Alex Dee Discusses How to Scale Your Business Hack

18 December 2020

This works for all businesses! If you’re in Marketing, consulting, or coaching, this applies even more to your field!

What Got you Off the Island is Not What this is Keeps You Growing Hack

Ryan Holiday What shifts you have to make as an entrepreneur when you scale:

The best way I can describe it is a baseball analogy. In the Dominican Republic, there is a saying in the baseball league that you can’t walk off the island, which means you have to hit your way off in the baseball league. The players that make it off the island are usually some of the best hitters. But once they get into the major league, it becomes different, because it’s about bat discipline and talent is very different. So, what got you there to get off the island is not going to be what allows you to maintain your success because you’re in a whole different league. That is what it’s like when you are scaling your company. What got you there is not going to be exactly what allows you to scale to another level! Be ready to shift and pivot and learn in order to grow!

Not the How, But the Who Hack –

Dan Sullivan:

As you scale, there are going to be all areas in your company that is going to require your attention, from sales to marketing, to operations. So how do you take all of this on and still manage to scale? There’s a great hack for it! It’s called not the how but the who rules! Once you figure out what you need to scale (process, sales, marketing, etc.), don’t ask yourself WHAT do I need to learn? Ask WHO is the best at that and get them on board! This will allow you to scale quickly vs. having to go learn another skillset now vs. staying in the lane where your talents are best served! So, to scale, instead of just figuring out the what, you need to figure out The Who, so you can do it faster!

Be Cautious and Bold Hack –

Mindset for scaling:

you Must exercise your caution in laying out your plans but be bold in carrying them out. A man who is all cautious will never dare to take hold and be successful, and a man who is all bold is merely reckless, and must eventually fail. You must have both the caution and the boldness, to ensure success.

How to Keep from Falling When you’re Experiencing Success Hack

David Metzer:

I think the biggest thing that led to my downfall was losing my values. There are really only a few things I use now to play the top of my game and stay there. Number one gratitude; just being grateful for whatever you have, no matter how big or small. Number two is Empathy for others. As I got into this competitive world, I became an asshole. I was more worried about taking rather than giving that I really didn’t focus on anyone else and I went straight to blame and shame and justification, as I was Midas! Meaning I turned everything into Gold, right? So, it had to be everyone else’s fault. Number three is accountability. There are two parts to this one: what was as my part that the thing that went wrong, and what lesson did I learn so I don’t go thru this again. The fourth is effective communication. What I mean by that is not just being a team leader and effectively communicating with everyone on your team on what you want and how to run a company. Rather, what I mean is that I had lost my ability to effectively communicate what inspired me! When I was making money and I got done with spending it, it took me a while to learn that I need to give back and be of service. I wish I would’ve done it when I had the money instead of having to lose it and build it back up again. But that’s part of lesson learning that I have here, so I can inspire others so they can avoid the same mistakes.

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Investing In Machinery For A More Productive Business

Often in business, it isn’t enough just to have created a great product. If your competitors are also producing high-quality items then, to keep your share of the market you need to make sure that you are at the top of your game. This can mean making sure that you are constantly meeting your customer expectations because if you are not then there is a high probability that they will go elsewhere. With the increased use of the internet and ease of finding information, this is an all too frequent reality that many businesses face. Read also: Six Pointers To Starting A Successful Business You should also make sure that your business is up to date with technological advances. With global markets opening up all the time there is always the need to keep up or risk being left behind. Productivity In its most formal sense, productivity is simply how well an organization uses factors such as labor, materials, machines and even capital to create its goods and services. In reality, increasing the productivity of your business means making sure that you work smarter. There are numerous ways in which you can improve the efficiency of a number of factors within your company. Choosing the right equipment is just one of them, whether you are looking at large manufacturing machinery or smaller but equally vital equipment like a labeling machine. The Right Equipment Investing in the right machinery for your business is one of the most important decisions you can make, it is also a decision you may need to revisit every couple of years to make sure that you keep up with advances in technology within the industry. The right equipment can help you improve the way you do business, give you consistent quality in the standard of the product that you produce and reduce the risk of any potentially costly errors. Think about the needs your business currently has and consider whether those needs might change in the future when looking for the right equipment: Do you get good results from your current equipment? Do you have several pieces of equipment that could be replaced with just one more efficient piece? Can the equipment you are replacing be used elsewhere in your business? Would it be better to rent new equipment or will buying it be a better long-term investment? Do you need all the features on the newer machinery or are they superfluous to your requirements? It is quite possible that newer equipment will have a faster output which will increase your productivity, and whilst there might be nothing wrong with your existing equipment; it might still work perfectly well and not need replacement parts on a regular basis, it is worth remembering that even the best maintenance program may not be enough if an older machine breaks and parts are harder to find. This could have serious implications for the productivity of your business. Other Factors to Consider Machinery will only offer a certain level of assistance to your levels of productivity, it is important to consider that newer machinery may operate in a completely different way to that which you already have. When investing in machinery to make your business more productive you may also need to invest in training for your employees as well so that they can use the new equipment, there is little point upgrading to machinery that will improve your productivity if nobody can use it. Whatever function your new machinery has, from manufacturing to label printer, each will play a vital part in helping your business become more productive.

