How Can You Tap Into Your Superpower? 5 Tips For Becoming A Visionary Leader.

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How Can You Tap Into Your Superpower? 5 Tips For Becoming A Visionary Leader.

March 3rd, 2022 Mari Tautimes Leave a comment

The business world moves fast – faster than ever before, thanks in large part to new technology and higher expectations from customers in an ultra-competitive landscape. And for leaders, it’s about constantly moving their company forward or being left behind.

Being “in the moment” is crucial, but one key factor separating successful companies from mediocre ones are visionary leaders who can look far ahead, see the change that needs to be made and empower others to make it happen, says Mari Tautimes, a prosperous business owner and author of #KeepGoing: From 15-Year-Old Mom To Successful CEO And Entrepreneur.

“Visionary leaders guide companies to positive change and significant growth with great ideas and long-term decision-making,” she says. “They inspire and empower their team. They unite the company with a powerful common goal that aligns departments and builds strong relationships.

“The vision stems from natural curiosity, a passion for potential, and a quest to improve not only the company but the lives of others. Being a visionary leader is a superpower. It’s being able to envision a future that’s better, possessing the drive towards that, and actively selling others on your ideas. When this superpower is tapped into properly, it can change the world.”

Tautimes offers these tips to become a visionary leader:

Create space to visualize. Tautimes says coming up with a vision, like many creative thinking processes, requires time alone to focus. “It could be getting exercise, sitting at a sidewalk cafe, or any way you can kick-start the creative process,” she says. “Develop a systematic approach to tapping into your vision. Take clarity breaks during the day, where you get away, unplug, and free think about the future and your business.”

Be a risk taker. A visionary leader creates change, and change doesn’t come without risks. Tautimes says such leaders are willing to struggle and step out of their comfort zone. “You need to have a true stomach for risk and not be plagued by this pesky inconvenience to need to know how something can be done,” she says. “You have the belief that it can be done and the team will help you figure out how. You need to keep in mind that achieving the vision and reaping the rewards are worth the pain along the way. Otherwise you’ll stop pushing forward and the dream will die. And when your team buys in and sees you stepping out of your comfort zone, they’ll be empowered to do the same.”

Communicate passionately and listen thoroughly. A visionary leader must communicate the vision with a consistent passion that pulls everyone on board, Tautimes says. But the vision may never be achieved if the leader doesn’t listen to and accept some advice from team members. “A visionary leader doesn’t just stampede through everybody and ignore all the naysayers,” she says. “Without the support of others who can keep the visionary grounded, the project will fail. While visionaries create the ideas that shape the future, there’s usually a huge support system behind them that assists with execution.”

Know your industry inside-out. Being a visionary leader requires curiosity that leads to learning in-depth about their industry, including market trends and relevant data. “A visionary leader needs to gather lots of information, which helps them make accurate observations and define and refine their business vision,” Tautimes says. “They make connections in networking and are constantly gaining knowledge and growing. When the right opportunity comes into their view, they know when to strike.

Set practical goals that motivate the team toward the vision. ”It might take you years to reach your vision, but you have a clearly stated picture of it, and you’re excited thinking about it,” Tautimes says. “To help maintain your enthusiasm and that of your team members, and to continue momentum, set goals along the way that are milestones of progress toward the vision. Define a time frame for those next few goals.”

“Creating a vision for a business and following through on it requires boldness, commitment, communication and boundless energy,” Tautimes says. “Visionary leaders who truly stay focused on the vision while keeping everyone on board and moving forward can see great success.”

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Mari Tautimes (www.maritautimes.com) is the author of #KeepGoing: From 15-Year-Old Mom To Successful CEO And Entrepreneur. She rose from administrative assistant to CEO of her family’s businesses and sold them for $16 million. An entrepreneur for over 20 years, Tautimes is a speaker, trainer, EOS Implementer® and mentor, sharing her story of perseverance and success to help others create fulfilling lives.

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How To Build Leadership Programs For Women In Your Organization

February 25th, 2022 Barbara Bell Leave a comment

The percentage of women who hold leadership roles in business, higher education and government grows with each passing year – sometimes dramatically, sometimes incrementally.

But every gain holds the promise of more gains, as young girls see opportunities previous generations didn’t.

“Each of us stands on the shoulders of all the women in our chosen professions who have come before us, who have blazed a trail,” says Barbara Bell (www.captainbarbarabell.com), a professor of leadership at Vanderbilt University and author of Flight Lessons: Navigating Through Life’s Turbulence and Learning to Fly High.

“Others have done the hard work, and we must too. Throughout my career, I learned many deepening skills of leadership and was privileged with many opportunities to lead.”

But Bell, one of the first women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Test Pilot School, also says that businesses and other organizations can do a much better job of helping women reach their leadership potential. And March, which is Women’s History Month, is as good a time as any to get started.

She says some ways organizations can develop better leadership programs for women include:

Provide mentors or a support system. Certainly, a mentor can guide and advise those emerging leaders in an organization, which is valuable in and of itself, Bell says. “But it goes beyond just having someone who offers guidance,” she says. “It’s important as women are developing their leadership skills to have someone in their corner.” Bell says that when she was an instructor at Navy Test Pilot School, she worked for a Navy department head, Commander Dave Kennedy, and a Marine Corps Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Bob Price, who did that for her. “Both of these leaders supported my work and, more broadly, helped expand the roles of women in military aviation,” she says.

Allow them time to grow. Bell says that, too often, people think they need to have everything figured out before they take the risk of heading down a new path or beginning a new opportunity. But organizations can help women grow as leaders if they free them of this idea. “Women need to understand that, as you become more senior in your leadership, you should let go of the notion that you have to know everything,” she says. “They also should understand that as their leadership responsibilities grow and become increasingly more complex, they should become comfortable being more of a generalist. One way of growing in leadership is to rely on those who work for you as the specialists and lead them in the direction you want them to go.”

Encourage, don’t discourage. It’s easy to point out obstacles someone faces and to express doubts about their abilities to overcome those obstacles, Bell says. Avoid that temptation. She recalls a career manager in the Navy who suggested her record wasn’t strong enough to get into Test Pilot School. “Fortunately, I didn’t let him dissuade me,” she says. “By that point in my career, I was so used to the naysayers that I was not fazed.” But it did affect her approach when she became a career manager later herself. She vowed never to discourage, but only to encourage those she worked with.

Understand that women leaders can be role models for others in the organization. In flight school, Bell became a role model almost by default because she stood out as the only woman in her Naval Flight Officer class. “My calling to leadership included the privilege to be the example,” she says. “Other women who assume leadership roles have the same opportunity and privilege.” And having role models who inspire others is good for any organization.

“For anyone, rising to the top takes hard work, endurance and persistence,” Bell says. “You have to be in it for the long haul. But whenever we create forward motion in our lives, we generate the lift that will take us to new heights.”

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Barbara Bell (www.captainbarbarabell.com), author of Flight Lessons: Navigating Through Life’s Turbulence and Learning to Fly High, was one of the first women to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Now she works to empower the next generation of female leaders. In 1992, Bell and fellow aviators went to Capitol Hill to help successfully repeal the combat exclusions laws, opening up combat aircraft and ships to women in the military. Bell holds a B.S. in systems engineering from the United States Naval Academy, an M.S. in astronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, an M.A. in theology from Marylhurst University, and a doctorate in education from Vanderbilt University.

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7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Launching a New Software Program

February 24th, 2022 Ethan Drower Leave a comment

In the business arena, software remains one of the fastest-growing categories of startups today — and for good reason! The scalability of software, and it’s unique ability to serve one or one million users, makes it the ideal weapon of choice for entrepreneurs looking to make a big impact.

In my 10+ years as a software developer and as the co-founder and Operating Partner of CiteMed, I have built my own software, hired teams, and worked for teams hell-bent on creating “the next big thing”. From apps, to Software as a Service, I have hit major pitfalls, completely failed, and even found my way into some successful companies.

Are you thinking of bringing your own software platform to market and want some helpful advice? If so, here is a highlight reel of the top mistakes that plague most young and ambitious software entrepreneurs. I personally made many of these mistakes and can attest to their severity.

If you are thinking about building something, struggling to find the best product market fit, or are fighting it out in the marketplace already, it’s imperative to avoid these key mistakes.

Not Choosing Your Market Wisely

Most software startups are doomed from the start, simply because their founders have chosen a bad market. Bad markets can be too competitive, or too empty (no real paying users). So when you are picking a market to enter with your software idea, make sure of two things: first, that your product can compete (don’t try and build a competitor to Facebook), and second, make sure that there will be paying customers or advertisers to pitch what you end up building to.

Not Building a REAL Minimum Viable Product

It’s all too tempting to set out with a features/functionality list that rivals the top competitors in your space. However, you are wasting your time and resources if you are waiting to build the perfect product before launching.

It’s (now) common Silicon Valley wisdom to launch a version of your software that you are a little embarrassed by. This is sage advice and should be heeded. The reality is, until you get feedback from real users and customers, you won’t be able to know exactly what to build. So take a guess of what that may be, build the fastest/quickest/dirtiest version of that guess, and then go out there and try and get people to use it.

Not Knowing Who Your Target User Is

While you may not know exactly what to build, you should have a very strong notion of who you are building it for. To do this, construct a detailed “avatar” of your ideal user. Who are they? Where do they work? What do they do for fun? Why would they need your software? The more you understand your target user (and their problems), the better your software product will turn out. You can add functionalities and more that they would really find valuable.

Underestimating Your Budget

If you are in the more traditional “startup” and venture capital world, this translates into one thing: raise enough money. If you are a bootstrapper and self financed, this is even more critical to building your product. In my experience, I have found that software tends to take twice the time and (at least) twice the budget of whatever a professional or development team quotes you. As much as I hate to admit it, this is just the way it always seems to work out.

So when you set out to hire developers and build a team, be sure that you have enough capital to actually get a product out into the marketplace. If not, you will end up with a half-finished project, and shattered nerves.

