Are You Treading Water or Are You Swimming?

We were all taught that if you learned to tread water, you’d never drown. I guess you’d stay afloat, but the question is for how long?

Learning to tread water is a survival method until someone comes to save you, but if no one does come, you will get tired and eventually drown. Learning to swim on the other hand will always get you closer to your destination, while still providing opportunity to be rescued.

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it’s easy to get stuck in old ways that are safe and familiar, and although there may be immediate comfort in that, your inactivity will inevitably keep you from moving forward.

So what is it that keeps you from learning to swim in your business?

Fear, hard work, impatience, insufficient knowledge, lack of coaching and leadership…

Whichever it is, get over it. Here are some tips:

1  -  Put on your water wings and jump in

2  -  Get a business coach that will guide you

3  -  Find a mentor that you can learn from

4  -  Take some courses and workshops

5  -  Continue to read books to build you knowledge

6  -  Attend networking events and conferences  

7  -  Look for opportunity to share your story with others

8  -  Rid yourself of negative people and negative situations

9  -  Have a business plan and stay focused on it

10 - Keep up with news and changing trends

Once you learn to swim, you’ll find yourself in new waters that are exciting and profitable.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What’s Your Business Cooking Up?

Analogy

You’ve been inspired to make a scrumptious dish that your saw in a magazine earlier, but didn’t have time to write down the recipe and now all you can think of, is making this dish.

Cooking a delicious dish that you’ve never made before requires much more than just inspiration and determination. It requires a plan that includes:

A Recipe

A carefully laid out, step-by-step process that will include the list of ingredients, preparation methods, measurements and cooking instructions.

Ingredients

A ‘tastefully ‘executed recipe requires the very best ingredients. Fresh, flavorful, high quality and sometimes-exotic ingredients, deliver on the recipes promise of magnificence.

Equipment & Utensils

Certain recipes call for specific tools. For example, it’s hard to make pie without a rolling pin for the crust and it’s impossible to ‘eye’ one cup of rice and two cups of water without an actual measuring cup.

Someone Who Wants To Eat It

Other than yourself, who else would want to eat what you are making? Part of the joy of cooking is to prepare a dish that others will love and will want to share with you.

Without this plan, you could waste a bunch of time, money and effort producing a poorly executed recipe that no one will want to eat.

Reality

A business is no different. Whether you are a start-up or an existing company, you have to scrutinize your ideas to ensure their viability – especially if you are a Little Fish in the pond of big businesses.

Firstly

Do you have the business plan to support this idea?

Secondly

Do you have the resources to be taking on this new idea?

Thirdly

Do you have the infrastructure to execute this idea?

Finally

Do you actually have a market that wants your idea?

Cooking up ideas are crucial to the longevity of your business, so don’t burn them up or under develop them because of poor planning and execution.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

..

What’s Your Snowball Made Of?

At first you start with a small snowball made of carefully packed, pure white snow fallen fresh from the sky. You mold it, shape it and size it to fit perfectly in your hand, where the heat of your palms, continue to perfect your spherical sculpture.

In nature, a child would set down their snowball anywhere and begin to roll it around, in hopes of making the first and largest ball, as the base to their snowman. In time, it becomes too large to push, so they let it gain momentum on it’s own, by pushing it downhill. The challenge is that this very large and out-of-control ball of snow is not only gathering more freshly fallen snow, but it is also gathering what is superficially beneath that new white blanket. Now the unstoppable and massive snowball has also gathered debris of sticks, rocks, dog surprises and just plain old dirt making it an unrecognizable and messy spectacle at the bottom of the hill.

Much like the beginnings of a new business, you create a perfect offering, take on only what you can handle, making sure that the details are planned and carried out with perfection and where the result of such nurturing is new business!

This flood of new business eventually forces you to put down your “snowball”, so that you can tend to the newly converted, but now, your unattended snowball starts to roll away, growing fearlessly, gathering everything in it’s path, forcing the obvious question, “what’s your snowball made of?”

In business, things can often “snowball” out of control and that’s not always a bad thing if you first start with a “snowball” made of essential market research, quality product development, realistic sales forecasting, financial planning and exceptional service.

Not only is the initial and precise planning of your business essential to success, where you lay out your business to roll around, is as equally essential. When you put something down for a minute and your back is turned, you want to be sure your business is not only gathering momentum, but also gathering healthy and uplifting support from external influences that bring, expertise, value, clarity, respect, and most of all integrity. 

Don’t let your precious business gather harmful and wasteful debris while it grows!

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What Do You See When The Tide Is Low?

Just as sure as the gravitational forces from the sun and the moon, and the rotating earth cause the tides to ebb and flow, your business will also experience regular high tides and low tides.

Metaphorically speaking, you would think that low tides represent a lack of business and other negative factors that impact your company. However, it can also represent a myriad of opportunities if you look for them.

4 Things You Can See When Your Business Experiences Low Tides:

1 Little Fish Fact:

Low tides bring clearer waters.

1 Little Fish Philosophy:

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, a low tide represents the ideal opportunity to examine and make sure your company is living up to your brand's promise of quality, value, service, results and integrity.

2 Little Fish Fact:

Low tides wash up debris

2 Little Fish Philosophy:

Low tide is a perfect time to take a serious look at the things that drag down your business. You can finally see the piles of bookkeeping and administration, tend to other unresolved matters and see for the first time, the issues you never knew even plagued your company.

3 Little Fish Fact:

Low tides wash up unlikely fish and vegetation

3 Little Fish Philosophy:

Don’t despair, because low tides also present opportunities that you never realized were within your reach. Appreciate those moments and look around at possibilities that can grow and evolve your company to something greater.

4 Little Fish Fact:

Low tides allow you to walk out further.

4 Little Fish Philosophy:

Low tides in your business force you to walk out further than ever before and the reward for such bravery is finding new business.

Next time the inevitable low tide comes, take the time to appreciate the clarity, success and secret abundance that can come from it, if you look for it.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Can You Get Past A Burnt Bridge?

All humans make mistakes and business owners can make even more mistakes and some times even burn bridges. Burning a bridge doesn't mean you can't move forward and be successful.

Little Fish Philosophy Tips For Success

1 Be Humble

1 Little Fish Philosophy:

Have an awareness that you actually burnt down the bridge

2 Gather Knowledge:

2 Little Fish Philosophy:

Learn which of your actions led to burning down the bridge

3 Act With Wisdom:

3 Little Fish Philosophy:

Have a better understanding of fire prevention

4 Go Forth With Courage:

4 Little Fish Philosophy:

Build new bridges - you're allowed to

You just have to remember that if you have burnt a bridge down, you can gather the rubble (the lessons learned) into a pile and walk over the rubble to the other side because no one can stop you but yourself.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Own Your Business Or It Will Own You

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, you feel the financial pressure to get going with your new venture almost immediately without having spent time planning.

With that sense of urgency, the good news is that you'll probably make some quick money at the start, but the bad news is that you won't be able to sustain it. Owning a viable business requires more than just excitement or flying by the seat of your pants, it requires a plan that will help you determine:

• Your value proposition

• Who your customers are

• What type of relationship you want to have with them

• How you want to communicate to them

• How you want to sell or deliver your product or service

Once you've been able to answer these questions, you'll then be able to put some policies and procedures in place to help execute your plan, thoroughly and consistently without guessing.

If you don't put a plan in place at the beginning, you will spend most, if not all of your time and energy being reactive. Being reactive means being owned and being owned means you'll soon loose passion for what got you to start your business in the first place.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

How Often and How Much Do You Water Your Lawn?

When you're a little fish in the pond of big businesses, you have to concentrate your marketing efforts. A large company will have larger funds and therefore will have the privilege of marketing far and wide because their brands are already widely known and powerful.

A smaller company will have a smaller advertising budget and will have to be careful not to spread their marketing efforts too thinly. For a small company, thin marketing efforts are shallow efforts and shallow efforts will fade long before any impact is made.

Analogy

Watering your lawn is a necessary chore if you want beautiful green grass. If you water a couple of times a week for a couple of hours each time, the water will have the opportunity to penetrate down to the roots and promote a healthy lawn.

If you water your lawn daily for 10-15 minutes, the sun will evaporate the water that sits on the blades of grass, long before the water has even had the chance to make it down to the roots, rendering your efforts useless.

Don't advertise in everything that comes your way. Be selective and plan to do it for a while.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Are You Focusing On The Wrong Thing?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses it's easy to get caught up in one detail and neglect the bigger picture of your business. When you focus too narrowly on one thing, especially something that is negative, you miss the opportunity to see all of those positive aspects of your company that far out weigh the acute challenges you may be facing.

Analogy

You have a telephoto lens on your camera and are focused in on an old-dilapidated building and decide that it's far too ugly to take a photo of. Then you change to a wide-angle lens and see that this old house is perched on a hillside overlooking a spectacular valley with wild flowers in full bloom. The rotting house is now no longer your focus, but is a small element within the composition of your masterpiece instead.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Do Your Prospects Judge You By Your "Book-Cover"?

Those prospects that have taken the time to get to know you, will probably have the opportunity to experience your wonderful product or service, but what about those prospects that judge you based on your visual brand? Most of the time, you will have to pass their "book-cover" test, before a prospect even picks up the phone to call you.

So ask yourself what your "book-cover" is saying. Do you even have an image or a consistent message and if you do, is it well designed, recognizable, sharp and meaningful? If you have answered no to any of these, then you might be missing out on the opportunity to win over new business.

Some may argue and say that they have a high closing-rate of those prospects they do have the pleasure of meeting with and because of that, they don't need to have a great "book-cover", but what about those prospects who never get as far as picking up the phone to call you in the first place, because of your book-cover? Your closing rate might be lower than you think.

Analogy

Like most, I find myself drawn to book covers that are visually appealing, that have catchy titles, brief but well written descriptions and that are displayed and stacked neatly in the appropriate genre-specific areas. Those publishers, authors and booksellers show that they've taken time to identify their audience and communicate the idea of their book in ways that are meaningful to their readers. Sometimes this is enough to get some one to buy the book and in the end, if the author has done a good job and the reader is satisfied with what they've read, then they will seek out that author again and again.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Do You Know How Important You Are?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, we tend to move out of the way and allow our larger competitors to fill the marketplace, but have you stopped to consider that the large companies often can't fulfill every one's order. Sometimes when a company is too big, they can't slow down long enough or mold well enough to accommodate the individuality of smaller customers. Little fish like us are the solution; we have the experience, the flexibility and desire.

Analogy

Imagine a room, and let's call that your marketplace. Now imagine that room filled with larger boulders and in between those boulders is space or crevasses that the boulders can't fit into or mold around to completely fill all the empty and remaining space in the room...Those crevasses are the untapped markets that only you - the little pebbles or the Little Fish can get to! That's how big your market is and how important you are to that market.

Be proud to be a Little Fish. Next time someone says that you're too small, tell them that it's because you're small that you're able to provide them with the exceptional service and products they deserve.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What Are You Watering In Your Garden?

When you're a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it easy to get caught up in the hype of a potential customer, but have you taken the time to evaluate the quality of your new lead?

Like everything in business, and in life for that matter; the things that grow the most, are the things you give the most attention to. If you give much attention to a good customer, whom you respect and who respects you, then the possibility of growing that relationship into more business and possible referrals, is great. On the other hand, if you have a potential customer that doesn't share your business values and you give them much attention, they will inevitably grow into a potential "problem customer".

Analogy

If you water grass, your grass will grow green and lush. If you water weeds, the weeds will grow big and strong and take over your entire garden. If your garden is full of weeds, no one will want to visit.

It's simple. Concentrate on the type of customers you want to have.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

What Was Your Mark On 2010?

Regardless of your belief, I'm confident that we can all agree that the end of a calendar year is a wonderful time to wish one another peace, joy and good will to all. It's also a perfect time to reflect back on this closing year and plan for the year to come.

As I look back on 2010, I have much to be thankful for. I have incredible and intelligent clients, talented staff and suppliers who provide exceptional service and a loving and supportive family.

Little Fish Cares

Helping small businesses or what I like to call “Little Fish”, is my passion. We are so privileged here in Canada to have access to financing and business development expertise, that we can’t imagine and economy without it. Well, there are places in the world that don’t have the funds to support the development of an entrepreneur’s dream and for those, micro financing is their answer.

Little Fish Big Pond is proud to financially support “Little Fish” in developing countries, through:

Opportunity International

Opportunity International provides small business loans, savings, insurance and training to over two million people working their way out of poverty in the developing world. Through nearly 40 years of experience, they've learned that small-scale entrepreneurs can be big change agents in overcoming global poverty. Clients in more than 20 countries use Opportunity's financial services to start or expand a business, provide for their families, create jobs for their neighbours and build a safety net for the future. Women, who comprise 84% of Opportunity's clients, gain status through their business experience. Loan amounts begin with as little as $60, and a 95% loan repayment rate allows Opportunity to keep more money circulating in new loans.

Solange's Story

With a $60 loan from Opportunity International, Solange Mukakarangwa opened a small store near Ruhengeri, Rwanda. With her earnings and additional loans, she built several houses and offices to rent to neighbours for their own small businesses. Despite living in one of the poorest countries in the world, Solange now provides for her five children and promotes economic growth in her community.

What will your mark be on 2011?

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Who Do You Want To Resemble?

A few months ago I told you about my two goldfish, Goldie and Fin. Well, over the past while, an interesting thing has happened, they began to look and act more and more alike, until finally they became exactly the same! Goldie remained the solid, bright orange fish, but increased her aggressiveness, while the larger and friskier Fin began to submit and loose the black colour on his fins. I originally chose Fin, because he looked different than Goldie and because I wanted to be able to tell them apart. Now they are virtually twins in the appearance and personality.

As I watched this happen gradually, I couldn't help believe that the same phenomenon were possible in the human world and I don't mean beginning to look like the people you associate yourself with, I mean taking on their character and habits.

As a result of this astounding observation, I recommend that as a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it's important to:

• Associate with peers who are smart

• Do business with those who have integrity and a strong moral code

• Be mentored by those who are wiser and more experienced

• Align with those who are kinder and just outright happy

If you ultimately become like your environment, be sure to choose one that you like.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Are Your Scales Bright And Shiny?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, there are many small details that need to be taken care with the few fins you have. Although you can delegate some, if not most of the details to professionals in specific fields, you can't delegate "yourself" as a project, as you would bookkeeping.

Taking the responsibility of keeping yourself well groomed, well dressed, well rested and well fed will have you swimming circles around the competition. Not only will you be healthy and have lots energy as a result, your customers will perceive your company as also being healthy, professional and successful.

Analogy
When you go to a pet store or aquarium to look for the new addition to your fish tank, you'd never dream of choosing a fish that looked unhealthy to bring home. Instead you look for one with bright and shiny scales!

A strong fish will give you the longevity you'd expect from the investment you've just made and won't negatively affect the health of your existing fish and tank.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Are You Too Quiet For Your Own Good?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, you might find that you spend most of your time developing your product or service and not enough time telling others about what you do because you don't want to draw attention to yourself.

The secret to a successful business is not to attract attention to yourself, but instead to draw attention to the problem that your product or service solves for the prospective customer.

When you spend the time talking about the features and benefits of your business offerings and topics related to your industry, you educate your listeners, prime them as future prospects and as a result position yourself as the industry expert.

This approach is passionate, authentic, infectious and profitable.

Don't be shy. Look for opportunities this week to dialogue about the business you're passionate about!

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Are You Waiting Until It's Too Late To Survey Your Customers?

Although you think your product or service offering may be unique and in high demand, have you taken the time to consider how your customer may feel about it?

Most conscientious business owners survey their customers, but unfortunately most of those same business owners do so after the fact, at a time when it's too late to do anything about the negative experience their customer may have had.

Conducting ongoing dialogue with your customer during the entire course of a project or business transaction will keep you informed every step of the way of how your customer feels about doing business with you and your company. This ongoing communication will provide you with the necessary information needed to change, correct or enhance your customer's experience before it's too late.

Analogy

Consider a marriage. If a couple doesn't openly communicate regularly in efforts to continuously improve their relationship, it's likely that they will end up in divorce without knowing how they got there in the first place.

This "continuous" style of surveying shows your customer that you greatly value their business and that you want to continue the relationship.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Little Fish Have A Huge Impact

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it's sometimes hard to recognize the impact you have on your industry and our economy. According to Statistics Canada, 2008:

• 1997-2007 - Small firms accounted for 37% of all jobs created

• 2007 - 48% of the total labor force worked for small enterprises

• 30% of all Canadians either run or work for a small business

• 2006 - Small businesses accounted for approximately 23% of Canada's GDP (almost double compared to two decades ago)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says,

"Small businesses are, in fact, the backbone of the Canadian economy, accounting for 98% of all businesses in Canada."

Be proud to be small. Next time someone says that your business is too small; tell them that you at least have backbone.

Keep swimming Little Fish!

Are You Striking Out?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it's easy to get excited about every opportunity that comes your way. Carefully analyzing your options to be sure they line up with your business model and planning, will have you making better decisions for a more profitable future.

Just because you're being offered a new product or service, it doesn't mean it's the right answer for your business and it certainly doesn't mean you have to subscribe to it.

Analogy

You've finally been invited to play in the big league and you can't wait to get up to bat. Before you can blink a few times, the pitcher is throwing balls at you and you start swinging away. Some of them are a bit beyond your reach, but you're so grateful to be playing their game, that you swing at every baseball that comes your way and strike out on the third pitch.

Know your plan and how you want to play your game and before you know it, you'll be winning.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Do Your Customers Come Back For Seconds?

As a little fish in the pond of big businesses, it's not enough to rely on passion alone for what you do, to keep bringing in customers. You need to have a plan with processes in place, so that when a client decides to give you a break and try your company, you're able to deliver on your brand's promise of quality, value, service, results and integrity. You may not get a second chance to impress them.

Analogy

A turkey that smells good, looks good and tastes good is exactly what your guests expect, but the problem is that you've never cooked a turkey before. You're don't know how long to thaw it for if you've bought a frozen bird, you don't have any stuffing recipes, you don't know if you should season it with sage or sugar, you're not sure at what temperature to cook it at, and you don't know for how long to cook the turkey. All you know is that you've sent out the most welcoming and mouth watering invitation for a turkey dinner, that all who received it, accepted it with great excitement.

When Thanksgiving day finally came, you thought you could just go ahead and start cooking with no preparation. Your guests sat in anticipation while their tummies rumbled, but when they cut into their turkey, it was pink. Not only did they not eat what was on their plates, they clearly didn't ask for seconds and gracefully declined next year's invitation to turkey dinner.

Keep Swimming Little Fish!

Should You Continue Growing Your Business Once You've Reached Your Goal?

As a little fish, you start out with a vision of what you want your business to look like in a few years. You work diligently at mastering your trade and developing your client base and before you know it, your business is full. However, once it's full, you stop, and switch your vision from growth, over to preservation.

Have you considered what would happen if you stopped growing your business?

Analogy

One drop at a time, you've filled your cup to the brim. You hold and balance your cup, so that nothing spills out from it and don't dare add to it, because your cup may overflow.

If you don't add fresh water to you cup:

1 Your water will get stale and smelly and no one will want to come near it

2 Your water will evaporate, leaving you with less and less every day

Continually growing in knowledge, adding improved methodologies and developing your expertise, means you're ultimately adding clients and positioning your company for longevity!

Keep Swimming Little Fish!