Marty's News

Weekly Tips From Marty: Great Ideas!

January 30, 2011

WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

How do you learn how to handle difficult team members? By dealing with difficult team members. How do you learn how to deal with difficult clients? By dealing with difficult clients. So, how do you learn how to run a business better? By doing it when things are tough, like they’ve been the last 2 years. Here are some recent results from a survey I came across in Lawn & Landscape Magazine.

Learning from the recession

The one thing the recent recession has taught business owners is how to manage companies smarter. While economic conditions certainly aren’t ideal, they’re finding ways to survive, ways that will make their businesses run more efficiently in the coming months and years. Of the Citigroup survey respondents, 64 percent said they have forever changed the way they run their business operations.

The changes in running their business:

  • Reducing debt
  • Increasing cash reserves
  • Freezing hiring
  • Delaying expansion plans

The challenges they’re tackling:

  • Higher taxes
  • Decline in products and services
  • Tighter business regulations
  • Health insurance

The ways they’re weathering the storm:

  • Long-term client relationships
  • Effectively managing expenses
  • Recession-proof products or services

(Source: Lawn & Landscape magazine, November 2010 issue)

So, the question becomes, what did you learn and what are you going to do differently in 2011 and beyond? I feel like I’ve learned a new, permanent way to run my business and while I hope the economy improves, I am grateful for the lessons I’ve learned the last 2 years. I’m going to have a more successful business in the long run. Now, what about you?

We are just a few weeks away from GROW! 2011. Please don’t miss this opportunity to learn from an incredible cast of experts as well as the attendees from all over the US. Get yourself and your people to GROW! 2011.

January 23, 2011

HOW CAN YOU BOOST THE LOCAL ECONOMY?

Here’s some information I came across in a recent edition of Lawn and Landscape magazine. I think it’s some excellent information.

Boosting the local economy

Buy local. Though certainly not a new idea, supporting local businesses has received a push from a national movement of independent business owners that have formed Independent We Stand to educate their communities on the benefits of shopping at neighborhood stores. Independent We Stand is funded in part by STIHL.

The movement uses recent surveys to break down the benefits of buying from local businesses. According to the group:

If you spend $100 at an independent business, $68 returns to the local community. Spending the same amount at a national chain equates to $43 back to the community.

Small businesses create 75 percent of all new jobs and half the non-farm private gross domestic product.

Locally owned businesses reinvest in its communities economy at a 60 percent higher rate than chains and Internet retailers.

Locally owned and operated businesses provide higher-paying jobs.

Finally, more tax dollars are reinvested in the community to fund essentials such as schools, fire and police and road improvements.

“This project began as a way to inform friends and neighbors on one of the best ways to revive our economy: buy local,” says Bill Brunelle, spokesperson for Independent We Stand.

“Buying products and services from people who work and live in your town means more money goes back to your local area,” he says.

(Source: Lawn & Landscape magazine, November 2010 issue)M/small>

It’s important that we support our local economy. Here’s one way I support my local community; check out the Good News in Dayton website; it’s mine. More on it in a future GREAT IDEA.

January 16, 2011

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR 2011?

Hello, as you may or may not know, this weekly Great Idea is actually delivered in such a format that you can comment and we can have a discussion. I’m interested to know what you think 2011 will bring. So, to start our discussion, please read the recent information I found in Lawn and Landscape magazine.

Business owners cautious of future

A quarterly survey by Citigroup found that 85 percent of small-business owners are worried about a double-dip recession. If any solace can be found in that number, it is that 75 percent polled said they are very or somewhat prepared for another downturn, an indication of small-business owners’ ability to adapt to the challenges presented during the recent recession.

The results of the most recent survey mirrored the ones from previous quarters, with 76 percent of small-business owners rating the current business climate as fair or poor.

However, optimism continues to rise with an increasing percentage of owners calling current conditions fair. Of those polled, 28 percent said their business was better off today than last year and 42 percent expect business to improve in 12 months. A growing number of owners up 5 percent to 45 percent say they expect conditions to remain the same in the next year.
(Source: Lawn & Landscape magazine, November 2010 issue)

So, what do you think? Are you thinking things will be better this year for you? Worse? Or about the same?

We expect sales in 2011 to be:

  • Up by more than 5% (62%, 31 Votes)
  • Up by more than 20% (22%, 11 Votes)
  • The same (16%, 8 Votes)
  • Down (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 50

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Also, if you and/or your business need a little injection of energy and ideas, then by all means come see me and my incredible group of teachers at GROW! 2011 in warm and sunny Dayton, Ohio (we hope!) Feb 10-12.

January 9, 2011

WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT FEEDBACK FROM YOUR TEAM?

I’ve run my landscaping company for 27 years. Hard to believe. During those 27 years, I’ve learned a lot. The area I feel I have grown the most in is Leadership. Oh, I still have a lot to learn but I’m much improved. One of the things I used to do, and still see a lot of leaders doing today, is asking for feedback when the decision has already been made. If you want to get your followers to check out and tune you out as a leader, ask for feedback on an important decision as an attempt to trick them into saying what you want to hear. People are way smarter than we give them credit for.

For example, if I have already made up my mind to get in the irrigation business, why ask my team what they think? If I have not made up my mind, then ask for feedback and listen to the feedback. At the end of the day, you do not have to follow the feedback; you only have to acknowledge the feedback. But, if a pattern forms where no matter what someone offers up, you do what you want to do, why ask for the feedback anyway? You only frustrate your followers to the point they won’t follow you and a leader without any followers is….? Not much of a leader!

January 2, 2011

WHAT’S ON YOUR STOP DOING LIST?

If you’ve followed me, you know I’m addicted to To-Do lists. I do them for all things at work, at home and personally. However, this week, I want to challenge you to get a “not to-do” list. That’s right, a list of things you need to stop doing.

Those who win at the game of business and life understand the power of focus. The power of focus on the execution of a select few tasks, rather than doing a ton of things marginally well. It is imperative that you decide what you’re not going to do to improve your effectiveness.

Here’s what I have learned from my mentors and from studying other very successful people. They all work on the things that have the biggest payoff and don’t do the things that don’t pay off, no matter if they like them or not. At some point they have a revelation that they’re not going to do a lot of things, even if they do like doing them, because they don’t have a payoff. You can’t create more time in a day unless you take some things off your plate. So this week, go ahead and take some things off your plate. Put together a “not-to-do” list and find an hour? Or 5 hours? Or a week? You’ll find more time and more happiness if you do.

P.S. There’s still time to sign up for GROW! 2011. You won’t want to miss being in warm and sunny (optimistic!) Dayton, Ohio, from February 10th-12th. Get Grow! 2011 details here. We’d love to see you there.