Cheaping Out on Developers

When you do manage to find the budget, be sure that you aren’t just attracted to the cheapest bids from offshore development companies. Yes, while an $8/hour developer may seem attractive on paper, I assure you that they will end up costing you more in lost time, poor craftsmanship, and headaches down the line.

Pick good developers, and if you don’t know the difference, hire someone to pick them for you (let me tell you, a good Chief Technology Officer (CTO) co-founder is worth their weight in gold).

Not Having a Techie In Your Corner

While a CTO is not essential, working with one does eliminate the vast majority of problems that non-technical founders ultimately face in the building and launching of software products. They also significantly reduce your initial costs if they can write a large portion of the code themselves. If you can’t find a suitable co-founder that’s a programmer, simply having a friend or trusted advisor in your network to vet ideas and hire developers is well worth the effort to secure.

Waiting to Launch

Waiting until things are “perfect” is one of the biggest mistakes I have made in my software career. The truth is, your software will never be perfect. And by waiting, you are losing out on the most precious asset of all startups: real user feedback.

To combat this, instead of waiting to launch, launch immediately but with a very fast system in place to hear about and fix bugs. For example, you can set up an email address that all of your users can be instructed to send problems to, a phone number directly to you, or a live chat box. The important thing is that users have an easy way to complain to you.

The second part of this is a way to quickly fix things. This is more of a challenge for your development team, but be sure that your developers have the capacity to fix things and get it to your customers immediately without a complex process of updating your software.

To Wrap It All Up

Congratulations on starting the journey of bringing new software to market! Make sure to avoid some of the most common mistakes that plague new software entrepreneurs, which include not choosing the market wisely, underestimating the budget, being cheap when selecting developers to work with, and waiting to launch. Avoiding these blunders should help your entrepreneurial endeavor be nothing short of successful.

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Ethan Drower is the Co-Founder and Operating Partner of CiteMed, which is revolutionizing the European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) process. Literature Search and Review is the cornerstone of medical device companies’ Clinical Evaluation Report, and CiteMed has made this process more streamlined and optimized than ever. The CiteMed team was formed to deliver a high volume of beautifully written and formatted Literature Reviews on timelines that will enable companies to meet their EU MDR goals. CiteMed’s top goal is to help companies get their medical products to market as quickly as possible, all while maintaining state-of-the-art compliance with the European Commission regulations. A renowned business expert, Ethan educates others on the fundamentals of launching a successful software product, tips for aspiring entrepreneurs, and more.www.citemedical.com

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Focus: Why It’s Essential for Entrepreneurs & How to Achieve It

February 23rd, 2022 Christan Hiscock Leave a comment

From passionate to ambitious, to motivated, relentless, creative, and visionary, there are so many traits that can help an entrepreneur rise to the top, but staying focused is the one ability that absolutely every business owner must have if they want their company to go big. Learning this has been pivotal in my business journey with Kardia. Without a strong and unwavering focus, entrepreneurs won’t be able to take their company to the next level, let alone reach their maximum potential.

Why The Right Focus Is Critical for Business Owners

You can’t have focus unless you know where you’re going and what it looks like when you get there. That’s why a detailed vision is so important for your personal life and for your company too. Your vision and your focus go hand in hand. They direct each other. As an entrepreneur, that vision starts with the reason you started your company in the first place, where you want to take your company now, and an understanding of the kind of impact you want to make with it in the world. Then, everything you do needs to align with that. If not, you will get sidetracked.

It’s important to remember that focus doesn’t necessarily mean completing tasks — sometimes, people get caught up in doing the same thing over and over again and they call that being focused because they’re checking things off a list. From personal experience, that can actually backfire on you. In one of my first companies, I spent a lot of time running from task to task and putting out fires. I felt busy and I was focused on whatever was in front of me at the moment, but what I didn’t do was check in to see how my focus was lining up with my vision and the impact I really wanted to create. As it turns out, it wasn’t. I was focused in the wrong direction and that took me completely off course, which was part of the reason why the business ultimately failed.

That’s why checking in with your vision, and making sure you’re always on track with it, has to be part of your daily focus. That way you know what you’re doing matters and exactly why and how it’s moving you toward your goal.

How Entrepreneurs Can Sharpen Their Focus

Just like time management and organization can be improved with effort, so can an entrepreneur’s focus. It’s all about self-awareness — business owners need to ask themselves what they really want out of life, what they want out of their business, and what they want out of the decisions that they make each day. When they have clarity on these three factors, they’ll actually know what they need to be focused on at any given moment.

If what you’re doing isn’t lining up with one of those three things, then why are you doing it? Checking in regularly and asking yourself that question often, is a great way to make sure you don’t get sidetracked by things that don’t truly matter to you and your bigger vision.

Poor Focus Versus Good Focus

As mentioned above, not all focus is productive or beneficial to entrepreneurs. Micromanaging is a great example. The hyper-focus might be getting a task done exactly the way you want, but in the long run it’s going to put your company at a huge disadvantage because everything about your business starts and ends with you. That’s not scalable.

A much better focus, and use of your time, is empowering and inspiring people with your bigger vision. That gives them a direction and clarity on where they need to go. Then all you really have to do as their leader is help by supporting them to do their job the best they can. Let them grow and learn, rather than focusing on whether a task got done in one specific way.

The best leaders have a great vision and communicate that vision to their team on a regular basis. They help each team member understand how they fit into the bigger picture and what they should be focusing on to help that bigger vision come to life. Which is why the focus for your team meetings should include a review of what’s happened, where the company is currently headed, where things are working and where they aren’t.

The more you get your team involved the more engaged and focused they will be. And by getting them involved more often to find solutions, your company will benefit hugely from their different perspectives because new points of view lead to new and better ways of doing things. You just can’t get that through narrowly focused micromanaging.

To Wrap It All Up

The ability to stay focused is the one trait that really helps entrepreneurs empower themselves to ultimately bring their vision to life. Understanding what good focus is and what bad focus is in business, makes a huge difference to your ability to move your company forward. And when entrepreneurs can sharpen their focus through better self-awareness, bringing clarity to what they really want out of their life and business, it helps them make better decisions, which leads to better results. That means there’s a much greater probability of advancing to the next level and having your company reach its full potential.

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Christan Hiscock is on a personal mission to change the conversation in the business world, moving away from the pursuit of success, to focusing on fulfillment instead. Because if you’re fulfilled, success is a given, but not so much the other way around. He can often be heard saying, “You mean more than you know,” because he believes that as people learn to understand their worth, their fears fade and amazing feats become reality. He considers this the foundation for all his achievements as the Co-Founder and CEO of Kardia and leader of 14 thriving companies. Through Kardia, which means heart in Greek, Christan is determined to bring more heart into the business world. Heart in the form of kindness, compassion and altruism. Heart that fuels, roots and guides each company to do the right things for its team members, clients and for the greater communities they serve. www.hellokardia.com

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Big Dreams, No Cash; Funding Your Brick-And-Mortar Business

February 18th, 2022 Elijah McCoy Leave a comment

The digital world made starting a business easier. Anyone with a computer, a phone and a spare room could give entrepreneurship a try, no office or storefront necessary.

Or so it would seem.

In truth, not every business can operate without a brick-and-mortar presence. Cyberspace isn’t sufficient when a budding entrepreneur wants to open a bowling alley, laundromat, car lot, restaurant, motel or any number of other businesses, says Elijah McCoy, CEO of McCoy Brokerage Service (www.mccoybrokerageservice.com).

“That means they need to buy, rent or renovate property, and purchase equipment,” McCoy says. “That also means they are going to need the capital to turn their entrepreneurial dream into an entrepreneurial reality.”

But securing that capital is not always easy. Entrepreneurs who want to launch a small business, or small businesses that want to expand, often find that lenders are reluctant to provide the cash they need to make their vision happen, McCoy says.

Yet the need is growing. Since the pandemic, the number of people who feel the urge to start a business has increased dramatically. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that 5.4 million new business applications were filed in 2021, up from 4.4 million in 2020.

Many of those people were part of the Great Resignation, the movement among millions of Americans to quit their jobs and refocus their lives. In numerous cases, that refocusing involved people who longed to be their own boss. But as McCoy points out, being your own boss also means taking on responsibility for overhead expenses – possibly including real estate – that someone else handles when you are an employee.

“Sometimes business owners or would-be business owners go to lenders and they think they have a great idea,” he says, “but for whatever reason the lender rejects their application.”

The key is to not give up, he says. If one lender says no, it’s time to find another one.

“There are options out there,” McCoy says. “You just have to persevere until you find the right match.”

Some of those options include:

Conventional loans. A conventional loan for a business is somewhat similar to a personal loan. Banks, credit unions and other financial institutions offer them and, just as with a personal loan, the business borrows a lump sum and repays it over time, along with interest and fees. With conventional loans, though, borrowers may face more stringent requirements to qualify than with some other types of loans.

Small Business Administration loans. The Small Business Administration is a government agency that partners with private lenders to provide loans to businesses. McCoy says this can be a good option for businesses unable to secure a conventional loan, but certain requirements still must be met to qualify. In fiscal year 2021, the Small Business Administration provided 61,000 loans totaling $44.8 billion to small businesses.

Hard money loans. A hard money loan usually isn’t the first option when someone is seeking to purchase real estate for a business, but these loans do have advantages, McCoy says. The loans typically are based more on the value of the property than the creditworthiness of the borrower, and the closing can happen much more quickly – sometimes within 48 hours of the appraisal review. Unlike with conventional loans or SBA loans, hard-money lenders usually are private individuals or companies, as opposed to a bank or credit union.

“When you are seeking a loan for your business, it’s a good idea to shop around,” McCoy says. “You want to get the best deal possible for what you are trying to accomplish, and it’s all the better if you can find and work with someone who understands your needs. Ultimately, you want to match your objectives with the most appropriate lender in the most timely manner.”

