At a time of year where you are probably feeling swamped by busyness, it is good to remember that as a female business owner, you really are operating in an environment of abundance. Too often we can get ourselves in a rut of bemoaning the lack of cash flow or the proliferation of competitors. But in reality, those are just excuses.

As the ‘captain of your ship’ you need to remember that you hold the power to make your dreams a reality. Other people spend time fantasising about it: you are actually out there doing it! And as an added bonus, you know you enjoy being able to make decisions that affect your future, rather than being beholden to someone else’s goals and dreams.

Running your own business should mean you have flexibility and freedom – if not you need to ask whether you’ve just created a ‘job’ for yourself with an inflexible boss (you!). Yes, you work hard and often put in more hours than your friends and family with regular jobs. But ultimately you get to decide when to take time off and how many hours you put in.

In our current technological age, we have an abundance of resources at our fingertips: advice, how-tos, online support, blogs, webinars and more. What would have taken weeks of research, and a great deal of time and effort to solve, can now take a few hours.

This abundance of resources and circumstances should spur you on to continue forging ahead. Positive thinking by itself will get you nowhere. But being grateful for what you do have and viewing your situation in a positive light, will give you better focus and drive.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of creativity, innovation and change.” Dr. Brene Brown.

What a challenging statement! Most of female business owners are attempting to project an image of strength and confidence, so how does this statement stand alongside that? Surely with our staff we do not want to be ‘vulnerable’ – is that not a sign of weakness?

We need to first look at what vulnerability means. In this context, Brene Brown is referring to being open, honest and transparent (rather than possibly our typical definition that relates more to ‘weakness’). Anyone who studies culture and people (or if you have been around the block enough times!) will likely agree that showing your ‘true self’ (including areas you are not proud of, or mistakes you have made) gives people the opportunity to relate to each other in a real and meaningful way.

Projecting an image of perfection does not inspire collaboration or a sense of community in your workplace or team. In fact, it can have the opposite effect: behaving as though there are never problems or that you are not bothered by anything will make you seem like you don’t care and that you can’t understand what your team is experiencing.

Attainment of your business goals will be best achieved when your team can see that you are indeed human – and humans sometimes fail or falter. Recognising and embracing this fact means that you and your team can be prepared for mistakes, thinking creatively in times of crisis will come much more naturally. Showing that you are vulnerable and showing your team that you persevere despite adversity, will inspire your team to do the same.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Your business is chugging along, you are managing to pay the bills and you have plans for bigger and better things in the future. But how do you get your business to the ‘next level’?

For many years, well before the appearance of social media, marketing experts were telling us all about ‘raving fans’: who they are, how to get them and how essential they are. Before social media, this was a slow process. It required building up rapport with customers, exceeding their expectations and finding ways to compel them (of their own accord) to rave about your business.

While all those aspects are still essential to creating ‘raving fans’, we all now have social media at our finger tips. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and other social media sites provide you with ample opportunity to connect with people and introduce them to your business, and eventually convert them to sales and raving fans.

Before you start you need to plan carefully and research:

-       What types of posts get the best interaction?

-       What times of day/week are best to post (this will vary with different sites) for optimum interaction? For example, posting something at midnight is not likely to be seen by many people.

-       What information will your customers (existing and potential) find most interesting and useful?

-       What percentage of your posts should be ‘sales’? (Tip: not many!)

The answers to these questions are not the same for everyone and there certainly isn’t a strict formula. However, spending time looking at what other successful local businesses are doing on social media will quickly teach you what works.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Like most female business owners, you’ve probably got a list of great ideas for your business. You might even have a file full of ideas for new business ventures. So why haven’t you done anything about them? What’s holding you back?

Sometimes the things that hold us back are practical in nature: lack of financial backing, lack of time, lack of resources. But the biggest thing that holds you back is YOU.

