Business Coaching

According to recent studies, businesses coached by an ActionCOACH Business Coach have a return of $7.50 for every dollar spent. At the same time, 74 percent of ActionCOACH coached businesses increased sales over the last year compared to only 43% of non-coached businesses.

The powerful return on investment evidenced in these studies is a major reason that, every week, 15,000 businesses around the world are coached by an ActionCOACH Business Coach.

Clearly, business owners that hire an ActionCOACH get results.

Those results, along with the satisfaction of our clients are major factors in our being nominated for our latest honor, the People’s Choice Stevie.

There isn’t a business in the world that can survive, let alone thrive, without building a database of “Raving Fans” and we want to thank our “Raving Fans” from all over the world for this nomination.

Of course, the nomination was just the first step.

The next step is actually winning the award and to do this we need everyone who reads this blog voting for ActionCOACH in the “Business Services” category. Only with your vote and support can we win this coveted award.

You can vote for ActionCOACH by visiting the “People’s Choice Awards” page by clicking on the button at the top of this blog. Once you’re directed to the voting page, click on “Business Services” and then vote for ActionCOACH.

Winners of the “People’s Choice” Stevie Award will be announced the week of September 12 and presented their awards at the International Business Awards event in Abu Dhabi on October 11.

We hope we will get the chance to be there and accept the award in person, but we can’t do it without you, so click on the link provided and vote for the entire ActionCOACH team today!

No matter where you go, despite cultural differences, certain things just resonate with people. Take situation comedies like Everybody Loves Raymond for instance.

There are versions of many popular American shows being made around the world these days, and while there may be some differences, these shows speak to the similarities we all share, even if we live in very different cultures or environments.

Cross-culture television is not a new innovation. Shows have crossed cultures for years.

Some American classics, like “All In The Family” and “Three’s Company”, were re-purposed from British shows and even contemporary hits like The Office was originally a British series before coming to America.

The trend is growing on an almost daily basis and while the country’s manufacturing base is eroding, America is one of the biggest exporters of television ideas to the rest of the world.

Shows as varied as “Married… With Children”, “The Jeffersons”, “Who’s The Boss” and even “I Dream of Jeannie” have been farmed out to other nations, years after they are no longer on the air.

Keep in mind we aren’t talking about simply issuing rights to show repeats. Each of these shows is unique unto itself. The characters and jokes are uniquely that of the home country, with plotlines taken from the original, American version.

So every culture loves television comedy, but not each television comedy is funny to each country.

Often American humor doesn’t translate into laughter in other countries, so production companies are taking the ideas and storylines of a given show and re-issuing them in the style of the nation they are in.

Hence, Everybody Loves Kostya.

So how does this relate to the challenges business people face every day?

Thanks to all the options around us, the world is a smaller place than it’s ever been and businesses that want to be truly successful have to have a global vision.

A key to achieving global success is understanding as much as some things are universal, there are small, seemingly minor variances between cultures that can make the difference between a business’ success and failure.

This is clearly on display for those that travel around the world and might be stuck in a hotel room watching the Chilean version of “Mad About You” or “The Nanny”.

The jokes might not be the same as the ones you remember, but the concepts translate, making the shows very familiar, while at the same time, unique to its homeland.

It’s that familiarity, combined with local flavor that has led to success for this concept. And that idea should stick with you as you try to build your business from a local institution, to a global power.

Everybody’s online these days, right?

It sure seems that way, but there are still a shocking number of businesses that aren’t taking advantage of the online world to grow.

In fact, almost 40 percent of small businesses in the United States have no online presence at all.

It’s easy to blame uncontrollable factors on failures, but a business that has no online presence and fails has no excuse. There is help for any business if they know where to look.

The economy may be bad, taxes may be high and the economy may be uncertain, but none of those factors mean anything if you aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunities around you and the internet is as powerful a marketing tool as we have ever seen.

People don’t look for the products and services they need in the Yellow Pages anymore.

In fact, many communities have done away with distributing phone books because most people search for what they want online these days and having a massive tome with everyone’s contact information was simply too expensive to produce every year.

For business owners that haven’t gone online with their message yet and then wonder why they aren’t finding enough customers, it’s time to move to the 21st century.  If a business isn’t marketing, it’s dying.

Developing your presence isn’t hard and it shouldn’t take up too much time, but it’s vital to your success.

If a small business doesn’t have an online presence, whether it’s a Facebook fan page or a dedicated, multi-page website, they are missing out on hundreds if not thousands of potential customers.

Online you can build a following of your best customers, interact with them and find easy, cost-effective ways to market your business.

An on-line presence is, arguably, the most important marketing tool available these days, so get online today and don’t lose any more business to your competition.

One of the indicators that tell about the growth and health of a franchise is franchisee satisfaction.

It comes down to one simple factor.  If franchisees are happy, then things within the entire franchise system are probably running smoothly. When this is the situation, the systems within the franchise make sense and, more importantly, they do what they are supposed to do.

That’s why it was such an honor that ActionCOACH was ranked 31st in the latest Franchise Business Review in the large systems category for the most recent poll.

“This is an award we strive for every year. We are proud to be recognized by the Franchise Business Review,” ActionCOACH CEO Jodie Shaw said. “No matter how great your company is, if your franchisees aren’t happy, growth simply isn’t possible. Our franchisees are our business partners, so the fact that they are happy speaks volumes.”

To review the entire list of businesses that ranked on the list, just click here.

Hiring a Business Coach is a big step for any business and should not be entered into lightly. You have to find out if they would be a good fit with your business by asking some questions.

First, find out about their background. Are they a generalist or a specialist?

What is their background? Have they been trained to handle any eventuality your business may face?

Have they had success?

Don’t be afraid to ask for references from other businesses they have worked with.

Business Coaches often use referrals to find new customers, so they should want you to talk to businesses they’ve worked with in the past. In this way, you can understand just how valuable their services are.

Next, ask them about the issues they see in your business.

It’s important that you and your Business Coach are properly aligned and moving toward the same goals. Make sure you’re on the same page and they see the same issues you do.

Finally, get to know them a bit. Your Business Coach will play a big part in the growth of your business and, hopefully, an increased balance in your life.

Remember, your Business Coach is going to be your confidant, your sounding board and an invaluable resource.

At the same time they will challenge you and force you face the real problems in your business, so if you don’t have a mutual respect, the relationship probably won’t work as well as it could.

Coaching is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity and Bob Grace, the CEO of Grace Tax Advisory Group, knows it. In this video Bob talks about how ActionCOACH and specifically Heather Christie’s team has helped his business. By delivering what is important through increased focus and efficient time management thanks to the implementation of systems and strategies, Bob has seen first-hand just how important coaching is for any business these days and you can see how in the above testimonial.

Happy New Year!

Now that we’re in year 2011, maybe you’ve made some New Year’s resolutions. Hopefully you’ve made some for your business so your business can be the best it can be this year.

If you’re a small business, consider making a resolution to start thinking like a big business.

Crazy? Not so much.

People often separate small business from big business. As they should — there are legitimate differences between big corporations and small Mom-and-Pop, homegrown shops.

But what people don’t realize is small businesses are really just big businesses in training. Think about it — they each have common goals, and the biggest one is the goal of succeeding.

Big businesses tend to have an easier time targeting markets and generating leads because they have a more well-known brand presence. Sometimes small businesses need to think like big businesses…and other times, they need to think smaller to really focus on their target markets and generate the most leads from the most possible places.

What are ways small businesses can think like big businesses? A free coaching session can help you discover some ways that might have been overlooked.

This could make a difference for your business this year!

Who would’ve thought 20 years ago that we would one day be able to download movies? Or choose which ones we want online and a company would send us those DVDs in the mail? Or that we’d be able to download books for less expensive than the cost of a hardcover or paperback book?

Well, today, more and more people are choosing Netflix over Blockbuster, and books for Amazon’s Kindle over Borders or Barnes and Noble. A place where people can rent all different kinds of movies, from the latest releases to classics to foreign films was a great idea – but it seems Netflix has come up with a better idea. Blockbuster tried to keep their brick and mortar stores and offer a mail option…but it doesn’t seem to be working as well.

Same with Amazon’s Kindle – Borders hasn’t made an attempt to fight back against the digital book formats because they’re confident people want a place to sit and read, “meet others who share their passion for books and engage in the sheer joy and indulgence of spending hours exploring.” But it seems that the Kindle is gaining even more popularity, and there’s a much less expensive, better functioning version (for just $139! Heaps less than its original $200-plus price tag), so to make another version obviously means it’s a money-maker.

Look at the other businesses that may not make it to 2020, and make sure your business isn’t modeled similarly…

Brad Sugars at last year's KLUC toy drive.

ActionCOACH’s founder and chairman Brad Sugars helped Las Vegas radio station KLUC surpass its toy drive goal of 2,000 bikes by 248; Sugars brought 250 bikes at the very end of the drive, when they only needed two or so to make the goal. Way to go, Brad!

Shama Kabani started her own company.

College grads or young people with jobs have been the first let go in this economy in most cases, and those who are on the hunt for a job are out of luck even with service industry jobs.

But the positive spin – some young people did something about their rejection and tough job markets.

They simply started their own business.

Shama Kabani is just one person who, when she wasn’t hired at big consulting firms like McKinsey and Bain & Co., decided to venture out on her own.

While completing her master’s degree in organizational communication at the University of Texas at Austin, Kabani wrote her thesis on Twitter and other social networking sites and their benefit.

She became convinced businesses could use the tools to market their products and services. But when she applied for jobs and gave interviewers that pitch, she was rejected.

Nobody really cared for social media at that point in time.

But Kabani believed she was on to something, and founded her own full-service online marketing firm in March 2008, called Click To Client.

It provided several Web and social media services to clients, like building Web sites, managing SEO, and creating and managing social media campaigns.

The six-employee business now takes on about 25 one-off projects a month and acts as an online marketing department for six regular clients on a retainer basis.

Kabani said Click To Client had about $120,000 in revenue in 2008, and she expects $280,000 for 2009, and is shooting for $1 million in 2010.

If she can do it, why can’t you? Why can’t anyone? Especially with the help of an ActionCOACH Business Coach.