Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 42

Recharge Yourself – Recharge your Business

You cannot move your business forward by worrying.

You cannot grow if you are burnt out. At this point, I doubt you’re firing on all cylinders.

It’s time to recharge.

The last few months have been one tumultuous roller coaster – and even though I enjoy a good challenge, I know well enough that there’s only so much we can take. We’ve been caught up in a tailspin – financially, mentally and possibly physically. Business owners or not, we’re all only human. Maybe you’re feeling this surge of adrenaline and you think you’re cruising along just fine. My friend, if you want to steer this ship though this storm and out the other side, you are going to need a lot more power behind the wheel.

Did I mention it’s time to recharge? Because I’m not sure you’re with me yet.

The landscape as we’ve known it is changing. It’s hard to know exactly how it will look when the dust settles. So it feels like a strange time to take a vacation. Your business is likely changing a bit, whether you’re pivoting your offering or still making decisions about your next move. But even if it’s a stay-cation, you must take a break from your business. You must reset your mindset.

I realize there is still a pandemic going on and we’re on the cusp of a recession. I get it. But business owner to business owner, I am here to remind you that grinding your gears over and over is not going to move those wheels forward. A recent Wall St. Journal article discussed staving off burnout by taking some time off. Guys, even WJS agrees with me!

To be candid, I never feel that there’s a completely perfect time to take off. I need to build my business, write books, create new products… You know what else? I need to hit the reset button from time to time and get a fresh perspective. I come back invigorated, even more creative and excited for what’s to come. And, I have a team who backs me up 100% so I am able to take that time off and know that everything is under control. They support me – and I them when it’s their turn to take their vacations too.

Employees are worried about taking PTO. Some are concerned about their finances or feel they may be penalized for taking time off. Fortune recently published an article citing 5 ways employees took vacation time during the pandemic. It’s just something to share with your employees in support of their vacation plans. Let them know that their well being is important to you – and that you need them at their best.

Before you and your employees head out for your well advised break, I have a homework assignment for you. Write to me and tell me where you’re going. Better yet, send a photo and we’ll post it on social media!

Let the world know you are taking action to recharge yourself to recharge your business.

You’ve got this my friends!

Mike

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A new way to increase sales

Just about everything you read lately starts off with some reference to “these uncertain times”.

It’s true, there is so much upheaval. We are facing a global health crisis, a financial crisis and are on the brink of a recession.

But we are not helpless. And I believe in silver linings. Especially for small and medium sized businesses.

While I don’t have all the answers to Covid-19 and the repercussions of the pandemic, I do have a few business solutions. These solutions will help you navigate the recession and sustain your business.

You have heard me say this a lot lately: the world needs you to succeed right now. According to Forbes, you are “the lifeblood of the global economy”. We need small and medium sized businesses to stay in tact. It’s not the larger businesses who are the backbone of the economy. It’s yours.

Ok thanks Mike, but how? For one thing. You need money. And not to oversimplify things here, but to get money, you need to increase sales. Since this economic crisis has begun, entrepreneurs and business owners have asked me what to do as a recession approaches. My first answer is to increase sales. This is vital, now more than ever. You must increase sales in order to sustain your business and come out of the other side of an impending recession.

It’s a sensitive time for everyone, so it may feel a little uncomfortable trying to “get out there and sell”. I get it. You (as do I) pride yourself on maintaining integrity. You also want to keep your business. You may feel a little weird focusing on increasing sales, but you must!.

Furthermore, as a business owner you have an obligation. You are obligated to serve your business community with the best possible products that will serve your customers. Customers are going to turn to small and medium businesses now more than ever, too. So what is the best way to increase sales in a way that allows you to sleep at night?

It’s comforting to me that there is a way to sell with your client and customers’ best interest in mind – and your integrity intact. Phew. The method to use to ensure you increase sales while serving your clients is called Serve Selling. I developed this method when business owners started telling me they didn’t want to “sell” to anyone.

I realized you need to be serving your clients and customers, not selling to them. Now that feels better, doesn’t it? That simple shift in your mindset may just make all the difference.

