Ellen Rohr is the president of Bare Bones Biz Inc. For more information, you can reach Ellen and Bare Bones Biz at 417-753-1111 or ellen@barebonesbiz.com.
My mission is to help you make a living doing what you love. Do you love what you do? Great. Now, what about the money, honey? I spend much of each day on the phone, talking business. On the seminar trail, I meet lots of folks who love to tell me what works for them … and what not to do. I’d love to share this wisdom with you. So here is a collection of do’s and don’ts for every area of your business.
Once upon a time, I quit my real job (restaurant manager - good salary, benefits and someone to cover for me when I wasn’t around) and went to work for my husband, Hot Rod, in his contracting company. It was the dumbest decision I have ever made.
Do you ever feel like you hate absolutely everything and everyone involved with your business? Do you wonder why you even show up in the morning? Do you fantasize about pitching it all and running away to Costa Rica? Do you doubt your ability to make the business a success, to make it work? On a day of doubt, give it one more day.
If you choose not to fly, your career could suffer. Worse, you are saying no to a wonderful, available miracle of our time. In a single day, you can fly to any point on this planet. How cool is that?
“No!” This word stands between you and everything you want. No wonder it is such a tough word to hear. But if you are going to survive in this industry, you are going to have to learn to hear the word “no” for an answer!
I’m not being pessimistic. The truth is that if you can hear “no” and not go home and put your head under your pillow, you will make it to the next “yes!” Everything is sales, my friend. To get good at sales, you need to get comfortable with “no.”
Imagine opening your door and finding a fully licensed, well-spoken, sales-minded roofing sales professional, job application in hand, eager to make life easy for you. Or perhaps you’ll discover a personable customer service expert who doubles as an accounting wizard and just happens to be looking for a job.
"It looks like you have a sound, productive sales system. When you follow the system, you provide better service to your customers and create more and bigger sales. So, what's the challenge?" I asked.
Today ... again ... I was scratching my head over an accounting mess for which the owner had paid a bookkeeper many dollars over many years. How did it happen?
When I was a new mother, I remember calling my mom in tears. "I've fed him, changed him, rocked him, sung to him," I sobbed, "and he just won't go to sleep. What do I do now?