Most of us limit ourselves without even realising. We make assumptions about other people and how they will respond. We make assumptions about the risks involved without really investigating them. We listen to the naysayers and stop listening to our ‘inner entrepreneur’.

And we often our set our expectations and goals too low. Why can’t you triple your income by the end of the year? Why can’t you make your business as big as you dare to dream it could be?

I love the quote: “Aim for the stars and maybe you'll reach the sky”. If you set your sights on a goal that most people view as “realistic” or “achievable” then you are aiming too low. Aim for higher than you ever thought possible. Give yourself permission to dream big.

And then: just take a first small step. You don’t need to achieve it all in one day. Start by doing one action that will take you closer to your goal.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

At some point in your time as a business owner you most likely agonised over your business name, or the name of a new venture or project. You probably switched back and forth between the ‘practical/descriptive’ name and the ‘creative/unusual’ name, and everything else in between. You probably asked friends and family what they thought of your top choices to gauge reactions.

That process was important. Not only because your business name is a key aspect of your business, but also because it gave you lots of opportunities to evaluate what your business is about and what you want people to ‘hear’ or ‘see’ when they come across your business name.

But is the name the be all and end all? That is, does your choice of business name determine the success or otherwise of your business? In some extreme cases, when you’ve chosen badly, the answer might be ‘yes’. But in general, your business name does not matter that much.

Over 99% of your success is going to come from the decisions you make after you name your business. There’s no ‘magic’ in the name. You could have chosen the most perfect, fantastic name in the world, but if you make lots of dumb marketing decisions after the fact, then it will be wasted. Conversely, if you market well, develop your brand, consider products carefully, have great customer service and so on, your name becomes secondary.

You have probably learnt a long time ago that there’s no ‘magic formula’ for anything in business – if there was we would all be doing it! Business success, no matter how well or poorly the business is named, will come from hard work, determination and will power.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

You’ve hired some great staff to work in your business. They’ve settled in nicely, although you are wondering when your workload is going to decrease – in fact you feel like you are doing MORE work not less. What is going on?

Chances are, you are micromanaging your staff. Here are some typical scenarios:

1. You make assumptions about ability and skill level. It took you six months to get a handle on a particular skill, so you assume it will take someone else the same amount of time. Do not let pride get in the way of potential for improvement! You hired your staff for their skills, aptitude and experience. Let them use it.
2. You are not open to things being done differently. Your method has always served you well, so you expect your staff to perform a task in the same manner. Do not let fear of change get in the way of new and innovative ways to work!
3. You are uneasy about trusting your staff to work efficiently when they are unsupervised. How are you going to know they are doing the work they should? At some point you will need to take a ‘risk’ and let your staff stand on their own. They may make mistakes, but use those incidences as learning experiences. The vast majority of people respond well to trust and are likely to perform better when they are given responsibility.

In general, the more ‘hands off’ you can be, the better the result. This does not mean you leave a staff member to work with no boundaries or relevant, essential procedures. But allowing your staff to make a job their ‘own’ will result in an increased level of ‘ownership’ of their position and/or particular tasks, and increased loyalty to your business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

No matter how long you’ve been in business, it is always a good idea to go back to basics for a reality check. Often it can be easy to forge ahead and forget about those fundamental lessons. So here are a few reminders:

1. Overestimate: have you noticed that when you try something new in your business, more often than not it takes you a lot longer than you thought? A good rule is to work out how much time it should take and multiple it by four. If it takes you less time, you can give yourself an early mark!
2. Care for your customers: we all know that great customer service is paramount, but in this instance I am referring to working out how to really cater for your customer’s needs before you try to sell to them. As Seth Godin says, “Permission Marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them.”
3. Know who to listen to: it is always wise to get professional advice, seek opinions and do your market research. But as a business owner, you also need to listen to that ‘inner voice’. If you make decisions based on other people’s demands or agendas, chances are they will be the wrong ones for your business.
4. Be flexible: the world of business, particularly any linked in any way to technology (very few are not!), is moving and changing quickly. Five year business plans can be useful, but they should act as a guide only. You need to be ready to respond to change and opportunity at a moment’s notice – don’t get left behind!