Making Sure You’re SOX Compliant

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a federal law established in 2002 to combat corporate fraud. The act requires public companies, private companies with more than 500 employees, and bank holding companies to maintain adequate internal control systems. If you are one of these organizations, then this blog post will go over the SOX requirements to help you become SOX compliant! What is SOX Compliance? SOX compliance is a set of regulations created to protect investors and the financial markets from fraudulent activities. The act requires organizations listed above to test their internal controls through an independent third party, such as AICPA or COSO. In addition, they must document all findings in detail and implement changes that will correct any deficiencies. The Four Areas of Compliance Are: Financial reporting (SOX 404)- This section requires businesses to have adequate internal financial controls. Internal control structure (SOX 302)- This area ensures your business has procedures and documentation for employees responsible for recording transactions, processing payments, and monitoring risk. Compliance with laws/regulations (SOX 404)- SOX compliance provides a set of procedures to help monitor compliance with laws and regulations. Internal audit function (SOX 404)- This area ensures your business has an internal auditing system in place that reviews financial transactions, lines of authority, IT security controls, physical access, etc. Why it’s Important to be Compliant The consequences for failing to become compliant with SOX can be serious. Not only can your organization face fines and penalties up to USD 15 million, but you might even cause a financial crisis in the market! The SEC has increased their monitoring of companies required to comply with these regulations and will take immediate action when they see any signs of misconduct. How to Stay Compliant There are five ways that you can maintain compliance with SOX. You must have a clear understanding of the risks facing your organization, establish internal controls to minimize those risks, create an environment for open communication between management and employees, avoid conflicts of interest within the company, and finally document all policies following these rules. If you need help making sure you’re SOX compliant, then don’t hesitate to contact our compliance experts! Tools for Staying Compliant If you are looking for a way to simplify being SOX compliant, hire experts to help you. You can find a wide range of companies specializing in SOX compliance, and they will save you from having to deal with headaches. In addition, most experts can help you meet all your deadlines for each stage of the audit process! Resources for Staying Compliant The SEC has an excellent FAQ section that will give you the answers to any questions about SOX compliance and what it means for your organization. The COSO ERM Framework is another great tool that can be used by managers who want a better understanding of how to create an efficient company. Ensuring that your company is SOX compliant can seem like more than you want to take on, but it’s not as difficult or overwhelming as some might make it out to be. If you are having trouble understanding the requirements of this legislation, talk with us about how our team can help. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience in dealing with complex compliance issues for small businesses just like yours! Read Also: Principles for Leading Your Company through COVID-19 Crisis How to Register Your Company in China Fast Demystifying the Duty of a Company Secretary in Hong Kong Why In-Company Training Results in Better Employees

Best Business Meeting Agenda Examples

A few things at work can be as frustrating as an unorganized or pointless meeting. These meetings waste time that can be spent on getting actual work done. Agendas are a good way to prevent unproductive meetings because they compel attendees to prepare in advance, set clear goals, manage time, and stay focused. An effective agenda establishes expectations of what is to transpire during the meeting, thereby increasing its overall productivity. It helps the team address important issues quickly. Lack of productivity is no joke. According to Atlassian, hours lost in such meetings cost businesses an average of $37 billion a year. Agendas can be formal or informal, short or long. In every event, they should be as simple as possible. Without further ado, here are some excellent meeting agenda examples. Best Formal Agenda Examples: Most meetings start with standing items, which include team status updates and other items that are always on a regular meeting agenda. A meeting facilitator takes attendance and approves the minutes in the end. After the updates, the new topics are introduced. The agenda should have a list of topics, the name of a person responsible for each one, and a certain period of time allocated to each. For example: Cory - Discuss sales quotas (15 minutes) Once discussions of new topics have been closed, you can move on to previous ones that weren’t completed. For example: James - Employee engagement survey update (20 minutes) Sean – Sales hiring update (30 minutes) At the end of the meeting, review action items and schedule a new meeting if necessary. These will be the last items on your agenda. Less formal agendas will have far fewer items. Below is an example: Intro (5 minutes) Review quarterly marketing plan (15 minutes) Review sales metrics to date (15 minutes) Discuss proposal for next quarter’s marketing goals (10 minutes) Agree/disagree with proposed goals (10 minutes) Long Agenda Examples: The above examples were formal and informal but in both cases short agendas. Long agendas are typically segmented in three parts – theme, discussion, and structure. Here’s some detailed information about each of these. Theme: Segmenting an agenda by themes or topics will set out clear expectations. Without such, a meeting can become chaotic and unproductive. If it proves challenging to establish topics in advance, consider inviting an expert facilitator to the meeting. They will ask attendees what they want to talk about and why. The topics have to be relevant to all the people present. If a topic is only of interest to one person or a small group, everyone else will feel like they’re wasting time. Discussion: Next, move to discussion of the topics. Sending the agenda out before the meeting will make it possible for attendees to prepare in advance. Then, everyone will be up to speed and prepared to contribute. You’ll have more insightful and deeper conversations because people won’t have to waste time going through issues they’ve prepared for. Structure: Finally, you need a specific set of steps to address each theme on the agenda. Participants will know what to expect and talk about at every stage if you assign certain talking points within a suitable time frame. Long Agenda Sample: Your topic might be “Steps to better exposure of the company.” To prepare for the discussion, you could have people focus on newsletters, emails, and data on subscription and engagement. The structure including reviewing and analyzing this data, pinpointing key issues, and drawing conclusions. You could allocate 40 minutes for this. If you conclude that engagement is poor, discuss possible reasons for this. Ask attendees why they believe this has happened. This would take about 30 minutes. Finally, spend 15-20 minutes talking about improving your newsletter or email subscription strategy. Read Also: Components Of A Successful Business Function How To Plan A Successful Corporate Event Looking For A Gardener: 8 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Professional

Alex Dee Discusses How to Scale Your Business Hack

What Got you Off the Island is Not What this is Keeps You Growing Hack

Ryan Holiday What shifts you have to make as an entrepreneur when you scale: