Target market or ideal customer avatar (ICA)? Which makes more sense for your business? The answer is simple. It’s both! Target markets and customer avatars work together synergistically. Almost everyone is familiar with the target market approach, probably because it’s impossible to advertise without one. The odd thing, however, is how few people have actually been exposed to the reasons …
After over a decade as a startup executive, I’ll admit I cringe when someone brings up stretch goals. But Dave, according to Google, they’re best practice! It says it right there in their 10 things we know to be true philosophy document: “We set ourselves goals we know we can’t reach yet, because we know that by stretching to meet …
Welcome to part two of a two-part article on scaling your service business! This part focuses on when and how to scale. If you missed the first part, click here to start at the beginning. The first part addresses the what, why, and who of scaling your service business. When is it time to focus on scaling your service business? …
“How do you scale a service business?” is by far the most common question I get as a business coach. Sometimes the question is phrased differently, but at the heart of it is a frustrated entrepreneur or executive who wants their business to scale gracefully but can’t figure out how to make it happen. This two-part blog article will be …
“It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive.” -Jim Collins, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t” Generally accepted business wisdom agrees that the single biggest predictor of business success …
A common topic that comes up for entrepreneurs during coaching is whether or not they’re committing 100% to their company and goals. From the outside this is counterintuitive. It seems that entrepreneurs commit 100%, just by nature of being entrepreneurs! In reality, though, commitment level fluctuates up and down over time. At times they’re more or less committed to their …
The first time someone told me I needed a vision for my business and life I rolled my eyes at them. To me, vision equaled fantasy. What was the point of imagining a pretty picture of the future if I didn’t know how to get there? I didn’t see the value without a map to get from point A to …
For a long time, when people suggested I stop being a perfectionist, I rolled my eyes at them. I’d come back with a retort like, “Why would I want to be less good at what I do? By striving for perfection I achieve the best possible results!” I had perfectionism programmed into me since early childhood and I honestly thought …
If I had to define them in one sentence, I’d say: If your business looked in the mirror, KPIs are what would be staring back at it. But, since I have more than one sentence, I’ll elaborate. KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. A KPI is a piece of tracked and trended information that helps explain how your business (or …
“The entrepreneurial journey is a roller coaster,” they’ll tell you. “But the rewards are worth it.” I’ve heard this, or some derivative of it, more times than I can count. Some entrepreneurs really believe it while others just mouth the words. I’ve gone on the entrepreneurial journey myself a few times, so I know the story. But there’s an unstated …
