Richard Branson's - Success Tips

I have just finished reading Richards Branson's books Business Stripped Bare and Losing My virginity and thought it would be great to share some of his Success Tips for Business.

Have Fun - "Any proposal I like must sound fun".
Be proud of what you do - "What matters is what you create. Does it make you proud? Have you impacted positively on others?"
Don't let your limits knock your self-confidence - "What you may be bad at actually doesn't interest people, and it certainly shouldn't interest you. Put these to one side and push yourself towards your strengths".
Innovation is what you get when you capitalise on luck, when you get up from behind your desk and go and see where ideas and people lead you.
Empower and Respect others - "Inspire people to think like entrepreneurs, and whatever you do, treat them like adults. The hardest taskmaster of all is a person's own conscience, so the more responsibility you give people, the better they will work for you."

And the final word from his book that I thought was worth sharing: "Successful people aren't in possession of secrets known only to themselves. Don't obsess over people who appear to you to be 'winners', but listen to the wisdom of people who've led enriching lives - people, for instance, who've found time for friends and family. Be generous in your interpretation of what success looks like. The best and most meaningful lives don't always end happily."

I was reading an interesting article by John C. Maxwell today and thought I would share some of the questions he asked in relation to YOU as a leader:

"Here is what I want you to ask yourself as a leader:

Quick Question: When was the last time you stopped and acknowledged your achievements?

Was it today? If so, Congratulations as you are among a small minority. If it has been awhile, than now is the time to stop and acknowledge your greatness, your successes no matter how big or small. Remember to stop feeling as if you need to keep 'ticking boxes off your to-do list".

This is not about being egotistical or 'big headed', this is about taking the time to appreciate all that you do. It is also a time to learn from not only what you have achieved but to learn from any mistakes and to ask yourself what you may do differently next time.

Here are three ideas on how you can begin to acknowledge yourself:

a) Blue Sky Time - when working with some of our top leaders, I would often speak to them about the 'concept' of blue-sky time. Blue-sky time requires you to take some time out each day (yep - each day!), away from any interruptions including phones, blackberries, emails ECT., and allow yourself to think about your day. Look at acknowledging what is going well for you, what successes you have had and if need be what do you need to do differently in any situation. What people find is that when they go back into their normal day they have greater insight and awareness around what is working well for them and what they need to do differently.

b) Celebration Book - Do you get great feedback from clients? Do you get great feedback from family & friends? If so, why not begin your own "Celebration Book" and surround yourself with reminders of your successes. Grab a journal and jot down notes/thoughts around what you have been doing well, put in your fabulous testimonials from clients, have your immediate family make notes in it for you. Place in it the things that remind you of your greatness, that remind you to celebrate YOU.

c) Work with a mentor/coach - Why, because in most cases this person will ask to hear about your successes and wins and then encourage/'force' you to take the time to celebrate what you have achieved. No matter how big or small these achievements are. This is one person who is solely focused on you, your success and your greatness and will hold this vision for you.

Appreciating and celebrating yourself is a gift for you to open. Watch what happens when you gain these skills. Your life and your business will expand because these skills are infectious!

It's one thing to start a business; it's quite another to keep it growing. At some point, it's no longer enough to be your business's number one employee. You need to become the boss, the leader.

So if you are finding that your own free time is shrinking, that you are turning away potential clients, that you are still doing the same things as when you first began - it might be time to look at what you are holding on to. Each week I am talking with business owners who all shared how they are actually working more hours in their business than they ever planned to and are not sure how to change this. But remember it doesn't have to be this way... as a business owner you have the 'freedom of choice' to be able to make changes in your business, including if need be hiring the right help to get things off your plate.

So how can you begin?

Step 1 Make a list of all the tasks you currently perform. Remember even the most basic administrative tasks can derail you from focusing on your big-ticket items.

Step 2 Go through and group them into specific tasks; for example invoicing, paying bills, entering MYOB etc can be grouped together as say 'finance'; answering emails, mail, updating your website, creating client folders etc can be grouped together as 'office admin'. Make as many or as few groups as you like.

Step 3 You can either do this two ways by prioritising your list from: a) most important to least important or b) what I hate doing the most to what I don't mind doing!

