5 Things Small Business Owners Need To Know This Week

Five Things To Know This?Week:

1) How to Handle Unhappy Clients

2) Make Meetings Matter

3) Tired of Gmail?

4) New Cash Flow Hub

5) Business Owner Spotlight: Monika Elling-Regan, Founder/CEO of PACE

Happy Tuesday, February 21st!

Today is the 52nd day of 2023. What's been your biggest accomplishment so far this year? What about your biggest obstacle?

On a scale from 1-100, how would you rate the job you are doing and the life you are leading?

I give myself a score of 68, and I'm not happy about it. I have lofty goals this year, and I need to do a better job with time management. I allow too many time robbers to steal from the work I deem as urgent and important.

This weekend, I reviewed my GPS Plan for 2023 and saw where I need to do a better job. The good news is I have 313 days to tweak these time management issues and get the urgent and important work done. I also booked appointments with two of my advisers to review parts of my business where they can help me. So often, they see things that I might miss, and I respect their knowledge and opinions.

My suggestion for you this week is to get out of the "weeds" of your business where you can only see 3-5 feet in front of you, and climb up to the "clouds" where you have a 20k-foot view. This allows you to see (1) where you are now, (2) where you've been, and (3) the options you have going forward. In the clouds is where you write the plans and strategy for your business; In the weeds is where you execute them.

One more thing, don't go to the clouds alone. Instead. bring the people who see things you might miss in your business. Sales, marketing, IT, your attorney, banker, and even partners or customers are good choices. A successful cloud meeting should result in a 360-degree view of your ecosystem.

I hope this helps. Let's go seize today!

Brian

1. How to Handle Unhappy Clients

As hard as we try, it’s essentially impossible to keep all our customers and clients happy all the time. But, as this post on?Co?states, “resolving and learning from [client complaints] benefits your brand. When customers reach out with a problem, you have seconds to listen, understand, and emphasize. A poor experience can compound the issue, but a positive one can build a long-term relationship.”

One way to diffuse the situation is to create a system for dealing with complaints. And the article advises us to view customer complaints as an opportunity.

Learn more?about how to?handle customer complaints.

2. Make Meetings Matter

Whether you’re running a remote or hybrid business, chances are you’re still conducting company meetings over Zoom or other video conferencing apps.?PCMag?says to make online meetings more productive, you need to make them more inclusive and accessible.

Doing so will help any of your employees with a disability, but, as?PCMag?points out, some “disabilities” can be situational. For instance, someone joining from a noisy environment may have a hard time hearing the meeting, so using closed captioning will help them participate.

The article offers 15 tips to help you “create a culture of speaking up.”

Read more?for tips to?improve your online meetings.

3. Tired of Gmail?

Like most people, I have a love/hate relationship with email. We’re dependent on it to keep us connected, send and receive vital messages, and communicate with employees, customers, vendors, etc.

But we also know email delivers spam and other unwanted messages, dangerous cyber threats, and can be difficult to sort and manage. In his?Fast Company?tech column, long-time tech guru Harry McCracken was “forced” to ditch Gmail last summer when he encountered some issues and found another email system he says was “brimming with fresh ideas.” And even though Gmail has fixed the issues he was having, he’s sticking with “Hey.” Of course, he says, “some aspects of email are unfixable.”

Learn more?about a?“fresh” way to email.

4. New Cash Flow Hub

American Express recently announced the launch of American Express Business Blueprint?, a new digital cash flow management hub designed for small businesses, which features cash flow insights, digital financial products, and an easy way to reach and manage your Business Cards.

All U.S. small businesses get free access to Blueprint’s personalized cash flow insights. The company says, “Small businesses may also access applications for select financial products, like a business line of credit, and use the products, if approved, to help them more efficiently manage their cash flow from the Business Blueprint hub.”

You can sign up for free to get access. If you’re an existing American Express business customer, you can use your American Express login to get started.

Learn more?about the?new cash flow hub.

5. Business Owner Spotlight:?Monika Elling-Regan, Founder/CEO of PACE

Monika heads up the the only women-owned and led, WBENC certified, national importer of wine and spirits in the United States. PACE provides Direct to Retail (DTR), national import and sales services in the?U.S. and Canada.

In a largely male-dominated industry, Monika continues to blaze trails for women leaders in the wine and spirits world. Every month, PACE hosts a monthly meeting to provide virtual mentorship and networking for women interested in starting or growing their careers in this industry. For more information on Monika and to connect with her, visit?PACE.