Experts will tell you to hire employees to take the load off so you can focus on business growth. As a business coach, I often suggest that clients onboard employees as they scale. However, a few key components must be in place before you expand your team.

Most often, small business owners skip over game-changing business-building steps because they're too occupied to put thought into them, but this lack of diligence always backfires.

Don't be that small business owner.

You decide it's time to take the plunge and hire your first (or next) employee. You think about what that person can do and how much time a new hire will free up for you. So, you whip up a job posting or spread the word through your community, and, voila, you find someone. You ask the standard interview questions, size them up, and perhaps check a reference or two, and your new employee starts on Monday. Cool!

Or, maybe not so cool. You may think the hard part is done at this point, but that's far from true. At this point, budding entrepreneurs need to learn to think like a leader rather than someone in the trenches. Now, you not only have to protect yourself from failing but also your growing team.

3 ways to set employees up to fail.

1. You don't give your new hire a steady foundation.

You may have a job description, but you don't have any training, implementation processes, or written documentation in place. Without a solid foundation, you throw your new person into the deep end without a raft. Rescuing your employee is time-consuming and frustrating; it was easier when you were solo!

Many entrepreneurs put these oversights in the category of employee empowerment and tell themselves they will not be a micro-manager. Really, this belief only serves to make the business owner feel better, but you can't hide behind it for long. Empowerment is built upon solid training and an understanding of the company's signature goals and direction. Your employee may attempt to do things right, but without consistent guidance and processes in place, they will struggle and most likely fail to meet your needs. There's a big difference between micro-managing and providing your team with education, support, and training.

2. You're unclear about your small business's growth vision.

Entrepreneurs have plenty of ideas for future growth and expansion. The problem appears when all these ideas merge murkily, causing a lack of clarity, confusion, and overwhelm . These murky waters lead to a team that also lacks clarity and feels overwhelmed and confused by your inconsistent leadership and direction. You may hire for the wrong positions and skill sets, leaving you with one or more team members who may be decent employees but cannot grow your small business with you. They just won't be a good fit for your ultimate vision.

3. You have not designed your company culture.

You have yet to think about what you want your company culture to look like or what values will guide you to that goal. Understanding your company and personal values to design an internal and client-facing culture gives you a roadmap for everything you do, including who and why you hire. For instance, if you hold a value that indicates honesty, integrity, or trustworthiness and hire a salesperson who promises anything to get the sale, you will have very unhappy customers. This person will also cause conflict with other team members who do represent your culture of integrity.

You don't know what you don't know about growing your small business.

Leadership development is a new stage of growth for most small business owners, and this process has many layers. While it may not seem apparent, your leadership abilities need to kick in before you hire employees, not after. It is difficult for most people to figure out how to

1. Make the time to develop processes, identify culture goals, and develop a vision
2. Get your ideas out of your head and into play
3. Gain clarity about the what, how, and why
4. Implement your ideas
5. Just about everything else!

This educational piece of professional and self-growth is why business coaches and mentors exist. No, you don't know what you don't know, and you're not meant to do it alone. Surround yourself with a supportive team of non-employees before you become an employer, and you will save yourself much disappointment, money, and time!

Are you interested in growing your business to add more freedom, security, and well-being into your life? Please contact me to see if I can help. Let’s chat and learn more about one another!

The post 3 Ways Small Business Owners Set New Employees Up to Fail appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Experts will tell you to hire employees to take the load off so you can focus on business growth. As a business coach, I often suggest that clients onboard employees as they scale. However, a few key components must be in place before you expand your team.

Most often, small business owners skip over game-changing business-building steps because they're too occupied to put thought into them, but this lack of diligence always backfires.

Don't be that small business owner.

You decide it's time to take the plunge and hire your first (or next) employee. You think about what that person can do and how much time a new hire will free up for you. So, you whip up a job posting or spread the word through your community, and, voila, you find someone. You ask the standard interview questions, size them up, and perhaps check a reference or two, and your new employee starts on Monday. Cool!

Or, maybe not so cool. You may think the hard part is done at this point, but that's far from true. At this point, budding entrepreneurs need to learn to think like a leader rather than someone in the trenches. Now, you not only have to protect yourself from failing but also your growing team.

3 ways to set employees up to fail.

1. You don't give your new hire a steady foundation.

You may have a job description, but you don't have any training, implementation processes, or written documentation in place. Without a solid foundation, you throw your new person into the deep end without a raft. Rescuing your employee is time-consuming and frustrating; it was easier when you were solo!

Many entrepreneurs put these oversights in the category of employee empowerment and tell themselves they will not be a micro-manager. Really, this belief only serves to make the business owner feel better, but you can't hide behind it for long. Empowerment is built upon solid training and an understanding of the company's signature goals and direction. Your employee may attempt to do things right, but without consistent guidance and processes in place, they will struggle and most likely fail to meet your needs. There's a big difference between micro-managing and providing your team with education, support, and training.

2. You're unclear about your small business's growth vision.

Entrepreneurs have plenty of ideas for future growth and expansion. The problem appears when all these ideas merge murkily, causing a lack of clarity, confusion, and overwhelm . These murky waters lead to a team that also lacks clarity and feels overwhelmed and confused by your inconsistent leadership and direction. You may hire for the wrong positions and skill sets, leaving you with one or more team members who may be decent employees but cannot grow your small business with you. They just won't be a good fit for your ultimate vision.

3. You have not designed your company culture.

You have yet to think about what you want your company culture to look like or what values will guide you to that goal. Understanding your company and personal values to design an internal and client-facing culture gives you a roadmap for everything you do, including who and why you hire. For instance, if you hold a value that indicates honesty, integrity, or trustworthiness and hire a salesperson who promises anything to get the sale, you will have very unhappy customers. This person will also cause conflict with other team members who do represent your culture of integrity.

You don't know what you don't know about growing your small business.

Leadership development is a new stage of growth for most small business owners, and this process has many layers. While it may not seem apparent, your leadership abilities need to kick in before you hire employees, not after. It is difficult for most people to figure out how to

1. Make the time to develop processes, identify culture goals, and develop a vision
2. Get your ideas out of your head and into play
3. Gain clarity about the what, how, and why
4. Implement your ideas
5. Just about everything else!

This educational piece of professional and self-growth is why business coaches and mentors exist. No, you don't know what you don't know, and you're not meant to do it alone. Surround yourself with a supportive team of non-employees before you become an employer, and you will save yourself much disappointment, money, and time!

Are you interested in growing your business to add more freedom, security, and well-being into your life? Please contact me to see if I can help. Let’s chat and learn more about one another!

The post 3 Ways Small Business Owners Set New Employees Up to Fail appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Why do your team meetings fall flat?

• Is your content stimulating? Meetings with boring content are longer than necessary and won't get engagement.
• Participant engagement is essential; boring topics and a single person doing all the talking does not invite others to engage.
• Most people admit to multitasking in meetings, but it sends a message of disinterest, which spreads like a loud yawn. Ask everyone to put their devices on the do not disturb mode and keep them face down, Use them only for content related to your topics.
• Going off-topic is taboo. Don’t let anyone hijack the meeting and bore other attendees. Or worse, leave people feeling left out.
• You'll lose your audience if someone monopolizes the conversation and drives their point home repeatedly.

How to nail your next team meeting.

• Ask yourself if a team meeting is necessary and invite only those who need to be there.
• Send an agenda ahead of time, along with questions for discussion.
• Appoint someone to begin the meeting and start right on time. If you chronically run late, assign a team member to get things going.
• Start your meeting with an icebreaker. This may seem counterproductive in keeping your discussion on point and on time, but it increases engagement. I have a client who brings a lightweight ball to her meetings and asks each team member to announce a win. This could be something they've accomplished, are grateful for, or looking forward to. Then the person randomly tosses the ball to someone else in the group, and it becomes their turn to talk. Keep it short: 30 to 60 seconds for each person.
• Avoid small talk. There's no need to talk about the weather, your child's little league team, or what you had for breakfast. Let it be known that employees can arrive a few minutes early or stick around a bit longer to connect on an informal note if they wish.
• If you have remote attendees, or your meeting is entirely virtual, use video technology. Surveys show that the use of video decreases multitasking and increases engagement.
• Assign others to lead some of the discussion. We tend to tune out after one person speaks for a long time. A new voice reboots our interest.
• Use visuals, like a whiteboard, where appropriate. Most of the population has a visual learning style, so using a visual helps attendees absorb information better. (Avoid long, unnecessary slide presentations.)
• Talk about culture development and other topics that help your team understand your vision. Invite open discussion on these topics.
• Some personality types will rarely speak up in meetings. Rather than put them on the spot, send challenges and questions in advance. This process allows them to think about their suggestions and be prepared to talk about them. Or they can post or send their comments in writing ahead of time.
• End your meeting on an inspirational, motivational, or humorous note. Send your people out the door feeling energized and with a smile on their faces.
• To add more fun and unpredictability, surprise your team with a new location or a fun activity at your meetings. Walk to a nearby park, take them out for a meal, or hire an event planner to add an unexpected twist to the occasional meeting. Your time and effort will pay off through increased productivity and engagement. Happy employees keep any company humming along.

The post Imagine if Everyone Looked Forward to Team Meetings. Here’s How to Make it Happen appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

“But Marla,” you might say, “Isn't it a bit self-centered and a waste of time to celebrate the small stuff? Anyone can do these things.”

Nope, none of that is true.

If you work hard, never pausing to acknowledge the completion of your goals and other small wins, you are missing out on an opportunity to increase your productivity, mood, and energy levels. Let me make my point:

Which of these two entrepreneurs is more likely to succeed?

1. The entrepreneur who takes time out of the day to reflect, appreciate, and share his or her achievements.
2. The entrepreneur who dismisses small wins because, after all, the little stuff completes only a portion piece of the big picture–there's so much more to do.

You guessed it: number one, the latter will burnout. Entrepreneurs who don't celebrate themselves and their achievements tend to get depressed and negativity becomes omnipresent. Productive actions are overridden by meaningless time-suckers as they lose focus. Acknowledgment of your achievements helps to keep the focus and momentum. And, it will help you to feel good about yourself.

High-performance entrepreneurs don’t wait for milestone achievements to celebrate.

Think about the parent whose young child takes his first steps. Does the parent hold off on joyfully acknowledging him until he has walked his first mile? No, because one small step is a milestone. The family claps, laughs, encourages him, and tells everyone the exciting news. This reinforces the child's commitment to walking and lets him know that he's achieved something notable. It inspires and motivates him to do it again, even though it's likely that he's going to fall down quite a bit.

The acknowledgment of small accomplishments motivates and inspires us, and it also relieves stress. As big breakthroughs happen, they merit a celebration that is commensurate to their significance, but how often do these breakthroughs come along? It takes many small wins to add up to a milestone. If you neglect to acknowledge your productivity at all levels it may have a negative impact on your energy, attitude, and productivity, therefore your business.

Celebration and acknowledgment change your physiology.

Try this experiment:

Spend ten seconds thinking about all of the hard work you have to do. Feel the pressure mounting. Now notice your posture, is it strong and upright or slumped? Take note of how your body feels. Do you feel stressed out? How productive can you possibly be under these conditions?

Now, spend ten seconds mentally reviewing the things that you achieved over the past week, or month. Mindfully highlight the tasks that are off your plate and acknowledge how good it feels now that they're done. Give yourself a pat on the back. Now how do you feel? You're more likely to charge into your next steps with a good attitude and higher energy.

When we focus on the good stuff it sparks the reward circuitry of our brains. This causes a chain reaction as the brain releases chemicals that stimulate feelings of pride, excitement, and happiness. It makes us want to dig deeper into our next achievement.

Celebrations come in all shapes and sizes.

You complete a small project and it feels nice to finally have it done, but there's another project that needs your attention. Who has time to celebrate?

A celebration of achievement doesn't necessarily mean a party or treating yourself to a day off. Here are a few ways to acknowledge and appreciate your amazingness.

How to celebrate your small wins and productivity.

• At the end of your day spend five to ten minutes reviewing everything you've completed from your list. Most likely, many of the things you've done weren't even on your list so add them and flag them as complete. A visual of your accomplishments is very rewarding and will lend to a greater appreciation of your achievements.
• Tell someone who understands the significance of small steps. Positive auditory feedback, along with a few verbal pats on the back, gives us a mini rush that helps buoy our motivation, therefore increasing productivity.
• Let your mind wander to future images of your success. Painting this uplifting image will help your subconscious mind communicate your desires to the brain. This is important since a well-informed brain opens your eyes to opportunities and ideas that help get you what you want.
• Acknowledge your wins by doing something a little different. I have a theory that we all need to put a little vacation in each and every day. This stimulates the brain's reward center, helps us to celebrate our freedom as an entrepreneur, and energizes us.
• Express gratitude for your achievements. Gratitude has a strong impact on your mind and body.
• Thank those who contributed to your wins and spend a bit of time to think about the skills, commitment, and endurance it takes to achieve your goals.

You really do rock, ya know? Now, close your eyes, put a smile on your face, and count your blessings!

The post Productivity Increases When Entrepreneurs Celebrate Small Wins appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Stop the self-sabotage! Once you accept the truth behind the value and worth of your services, prospects will pay more–much more.

You're an expert. In the most rudimentary language, this means that you know more about your topic than the average person, especially your target market. It also means that the sharing of your expertise will help others achieve or improve upon something that would otherwise have been very difficult or nearly impossible. How much value do you place on what you know and your method(s) of delivery? Probably not enough.

Speakers, trainers, coaches and service providers can easily underestimate the value of their offerings because there are few or no cost of goods sold and overhead is negligible. But that's not the only reason they tend to diminish their worth; internal messaging is the biggest culprit.

