The Necessary Slow Burn of Business Growth

Consider this. Each spring it’s common practice to burn the tall grasses of the prairie. The reasons for this man made fire are those to benefit the prairie and it’s natural habitat – to remove old growth, put nutrients back into the soil and promote new growth and abundance. The prairie needs this fire to exist. As reckless and destructive as this once seemed to me as a child, I’ve come to understand and appreciate the prairie’s need for this slow, controlled burn. But now as an adult, reexamining this yearly ritual made me question another aspect of these prairie fires.

Why not just use gasoline, light a quick blaze and take care of the whole field at once? Why does it need to be a slow and smoldering fire – a process that seems to be so needlessly drawn out?

The answer to this question is actually quite strategic and far from needless. The slow, controlled burn of these tall prairie grasses is necessary for achieving all the ecological benefits that it does. Gasoline would absolutely ruin the soil and prevent these tall grasses from ever growing again. And a large wildfire would wreak havoc on other parts of the ecosystem (not to mention holds the potential to easily burn out of control). So why am I choosing to tell you so much about these prairie fires? It’s because I see an important lesson on life and business building within these flames – a lesson that speaks to both patience and strategy.

Letting it burn (slowly)

For anyone who has ever attempted to build a business, the process of growth is unpredictable and unstable at best. We want to believe, that like any model growth chart illustrates, our business will grow with dramatic spikes until we blast off the chart. But this is neither common nor sustainable for 99% of businesses out there. Instead, like a prairie fire, the healthiest and most lasting business growth is a steady smoldering that inches onward day by day. I define this as healthy growth because it’s growth that blazes a new trail while giving us enough time to stay right in tow. We control it; it does not control us. This is also the type of growth that strengthens a business as oppose to a wildfire which could burn it all down. Most importantly and much like the prairie fires, this slow, controlled burn weeds out the old while laying the rich foundation for future growth. It’s a change that moves at the pace of evolution, and it should be our goal to evolve patiently and strategically as such.

Avoiding the temptation to rush

With technology at our fingertips and our society of ever-connectedness, our accessibility to “gasoline” is endless. This causes a great temptation to rush the process of the slow burn just because we have the means to do so. But as ecologists have proven and stressed, this quick and fast method is not always beneficial, and sometimes harmful, depending upon what you’re trying to achieve. For the slow burn of business growth, you’re trying to achieve much more than a burnt and barren field. You want to preserve the ground and burn only what is necessary. Gasoline won’t allow you to do this. We have to avoid the temptation and let things progress on their own. Instead, we often want to ignite the fire with things like an overkill of paid advertising (this is often a waste of precious capital in the beginning) or gimmicky deals (this often pulls in the wrong client base). Such “shoot-from-the-hip” strategies may produce big flames for display, but at some point these flames will cause destruction or someone will get burned. As I’ve mentioned before, such growth is neither sustainable nor beneficial in the long run.

In life or in business, have you ever personally experienced the temptation to rush a critical process? Maybe this is a process of growth, a process of healing or a process of change. While it’s tempting to want to overcome these uncomfortable and even painful moments in life quickly, rushing the process can prevent us from receiving all of the benefits they’re meant to bring. Learn to appreciate the slow fires we have lit and know that they are with the purpose and intent to make us stronger and more abundant.

 

Fear or Inspiration: The Two Motivators That Makes Us Move

We see it in the news, read it in a magazine or hear it within our networks almost every day. There’s some new start-up that’s growing exponentially and breaking all kinds of projections. They’re on the fast track to becoming the “next big thing.” It’s enough to make any small business owner or entrepreneur want to throw the old adage of “slow and steady wins the race” out the window.  Who wouldn’t want their business to skyrocket to Facebook-like fame? From my own experiences and observations, I’ve found that for any business that’s progressing and expanding at warp speed, there is most commonly one of two causes for this type of growth. The differences between these causes are paramount to the ultimate success – or implosion – of the business.

Most simply defined, the two motivators for momentum are fear and inspiration. For most businesses, it’s easy to pick out which they’re experiencing. The difference can be seen in whether their actions to accommodate this growth are proactive or reactive. Not all speeds of growth are beneficial if it comes at the risk of ruining your business or losing your sanity.  The ultimate goal for any business experiencing a period of growth should be to run like you’re crossing the finish line, not like you’re being chased.

Running Scared

Especially seen in start-ups, where one good viral marketing campaign can create an insatiable consumer demand almost overnight, the momentum of business growth can make you run like you’re being chased. You’re reactionary. There’s no time to create a sensible growth plan when you’re barely able to keep up with the current demands of the business. You’re not running the business, the business is running you – or after you, rather. Sure it’s momentum and to the outside world it appears that you’re making significant progress, but in reality you’re shooting from the hip with every decision. My political experience has provided me with far too many examples of organizations who function out of fear. Jokingly we called it organized chaos, but this reactionary behavior to everything thrown at us resulted in frequent mistakes and missed opportunities. In retrospect, these situations would have greatly benefited from even just an hour or two of critical planning. This small investment of time in the short term would have given us a more proactive plan to turn to in the long term. For any business or organization that appears to be “running scared,” it’s never too late to pump the breaks and replace this fear with strategy.

