Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Is Leadership Relevant for Everyone?

yvonne

When many hear the word ‘Leadership’, it is easy to associate it to someone who leads others, is in a position of power or management. However, this is easily one of the biggest leadership myths and misconceptions that is slowly changing.

Very early in life and my career, I felt that in order to effectively lead others or have others do something, you needed to be in a position of power. However, over time I have seen and learnt otherwise. I have observed the most influential and effective leaders are those who are able to lead and influence others without relying on the ‘stick and carrot’ approach e.g. leaders of volunteer organisations.

John C. Maxwell, regarded as one of the top global leadership experts, defines the true measure of leadership as Influence – nothing more, nothing less. Leadership is not directing, commanding or managing, leadership is influencing others to take action or follow; be it family, friends, colleagues, your boss or team.

Position provides a platform for anyone, but Influence is what keeps you in that position and takes you to the next level.

John also shares in his book “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” that our Leadership ability is the LID that determines our level of effectiveness, known as the ‘Law of the Lid’. Where our LID is the maximum level at which we can be effective.  Therefore, if our leadership ability were to rate at a 6, our level of effectiveness, and ability to lead others or impact our organisation could never be greater than a 5.

“The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence should be” – John C. Maxwell.

Why leadership is important

  • It determines our level of effectiveness in all areas of our lives; helping us to be more effective in taking a lead in our personal and professional lives
  • It increases our sphere of influence with others (team, colleagues, boss, family), as well as in leading others, and getting things done
  • It enables us manage and deal with change more effectively; helping us build character traits and skills to respond to change more quickly, and deal with the ambiguity that often comes with change
  • It differentiates us in a crowd to be singled out and recognised, and to rise higher and higher

To help raise your lid and develop your leadership skills, consider some of the following:

  • Identify your leadership gaps, have a leadership mindset and be intentional about developing yourself as a leader
  • Find a mentor(s) for 1-2-1 mentoring, or consider mentorship from a distance by studying, observing and learning from leaders you respect
  • Read books on leadership and self development
  • Attend leadership training, events and conferences
  • Surround yourself with other leaders – iron sharpens iron

Leadership is NOT always about title, position or power. It provides required traits and skills for everyone that when applied to both our personal and professional lives it helps us excel… “Everything rises and falls on leadership”.

What are your thoughts on the value of leadership?

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on Changing your Mindset for greater results, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help implement change they want and achieve their goals.   

She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

It's Time to "TALK" about Social Media

Sheralyn

As the saying goes “unless you’ve been hiding under a rock” there is a very good chance that you’ve not only heard of facebook and LinkedIn but are an active and engaged participant on both. We are reminded constantly of the need to be on social media, to maintain a social media presence and to interact with our customers by employing this type of technology. How much is too much however? At what point does your message become de-valued, meaningless white noise amongst the clamor for customer attention? At the same time, how much is too much for you, as a person trying to conduct business? Social media has a huge role to play in terms of its ability to distract and consume your time voraciously in a non-productive way. Let’s talk about how much we “talk.”

The word “talk” was very deliberately placed in quotes. Why? Because today, due primarily to the influence of social media, we don’t do nearly enough actual talking.  Our interactions with others on a human scale are some days, literally non-existent while our “interactions” on social media are exhaustive!  Social Media has created a “doors wide-open” philosophy where we are encouraged to post, post, post, often times with little regard for the quality of the posting.  There are entire blogs related to how often you should post and the rule of three has become the norm:  post three times sharing information, tips, tools, techniques or free giveaways, before posting any targeted and specific attempt at soliciting business. The problem is we are often left searching for content of value, re-circulating posts that have already made the internet rounds several times over and which are, at best, tenuously related to our business. Currently, “curated content” is the new buzzword. Let’s look at what that really is. Curated content is regurgitated. It’s a nice word for taking someone’s work, cobbling it together with other similar posts and offering them up under your banner for public consumption. Often, I find an attention-grabbing headline has been shared to a page but when you click on the link, the content has nothing to do with the business sharing it. Clearly this is an example of someone not vetting content or sharing information of value but rather, a person simply caught up in the rush to post, post, post.

Original content is king and making sure that it’s laser-focused and related to your business is paramount. Self-employed entrepreneurs must fight for attention amongst big business so it is particularly incumbent upon them to ensure content is relevant. More so, it is critical that you don’t get caught up in the minutiae yourself, trawling through LinkedIn in search of content but getting sidetracked along the way looking at what all your old high school friends are doing now. The same is true with facebook. As entrepreneurs, with no IT department to block your access, and no one to answer to other than yourself, it’s far too easy to flip through facebook laughing at the antics of your nephew as he plays with that cute new puppy. Social Media for business requires both social responsibility and effective time management.  Set aside just 15 minutes twice a day to touch base with your followers. Be very regimented about that time (use the alarm on your Smartphone) and before you hit the share button employ the “pause and reflect” philosophy. Ask yourself “is this of value, relevant or potentially helpful to my clients?” If the answer is no, don’t share. If you haven’t even read the content, definitely don’t share it and if you really don’t have anything to say – that’s fine too. Just as in life, don’t “talk” for the sake of talk, but rather, talk when you have something meaningful to say. After all, you don’t want to be the person “blocked” by your customers because they were fed up with a continuous and largely irrelevant barrage of “curated content.”