In working with small business owners and solo-practitioners as a business coach over the years, I've seen a pattern of thinking that, frankly, keeps people poor. I've even experienced it myself–perhaps you have as well. The pattern I'm referring to is the ongoing questioning of the worth of your services, undervaluing them (therefore yourself) internally. You may believe that this negativity doesn't show on the outside, but you'd be wrong. When you diminish the importance and uniqueness of your knowledge, it's impossible for your prospects to set a high value on what you offer. The energy behind your sales pitch simply will not match that of a highly valuable end result.

I've actually come to believe that well-delivered information, inspiration, and emotional support are priceless. While priceless isn't acceptable in negotiations, embracing this theory will help you to set–and get–fees that are commensurate with the actual worth of your services.

Here are a few of the statements I've heard from people who are stuck in this loop of negative thinking. I call them lies, or excuses because they are only a means of self-sabotage that keep you from taking an emotional risk. It's time to stop the lies and accept the truth.

1. Lie: It's just common sense, anyone can figure this out.

Truth: If they could have figured it out on their own, they would not be seeking your help. Perhaps they have pieces of the puzzle but haven't put them together yet. Many experts tend to diminish their wisdom because it comes so naturally to them. What is simple to you may feel like rocket science to another. Your ability to turn rocket-science into manageable information is, as I said, priceless.

2. Lie: They can find this information online; they don't need me.

Truth: If you are a trainer or teacher, much of what you teach is most likely available online and in books. People are busy, some aren't great at collecting information, and most are willing to pay for the opportunity to access what they need through one convenient resource. Additionally, you put your own unique spin on the information, making it a meaningful process–unlike reading long articles and sifting through uninformed opinions in on-line forums.

3. Lie: I probably don't know as much as I think I do. I might be found out!

Truth: Ask yourself if you know more than your prospect. Perhaps they do know a lot, but are they acting upon it? Can you make it easier and more likely for them to take action? The answer is yes. You make peoples' lives easier and richer. Again, priceless.

4. Lie: What if they tell me it's not worth much? I may be facing rejection!

Truth: What if's create a tumbleweed of possibilities. Why not turn your negative what if's into positives? What if your client adores you to the moon and back? Understand that if–I should say when–a prospect says no, it probably has nothing to do with you at all. Don't assume that a “no” is a reflection on your talent and worth. Your prospects are dealing with their own limiting beliefs, including a perceived lack of funds.

5. Lie: If my client(s) fail, it will be my fault–It will mean I'm not very good at this after all.

Truth: Boy, this one used to be a biggie for me until I had a life-changing realization: not everyone is ready to do what it takes to get the results they desire–even if they say they are. As the old saying dictates, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink, some of your clients will not show up as superstars. You're great at what you do and many of the people you work with soar to success with you at their side, right? To achieve a one-hundred percent success rate when you base your success on that of another is an act of self-sabotage. That's the truth.

If you have a challenge believing in yourself, muster up the courage to ask for help from a professional. You are so worth it!

The post 5 Harmful Lies Entrepreneurs Tell Themselves (and how to stop doing it) appeared first on Marla Tabaka.

Sleep deprivation is bad, we all know that. When I'm tired I'm not creative, attentive, or focused–I can even fall into a funk (not so good for productivity). As if that's not bad enough, scientific studies show that there’s one more negative side effect to sleep deprivation: memory loss.

Researchers from Northwestern University and Uppsala University in Sweden have found that when people don’t get enough sleep, they start to forget things. When sleep and stress go hand in hand, Northwestern’s Jonathan Cedernaes found, it negatively affects cognitive function.

Cedernaes's studies concluded that when you’re both tired and stressed out, a condition many of us are far too familiar with, your brain is less capable of accessing the knowledge that you’ve got stored away and you rely mainly on muscle memory.

What does this mean for an entrepreneur?

It means that, if you want to be on top of what is going on in your company, you need to get some sleep. You spend your working hours juggling pieces of information, and many of them are crucial to your company’s success. To forget the wrong thing at the wrong time could be a disaster.

Here’s how you can fight back against stress, sleep deprivation, and forgetfulness:

• Recognize the value of a good night’s sleep and schedule your life accordingly! Keep commitments minimal on weekday evenings.
• Get your body ready for sleep by turning off screens. Yes, that means stop looking at your phone, not minutes, but a few hours before you go to bed.
• Minimize your caffeine intake in the afternoons and evenings–just a minimal reduction can make it easier for you to fall asleep at night.
• Establish a morning routine that makes getting out of bed easy and painless.
• Recognize that everyone needs sleep and strive for a workplace culture in which people are encouraged to come to work rested, ready to do their best. If your team is exhausted and stressed from working too hard the night before long, those long hours will backfire on you.
• If you’re really serious about getting enough sleep set up a nap room in your office! A thirty-minute nap will pay for itself ten-fold!

I feel a nap coming on myself!

The post Want to Become a Better Entrepreneur? Get Some Sleep. appeared first on Marla Tabaka.