Three Ways to Save Money Your First Year In BUSINESS!

People ask me all the time what the secret to success is or how to start a business. What they fail to ask me is how to save money the first year of business, which is very important. So, this said, below are three ways to save money your first year in business.

1. Don't have offices if at all possible. I mean cubical farms or inner-offices where people can close doors on one another. You should promote and open work space where everyone can look at, talk to and see what others are doing. This promotes less slacking off for your employees and also generates better communication skills and sales results.

2. Don't buy t-shirts and other branded items for customers or employees to wear or use outside the office. This is a huge waste of money. Make sure you are spending as little money as needed on things that are not actually needed. In other words, don't buy into the hype of owning a business. Know what you can and can't spend.

3. Don't listen to your customers. If you know what you have will sell, and it isn't selling, change your marketing strategy- not the product / services based on the opinions of those who aren't buying. Change your marketing, change your market, but don't change your entire product or services. You will find your customers, you just have to stay consistent with your branding.

Running a business is going to be one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, things you can do. Make sure you stay focused, on budget and strong.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla Garrett

When People Undermind You!

Have you ever had to deal with a person who smiles to your face and then stabs you in the back when you walk away? This very common personality trait shows up in business settings daily, yet no one ever talks about it. So, on today’s blog, I wanted to discuss how to deal with people who undermine you.

Don’t error on giving someone you barely know the benefit of the doubt. Instead, you need to truly get to know people before you open up to them or delegate responsibility. If you tell a person everything you know, or delegate things right away, when you first meet him or her- they can use this information against you or fail you on purpose. These actions will always fall back on you. So, as simple as it sounds, make sure you truly get to know (Google, run a background check, spend time with, etc.) someone before you delegate important tasks or share crucial information.

Don’t assume why someone is doing something. If what a person does have you questioning him or her, ask them why they are doing it. First, it makes the person stand still. Then, they have to provide you an answer and be accountable for their actions. If they truly didn’t know they were undermining you, the problem will be fixed. If the action was deliberate, regardless of the explanation, he or she will know that you are on to them.

Finally, set boundaries with people and let them know what the resulting actions will be. I often tell employees that my office is a gossip-free office. If I hear of gossip, the entire team is fired. This usually eliminates not only gossip about one another, but undermining of me and direct supervisors.

Until next time,

Twyla N. Garrett

It's Easy to be Negative!

Hard work never harmed anyone. Yet, I find that people tend to make excuses and negative remarks when it comes to challenges rather than own up to them and work hard. Why is this? A little elbow grease isn't going to hurt you! Putting in effort takes more energy and work than simply being negative. It is a sad state of affairs when I think my peers rather be negative and not accomplish something versus overcoming the challenge itself. So, if you find yourself being negative today- try the following two steps and start working on the challenges!

1. Change the way you talk.

If you feel the urge to say something negative, don't. Make a mental note to not repress the statement either. Simply find a way to rephrase your thoughts or feelings in a more positive tone. This exercise does wonders for the subconscious.

2. Say no to criticism.

If you tend to comment on what people are doing, without the comment being nice, then don't say anything at all. This is harder than you think. We, as people, tend to talk with each other about each other. If you head out with your girlfriends, observe how many times the topic of other people come up. If the person isn't in the room, don't say anything negative about him or her. It seems easy, it's not!

Changing how you think and how you speak will change how you take on challenges. I promise you more will get done, even hard tasks, when you alter your outlook and the way you talk.

Until next time,

Twyla

www.authortwylagarrett.com