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Elijah McCoy is CEO of McCoy Brokerage Service (www.mccoybrokerageservice.com), a company he founded in 2006. McCoy’s firm works with businesses throughout the country that are trying to secure financing. Much of McCoy’s clientele is in healthcare, such as doctors, dentists and pharmacists, but he also has worked with a broad range of people in other industries. He is a certified commercial loan expert and financial consultant.

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Tomorrow’s workforce needs collaborative learning

February 11th, 2022 Duggan Flanakin Leave a comment

Jeremy Tillman had a vision. “I wanted to create a marketplace that made it easy for people to find the corporate training they needed and to develop technology to allow companies to better manage the learning processes of their employees.” And so, in 2004, after an epiphany while working on another firm’s project, he started TrainUp.com.

Eighteen years later more than 60,000 companies, including 92 percent of the Fortune 500, have purchased one or more training courses from TrainUp.com. And Tillman, who grew up in public housing, has from the company’s inception traveled all over the world with training and with technology he says, “helps bring people together.”

His story is a fascinating one. Tillman started an e-commerce company while a computer sciences student at the University of Alabama – Huntsville. He managed the university’s five computer labs and built a training management system to aid in its corporate education programs. There, Tillman got his first taste of working with firms like Boeing, Teledyne, and Raytheon.

Tillman stated that TrainUp.com truly took off by 2006 and has continued its growth and vision. The secret to his firm’s future, he lets on, lies with helping people to learn collaboratively. Traditional corporate training had been focused primarily on conveying job-related information, but adult learning theory teaches that information alone is insufficient to produce real change.

The collaborative approach flips the old narrative of, “what can I gain” to “what can I contribute to the larger whole.”

“We learn things faster when we gain the insights from others and brainstorm to find solutions to on-the-job problems. The end-result is often a richer learning experience that has ongoing impacts for individuals and companies alike,” Tillman noted.

That’s the TrainUp.com view of training, one that multitudes have undertaken.

TrainUp.com is also on the cutting edge of creating custom learning, performance, and talent management solutions for building, tracking, managing, and assessing enterprise-wide initiatives for multiple large, recognizable corporations.

And in 2022, as companies across myriad sectors face the challenges posed by the new paradigm of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Tillman believes his training methods are a perfect fit.

The collaborative approach which TrainUp.com has developed over nearly two decades is particularly geared toward Inclusion. Diversity and Equity are largely hiring decisions, while Inclusion requires a change of culture from the bottom up.

“Building inclusive workplace cultures has to include everyone on the job. The key to successful inclusion training is connecting people together rather than presenting training as divisive – and allowing employees to recognize contributions from those they may have previously discounted. These principles apply across the board, from global corporations to small businesses, and even church organizations. Good training is founded in connectivity, and that requires inclusivity,” he tells me.

Tillman cited a recent four-nation, 1,000-person pilot training session for a multinational corporation. In the pilot, 250 people each from China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States were encouraged to leverage the TrainUp.com platform for training. Prior to the event, over 600 of the participants were engaging together and interacting to address serious discussion questions, actions that surely enhanced the collective learning experience and that of the most active participants.

Plus, says Tillman, TrainUp.com obtained lots of data on how the people engaged both before, during, and after the event. The TrainUp.com platform enables participants in such group trainings to continue their conversations and share their successes and failures. The outcome has been impacts in areas far beyond the scope of the specific training. Once again, the key is creating community out of diverse parts, not just talking diversity.

TrainUp.com’s latest initiative to addressing contemporary adult corporate learning is its Institutes project, due to launch in April 2022. Therein are four planned courses – leadership skills, inclusive leadership skills, essential skills for first-time managers and supervisors, and customer service skills. The company asserts that unlike most online courses, participants do not have to schedule their lives around expensive live webinars and overpriced course libraries. Instead, these institutes are both on-demand and rooted in community.

In the Leadership Institute, the mantra is “you manage things; you lead people.” The program teaches the difference between people management and visionary leadership – which includes learning and putting into practice essential leadership skills including communication, strategic thinking, and empathy. The institute seeks to provide tools for beginning a lifelong journey.

The Inclusive Leadership Institute prepares students for creating and inspiring diverse workplaces. Students learn the basic building blocks like Cognizance of Bias, Collaborative Training, and Cultural Intelligence. Inclusive leaders must be able to tackle the challenges of diversity, equity, and inclusion with a confidence founded in practical implementation.

TrainUp.com has learned that jumping from individual contributor to manager is a difficult challenge requiring many skills that all too often are not in the toolboxes of first-time managers. To empower first-timers to achieve the goal of maximum team performance, the curriculum includes such skills as goal setting, time management, giving and receiving feedback, and employee recognition.

The Customer Service Institute teaches participants skills for retaining customers, in recognition that it is much cheaper to keep old customers than to acquire new ones. This institute focuses on elite ‘soft skills’, such as emotional intelligence and communication, and ‘hard skills’ such as time management and support metrics.

Tillman recounts one client company’s focus on customer service as a strategy for retaining top talent. Disaffected salespeople were reassigned to customer satisfaction roles. They had to refocus from short-term sales to helping customers feel value and satisfaction. The result was that the sales force found a new level of pride of accomplishment in satisfying customers that made them better salespeople.