The method of Serve Selling focuses on persuading, not manipulating. It is based on getting someone to buy because it’s better for them, not you.

Eureka!

Let’s break Serve Selling down:

Serve instead of sell – When you have a sales offering, assume the role of a servant versus a salesperson. Take away the fake concern and manipulation. Focus on the real pain points and challenges your customer is facing. Now how does your product help them?
Do your research! Prior to your sales call or meeting, research every option for your client and be sure your offering is the best fit for your customers’ unique needs.
You need to be convinced. Yes you. You need to be the most convinced that your offering is the best fit for your customer. If you believe it will be of service to them, your communication will be clear, sincere, and well received.
You bridge the gap. There is a gap between a customer’s fear and the end result they can obtain through your sale. Make sure you can show them what their benefits will be.
Go into your sales as a servant. Tear away the fake concern while actually manipulating them to do what you want.
Remember. Selling is not telling. Selling is satisfying your customer.
Every time you make a sales call, make it a service call. I am positive your sales will improve.

I am all about getting you resources to help you navigate through these choppy waters we are facing. In light of this I will host a webinar to do a deeper dive into Serve Selling. If you would like to join, I would love to see you there. You may register here: Serve Selling

Also, to revisit this business solution as well as utilize the growing list of downloadable resources, go to The Recession Response. I am adding resources and updates often.

My friends. There will be good days and not so hot days. Just remember – YOU GOT THIS!

Wishing you health and wealth,

Mike

*****

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Check out the new courses to help propel your business forward: Mike’s courses

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Who is Your Customer Avatar?

Now more than ever, you need to pinpoint your market. But how?

There is a common known concept for small and medium business owners. It’s also the least executed. And it’s critical! Give up?

Well, who is your ideal customer? I mean, if you could sum them all up? Do you know their persona and what they need from you? What are their challenges and how can you serve them?

Above all, how can you serve your customers far better than anyone else out there?

You must know who your customer is in order to serve them well. Knowing their profile is the key to relationship building, product development, marketing and sales. It equals success for both you and your customers.

Welcome the customer avatar. What’s that? Sounds a little sci-fi to some old schoolers. And no, it’s not that animation of you on social media. Forbes defines your ideal customer avatar as a customer profile that is the best case scenario for your business.

You know how you build your avatar on social media or your email and it looks…well, nothing like you? You can’t do that with your customer avatar. You cannot reach your customers and help them with their challenges and goals if you don’t know who they are.

Ouch.

Ok, ok Mike! Now what?

How do you find your customer avatar?

Pro tip. You don’t make your customer avatar up – you discover it. Your ideal customer is already a customer of yours.
Beyond age, demographics and company type, ask yourself these questions about your customers: What podcasts do they listen to? Are they on email lists? Where do they congregate? Who do they follow on social media, and what subscriptions do they have?
Why do they need you? Be sure you know your avatar’s specific challenges and pain points, and you will be able to serve them better by.

Concentrate your marketing efforts in the area where your avatar is and watch your business improve.

Let’s talk benefits:

Products. You can’t develop solid products if you don’t know what will help them right now. Knowing who you serve will help you create better (not sucky) products that they will use today. The trend these days is action and your customers need actionable products.
Marketing and sales. Speaking directly to specific customer needs. If you are trying to appeal to everyone, you are probably appealing to no one. Know what their present challenges as well as future goals are. Be the one who helps them nail both.
Relationship building. Connecting with who your customer is, is the key to success. When you focus on who your customers are as individuals, you build trust. In turn, you will attract more of the kinds of people you are currently serving.

Something I pride myself on is the personal relationships I develop with my clients and customers. So while an avatar may seem impersonal, knowing who your avatar is will enable you to serve your customer base in a more personalized way. And that is a win win in my book.

Wishing you tremendous success.

You’ve got this!

-Mike

 

For more tips like this go to mikemotorbike.com

Join me in the journey! Instagram

What’s one of the key factors holding your business back? Confidence!

How is your confidence these days? How is your clients’ confidence in you?

The Confidence Course is being discounted for Mike’s audience.

See how much more success is achieved when your conviction meets action!

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Independent and Black Owned Bookstores – And how to support other black owned businesses

There is an obvious economic shift these days. How can we not only work toward building and sustaining our own businesses, but support each other as well?

What I love about small business is our comrade, and how we rally together in times of need. We are a community and we act as such. I just love that.

As you know, I am always seeking new ways to lift up small businesses. This time, I wanted to bring attention to black owned businesses. 

The crisis facing the economy and the racial unrest is a far more robust and ongoing conversation than this short blog. It’s important to have options when deciding on who to engage in business. In light of this, here are some resources should you be interested:

 

Independent, black owned bookstores:

Many of you have written to me about buying my books through independent bookstores, and the author in me loves exploring them. Earlier this month, Literary Hub put out a list of independent, black owned bookstores. Thanks Lit Hub! Do they all carry my books? No, but I’m interested anyway! Here is the list: Independent black owned bookstores

Hungry? There’s an app for that

I also found there is an application to help locate black owned restaurants in over 20 US cities.your area. EatOkra can help fill your belly, and support a black owned business. 

It’s not for Wall Street

Official Black Wall Street is the largest platform for black businesses.It includes a robust directory with everything from accessories to construction to finance to writing, all provided by black owned businesses.(And yes, there’s an app for this too!)

 

We’re in this together in many different ways. Coming together has never been more important for the world, and that includes our businesses. 

What are some of the new things you have been trying to support small business now?

We’ve got this!

-Mike

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Writing a Business Book

When you have an idea for a book, where do you start?

One of the most common questions I am asked is how to write a business book. You can outline and write, but don’t think for a second that even the most prolific author doesn’t do this one thing:

Research!

Sure, every business book begins with an idea. But no one knows every single detail necessary to weave a story, theory or system, into pages upon pages to create a succinct book.

When writing a business book I find that the research usually takes longer that the writing itself. The best part? The research for a book takes me on a journey I never expected. It has become my favorite part of writing.

When I was writing Fix This Next, I researched The Winchester House. This place was built with addition upon addition to improve the house, and it went nowhere. I mean there were actual stairs that leading nowhere. My wife and I even visited it when we were out in California to see for ourselves. (I take my research pretty seriously, after all.) What’s the connection? Fix This Next is a system that diagnoses the vital need in a business, how to navigate to correct it. It fixes the business, instead of getting nowhere, which is a common trap.

Research takes you on an unexpected path when writing a business book (or any book!). Be prepared for the journey to be very fluid, and try to lean into that! You may not end up where you originally thought and that’s ok!

For my next business book, I am delving into the research journey once again. Suddenly I am reading about the iridescence of butterfly wings. Not exactly what I anticipated I’d be doing with my day, but I love this learning process and how it opens my mind. Most of all, I enjoy finding the analogies I come across. And of course, sharing what I learn with others so they can succeed as well.

What are some of the processed you have in place for your business? What is your favorite part?

*******

Check out my Recession Response – the resources you need to succeed in the current economic environment.

Join me on the journey on Instagram

The post Writing a Business Book appeared first on Mike Michalowicz.

Writing a Business Book – and a fun surprise

When you have an idea for a book, where do you start?

One of the most common questions I am asked is how to write a business book. You can outline and write, but don’t think for a second that even the most prolific author doesn’t do this one thing:

Research!

Sure, every business book begins with an idea. But no one knows every single detail necessary to weave a story, theory or system, into pages upon pages to create a succinct book.

When writing a business book I find that the research usually takes longer that the writing itself. The best part? The research for a book takes me on a journey I never expected. It has become my favorite part of writing.

When I was writing Fix This Next, I researched The Winchester House. This place was built with addition upon addition to improve the house, and it went nowhere. I mean there were actual stairs that leading nowhere. My wife and I even visited it when we were out in California to see for ourselves. (I take my research pretty seriously, after all.) What’s the connection? Fix This Next is a system that diagnoses the vital need in a business, how to navigate to correct it. It fixes the business, instead of getting nowhere, which is a common trap.

Research takes you on an unexpected path when writing a business book (or any book!). Be prepared for the journey to be very fluid, and try to lean into that! You may not end up where you originally thought and that’s ok!

For my next business book, I am delving into the research journey once again. Suddenly I am reading about the iridescence of butterfly wings. Not exactly what I anticipated I’d be doing with my day, but I love this learning process and how it opens my mind. Most of all, I enjoy finding the analogies I come across. And of course, sharing what I learn with others so they can succeed as well.

What are some of the processed you have in place for your business? What is your favorite part?

*******

Check out my Recession Response – the resources you need to succeed in the current economic environment.

Join me on the journey on Instagram

The post Writing a Business Book – and a fun surprise appeared first on Mike Michalowicz.

The Writing Process

When you have an idea for a book, where do you start?

One of the most common questions I am asked is how to write a book. You can outline and write, but don’t think for a second that even the most prolific author doesn’t do this one thing:

Research!

Sure, every book begins with an idea. But no one knows every single detail necessary to weave a story, theory or system, into pages upon pages to create a succinct book.

When writing a book I find that the research usually takes longer that the writing itself. The best part? The research for a book takes me on a journey I never expected. It has become my favorite part of writing.

When I was writing Fix This Next, I researched The Winchester House. This place was built with addition upon addition to improve the house, and it went nowhere. I mean there were actual stairs that leading nowhere. My wife and I even visited it when we were out in California to see for ourselves. (I take my research pretty seriously, after all) What’s the connection? Fix This Next is a system that diagnoses the vital need in a business, how to navigate to correct it. It fixes the business, instead of getting nowhere, which is a common trap.

For my next book, I am delving into the research journey once again. Suddenly I am reading about the iridescence of butterfly wings. Not exactly what I anticipated I’d be doing with my day, but I love this learning process and how it opens my mind. Most of all, I enjoy sharing what I learn with others so they can succeed as well.

What are some of the favorite parts of your processes?

*******

Check out my Recession Response – the resources you need to succeed in the current economic environment.

Join me on the journey on Instagram

The post The Writing Process appeared first on Mike Michalowicz.

Going Virtual – How Live Events are Pivoting

Hey, remember conventions? Remember keynote speeches? Remember live summits? Me too. And now it’s all changing.

Our current health crisis has forced you to pivot your business. And now, it is forcing you to pivot you hosting or attending your live event. 

Recently, the decision was made to turn ProfitCon, an annual, three day live event, to a virtual event. Ouch. How do we even do that? 

Is this the new normal? While that’s not completely clear, it sure is the new “right now”. I am no stranger to virtual events, but now, there’s not much of a choice. Here’s what I’ve noticed about it lately:

There are some obvious downsides to live events pivoting to virtual events. When it comes to the cons, you definitely lose the tactile experience. For one, people are more distracted during a virtual event. I can’t see if someone is checking their email, making a sandwich or just not engaged at all. Moreover, it’s the energy alone that I miss. That energy of a live event is just palpable. From the excitement of the audience (or side eye, depends on the audience member) to the adrenaline I have pumping through me before I walk out onto a stage, a live event is much more, well, alive. And, obviously, there is the loss of that human component. When the virtual event ends it ends with a click, and a blank screen. I miss that opportunity to really interact. To shake hands and even break bread with others. 

Hm. Maybe we should be having virtual dinners after these events…

I will counter all of this by saying virtual events have proven to have some pleasant surprises. You know I live for the silver lining! By going virtual the number of events you are able to present increases dramatically. Usually, one live event can take up most of a week. Really! They usually take 2-3 days between travel time and the event itself. Virtual events? You can conduct 2-3 events per day if you want to. (You know, in case your’re as nuts as I am.)