Running Toward A Goal

In contrast to the first type of motivator – fear, the motivator of inspiration produces quite a different result within a business. To the outside world movement all appears the same, but inside you can clearly tell a business that functions off of a well thought out growth strategy. Unlike running scared, running toward a goal helps you to make even big decisions with less effort. Your strategy – or finish line – helps you to see the obvious answers. You’re calm, confident and collected because your focus is on anticipating the next step not reacting to the last hurdle. The inspired movers are the business owners who are able to appreciate the growth of their business, not come to curse it. Most importantly, when you have inspiration as your motivator, not fear, you are in complete control of the direction of growth. You’re able to pick and choose the opportunities that best align with your goals. When motivated by fear, you’re more likely to take on every opportunity that comes your way regardless of whether it’s the right fit. I once had someone give me the advice, “Pile as much on your plate as you can. You can always take it off later, but you can’t put it back on.” I was hesitant when I first heard this and have since learned that it’s very bad advice. Be strategic with your opportunities and don’t give into the fear that tells you another one may never come your way – with enough talent and inspiration, they always do!

In thinking about your own business – or even your personal life – which type of growth do you most familiarize yourself with? Are you running scared or are you running toward a goal? There’s no questioning the accuracy of the term “growing pains.” Growth means change and change is often uncomfortable. What’s important to remember is that between the two motivators that make us move – fear and inspiration – one drains us while the other fulfills us.  It’s important to seek out the latter to ensure that even during the most uncomfortable periods of growth that require us to stretch our limits, we have a finish line in sight and a strategy to get there feeling like a champion.

 

D’oh! The 5 Most Common Public Relations Mistakes

Even as a professional in the field, the term “Public Relations” can sometimes feel ambiguous and is easily misused. I often hear phrases like “All you need is some good PR to boost your business” or “Wow, that’s a terrible PR move.” But what does any of this really mean? I suppose like any word, the meaning is all in how you define it and the way I define Public Relations is the way you communicate, interact and serve your customers (aka or your public). So really, I’m in the business of managing and building good customer relationships and there’s a ton of vehicles which can be used to achieve this.

Most usually the businesses I step in and help simply have no public relations focus whatsoever. I like this. It’s a blank slate, people are usually open to trying anything and the things we do try tend to make an immediate impact. But what’s a bit more cumbersome is stepping in and fixing mistakes – especially easily avoidable ones. I always think that it’s so unfortunate that the business simply didn’t know what not to do and have now wound up in a mess because of it. So instead of just thinking, I got to writing. For this blog post I decided it’s about time that I express the 5 most common PR mistakes I see weekly if not daily to hopefully help even just one business owner avoid them. The good news is that for the most part, these mistakes are easy fixes that can be implemented in your own business almost immediately – or simply avoided altogether:

Mistake 1: You have no core values statement

When a customer does business with you, very rarely did they make this decision based solely off of the product or service they’ll receive. It’s a much deeper emotional decision than that – even if they’re not aware of all these factors that ultimately influenced them. As a business you never just sell a tangible item, you sell your values, your level of quality, your years of experience and your expertise along with it. This is what customers are really paying for after all and highlighting these core values is a critical way to helping your business stand out among competitors.

So what’s the best way to clearly and succinctly highlight these values? Have a defined core values statement for your business. This can be as short as a tag line below your logo or as much as a small paragraph on your web site, but it needs to be used. One of the biggest mistakes I see in Public Relations is businesses who overlook the power of creating this type of statement. The majority of customers will never take the time to read your full business biography and compile this for themselves – so do it for them! Make this statement your go-to description when introducing your business to someone. What do you offer beyond your product or service that makes you different? Maybe you’re a 5^th generation family-owned business, maybe you use only locally grown and manufactured products or maybe you donate 10% of proceeds to a charity. This unique statement is what customers will remember and what will resonate with them emotionally. And I’m not sure much else can compete with the powerful role emotions play in decision making.

Mistake 2: You have no distribution of your message

Once you’ve developed your core values statement, this should be a message that you communicate consistently throughout all of your channels. Website content, social media profiles, monthly newsletters, business cards and promotional materials should all include this message somewhere. Sure your customers will become used to seeing this message and when they do they will subconsciously associate it with your business name, logo and brand. Also, by keeping these channels updated and in use, you will build a community and create a platform to distribute future messages – like a special announcement, promotion or opportunity to your customers. Another one of the biggest mistakes I see in PR is not taking the time to create and build your communication channels until you really need them – and by then it’s too late to broadcast your message to everyone you want to.

But more than just distributing your message externally, there is also the internal distribution of your message which is equally important. Your employees can act as ambassadors for your business if you empower them with the right information to do so. Every employee should be able to tell you the core values statement of the business and demonstrate it with their actions every day. If you know what you’re working for and what makes your business special, it makes you want to work harder and better. Also, the internal distribution of your message will help guide you whenever a tough decision must be made. Do you need to raise your prices? Are you considering merging with another business? These both have pros and cons, but the key to which decision is right for your business lies in your core values. With the regular distribution of this message, you and your employees will understand the foundation of the business and these decisions can be made methodically to preserve this foundation. For example: if your core value is to offer the absolute best quality of service, raising your prices might be necessary. But if your core value is to offer the absolute lowest price, a merger might better help you to continue to offer this to your customers. No matter the decision, a well-known core values statement will help guide you toward the right answer.