Tillman, who knows something about the power of inclusion and overcoming adversity, says he dedicated his career to empowering growth and shaping the future of learning. His reason? “It is what takes someone from where they are today and get them to where they want to be tomorrow.”

And that, he adds, is best done by encouraging everyone in the workplace to maximize their potential and actual contributions to the work at hand – and to their individual futures.

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Duggan Flanakin is a journalist and policy analyst who writes from San Marcos, Texas.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

A Time Of Invention And Reinvention: How Entrepreneurs Can Tap Into Creativity

January 30th, 2022 Jarl Jensen Leave a comment

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to adapt or make major changes. The challenges presented required leaders to think creatively in order to solve problems and generate new ideas that can keep their companies competitive.

Now with record numbers of people starting businesses and entrepreneurial veterans trying to stay afloat, creative problem-solving is a key separator between success and failure – and in many cases requires an inventor-like mindset, says Jarl Jensen (www.jarljensen.com), the founder and president of Inventagon and the holder of several medical technology patents.

“Creativity is the most important attribute of an entrepreneur,” says Jensen, also the ForbesBooks author of The Big Solution: Deactivating The Ticking Time Bomb Of Today’s Economy. “It’s about innovative ways to tackle a problem and find a solution for it.

“You don’t necessarily have to be born with creativity. Many people have the potential to be creative; it just needs to be nurtured and strengthened. Right now we’re in an exciting place of both invention and reinvention. While you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you do need to tap into creativity to stand apart, gain traction, and grow your business in an ultra-competitive environment.”

Jensen offers these tips on how entrepreneurs can become more creative and solve problems as a result:

Be prolific – and patient – with ideas. When the proverbial light bulb goes on, it doesn’t always mean the entrepreneur has had an epiphany that will lead to riches. “If you want a good idea to start a business and build it, the most important ingredient is the love of many ideas,” Jensen says. “Because very few ideas are actually good, so you will need the patience to sort through many of them.”

Learning how to habitually plant the seeds to create ideas is the key, he says.

“Take the time to daydream on a regular basis,” Jensen says. “Visualize all the places an idea can take you. See all the people it could help. We’ve been conditioned to think we’re wasting time when we sit idle and daydream, but it is exactly the opposite. Having quiet time to clear your mind and think freely opens the mind to great possibilities.”

Collaborate; don’t make it all about your own brainstorm. Jensen says the typical novice entrepreneur will want to file patents and rent out office space as the rush of a new idea takes over their imagination. But he cautions, “Don’t be foolish about your idea; it needs time to prove itself worthy of an investment.”

Engaging others around you in discussion about the idea is imperative, Jensen says, because it results in different viewpoints, new angles, and perhaps a more refined idea that can work.

“Collaboration that drives a company forward includes the sharing of and disagreement over ideas,” he says. “It’s the vigorous discussion, the opposing voice that helps refine and improve ideas. An effective partnership stimulates creativity and builds trust among team members that each is encouraged to contribute creatively.”

Stay focused. “It’s easy to waste time with too many ideas that are not going to work for you and your business,” Jensen says. “Know your company’s North Star – its mission statement – and what it needs to succeed. Does your idea align with your North Star? Adapt the solution to the problem. Shift negative thoughts into a positive mindset to provide concentration and clarity.”

“Your success as an entrepreneur is largely contingent on your ability to solve problems effectively,” Jensen says, “and the best tool you have is your creativity, and knowing how to cultivate it and harness it.”

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Jarl Jensen (www.jarljensen.com) is the ForbesBooks author of The Big Solution: Deactivating The Ticking Time Bomb Of Today’s Economy. He’s the founder and president of Inventagon, a company creating simpler research and development solutions for organizations across the globe. Jensen holds patents for medical technologies that have reached sales of over $1 billion. He founded EuroMed, a company he sold in 2016, and has written five books about the economy and its relationship with society.

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5 Ways To Strengthen Your Business Relationships And Grow Your Company

January 26th, 2022 James Harold Webb Leave a comment

Another record year for entrepreneurship could be in store for 2022. But how many of these new business owners end up succeeding will depend on more than the quality of the products and services they offer.

Creating and nurturing customer relationships allow businesses to offer a more personalized and enticing customer experience, which produces the buyer loyalty that is vital to a company’s long-term success, says James Webb (www.jamesharoldwebb.com), a successful entrepreneur in the medical and fitness sectors and author of A Country Boy’s Journey To Prosperity.

“Relationships are the greatest asset an entrepreneur has,” Webb says. “To retain customers, it requires a process that turns every touchpoint with a customer into an opportunity for communication, trust, and mutual growth.”

But Webb emphasizes that an entrepreneur’s success is also highly contingent upon the strength of other business relationships as well.

“Good relationships with employees bring new meaning to work, strong productivity and new ideas that carry the business forward,” Webb says. “Relationships with financial partners allow you to take risks. Mentors and colleagues can help you view strategy and processes through a different lens.

