“Just so we’re clear, I don’t like surprises,” my new client mentioned, eyeing me a bit too critically for my liking. “If you can handle that, then we’re fine.”

The client was referring to the scope and cost of a project we were going to schedule for next week. I assured him that there would be no surprises – and there weren’t. Like you and I, our clients want things to be predictable (at least in our business relationships – not so much for personal relationships, at least not all the time).

It’s a myth that small businesses are flakier than big businesses. Large corporations have been known to screw up big (Perhaps you’ve heard of BP’s travails in the Gulf of Mexico?). Still, there may be an element of truth to this myth. When you’re dealing with a sole proprietership and the sole proprieter is a scatterbrain, there’s no easy way around that.

Assuming that you as an entrepreneur are not a scatterbrain, you build predictability into your business with processes. Certain processes are critical to have to assure your customer that you’re organized and professional. You can show you have these processes in place by:

1. Responding quickly to queries.

2. Providing reliable quotes and pricing information.

3. Being punctual for meetings (in-person or virtual) and sending reminders to them when applicable.

4. Being able to refer to emails and other records quickly.

5. Recording a custom voice message for when you are sick or on vacation.

6. Seamlessly referring the client to a member of your organization when they need assistance.

7. Delivering your services as promised

… and one of the most important signs:

8. Billing accurately and on time.

When you can do these things quickly and effortlessly, your customers understand that you’ve already got good systems in place – at least as good as the big corporations have, anyway. And that’s another reason to stick with you.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

This month’s She-Team theme has been about channeling your passion for business. But this theme is also connected with other topics we’ve covered in past months. I mean, passion is so important to running a business that you can’t avoid talking about it!

Looking back over She-Team articles from the past year, I’ve picked out some of my favorites that tie into this theme:

Shake It or Go Down. Fiona Walsh looks at channeling your negative passion (ie. Frustration) into a positive business outcome.

Find Your Inspiration. Liz Gaige stresses the importance of loving what you do.

I’m Feeling a Pitter Patter in My Heart. Chris Flett talks about falling back in love with doing business development.

Scheduled Profitability. A few of my own suggestions for scheduling your business tasks to handle them while you’ve still got the energy.

Which posts were your favorite ones about channeling your passion for business (from this month or before)? Leave a comment and let us know.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

With all of the effort we put into our businesses, we sometimes lose sight of the ultimate goal. That’s not the case for Shannon Bahrke, an American Olympic freestyle skiing athlete heading to Vancouver, who has channeled her passions for business and sports to get her to her goal.

Shannon’s story really inspired me. As with many of our Canadian athletes, getting funding for equipment and attendance at competitions is not easy. But for Shannon, missing out on her Olympic dream was not an option. So she started a business:

“She started the Silver Bean Coffee company, which has six blends, including her signature D-Spin blend. The 2002 silver medalist employs other skiers in Salt Lake City and donates a portion of her revenue to athletes on the U.S. team.

“It’s not yet turning a profit but I’ve been able to pay for travel to World Cups, two training camps and massage therapy,” she said. “People may define you by the medals you win but I’ve always wanted my own business. This is the other side of me.”

As a result of her entrepreneurial spirit, she’ll have the opportunity to compete for gold. The lesson for the rest of us? Owning a business doesn’t just offer the chance of padding your bank account. You can use your revenue to chase down your dreams.

Do you know of any Canadian Olympic athletes who have funded their way to their Olympic dream? I’d love to read more stories like this. Leave a comment.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

When we think about networking with cards, we usually think about business cards. But those cards with little messages we send out at holiday time can be very effective as well at reminding your customers that you’re around.

Hand-written cards, possibly with a custom photo rather than a generic image, send a few messages. First, you are worth my time and effort and I value our relationship. Also, you are not just a client; you’re a friend, maybe even like family. 

Another great side-benefit is that these kinds of messages will not only be read by the recipient. Cards often go up on mantels and other display areas. Anyone who drops by, say for a holiday party, may just pass by and see your card.

Creativity and a personal touch get noticed. A colleague of mine once received a set of postcards from their business partners that included a series of striking images of a flock of birds, starfish on a beach, a pile of colorful leaves in the fall and so on. After a few moments, you realized that all of these things – the birds, the starfish, the leaves – had been subtly edited to spell the recipient’s name (I believe it was a Vancouver-based company that produced these cards. Anyone know which company this was? I’d love to order some!).

One nice thing about this time of the year for procrastinators: if you do miss the cutoff for sending out cards for the holidays, you can still use the occasion of New Year’s Day. Even up to the second week of January is still perfectly fine for getting out “holiday season” cards.

Mid-to-late January is a bit late for this, but by then, you can always start thinking about Valentine’s Day to show your customers some love.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Almost every successful business depends on cultivating relationships with its champions. These are the clients who come back to you again and again, pass on referrals to your contacts and help add to the value of your brand. (Sometimes, your champions not even customers of yours – maybe it’s a family member or someone who just knows you from a past relationship. For whatever reason, they just keep referring plenty of business your way).

I often talk about the 80/20 rule when it comes to organizing your tasks to focus more on the things you do that generate true value. But business isn’t just about work – it’s about people, and your champions are the people you need to make your business work. That 80/20 rule also applies for focusing efforts on building real relationships.

Now, some champions will even get better over time. Some will lose their champion status for a variety of reasons: their own business is facing cutbacks which get passed on to you. Perhaps they simply don’t require your services after several engagements, and may be in touch at some point in the future, but not the short-term.

So you’ll want to build relationships with your champions. Especially with companies that have been around for a while, this can be a bit tricky; you may actually have dozens of champions. Who has time? 

Actually, it’s not so tough, as long as you’ve got a working calendar. Schedule a meeting over coffee or another informal setting at least once or twice a week with a different champion each time. Try to make it at a regular time of day so it’s easy to remember when you’re meeting, even without checking your schedule. By the time the year is through, you’ll have met with your complete list at least once (hopefully more than that). You’ll probably have a better understanding of who your biggest champions really are, who has moved on and who might be a future champion in your roster.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca

Are you making collaboration happen for your company, or are you hindering it? Fostering collaboration requires a bit of forward thinking and organization to make it seamless. A few things you can do:

1. Synchronize your calendars. A lot of office software allows you to view your colleagues’ calendars from your desktop. If you don’t have that option, wall calendars and bulletin boards can work well even for a big office. Flag special events and opportunities for your colleagues to work together.

2. Schedule regular meetings to get updates on progress, brainstorm and work together on specific projects.

3. Encourage water-cooler chats. A simple coffee and water station can be a focal point for some informal chats and collaborative efforts.

4. Collect emails and send out a daily or weekly memo with a quick update from everyone about what they’re up to. This simple habit will help everyone keep up to date.

5. Get to know each other outside of a work setting. Whether this means organizing a company softball team, grabbing a slice of pizza at the corner or a round of mini-golf, seeing each other in a less formal setting can help reinforce relationships and even inspire some out-of-the box thinking that will help when you get back to the office.

Linda Chu
CEO – Out of Chaos, Professional Organizing Solutions
www.outofchaos.ca