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How to Revive a Failing Small Business

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Do you ever feel like you want to close the doors of your small business for good? Well, you are not alone, and giving up shouldn’t necessarily be your first option.

Many successful businesses we look up to today have been there too. Sales hitting rock bottom, the business itself sinking deeper and deeper into debt, auctioneers at your doorstep, impending bankruptcy, you name it. But you know how they all weathered the storm? It’s simple. They never called it quits; they acted.

Understandably, watching helplessly as your small business falls apart can be really frustrating and, out of desperation, many of us end up making unwise choices. To revive a failing small business, you’ll need to do more than the obvious tricks like re branding. So, keep reading to learn how you can breathe new life into your small business.

Innovate

Markets, people, and technology all change. What’s relevant or trendy today isn’t guaranteed to stay the same. Your business, too, should change in order to adapt to the ever-changing world. Choosing to focus on today’s marketplace without anticipating the future is what made known companies such as Eastman Kodak, Motorola, Sony, and Yahoo lose their edge. Experts call it the strategic trap.

There’s also the psychological trap, where leaders or business owners focus exclusively on what made the business successful and fail to adapt to new changes. Also, not investing in your equipment or other systems that run your company is another way many businesses end up losing on new and relevant investments.

Put simply, if a business doesn’t innovate or resists innovation, chances of it failing become high. At one point, all the companies on the list dominated the market in their respective fields; the great lesson any small business owner can learn here is to never make the same mistakes they made.

Adapt to new changes, innovate your products and services, and also, rather than trying to deal with everything on your own, listen to your friends, family, employees, and business partners. Invite them to share any ideas that could help revive a failing small business.

Develop A New Marketing Plan

Marketing is one of the few elements that can either make or break your small business. Did your previous marketing strategy deliver good results? If no, then it needs to be refreshed.

Small business expert Melinda Emerson lists the essentials of a good marketing plan as follows:

  • Market research
  • Target market
  • Positioning
  • Competitive analysis
  • Market strategy
  • Budget
  • Metrics

Each one of these items matter in turning around a failing company, but I think knowing your target audience is one of the biggest factors. Try to understand them by obtaining all the essential information that you can about them. You can speak to them directly through email or social platforms, and request them to share feedback on your services or products, plus any other suggestion(s) they may have. Also use creative and productive ways such as personalized video marketing to convert them.

Look For A Business Partner

It’s true that two heads are really better than one, and this can manifest itself if you can find a partner who will bring in fresh ideas or can invest capital in the business. A partnership can expand your network, business offering, and customer reach. When looking for a business partner, always narrow it down to people or businesses whose values, mission, and style complement yours.

Take New Risks

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was once quoted saying that the only strategy guaranteed to fail is failure to take risks. If you hope to experience solid growth in your small business, forget about waiting for success to happen on its own. Go for it.

What that means is you should not just confront but embrace risks and leverage them. It can be daunting at first, but then again, you will never access the good opportunities out there if you never try. This also doesn’t mean you should just take any risk that comes your way. It’s best to evaluate the potential gains and setbacks before making any decision.

You can start by taking smaller risks. If there are gains, this will improve your confidence, and if things don’t go as you expect, the setback won’t necessarily be huge. Also whenever you take a risk, implement your plan fully and pursue it until you reach the final stage.

To sum up, one uncomfortable thing every business owner or leader has to live with is that no business can be healthy all the time. There will always be wins and losses. There will also be turbulent times threatening to strip all your hopes away, but if you choose to innovate, refresh your marketing plan, scout for a business partner, and take on more risks, you will rise again, you will achieve growth, and also reach profitability.

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5 Hot Employee Recruitment Trends That Will Change How You Hire

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In the last year we’ve seen new advancements and applications in technology that have made the recruitment process easier. We’ve also seen work forces becoming more diverse, and remote work growing in popularity, changing the way recruiters fill open positions.

But the recruitment process isn’t done advancing yet. In the future we can expect to see continued changes to the way we hire new talent. To help you gear up for these changes, let’s take a look five recruitment trends we believe will be major game-changers this year.

1. Further Expansion Of AI In Hiring

It seems that artificial intelligence is making its way into just about every area of the business world, making it one of our top recruitment trends. While the use of AI in hiring was prevalent throughout 2017, it was still a fresh concept. This year we expect more and more companies to implement AI into their hiring process.

AI in recruiting can solve major problems for companies in all industries. From cutting down the amount of time HR professionals spend sifting through stacks of applications to removing biases during the hiring process, AI can help companies find the right talent and diversify their workforce. For these reasons and more, we expect to see sizable growth in the number of companies using AI in recruiting.

 We also can expect to see the way HR managers use AI to expand. In addition to making the hiring process easier, automation tools can be used to improve communication with candidates, increase the quality of candidates, and reduce the time it takes to hire new talent.

2. Increased Focus On Candidate Experience

Last year we started seeing a shortage of qualified talent in a number of industries. With about 40% of global employers reporting they weren’t getting the desired skills in their applicants, it means we’re operating in a candidate-driven job market.

For those in recruitment, there needs to be an increase focus on a candidate’s experience—maintaining a strong customer experience can encourage a stronger bond between a company and job candidates. If the pool of qualified candidates continues to shrink, companies will be fighting for the same talent. When your company is not considering your candidate’s experience during each stage of the application process, you may lose them to another opening.

Candidate experience is especially crucial if you’re using an automated application process; HR technology can actually improve your candidate experience. Using automation software can make it easier to stay in contact with your candidates, ensuring they get the information they need to stay satisfied.

3. More And More Applicants Turning To Mobile Devices

The marketing world has been preparing for a shift to mobile users for a few years now. As more and more individuals choose to let go of their desktop and laptop computers for tablets and smartphones, the way they’re browsing the web is changing. This means the way they’re searching for and applying for jobs is changing, as well.

Unsurprisingly, millennials make up the most active group of mobile applicants. However, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are still incredibly active participants. With 73% of Gen Xers and almost 60% of Baby Boomers using mobile devices to search for jobs, a mobile application process needs to be easily accessible, regardless of industry or job level. Additionally, Google and other search engines give preference to mobile-friendly websites, meaning your page will rank higher if you’re using responsive design.

As we continue to see the trend towards mobile use grow, companies need to be considerate of what this means for applicants who are applying on these smaller screens and devices. Company websites—as well as applications—should be fully responsive and easy to view, no matter the device the visitor is using.

4. Continuing Shift Towards Remote Work

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a relatively steady increase in the number of individuals choosing to work remotely. Remote work gives companies the ability to hire the best candidates, regardless of their location.

With more and more companies and industries embracing remote work, the way talent is acquired to fill job positions is also changing. Recruiters are no longer confined to candidates within a particular area, expanding the pool of applicants and making it easier to find individuals who fit their job descriptions.

However, as the shift towards remote work continues to grow, recruiters will need to change the way they screen and evaluate candidates. Remote workers require different skills than in-house employees, meaning recruiters may need to be retrained to know what to look for in a remote applicant.

5. use of social media (beyond LinkedIn) as a Recruitment tool

When we think about recruiting talent on social media, most recruiters immediately think of LinkedIn. While LinkedIn has introduced the idea of professional networking on a social media platform, we can expect to see other social media platforms join the recruitment world.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram encourage more engagement with candidates and

attract higher-quality talent. When companies use their social media platforms to engage with prospective employees, they’re able to reach an even bigger pool of passive candidates.

We expect to see recruiters stretch beyond just connecting with talent on LinkedIn. We also anticipate more “behind the scenes” social media accounts, allowing companies to show off their company culture by showcasing their team’s employees and inner workings.

preparing for recruitment

The recruitment trends we can expect to see all center back to one thing: technology. As the way we use technology continues to change, we can expect to see shifts in the way recruiters find, engage, and hire new talent.

These technology-driven recruitment trends will only continue to grow and change in the years to come. Properly preparing to implement new technology, ideas, and practices into the recruitment process can help HR professionals stay on top of the ever-changing needs of the recruitment industry.

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What Worries Small Business Owners the Most?

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As we start the second month of 2018, how are small business owners feeling about their prospects for the coming year?

First, the good news: Overall, small business owners are feeling positive about their finances. Nearly half (47%) say their businesses’ sales increased in the past six months. That’s the highest percentage recorded by the survey since the second quarter of 2013. In addition, 37% say their financial position is better than it was one year ago.

Now, the bad: Although small business owners are feeling good about their finances, they’re not getting overly confident. There are still several concerns affecting small business owners, and two of the top three worries have to do with money.

Here’s a closer look at what’s keeping small business owners up at night—and what you can do about it if you’re tossing and turning, too.

Taxes

The biggest concern for small business owners is taxes. Almost half (45%) of small business owners in the survey say taxes are a major worry for 2018, and 30% say tax laws had a negative effect on their business last year. Of course, taxes typically rank high on the list of small business owners’ least favorite things, so these results aren’t exactly surprising.​

However, with the effects of tax reform still to be determined, small business owners have more reason than usual to feel uncertain about how taxes will affect them in the coming year.If you’re worried about taxes: Put a good accountant or tax preparer on your side. If you normally prepare your own taxes, this may be the year you want to enlist professional help. A tax professional who specializes in helping small businesses in your industry can be invaluable to ensuring you get the tax breaks you deserve. It’s a good idea to talk to your tax preparer early, so you can get advice as to any changes you may want to make in 2018 to reduce your tax burden.

Cash Flow

The second biggest concern of small business owners in the survey is managing their cash flow. More than four in 10 (42%) say this is a challenge for them—up 11% from last year’s survey. In other words, although small business owners are currently managing their cash well, they’re not sure they can continue to do so.If you’re worried about cash flow, there are several steps you can take. Start by keeping a close eye on your cash flow. Too many business owners don’t pay attention to their cash situation until it’s too late. If you are in an industry with thin margins or slow-paying customers, or run a seasonal business, it’s especially important to stay on top of your cash flow weekly or even daily. Take steps to accelerate payments from customers while delaying your own payables to keep more cash on hand.

Technology

Finally, almost one-third (32%) of entrepreneurs in the survey named “keeping up with technology” as a major challenge, up 7 percentage points from the same time in 2017. With new technologies such as artificial intelligence, voice-activated assistants, and chat bots entering the small business realm, it’s no wonder small business owners feel a bit overwhelmed by the rapid pace of change. Since businesses of all sizes and in all industries are increasingly advertising, marketing and selling online, however, it’s more important than ever to be up-to-date on what technology can do for your business.If you’re worried about technology: First, find a reliable industry publication/website that covers technology as it relates to your industry. Reading it regularly will help you be aware of technology trends. Not all of them will turn out to have a major effect on your business, but you’ll at least get a heads-up about changes that could impact your company.

​Depending on your industry and how long it’s been since you’ve upgraded your technology, it could also be worth hiring an IT consultant to assess your current situation and make recommendations.

Speaking of recommendations, I was shocked to see that more than one-third (36%) of business owners in the survey don’t have a website. If you’re one of them, get with the program!

A little bit of worry about the future is an inevitable part of being a business owner. Fortunately, there are plenty of smart moves you can make to be prepared and help you sleep better at night.

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How to Successfully Break the Rules of Business

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Sometimes traditions take root because they’re the most effective and efficient way of doing things. But how can you move ahead if you are stuck on a wheel of repeating the same old systems? In short: you can’t.

There’s a real benefit to becoming a rule-breaker, especially when it comes to breaking business rules. Here are a few ways you can grow your small business by stripping yourself of old habits in exchange for new systems and strategies.

transform into an agent of change

Innovation has never happened by repeating past behaviors. Hitting rinse and repeat, and falling into the comfort zone of old habits isn’t a way forward; it’s a way to stay still.