“The more you cultivate all of these business relationships, the more you, they, and your business can grow. But you can’t take them for granted. Relationships are gardens that need tending.”

Webb offers these tips to entrepreneurs on how to strengthen their relationships with customers and other business associates:

Invite customer feedback. Webb says to truly know where your company stands with customers and what you can do to improve and better meet their needs, you need to survey their thoughts about your products and services – ideally in person. “Most of the time unsatisfied customers don’t approach you with a detailed list of things they’d like for you to improve on,” Webb says. “They just leave for one of your competitors. So set aside time to get their feedback and show them you care.”

Make your customer feel valued through the entire experience. “Consider the customer experience from start to finish,” Webb says. “Find opportunities to go the extra mile and make shopping with your company enjoyable. Positive words will spread like wildfire about your business, especially on social media, and remember, negative words can spread, too. Make customers feel they’re a part of something special by making them feel special.” A key part to the customer experience equation, Webb notes, is providing good website content that gives them insight and a quick path to solutions.

Encourage a sense of ownership among your employees. Webb says giving employees a voice in major decisions, more responsibility and allowing them to own stock are ways to create a sense of ownership and strong ties between your employees and your business. “Inspiring your employees to love your business as much as you do will strengthen your company’s foundation,” Webb says. “Your business will be that much more likely to survive setbacks and grow.”

Be generous with compliments. “Employees know you can’t give them a raise every time they do a good job, but recognizing them when they do good work makes them feel appreciated and goes a long way toward making them want to stay at your company,” Webb says.

Value your vendors. People who service your company regularly are a big part of the infrastructure that keeps your company rolling. “Treat them like honorary employees,” Webb says. “Everyone from your suppliers to your web designer is an important part of your extended team, and nurturing these relationships with nice gestures and consistent communication will just make your company stronger from the ground up.”

“It’s critical to be humble enough to understand that you need great relationships to succeed as an entrepreneur,” Webb says. “I’ve seen talented people fail because they thought they could do it alone.”

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James Harold Webb (www.jamesharoldwebb.com) is the author of Redneck Resilience: A Country Boy’s Journey To Prosperity. His career in radiology saw him rise from a technologist to becoming a leader in the industry as the entrepreneur of several companies focused on outpatient medical imaging, pain management and laboratory services. In 2014, Webb turned his attention to the fitness sector and developed, owned and oversaw the management of 33 Orangetheory Fitness® franchises throughout North Texas. They were all sold to a private equity group in 2019. He currently owns the franchise rights for Dallas, Austin and Houston for BeBalanced Centers, a homeopathic hormone weight-loss franchise. His team has three stores open with plans for another 15 to 20 over the next four years.

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How to Start 2022 with the Right Mindset to Grow Your Business

January 6th, 2022 Mari Tautimes Leave a comment

The historical surge in new U.S. businesses in 2021 could well be surpassed in 2022, with one report predicting a third consecutive record year for entrepreneurship – all during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a new year begins, many business owners are focusing on sales objectives and finding the right talent. But with many new entrepreneurs entering the arena, there’s more for them to consider than numbers and resumes. It’s also important for them to grasp what the “entrepreneurial mindset” is all about,” says Mari Tautimes, a prosperous business owner and author of #KeepGoing: From 15-Year-Old Mom To Successful CEO And Entrepreneur.

“The pandemic has brought a unique set of challenges on top of what new entrepreneurs already will go through,” Tautimes says. “The entrepreneurial mindset involves specific ways of thinking and how to approach challenges and mistakes. It’s about having to improve your skill set and reaching higher levels of resiliency.

“Starting and running a business is an all-encompassing daily grind and it can take many years to achieve the success you hoped for. Those who make a consistent effort to embody the special mindset required will equip themselves to endure, meet everyday challenges and grow.”

Tautimes offers these tips for new business owners to develop the entrepreneurial mindset and move their business forward in 2022:

Move from conscious incompetence to unconscious competence. The kind of growth most entrepreneurs seek requires getting out of their comfort zone and acquiring a new skill or skills, Tautimes says. She defines “conscious incompetence” as being aware of the skill but not being proficient at it, and says “unconscious competence” means when performing the skill becomes automatic. “You have to accept there is much that you don’t know, and have the patience and perseverance to spend time on professional growth and learning those things you don’t know,” she says. ”While learning new things and realizing how much we don’t know is extremely uncomfortable, what is even more uncomfortable is the thought that I might face my deathbed someday never knowing what I could have actually done.”

Revisit your vision daily. Tautimes says maintaining a strong and consistent entrepreneurial mindset involves a commitment to a vision, which allows the business owner to follow through on the necessary steps to complete the vision. “One problem entrepreneurs frequently face is that the demands of the day get in the way,” she says. “Frustration and doubt can creep in, and problems can clutter up the day and take you off course, so it’s important to set aside time every day to focus on your vision and goals in order to stay on track.”