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

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Business Plan Demystified… How to write your Businesss Plan once and for all.

yr

If I had to say in a few words what a business plan is, it would be “The blueprint for a successful business”.

Before a builder sets about building a house, he needs a set of architectural plans (blueprint), which guides and instructs him in the build. Without this, sooner or later he will most likely to run into problems such as; incorrect dimensions, unstable foundation to support the structure of the building, and delays. In other words, complete chaos!

The same thing goes for someone who starts a business without a business plan, this could lead to; insufficient understanding of the service/product market, insufficient funds to start and run the business, a lack of customers to sustain the business, and much more. These are issues that could been managed much better if adequately prepared with a tool such as a business plan.

Essentially a business plan is the detailed plan for your business that should be written to;

  • Enable plan the start and growth of the business.
  • Provide ongoing guidance and a benchmark that measures your efforts and keeps you on track to achieve set objectives.
  • Raise finances from external sources.
  • And attract successful partnerships and alliances.

Your business plan should be well thought through and contain pertinent information to enable you successfully kick-start and grow your  business. When approaching external sources for the purpose of raising money, your business plan is your written sales pitch. It should show a good return on investment, show there is a market for the product or service, and inspire confidence in the lender that you capable of successfully manage the business.

When it comes to the question of who should write the business plan? You, your business partner or team should be part of the business plan writing process, as you essentially have more knowledge about the vision for the business. Also, through the process of writing the business plan you will learn the what, why, where, when and how of the business and market.

Some people find it difficult to set out their ideas on paper; hence the availability of business coaches and consultants who can work with YOU in writing an effective plan, as they usually have more knowledge and experience in with Business Plans.

The length of a business plan will vary depending on its purpose. Take for instance, if the business plan is for the intention of raising funds to finance the business, and the more money you need to raise, the more comprehensive your business plan should be to show a detailed plan, analysis and strategy to convince the potential financiers of the viability of the business. And the less money you need to raise or no money at all the shorter the length containing only foundational items. The average business plan will include all the sections mentioned below.

Prior to writing your business plan, take a stab at developing your business idea, and then do some preliminary research of your market (product/service and target audience). The output of this effort feed in heavily into writing your business plan.

Your business plan should include the following sections:

Executive Summary – This is typically included when writing a formal business plan for external audiences to review. It should be written last to summarise the entire business plan. It provides an overview of each section of the plan and contains key information at glance.

Management – States who will be managing the business, their related experience management responsibility. Include qualifications and experience, and where there is a skill or experience gap, mention how this will be filled.

Purpose or Background of Business – This is typically included when writing a formal business plan for external audiences to review For a new business, this section includes business purpose; is it going to be a profit or not-for-profit venture, why has it been set up, what need is it going to meet etc. If it is an existing business the section should be titled ‘Background’, and provide information on when it start trading and a brief summary of performance to date.

Business Objectives – These are the objectives of the business, what it will be working towards achieving. The objectives can be grouped into short, medium and long term. Always endeavour to apply the SMART rule; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-framed

Product/Service – Describe the products or services that will be offered in more detail. What is the USP (Unique Selling Point/Proposition)? Mention any patents or trademarks that exist or have been applied for. Also mention complementary products that could be offered.

Market – The past, present and future of the market you plan on entering or that you are already operating within. This section should contain a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats). As well as how the business will fit into the present or future market, and what the major drivers for its success in the market.

Competitor Analysis – This describes who your competitors are, both direct and indirect. What they offer and how you plan on competing against them or even working with them.

Marketing Plan – Having worked out your marketing strategy, this will describe your plan to market your business. It will include the 4Ps; Pricing, Promotion, Product/Packaging and Place (distribution). It includes your social media strategy.

Operational Plan – Where you will be operating from, machinery/equipment required (will it be bought or leased), staffing requirements and logistics.

Financial Analysis – Very important section for you or external reviewers. It should contain; financial model, cash flow forecast and profit & loss forecast. Assumptions that have been made in reaching figures and even the risks that could affect figures. This ensures and demonstrates that you have thoroughly worked out your figures and are prepared for any eventualities.

Above is a bird’s eye view of what your business plan should contain. Depending on the type of business and the purpose for which of the business plan is being written, the content and structure will differ.

Don’t write your business plan for only the sake of raising finances or other reason, and end up not utilising it for its main purpose; implementing and managing a successful business. Your business plan is to ensure you build a solid foundation for your business that is able to withstand threats, grows, is profitable and most importantly, is fulfilling.

For a free Business Plan Template

Yvonne loves and enjoys working with working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs, and Organisations to achieve desired results. She is a results driven High Performance Consultant & Coach, and straight shooting Speaker whose first objective is her client’s success.  She can be reached at:  www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc, www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc