Back in Action

Lots of changes in the ActionCOACH of Wilmington office over the last few weeks so blogging was put on the back burner.  The good news is that most of the changes have been positive and are very exciting.  On a sad note (for me) is that Lynn Hagin & I decided to go in different directions. Lynn was a critical part of the team for the last year and did an incredible job as my business development manager and administrative assistant.  Too be quite honest she was way overqualified for the position and I was truly blessed to have her on my team.  Unfortunately the time came for her to pursue some other projects and spread her wings a bit.  Although I was sad to see her go I am truly grateful for the time and energy that she invested in helping me build the  ActionCOACH practice here and it wouldn't be where it is at today without her.  It won't be the same with out you, Lynn!

On to happier thoughts, BUSINESS IS BOOMING!!!  The ActionCOACH of Wilmington Community Members are growing dramatically and there are tons of successes to celebrate.  Our May revenue has increased an incredible 70% over the trailing 12 month average and we are looking to increase it even more in June.  We made some major strategical changes at the beginning of March and they are starting to pay huge dividends.  These are exciting times and I am looking forward to the changes that are happening in the business.   Although I have been running full speed doing time intensive intake work with my new clients (while being down 1 team member) I have some exciting new things that we will be doing.  Several of the innovations with be featured on the blog so stay tuned.

Make it a great day!!!

Coach Reggie

Wilmington, NC Business Events, Seminars and Networking Calendar

Mark your calendars...for these upcoming events:


May classes at Cape Fear Community College
To Register: http://cfcc.edu/sbc/ or phone: 910-362-7216 – Free WILM classes
5/01 (Fri): Writing Business Plans w/Business Plan Pro, 8:30-4:30 p.m., T-100
5/05 (Tues): MS Publisher Applications for Your Small Business, 2-5 p.m., T-100
5/05 (Tues): Monthly Business Coaching Clinic 5, 6-8 p.m. N-202
5/06 (Wed): Basic Bookkeeping for Your Small Business, 6-9 p.m. Wed L-107
5/12 (Tues): Using Them All Together in Your Small Business, 2-5 p.m., T-100

June Classes at Cape Fear Community College: (Mon and Wed): Save the date for this 'Best Bargain in Town': SBC's first 24 hour class! Instructor, Marie Izzo, Wavecrest Associates.6 to 9 pm, Room L-107. Mondays and Wednesdays in June, at Cape Fear Community College, Small Business Center: 'Basic Financial Management, Accounting and Bookkeeping for Your Small Business'. This class will provide comprehensive training on financial matters small business owners must deal with on a daily basis; how to run your finances more effectively; and she plans for class-member input into some of their discussion topics. Phone or email Marie for information: 910-686-8528 or marieizzo@charter.net

April 30 (Fri): 2nd Annual Today's Woman Conference & Expo at the Coastline Conference & Events Center. This one-day conference and expo features guest speakers from across the state. Up to 35 exhibitors will also be on hand. This event is geared towards professional women and businesses that have women as their targeted clientele.
Kathryn Freeman: 762-2611 ext. 212.

May 1 (Fri): North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, Business after Hours at 5 PM. Carolinas Roofing and the Chamber invite you to an old fashioned pig pickin’ at the “Barn” – picnic area beside the Chamber office. Please RSVP to Doris Sullivan, (910-231-9161), carolinasroofing@atmc.net or call the Chamber office (910-383-0553).

May 5: (Tues): ActionCOACH Reggie Shropshire and CFCC – SBC partner to host Business Coaching Clinic: "5 Simple Ways to Double Your Profits". Free with registration. Free with registration: Email or phone for info: reggieshropshire@actioncoach.com; 910-471-2181. This will be a great opportunity for you to learn…Simple and low cost strategies to get more leads & inquiries, once you get an inquiry, how to turn more into customers, how to get your best customers back more often, strategies to increase the amount every customer spends and how to keep more revenue as profit in your pocket.