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

One of the hardest aspects of running a business is to stand out from the crowd. Do you follow the trends of your industry in order to be recognised by your target market? Or do you work that bit harder to forge a new path and create a different and memorable business?

Here are some tips if you want to be one of the exceptional ones:

-       Surround yourself with success. People who ‘bring you down’ are not good for you in general, but particularly toxic for the affect they have on your business success. Make wise choices that will positively affect your motivation and inspiration.

-       Be obsessed about your service or product. If you don’t love it, how do you expect your customers to rave about it?

-       Stretch yourself. Always be prepared to do things you logically think you are not ready for. Push yourself to learn and move outside your comfort zone.

-       Hire great talent and train them well. As amazing as you are, you are not the best at everything! So invest in your staff and do your utmost to retain the best people.

-       It’s OK to make mistakes. Dwell on your mistakes only for as long as you need to draw out the learning experiences. Adjust what you need to, don’t repeat the mistake and move on.

-       Continuous personal growth is key to long-term business success. If you don’t grow, your business won’t either.

-       Be persistent. It is without a doubt the most essential quality of an exceptional business owner and the only way to see great success. Don’t give up!

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

With our neighbours in the Blue Mountains going through extremely tough times, it can be difficult to keep focussed on normal routines. In the days, weeks and months ahead, there will be ample opportunity for business owners to assist those who have lost everything. In the meantime, evaluating our own situations in the light of a crisis is a positive thing to do.

There are plenty of questions you can ask in relation to your business in a crisis situation: what off-site backup/restore systems do you have in place in the event of total loss? What procedures do you have in place for disruption to staff availability? How much stock do you keep in store and how much of it is insured adequately? Is your business insurance up to date and reflective of the cost of full replacement of equipment and assets?

There are of course many ‘unknowns’ that cannot be answered in advance of a crisis. Not least of which, is the emotional toll that significant loss or disruption can have on your moral and decision making abilities. It can understandably be very demoralising to think about ‘starting over’, especially if you have also experienced personal loss in addition to loss of business.

But having contingencies, backup plans and adequate insurance (to name just a few strategies) can provide peace of mind in times of crisis. Even if in the early stages you are not ready to rebuild or get back to ‘normal’, the knowledge that things are in place can be valuable.

To those in the Penrith and Blue Mountains communities who have lost their homes and/or businesses: your community is behind you and will no doubt assist you in whatever ways we can to help you back on your feet.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Knowing how to get the best performance from your employees can be difficult. The fact that you are running a business means that you have a fairly good dose of entrepreneurial spirit! So why not give your staff an opportunity to start thinking like entrepreneurs too in order to encourage growth?

One way to do this is to let them make decisions that have an impact on their work and then hold them accountable for the results. This might be small areas of authority to start with as you ‘test the waters’, but it begins to increase your employees’ commitment to your business and ultimately its success.

You can also assist your employees to set goals, but let them figure out how to achieve them. Not only does this give them some freedom and motivation, you may also find some surprising and unexpected ideas flowing from them.

Create a culture where employees are encouraged to experiment. Everything has the potential for improvement: the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is a poor mandate for your business. Ask employees to seek out changes that will have a positive impact on your business. In some instances, you might find that your current procedure or product or system is working in the best manner it can. But you will not know that until you consider and experiment with other options.

Always devote time for feedback from any of these changes in order to evaluate what went right or wrong. You (and your employees) can learn just as much from what worked as what did not work and strategies can be developed based on those lessons.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Actually this heading is probably a bit misleading: if you’ve been in business for more than 2 years, you will know that none of tips in this article are ‘secrets’ or even new ideas. However, if you are anything like me, they are things that fall by the wayside far too easily – and it is good to be reminded!

