So the negative relationship was continuing, now on a business basis as well. When questioned in any fashion the father threatened to retire again, but the daughter still needed the help, so they’d have a discussion and reach what she thought was agreement. But, of course, the father went back to doing things as he saw fit, rather than letting her take the lead. She found this lack of control very draining on her emotionally and physically. But she still needed someone to function as CFO.

After discussing it with me she realized she really needed to find someone who would be willing to work WITH her and follow her lead. Her plan is to bring on a consultant to function as temporary CFO. If he/she works out the person will become permanent. Over the next 30 days she will actively seek a replacement for her father and tell her father that she is accepting his retirement. She expects to get some flack and more negativity, but she has realized that her father will never change (cannot change) and she needs to take back control of her business.

Too often I see business owners putting up with employees, often parents, who are non-productive or counterproductive. Sometimes a work-around can be made. I have one client whose father handed over the business to her but remained in the business. Because he functions mostly as an ambassador he is not blocking productivity. In this case it’s good for the parent and the business, but think long and hard before agreeing to have a family member in your business, especially a parent. Make sure they are not  holding you hostage in your own business.

Do you have an interesting story to share about child-parent business relationships?

Start with one pound of lobster meat. We buy ours at the Brooklyn Red Hook Lobster Pound. It’s got some mayo already on it, but nothing else. Think of it as a blank canvas.

1 pound lobster meat

2 – 3 scallions, chopped

1/2  sweet red pepper, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp.  sweet pickle relish

1/2 – 3/4 cup mayonnaise

Blend together, cover and place in refrigerator for 2 -3 hrs. so the flavors can meld. Spoon into warm soft rolls shaped like hot dog rolls, but have the cut on the top. MMMMMmmmm, good.  But they are filling, so plan one at a time.

If you do try it let me know what you think.

P.S. – I know this isn’t about business, but I wanted to share it because it’s so good.

Also historically they said they often disagreed with each other in meetings with their executive staff.  Because this took extra time and was not a good face to be presenting to those who had major responsibilities, they decided that when they found themselves disagreeing they would stop the discussion and say they would work out the disagreement at a later time and come back with a unified position next time. At this past week’s meeting they didn’t disagree in the meeting, but realized they didn’t agree and decided to discuss it afterward. By taking it up specifically after the meeting they were able to reach agreement and are prepared to come back next time with a unified statement. Both felt it wasn’t perfect, but that progress had been made.

The bottom line: in order to move forward on anything, agreement must be reached. When there is disagreement it saps energy and time and keeps things from moving forward.

In addition to finding out where they were together and where they were apart, I learned each of their strengths. I asked if there was a delineation of duties, with each having responsibility for specific areas. While it seems they knew their areas of strength they did not have anything like a table of organization.

So their first assignment was to agree that each would be the final decision-maker for specific areas. The husband took web site development and marketing; the wife took operations and product management. For projects they agreed that the individual responsible for the department bearing the bulk of the work would oversee the project from beginning to end and would assign tasks to the other departments if needed.

They also agreed that before major decisions were made in their areas they would run the details and facts by the other partner. If the other partner had issues or concerns they would take 24 – 48 hours to consider everything before making a final decision.

This change meant they would need to communicate the new structure to their department heads, which is on the agenda for next time.

They have used the new system for 2 weeks and things seem to have gone smoothly so far. We’ll see what comes up as new projects are started and the staff adjust to a clearer delineation of roles and responsibilities.

“For example, both the nonfamily family business and the true family business may rely on informal, unstructured decision making processes. Decisions are made exclusively by the senior person in the business.

Decisions may be made opportunistically or under the pressure of a crisis instead of in a timely, strategic fashion. Sometimes there’s not a shred of evidence on the table to help illuminate the issues. Sometimes there’s no decision. The issue is talked about until everyone loses interest and wanders away to keep on doing business as usual.”

Among other shared characteristics might be:

-  the lack of a true management structure, and as the business grows nothing is put in place. Record keeping and reporting are often handled only in a crunch.

- interaction between staff is also unstructured and can get off track easily

- accountability at all levels is often soft or non-existent, often just to appease personalities and overlook lack of competence

- lack of a clear succession plan

On the positive side these types of businesses exhibit strong loyalty among the group and to the company.

Read the entire article…

Information overload has become a chronic problem, so if you want to reach your target you must cut through the clutter. Something has to really grab me and be super easy or I’ll just delete it. And that seems to be true for many people I speak with. So how do you move beyond information overload to reach those who will want to respond to your outreach?

Here are some strategies to consider.

Create a Compelling Message

What are the most urgent issues your ideal customer is facing? You can ask when someone signs up for your mailing list, downloads an online item or purchases something from you. Don’t just get their name and e-mail address, send an autoresponder asking them to send you a reply. Keep it simple and as easy as possible.

Ask people you meet at networking and events what are their urgent issues. Create products and services that address the most common ones. Then create your message using keywords that have surfaced during your research.

Make It Super Easy

The other day I wanted to sign up for an event and when I looked for the time and how to sign up I couldn’t find it right away. Within 20 seconds I was gone. I just wouldn’t take the time to wade through the content to find it…and neither will your prospects.

I offer the One Page Marketing Plan, which makes it super easy to create your marketing plan. It’s a step by step do-it-yourself system with everything you need to not only create your plan, but use it as well. Simple, step by step is what you want.