Although it can feel awkward, there’s a way to continue your forward momentum (or start pushing ahead again after staying stagnant for too long). It requires you to transform yourself, your team, and your entire company culture into agents of change. It demands that you think outside of the box. It means that you push aside traditional ways of doing things in exchange for a fresh approach that could be more efficient and more productive.

It sounds overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Look at something as commonplace as setting your team’s schedule every week. Are you still taking the same approach you’ve been taking for years? If you’re buried in paper piles and red pencil marks, try using an app to make updates instead. Small changes like this can propel your business forward and set the tone for creative thinking in other areas of your company.

spark more conversation

What happens when you do things differently? People take notice and you suddenly have something unique to contribute to the conversation.

Too many businesses speak at their consumers; few businesses speak with them. By changing your approach and dropping traditional business rules, you suddenly have a compelling story to tell that will add value to the greater marketplace. This makes it easier and more exciting to talk about you.

leave a lasting impression

Few people remember the “me too” brands. It’s easy to forget the companies that put on the same song and dance in every commercial, blending in with their competition.

If you want to be remembered, you have to break away from the ordinary and start using nontraditional approaches to reach your consumers. These are the companies that get remembered—not the ones that blend into the background, hiding behind the same-old approach to attracting business.

recognise the importance of diversity

When you drop a few of the outdated rules from your small business, you end up welcoming a diverse way of thinking about how to build your company and whom to work with. If creating a more diverse workforce of people from all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles is on your to-do list, it’s time to drop traditional in favor of a new approach.

invest in your cause

Why are you in business? Sure, you want to make money and add value for your customers, but what’s the bigger purpose? Think big as you answer this question. For example, if you sell pencils, is it to create a way for children to learn and thereby make the world a better place in future decades? Or, if you sell BPA-free water bottles, is it to encourage hikers to leave less of a footprint as they make their way through national forests?

When you break traditional business rules, you’re better able to invest in the cause that got your organization going in the first place—and this is what being in business is all about.

What are you doing to break free from tradition?

Breaking free from traditional business rules isn’t always the appropriate approach to running a company. Start small and work your way up. Knock down old habits in favor of new ones. Some will fail; many will work. It’s about iterating, experimenting, and continuing to surge forward. This is the path to making your small business a success in your industry.

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Branding for Small Businesses Made Simple

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There’s a lot of content out there that is written to help small business owners do their own marketing, but it’s often written by marketers who are adept in things like analytics, content marketing, and technical jargon. It may be written using terms you don’t understand and business processes you’re not familiar with, and then you’re left with no clue how to start marketing your brand.

If you own a small business, or are responsible for marketing one, you need to know how to be effective in your market without the hoity-toity language of marketing. You need marketing for beginners.

Here, in a nutshell, are four simple things you can do right now to grow your brand:

1. Develop Buyer Personas

As a brand, you’re speaking to human beings who share your ideals, and who want or need your product or service. If you don’t know who you’re talking to, you’ll have trouble reaching your audience. Creating a buyer persona brings those individuals to life and helps you figure out how to market to them.

A buyer persona is simply a description of the person you’re trying to reach. You might have several. Give the persona a name. Write out the features of that person (“Sally has a master’s degree and likes buying organic food”) to illustrate her and get to know her. Then, when you do your marketing, keep that “person” in mind and address your messaging to her specifically.

2. Establish Your Tone Of Voice

How you communicate your marketing message is referred to as the tone of voice you use. It might be professional, casual, or even funny. The tone you use should resonate with your audience. For example, if you’re a B2B firm, you might do better using a more formal tone than a casual one peppered with teen-friendly acronyms. Just make sure to choose a tone that is consistent across all marketing channels.

If you’re outsourcing your content, your writers will need to use your brand’s voice as if it were second nature. Help them by creating a document with your brand guidelines, meeting with them, answering their questions, and giving them examples of the tone you are going for.

3. Know Your Brand’s Values

Establishing what your brand stands for can help you immensely in your marketing because you can then communicate those values to your customers.

How can you do this? Jot down the things that are important to your company. For example, do you care about the environment? If you do, let people know about the choices you make that align with this value, like using green energy in your office, only buying recyclable or reusable office supplies, or volunteering to clean up your community.

4. Blog Consistently

Write about things that matter to your customers: write about topics that they have questions about or that can enhance their lives in some way. And if you really don’t have time to blog, hire someone to do it for you.

Don’t know what to write about? Come up with a list of questions you’ve been asked by prospects and clients. Google other brands in your industry and see what they write about. Keep a spreadsheet of topics so you always have one to write about.

These four easy tips will help you attract more customers and build trust with them.

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4 Flavors of Sales Lessons From the Ice Cream Truck

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One of the rites of passage of childhood in many cities is the beloved ice cream truck! In many neighbourhoods and city parks, kids come running when they hear an ice cream truck’s familiar tunes. The ice cream truck is an inevitable part of summer, but there’s also a careful sales strategy behind it—and other business owners can learn from it.

go where your customers are

It sounds simple, but it works: Ice cream trucks find customers by going to their customers. Whether that’s driving through neighbourhoods full of kids playing outside, or driving up to crowded city parks where people might want to enjoy a refreshing treat, ice cream trucks go to where the customers are.

In your business, selling directly isn’t always obvious. Selling ice cream to kids is simpler than selling complex B2B solutions to business buyers. But you need to make sure your sales strategy is working hand in hand with your marketing strategy to find and target the right customers in the right places.

stand out from the crowd

Ice cream trucks are known for playing catchy jingles from their loud speakers to get people’s attention and to interrupt the usual routine. Even other food trucks that don’t sell ice cream have gotten more inventive about painting their trucks with bold colors and offering unique food creations. What can your business do differently to be memorable and cut through the clutter?

be mobile savvy

Ice cream trucks are one of the original “food trucks,” and food trucks have become a big business in every major American city, selling everything from tacos to Belgian fries to seafood. Food trucks have become more sophisticated using mobile marketing, and this type of marketing is relevant to all businesses today. Food trucks in big cities are on Instagram and Twitter, sharing photos of their food, offering daily specials to social media followers, and otherwise looking for ways to sell products in a way that is enhanced by the mobile food truck experience.

 

In the same way, even B2B sales organizations need to get better at using mobile marketing. More of your B2B buyers are using mobile devices to do product research and price comparisons. Is your B2B marketing speaking to a mobile-savvy audience, or are you still stuck in the desktop era?

Create an emotion connection

Many people have fond childhood memories of enjoying frozen treats from an ice cream truck. There’s something about the experience of eating ice cream outside, delivered from a truck, that provides a one-of-a-kind feeling of comfort and convenience. It’s one of those “taste of summer” experiences that stays with you forever. What can your business do to create a similar powerful emotional experience for your buyers?

Ultimately, people usually don’t make buying decisions based on rational, logical, numbers-driven reasons—they buy for emotional reasons. What can your business do to make people feel better? Even if you’re a B2B seller of “technical” solutions, focus on the emotional connection. Can your solution help relieve your buyers’ stress, boost their optimism for future growth, or eliminate daily organizational clutter and tension? Don’t be afraid to sell the emotional side of your product or service; it might be what people respond to best of all.

Summer is often a time of nostalgia, fun, and relaxation. The beloved ice cream truck is one symbol of this softer, easier time of year, don’t assume that it’s just an innocent bit of fun—it actually shows some great examples of how to be more successful in sales.

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Business Owners: Don’t Sacrifice Long-Term Success by Making Short-Sighted Decisions

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A common situation for many small businesses and SMEs is having an immediate need for cash today, and taking action without considering the consequences for tomorrow. Although cash is certainly an important element for operating a small business, many entrepreneurs don’t understand that certain actions they take to obtain cash can lead to harmful consequences in the future.

A need for cash should never override prudent business decisions that can affect customer relationships. When business owners or managers consider cash to be the most important factor in their businesses, overriding product or service offerings and customer relationships, negative outcomes are certain to occur. Small business owners should not have the attitude of “make what we can today and worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes.” With this philosophy, tomorrow will come along with lost customers, a negative reputation, and decreased profits.