May 7 (Thurs): WILMA Nights, 6 to 9 pm at the Coastline Conference and Event Center. Contact WILMA for information: www.wilmaontheweb.com or 910-343-8600, ext 201.

May 11 (Mon): Wilmington Chamber of Commerce: Double Day Open Golf Tournament at Porter's Neck Country Club. Women's tourney in the morning and Mixed tourney in the afternoon. This event is an enjoyable way to assist the chamber in raising funds to support Wilmington Chamber services and programs. Sponsorships are available. Kathryn Freeman: 762-2611 ext. 212.

May 11 (Mon): WAVES 4 K.I.D.S. Annual Ladies Golf Tournament
Help benefit the needs of foster children in Brunswick County and have fun at the same time. Application deadline is May 2. Fee is $55, which includes a buffet lunch. There will be a shotgun start at 8AM.Contact Cheryl Francis at 910-253-8243 or the Chamber office for an application or more information.

May 13 (Wed): Wilmington Professional Group (WPG) meets for networking, food and fun. Hosted by Cosh Caine, Past Present Future Digital, 4601 Peachtree Ave, 910-339-1820. Host: Josh Caine and sponsored by Nick DiNapoli of Basil Cafe.

May 20 (Wed) and 21 (Thurs): ActionCOACH seminar “6 Steps to Build Your Business to Thrive in a Tough Economy”. This ‘free with registration’ workshop is designed for every business and will take you through each step of successful business growth to have a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you. Wednesday evening: 6 pm to 9 pm: http://6stepsmay09pm.eventbrite.com or Thursday morning: 8 am to 11 am: http://6stepsmay09am.eventbrite.com. Call 910-471-2181 for information.

May 21 (Thurs): Wilmington Chamber of Commerce: Business After Hours, 5:30-7:30 pm, Lower Cape Fear Hospice (Phillips LifeCare & Counseling Center)1414 Physicians Drive. Networking event for Chamber members featuring food and beverages.RSVP to 762-2611 ext. 101

Mark Your Calendars:

June 25 (Thurs): Wilmington Chamber of Commerce: Business Expo
More details to come! Contact Kathryn Freeman at 762-2611 ext. 212.

ActionCOACH Business Community meets for GrowthCLUB

Coach Reggie met with GrowthCLUB members last week to create their quarterly business plans. This planning meeting was held at the Beau Revage Golf and Resort. Daneille Coulser and her team at Thyme Savor served a delicious breakfast and lunch!

Daniel Coulser, owner and chef: Thyme Savor Personal Chef and Catering

(910) 262-2962. Exclusive In-House Caterers for Beau Rivage Golf and Resort ,

where they can accomodate up to 350 guests!

Coach Reggie:

"Are you working above or below the line?"

Read what Matthew Sarkela, Mr. Appliance had to say about GrowthCLUB on his 3rd Street Plaza blog post: Thanks Matt!

"Wow! What a great Growth Club planning session on Friday, I’m so glad I made the time to attend. I have gone to more of these sessions than I can remember and every time I do I get much more out of them. We know have a tactical plan for the next 90 days to help us grow our business in a areas like team building, marketing, sales training, time management, and other tasks. Awesome work Reggie, Thanks."

Check out 3rd Street Plaza!, Wilmington, NC's first Social Media Network!

Business Tip of the Week: Learn to Earn!

How keep increase your knowledge to increase your profits! The only place that ‘Earn’ comes before ‘Learn’ is in the dictionary.


Here are some ways ActionCOACH Community members increased their knowledge to increase their profits this past quarter:

Experiences:

• Networking works!
• Persistence – don’t give up when depend on others
• Renegotiate with delinquent clients
• Accountability partner – s/o who pushes you to learn more
• Pushing through the hard stuff

Classes/workshops/websites:

• Reggie’s marketing class: creative advertising
• Web research – UTube as a learning resource
• Specific blogs to your industry
• Action seminars
• Go back to school
• Podcasts
• Blogs for market research – industry competitors
• Solution Focused Selling: Sales Force/sales training – Ron Silver
• Get it Done (pod casts)

Books:

• E-Myth, Michael Gerber
• Milkshake Moment, Steve Little – the difference bet entrepreneurs
• Courage to Lead, Charles Farrell
• Billionaire in Training, by Brad Sugars
• Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, by Seth Godin
• Raving Fan, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (customer service)
• Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy (Procrastination)
• The Art of Being Creative
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• How to Keep Employees Accountable
• Art of Getting Things Done
• Jeffrey Gitomer’s books, materials , newsletters and website
• It Doesn’t Take a Hero, The autobiography of General Norman Schwarzkopf
• The Go Giver by Bob Burg and David Mann
• Duct Tape Marketing podcasts, blog
• Book Yourself Solid, by Michael Port

Make it a great day!

Coach Reggie

Ask the Coach: How Important is a 90 Day plan?

How important is it for my business to develop a quarterly plan for my business?

It’s a challenge to find time to do the push-ups in your business- but everyone will make time and money for what’s important to them! Are you working ‘below or above the line’ in your business? Do you hear excuses? Are you in denial or do you blame others? Or…do you take responsibility, ownership and accountability?

What are the excuses YOU use to avoid working on your 90 Day Plan? How are you working ‘Below the Line’? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking...

• Not enough time


• Too much travel


• Phone not working


• Too tired


• Lack of resources


• Caught in traffic


• ‘That’s not my job’


• Jury duty
  Need new equipment


• Pricing


• Communication


• Assistant out sick


• Server down


• Children


• Not focused enough


• Marketing not productive – not producing correct results


• Constantly taking phone calls


• ‘Gotta check email”


• Life situations to deal with

What a difference it makes when we work above the line, and take Responsibility, Ownership, Accountability!

At last week's GrowthCLUB, ActionCOACH Business Community members shared how they successfully made their 90 Day Plan work for their businesses this past quarter:

• Schedule time better – more efficiently


• Bring in part-time personnel or interns


• Delegate more often


• Schedule weekly team training


• Focus on being a better manager


• Work on the higher priorities – do what you most dislike most first – get the stuff you really don’t want to do out of the way


• Set schedule for certain time of the day for what you need to do (they may be painful and not fun…and may not want to do!)


• Put systems in place, and then stick with it!


• Cutting back extracurricular activities


• Look for an accountability partner


• Follow up with clients instead of waiting for them to call you back


• Test and measure


• Say ‘no’ when it’s in my best interest – follow my priorities, be intentional in my day


• Prioritize my to-do list


• Delegate


• Change email inbox to check manually – rather than the tempting and distracting frequent interruptions


• Decide where ‘saw sharpening’ is most important and take the time to learn it! (Excel, FaceBook, etc)


• More employee team meetings and communications to improve accountability. Ask them questions and see what they come up with.


• Setting daily goals and following through


• Train team in new sales tactics – practice, rehearse, sharpen their saws.

Take a look at your 90 Day Plan to set your monthly and weekly priorities!

Wilmington, NC Business Events, Seminars and Networking Calendar

Mark your calendars...for these upcoming events:

April classes at Cape Fear Community College:
To Register: http://cfcc.edu/sbc/ or phone: 910-362-7216 – Free WILM classes
4/28 (Tues): MS Power Point Applications for Your Small Business, 2-5 p.m, T-100
4/28 (Tues): 100 FREE Disney's Approach to Customer Service, 9-12 p.m. N-112
5/01 (Fri): Writing Business Plans w/Business Plan Pro, 8:30-4:30 p.m., T-100
5/05 (Tues): MS Publisher Applications for Your Small Business, 2-5 p.m., T-100
5/05 (Tues): Monthly Business Coaching Clinic 5, 6-8 p.m. N-202
5/06 (Wed): Basic Bookkeeping for Your Small Business, 6-9 p.m. Wed L-107
5/12 (Tues): Using Them All Together in Your Small Business, 2-5 p.m., T-100

April 25: (Sat) The Brunswick County Springfest: http://nbchamberofcommerce.com/index.htm Live music, good food, children's rides, crafters, and other exhibitors combine to make this event fun for all ages. For more information on exhibiting or performing, please call Jeff Harvell at 443-2154.