Offer to Do It For Them

But some people would rather have me do it for them. Obviously I will need information from them, but once I have that I can apply my own techniques to create their plan. It costs more, of course, but for those who want a strategic plan to follow, my consulting services are perfect for them.

People want results, but they often don’t want to or don’t have time to do the work to get them. If you can do it for them or at least partially do it for them, you’ve got a strong selling point.

Make More Direct Connections

I have found that I’m much more successful when I reach out directly, one-to-one to people who are in my network. These are people who have purchased something from me in the past, have participated in an event I hosted, or are a prospect I’ve had a meaningful dialogue with.

The telephone is still a wonderful business tool. What I’ve learned works best when you’re reaching out to someone you haven’t communicated with recently is to make a phone call telling the person you’re sending them an e-mail. On the call or in the voicemail tell them what it’s about briefly, making it as compelling as possible so they will read the e-mail. Otherwise it may just get deleted without being opened.

Leverage Social Media

Business is still built on relationships. It’s just that the way in which those relationships are managed has morphed somewhat with the advent of information overload. The social media offers great tools, but be careful, because they can add to the sense of overload. Be selective and consistent and people will begin to know, like and trust you. I’m much more likely to respond to something from someone I know rather than someone I don’t know.

Newsletters (like this one) are still a viable option for staying in touch, but the open rate has dropped. So I need to apply the other options as well.

Apply as many of these strategies as you can and you’ll be ahead of your competition.

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Want to work together with other entrepreneurs on things like this? Join  my new CEO Roundtable, a one-hour small group tele-session (4 maximum). Bring your issues and your concerns to the group and together we’ll offer you the benefit of my coaching and the group’s knowledge and experience. Next group starts Tuesday, May 25^th at 1 p.m. RSVP to marian@primestrategies.com to discuss and see if it’s a good fit for you. Coaching at a fraction of the cost of individual sessions.

Small business employment has grown 4%, while employee compensation increased slightly, by half a percentage point.

The growth in employment has been trending upward since June 2009, and businesses have added about 300,000 new jobs since then, according to a study by financial software company Intuit.

My definition is a bit simpler, and hopefully, easier to understand. I consider developing a strategy as the “thinking” part of the process. It’s where you gather all the pertinent information, analyze it, and then make “informed” decisions based on what you learned. A strategy is an informed decision that provides a framework for actions.

From “How to Create a Marketing Strategy That Delivers”.

In a recent interview I was asked what I thought was a common thread for all my clients. Without thinking, I answered, “They’re ready and willing to ask for help”. I knew it was true before, but I hadn’t put it into words. Understanding and acknowledging this I can now focus on finding those who are ready to ask for help. That’s a great insight. I can simply ask prospects if they are ready to get help.

Entrepreneurs by nature don’t like to ask for help. An independent and sometimes stubborn lot, we tend to think we can do it all. There are many kinds of help we can ask for, from getting administrative support to calling on expertise beyond our own to accomplish something that would require ramp up time for us. That includes getting feedback on our ideas, helping us monitor our milestones and keeping us focused on our goals. The place to go for help is where the payoff is the biggest. If we haven’t clearly defined exactly what results we want, we may want to start there and get help to define them.

It’s much easier, and certainly more pleasant, having someone help us sort out the issues, get focused on goals, offer solutions, function as a partner and be a friend. Enter — the coach.

How do you know if you’re ready to ask for help from someone like a coach? Here are a few responses I’ve heard more than once.

- Tried unsuccessfully to do it myself
- Feel stuck and tempted to give up
- Want to grow my business but don’t know how
- Finances are out of control
- Staff is not productive; I end up doing it all
- Have great ideas, but don’t know how to develop them
- Want to create a strong brand; need guidance
- Frustrated with my business partnership or family business

With those kinds of answers you can’t afford NOT to get help. Humans were meant to help each other. It’s an honor to be asked for help. It reinforces our sense of being valued.

Asking for help does not imply weakness. I’ve found that those who ask for help when they need it are much more likely to succeed than those who keep putting it off, continuing to hope they can do it themselves. That can lead to total frustration and could be the beginning of an unwanted downhill spiral.

Is it time to get help in making critical decisions or setting a strategic course of action? Don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll bet you’ll be glad you did.

Go to the Contact Page, and tell me how I can help.

If you’re ready to cut through all the “stuff” and move your business onto the fast track to success, join us for the 9 week Fast Track Intensive, starting April 27th. First session is F*R*E*E.

New this year was the Hot Tech demos and awards, plus the Small Business Strategy Award, given to one business for entrepreneurial strategic excellence.

To get a sense of the action view the gallery of photos from our professional photographer, Jeffrey Holmes, and follow the post-event dialogue on Twitter.

Press Coverage

BAJ Design Blog – Ovation at Summit
NorthJersey.com – Tailoring Tech for Small Business
Solo Business Marketing – Summit Review
Laurie McCabe – Top Trends Most Evident at the 2010 Small Business Technology Summit
WOR NewsTalk Radio 710 – Quinn Talks Business at The Small Business Summit 2010

Press Releases

Broadlook Receives 2010 Hot Tech Award
GreenhouseIT wins 2010 Small Business Strategy Award (pdf)
Overwhelming response to the ‘HOT TECH’ Demo opportunities at Small Business Summit 2010 (pdf)
Fifth Annual Small Business Summit Presenters (pdf)
Fifth Annual Small Business Summit (pdf)

Interviews

Small Business Trends Radio

Send e-mail to info@smallbiztechsummit.com to add your name to the mailing list for an invitation to Small Business Summit 2011.