confidence coach Archives « Page 4 of 5

Be Present

With all that’s going on in this difficult time, are you really being “present” and in the moment? Or, do you feel like you are spending most of your time worrying about the future and what’s going to happen tomorrow? Are you trying to figure out when and if things will get back to normal?

One thing I know for sure is that all we really have is today.

I encourage you not to miss what’s happening today — in your family life, in your business, with your customers.

Don’t miss the people you are with. Maybe you are chaffing at the social distancing and not able to get out of your home. In that case, you still need to be connecting with people although it may look differently via zoom or Skype. Or in some cases, your children are at home while you are working remotely. Are you actually spending more time with them or setting aside time just for them?

Decide today that you are going to be present.

Experience all today has to offer. You can never get this day back once it’s over. Once it’s gone; it’s gone forever.

Tell people that you love them.

Pass on joy to somebody whether it be a family member, customer or an employee.

There are a lot of things to learn during this difficult season. We all have a lot of areas to grow. There are lots of new things to experience.

Are you actually thinking about what new things you are learning today? Are you actually thinking about things this way? Is this your mindset at this time?

At Confidence Coach we offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. Let us help you make progress and really be present today.

by Scott Ballard , April 29, 2020

Focus on Today Instead of the “Future”

Our “future” is abstract. It doesn’t actually exist except as an idea. The only time we really have is today. The only future that has any reality is the one you continually create for yourself through each day’s contributions, achievements, and results.

No one ever saw the present circumstances coming. Focus on what you can do over the course of each 24 hours, and you’ll be the only expert on the future you’ll ever need.

Make today count. There are really no guarantees for tomorrow.

At Confidence Coach we offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. Let us help you make progress.

by Scott Ballard , March 29, 2020

Focus on Your Progress Not Your Difficulties

Things may not be as easy as they once were. You have the choice to either let these new difficulties defeat you or you can choose to let it be a time to reveal new strengths.

Your body’s muscles always get stronger from working against resistance.

The same is true for the “muscles” in your mind, your spirit, and your character.

Treat this whole period of challenge as a time when you can make your greatest progress as a human being.

At Confidence Coach we offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a free call if you’d like to talk. Let us help you make progress.

by Scott Ballard , March 27, 2020

Focus on Your Relationships

In uncertain times like these, people are frightened about the viability of their product or service, like the things they sell and the jobs they hold. A more strategic response here is to disregard your own “commodity” and focus on deepening the power and possibility of all your relationships — with family, friends, team members, suppliers, clients, customers, and prospects. Every time you strengthen a relationship, the viability of your product or service will increase. One day we will get back to business as usual.

As Americans, we are resilient and creative people. We will get through this. We are all having to adapt and change how we would normally do life and work. The important thing is to keep in touch and improve on your relationships at this time. Many people are feeling isolated. A kind word of encouragement or just listening will go a long way in sustaining and building your relationships. People are what really matter.

At Confidence Coach we offer business owners a place to reconnect and rebuild their confidence; which leads to their better future in the days and years ahead. Reach out today and schedule a call if you’d like to talk.

by Scott Ballard , March 24, 2020

Take Your Eyes Off Yourself

In these challenging times, as we are using social distancing and/or being quarantined in our homes, there are a lot of people feeling very isolated and helpless. Maybe that person who’s feeling this way is you.

My solution for that is I’d like to suggest that you take your eyes off yourself and serve others.

The best strategy is to go in the opposite direction of your isolation. Expand your connection with others and focus on helping them transform their negatives into positives.

Do this by reaching out through a phone call, text message, Facetime or even a zoom call.

When you do this, it’s really a win-win. The person you are reaching out to will feel better and you will feel better too. When we focus on someone else, it helps us worry less about ourselves and our situation.

Be a source of encouragement and confidence for others and it will improve your own mindset.

We are offering complimentary 60-minute coaching calls if you need some encouragement today too.

by Scott Ballard , March 22, 2020

Be Your Own Customer for a Day

I wanted to share an exercise with you that we have been having our clients do. It first originated because I had a client come to me and say, “We don’t seem to be as connected with our customers anymore. We’re having some turnover with them and losing them to our competition.”

When they asked me what I thought they should do, I told them to ask themselves the following questions:

Do you know what your customer really wants or needs from you?
What do they expect from you?
What is their customer experience when they purchase your product or service?

When he thought those questions over, his response was that he didn’t really know what they wanted or needed from him anymore. He admitted he’d been out of touch because he was doing so many other things in the business like creating new products and services. These were exciting things, but meanwhile he’d forgotten what the customer wanted and missed a lot of opportunities because of it.

My suggestion was for him to take a day (and I made him put it on his calendar right then) to go “be your own customer” for a day in his business. I encouraged him to see the process from the customer’s viewpoint and then come back and talk to me about what he experienced.

I told him that he needed to interact with his employees the way a customer would. Then take a good look at where the gaps were between what he thought they needed and what they really wanted or needed. Then make a shift or correction in his business accordingly.

So here’s my suggestion if you are finding yourself in the same situation in your business:

Take a day and mark it on your calendar.
Turn off your owner mindset.
Take the owner hat off.
Be a customer.
Buy your product.
Experience your service.
Eat your food.
Do the whole 10 yards.
Then go back and look at what you’ve experienced.
Pivot and make the necessary corrections.

I guarantee you are going to find some gold nuggets in this exercise and have some aha moments. You will then be able to shift and actually deliver more of what the customer really wants.

That’s a win for you, it’s a win for them, and everybody is better off!

Reach out and schedule a free consultation if you’d like to talk more about this.

by Scott Ballard , March 8, 2020

The Power of Your Dream

Look back today and think about the power of your dream and goal and how much significance that had when you first started your company.

I’ve got an idea or thought for you that hopefully will unleash some new potential and new energy so you can build a bigger future for you and your company.

As you are looking back, think about the beginning when you first started your company or business.

What kind of odds were you up against?

According to statistics and the Small Business Association (SBA) 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years and 66% during the first 10. The SBA also states that only 25% make it to 15 years or more.

So, when you started, the odds of you still being in business today were stacked against you,

But here you are 5,10, 15, 20, 25, or perhaps even 30 years later, and you’re still in business! Congratulations! That’s amazing!!

As I said earlier, go back and think about the power of the motivation your goal gave you to start the business. Your goal was not only to start it — but to make it successful and profitable, to build a team, and to create value in the marketplace. Your goal gave you determination and focus that has carried you to where you are today.

Now, here’s a question for you. Do you or don’t you believe that every person has some type of goal or dream for themselves in some way?

If your answer was yes, then why haven’t you tapped into that or harnessed that in your own company?

Meaning, why haven’t you tapped into the power of the dream and goal that is inside every person’s inner self?

If everyone on your team had the same kind of focus, drive and effort that you had, you would have a great multiplier. You would have an ability and unfair advantage over all your competition in the marketplace today.

Reach out to schedule a free consultation if you’d like help learning about how we can help everyone on your team find their own dreams and goals and how much better your culture will be.

by Scott Ballard , February 23, 2020

Your Employees’ Untapped Potential

Let’s think about all the untapped potential in each one of your employees.

How can you start to unleash that in your business?

How do you know what will truly engage your employees?

Look at your own story of becoming a business owner. You had a Dream and a Goal. Think back to all the energy, drive, passion, work, sacrifice and creativity it took to achieve your Goal.

Well, all of your people have their own personal Dreams and Goals that they deeply care about too!

What kind of difference would it make in your business if you provided support, belief in and championed their success?

This would overwhelmingly transform their experience, thoughts, attitude and concern for your business because you cared about them.

I believe that by supporting your employees dreams and goals, they will in turn become much more engaged and focused in their own work and ultimately help you achieve your goals and dreams much faster.

Reach out and schedule a free consultation to learn more about The Dream Employee process and how it is changing cultures in businesses today.

by Scott Ballard , February 16, 2020

Looking at Things from Your Employee’s Perspective

It’s clear that every CEO, business owner, entrepreneur or director comes to us with the dream to build something. That’s the mission/energy that drives companies from the kitchen table to be an industry leader. Unfortunately, there’s one thing almost everyone forgets. It’s the reason why employee disengagement is up to 80% and turnover is the highest it’s been in decades. We forget that our companies are made up of people. And we often forget to look at things from their perspective.

Each of the people that work for you has a dream or goal, right? But those hopes and dreams are often seen as liabilities to mitigate instead of assets to leverage. I suggest that you need to see it from the employee’s side:

If I could connect my job in accounting with my dream and goal to buy my first home, how much more commitment and energy would I be putting into my job at your business?

If I knew the company was interested, excited and supportive of my most important dream or goal, it would compel me to care more, work harder and help the company accomplish its goals and dreams with more intention.

We work with business owners and leaders to help them embed a program called The Dream Employee. This program asks each employee the question: What are your dreams, goals and aspirations for your life? And then we deposit encouragement, support, collaboration, and celebrate each employee as they make progress and achieve their goals.

This is just simple human nature:

“Nobody cares until they know that you care about their dreams and goals.” –Scott Ballard

One of the biggest impacts you can make in your company is when you show your employees that you really care about them and what they care about. For example, they have a goal to train and complete a 5K. They take pictures or a video of completing this goal, and you get to celebrate this achievement with them. In celebrating their goal with them, you are depositing good will.

This isn’t just a one-time thing. If you want to truly transform your culture, you need to be continually looking out for opportunities to do this.

When people are in the process of achieving their goals and dreams, that’s where real productivity, energy and creative genius appears.

Reach out and schedule a free consultation if you’d like to learn more about The Dream Employee program. Or, if you’d like a free demonstration for you and your team/employees, let us know that too. We’d be glad to come in and demonstrate and show you the transformation of how this will energize your people for free.

by Scott Ballard , January 19, 2020

The Dream Employee Testimony

Today I wanted to give you a little testimony from someone who participated in the The Dream Employee that we provide as a service to companies. I know you’ve heard me talk about it before. However, today, I wanted to talk about it not just as a concept of how it works or what it does, but rather share a real testimony of someone who participated in the program. This is their personal result for themselves and their organization.

So this is how it played out. About three years ago we presented the idea of The Dream Employee to a company. We had all the team members participate in it. Each team member filled out a card. They wrote down 3-5 goals or dreams that they wanted to achieve for themselves. One young lady who participated had a goal to go back and finish her college degree. Her second goal was to buy her first home.

Now, remember this was three years ago. Because of the way things rolled out and happened we have only been following up via email and some other support that we have. This particular person we had not seen in three years.

Testimonial

A couple of months ago we had another meeting at the organization. To our surprise this same woman walks in. In her hand was her Dream Employee card that she had filled out 3 years ago. She wanted to show us that she had not only finished her degree, but she had changed departments and was actually working in the department she had always wanted to work in. Also, she had just recently bought her first home.

She showed us her Dream Employee card. It was filled out with her goals, the steps she had taken, and what she had done. She was raving about how this process had helped her; not only in her personal life but also in her career. She feels like she contributes to her organization in a much bigger way now.

This is just a cool little story but one of many that we hear about all the time. We hope this shows you the power of this process within an organization. Reach out to us and schedule a free consultation if you’d like to hear more stories or would like us to demonstrate The Dream Employee in your company.

Start your New Year off engaging your employees in a whole new way — believing in them and helping them achieve their hopes, dreams and aspirations.

by Scott Ballard , December 29, 2019