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. As I mentioned in part one of this article, if you …
“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 …
I’ll get to the leadership lesson in a moment, but first let me tell you a story. According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and King of Corinth, a city in south-central Greece. Sisyphus was famed for his cleverness, leading Homer to describe him in the Iliad as “the most cunning of men.” Unfortunately for Sisyphus, he was also …
“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 …
My client’s employee had worked through lunch and it was already 3 pm. As a doctor prior to starting his business, he knew all the reasons this was a poor idea. “The first commitment I made was to do no harm! Go to lunch!” my client told her. When he told me the story, I was impressed. He had connected …
