red barn consulting

Can you envision your future?

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One of the first things I do with a new client is ask them what the next 5-10 years looks like for them – in other words, what do they want their life to be?

Most people can’t answer that question or if they do it’s very vague.  Most say they just want to be successful, or be a millionaire.  That doesn’t cut it for me – I want specifics.

When you are crystal clear on what you want, creating the path to get there is far easier to follow and keep yourself accountable.

Here’s how to get started:

  1. Create a vision board, vision book, or write a story about what your ideal life looks like. Include everything you want.  The idea is to get you to a point where you can taste, hear, touch, and feel exactly how your life will look like.
  2. Get a planner or a notebook – you will now be living your life in 90-day increments. Create your first 90 plan – what goals do you want to accomplish by the end of those 90 days – all have to be related to achieving your ideal life.
  3. Create a list of things you will need to DO in order to reach said goals in #2. Be very specific.  If you want to be debt free what are the specific things you will need to do to get there?
  4. Break it down into daily activities – what do you need to do each day to cross the things you created in #3 off your list?
  5. Hold yourself accountable by telling someone else your plan.
  6. Do weekly recaps – where are you, where did you lag, where are you ok? If you are crossing everything off your list without a struggle or a little discomfort it’s probably too easy.  Beef it up a bit. 🙂  If you are struggling to cross anything off – reassess the list.  Are you just not doing the work or were you unrealistic on what you had on there?
  7. At the 70 day mark start thinking about the next 90 days.
  8. Rinse and repeat.

In order to achieve what most people will tell you is unachievable you need to be able to envision your success and start living “As If” you are already there.

Be a dreamer. Adopt the “Yes I can, and Yes I will” mindset.  Write it down.  Take Action.

Can you envision your future? Read More »

Stop asking “what do you do?” – ask this instead…

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It seems like every time you meet someone new at a networking event, social gathering, or via an acquaintance the first question people ask, besides the standard “how are you”, is “what do you do?” For some reason I’ve always hated this question. I think it started back when I worked for a manufacturing company because it was always so hard to give a 30 second summary of what I actually did. Sure, my official title was Customer Service Rep., but it really didn’t tell people what I did. Of course, I dealt with customer orders, complaints, and questions, but I also worked on inventory, handled the shipping paperwork, sent invoices, and even helped in various other departments when needed.

It wasn’t just about trying to explain my job, I also had to explain what the company did, which could get technical, but we won’t get into that. But all that aside, what does my job really have to do with me. My job doesn’t define me, I didn’t grow up saying I wanted to be a CSR. Even now with a job title of President, it still doesn’t help you get to know me any better does it?

So, after years of answering and even asking the question “So, what do you do?”, I’ve decided that the phrase is now dead to me. I’ve deleted it from my vocabulary. If you really want to get to know people, start asking them “Who are you, what are you passionate about?”. Here’s why. What you do is such a small part of who you are. Let’s pretend you just asked me “So Jenn, what do you do?” my standard response is “Well Joe, I’m the President of Red Barn Consulting, a sales, marketing, operations, and biz coaching and consulting company. I pretty much handle all the day to day operations and make sure everything gets done.” That’s pretty boring right. You really didn’t learn anything about me – other it’s my responsibility to make sure shit gets done.

Now, let’s pretend you asked me my new go to question about who I am and what I’m passionate about. Here’s how I would respond. “ Hi Joe, thanks for asking! I’m a wife, pet mom to 3 cats and 2 crazy German Shepard puppies, and an avid animal lover. I work for Red Barn Consulting, a sales, marketing, operations, and biz coaching consulting company, and I love what I do because I get to learn new things, work from home so I can spend time with my zoo, and I handle all the operations of the company – I make sure nothing falls through the cracks. I’m also very interested in Real Estate, own a 3 family investment property, plan to get my license eventually, and I LOVE to travel – especially to anywhere in the Caribbean. I have a passion for baking, I’m a neat freak, but I also love spending time outside getting dirty, at the gym, or relaxing in my pool. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies and I’m a Harry Potter dork.”

Which question gave you more insight in to who I really am and what I love to do? Where you able to find anything that we have in common? Asking better questions leads to better conversation and truly tells you about who the person is. I don’t care if you are a CEO, janitor, or mid-level manager. I want to know why we should be connecting. What do we have in common. When it comes to networking, it’s not all business – it is personal and that’s how you make those connections. I want to learn about people, what makes them tick, what do they love to do.

Next time you attend a party, networking event, etc. give my new method a try. And make sure you let me know how it goes. Let’s try to start a new trend!

Stop asking “what do you do?” – ask this instead… Read More »

Linda Rey of Aurora Consulting

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\"\"Linda Rey, Founder and CEO of Aurora Consulting talks about launching her own marketing consulting firm and how she is changing the way insurance agency owners think about their marketing & their brand.  PS – she turned around her family agency and increased revenue by over 600%.  yes 600%!

 

 

 

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authenticity

Marketing 101 – Why Authenticity wins the game every time

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Whether you are offering a service or selling a product, at the end of the day your buyers don’t want to be “marketed to”, they don’t want to be told what they should buy.  What they want is an emotional relationship that makes them feel good about the decisions they are making.

If you want to create brand evangelists versus just transactional “buyers” the one thing you need to rock is…

AUTHENTICITY

How does one be “Authentic” in a world of crazy chaos and “fake news” – how can you show your prospective customers the real you?  And yes, you do need to show them the real you – the real authentic you.

Here are my rules of engagement.

  1. Your personal brand is NOT different than your professional brand. I am not a “formal conservative person”, therefore my company website is fun and loud, my bio is very conversational on my website – and I am an open book on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Love me or hate me – I am who I am.  I attract clients who match my vibe, who understand me and well…. like me!
  2. Educate. Educate. Give your customers something that means something to them.  Give them what they want, not what you think they need.  Well, most of the time.  80% of your content should be what your customers will want to read, something they will find value in.  In many cases, your customers may not know they have a problem until you enlighten them – that’s when the 20% comes in. That’s when you identify the pain and show your solution.  Once you show that you understand them, and you have given them something of value over and over again – they will consider buying from you.
  3. Talk to them!  The best content is conversational.  Use email campaigns to “talk” with your prospects and customers, use video, chatbots.  And yes, even have IRL (in real life) conversations with them.  Remember – this isn’t about selling, it’s about showing the real you, and connecting with them on an emotional level.
  4. Know what you and your Brand stand for. So many people shy away from taking a social stand – I don’t – at all. If someone doesn’t agree with the fact that I’m a liberal that’s ok.  I’m not for everyone.  What do you stand for?  What does your brand stand for?  WHY are you in business – and why does it matter to your clients and prospects?  Being transparent is critical.  Be raw, be open and share personal stories.
  5. The Sword is mighty. If you or your brand makes a mistake – and it’s tossed out on social media, address it publicly.  Apologize and make it right.  Be respectful.  You will be amazed how you can turn an angry prospect or client into a brand evangelist.  Validate their pain – because it is REAL.  Take it offline to work out the details.  This holds true for any unhappy customer – remember this is focused on emotions.  Put yourself in their shoes – how would you feel?  More importantly, how would you like to be treated?  Yes, the Golden rule applies here.

I, like many business owners, was afraid to show my true colors until I said screw it, tossed the marketing 101 old school shit in the garbage and just went for it.  The result was magical.  I no longer work with clients that I don’t like, that don’t appreciate me, and that don’t – well, mesh with my brand.  I also have a sense of freedom around my brand.  The funny thing is, I’m raw, I’m open, I tend to swear just a little bit in my copy and so many of my loyal tribe are what you would deem conservative – in that they have c-level jobs in conservative industries.

One day we won’t have to say – Don’t judge a book by its cover – because the cover will be who the people really are.  Times are changing in corporate America and I LOVE IT.

If you want to see more of the real me – sign up for my Thursday morning missives – they are 100% raw, authentic and transparent Cindy.  They come out weekly – on Thursdays at 6 am.  To be honest – it’s my journal that I share with the world.  No secrets.  Just me.

Cindy

PS – one of the #1 ways I get new clients is from that Thursday email – and I rarely talk about Marketing, Sales or Biz Ops.  Go figure!

Marketing 101 – Why Authenticity wins the game every time Read More »

Sophia Reynolds of Sophie\’s Bookkeeping

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\"\"Sophia Reynolds, MBA Founder and CEO of Sophie’s Bookkeeping took the leap from corporate job to launching her own company.  She shares with us the good, the bad and the crazy!  Her energy is infectious, her drive is amazing and we just love her here at the Red Barn!  Sit back and enjoy her story from launch to tripling her income in 6 months!  #RockStar

 

 

 

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Sophia Reynolds of Sophie\’s Bookkeeping

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\"\"Sophia Reynolds, MBA Founder and CEO of Sophie’s Bookkeeping took the leap from corporate job to launching her own company.  She shares with us the good, the bad and the crazy!  Her energy is infectious, her drive is amazing and we just love her here at the Red Barn!  Sit back and enjoy her story from launch to tripling her income in 6 months!  #RockStar

 

 

 

Sophia Reynolds of Sophie\’s Bookkeeping Read More »

giving

The Power of a Giving Mindset

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\”The reason I\’ve been able to be so financially successful is my focus has never, ever for one minute been money”, Oprah Winfrey – Harpo

So many business owners I know, or wanna-be business owners for that matter, focus on the almighty dollar.  How to make it, how to spend it, and they feel once they have “it” they will be successful.  This “need” for money engrosses them and in the end, it will never be enough to make them happy.   #toughlove

Not that making money is a bad thing, it isn’t, and every business owner needs to be acutely aware of his/her finances both in the business and personally.   Money also allows us to feed our needs and wants, and hopefully give back in some way.  Making money isn’t evil, nor is being wealthy.

The evil happens when, as a business owner, you put money before people or money before the vision.

The road to wealth is riddled with ups and downs – the money is never guaranteed but the pain along the way surely is!  When you focus on the money and forget your WHY – the emotional pain becomes crippling.  But this is another blog all in itself – back to the money over people part…

The way to grow a successful business is to GIVE.

  • Give to your potential clients – free content, free samples, free advice, free time… something that will let them know THEY matter and that YOU get THEM on a deep emotional level.
  • Give to your team. This is leadership 101 – but as the owner, the bucks stops with you.  When things are great – give your team ALL the credit.  When things are going badly – you 100% of the time take the sword. Always. Always. Always.  Putting your employees first matters in so many ways.  Employees who feel valued will always go above an beyond for you and your business, but more importantly for your customers.
  • Give of yourself. Most entrepreneurs I know have deep industry knowledge on something.  For me, I’m a business coach, a strategist with deep fingers in the marketing world.  I’m a storyteller, a writer, a trainer, and speaker.   Those are my superpowers.  What brings me joy is helping others do what I do – help them build a business, help them become a business coach or a consultant.  I try to give back when I can.  I’m always up for lunch so someone can pick my brain – I’ll tell them straight up my opinion on what they need to do to reach their full potential.

When you adopt a giving mindset, the world shifts.  Sure this sounds new-agey, but it isn’t.  It goes back to the golden rule of treating others how you would like to be treated.  You need to GIVE in order to GET.

Let go of the focus on money, and focus on helping others.  Help others achieve what you have.  Help your employees, help potential clients, help your current clients – help people in your community.

Trust me – when you do this – the money will come.  It always does.  Interview any multi-millionaire and they will probably tell you this:

  1. They don’t focus on the money
  2. They have grit and determination
  3. They have patience – Rome wasn’t built in a day
  4. They let go of their ego and realized that they need to surround themselves with people who are smarter than they are and can fill the gaps.
  5. They focus on their strengths and outsource the rest.
  6. They practice mindfulness and gratitude – that includes a mindset of giving and giving anonymously

Give to Get.  The Secret to Success.

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Changing Career Gears

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Thanks for following our blog, we have a special treat for you today, a guest blogger. Bill Cox is a local Realtor and a recent graduate of our Business Success Framework course. Enjoy Bill\’s blog and POV on how to handle changing careers after 32 years of teaching!

Fifteen or so years ago, while still in the role as a public school teacher, I remember reading about life in the private sector.  Subsequently, I spent hours in conversation with those actually living the life outside of the school walls – how was their career experience different than mine?

The point-of-departure for that difference seemed to be the fact that they would have two, three, or more careers during their working lives, whereas I knew (at the time) that I would be a teacher for 32 wonderful years, and then simply retire.  Life was fairly status quo as a teacher, sure we got the new stream of eager students each year, the biggest changes for those of us at the school would be which grade we taught in a particular year; perhaps which district school we would be assigned to; and often, which zany, empty-suit principal would be making the speeches.  You can tell I loved the kids far more than the establishment, but that is another story.  I’m an old rock and roller.  A trombonist who back in the day donned long hair and (gasp) wore bell bottoms.  I was probably the student my then empty-suited principal would shake his head at.

So eventually, retirement came.  I had the proverbial party and all was grand until it wasn’t.  I was bored. After seven years of retirement it dawned on me that I needed a challenge, I needed to exercise my brain again.  Here’s what I knew: I loved to work and learn new things.  I loved meeting people,  I love helping people through change, and I love helping by supplying creative solutions to whatever the problem is.

I wasn’t really sure how to use my previous experience – how to find the “right” thing to get me energized. Remember, I had the same career for 30+ years and no, I did not have a resume!  I really needed to get over being at-all tentative and look for some like-minded types.

Who was like me?  Who loved all those things I loved?  He or she needed to be outgoing, imaginative, and absolutely fearless about the unknown.  Flexible and motivated!

I found the master, he was a guy who lived right in town who I knew just to say hello – the indomitable, high-spirited Ted Murphy who was really the ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Jimmy Stewart character by reputation.  Unlike the movie character George Bailey who ran the local ‘building and loan’, Ted Murphy was a real estate broker of significant renown.  He and I went to lunch where I confessed I didn’t know much about real estate, and even less about private sector business.  He laughed and told me that what mattered was how I viewed people in general and if I was a good guy. And if I had a sense of humor, of course. I liked him even more at this point, I’m a good guy – he’s a good guy.  Sounded like I hit the jackpot!

His final words of wisdom after that faithful lunch and the words that sealed the deal on my post retirement venture are these:  “You’ll learn, but learn it in the context of staying positive, helpful, and wanting a challenge. “  In other words, it isn’t about the money, it isn’t about the sale, it isn’t about how many awards you get it’s about helping people, staying positive and last but surely not least just have some grit and determination.  Ok – I was in.  From that point on, everything got better and better, and if I was concerned about being bored in retirement or becoming somewhat dull or predictable,  – that was never going to happen in this new environment.

So after a couple of years being in this office, all I can say is that the rapport; the dialogue; the zaniness; the jokes (OMG); and just the SPIRIT of it all makes all the situation comedies on television dull by comparison.

About Bill Cox

Bill Cox has been a resident of the Litchfield community since 1987.  He graduated from Scarsdale High School in New York and holds degrees from Columbia University, the University of Bridgeport, and from Western Connecticut State University.  Bill retired from a 30-year teaching career in Westchester County in 2010 and is currently a Realtor for EJ Murphy Realty.  Bill and his wife, Trudy, live on Avalon Lane in Bantam where they raised their two children.

Changing Career Gears Read More »

How to take time off from your small business during the holidays!

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Depending on the type of business that you run, your business can either be super crazy during the holidays, think retail, or it could experience a bit of a lull. Many service providers, especially small businesses, often see a drop in business during the holidays. But just your potential buyers have checked out and gone on autopilot and decided not to decide until after the New Year doesn’t mean you put your marketing on hold for the last 2 weeks of the year.  Even if your business and customer engagement levels slow to a crawl this time of year it doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. And don’t worry – you can still enjoy some time with your family during the holidays too!

Reach out to top prospects before they check out for the season. Before the calendar rolls over to January, many businesses evaluate current contracts and services that they are using. Make sure you check in with your top prospects to stay front of mind, BUT you need to also make sure your current clients are happy and will continue to stay loyal to you. A little extra love during the holidays won’t hurt and may increase your sales.

Embrace the season of giving. Make sure that your clients know that you appreciate them. Sending them a holiday card or even a small gift will remind them that you care and take their business serious. At Red Barn, we bake cookies for our clients and we share the wealth with any top prospects that we are looking to woo as well. 😊

Optimize your email. Whether you plan to take a few days off or a few weeks, making sure your customers don’t feel neglected or ignored should be top of mind. Create an out of office message that lets people know when they can expect to hear from you, additional ways to reach you if it’s urgent, and when you may be checking emails while away. You should also list any special products or services with links to more information to help increase sales while you are away. You can also link to an FAQ page on your website that may be helpful to some common questions that you may receive. Be proactive!

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule. Just because you are going to be spending time away from your business, it doesn’t mean that all marketing and content comes to a halt. Create a bunch of content in advance and pre-schedule those weekly emails and blogs, and daily social media posts. Of course, you’ll need to check emails to see if you get any responses, and monitor social media for any messages and comments, but it takes a lot of the burden off when you automate and schedule in advance!

Don’t allow the demands of running your business overwhelm you to the point where you don’t know if you can take any time off for the holiday break. Everyone needs some down time and the holidays can be both stressful for your business and personal life. There’s no reason to miss out on a sale or lose customers just because you want to recharge and enjoy some family time – just set yourself up for success before you unplug!

How to take time off from your small business during the holidays! Read More »

The Askers: Non-Profit Etiquette with Small Biz Owners

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I was chatting with a friend and client the other day about what one of her biggest struggles and/or pet peeves is when it comes to running a solo-operation retail store.  Emphatically she said “The Askers”. I replied – “The Askers?”  She shook her head, and proceeded to tell me she gets inundated with donation requests from every Tom, Dick and Hannah out there.  It drives her nuts.  Ok….I get it, I think?  We continued….

I know this woman well, she is a giver, a lover and not a fighter – but I saw flames in those eyes.  Wow!  After calming her a bit – we continued on.  I had my marketing hat on, so I’m thinking to myself “She understands the importance of brand expansion and for consumer goods, it’s all about the touch, the feel the experience – so shouldn’t she want to share her love a bit.  Get her name out there?  And help someone at the same time.  I didn’t say anything – remember, flames in her eyes.

But then I got it…she is being taken advantage of and that is NEVER a good thing.  (Sigh)

So many of us sit on non-profit boards or have children/grandchildren who are constantly having an event to raise money.  All noble, all worthy – but there are rules of engagement when it comes to being an ASKER.

Don’t be this person (as told by my client)

\”I had someone walk into my studio as many do asking for a donation for their silent auction, raffle, blablabla to raise funds for their \”thing\”. None of these people have ever met me, never asked about my work, never partook in any conversation other than to ask if I can give them something. While I would like to be a generous soul, I am increasingly put off by this and others who simply think I\’ll just poop out a piece of art at whim because they don\’t think I am worth being paid for it.”

OUCH!  I felt her pain immediately.  It was an aha moment for me.  I get asked to sponsor every event known to man in my area – so on some level I get it, but I’m surely not hit up as much as a retail shop with a store front.  Double Ouch.

After much pondering with my now much calmer friend – we developed the rules of engagement.  So here goes…

  1. Never ask a business owner for a donation unless you shop there.
  2. Never assume a small business owner NEEDS to spread the love of their brand and therefor you are doing THEM a favor by asking them for a donation.
  3. YOU Spread the love – don’t ask your favorite store each and every time you need something. Your ASKING will get old, quite quickly.
  4. Make sure you give them LOTS of credit at your event – not just a name in a book. Woop it up, announce it, give them love.
  5. If you WIN something at an event and like the product – go to the store and tell them, buy something more. That’s what it’s all about.

Quid Pro Quo.

So that’s my friend’s story I promised to tell. Be nice to retailers – they need to make a buck too!  And by all means, if you support them and spend your money there, SURE ask them for a donation every once in a while.

Happy shopping!

CD

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