Service Industry Success

A listener named Jesse asked, "Brian, can you walk us through how your typical coaching conversation with an employee goes?"So here is a step-by-step blueprint for coaching an employee up on just about any behavioral or performance issue.Thanks for submitting your question, Jesse!If you have a question you'd like me to answer, shoot me a DM on my Service Industry Success Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/serviceindustrysuccess

It's that dreaded time of year again. Time to pay the monetary penalty for being successful and hand over some of the money we worked so hard to earn in the form of income taxes.There is one reason to be happy tax season is here though. Sounds crazy, right? But there is one thing we can do which will make our lives dramatically easier, and we can do it most effectively this time of year.What is it? Tune in to find out!

You're reluctant to turn over control or delegate decision making. Probably rightfully so. No doubt you've been disappointed and burned by employees before. But is perpetually working 60-80 hours per week so you can have control really a reasonable plan?If you have a question or topic you'd like me to address or answer, please shoot me a direct message on my Service Industry Success Facebook page.

One of the most common things I see - which is much easier to see from the outside of a business, rather than the inside - is business owners trying to manage and grow their businesses with no defined goals, or by trying to achieve too many goals, or solve too may problems at one time.How can you avoid making those mistakes?Tune in to find out!Grab your copy of the Service Industry Success Path at www.serviceindustrysuccesspath.com

Depending on who you listen to, we are either very much overdue for a major recession, or it is not too far off.Knowing that businesses that adapt more quickly and successfully when major economic or other challenges present themselves are the most likely to successfully get through them, we should all be asking: "Is my business ready for the recession?"Tune in to see what else you should be considering!

Every job has negative aspects to it. When is the best time to tell people who are applying?Don't forget, Brian's new book is out and you can find it at www.sisthebook.com.You can also schedule a call with Brian at www.serviceindustrysuccess.com.

Why won't your team get on board with your goals?Why don't they do what is necessary to reach your goals?Why do you have to keep nagging, begging, or threatening them to comply?Why is this such a common problem among service industry business owners?Tune in to find out!Also, don't forget to go to www.sisthebook.com to get your copy of SERVICE INDUSTRY SUCCESS today!

What are the 3 most important points of view we should consider when making a change, rolling out a new initiative, or improving a process?How can we do our due diligence to avoid unintended negative consequences?Tune it to find out!

What is the one word that you can limit from your vocabulary and gain significantly better results from your team?I guarantee it's not what you think. Removing this one word from my day-to-day use over 20 years ago was one of the first major changes I made in my leadership efforts, and one that I saw immediate improvements from.Tune in to see what it is!

What are protected classes? Why should you care? What should you do in your business to make sure you are being compliant with the laws regarding protected classes?Tune in to find out!

Why do we keep getting the same undesirable or unacceptable results after we have explained things to our team, over and over again?How can we take a major step towards getting our employees to do what we need them to do without begging or threatening them?

As a business owner, you will have many decisions to make that are filled with discomfort and uncertainty. How can you increase your chances of making good choices when you are filled with doubt, unconsciously overconfident, or facing a very unpleasant situation?In addition, you will one day need to teach your leadership team good decision-making skills. How do you teach good decision making?In this short series, we will take a look at how you can make more effective decisions, and how to go about teaching your company leaders how to make good decisions. This is part three of that series.Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode!

As a business owner, you will have many decisions to make that are filled with discomfort and uncertainty. How can you increase your chances of making good choices when you are filled with doubt, unconsciously overconfident, or facing a very unpleasant situation?In addition, you will one day need to teach your leadership team good decision-making skills. How do you teach good decision making?In this short series, we will take a look at how you can make more effective decisions, and how to go about teaching your company leaders how to make good decisions. This is part two of that series.Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode!

As a business owner, you will have many decisions to make that are filled with discomfort and uncertainty. How can you increase your chances of making good choices when you are filled with doubt, unconsciously overconfident, or facing a very unpleasant situation?In addition, you will one day need to teach your leadership team good decision-making skills. How do you teach good decision making?In this short series, we will take a look at how you can make more effective decisions, and how to go about teaching your company leaders how to make good decisions. This is part one of that series.Subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode!

We all have leadership weaknesses based on our personality drivers and natural inclinations, among other factors. Learning what our particular weakness is allows us to develop skills to overcome that weakness. What is yours? And how can you overcome it? Tune in to find out.Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode!

How do you get your highly trained revenue producing employees to understand that the customer experience is how customers judge and rate your company’s performance, rather technical skill, without coming off like you don’t value your employees’ expertise?Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode!

How much of the profits your company generates should be reinvested and how much should be set aside for other investments like real estate?When is the "Right" time to begin investing in outside ventures like real estate?

I was asked "Brian, what's the one thing you would do differently if you could do it all over again?"My answer may surprise you for sure. Tune in to see what it is.Also, submit your questions via DM to facebook.com/serviceindustrysuccess

Not understanding what a bank and banker care about when it is time to consider a loan makes getting your company in a situation where approval is likely much more difficult.What are the criteria for making a decision?How does the approval process work?What are the common misconceptions?What would make a loan unattractive to the bank?We cover all this and more this week!

Not spending the necessary time training your managers and supervisors can be catastrophic. In this episode we talk about why this is so important, and specific topics that should be covered.

The only way to make real progress in your business, and gain skills you haven't yet mastered is by putting in the reps. This is one of those things that is obvious when we sit back and talk about it, but does not feel so obvious in the moment.

Probably the biggest challenge business owners are facing today is staffing and hiring. In this episode, I share exactly how one of my clients recently overcame this problem in about 6 weeks.

Most business owners are intimidated by or feel like they are not equipped to really interpret and use the P&L to the extent they would like.While this feeling is common, it does not have to be so overwhelming. Brian walks listeners through a process of reading the P&L which makes it less intimidating and allows you to focus on what really matters.Tune it to see for yourself!

Most business owners say or think that they wish their employees could or would make decisions or would intuitively know what to do without having to be specifically told.How do we accomplish this?Tune in to find out!

One of the greatest liabilities employers now have is getting sued by employees. And, most service-based business owners are not necessarily fluent in HR law. So, what can we do to protect ourselves?Tune in to find out!

What is the number one thing that slow progress for business owners? It's uncertainty about what they are trying to build or accomplish. How do you overcome that? Answer these 2 questions!

Are the terms process, procedure and checklist interchangeable? Does it really matter in service industries if we don't call them by the proper names?Why does any of this matter? Tune it to find out!

This is the final installment of our seven-part series of the 'Seven Deadly Defects', which are the seven most common reasons a business will fail. In this episode, we take on the one we have probably all witnessed in our careers - poor leadership.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn't much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the sixth of a seven-part series about the 'Seven Deadly Defects' that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn’t much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the fifth of a seven-part series about the ‘Seven Deadly Defects’ that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn’t much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the fourth of a seven-part series about the ‘Seven Deadly Defects’ that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn’t much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the third of a seven-part series about the ‘Seven Deadly Defects’ that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn’t much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the second of a seven-part series about the ‘Seven Deadly Defects’ that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

The number of businesses that fail is staggering. We have all heard the statistics. But, what are we supposed to do with this knowledge? There isn’t much for us to do unless we know why the businesses failed. This is the first of a seven part series about the ‘Seven Deadly Defects’ that put companies out of business, and which we as business owners should work hard to avoid.

Feeling like our business owns us is one of the most frustrating, overwhelming and stifling feelings we will endure as business owners. Because of that, we might as well decide to be in this situation for as short a period as possible.The path out takes us on an uncomfortable journey of facing our fears, and desire for control. But, this is the only path.Tune in to learn how to get through it as quickly as possible!

Creating a Succession Plan is not necessarily the most fun project we will take on. And while creating it, we will have to face some things that we would rather ignore. But, by postponing this, we are risking losing significant money, and valuable time.Tune in to see how to figure out your options!

Why should I bother with creating our core values? Well, having them will save you plenty of time, indecision and second guessing, and will also speed up your ability to delegate. And those are just for starters.Tune in to see what I mean!

How much training is enough? Am I training enough?These are great questions for business owners to be asking. Sometimes the answer is not what you expect.Tune in to find out what I mean!

How much money one earns is not something that is often discussed amongst business owners. Similarly, how much one owes in taxes or how we go about paying those taxes is also not generally topics of conversation. And... One of the darkest places a business owner can find themselves is working out of a messy situation with the IRS. This is something to be avoided and not to be taken lightly.So, what should our strategy be to avoid any tax dilemmas? Tune in to find out!

Upon entering stage 4, we go from feeling like our business owns us, and that we are never going to have any freedom, to all of a sudden, in a very short period of time having more freedom that we have had since we started our business – maybe in our entire lives!But, there is still work to be done at the office. How do we stay engaged?Tune in to find out!

Without a doubt, the number one statement or complaint I hear from business owners is, “I just don’t have enough time”. And it's true. Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day. Other times, though, something else is going on to create the illusion of a time shortage.Tune in to find out what that 'something else' is and how to overcome it!

For many business owners, a lack of understanding financial processes, documents, and strategies can bring out the strongest feelings of frustration and embarrassment. This often leads to not devoting the proper time and energy to the company's financial health - which can be a catastrophic error.This week we dive into one of the most beneficial financial documents - the cash flow forecast. You may learn that this tremendously useful tool is easier than you think to create.Tune in and I'll show you how!

For many areas of business, taking bad advice from people who are not experts, or even reasonably knowledgeable, will not be catastrophic - it will just be expensive.However, some areas have more dire consequences, and a misstep can cause devastating financial ruin, or even time in jail. These are not the areas we want to take advice from people who claim to be experts, without the practical knowledge necessary.What are those areas? Tune in to find out!

One of the thing business owners want is freedom, and to get away from the feeling that their business owns them. One of the things you must do to gain that freedom is delegate leadership to employees. This week we discuss how to identify the future leaders that you will be able to trust in leading your team.

One of the most common things that leads to indecision, self-doubt and wasted time, money and resources is not knowing that the goal for our business is...Quite simply, we don't know or declare what we are trying to build. And, we may not even have clarity on what our role is going to be within the company.Not answering this one question creates a massive amount of additional stress, confusion and waste for many business owners.

In this episode we discuss where to begin when building a thriving company culture, or what to do first if you are having difficulty with recruitment and retention.We also look at a method for getting employees on board with company initiatives and processes.

If we don't first identify, specifically, what's in it for the customer in a macro sense, growing our company can be much more challenging than necessary.In a micro sense, if we don't identify, specifically, what's in it for the customer for individual processes, we don't have the cornerstone for our training and gaining compliance from employees.In either case, without identifying specifically what's in it for the customer, we also lose the foundation for our messaging, marketing and sales processes.

Without knowing why we are doing something, it is much more difficult to stay motivated when challenging times occur - which is going to happen regularly. In this episode we talk about the different kinds of motivation and which ones are the best for compelling grit, resolve and perseverance.

One of the root causes when having difficulty getting employee buy in and compliance, as well as messaging for marketing and sales is the result of using generic and nebulous terms and phrases. Getting specific and being intentional can solve a lot of challenges which typically result from language that is not clear.

The Service Industry Success Path.Many business owners report feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to start, or which priority to take care of first. The Service Industry Success Path provides the clarification to confidently get started on the right area of your business.