We all make mistakes. When a mistake occurs, we have two options:

1. Blame someone else and continue with the same behavior.
2. Learn from our mistake to make more productive choices in the future.

Successful people choose option two. You must use your mistakes as an opportunity for growth in order to meet your business goals. Of course, you can also apply these suggestions if you think of your career as a business as well.
It’s important to realize that you are not alone in making mistakes. The following are 10 common mistakes that successful business owners seldom make again:

Let Other People Bring Them Down

Successful people will always have “haters”. These are the people that are jealous, doubtful, or just do not like you. It is easy to be discouraged when someone is constantly questioning your decisions. To be successful, you cannot let “haters” bring you down. Be confident in your abilities.

Make Emotionally Driven Decisions

The most logical thinker can be ruled by their emotions. Unfortunately, emotionally based decisions can be detrimental in business. We often make emotionally based decisions from a disgruntle in a partnership or upset client. When emotions are high, take a moment to pause and rethink your decision.

How will this affect your business?
Will you regret this decision in a month?

Focus on the Short Term

If we focus on the short term, we will only achieve short term results. Create a plan on how you want to see your business in 5, 10, and 20 years. Work toward achieving your long-term goals.

Repeat Decisions that Previously Failed

A failed approach usually does not succeed the second time. When you fall short, take a step back, evaluate why, and change your approach. A successful business leader alters what is not working for the company.

Fail to Document Important Information

Paperwork is almost everyone’s least favorite task. However, you will be happy you were thorough at tax season or when a customer requests a prior contract.

Important Information to Document

• Revenue
• Expenses
• Contracts
• Customer comments/complaints (or performance evaluations)

Let Fear Dictate Their Decisions

Fear can make or break a business. Successful business leaders do not let fear hold them back. One way to approach this is to ask yourself, “If I had no fear of failure, what would I do?”
You will have to step outside of your comfort zone to get ahead. Often, the decision may turn to failure. Consider your failure as a learning experience and keep trying.

“I have not failed. I have just found 9,999 ways that do not work.” -Thomas Edison

Underestimate Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is for more than getting a nice beach body. Working out and eating right has a direct correlation on your energy level. Optimizing your energy and productivity is essential for leadership.

Chase Other People’s Dreams

Seeing other people succeed can be a motivator to reach your own goals. However, you must determine exactly what your goals are in order to be happy with your career. Someone else’s goals may come at a higher price than you are willing to pay. Determine what your dream is and what you are willing to do to achieve it.

Stretch Themselves Too Thin

At some point, we will all take on more than we can handle. Unfortunately, we are not machines and have a limit. Our work will start to decrease in quality and we can miss deadlines.

Be realistic with yourself. How much is too much? A successful business person knows their limits. Prioritize and don’t be afraid to say No to things that will distract you or that you know you don’t have time to help with.

Stop Believing in Themselves

You are your biggest cheerleader. If you do not believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to?

Boost your confidence with these tricks:

• Identify and ease self-doubt
• Stop listening to people who bring you down
• Recall your successes
• Trust and love yourself
• Give yourself permission to try and try again
• Consider each failure as new knowledge gained of what NOT to do next time

Success is a marathon! You have to be consistent to meet your goals. Avoid these ten mistakes to build your business leadership skills.

Reactivity is often the initial response to stressful situations. For example, when it’s raining outside, we are sad. When a meeting gets cancelled where we were going to announce our new business idea, we are discouraged. On the other hand, we do not have to be influenced by external behavior.

Reactivity can be detrimental to succeeding as a business leader. Learn to think proactively and you can turn stressful situations into new opportunities. There are a number of methods to apply proactivity to your life.
As a recruiter, these techniques have worked well for me to find the best candidates to fill positions. Try some in your daily routine to discover if they work well for you.

Applying Proactivity to Your Work Day

Be Aware of Your Reactive Behavior

The first step of applying proactivity is becoming aware of your reactive behavior. Notice how you react when your clients confront you with a problem. Do you take problems as an opportunity for company growth or is it a source of frustration? Don’t judge your behavior. Just watch.

Alter Your Language

You are your biggest cheerleader! If you are telling yourself, “I can’t” then you will probably never be able to accomplish the task. Change the way you talk to yourself for a more proactive approach.

