Being a business coach and working very often with family businesses, one of the things I come across all the time is inability of family members to communicate with one another. You might imagine that having lived together for many years that husband and wife partnerships, or parent/child/sibling enterprises would be the ones where information was most readily passed from one to another, and where there are least likely to be misunderstandings. However, this is far from the reality.

In fact in these situations, a coach can often be invaluable purely as an “interpreter”, or go-between. How often have I heard a husband or wife tell me that they have been urging their other half to do exactly what I have just got them to do, for years and years? Yet because I am the outsider, some how I must be right, whereas the familiar face either can’t be, or they don’t want them to be.

Likewise with parent/child relationships, the child will seldom listen or do what their parent wants them to, because of their close relationship, and the perverse nature of most children, to deliberately ignore or disbelieve anything their parents say. Once again the coach can become an extremely useful tool in these situations, to be used as the conduit for parents to get their children to do what the business needs. The frustration I experience in all these situations is enormous. “Why won’t they listen to me, but they immediately take on board everything you say?” is often quoted at me. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that, (human nature I suppose) but if you want to do something about it, why not get a coach to give you a hand.

Over the Christmas break two or three of my clients decided that it wasn’t worth meeting with me, as they felt there wouldn’t be much going on over that period. As a result of that it has been perhaps 6 or 7 weeks since we last got together, and it has been a real eye-opener as to how quickly things have started to drift.

Monetary controls, such as cash flow forecasts, lead generation numbers, average sales, and other such key performance indicators have lapsed, systems and procedures have started to be ignored, and the business owners themselves have slipped back into old habits of doing things, rather than delegating to others.

For me, this simply bears out the importance of ongoing support and coaching. It is all very well taking the initial steps towards changing the way you manage your money, your time and your team, but to make meaningful and permanent change you need to keep pushing it forward until it becomes the norm. Bearing in mind that there are nearly always some (or all) of your staff who are resistant to change, unless you keep up the relentless drive to make changes, they will quickly spot any weaknesses or diminished desire, and will allow things to go back to the bad old days, because it suits them. It also re-enforces their beliefs that if they hold out for long enough they will be able to get back to the “easy life” they had before.

So this is where the coaching comes in. I do not allow people to drift or take the easy path. If you have someone holding you accountable, and acting as a conscience on a regular basis, you are far more likely to make the changes you need, and stick to them.

Have you noticed how your beliefs can have such an effect on your life? What you believe is naturally enough true in your own mind, but have you ever considered how some of your beliefs may be allowing you to surge ahead, whilst others may be holding you back?

People’s beliefs about money, for example, can say an awful lot about them, both positive and negative. Some people come up with terms such as “money is the root of all evil”, whilst others say (or sing) “money makes the world go round”. Of course there is no right or wrong in this example, but first consider how your beliefs may be affecting your life. If you believe money to be “evil”, then you will want to avoid it, and push it away. If however, you believe it to be good, you are ready to welcome it into your life, and therefore it is far more likely to come to you.

I once worked with an interesting couple of business owners, who were involved with care, but entirely through the public sector i.e. placements were made, and therefore prices were dictated by the county council. However, they wanted to expand, and needed more money, and wondered how best to go about it. When I suggested going into the private sector, one of them in particular said she didn’t want to do that, as she didn’t see why people with money should have preference over those without. I pointed out that if they went down this route, and were thereby able to generate more profits, it would then put them in a position where they could have the choice to subsidise those less well off. So perhaps money could be a good thing in that instance.

So before you push things away, because you believe them to be bad, perhaps it is worth giving them a second or third look, and question whether your beliefs might in reality be holding you back, both for yourself, and indeed, your business, your team and your clients

So what is your marketing budget for the coming year? As we all know the temptation in tough times is to pull in your horns, and save money whenever possible. As a result the marketing spend is very often one of the first, and seemingly easiest ways of reducing costs, but does it really make sense to do that?

Let’s assume money and cash flow are both tight, and therefore you may well have legitimate worries as to how you are going to keep the business afloat. The old adage that unless a business is growing, it is dying, is still certainly applicable, but in times like these, just keeping things on an even keel is hard enough. However, whether growing or at least keeping at a similar level to last year, right now you need to be noticed, so you must continue to let people know you are around.

So have you set targets for the year? Again whether setting increases on last year’s sales, or keeping them the same, you should be planning your marketing strategy to achieve this. All businesses will lose some customers from time to time, so just to maintain similar sales to last year, you will need to bring in new business. If that is your decision, you can keep marketing spend relatively low, but you will need to be very clear who you are targeting, and therefore how you will promote your business in each niche that you have. If, however, you have grander targets, and wish to expand, then you will need to set your marketing budget accordingly.

Remember marketing doesn’t necessarily mean spending huge sums of money. Be smart, and creative, and you may well be surprised how much you can achieve on a relatively low budget.

In many of my blogs, I write about how to improve something in your business, or how to plan ahead, or how to change something or someone. However, one thing which we all tend to forget as business owners is how to improve or change ourselves.

No doubt you have all heard about people who claim to have multiple years of experience, whilst in reality they only have one year of experience, repeated however many times. Just continuing on, on the same old path, doing the same old thing is not only very limiting on yourself, but necessarily the business will not progress either.

So what are you going to do differently this year? For yourself, for your business, or for your employees. I have mentioned in the past that I believe it is part of an employer’s responsibility to help their team to develop and become the best they can be. Well that is only going to happen if you set the example of developing and improving yourself. If your employees see you changing, learning and developing, they will realise that if the “boss” feels it is a good thing to do, then surely it must be for them also.

Continuous improvement and development is good for any business. Never be content with good enough. There are always things which can be done better or faster or just differently, but in every case, they should bring benefits to the business, which should all ultimately be financially positive for you as the owner, and for your team.

I hope you all had great Christmas and New Year breaks, and are feeling refreshed and recharged, ready to take on the challenges which 2011 will bring.

Personally I had a lovely time with the family doing all the things I most enjoy. Good food, good drink, good company and a general feeling of well being which emanates from the contentment of enjoying these simple, yet vitally important, aspects of life.

I had a very interesting conversation with one of my friends, talking about New Year Resolutions, and goals in general. He told me that someone he spent New Year’s Eve with had said that he simply wanted to be happier in 2011, which naturally provoked the question, what did he mean by that? Apparently he was a vastly successful businessman, with a string of highly impressive achievements behind him, but he felt that he never really appreciated what was going on around him, and all the good things he had in life.

Essentially we agreed that what he really wanted, was to be living in the now, and instead of always wishing for something better somewhere in the future, he should be enjoying what is happening right now. I remember my mother always used to say “the journey was part of the holiday”, and we always used to laugh at her as children, saying how silly she was. Whether she knew she was giving great advice for life, or genuinely was talking just about our holiday, I am not sure, but just think of all those things you may have already missed, and could still miss, if you constantly think of the better times ahead.

So for the time being, enjoy sitting by a crackling fire, reading a book, drinking some wine, or listening to music, whatever it is that you like to do. Obviously setting goals and planning ahead are still very important, but make sure you live life to the full on the way.

Now Christmas is almost upon us, it is time to start thinking about the coming year, and to set our goals. Whilst I realise many people find it hard to stop working even over the festive season, hopefully most people have a few days to sit back and relax. After all, taking time to plan things, is every bit as important as executing them, so a time for both reflection and for looking ahead is good for anyone.

Goals can be both personal and business orientated, after all for many business owners, the two are inextricably linked (the money generated by the business goes to paying for personal goals). But the single most important thing about setting goals, is writing them down. Until you write something down, a goal is really just a dream in your head, and therefore far less likely to actually come to fruition. However, once on paper, the goal suddenly becomes reality, and it becomes much clearer what needs to be done to make it happen.

Ideally the next step is then to find a trusted friend or business colleague to share your goals with, so that they can hold you accountable to achieving your targets. I have recently gone through this exact process with two business owners who I trust, and we have all set down our goals for our businesses. We will meet on a regular monthly basis to update each other as to what we have achieved, and can offer ideas and advice to each other as to how we can improve or change things.

So until next year, have a great break, a very Happy Christmas, and give yourself a chance to look to the future with optimism and purpose.

Back on my favourite subject this week, sport. What a great result for the England cricket side, showing once again the merits of creating a strong team. Everyone playing for each other, everyone clearly pleased for each other’s success, and having fun. It just shows how much can be achieved by creating a culture which supports this.

Interestingly the Australian team still shows a strong culture even in its demise. The opening batman (Katich) even though injured refused to let someone else take his place, stating it was “his job”, and therefore couldn’t let his team down. The wisdom of whether this made real sense or not in terms of the match is a different question, but the culture of responsibility and doing what is expected of you for the team is clearly still a big part of the Australian set up.

Many people (me included) have questioned whether the ego of Kevin Pieterson is really good for the English team, despite his undoubted talent. However, I detected a real change in attitude and general approach to the game and his team, which would seem to indicate that he has genuinely taken on the culture that is inherent throughout, and which clearly helps to make their “workplace” somewhere they all want to be.

So based on what we have already seen and heard from this series, what will be the outcome? Two teams with strong cultures, but the body language and what is being said is clearly by far the more positive in the England camp. As we all know, body language and words spoken can be very revealing, and at the moment Australia look and sound beaten. I expect England to go on and win at least 2 more, so 3 – 0 or perhaps even 4 – 0, who knows. Ever the optimist, but I can still dream!

Last week I wrote about the benefits of working with rather than against your “competition”. Right at the end of the article I touched on USPs, your Unique Selling Points, which should make you stand out from the crowd. It then occurred to me that there may be many people who are not only unaware of their USPs, but don’t understand the significance and importance of defining these.

So first of all, do you know what makes you unique? If you are not able to say “yes” to that question with conviction, you need to stop what you are doing and analyse your business until you do know what makes you different.

You see the power of your USP allows you to feel strong in relationships with “competitors”, because you are never in direct competition – you always have something different and better to offer. The second great advantage of having a clear USP is that it helps when you are planning your marketing strategy. It allows you to focus on specific target market niches, and it gives you something to say in your advertising materials. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, it means you can differentiate yourself on price. Because your USPs should bring added value, you will be able to price your product or service higher than the competition, knowing that you can confidently justify this. Conversely if you do not have a USP, the only way in which you can compete is on price. So if you don’t want to fight over the scraps at the low margin end of the market, make sure you not only know, but publicise your USP widely.

BUT remember, people will quickly latch on to your ideas. So you will need to regularly modify and update it to keep at the front of the marketplace.

What is your first thought when you meet someone in the same line of business as you? Is your immediate reaction to see them as a threat, someone eating into your market share? Or do you think, “That is interesting, I wonder how we can help one another?”

You can’t stop people joining your market, so why waste time and energy fighting against them. More often than not, if you examine their offering in greater detail, you will find that they are not directly in competition with you in any case, and therefore there may well be ways in which you can help each other to find business. I often meet people who say they are coaches/trainers or consultants, but I have hardly ever met someone who provides the same services as me.

As we all know most people buy on emotion rather than logic, and therefore one of the biggest parts of the emotional side of things which works towards your decision as to who you will buy from, is whether you like the person you are dealing with. Now much as I would like to think everyone will like me (and why not), realistically this simply is not going to be the case. So instead of just dropping a lead altogether, why not pass them on to someone else. In this way you can still help the lead you had, and your “competitor” at the same time. For those of you who have read “The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini (highly recommended), you will know that the power of the “reciprocity rule” is incredibly strong. In other words, if you give something to someone, they feel a huge desire (even obligation) to give something back, so by helping your supposed competitor, you should in turn be helping yourself.

So stop worrying about what “the competition” are or are not doing. Believe in yourself, be confident and aware of your own USPs, and learn to work with, not against people. Believe me, it is a lot less tiring and generally far more rewarding.