Author: Michelle Landis

The lazy (and hot!) dog days of summer are over and the sweet fall breeze is upon us bringing with it new energy and refreshing clarity. As for most of us, with fall's arrival, our cups are full (and sometimes spilling over!) so how do...

As a business coach, one of the biggest challenges my clients often face is the need for their team to take ownership and accountability for their work. Accountability, when appropriately and effectively employed, can transform your team and business.  
Quite often I run into business owners who know they are in need of assistance but are confused whether they need a coach or a consultant. Often they are not sure what the difference is between the two or they don’t know which one would be appropriate for their situation. The difference between consulting and coaching can appear subtle, but there are distinct differences and both approaches are valuable.
As a business coach, I often see that implementing effective marketing approaches presents itself as a major challenge for many clients. Today’s marketing trends are changing at a vast and rapid rate. This can make it even more challenging to find and make the most of the valuable trends while they last.
Scaling your business for true growth is essentially what all business owners strive for. You want to increase your revenue quickly and simultaneously keep your costs and use of resources down as you grow. You want to optimize, not duplicate your efforts. You want to increase your performance even under increasingly mounting operational demands and expanding workloads. You simply can’t increase your sales and costs at the same rate; otherwise, you are not technically growing or adding value to your business. 

Time and tide wait for no one - Anonymous

In an era where productivity rules and the ability to be efficient is of paramount importance, it is easy to see why time management is imperative to success. What’s harder to understand is why it exists as a universal problem. Every business owner or executive seems to struggle with time management on some level. Managing our time is difficult because, well…
Setting aside time to plan is rarely at the top of a small business owner’s priority list and is almost never considered an urgent task. Creating general quarterly or end-of-year goals can be an easy task that only takes a few moments of our time, but seldom does this type of ‘goal-setting’ drive us to the next level of success. The foundation for good business planning is almost always set upon an excellent planning infrastructure. When we neglect to prioritize a full day of productive planning on a quarterly basis, we are literally failing our business.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.” - Marianne Williamson

Most of us are looking for growth in nearly every aspect of our lives. But what has the most impact on our success? There are many conflicting belief systems that dictate the end result. Is it our hard work and determination? Is it our effort that pays off in the end? Or is it our innate talent that determines our overall success? The answer has been proven time and time again. Success: A Mindset.
As business professionals – entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and corporate executives – we move quickly to grow our business. It’s seldom we have time – or the choice – to consider with whom we spend our time. We busily navigate through our day picking up friends, colleagues, and associates along the way without much time for reflection on how those relationships impact our business and our brand.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. - Lao Tzu

As a business coach, helping clients manage their many business and life transitions is a critical role!  Seriously, as business owners we go through transitions many times...almost monthly and life transitions can be almost as frequent.  Think of all the business and life transitions you may have gone through and some that might be coming up....going off to college, getting our first job, marriage, babies, firing someone, raising capital, new careers, hiring new employees for major roles, loss of a loved one or key employee and retirement.
Strengthen your business. Produce the results you want.