The following tips relate to your productiveness and how best to ‘get things done’:

1. Have confidence. Too many women in business let lack of confidence affect their business, either in the form of telling yourself you are not good enough or saying yes to things that you’d rather not do. You are a better business owner than you give yourself credit for – ignore the negative voice in your head and focus on your goals and dreams.
2. Check the company you keep. Surround yourself with productive and successful people and remove yourself from negativity or naysayers. You need inspiration and help from people who will cheer you on and celebrate your successes.
3. Focus, focus, focus. Everyone has a long to-do list. But it’s the people who know how to chunk it into manageable pieces who are productive. Set a timer for 10-20mins and focus solely on getting a job, or part of a job, completed. Then move on to the next. Multi-tasking is most often not as productive as it might appear.
4. Work smarter. Are there jobs you can outsource? Are there better ways to structure your time spent with clients? Are there ways you can adapt previous work instead of reinventing the wheel each time.

So re-acquaint yourself with these ‘secrets’ and start being more productive in your business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

We all know that we need sleep in order to stay healthy and reduce the risk of health and psychiatric disorders. But do you heed that knowledge? Or as a business owner, do you let the stress of running a company result in long working hours and insufficient sleep?

Did you know that sleep (or lack of it) affects the area of the brain responsible for making decisions, creativity and memory? They are all attributes that every business owner needs to have functioning at an optimum level! And your lack of sleep also ultimately affects every area of your life.

So here are some tips to make sure you are getting the seven to eight hours of sleep per night that your body (and business) require:

1. Turn off devices: at least an hour before bedtime, turn off your smartphone, tablet, computer and any other screen device. According to experts, the light that comes from those screens tells your neurotransmitters to wake up, rather than wind down.
2. Jot it down: if you are someone who lies in bed thinking about what happened that day, or all the things you need to do the next day, write it all down. This will help clear your head.
3. Exercise: by getting your body regularly moving, you are not only improving your overall health, you are also releasing serotonin and dopamine which are important for regulating your sleep-wake cycle.
4. Cut out sugary snacks: if you need to snack before bedtime, eat something containing protein or fat which will give you a steady release of energy through the night, unlike sugar, which can disturb the quality of your sleep.
   
   

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

As someone with a home office, I enjoy immensely the clothing benefits that accompany it. I can wear jeans most days and when it’s cold I can wear my ugg boots and no-one knows! But is the way we dress REALLY that important?

As much as we might want our expertise, skills and confidence to be the first thing that people notice, it is the way we dress when we are around clients, potential clients and other stakeholders that creates 90% of the first impression. And this varies for each business. It would not be appropriate for a tradesperson to arrive for a job wearing a suit. But arriving at my house with a branded polo shirt or t-shirt and clean attire will go a long way to projecting a professional image and promoting trust. Conversely, a solicitor wearing jeans and a midriff top is not likely to inspire me with confidence. And although slick talking and a winning smile may help to change my initial impression, why create a barrier? It is important to dress appropriately both for your industry and client base.

Some may argue that dressing in the way that people expect can also mean that you are not creating a particularly memorable impression – you look the same as everyone else in your industry. There is definitely room for self-expression: for example, you might be known as the person who always wears red shoes. But if you approach your dress sense in a "what you see is what you get" style, it may come across as idiosyncratic, rather than unique. Your boot-scootin’ gear might be awesome for the weekend, but not necessarily appropriate for projecting the brand of your business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

I am a massive P!NK fan. She is a breath of authentic fresh air in a music industry that for the most part, reduces female artists to the sum of their body parts. Aside from her athleticism, her amazing talent and entertaining shows, she is also a pretty gutsy woman.

P!NK has been quoted as saying “You can’t move mountains by whispering at them” which I think is an awesome way to approach life’s challenges. It is also very apt for approaching business issues.

