I love Seminarland! That’s what I call my business-building workshops and presentations.
My aim is to bring my best, tested tactics, gleaned from working directly with hundreds of business owners. I encourage attendees to think about what they want, and clarify their dreams and goals. Then, I may be able to offer ideas about how to make them a reality. Even better, I love helping them solve their own challenges, and help each other.
Here are some general ideas shared with me recently by students:
On talent recruitment:
• “We’ve decided to provide child care services and/or reimbursement for our team members.
“We’ve found it’s a great recruiting tool.”
• “We offer a mentoring program through our local high school. We ‘adopt’ a few kids to spend time with our team. They ride along with our team. They learn about operations. So far, we’ve found a few great guys who have chosen to come work with us.”
• “We pay for education and tools. We used to offer reimbursement for education, but a lot of young people just didn’t have the upfront cash. We used to take money out of their paychecks for tools, but it ended up being a pain for our bookkeeper. We just made it simple and it has allowed us to hire from a larger pool of recruits.”
On growing profits:
• “My banker told me that he has never known a company to go out of business because they raised their prices. But he had dozens of clients who had gone bust because they wouldn’t.”
• “When we raised our prices, I thought that our customers would squawk. They didn’t. I asked one of them why they used us, when they could hire someone who would charge less. She said, ‘I assumed that because you were more expensive, you must be better.’ How about that!”
On starting a new business:
• “I grew up a farmer. I became a soldier. I created a real estate company. Now, I am starting a contracting business. I have a plan and I am working it. I’m 40 years old. I’m not going to look back at 60 and wish I would have done what I can do right now.”
• “I bought my company from my dad. It wasn’t given to me. I’ve committed to learning how to run a successful business. I’ve spent lots of time with my accountant and bookkeeper figuring out the balance sheet and P&L. I’ve signed up for a financial analysis class. I’ll take every class I can, and read every book, to figure out what I need to do.” (Note: This is from a 28-year-old.)
I love Seminarland because, within the sanctity of the classroom, anything is possible. We get to dream, plan and hope. If we are going to change our lives, we have to change our thoughts. A seminar gives you the time and space and support to lay claim to, or reclaim, your dreams.
Change takes focus and discipline. However, when it comes to changing current behaviors, for a few, it is a lot easier to just not do it. Some people are fired up in the classroom, but they have the enthusiasm punched out of them as they get back to the “real” world.
I know I can’t, but if I could, I would grab those few students by the chin and implore them to take a chance. Your businesses may be your best shot at getting out of debt, creating a retirement, sending your kids to college and living an amazing adventure. It may be worth it to fix the business you have or launch a new one.
Think about it.
Ellen Rohr is an author and business consultant offering profit-building tips, trending business blogs and online workshops at EllenRohr.com. Her books include “Where Did the Money Go?” and “The Bare Bones Weekend Biz Plan.” She can be reached at ellen@ellenrohr.com.
