April « 2010 « Lorin Beller Blake

Taking Care of Business

April 27, 2010

Filed under: Order, success — Tags: Big Fish Nation, eMyth, eMyth Revisited, Michael Gerber, powerful women, successful women, women business owners — Lorin Beller Blake @ 7:10 am

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As April winds down, I’m wondering what are your plans for taking care of your business?

We women often talk about taking care of ourselves and then as business owners, taking care of our clients, customers, and employees.

We are very good about making sure all the outward-facing parts of our business are running smoothly, but are we paying enough attention to the “inside parts” of our businesses?

During a recent Big Fish Mastery conference call meeting, one of the Big Fish declared a BOLD ACTION of taking care of her business. Her business involves helping others run their businesses smoothly, yet she was putting so much time into her clients and their businesses that she wasn’t taking the time to make things easier for her own business! I think we can all identify with that situation.

So how can we make sure to give our own business enough care?

As soon as we begin viewing our own business as an entity that needs to be taken care of, we start setting aside time for our own business planning – which is the key to ongoing growth and ultimately the success of our business!

Taking care of our business also means taking time to find and implement organizational and functional efficiencies. If our internal operations are all knotted up, eventually it will show to our clients – through disgruntled or dissatisfied employees, or gaps in customer service, etc.

However, if we have taken care of our business and operations are running smoothly, that is what the clients will see and benefit from.

I love this example from Michael Gerber’s book, The EMyth Revisited:

A business that looks orderly…

…says to your customer that your people know what they’re doing.

…says to your people that you know what you’re doing.

…says that while the world may not work, some things can.

…says to your customer that s/he can trust in the result delivered and assures your people that they can trust in their future with you…

When you care for your business (or not!), it shows.

So, back to my original question: what are your plans for taking care of your business?

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Big Fish eStory: Emily Knudson

April 20, 2010

Filed under: Big Fish eStory, Thought Leader, Women Leadership, success, vision — Lorin Beller Blake @ 10:22 am

It is time to feature another amazing women business leader….

Emily Knudson
Owner of: Empowered Fitness
Big Fish Case Study

What Kind of Business: Personal Training Studio located near Charlotte, NC

Before Big Fish, I was a business owner that was an expert in fitness but felt I was not the best, most savvy, business woman. I was all about my work. I have a family but I was not spending quality time with them. My work phone was forwarded to my cell phone after work every night and I took the calls each time the phone rang. I was ready for help and direction in my life and business. I was ready for a whole new level of income and lifestyle.

What is different about me as a leader because of being a Big Fish during the past year:
1. Core Corporate Values made a huge difference in how we assess and hire staff.
2. Developing written protocols and documentation for staff and functioning of the studio allowed the business to function better without me allowing me to now own a more sustainable business.
3. The goal wheel has helped me have higher functioning intentions. I go about things in a much more intentional manner making life easier and more fun.
4. I feel much more balanced and connected to family not because I am at the studio less really but more because I know my values, know my priorities and have a clear vision of what I am creating both as a mom, wife and a business owner.
5. As a leader, I spread my leadership skills out into the community this past year (via NAWBO and a local Business Advocacy Group of which I started). I also have inspired my staff to step into a bigger leadership role at the studio which has them take more responsibility. I am definitely a much more confident leader in every aspect of my life.
6. We assessed and added many more profitable services and cut out unprofitable services.
7. I have expanded and integrated as a woman, a person, and a business owner. I love the fact that Big Fish Nation is a goal oriented program. I thrive in that setting.

Bottom-line Impact:

• In 2009 compared with 2008, we grew the business 555.8% in net income!
• 2010 first quarter compared to 2009 first quarter, we increased our net income 32.1% and 42.9% better in gross profit margin also
• Last year we served a max of 32 clients at any one time, this year current clients served thus far is 54 and it is only April!

If you would like to speak with me, Emily Knudson, about the Big Fish Program, you can reach me at: emily@empoweredfitness.net or 980.621.2060 or check us out at: www.empoweredfitness.net

Don’t you just love great stories about real women that inspire?

I do! Make it a terrific day.