Mistake 3: You have no crisis plan

Plain and simple – bad stuff happens to even the best businesses, regardless of product, service, size or industry. And when it does, it’s too late to begin outlining your crisis plan. “By the time you hear the thunder, it’s too late to build the ark.” This is why one of the biggest PR mistakes is not having the faintest idea of your crisis plan until the flood waters have raised well over your head. The good news is that this is completely avoidably with just a little effort right now. A crisis plan does not need to be as intensive or consuming as a business strategy or marketing plan (though it could be). This is just a part of your overall Public Relations plan, but if you ask me it’s by far the most important since it could be the plan that saves your business entirely. A crisis plan can be as simple as answering the question, “Who will be my point person in overseeing a crisis?” And the best answer is not always “me.” Think of the other responsibilities that will likely fall on you during the time of a crisis. If it’s due to a break down in internal operations, you’ll need to focus on correcting this right away. You won’t have the time or capacity to deal with social media, customer service calls/emails or the press. Also, are you the best communicator in the business? Just because you have the most insight, doesn’t mean you’re the best person to communicate this insight and make it relatable to your customers. Think of the most professional and responsible communicator you have in your business and have that direct conversation with them about their role in a potential crisis – now.

Another highly confusing, but critical part to your crisis plan is the timing of your communication. There have been disastrous examples of people speaking too soon or not soon enough and both scenarios have the power to produce equally damaging consequences. You want to be the first to speak and tell your story, but this should not be the result of a knee-jerk response. My rule of thumb is to speak as quickly as accurate information is available. There are three components to the initial message you should communicate in response to a crisis. First, admit to the mistake (if it was indeed a mistake in any part related to your business). Second, express how you are working to fix it quickly and fully (are you offering a recall, refund or changing your operations). Third, let your customers know exactly what they can do to avoid feeling any further impact from this error (should they return a product or discontinue use).

By having a solid crisis management plan in place before a crisis strikes, you are in a much better position to recover quicker and stronger than otherwise. The bottom line is that you don’t want customers to remember the crisis; you want them to remember how well you handled it.

Mistake 4: You attempt to erase mistakes

It’s a common analogy for a commonly made PR mistake, “Deleting a comment on social media is like hanging up the phone in the middle of a customer service call.” Social media is a powerful tool that businesses have openly embraced all across the globe, but as soon as a comment turns negative, the first reaction always seems to be to hit delete and make it all go away. The truth is that it won’t go away. Once it’s live out there in cyberspace, you can rest assured that at least one other person has seen it or shared it. Because of this, it will never fully disappear and so deleting this feedback is only going to flame the fire. Whether the negative comment is the result of a crisis or a single unhappy customer, it’s an opportunity to communicate your side of the story and show how much you do appreciate your customers. Much like the crisis communication plan, this is your critical moment to turn a negative into a positive.

Some businesses have even taken this mistake one step beyond just erasing the error or deleting the comment. They have deleted the entire communication channel (for example their Facebook fan page). If a comment goes viral or your business is being bombarded with questions regarding a concern or crisis, the task of managing all of your communication channels may be overwhelming. But it couldn’t be more important to keep it active. Don’t delete any communication channel solely as the result of a negative comment or mistake. Just as you wouldn’t discontinue your customer service call center or shut off your email account, don’t tune out and turn off thousands of customers by shutting off an important means of communication.

Mistake 5: You use too much “fluff”

So often Public Relations is associated with fluff, flack and spin. All these words – in my mind at least – conjure up a negative and even dishonest connotation. It’s certainly acceptable to toot your own horn, but you must keep a level of honesty and believability in your content to prevent the risk of having customers simply tune you out. A big PR mistake I see made in web site content, social media statuses and press releases is the use of too much “fluff” language. This makes the business look and sound like an infomercial, stuffed to the gills with buzzwords and hype. There’s nothing relatable or memorable about this type of content and people tune it out just like they would flip the channel from an annoying commercial. Most distressing is that some people think this is an example of very effective Public Relations strategy. “Hey, doesn’t our business sound awesome? This here says we’re the best at everything so you know it’s true!” Just because you plug a bunch of sugary sweet phrases into your content doesn’t mean your customers will eat it up or even enjoy the taste. Instead, engage your customers through content that is more relatable, more human and maybe even a little bit vulnerable in the right places. Public Relations should tell an interesting, honest story and build meaningful relationships with your customers. Aim to engage your customers with your content, not put them into a sugar coma.

So, which of these 5 common Public Relations mistakes would you say is the most detrimental to a business? Or maybe you have a few other examples that should be included on this list. Be sure and share your comments below so we can all benefit from being aware of these mistakes and make the effort now to avoid them in the future!

 

A Low-Information Diet – The Solution for Overwhelm and Overload?

When I was in college I struggled with the perceived pressure to always be “in the know” with local and national media. As soon as I woke up I would turn my TV to the morning news as I checked emails and got ready for the day. On the way to class I would grab our Daily Collegian and a USA Today and scour the top headlines. During breaks I would sit with my phone and scroll through the feeds from various news apps. For all intents and purposes – I was completely wired. I self-prescribed this high-information diet so that I would never appear oblivious or ignorant to the outside world I was just learning to navigate. I was utterly convinced that absorbing as much media as I could was the only way to ensure I could hold a mature an intelligent conversation in the real world.

The building of this pressure was amplified by my communications professors’ preaching to always stay informed, to subscribe to at least 5 news sources a day and to read, read, read. It made sense. If I was going to excel in the field of communications, I needed to understand how people communicate and join in the conversation! I quickly allotted what little free time and free mental space I had remaining to becoming a media watch dog. Once out of college and in the midst of a hectic political campaign where information overload was the first line of the job description, I still tried to absorb the news from several different sources daily on top of everything else expected of me.  Every day was filled with overwhelm.