You need long-term, favorable relationships with your customers in order to build a successful business. Securing future sales is as important as current sales. Thinking today about satisfying tomorrow’s customer sometimes means letting a sale “go” if all the factors are not right. When customers have satisfying buying experiences, they are more likely to become repeat customers. A combination of returning customers and new customers will build your customer base, leading to business growth and sustainability.

The flip side of a satisfied and returning customer is a dissatisfied customer. Once customers fall into this category, it is highly unlikely they will ever return—once lost, lost forever! But, this situation does not tell the entire story. The residual effect of dissatisfied customers sharing their bad experiences with others can damage your company’s reputation and be detrimental to your profits.

negative actions = negative results

Here are a few sales actions that can produce immediate cash, but may also cause lost business in the future:

Promising too much. When a business promises its customers more than it can deliver simply to secure a sale (i.e., over-promising and under-delivering), disaster may loom in the future. It is far better to take the opposite approach—under-promise and over-deliver.

Lack of customer service. So often a positive sales presentation turns into lackluster customer service once a sale is completed. During the sales phase, everything the customer asks for can be accomplished; however, once the deal is consummated, there is a quick change of attitude. Customers remember promises and are not too quick to forget.

Short on details. No one likes the hassle of reading the fine print of a sales or service agreement, but it’s necessary, depending on the product or service sold. While it might be easier for a small business to avoid all the legalese, problems can arise if customers think they agreed on one thing, and the business thinks they agreed on something entirely different. Take time on the front end to agree on all the fine points of a sale to reduce customer disappointment in the future. It is far better to rely on written details than your customers’ memory.

Positive actions = positive results

Returning customers are like a cash annuity for your business. As sales increase and satisfied customers give excellent recommendations and reviews, this can create a compound effect on revenues and profits. Long-term business success relies on this type of steady growth: customer retention enhanced with new customers. In contrast, a business that’s constantly obtaining customers, losing customers, and gaining new customers is wasting its efforts and profits.

Take the following actions to produce positive results:

Deliver what is promised. Customers seek benefits, solutions to problems, value, and service. It’s quite simple: Just deliver as promised and watch customer loyalty develop.

Make customer satisfaction a priority. Customer service does not begin and end with a sale. It begins during the sales process and continues past the point of sale. Forgotten customers become lost customers.

Follow up where it counts. You can never go wrong by following up with customers after a sale to ensure they are satisfied. When the competition forgets about the fine details of a sale, having a strict attention to detail and following up can be a springboard to leap past a rival.

Your business’s success is not only impacted by the actions you take today; you also need to be aware of how your actions will impact your business tomorrow. Realize that any sale you make today is an installment for future sales.

Take care of your customers today, and those same customers will take care of your business tomorrow!

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4 Ways to Be More Productive at Work

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Do you wish you could be more productive? You’re not the only one. Small business owners are working long hours—but with little to show for it, a new survey from The Alternative Board reveals. A whopping 84% of entrepreneurs in the poll work over 40 hours a week. What’s more, only one in 10 feel “continuously overwhelmed” by their workload.

I’m actually impressed that 90% of business owners don’t feel continuously overwhelmed, especially considering that the average business owner in the survey reports having only 1.5 hours of uninterrupted, highly productive time per day. (Sounds about right!)

What’s Eating Up Your Productivity?