Step 4 Now go through this list and choose the 2-3 groups that would make the biggest difference to you and your business if you were to either outsource or hire in someone to do these.

If by outsourcing only one of these groups allows you to get one or more clients, that in itself should be a reward.

When working with entrepreneurs’ one area that many seem to get stuck on is the area of delegation. It can be the hardest job an entrepreneur learns, in fact some never do. They insist on handling the work themselves, running themselves ragged in the meantime. Others think they are delegating but in fact are only paying lip service to the word! So to help you let go, here are some steps you can put into place that will allow you to be more effective at delegating.

1. Decide what needs to be delegated.
Whether you can delegate it to a staff member or outsource it - ask yourself:
~What am I doing that does not need to be done at all?
~What am I doing that could be done by somebody else?
~What am I doing that only I can do?

2. Select the individual

How far you can delegate projects will depend on the skill, experience and reliability of your staff or vendor. When you decide on the right person – think about your reasons for delegating to this person? Do they have the right capabilities for performing this task? What are you both going to get out of this?

3. Delegate the complete project

It is much more rewarding to work on a single project than on many fragments of the project. It you delegate a complete project to a capable staff member; you are also more likely to receive a smarter, tightly integrated result.

4. Explain the reasons for the project

When you delegate a task, you must explain why this task or responsibility is being delegated. Why you are delegating it to this person? How does it fit into the overall picture of what you are trying to achieve.

5. What results are expected?

Ensure you communicate effectively:
Ø the results that must be achieved
Ø the importance of the task
Ø the constraints within which it needs to be carried out
Ø the deadlines for completion (as well as any consequences of not meeting the deadline)
Ø reporting dates, when and how you want information on the progress of the project

6. Then let go!

Once you have decided to delegate a task, let them get on with it. Follow up and review on the agreed reporting dates, but don’t constantly look over their shoulders. Recognise that they, may have a different (and or better) way of doing this task than you do. Remember to accept mistakes that can be fixed and ask what can be learned from this.

7. Support and coach when requested

It is important to provide support when they are having difficulties, but do not do the job for them. If you do, they will not develop the confidence and capabilities to do the task themselves.

8. Accept only finished work

You have delegated a task to reduce your workload. If you accept only partially completed work back, then you will have to invest time in completing the task yourself and they will not receive the experience they need in completing projects.

9. Feedback on results

It is important that you let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved the desired results. If not, you need to review with them what did not go to plan, how could it have been completed differently to achieve the results and deal with any problems that arise. You need to absorb the consequences of failure and pass on the credit for success.

10. Give credit when a project has been successfully completed!

Defining your target market is one of the most important steps you can do to build your marketing plan and increase your bottom line. So when asked, who is your target market – please – don’t say everyone!

I made this mistake when I first started out many, many years ago. I was so excited about my products and services that I believed everyone would want to work with me. Now who wouldn’t! The problem was that my message wasn’t clear. I was attracting clients who were either not a good match or they couldn’t afford to pay for the service. So I took a step back, worked with my mentor at the time and identified my ideal clients and from this developed a strong marketing message. I still use the same process I've described below every time I feel that something is changing or shifting in my business. So here are the steps I take to become clear.

1. Make a list of all of your clients and note down some things about them. What they do, how much they spend with you, what you like about them. Are they all from a certain industry or profession? Are you passionate about their issues or challenges?

2. From this list, look for what pattern is occurring and who is sitting in say the top 20% – is it professional woman who run their own small businesses; male engineers; contracts with government agencies; new mums; start ups etc.

3. Focus your efforts on this top 20%. Research this group and find out more about what they need, what issues they are facing, where do they hang out, are they willing to spend money on services and products?

4. Now armed with this information – how can you reach them? What can you do to be visible to this market? Once you research your market, develop your message and are clear on what you do to solve their challenges. You can begin to write articles, speak at their industry conferences etc, and become the go-to person for these people.

Your challenge is to spend your time focusing and working with this top 20%, let go of the other 80% and watch what happens to your bottom line and to your own passion and excitement. You will find that your message is clearer and your clients understand better about what you do and how you can support them.

Let me know what happens.