The clients I work with come from many backgrounds and professions, but they all have one thing in common:  they’re good at what they do.  The clients I love working with most are the ones who love what they do. They thrill to the sound of the lathe or the purr of the fan that cools the latest-generation microchip in their state-of-the-art server.  They have a keen eye – be it photography, fashion, or interior design.  The smell of motor oil is tantalizing, and the dew on newly mulched flower beds is perfume in itself.  Each rendering, each cake, each pond, each restored Corvette…is a work of art.

My best clients expect the best from their employees and they demand the best from themselves.  They aren’t afraid of a few weeks or months – or even years – of hard work because they know it’s all going to pay off.

My favorite clients have passion, integrity, and vision.  They know what they want to do.  They know where they want to go.  And I help them get there, with a little less blood and sweat, and with fewer tears.  Probably even quicker, and with fewer bunny trails and rabbit holes.

Each and every one of them has a knack.  An inner sense.  An aptitude.  And a passion for their craft.

And so do you.  I think it’s safe to assume that…

If you construct, you do it with precision.

If you improve, you do it with ingenuity.

If you work with people, you care deeply.

If you create, you bring fresh insight.

But maybe something isn’t adding up.

It could be your numbers.  Higher revenue…but lagging profits.  Or did everybody get a raise except you, the boss?  Maybe you have too much money on the street.  Maybe you know you need to raise your rates, but you don’t know how without offending your customer base.  Maybe you just work too many hours.

It could be your employees.  They bicker.  They call in sick.  They make mistakes.  (Lots of mistakes.)  You feel like you’re constantly rehiring for the same position.  You might even feel like you’re doing their work.

It could simply be you’ve lost that sense of joy and excitement.   Remember?  Back when you first went out on your own?  You knew you could do it.  And you worked hard, and you did.  You turned a profit!  Your business even supports the family.  But it just isn’t fun anymore.

You’ve heard that the key to success is working on your business rather than in your business, but what does that mean?  Will you be relegated to the role of bookkeeper or sent out on endless sales calls, never again to thrill to the craft which you labored for years to perfect?

Over two decades of working with small businesses in South Jersey and beyond, we’ve helped folks with these and other problems.  We’ve helped car guys and photographers, financial service professionals and designers, contractors, lawyers, physicians, and even retail.  What did we help them do?  We helped them clear the clutter, regain sanity, and re-establish their claim on their empire.

TASK:TALENT

As you can see, each of the 4 areas is focused on a different task, and each task is dependent on a different talent for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.  The Corner Office navigates a path into the future, while the folks in the DCC sift through the past with the proverbial fine tooth comb.  Here in the present, the workers on the Factory Floor apply themselves to your core revenue-generating product or service, while your Showroom team looks outward to establish connections with your adoring public.  It is imperative to have a proper match of staff talent to company task.

APPROPRIATE SYSTEMS

The second imperative is systems.  In order to be effective, a system must be appropriate:  just buying software (however intuitive) off the shelf won’t cut it.  The systems you need when you are personally manufacturing each widget in your garage and then selling it at the base of your driveway are much different from the systems you need once you’ve assembled a team of builders and leased office space.  This goes for systems related to manufacturing, selling, record-keeping, and decision-making – each of the 4 areas.

DELIVERABLES THAT MATTER

Finally, it is imperative that you have a product or service that matters.  There is no sense building a better mousetrap if everyone already has a cat.  In order to be a success, your prospect needs to need you.  And the deeper your prospect knows they need you, the more likely you are to develop a truly adoring public … and to realize wild, unimaginable success.