Then there came the critical moment in my life, the moment that if mapped out on a timeline would look something like a black hole, that I finally found the volume knob on my information feed and turned it completely off.

As you might imagine this was the time I spent re-evaluating what I really wanted to do with my life, what would make me most happy and what I had to do to get there. This was when I became an entrepreneur. It was during these critical weeks that I simply had no time or concern left for a high-information diet. All I knew was that what I was currently doing was making me miserable and I needed to stop it all in order to pinpoint the cause. So what happened when I stopped checking my phone and email, turned off the TV and closed the newspaper? Absolutely nothing. Nothing blew up, nothing burned down, I wasn’t accused of being ignorant and my career wasn’t the least bit affected. In fact, for the first time in a long time I found myself with some free time and free mental space to dedicate to things I actually cared about. The news feeds in my email no longer existed to serve as another to-do and I wasn’t under the same stress to absorb every piece of information around me and store it for later use.

I didn’t become blissfully ignorant, I became selectively ignorant.

So you might expect that with the start of my own business, I began to work this information back into my daily routine. You might even expect for me to brag about how many news sources I consume in a single day or how my finger is always on the pulse of the universe. This simply isn’t so. I still continue to enjoy a low-information diet to this day and I truly believe the benefits I receive from this are far more important and impactful than what I would receive returning to my old routine. My day begins by immediately getting to client work – not slogging through news headlines that may or may never be of any value. My inbox isn’t overloaded with unimportant emails that are basically self-inflicted spam. Most importantly, my mental focus has drastically improved from where it was years ago. I feel clear, calm and collected. This allows me to complete projects more efficiently which in return gives me even more free time. I turn this time into far more meaningful results than simply absorbing the chaos of the news world. Most enjoyable, I’ve found a fountain of focus to write and really dig deep into my thoughts. It’s this low-information diet that helps fuel the Bennis Inc Blog.

Ultimately, by exposing myself to far less information, I only expose myself to the right information. When I do choose to read or learn something, it is far more likely to be absorbed fully and used immediately. I‘m no longer in the business of seeking and storing information that can’t be of immediate value.  When I need information, I get it on demand. This has proven to be far more effective than reading, storing and trying to recall that same information through years and years of mental clutter. But most noteworthy is how moving away from a high-information diet has completely changed my mood, my sense of overwhelm and my amount of free time. I still fear becoming ignorant or oblivious to the outside world, but I now know this has no correlation to the amount of news I force feed myself in a day. As long as we remain hungry for knowledge and seek it out as we need it, we will stay as informed as we want to be –without the overwhelm or overload.

What type of information diet do you exist on? What do you think would change if you made the switch to a low-information diet? Share your personal experience with information overload or cutting it off completely!

 

Moment versus Momentum: Learning to Harness Fleeting Inspiration

While pursuing a career in the uncharted territory of entrepreneurship, I frequently encounter other entrepreneurs along my journey. Some are decades ahead of where I am (and hope to be) and others are merely minutes into their decision to take the leap. Among this group of individuals, the veteran entrepreneurs always seem to have at least one quality in common regardless of industry or age—they have momentum. For the greener entrepreneurs, I struggle to access whether they possess this same momentum or whether their inspiration is merely a fleeting moment. The difference in the meaning of these two words – and the affect they have on the success or failure of a dream – is far more profound than two little letters. Rather this “um” holds the inspiration, the drive and the courage to turn a single moment into a momentous career.

Is your dream a mere moment or does it carry momentum?

Among your friends and acquaintances, think about those who you would consider a dreamer or an entrepreneurial spirit. Chances are you have a variety. These people are likely different, each with their own qualities that earn them a spot in this category. Now think about those in this group who have taken a goal or idea and are in the active process of taking it to the next level. Chances are this no longer applies to everyone you originally thought of. Maybe those that don’t fit this description more accurately fit the description of coming up with brilliant and creative ideas one day, but then you never hear or see anything more about it. This is the truest differentiation I can illustrate for you between moment and momentum. I, too, have contacts that I would consider entrepreneurs at heart, but this doesn’t mean every one of them has become a real life entrepreneur. Instead, there are those who think of innovative ideas all the time, but I’ve learned to not get too excited for they’re just having “a moment.” By the next month or even the next day, the big plan for a life change has already been forgotten as quickly as it was conceived.

How do we harness this moment of inspiration and turn it into momentum?

At the root of this problem are the differing qualities of each individual. Not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur, just like not everyone is meant to be a doctor or a rocket scientist. We all have different strengths and for some, this is taking an idea from conception to completion. For others – this is a weakness. But just like how you were told when you were little that, “you can be anything you want when you grow up,” you CAN become an entrepreneur and find your inner momentum regardless of prior failed attempts. You have at least two options to better harness your moments of inspiration and turn them into something more substantial.

First, you can commit to making a personal effort to stop the bad habits that have led to loss of momentum in the past. This includes procrastination, lack of confidence, fear of hard work or fear of failure. Just as you would commit to quit smoking or lose weight, changing any existing habit takes energy and effort. Pick a single, well-defined goal and create a timeline of specific actions. When I knew I wanted to begin my own business, I defined all the steps I had to take to reach the point of leaving my former job. I knew I needed a functional web site, enough clients to pay the bills and to register myself as an official business with the government. And so I added these to my timeline and was specific in the actions I had to take to achieve them. Every day I would assign myself one immediate thing I could do to further this timeline, whether it was sending an email to a prospective client or creating a blog. These immediate action items prevented me from falling victim to procrastination or overwhelm because they kept me on track and made me feel accomplished each and every day. Over the course of a week and then a month, these actions ultimately came together to achieve my bigger goal. I still use this tactic when I’m in a phase of business growth.