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Spring Cleaning Your Goals

April 13, 2010

Filed under: goals, success, vision — Tags: Big Fish Nation, Earl Nightingale, goals, powerful women, self-renewal, spring, successful women, women business owners — Lorin Beller Blake @ 7:06 am

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For many of us, spring is a time of high energy and excitement. Longer daylight and beautiful weather keeps us going for more hours, and we quickly fill our days with tasks and activities.

Our work lives tend to follow a similar pattern. Our To Do lists grow, and we multi-task even more until we start to wonder how long we can keep up this high energy.

This is a time when our goals are even more important than ever. Our goals help us focus our energy on our priorities at those times when we are tempted to try to pay attention to everything at once.

Big Fish Goals Wheel

Spring energy and the end of first quarter make now a perfect time to check in with your goals (you did set them in January, right? See recent blog posts re: goal-setting).

Take a few minutes right now with your written 2010 goals, asking the following questions for each goal:

Am I still excited about this goal?

Does this goal motivate me to action?

Does this goal still fit with my current vision? (see recent blog posts re: vision)

If your answer to any of those questions is “no” or “I’m not sure,” consider revising the goal. And if you aren’t able to come up with a revision that makes the goal exciting and motivational to you, consider simply removing that goal. As our lives and businesses change, it’s important that we also allow our goals to change.

As Earl Nightingale, motivational writer, says, “The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”

Goals are not supposed to be something we struggle through just so we can check them off our To Do lists. Goals are intended to invigorate us in ways that move us and our businesses forward by taking BOLD ACTIONS and creating HUGE SUCCESS.

Today is the perfect day for some “spring goal cleaning” — why wait??

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Spring Change

April 6, 2010

Filed under: #BigFishIntention, Power of Intention — Tags: Big Fish Nation, change, Intention, Intentions, Power of Intention, powerful women, renewal, self-renewal, spring, ways of being — Starla J King @ 8:06 am

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[text and photos by Starla J. King, Big Fish 2009-10]

Growing and changing. Those words often follow each other around. Growing means changing. Changing means growing. A beautiful circular “chicken or the egg” scenario!

Last week, when Lorin encouraged us to use spring as a time for our own growth (see Spring Growth post), I thought “piece of cake!”    See, my partner and I own a landscaping company (Signature Gardenscapes), so we’re literally surrounded by nature’s spring growth every day.

Turns out watching something (or someone) else’s growth and the resulting changes is a lot easier than stepping into my own changes.

For 3 years, I’ve been the landscaping field boss and full-time laborer. I coordinated all logistics (scheduling, plant/material purchases, client communications) for all jobs, and was on-site manager for our landscaping technicians (aka amazing women landscapers!). I decided when to start jobs, order of tasks and all sorts of rules and regulations. The Gospel According to Starla.

This Spring, however, my partner has joined me fulltime in managing our business. Big Change. Bold Change.

Uh oh.

Actually, for the most part it’s been fantastic having another manager, someone to share the workload and emotional load. A workmate and buddy to energize me and celebrate each day’s shared accomplishments.

And another manager to challenge me.

After 3 years, I have a pretty good idea of what works well, how things “need” to be. I have my pre-work routine (DBR – Daily Business Ritual) all figured out. I know each client’s and each garden’s particularities. I know how to unload and reload the truck so everything is secure and easily ready for the next job. I know pretty much everything, and I get cranky when things aren’t done the way I’m used to doing them.

Wait, re-read that part again: “I know pretty much everything.” Ugh. That’s not a boss I want to work with. That’s not someone I want to be in collaboration with. And it’s most certainly not someone I want to be!

I’ve realized this week that as our company steps into its Spring growth and feels those changes, I too need to change. I need to allow room for another manager, for other ways of doing things that are every bit as “right” as my usual techniques.   I need to, quite frankly, chill out!

So… in the interest of change, I’m going to try something different and set an intention (see recent blog post) for the rest of this month. This month, I will focus on allowing our company the room it needs to grow, and will accommodate its needs as lovingly as I do the needs of each plant we care for.

This month, I embrace the example of Spring and step boldly and enthusiastically into the middle of the growth/change/growth cycle.   Who wants to join me???

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