Parkinson’s Law (“Work expands to fill the time available”) isn’t the only thing keeping business owners from peak productivity. Here’s what survey respondents say are the biggest culprits:

  • Poor time management—35%. No matter how much time you have available to get things done, if you don’t use it wisely, you won’t accomplish your goals.
  • Poor communication—25%. Do you spend a lot of time waiting for answers to questions from clients, prospects, vendors, or your staff? Thinking things through and communicating clearly enhances productivity. For example, before assigning a new project to an employee, make sure they have all the information they need to get started. Before starting to invoice a vendor, gather the relevant details.
  • Personal problems—18%. We all face personal issues from time to time. Unfortunately, if your time management skills are weak at the best of times, personal challenges can really put you behind the eight ball. Aim to build some open time into your schedule each day; that way, you’ll be able to handle last-minute business and personal emergencies without falling hopelessly behind.
  • Technology distractions—16%. Smartphones, tablets, texting, and communication apps are a double-edged sword. They make it possible for us to work from anywhere and communicate instantly. However, they also put the entire internet in our pockets, tempting us with endless distractions. (How many times have you gone on Twitter or Facebook to update your business account and gotten sucked in?) In addition, responding to multiple notifications, alerts, and emails on umpteen different devices all day long can eat up time and drain your brainpower.

What’s the biggest time suck for small business owners in the survey? It probably won’t surprise you, but the majority says email eats up most of their time—although only a measly 9% say email is the most important use of their time. Also on the list of top time wasters: in-person meetings and conference calls/video conferences. Just 4% of business owners say those meetings are always productive.

How To Be More Productive

Increasing your productivity may be easier said than done—but it is doable. Here are four ideas to help you be more productive:

1. Limit checking your email to certain times of day. One-third of business owners in the survey believe this would be the best way they could maximize productivity. While it may not work for every business owner, setting aside 20 minutes in the morning, early afternoon, and before you leave for the day (or whatever cadence makes sense for you) to check emails can minimize multitasking and leave you feeling less frazzled.

2. Get a head start. More than eight in 10 business owners in the survey say the morning is their most productive time of day. Don’t waste this valuable time updating social media, sorting travel expense receipts, or holding meetings—set aside the first hour or two of your day for important tasks that require lots of focus. Getting up extra early and working at home for an hour or so before you head to the office can help ensure you aren’t interrupted during this focused time.

3. Find your most productive place. We all work differently, and while most business owners say they’re most productive at the office, almost one-third say they are more productive when working at home. It really depends on what your needs are, what you have to get done, and how you prefer to work. A business owner who’s the parent of three young children may welcome the relative calm and silence of the office, while those with hectic offices and nonstop interruptions may need to hole up at home to get things accomplished.

4. Model the behavior you want to see. As the leader of your business, you need to set the tone for your employees in terms of maximizing productivity. Try brainstorming with your team to think of ways to eliminate time-wasting habits or processes in your workplace. Share strategies that have helped make you more productive. It’s hard to break habits that eat into our productivity (such as instantly responding to the ding of an incoming email), but working to be productive as a team can make it a little easier.

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Richard Branson to Young Entrepreneurs: ‘Just Do It’

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Through the decades, entrepreneur Richard Branson has not lost that certain wunderkind vibe about him and the way he runs his brand. This aura makes him especially inspiring to entrepreneurs who are looking to start young.

“Most young people with good ideas … will find that 99 percent of people will give them every reason why their idea’s been done before or why it’s not a good idea or why they’re going to fall flat on their face,” Branson recently told Inc.’s president and editor in chief Eric Schurenberg during an exclusive sit-down interview. “In the end, you have to say, ‘Screw it. Just do it.’”

At the age of 15, Branson dropped out of high school to start his first business, a magazine for young activists titled Student.

Four years later, in 1970, Branson began selling records by mail. In 1971, he opened his first record store. In 1972, he opened a recording studio. In 1973, he started his own record label. The Virgin business empire had begun, and Branson had not yet turned 24.

Today, the Virgin Group is a well-regarded global conglomerate of about 350 companies, branching into the entertainment, travel, and mobile industries.

Not all of Branson’s big ideas have been successful. Virgin Airlines and Virgin Mobile are now flagship brands for Branson, but remember Virgin Cola? With big risks come big, public failures. Branson has a follow-up secret to success: determination even when failure seems inevitable.

“If you have enough determination…. It’s more likely that you will succeed because of what you learned from the occasions when you didn’t succeed,” Branson said. “The most important thing is to not be put off by failure.”