Words to Incorporate

• I will…
• I can…
• I want to…

Start a Healthy Morning Routine

Alarm goes off – hit the snooze – alarm goes off again – roll out of bed – shower – coffee – drive to work.

Sound familiar? Many of us have a similar routine. Your morning routine can set the tone for your day. Start your day with healthy habits to influence proactive habits.

Healthy Morning Routine

• Exercise for 30 Minutes
• Meditate or Journal for 10 Minutes
• Eat Breakfast
• Full Glass of Water with Lemon

Plan Out Your Day

Without a schedule, it’s easy to get to the end of the day and realize you accomplished nothing of importance. This problem escalates when you act reactively. As the saying goes, people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.
Develop a proactive approach by planning your day in a planner or Google Calendar. Even if it’s only to list the top 2 or 3 things you MUST get done today. Cross off each task as you accomplish them. At the end of the day, you may find that you accomplished more.

Make Commitments

With family, work, and hobbies, making more commitments can seem overwhelming. However, commitments can help you develop a proactive approach toward improving your business success. There are many business groups that you can join through your city’s Chamber of Commerce or through professional associations. Many groups meet once a month and can provide you with new insight, motivation, and inspiration to meet your goals.

Our best efforts can easily crumble when we are tired at work. It’s important to find remedies that make us more energized throughout the day. A clear head can work more efficiently. Discover what routines are right for you and include them in your daily routine. You may find some of the following tricks helpful for you:

Brief Office Exercises

The average American spends 13.9 hours per day sitting. The number of hours can increase if you have an office job. Sitting all day has many disastrous side effects, including fatigue and loss of concentration.

The best option to beat sitting all day is a stand-up desk. If you cannot purchase a stand-up desk than you can always perform office exercises. Taking a walk is one of the best ways to clear your head and regain focus.

Office Exercises:

• Brief Walk
• Squats Behind Office Chair
• Calf Raises
• Push-Ups Against Desk or Wall
• Tricep Dip

Snack on Healthy Foods

There is nothing wrong with treating yourself to an unhealthy snack occasionally. However, your body craves nutritious foods. Eating unhealthy often is going to leave you tired for your daily tasks.

Replace the chips with carrots and hummus when you get a craving. Your body will feel more replenished to stay energized to get your work done.

Healthy Snacks at Work

• Carrots and Hummus
• Baked Corn Chips and Salsa
• Almonds
• Plain Oatmeal Packets
• Dried Fruit
• Low Sodium Jerky

Drink Water

Dehydration can leave you drained and fatigued. Drink enough water that your urine is light colored and you do not feel thirsty. Try to go to the water cooler three or four times a day. That will also help you get a small dose of exercise that regains your focus.

Listen to Music

Listening to music at work is not for everyone. Some people say music is distracting. Others are more engaged with Beethoven plays in the background.

Before writing off music completely, bring your pair of headphones to work. Play a song with minimal lyrics to avoid distraction.

Music for the Office

• Sounds of Nature
• White Noise
• Classic Music with No Lyrics

Write with a Pen and Paper

Start thinking on paper. This technique might sound old school. However, you are glancing away from the computer screen which can be strenuous on your eyes.

Writing down your tasks is also an excellent productivity technique. You can visualize, adjust, and move your tasks.

Before resorting to caffeine every day, try these tricks! You may find an extra glass of water and a daily walk to be more powerful than your coffee.

Hiring the right employee requires more than reviewing resumes. You must understand the candidate’s attitude, expectations, and work habits. Hiring the wrong candidate can result in thousands of dollars wasted training and pausing the growth of your company.

Before you hire, understand the most valuable characteristics of a long-term employee. The extra time spent hiring will be an investment for your company’s future productivity and growth.

Someone that Loves Their Career

You may provide a great salary and superior benefits but company perks are rarely enough to make an employee change their outlook on their career. Find an employee that loves what they do. Passionate employees are often harder workers who think creatively. You can teach technical skills, you can’t teach passion.

Someone that Is Compatible with Company Culture

Fitting into company culture is an essential trait that cannot be trained. However, the importance of company culture can often be undervalued. A compatible employee can be easier to approach with new ideas and are generally easier to manage overall.

How-To Determine if Your Candidate is Compatible

• Check if potential candidate gets along with current co-workers and boss.
• Introduce candidate to current employees.
• Ask the candidate about their values in the workplace.

Someone with Analytical Skills

Every company experiences mishaps where employees are forced to think outside of formal training. For example, difficult clients, software malfunctions, and miscommunication between co-workers. When challenges arise, your employee must have analytical skills. They will better be able to solve important problems by making logical steps.

Top Five Analytical Skill

• Communication
• Creativity
• Critical Thinking
• Data Analysis
• Research

Someone with Long Term Potential

Training new employees can cost your company thousands of dollars. Find an employee that is passionate about their career and company’s values. A dedicated employee is an investment toward your company.

Someone with Ambition

You cannot overestimate the power of an ambitious employee. It creates competition amongst employees, often increasing company revenue and productivity. During the interview, assess whether the candidate has ideas on growing their department.

Don’t waste valuable time training the wrong candidate! Spending extra time hiring will have great reward for the productivity of your company.

We can focus so much on getting new clients that we forget to keep our current clients happy. This is the quickest way to lose internal and external clients, and get a bad reputation for yourself.

Additionally, Forrest Research claims getting a new client costs five times more than retaining current customers. Don’t forget to keep your clients happy if you want to have a profitable business.

Not sure how to keep your customers happy? Start learning with these six tips:

Own Your Mistakes

We all make mistakes. Admit yours. Clients will be happier with a meaningful apology and honesty rather than trying to cover up your mistake. Usually your client is able to see your fault. They might not mention it but they could lose trust in your abilities if you try to just cover it up as an external influence or another person’s decision.

Go Above and Beyond

Everyone wants to feel special – including your clients! Do more than what your client asked for to make them feel appreciated. Offer specific tips, suggestions, and ideas. You will be seen as what the company genuinely needs in order to succeed.

Return Calls Promptly

Time is money. Your unanswered questions could be preventing your clients from completing an urgent task. Return emails and calls within 24 hours or one hour if possible.

Do Not Overpromise

Overpromising and underdelivering can kill your business. Don’t do it! Be realistic when you make contracts with customers. That way, you know you can meet their expectations with the opportunity to go above and beyond.

Add a Personal Touch

Allow your clients to get to know you. This does not mean that you have to invite them to your wedding or child’s piano recital. Instead, send them a handwritten Christmas card to show that you care.

Create a Valuable Product

If you produce a poor product then eventually you will lose all of your clients. Invest in creating a reliable, high-quality product.

Retain your clients and you will not always have to be searching for new business! Eventually, your reputation will speak for itself.

Staying focused in a world of distractions can be very difficult. However, every successful business leader will tell you that building their business required more than stamina and willpower. You must develop skills to beat everyday distractions. For some people, that means putting on headphones. Others arrive before anyone at the office. If you find yourself taking hours to complete a task that should take half the time then try a few of these tricks to get your work done more efficiently.

Set Up Your Day in a Planner

Set up your day in a planner before your day starts. Make a note of the most important tasks that have to get done that day. Start with those tasks. Cross tasks off as you complete your work.

Some people use a written planner and others use Google Calendar. Use whichever tool allows you to visualize your day.

Do the Most Difficult Things First

It’s natural to postpone our most difficult tasks. After all, who wants to get the tedious work done that we dread?

There are benefits to finishing your most difficult tasks first. Completing the work you dread immediately will put a more positive spin on your day. Therefore, you will feel more motivated throughout your work day.

Take Breaks Throughout the Day

When we have a full plate of work, it can be difficult to take breaks. We may feel like we should work non-stop throughout the day. However, breaks can help renew our energy to continue work more efficiently. It can also help to get away from a problem you are trying to solve for a few minutes and possibly come back to it with a new perspective or energy.

Work Out First Thing in the Morning

Do you rely on coffee every morning? How would you feel if you did not need morning coffee to get you through the work day? Exercising in the morning can build natural energy to leave you more alert, focused, and fight fatigue. Start working out in the morning to feel more energized as you work through the day.

Other Benefits of Working Out in the Morning

• Increased Metabolism
• Improved Mood
• Leaves Time for Other Priorities

Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking can be our work’s worst enemy. We think we are getting more done but typically our work is getting done less efficiently while taking longer. Focus on one task at a time for higher quality work.

Try incorporating one of these efficiency tips into your day. You may find yourself working fewer hours.

With 2018 approaching, many people are inspired to create health related New Year’s resolutions. If you are an office worker, you may sit at a computer for hours at a time. Eventually this can take a toll on your body.

According to Microsoft, the current amount of jobs today that require a computer is over 50% with an estimated growth of 77% by 2020.

If you are among that statistic, you could be facing serious joint and back pain, weight gain, or fatigue. Make your 2018 New Year’s resolution to improve your health at work to improve your quality of life.

Use a Stand-Up Desk

Sitting too much can be detrimental for your health. Stand up desks allow you to mount your computer to a standing platform so you work in adjustable settings. Standing while you work has various physical and mental health benefits. I’ve recently started using a stand up desk and do tend to get more done when I’m standing vs sitting. Plus I do feel like I have more energy.

Benefits of Stand-Up Desks

• Lowers your risk of weight gain and obesity
• Improves mood and energy levels
• Reduces back pain

Drink More Water

Increasing your H2O intake seems simple but has many health benefits. Roughly 60 percent of your body is made of water. It helps with the transportation of nutrients, digestion of food, and regulation of body temperature.
Water can also be very beneficial for weight loss. When you consume water, you can feel fuller therefore consume fewer calories. Try keeping a water bottle next to you everyday at work. You may also want to flavor your water with lime or lemon.

Take Periodic Walks

Your body was made to move. Consistent walks fight fatigue, chronic diseases, and weight gain. Dr. Mercola recommends to avoid sitting for more than 50 minute increments.

Specialized cardio equipment has also been created for office workers. Cyclers might enjoy the Stamina Mini Exercise Bike which allows you to workout your lower body from your desk chair.

Bring Healthy Lunches

You are what you eat. I am sure that you have heard it before. However, it can be easy to resort to unhealthy snacks while working. Your coworkers might also bring snacks to the office and the company parties rarely have healthy options. Eventually, you have gained 10, 15, or even 30 pounds.

Bring your own lunches and snacks to work so you do not feel pressured by the sugar in the break room. See these healthy lunch ideas from Eating Well Magazine.

Bike or Walk to Work

We live in a rushed society. Slow down and take the extra time to walk or bike to work for your health. That might not be an option if you have a long commute, but try to carve out some time for a walk during your day or a bike ride when you get home.

Benefits of Walking or Biking to Work

• It’s efficient. Not only are you commuting to work but also exercising.
• It’s cheap. You don’t pay any gas or parking when you commute on foot.
• It’s healthy. If you are heading to an office job then you will most likely be sitting for hours. Start your day with exercise by commuting to work.
• It’s environmentally friendly. Biking and walking does not pollute the atmosphere like an automobile.

Make your health a priority in 2018! Your body deserves it.

At some point, business leaders are required to give a presentation. For many of us, public speaking can be terrifying. According to Statistic Brain, 74% of people suffer from anxiety during public speaking. As a business leader it is critical that you improve your public speaking abilities if you introduce or improve business processes.

The following are a few methods that can create more engaging presentations:

Do Not Read from Your Power Point

If you plan to only read the Power Point then just email your employees a copy. The Power Point should only be an outline of your presentation. And try to limit the resources you refer to during your presentation to the PowerPoint outline. More sources will only distract and confuse you during the presentation. The more you practice and know the material you are presenting, the more relaxed you will be.

Use Engaging Body Language

Make your employees feel like you are speaking to each of them individually with eye contact, smiling, and not turning your back away. Doing so, could make the presentation feel more like a conversation. Your employees will be more likely to ask questions at the end.

Tell Stories

Your employees want to be able to relate to you. Rather than make them feel lectured, give them an example of when you went through a similar situation. Bonus points if you can make them laugh! Provide your employees with information that is not listed to increase employee engagement.

Start Strong

The beginning of the presentation sets the tone. Do you want your presentation to be light hearted? Make a joke! Is the presentation serious? Start with a statistic or story.

Focus on Your Audience’s Needs

Build your presentation for what you would like your audience to receive. If what you are saying does not contribute to the core message then do not say it.

Use Your Voice Effectively

None of the other tips matter if you cannot master your presentation voice. Your audience must be able to hear you. This does not only require speaking louder. Annunciate your words and slow down your speech. Don’t rush to get the information out. Try for a comfortable conversational pace.

Practicing your presentation techniques can have many benefits for your career. You can improve training methods, sales, and the efficiency of your company.

Relax… presentations do not have to be that bad!

The quality of a company’s customer service can determine the fate of a business. After all, loyal customers can be your most reliable form of revenue. You often receive more return business and improved relationships with your customers. Your customers can be both internal to your company, or external. Some positions within the company serve other departments so they would be your customers as well and anyone who buys what your company sells.
There are some universal qualities that create great customer service. Make sure your employees are equipped to perform these duties.

Patience:

It is easy to get frustrated with customers. After all, at some point, you might feel like you are answering the same question 100 times per day. However, patience is fundamental to providing high quality customer service. Stay patient. The experience is new to your customer.

Attentiveness:

When you are attentive, you could gather valuable customer feedback. For example, if you receive repetitive complaints about not being able to configure the settings on your device or program, that could lead to a product improvements that makes that process much easier and intuitive. That would solve your customer’s complaints and hopefully lead to a better product.

Knowledge of the Product:

Your customer service representatives must have a deep knowledge of how the product works. That way, they will be prepared to answer your customers questions.
Your customer service representatives do not need to know how to build the product from scratch but they do need to have a functional perspective of the products. Consider providing your employees with free samples and company discounts so they have experience with the products.

Ability to Handle Surprises:

Sometimes the customer support career is going to throw you a curveball. You might not have come across the customer’s problem before.
When this occurs, your employee may need to send the customer to someone with more knowledge in that area. Make sure they know who to send customers to in specific situations.

Time Management Skills:

Your customer was probably excited about their purchase and wants the product functioning as quickly as possible. Do not waste time on the phone and try to get directly to their issue.
Sometimes, your employee will not be able to solve their problem. Teach them to recognize when they cannot solve a problem and what to do in those situations. Great customer service is efficient.

Superior customer service should be a priority for your business. If you spend the time training your employees and gathering valuable customer feedback than you could see an increase in revenue and the reputation of your company.

Time is a precious commodity. You use it or lose it. Most of us do not have all the time to participate in the activities that we enjoy. Often, we are short on time because of saying “yes” when we should say “no”.

As a business professional, saying “yes” can become habitual. You may be taking advantage of every opportunity to improve your career. However, always saying “yes” can end up making us miss deadlines and decreasing our quality of work.

Before you say “yes” to your next project, gain a perspective on your daily tasks and the amount of time that it takes to complete a project. Then learn to say “no”.

STEP ONE: Learn Your Priorities

Everyone has daily tasks. What are yours? Write them down and figure out how much time they take to complete every day. After you figure out what you HAVE to do, you can figure out what else you CAN do.

STEP TWO: Check Your Calendar

We often respond to requests with a quick “yes”. Stop!
Check your calendar before you agree to your projects. This will give you the opportunity to evaluate whether the project is realistic in your schedule.

STEP THREE: Trust Your Gut

Your intuition can be the best indicator of whether you should accept a new project. If deliberating the task makes you feel stressed then re-consider accepting the new responsibility.

Fear of telling a person “no” leads many professionals to undertake new projects. This type of person is commonly referred to as a people pleaser. Eventually, being a people pleaser leads to exhaustion and burn-out.
Learn to tell people “no” before you become overwhelmed.

Tricks to Tell Client, Boss, or Co-Worker “No”

1. Be Honest. It’s worse to give them false hope of you helping.
2. Suggest an Alternative Service Provider
3. Ask For a Raincheck, or tell them when you CAN help them.
4. Clearly State Your “No” Without Being Defensive. Simply tell them you can’t take on their project with your current workload.

Sometimes, the best things to do in life is minimize. Saying “no” minimizes your clutter of projects.