Posts in Start-up Saturday

Commitment

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Entrepreneurs: Would you move from a 5,000 sq ft home to a 360 sq ft recreation vehicle for 2.5 years for your business?

How committed are you to your business?

What are you willing to risk for it?

How hard are you willing to work?

In 2016, we made a decision to buy a 100-acre piece of property and open a horse farm. Our decision meant moving onto the property and selling our “forever” home.

However, that meant that we couldn’t buy the property, start a business, AND build a new home. So, we bought a fifth wheel to live in temporarily until our house sold.

We expected that to take about six months.

Two and a half years later, we finally sold our home and were able to move into our new house on the property.

Being successful requires more than dedication — it requires commitment, the state or quality of being totally dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

For entrepreneurs, commitment is paramount.

Entrepreneurs take risks, give up comforts, and go all-in.

What’s your commitment story?

#business #success #incubator #coaching #consulting

Reopening

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What’s your plan  to reopen your business? Do you even have one? 路‍♂️

Do you feel you even need a plan?

What’s a business to do…just reopen their doors and start serving customers again?

What precautions should you take?

Will your employees come back or do you need to hire and train new ones?

Will you be busy or slow?

How will people know you’re open?

Last week, I visited a restaurant that has reopened. It was lunch on Sunday.

Everything shined it was so clean.

On every table, they had paper napkins, a clear spray bottle of some liquid (unmarked), and a bunch of individual hand sanitizer gel packs.

I could see that some if the tables had been moved — probably six foot rule.

Our waiter wore a mask (all employees did)…no gloves. The bartenders wore gloves.

All total, aside from the two of us, there were nine patrons — yea, I counted.

Visible employees were a hostess, two waiters, two bartenders, and a manager.

The manager came by to thank us for visiting…he wore his mask under his nose to breathe better.

Do you think they had a plan?

If they did, do you think they were following it?

Should a business, reopening after the COVID Lockdown, have a plan to reopen?

#success #incubator #business #coaching #consultants
#covid19 #coronavirus #reopening

Contingency Planning

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How important is disaster and contingency planning for your business … now? 

In 2016, my wife and I opened our horse farm. We also started an equitherapy-for-vets nonprofit.

One of the requirements for accreditation of the nonprofit was to establish contingency plans to mitigate potential risks.

After 21 years in the military and 7 years as a war planner, I fully understood the importance on risk mitigation through disaster and contingency planning.

Even though we’re a small business, we have plans in place for Flooding, Freeze, and Fire. The Flooding and Freeze plans have been used every year since we opened.

We never imagined that Pandemic would be on the list!

However, what we found is that we were able to pull out our plans and were able to quickly pull key aspects of the existing plans to create a quick response to deal with this crisis.

Did your business have any formal contingency plans going into this? Have you ever considered business risks and devised mitigation strategies.

No one could have planned for a Pandemic, except maybe the World Health Organization. However, planning is still quite important.

If you don’t have any contingency planning, what are you going to do about it today?

#success #incubator #business #coaching #consultants

What Will Change?

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How will our  world change due to the coronavirus ⛑ crisis?

My Predictions:

More people will find remote online employment versus employment in a brick and mortar business.

Businesses will also move more to remote workers and reduce their costly footprints.

Homeschooling is going to step up for sure.

If teaching K-12 remotely works, people are going to question the public burden of costly infrastructure–we might see physical campuses simplyngo away.

Grocery and supplies delivery will significantly increase.

People will store more nonperishable food and consumables in their homes.

Expect more home downsizing.

Eating at home and healthier will increase.

The streaming video industry will grow significantly to serve much more people — things like movie theaters will decline.

Trust in government will hit the single digits.

Your thoughts?

#success #incubator #business #coaching #consultants

The Importance of Mission Right Now

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Your mission statement  means everything to your company right now.杖

Is you mission statement just words that make you feel good?

Or are they words that you live by?

Your mission should define you in good times and bad.

Right now, your mission is most important and now is a true test if actually live by it.

My mission it to be an Incubator of Success, coupled with my vision of Leaving nothing but success in my wake.

These words mean even more to me today as I and others around me struggle with this current crisis.

I still look for ways to share content that inspires and teaches — in Hope’s to provide assistance to those in need of success right now.

See, in times like these, especially in business, it can be very easy to focus only on yourself and your business. Not you customers, partners, or employees.

Yes, being a success incubator also means focusing on my own success, but during this crisis it doesn’t mean to only focus on my success.