There are often articles I read that speak highly of the positive effects of more women in business and the corporate world. These articles usually refer to the ‘softer’ qualities and attributes that women can bring where issues are perhaps ordinarily dealt with differently in male dominated arenas. Women may approach situations more intuitively, or consider aspects that their male counterparts do not.

And that may be true. But I think women bring much more than ‘soft’ skills to the business table. Most of the women in business I know (and other women that I admire for their achievements) didn’t get there because they sat quietly behind the scenes. We shouldn’t mistake references to ‘softer qualities’ to mean ‘meek and mild’.

What I know of those successful women is that they are tenacious, determined, confident, driven and focussed. They are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve their business and life goals. And I guarantee that to deal with big and important changes, they engaged in a great deal of roaring and very little whispering.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Good bosses are concerned with their staff motivation. They will put processes in place to ensure that productivity is optimum, that workers feel supported and that staff are generally happy in their workplace.

But what about you as the business owner? Do you have processes in place to make sure you keep motivated? What is it that motivates you to keep moving forward in your business?

Often these questions are not answered by women business owners. They are too busy either dealing with staff motivation or get caught up in the daily tasks of ‘doing business’. And then burnout starts to appear on the horizon and they realise that they’ve neglected to take care of their own motivation.

Sometimes, all it takes is being cognisant of your underlying motivation for running your own business. You may be motivated by seeing positive outcomes and results. You may be motivated by the fact that you are the boss and don’t answer to anyone else. You might be motivated by the flexible lifestyle your business affords you.

However, for most of us, those reasons are not always enough to get us through the tougher times. You may need to put in place other external motivators that help to push you forward. This might be meeting regularly with a business coach. Or it might be booking regular weekends away so you have those to look forward to at the end of a stressful work period. Or it might be surrounding yourself with other female business owners who can rejoice or commiserate as required! Most importantly, make sure you take care of your own motivation first otherwise it will have a trickle down affect throughout your whole business.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

This morning on my Facebook newsfeed, the following sponsored post appeared: “Would you keep working if you won $15 Million?”. For many people in the workforce, I think the answer to this would be a resounding ‘yes’. But is that true for you as a business owner?

Your answer to that question comes back to the reasons why you are a business owner. If your reasons are purely to earn money or ‘get rich’, then I would imagine you would most likely quit working if you won $15 million. But many business owners established their businesses for reasons besides just making money – and I wonder if many of them would answer ‘no’ and want to continue working.

Personally, I would keep working – although the capacity of that work and what work I undertake would be likely to change dramatically! Winning a large sum of money would provide me with an enormous scope of choices around how I spend my time and the enterprises I could establish.

But as I thought about this question more, I realised that it is a great evaluative tool. If answering this question brings to light the things that you would REALLY rather be doing, perhaps it is time to challenge yourself as to why you are not aiming for more of those things now. As we hear time and again, life is short. So you need to ask yourself: am I focusing on the things that are important? Or am I waiting for the big lottery win before I change my focus and priorities?

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

You are likely to be aware that the cost of hiring and training new staff is very high. Your business will always benefit from retaining your best employees. Often those ‘best employees’ have that label because they are intrinsically motivated to perform well. But even the ‘best’ employee will drop their performance levels, or even leave your business, if they are not satisfied with their work conditions. Here are some ways to encourage your employees to stay and to show that your staff’s well-being is important to you: 1. Implement health and wellness strategies. Organise a company team for a fun run, place bowls of fruit in the lunch room, implement regular mini breaks away from the computer screen, play music and so on. 2. Introduce volunteering opportunities. Talk to charity organisations in your local area and negotiate activities that your staff could be involved in. This might include out of work hours volunteering, as well as organised activities during work time. This has benefits for your business as a whole (by building links with the community and showing generosity) and can serve as a great team building activity. 3. Provide ‘birthday holidays’. If possible, giving employees an additional day off (or an ‘early mark’) on their birthday is a great way to show your appreciation for them. 4. Celebrate milestones. When a project is completed or your staff have achieved a milestone or perhaps even for no good reason at all, take the time to stop and celebrate. This might be as simple as finishing half an hour early on Friday afternoon for a glass of champagne and canapés, or more elaborate celebrations such as dinner at a nice restaurant.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