Another huge surprise for me with virtual events? Connection with individuals in the group can be stronger. At a live event, you can hear laughter and applause, which you obviously cannot hear virtually. But, I have been pleasantly surprised that engagement actually increases through virtual events. The ability to type in questions during the event allows you to be much more responsive to individuals as you present. And, for an audience member to walk away with real answers after an event is extremely gratifying. And, there is a greater form of access and quality for the audience themselves. Some virtual events are arranged so you can view everyone on the screen, they are just as visible as you are – so there is much more intimacy, which I did not expect at all. I can work with this!

Do you want to host a live event? Set up your home office or presentation space as a broadcast. While you don’t have to spend an enormous amount of money on your equipment, you do need the right equipment. Here are some tips:

Audio – Above all, quality audio is key. If your audience can’t hear you they’re outta there! Once you have your audio nailed down, it’s time for…

Lighting – Make sure you are lit so your audience can see your face clearly. While back lighting may look cool in a portrait, it will blur your face or make it impossible to see you in a video format. Which brings me to…

Camera – Get one. Again, it doesn’t have to be fancy, but check reviews and make sure it is going to serve your purpose for your plans. 

I know the world is asking a lot of you right now, and this is just another piece of it. The face of our events may be changing – but our connection doesn’t have to. In fact, it can make our connection stronger than ever if we embrace it.

Keep kicking butt, my friends. You’ve got this.

*****

For more tips on managing the current economic crisis, check out href=”https://mikemichalowicz.com/recession-response/”>The Recession Response.

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An Interview with Alex Boghossian – Co-Founder of 301AD

I have to take a moment to give a huge shout out new entrepreneurs right now.

We are facing uncertainty in our lives and businesses. Can you imaging starting your business during a pandemic? Plans were made before Covid-19, and new entrepreneurs? They are learning how to pivot, and fast, to get their businesses off the ground.

Last week I had the opportunity to interview Alex Boghossian, Co-Founder of 301 AD.  Alex, along with two other entrepreneurs, established 301 AD, a start-up apparel & clothing brand, in January 2020. Their mission? To create affordable products with Armenian elements within mainstream fashion. And, relevant to the times, they are doing this by combining the power of modern fashion and Armenian components of resilience, faith, and survival. What better themes to showcase at a time like this?

The curve balls thrown at all business owners has left us looking at new ways to sustain our businesses. One of the ways 301 AD is doing this is through crowd funding on Indiegogo. Similar to Kickstarter, Indiegogo brings together a community to gain support for their mission.

Always one to support new entrepreneurs in their journey, here is the ink for 301 AD’s Indiegogo campaign.  Also – and I am so impressed with this – 301 AD is currently fundraising not just for them, but for Covid-19 relief for Armenia. They will contribute a whopping 33% of their proceeds to this cause. What a phenomenal example of generosity, and keeping with their values. There are 3 more days to contribute, and I hope you consider it.

I am wishing all business owners, especially new ones, tremendous success!

 

Check out 301 AD on Instagram 

 

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Triple Punch Tax – A Warning

I want to share a warning with you about the taxes that are coming your way. I don’t want you to be shocked or unprepared.

U.S. small businesses have received an extension for the first quarter 2020 estimated tax payment. The first quarter estimated tax payment that was originally due April 15, 2020, is now due July 15, 2020. Additionally, the second quarter estimate originally due on June 15, 2020 is now due on July 15, 2020. Estimated taxes for the third quarter are still due September 15, 2020. As a result, three tax payments will be due within 60 days of each other.

Some business owners are treating the postponement of taxes as “free money.” It is not. Taxes are still due. The same amount still needs to be paid. The due date changes simply afford you time to focus on other business priorities, it does not alleviate your tax burden.

Treat your taxes like they are due on the original dates. Put the money aside and don’t use it for any other purpose.Then pay your estimates by the new due dates. Businesses owners who fail to prepare for The 60 Day Triple Tax Punch may experience devastating cash flow challenges as a result.

I have provided additional resources like this on Recession Response page. I know it will serve you.

I am wishing you tremendous success.

You’ve got this!

– Mike

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