If you’ve tried or are trying to change your habits to become a person of momentum, but it just isn’t picking up as quickly as you’d like – it might be time to consider the second option. You can team up with another person or group of people who will provide complimentary skills to help turn an idea into reality. Not every business is a sole proprietorship and that’s because sometimes working together is the only way to achieve a goal of a certain scope or size.  If you have an idea for a product, but have no knowledge or direction on where to start with manufacturing it; find a partner who can provide expertise and connections in this area. A partner or team will also keep you accountable to your ideas and actions. It’s not so easy to let a dream fade if the dream is shared by many different people.

In talking with even the most successful entrepreneur, I would be shocked to hear that they never once had a failed idea or fleeting inspiration prior to their current business. To find our true calling, we must allow our mind to wander as creatively as it chooses without feeling pressured to turn every idea into reality. But when you do dream up an idea that you can envision changing your world, or the world of many others, you must find a way to harness this inspiration and keep it moving. Sometimes all it takes to turn a moment into momentum is the willingness to change yourself or team up with others…and of course a little “um!”

 

A Penny Saved Is More Than A Penny Earned

As far back as the 17^th century, the idiom we now know very well, “A penny saved is a penny earned,” was first quoted. And though the true author of this phrase may be up for debate, the meaning is quite clear. It is just as useful to save the money we have as it is to put our efforts into earning more. For hundreds of years this remained a solid block of financial wisdom and even just a decade ago I would say it still held true. However, given the recent changes in our economy, culture and job market, I’d like to propose a more accurate version on this longstanding proverb that may become the words of wisdom we pass along to future generations.

A penny saved is more than a penny earned.

It’s quite literally what it sounds like. Keeping a hold of the pennies we have is now more cost effective than earning more pennies and in some cases even dimes and dollars. We can do more, live more and enjoy more by cutting back than we can by taking on additional means of income to finance our spending sprees. Spending less is the new way to get rich. But what makes this true? Well, there are several compelling reasons why these little copper and zinc Lincolns are worth more in your piggy bank than they are on an additional paycheck:

We underestimate how quickly pennies can add up. I can never pass up a heads-up penny (and with this economy, I might soon be picking up the “unlucky” tails-up ones too). While this is more to fulfill my childhood good-luck-nostalgia, I laugh at how quickly my coin purse fills up from these pennies from heaven. Sure it’s hardly enough to buy a cup of coffee at the end of the month, but a penny is just the monetary amount we use as an example in this quote. Think bigger – five, ten, twenty or even a hundred dollars put aside in savings can equate to a huge cushion at the end of the year. And if done right, we will have hardly missed this extra cash. Moreover, because we don’t think pennies can ever amount to much, we’re less receptive to small ways to save them. Pack your lunch or morning coffee, commute with a friend or only buy groceries you really need (not just because they’re on sale). A quarter here, a dollar there and you’ll soon find enough spare change to finance that dinner out without taking on more work or putting yourself in debt.

A penny earned is really only a fraction of a penny. If you happen to be in the 10% tax bracket, every taxed dollar you earn is worth only $0.90. But don’t forget to tack on FICA, state and a ton of other taxes I’m too depressed to mention and that little penny begins to look a whole lot smaller. What this means is that you put a lot of energy and effort into earning just a fraction of what you’re time is really worth. By placing your focus on spending less rather than earning more, you’ll gain additional time to do something other than work and enjoy the money you do have to its fullest.

If you can fully immerse yourself in the savings lifestyle, you’ll save exponentially. When I first started my own business I went into extreme savings mode. I cut out all the financial fat that I had been wasting money on for far too long (a big cable TV package, a reserved parking spot, too large of a healthcare plan) and I found hundreds of extra dollars in my monthly budget even though I was making considerably less. Though I have slowly worked my way to a more stable income and comfortable lifestyle, I realized I didn’t really want to add back in those luxuries even when I could afford them again. We still live on a meager weekly grocery bill and I’ve all but lost my excitement for retail therapy, but I truly don’t miss it. The money we don’t spend on these little things we instead put toward travel and eating out – two luxuries that are far more memorable to me than yet another pair of shoes I don’t need. Get into the habit of living a savings lifestyle and you’ll be amazed by how you’ll find fun in the challenge of saving money and lose the love for unnecessary spending.

A penny saved gains more than just dust – it gains interest. Although interest rates aren’t great and you can’t exactly invest just pennies in the stock market, there is still great value in saving and investing your money to whatever degree you can. As mentioned above, a penny earned is worth slightly less than one cent while a penny saved  and invested is worth slightly more. While earning extra pennies, you’re giving up time and energy, but saving pennies requires complete inaction. So don’t think spare change needs to sit in a pink piggy bank somewhere, put it in a savings account where it can earn (even a little bit of) money while you do nothing more than live your life.

The penny itself is worth more than one cent. Back in 2006 this New York Times article shared that it actually costs more than one cent to create a penny – 1.4 cents to be exact – because of the cost of metal and production. As the demand for certain metals continue to rise, who knows the worth of the penny now or how high it will reach before the United States Mint takes these little guys out of circulation altogether. And when that happens? Your quirky pennies that will become a relic to future generations might (might) be worth a lot more someday. This is meant more for humor than it is for financial advisement, but keep this in mind the next time you’re walking on the side walk and spot an orphaned penny – that’s at least 1.4 cents you’ve just gained!