If you’re struggling in business right now, reach out below. Let’s discuss innovative ways to get through this together.

Share your mission and how important it is right now to you.

Maybe now is the time you really discover your true mission statement?

#success #incubator #business #coaching #consultants

Success takes time

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True Success … for most of us … takes time! 🏅⏰

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” Vincent Van Gogh

This is not a brag fest email–just sharing a personal success story. It’s about being consistent and constant, while focusing on things bigger than yourself.

For 30 years, I’ve been building my knowledge, skills, and experiences in business improvement. For 16 of those years, I’ve been following a personal 20-year strategic plan.

Three years ago, I had great conversations with a company that was doing incredible things and was faced with incredible opportunities. Our timing wasn’t right.

However, I followed this company for the past three years, watched their progress, and stayed in touch.

Two months ago, the company reached out — they had been watching me on LinkedIn too. Our conversations three years ago made more sense now — they were ready.

This week, I started working with them on a strategic engagement and it is so incredibly exciting! My 30-years’ experience is coming to bear on a company that truly appreciates me and what I have to offer.

I am looking forward to huge successes with them!

#success #incubator #business #coaching #consultants
Crosscutter Enterprises
www.crossctr.com

Nobody’s watching your videos!

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If you think your videos are being watched … You’re wrong!

I did some analysis on Video Performance on Facebook. Business Pages on Facebook provide a great deal of data on their Insights tab.

Below are the deeper insights of just one video post, viewed by over 250 people. However, I researched several videos from multiple Business Pages and the trend was the same.

Guess what…

The average time someone spends watching your video is between 5 and 8 seconds! You heard me right — SECONDS!

You lose close 50% of your audience a measly 3 seconds into your video!

Are you trying to get your videos below 3 minutes? Try harder! If you’re over 30 seconds, you’re too long!!!

This was very enlightening for me … is it enlightening for you?

In the comments, leave your thoughts and discussion on how we possibly deal with this short attention span trend.

Crosscutter Enterprises
www.crossctr.com

Distracted Much?

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🤦‍♂️ Do you get easily distracted from work? 🐶🐱

Our new kitten likes someone to be in the room when it eats. Otherwise, it wants to be wherever you are playing. It’ll get back to the food, eventually, but by that time, the Cleaning Service (aka dogs) will have taken care of the issue.

So, I locked our kitten in the bathroom with me as I got ready for the day. However, distractions loom around every corner for this little kitten. Not sure if the dog wants to play with the cat, be with me, or clean up the leftovers, but both of us became distracted!

Are you easily distracted from the task at hand?

What distracts you? Phone calls? Text messages? Emails? The kitten walking on your keyboard? 🐈

www.crossctr.com

Forbes Expert Panel — Diversity

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Seven Ways Leaders Can Encourage Diversity In The Workplace

❓ How is Diversity best defined?

❓ What are the benefits?

For a business to be able to have a diverse workplace, companies must address these questions and more.

I’m proud to be featured again on Forbes through the Forbes Coaches Council! Twice in one week — I must be doing something right?!?

I provided the sixth method: Be Constant And Consistent With Education!

Diversity—and inclusion, because you can have a diverse work center and not include everyone—starts with solid, constant and consistent education. This is not one training class and an annual refresher online. This is purposeful diversity and inclusion leadership growth—it should start before the individual becomes a leader and they should grow and build over time. – John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/06/28/seven-ways-leaders-can-encourage-diversity-in-the-workplace/#65c4d8f13d59

Share Your Toxic Examples

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We’ve been discussing toxic leadership and cultures this week. The military is not immune to this environment — in fact, it can be the worst.

During one of my assignments in the Air Force, I worked as a flight sergeant with a hand-picked unit. There was one senior NCO and one officer that oversaw the unit — we were lean and mean.

The officer was absent, simply put. He was more focused on school and getting ahead, so he was never seen — never interacted with the unit personnel.

Thus, the SNCO, ran everything. Everyone called him The Dragon. This guy invented “toxic.” His goal was to break down each NCO in the unit to the point where they would in turn break down everyone that worked for them.

He ran everything like a cult. He referred to people as “in his camp” or “not.” He would hold “camp” meetings at a bar off base (so he could get drunk and not busted) and he would give his sermons over whiskey and beer chasers.

The stories I could tell about The Dragon. See, in the military, you can’t quit your job to get away from a toxic culture. You just have to endure.

This needs to be solved … this toxicity needs to be eradicated from business and out life!

What toxic examples do you have?