As a business owner, you’ve probably spent a great deal of time in the past (and hopefully in an ongoing manner) on your branding. As a graphic designer I spend a lot of time talking to clients about the ethos, culture and ‘feel’ of their business, before I even attempt to create a logo for them. This is because a logo should not be the focal point of your business brand, it should be a reflection of it. Your branding discussions (within your team and/or with marketing and design consultants) should revolve around the following things:

1. Clarification. Every aspect of your branding (logo, website, staff uniforms, shopfront, and so on) should clarify for your customers what your ‘brand’ is about. Although a little intrigue can be a great marketing tool, if customers struggle to understand what it is you are offering, the prettiest logo in the universe is not going to help.
2. Delight. Create a positive, delightful experience for your customers so they’re more likely to come back. Spend time on making your brand aesthetically pleasing, but also spend time on making your messages relevant to your target (talk to them like real people). Work hard to create a seamless experience so that the interaction for your customers is not with just a ‘pretty face’, but functions well, meets their needs and keep them coming back for more.
3. Reassurance. Good design and usability inspires confidence in your customers. Spend time on the smaller details so that your customers trust you. If you have spend time working out a solid brand and detailing exactly what that means in practice for customers, they will in turn become ‘devotees’ of your business.
   

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Are you familiar with the saying ‘rules were meant to be broken’? When dealing with customers, this is particularly pertinent. While procedures are important for protecting your profits and business interests, you should also factor in flexibility.

Recently, one of my children was being taken to his sport lesson by his grandparents. I realised that fees were due that day and knew that this business is quite strict about fees being paid on time (which is a reasonable expectation). But because I was not going to be there to pay, had no cash and didn’t want his grandparents to pay, I called them to ask if I could pay next week. They said ‘no, fees must be paid on the due date’. I explained the situation and that we had been attending the centre for 8 years, but there was no compromise. In the words of the receptionist, ‘if we make an exception for you, we have to make it for everyone’.

But that is where I disagree with her. There are a few reasons when exceptions can be made and rules can be broken, including:

• To reward loyalty
• Where it is clearly a ‘once off’ or emergency situation
• To foster and encourage future business

Rigidly sticking to ‘the rule book’ gives your customers the impression that you don’t care about their interests. There will always be people who will be dishonest or try to ‘work the system’, but the vast majority of your customers, will be grateful when you grant their request for flexibility and won’t take advantage of your generosity. Instead, they will reward you with loyalty and great word of mouth referrals.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender

Have you ever wondered how those really successful people do it? Although there is no formula to follow (if there was we would all be doing it!), there does seem to be some sage advice from those success stories that we can pay heed to:

1. 1. Stay two steps ahead: never be complacent and always look for new opportunities. A common mistake is to wait for obstacles or challenges to arise before you look for other opportunities. If you wait, you will be on the ‘back foot’ rather than leading the way.
   2. Surround yourself with experts: many business people think that they have to be the smartest person in their business and have the most knowledge about every aspect of your business. This is not only impossible, it drains your energy away from the areas where your strengths lie, and leads to burnout.
   3. Be prepared to build relationships: you cannot always expect to hear ‘yes’ the first time you sell an idea to someone. Ensure that you speak to the ‘right’ people (that is, go to the decision maker wherever possible) and work on finding the angle that resonates with them.
   4. Embrace the unknown: as business owners, many of us feel we need to have all the answers before we can move ahead. But who can really predict the future? Make sure you have done your research, bring on board people who can best assist you and then commit to making the best decision you can with the information you have. The best learning and the best results come from ‘leaping out in faith’ and using the gut instinct that you should learn to listen to.

Michelle Grice writes a weekly column for business women in The Western Weekender