The heads-up side of things: Learning to save your money will always be the best financial advice you can ever receive. I’ve personally found so much value in learning and living this truth because it taught me that time spent doing things I love is far more valuable than time spent earning a few extra dollars. I would much prefer to cut back on my spending and manage my wants for the ability to pursue a passionate career and live simply but happily. And while a penny earned is no longer equal to a penny saved, hearing this proverb still makes us stop and reflect on our spending habits – and for that it’s worth all the pennies in the world!

 

The 80/20 Principle: How to identify the clutter in your life and business

After hearing frequent references to the book “The 4-Hour Workweek,” I finally decided to put my assumptions aside and pick up a copy. To say I was skeptical is an understatement. The title of the book sounded just as cheesy and unstable as a pyramid scheme and I feared for what our “get rich quick” culture was buying into now. I wanted to be wrong about the book – and so far I can say that I was. While my reading has only progressed to page 139, I have already stumbled upon a few intriguing thoughts of author Timothy Ferriss. The most shocking realization is that he and I share a similar personality type and view on effectiveness in both work and play. I could spend weeks’ worth of blog posts regurgitating what I’ve read so far because it’s what I would tell (and have told) those who contact me for entrepreneurial advice. But instead, I want to share just one principle from the book which I’ve found to be the most thought provoking for my own business and life – The 80/20 Principle.

The 80/20 Principle or The Pareto Principle is by no means new. In fact, it was concocted by Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who lived from 1848 to 1923. The boiled down back story is that through mathematical formula Pareto discovered that 80% of the wealth and income was produced and possessed by 20% of the population. And this application goes far beyond economics or distribution of wealth. Supposedly 80% of Pareto’s garden peas were produced by 20% of the pea pods he had planted. Since we don’t all grow peas, here are a few more relatable examples from the book:

• 80% of the consequences flow from 20% of the causes.
• 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort and time.
• 80% of company profits come from 20% of the products and customers.
• 80% of all stock market gains are realized by 20% of the investors and 20% of an individual portfolio.

At first glance I found this theory to be merely intriguing, but at further thought I realized it to be scarily accurate about my own life. The numbers 80 and 20 are the minimum ratio, but you too might find that some aspects of your life are more like 90/10, 95/5 or even 99/1. This concept made me take a critical look at my business and personal life. As I applied Pareto’s Principle, I had to answer some tough questions about clutter, time wasters and frustrations that were holding me back.

Applying 80/20 to Work – Nearly all businesses have more than one revenue stream. This could be a collection of different clients, projects, services and products. As a nurturing business owner, we naturally want to see all of these streams grow with equal strength. The tough realization is that this just isn’t always possible. So I had to ask myself, “Which 20% of my work and clients are resulting in 80% of my profits?” After crunching the numbers, I found that my ratio was even more skewed than 80/20. I don’t think this is necessarily good or bad, it’s just a realization of which you must be aware. Identifying the clients that account for the majority of my income helped me to also identify the qualities they have in common. I now have a clear understanding of my “ideal” client that I can market my services toward most heavily in the future. These are the ones I’m best suited to serve and the ones that will contribute most significantly to my bottom line. So long as my bandwidth allows, I will still continue to work with all clients (regardless of whether they fall into the “ideal” category or not); however, it’s infinitely helpful to know who I should be actively seeking when I’m in a cycle of business growth.

Applying 80/20 to Life – The Pareto Principle easily lends itself for application to economics or business, but what about personal life? To do this, I had to change the question I was asking myself. Instead of using money or clients as the measurements, I used happiness and stress. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my stress? And which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my happiness? I examined all the ways in which I use my free time. This includes hobbies, friendships, exercise/health, relaxation, etc. This principle helped me to personally identify the things that give me the most joy and the things that I could stand to eliminate. In doing so, I immediately reduced some of the stressors and time wasters in my every day. I even found areas within my budget where I could save money as the result of these eliminations.

We have just enough time each day to get done everything we need and want to do. We just have to learn how to identify which few inputs produce the greatest results for our time and energy. The 80/20 Principle doesn’t deter me from adding new things to my life, but it does make me regularly evaluate everything I have going on, prioritize the things that bring me happiness or fulfillment and eliminate the rest. Evaluate, prioritize and eliminate – this is the cycle that will help me to work smarter, not harder and to keep all aspects of my life uncluttered.

I look forward to continuing “The 4-Hour Workweek” with less skepticism than when I started. Even if my end goal isn’t working just four hours (and I’m not sure it is), I’m energized to read the ramblings of someone with whom I can relate. It’s encouraging to know there’s someone else out there who has ventured down a similar road and has lived to write intelligently about it…

 

Making Christmas A Celebration Not An Obligation: The essentials for reducing holiday stress

If the advertisements, TV special and store decorations aren’t enough of an indication – the holidays are here! And so begins the preparation and the stress that often accompanies this time of year. I have never begun decorating before Thanksgiving and only once did I give in to Black Friday shopping (and believe me that was enough), but this year I feel the most organized and prepared as I ever have been. The decorations are up, the Christmas cards are ready to be mailed and the holiday cheer has definitely set in. It’s not because I’ve had any more time than in years’ past – in fact, I’ve likely had less. It’s because I’m starting to identify the key factors that allow for the holidays to be less frantic and more fun. They’re common sense really, but as soon as we see that first television commercial our brains seem to fill with eggnog and we tailspin into full Christmas chaos. Here are just a few ways in which I have and hope to continue to make Christmas a celebration, not an obligation:

It’s meant to be a team effort.

Our house is small and our decorations are just enough to give a warm feel of the holidays. But preparing our house for Christmas still would have been a daunting task for one person if it wasn’t for a second set of hands. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, when family had gone home and the dust (and dirt and crumbs) had settled, we dedicated our day to organizing, cleaning and then finally decorating. Amidst his incredibly busy work and travel schedule, my husband had a very rare free day in which to help me. He actually suggested this is how we spend our day together which set the tone that this wasn’t so much a chore as it was a memory.  I planned for a full day of dusting and decorating, but once we put on some Christmas music and divided and conquered the tasks, we were done in just several hours. I know that had I tried to tackle this on my own, we still wouldn’t be decorated for the Christmas and the nooks and crannies behind the couch certainly wouldn’t be as clean. What this experience taught me was that Christmas traditions are meant to be shared and in doing so they transform from a to-do into a want-to-do. We look forward to the warm glow of our Christmas lights every evening and this shared enjoyment is what makes decorating fun not frantic.

It doesn’t “sneak up” on you.

I hear this phrase a lot. “Wow, the holidays really snuck up on us this year, huh?” Not really. Christmas is very predictable. It’s the same date of the same month every year. If anything, the decorations in the mall and commercials on TV should give us even more time to prepare as they seem to start earlier and earlier each year. Yet no matter how stressful last year’s holiday preparations were, we fail to take action to prevent it from happening again…and again. If you mailed your Christmas cards on December 24^th last year, why not set a reminder in your phone to begin the process earlier next year? Writing Christmas cards, picking out a tree and buying gifts should be a loving and thoughtful experience. Any stress that comes along with it is unintended or misplaced. If you’ve made an effort to be more proactive and organized but are still left with a time deficit, then chances are you’re simply trying to do too much. So….

Simplify!

The holidays are made for tradition, but they should not take up so much of your time that you’re left with no time to actually enjoy everything for which they stand. The most important traditions should be carried on, but there are many that should also be let go. Determine what’s giving you the best return on investment (ROI) for your time. Sugar cookies made from scratch, hand painted Christmas ornaments and self-stamped wrapping paper are fun activities and beautiful memories, but don’t feel like you have to do all of them every single year. Enjoy the act of preparing for the holidays, but also remember to enjoy time with family and friends. Also, don’t be afraid to lower the bar. I imagine almost every other person you know is feeling a degree of stress and overwhelm as well. Simplify this Christmas with fewer, but more meaningful presents. Do a secret Santa or eliminate the pressure of presents altogether. Hopefully The Grinch that Stole Christmas has helped us to realize that it’s the time you spend with those you love (and the great food) that make the holidays special. Presents, cards and decorations are all just extra.

It’s a process.

So often I hear people boast that they’ve been decorated since Thanksgiving or their Christmas shopping was completely done by mid September and my inner response is, “Was it a race?” Preparing for the holidays is part of the celebration – it’s a process and balance. Rushing to get everything done and out of the way as soon as possible makes Christmas like any other task on your to-do list. I also can’t imagine you feel the same holiday cheer when shopping next to bathing suits and beach balls. Scrambling to buy that last present on Christmas Eve also makes the act of gift giving feel more like an obligation than a thoughtful gesture. Find a balance between the two, take time to sip the eggnog and when all else fails…simplify!

If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.

Finally and most importantly, you should be able to look back on your preparation for the holidays and smile while remembering some fond and funny moments. Even in the coldest and gloomiest months, you should feel warmer, brighter and friendlier. If you find that the holidays bring out the worst in you or your family, make you fight, feel angry or stressed, then something’s gotta give. Somewhere you’re missing the mark for what Christmas is truly all about. And once the holidays have come and gone, you shouldn’t be left feeling even worse—looking at the mounds of decorations that need put away or the heaping credit card debt. All of these are signs that a change needs to be made. Get back to the basics of what makes Christmas fun and special for you!

This holiday season be merry, be bright and….don’t be stressed!

 

Clearing Out The Mental Clutter

Simply put, clutter is stuck energy. It’s a clog in our mental piping that prevents us from working, communicating and acting as effectively as we could. There are more than enough mental-clearing techniques to help us relax and refocus, but these don’t address the ways in which we rebuild the same cluttered mind every day. Here are just instances in which mental clutter may be messing with your psyche and some easily implemented fixes to help you start moving forward.

Clean out your email inbox…every single day – Take a moment and click over to your email. What does your inbox look like right now? If this is the beginning or middle of the work day for you, chances are you’ve accumulated quite a few messages. That’s normal. But how many of these messages were rolled over from the last work day? Some of these messages may even be from several days or weeks ago. If so, you’ve unknowingly been creating your own landfill of emails which might be making for a pretty unpleasant work environment. The fix? Clear the inbox clutter by treating it like a to-do list. Any email that comes in should be read and prioritized before the day’s end. Some emails are a quick response and easily taken care of. Others will require some time or further action before it can be considered ready to archive. For these types of message – utilize folders! I’m always surprised by the number of people who don’t take advantage of the folder organization Outlook and Gmail provides. Label them with titles most applicable for the messages you commonly deal with and the actions they require. With these messages organized, you’ll never risk them “disappearing” under the heap of emails that build up over a week’s or month’s time. Since starting this practice myself, I’ve been much more aware of the messages requiring my response at any given time, know where to find them when I need them and have all but eliminated the dreaded “I don’t think I ever saw that email” moment.

