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B.O.B Episode 5 – How intentional is your business

How intentional is your business? This might sound like a weird question, but it is a question that will challenge you and make you introspect yourself about  your business, why it is there and where it is going.

If you know the intentions of your business then you should be able to answer this question without grabbling with the answer first. If you find yourself finding it hard to answer this question, then you need to pause for a moment, think about this question, and ask yourself how intentional is your business.

We’ve been working with John Maxwell and his new programme called #IntentionalLiving that has started and spread all over the globe in the past few weeks. This programme is challenging us to think about how we live our lives intentionally on a daily basis. It challenges us to really go into introspection and ask ourselves what is it that we are doing intentionally as people, as staff, as businesses, etc?

Now, if your business is just waiting for something to happen in order for it to react, then you have a reactive business. That is a business that waits for opportunities to come for it to grow. That means it is the opposite of an intentional business. It is almost like waiting for an opportunity to hit you in the face for you to make a sale and to grow.

An intentional business is a business that does not wait for opportunities, but goes out there to look for them. . It sends out scarves to unknown territories, beyond comfortable and known territories. That involves networking, talking to people, selling your products or services to a whole lot of people out there.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:18+02:00November 9th, 2015|Bruce on Business|0 Comments

Looking back to plan forward: Part 1

achievement-affiliationThis week we will take a short journey through a series of exercises that we use to cement the leanings from the past year and prepare for the quantum leap into 2016.

The first exercise is a simple one but so many people neglect to do this each year let alone each day. Take time to pause and reflect on your achievements. Make a list of all the highlights that both you and your team have achieved throughout the year. Go through each month, pull out old notes or your diary and make a celebration list.

Once you have exhausted your achievements, jot down, next to each item, the reasons why you achieved these. What was the catalyst or mechanics behind each one? What we are looking for here are the cogs that turned and engaged that resulted in success. This is the real learning here, to understand what was done to achieve the results you experienced. When you are done with this, share these with the team and chat about what went right and what went not so right this past 12 months.

Celebrate the victories and learn from the failures.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:18+02:00November 5th, 2015|Reflections|0 Comments

Congratulations to the Rugby World Cup winners!

It is really interesting that in championships like the Rugby World Cup, so many teams arrive to participate, and all f them except one, have to go away losers. it’s not quite fair, is it? Of course for the winning team it is alright, but what about the loosing teams?

Do they ever get a chance to reconcile with their emotions, management or fans, to understand what went wrong? In instances like this it is natural for the fans to point fingers and blame. they blame the referee, the coach and sometimes the weather.It is always nice to blame other people for the failures we encounter, because it makes us feel validated in our misery or anger.

So how does that relate to business? do you ever take time to analyse both your failures and victories in business? Do you spend some time in a postmortem discussion, understanding the things that went right in your business, so you can do more of those and the things that went wrong, so you can do less of them.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00November 2nd, 2015|Bruce on Business|0 Comments

Do your clients trust you?

Zig ZiglarIn business we all survive by selling a product, service or skill. but we need to build a relationship and trust with the people that we sell those to -our clients. Zig Ziglar said “Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” Now, I  want to focus on trust because trust is the most important factor in every relationship. If trust is lacking in any relationship, forget about everything else.

You may have product, service or competitive pricing, but if you don’t command and deserve trust , you will not enjoy long term success. It is never enough to simply invite trust, trust is earned. that is why successful companies make it their priority to build and maintain trust with their clients. Clients become loyal to a business because they have trust in it.

In a world that changes as quickly as ours, trust becomes a critical factor. Tom Peters – a business consultant calls trust “the issue of the decade”. Trust makes relationships stronger. it makes a lot of things easier. It takes a lot of years to build, but only a minute to destroy.

For each and everyone of us and for every organization, trust remains something to build up, protected, valued and cherished. without it true success is impossible.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00October 29th, 2015|General|0 Comments

How to be awesome on video calls

Four ways to optimize your video calls:

1. Prepare yourself

Make sure your video looks good. the good thing about video is that you can control what the other person sees. Use the ABCD method.

The ABCD method means:

A – Ambiance

– Have a nice quiet place and good lighting to record. Lighting is important, so make sure the lighting is nicely bright.

B – Backdrop

– Make sure  your background is professional and neutral, e.g Bookcase, plain wall with a few nice pictures.

C – Clutter

– Remove all clutter from the desk so that you don’t get destructed or find yourself picking up something from the desk when you are nervous.

D – Dress to impress

Put on formal clothes. Do not wear striped, low cut or too tight clothes, they don’t look good on camera. Do not wear clanky  jewelry, they can be so noisy to the camera and cause a destruction.

2. Digital First Impression

It is important to look professional on camera just as you would when you meet in person. Use use professional language. since you cannot actually shake hands with your caller, give them a nice, warm smile, a nod or a wave.

3. Virtual Body Language

Your non-verbal communication is as important as your verbal communication. Be sure to look at the camera and not on the screen at all times, that gives a better eye contact.

4. End on a High

Make sure you end your call with a compliment or a call to action. Make an impressive ending.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00October 28th, 2015|General|0 Comments

Bruce On Business: 10 questions you need to ask and answer when venturing into business.

Are you thinking of venturing into a business? Here are the 10 questions you need to ask yourself  and answer.

1. What do I want to do?

2. What do I need?

3. Where do I want to be in 3 to 5 years’ time?

4. Where do you want to be in 10 years’ time?

5.1. What would I need to have to help me get there?

5.2. What would I have to be?

6. Who would I have to meet?

7. Where am I currently?

8. What are my current financial capabilities?

9. What education and experience capabilities?

10. Where is your track record?

 

 

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00October 26th, 2015|Bruce on Business|0 Comments

The “DO IT NOW” habit

6bfa1bc0f3ac9674cc9493e58b2b35f7Yesterday we had an opportunity to attend the John Maxwell Live2Lead conference, an insightful, life-changing event themed Intentional Living. The event was packed with valuable content delivered by some of the greatest leadership coaches like John C. Maxwell, Pat Lencioni and Valorie Burton. Broadcast to thousands of people across the globe, John Maxwell shared with us about significance of Intentional Living.

One of the things he told the audience was that we need to get into the habit of doing things now – which he termed the “DO IT NOW” habit. That challenged and left me inspired as I am one of those people who sometimes struggle with the thief of time that is synonymously called procrastination.

We all procrastinate at some point in life. How often do you feel your head spinning with great ideas about how to improve your life, start your own business, or make a difference in other people’s lives? And how often do you find yourself stuck in the same place, doing nothing but making the same promises to yourself and repeating the same excuses?

So what is it that stops us? Why are we waiting? Why can’t we do it now?  You see, many times we miss opportunities that could have changed our lives because of procrastination.

John Maxwell said a significant thing that “before you get out of bed every morning, say ‘do it now’ 50 times. At the end of the day before you go to sleep, the last thing you should do is say ‘do it now’ 50 times.”

When you live each day with intention, there’s almost no limit to what you can do. So why wait? Do not enslave yourself by putting things on hold. Do it now!

It is time to have a sense of urgency. What we need to know and tell ourselves is that ‘now’ is always the right time.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00October 22nd, 2015|Business Resources|0 Comments

Entrepreneur Incubator turns 5

Entrepreneur Incubator turns 5

Entrepreneur Incubator turns 5

It is the small milestones in business that we need to celebrate in order to gain the huge victories as a result.

I first stood in a queue in a post office back in 1998 to send of my first business registration documents to CIPRO. It was an exciting time for me as the opportunities were plentiful and risks seemed irrelevant. My first business was in Computing and we ran an outsourced service back to various retail companies in connection with JDA and customised solution design. This soon morphed into additional services. We added Graphic design and printing and then branched out with an NPO that addressed the refugee issues in the Muizenberg area and surrounds.

After some years, the business once again morphed into the personal coaching  and training arena and together with a couple of friends we launched Well4Life that was sold to one of the partners a few years later. A few other business ventures and partners have come and gone, some good, some not so, but all have added to the development of what is now Entrepreneur Incubator and Academy.

In 2009, some computer issue in CIPRO disallowed us from filing our annual return and like so many other businesses we were deregistered and our bank closed the account. So I started again and this time had more focus on what we were doing and where we were going. It did take 5 turns to reserve the name I wanted and in October 2010 we received our CK1 documents, giving us the green light to begin the dream.

Over the last five years we have moved offices 3 times. Employed 5 staff members and assisted over 450 businesses to get started or get growing. Our relationship with Shanduka Black Umbrellas is key to investing in the emerging markets and our own clients have shown us many different ways to overcome challenges.

We currently have a huge online presence with our blog read the globe over, our e-learning courses on 5 different platforms and our very spiffy Cape Town offices boasts a full training room, office suites, a board/coaching room and a fully equipped video studio.

What does the future hold: Well that would be telling, but I can share that we are thinking hard about the online video space, together with some partners as well as a possible growth strategy that will put us on the national map as a business support partner with a big influence in the market.

So here is to us: hip hip horray….. now to the next 5 years.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:19+02:00October 20th, 2015|Business Resources|1 Comment

EI Client wins best of the best

Josh2Josh Thirion, a local budding Entrepreneur and only just a teenager has been awarded the Best of the Best Gourmand award for Children’s Cookbooks at the event in Frankfurt, Germany last week.
Josh joined the Entrepreneur Incubator earlier this year to develop an online branding strategy and create new ways to diversify the income streams into his developing business.
Over the last few months we have designed and launched his website, created a YouTube channel that now has a number of his own cooking videos and created both above and below the line campaigns to enhance his brand.
Josh, supported by his parents has gone from strength to strength after his first book “Cook with Josh” won the annual Gourmand award in Paris a few years ago. This success spurred him on to compile a second book “Bake with Josh” that won a Special Jury award in China earlier this year.
All the previous award winners assembled in Frankfurt last week to celebrate 20 years of Gourmand awards and the best of the best were selected. No surprise to us Josh’s book was nominated and won in the category Children’s Cookbooks.
The plans for the brand Josh in the Kitchen now include an expanded online presence, with a soon the be launched shop and online membership club, a lot more cooking videos and a host of special appearances with all the fellow cooking celebs Josh has now met up with.
It is always a great privilege to share the successes of our clients, not matter how small, but something this big, we feel like shouting it from the roof tops. Congrats Josh and Mom and Dad. We look forward to a future where all your dreams come true.
Read more about Josh on his website www.joshinthekictchen.com and signup to get his newsletter and become a member of his exclusive online club.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:20+02:00October 19th, 2015|EI Clients|0 Comments

The 16th Team Member

We have seen a weekend of huge rugby in the World Cup Quarter Final matches. Each team that has played has put their all into the efforts. The players have been out on their feet at the final whistle. Unfortunately it is a competition and one side has to win and the other has to lose.

What has fascinated me during these matches is the involvement of the spectators. The pure passion they display, giving their all as far as support, encouragement and advice to the ref. When the teams have been down and out, the energy they have received from the stands has taken them to new heights and spurred them on to continue in battle.

IT got me to think about what support we have as Entrepreneurs. Where do we go to to feed off new energy when our reserves are down? Who shouts for us when we are at our lowest? Who are our fans?

How important is it to have a fan base, a group of people who believe in us no matter what the result. We need a group of people willing to dance in the streets when we close a deal and make a profit, we also need the same people to be with us when we lose that important clients and bomb out on a deal.

This Support network is not built by accident or just through family ties. It has to be build through a strategic effort. Look for, identify and recruit people who will be your fan base. People who are willing to listen, without the need to fix. People who care more about you than the money you make. People who want to see you win, even when you have just lost, again.

I encourage you to go out today and find those loyal fans. Look for them at home, family and friends. Then look at your suppliers and customers. Who are the loyal ones who believe you will make it? Who are the ones who will stand behind you through thick and thin.

Then you can recruit a Mentor and a Coach to support you. Someone who has the experience to see beyond the short term and help draft a long term plan to success.

The power of the 16th man, your supporter, has to be one of the critical success factors for any team, both on and off the field.

By |2016-11-01T10:20:20+02:00October 19th, 2015|General|0 Comments
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