Take responsibility and uphold integrity. “A responsible person is someone who does not make excuses, does not blame others or circumstances, and who pushes through feelings to take deliberate action,” Tautimes says. “The feelings part of the equation is really important. Responsible people who proactively make their lives happen do not make decisions throughout their day based on their feelings. They base their decisions on what they said they were going to do, whether they like it or not. In other words, they uphold a consistent level of integrity with and for themselves as well as with those they serve.”

Approach problems from all sides. There is much trial and error involved in the entrepreneurial life, which means entrepreneurs have to approach problems from different angles in order to move forward. “Oftentimes the first solution is not the best one,” Tautimes says. “You have to think differently than most people and open your mind to all the possibilities. Remember that mistakes are a great opportunity for growth, including product or service improvements or new products and services altogether.”

Delegate and elevate. A common mistake entrepreneurs make early on is wearing too many hats. “I always felt like I was lacking because I couldn’t figure out how to do it all,” Tautimes says. “I never realized that the real question wasn’t ever whether I could do it all to begin with; it was whether I should. With everything that we do, there is an opportunity cost. For example, if I spend a ton of time building the marketing campaign, then I’m not developing the next business relationship. What you need to realize is the more you choose to do things that help you increase your value, the better your life and business will become. Stop doing things you can delegate so you can focus on things that help your company get farther faster.”

“There will be setbacks and bumps in the road,” Tautimes says, “but that’s part of the entrepreneur’s journey and growth. The right mindset builds you and your business for the long haul, and the rewards eventually come to those who continue to grow.”

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3 Ways to Take Your Company From Product-Focused to Customer-Centric

November 12th, 2021 Dr. Debbie Qaqish Leave a comment

The data: Companies that focus on being customer-centric can position themselves better for success than companies that don’t. Research shows that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable, people will spend 17% more for a good experience, and 76% of customers expect businesses to understand their needs.

The expert’s take: Dr. Debbie Qaqish (www.drdebbieqaqish.com), ForbesBook author of From Backroom to Boardroom: Earn Your Seat With Strategic Marketing Operations, says more CEOs and executive teams must figure out how to transform from being product-centric to being customer-centric in a digital world.

“For decades, companies took a product-focused approach,” says Dr. Qaqish, Partner/Chief Strategy Officer of The Pedowitz Group. “Marketing flooded prospects with product messaging and product conversations. Today, some companies are fleeing from this approach. The conversation is about customer problems and how they can be addressed.

“But many companies still struggle to know how to truly make customers the center of their businesses. It’s essential now in our digital world. CEOs need to realize that the customer is in control, and that companies can no longer win on product strategies alone. Business leaders need to create a corporate capability that allows the company to sense and respond to customer changes in real-time. They must have actionable customer data and use systems that track smart engagement with the customer.”

Dr. Qaqish uses a customer pyramid model to analyze how company leaders can transform their business from being product-centric to customer-centric:

-Change the mindset. To take on a customer-focused viewpoint, Dr. Qaqish says it’s essential that leaders first want to understand the customer. This could entail sitting in on customer service calls. “To get the entire company on board and engaged requires leadership implementing an action plan, including employees being empowered to make decisions geared toward customer satisfaction,” she says.

-Broaden the skill set. Dr. Qaqish lists four capabilities company leaders and employees need to become customer-centric: tech/data/analytics, marketing, business acumen, and customer knowledge and insights. “The shift to a customer focus is about building a strategic capability as a response to new strategic directions,” she says. “One big change is today’s digital customer. With a few clicks or swipes, the digital customer is firmly in control of their own journey with your company. In response, the company’s capability must include mapping, auditing, and optimizing the customer journey.”

-Sharpen the tool set. “The biggest changes in the tool set involve how technology is purchased, managed, integrated and administered,” Dr. Qaqish says. “The way your marketing technology is stacked is a highly visible indicator of your company’s true intentions regarding a customer-centric focus.” She suggests testing the marketing technology to see if it’s aligned to support and enhance the customer journey. “In the middle of a sheet of paper, draw a picture of your customer’s journey from being a prospect to a repeat buyer,” she says. “List the stages of the journey and note all of your technologies around it. Determine how much they support or enhance the stages of the customer journey. A similar exercise can be conducted with data. List the customer data sources and the type of data generated.”

“The digital age has changed the dynamic of the company-customer relationship, and businesses that don’t prioritize more attentive relationships with their customers will likely struggle,” Dr. Qaqish says.

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Dr. Debbie Qaqish (www.drdebbieqaqish.com) is Queen of Revenue Marketing™, a term she coined in 2011. She is ForbesBook author of From Backroom to Boardroom: Earn Your Seat With Strategic Marketing Operations and Partner/Chief Strategy Officer of The Pedowitz Group, where she manages global client relationships and leads the firm’s thought leadership initiatives. Passionate about marketing’s new role as a revenue creator and growth driver, Dr. Debbie inspires others to embrace revenue accountability in the customer-driven economy. She has been helping B2B companies drive revenue growth for over 35 years and is a motivational speaker, a columnist for numerous marketing publications, host of Get Real with Revenue Marketing, and teaches an MBA class at The College of William & Mary on Revenue Marketing.

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