Mentally Strong People: The 13 Things They Avoid

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For all the time executives spend concerned about physical strength and health, when it comes down to it, mental strength can mean even more.

Here’s a list compiled by Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker.

1. waste time feeling sorry for themselves

​You don’t see mentally strong people feeling sorry for their circumstances or dwelling on the way they’ve been mistreated. They have learned to take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, and they have an inherent understanding of the fact that frequently life is not fair. They are able to emerge from trying circumstances with self-awareness and gratitude for the lessons learned. When a situation turns out badly, they respond with phrases such as “Oh, well.” Or perhaps simply, “Next!”

2. give away their power

​Mentally strong people avoid giving others the power to make them feel inferior or bad. They understand they are in control of their actions and emotions. They know their strength is in their ability to manage the way they respond.

3. shy away from change

​Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge. Their biggest “fear,” if they have one, is not of the unknown, but of becoming complacent and stagnant. An environment of change and even uncertainty can energize a mentally strong person and bring out their best.

4. waste energy on things they can’t control

​Mentally strong people don’t complain (much) about bad traffic, lost luggage, or especially about other people, as they recognize that all of these factors are generally beyond their control. In a bad situation, they recognize that the one thing they can always control is their own response and attitude, and they use these attributes well.

5. worry about pleasing others

​Know any people pleasers? Or, conversely, people who go out of their way to dis-please others as a way of reinforcing an image of strength? Neither position is a good one. A mentally strong person strives to be kind and fair and to please others where appropriate, but is unafraid to speak up. They are able to withstand the possibility that someone will get upset and will navigate the situation, wherever possible, with grace.

6. fear taking calculated risks

​A mentally strong person is willing to take calculated risks. This is a different thing entirely than jumping headlong into foolish risks. But with mental strength, an individual can weigh the risks and benefits thoroughly, and will fully assess the potential downsides and even the worst-case scenarios before they take action.

7. dwell on the past

​There is strength in acknowledging the past and especially in acknowledging the things learned from past experiences—but a mentally strong person is able to avoid miring their mental energy in past disappointments or in fantasies of the “glory days” gone by. They invest the majority of their energy in creating an optimal present and future.

8. make the same mistakes over and over

​We all know the definition of insanity, right? It’s when we take the same actions again and again while hoping for a different and better outcome than we’ve gotten before. A mentally strong person accepts full responsibility for past behavior and is willing to learn from mistakes. Research shows that the ability to be self-reflective in an accurate and productive way is one of the greatest strengths of spectacularly successful executives and entrepreneurs.

9. resent other people’s success

​It takes strength of character to feel genuine joy and excitement for other people’s success. Mentally strong people have this ability. They don’t become jealous or resentful when others succeed (although they may take close notes on what the individual did well). They are willing to work hard for their own chances at success, without relying on shortcuts.

10. give up after failure

​Every failure is a chance to improve. Even the greatest entrepreneurs are willing to admit that their early efforts invariably brought many failures. Mentally strong people are willing to fail again and again, if necessary, as long as the learning experience from every “failure” can bring them closer to their ultimate goals.

11. fear alone time

​Mentally strong people enjoy and even treasure the time they spend alone. They use their downtime to reflect, to plan, and to be productive. Most importantly, they don’t depend on others to shore up their happiness and moods. They can be happy with others, and they can also be happy alone.

12. feel the world owes them anything

Particularly in the current economy, executives and employees at every level are gaining the realization that the world does not owe them a salary, a benefits package and a comfortable life, regardless of their preparation and schooling. Mentally strong people enter the world prepared to work and succeed on their merits, at every stage of the game.

13. expect immediate results

​Whether it’s a workout plan, a nutritional regimen, or starting a business, mentally strong people are “in it for the long haul”. They know better than to expect immediate results. They apply their energy and time in measured doses and they celebrate each milestone and increment of success on the way. They have “staying power.” And they understand that genuine changes take time. Do you have mental strength? Are there elements on this list you need more of? With thanks to Amy Morin, I would like to reinforce my own abilities further in each of these areas today. How about you?

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