Remove mental clutter by removing physical clutter – I’m not sure when this began for me, but to this day if I’m in a messy environment, I can’t work as effectively. I need to have a clear space which translates to a clear mind. In the midst of a project or a busy day, it’s completely acceptable to have some small mountains of paper fill your desk, but by the day’s end be sure these mountains aren’t left for you to climb over the next morning. If you tackle your physical clutter every day, each new day will begin with a clear desk and a clear mind.

Capture your thoughts in writing – In a world surrounded by cutting-edge technology, you may be surprised to know that we’re still allowed to be human. By this I mean we aren’t expected to commit every task, appointment, phone conversation or change in plans to memory. The times in which I have a lot of mental notes to remember are among the times when my mind feels the most cluttered and least productive. So write it down! Whether this is a pen and paper to-do list, phone app, word document or calendar reminder, capture your thoughts however best fits your lifestyle. It’s simple…the more you put in writing, the less that’s on your mind.

Eliminate unnecessary noise – When I first began running Bennis Inc I would often keep a television set or music on for “background noise.” It’s not so much that I would become distracted by the show on TV or the artist singing the song, but I would become distracted (and irritated) simply by the noise. It was competing with my inner thoughts and making me work harder to concentrate on the task at hand. The silliest part is that I was self-inflicting this irritation and audio clutter. I now recognize that I prefer to work in as close to a silent environment as possible. Some days this can even be setting the phone to vibrate and turning off email alerts. I don’t doubt that some people may work better with a little bit of background noise, but I urge you to try at least one day “working silent” to be sure you’ve given this option a fair shot. It’s not boring when your thoughts really get on a roll!

Address what’s really fogging your mind – If you’ve made your best effort to eliminate all of the mental clutter by following the steps listed above, but you’re still feeling fuzzy and unfocused, there’s a good chance there’s something else in play. What’s really fogging your mind? Mental blocks can come from feelings we’re harboring about a relationship problem, financial stress, or recent negative experience. These aren’t just clutter; these are actual issues that should be dealt with fully. If a personal situation has you distracted in other areas of life, you can’t bury it deeper and hope it will go away. The best thing to do to resolve this completely is to talk it out, go for a run to clear your head or seek a solution if one is possible. Once this major mental plug is removed, you can return to addressing the rest of the minor clutter rolling around.

Whether your mind is cluttered or organized right now, share with us some of your struggles or secrets to achieving a clear mind!

 

 

The Work-Life Imbalance

Often I come across an article or a quiz asking me to examine my “work-life balance.” It’s a term we should have all encountered by now – whether in a magazine, an HR seminar, even in a casual dinner conversation. To nod your head and affirm, “Of course, I have a great work-life balance,” carries a sense of pride as if you’re really saying “Yeah, I’ve got it all together.” But what defines a work-life balance? Must the parts always be equal to keep the scales from tipping too far in one direction?

We spend the majority of our waking hours working in some capacity. In the best case scenario, only 40 hours of our week is spent in a formal work environment, but what about all of those evening and weekend emails, phone calls and “emergency projects” that cut into the little time we’re already given for “life?” Such tasks sneak extra weight onto the “work” side of the scale and can lead to an imbalance we don’t even know exists.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve taken more notice to how I’ve been chipping away at my free time by choosing to do a several minutes of work-related tasks here and there. Even just a few minutes can turn into hours over the course of a week. For example, I try to finish up my last work project of the day no later than 6pm. But while I enjoy dinner and a little bit of television, my mind is still very much on work. If I hear the chirp of an email – I answer it. And so this persists throughout the evenings and into the weekends. My best estimate is that on average, I burden myself with an additional 7-10 hours of work each week beyond what’s expected or demanded. When all added up, that’s a full day! A day in which I could have taken a road trip, enjoyed the beautiful fall weather or simply decompressed. And while these off-hour emails may help progress work, they put a major halt on life.

Back when I wrote about The Two-Day Truce, I urged everyone to resist the urge to do unnecessary work on the weekends because it only causes the recipients of the emails to feel the pressure to respond. Essentially it takes away from everyone’s weekend. I have gotten better about not being a weekend warrior with work, but I realized an even bigger problem. We’re so trained to work, we do it without even knowing it. Consciously we may feel like we’re living a pretty balanced life, but really our scales are so off kilter they’re nearly falling over altogether.

I couldn’t tell you how many times a day I check my phone for new emails, especially after “work hours.” I’m not sure I would want to know. By proactively checking for emails and refreshing my inbox, I’m looking for work to do instead of enjoying that other component that should fill our time – life. A true Work-Life Balance is so much more than saying you leave your office or close your laptop at 6pm. Chances are we’re very accessible to work during any of the hours in between. But when we’re at work are we this accessible to life? Every week’s schedule is different and there’s no doubt that there will be some weeks that demand an imbalanced share of our time for work. The key is to find the balance not every day or every week, but over the long run.

The Work-Life Balance may not be so much about balance after all. Maybe it’s more about flexibility and our openness to work more when we absolutely have to, but to also seize extra moments of “life” when the opportunity should arise. If you can’t close down by 6pm tonight, don’t sweat it, but plan for some extra relaxing time in your schedule later this weekend to make up for the difference and realign the balance!

What about you. Is your work-life balanced…flexible…or somewhat of both?