a thought, concept, or vision, get’s in, it can be hard to get it out. Be the ultimate guardian of what you let in.

Written by Marc Roberts

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review highlighted the continuing shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as other medical supplies.  Nine months into the Pandemic, and it is hard to believe that shortages of PPE and other critical healthcare supplies remain in short supply.

Why is this important to your business?  With the climbing COVID case numbers and the coming cold weather, there could be more extreme shortages of supplies.  The Center for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health have expressed deep concern that the combination of the flu season and increased indoor time will create significant issues for the United States with rising levels of illness.

Written by Michael Goldberg

It’s easy to forget that the impression you leave matters. Especially when you’re taking meetings from your backyard, dining room table, and even when walking the dog.

These virtual meeting scenarios would never take place if you were in the office or actually working with a client pre-COVID. At least in most cases.

Written by Michael Goldberg

...to network. To make connections. To meet important people. Say important things. Learn important stuff. Make important friends. And to find out about better places to go, more targeted people to meet, and more insightful things to say.

With me?

Written by Michael Goldberg

You need them. And good ones too!

When you’re participating in (not just attending) networking events, cocktail parties, chamber mixers, golf outings, association meetings, alumni events, service clubs – are you asking the right questions? Are you asking any questions? How are you getting your message to your network and into your marketplace? Are you? Do you know how to start a conversation (with a stranger that is)? Maintain a valuable conversation (beyond talking about the weather and other idle small talk chit chat)? End or transition out of a conversation – for good reasons and bad? And do you know what to say when someone is interested enough to ask you about what you do?

Written by Michael Goldberg

Why? So you know how to spend your marketing time! Having a target market helps you determine what to learn, what to read, what to write, where to go, what to say, who to meet, and how to refer you. How’s that for a value prop? Bottom line – having a target marketplace makes you much more focused (advisors are notoriously not) and much more referable.

You might think, “Isn’t everyone my target market?” Everyone needs what you offer in terms of protection plans, asset management, and retirement strategies, right? Well, not really because everybody’s situation is different. Besides, you can’t market to everyone! In fact, if you’re looking to meet everyone, anyone, someone – the result is very often no one. Or a long time before no one becomes someone. Still with me? In other words, if everyone is your target market then no one is your target market. And no one equates to no business.