April 25: (Sat) Hands On Wilmington (HOW): Time: 8:00a.m.-12:00p.m. (Rain or shine). Annual community service event under the Chamber Foundation's leadership that brings people together to tackle community projects.
Chamber contact: Susie Kelley: 762-2611 ext. 222
Project Leader: Stacy Ankrum
Project: Davis Healthcare and Champions Assisted Living
Telephone: 910-409-3579; Address: 1011 Porters Neck Road, Wilmington, NC 28411
Email: Stacy.ankrum@firstcitizens..com or call: 910-686-7195 Website: www.davishealthcc.com

April 28 (Tues), Small Business Speed Coaching: By Invitation Only (aka - free with registration!!): Wilmington SCORE and American Express OPEN, want to help you build a resilient business! Time: 8 am to 1 pm: This Free (with registration) event will provide education, resources, and inspiration to small businesses by offering: one-to-one coaching, workshops, resources and more. They plan to put business owners on their own fast track to becoming bigger, faster and better! Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/cfghm7

April 30: (Thurs) ActionCOACH and QuickTrainer, Inc. host FREE (with registration) Informational Business Seminar... Increase Customers, Increase Cash Flow & Increase Profits! 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. ActionCOACH: “The 10 Biggest Sales & Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them” and QuickTrainer, Inc: “QuickBooks and Your Business: Tips, Tricks and Business Decisions.” Call for info: (910) 338-0488. On-line registration: http://qtiacaau.eventbrite.com.

April 30: (Thurs) 2nd Annual Today's Woman Conference & Expo
Coastline Conference & Events Center
This one-day conference and expo features guest speakers from across the state. Up to 35 exhibitors will also be on hand. This event is geared towards professional women and businesses that have women as their targeted clientele.
Kathryn Freeman: 762-2611 ext. 212. www.wilmingtonchamber.org

May 1 (Fri): North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, Business after Hours at 5 PM. Carolinas Roofing and the Chamber invite you to an old fashioned pig pickin’ at the “Barn” – picnic area beside the Chamber office. Please RSVP to Doris Sullivan, (910-231-9161), carolinasroofing@atmc.net or call the Chamber office (910-383-0553).

May 5: (Tues) ActionCOACH Reggie Shropshire and CFCC – SBC partner to host Business Coaching Clinic: 5 Simple Ways to Double Your Profits. Free with registration. Email or phone for info: reggieshropshire@actioncoach.com or 910-471-2725.

May 11: (Mon): Wilmington Chamber of Commerce: Double Day Open Golf Tournament at Porter's Neck Country Club. Women's tourney in the morning and Mixed tourney in the afternoon. This event is an enjoyable way to assist the chamber in raising funds to support Chamber services and programs. Sponsorships are available. Kathryn Freeman: 762-2611 ext. 212.

May 21: Wilmington Chamber of Commerce: Business After Hours5:30-7:30 pm, Lower Cape Fear Hospice (Phillips LifeCare & Counseling Center)1414 Physicians Drive. Networking event for Chamber members featuring food and beverages. RSVP to 762-2611 ext. 101

Ask the Coach: How do I brand my business?

Everyone talks of branding their business these days. Branding is what makes you stand out from all your competition in the market. What makes you different or unique? What is it about you or your business or your products that sets you apart from everyone else?



Once you zero in on your uniqueness, you can easily target who your market is. Who in the masses want what you have to offer, at the price you are offering it and from your location? Easy enough, right? Oh, the marketing geniuses think so.



Big corporations spend millions of dollars to survey their markets to establish who is purchasing their products – the demographics (age, male, female, and ethnicity), typical times and locations products are purchased; methods of payment; colors that are most popular; textures; shapes; sizes; smells; and of course the price range - it must fall into to hit the sweet spot for them.



If you could do all that for your business, would you? Some say yes, and others seem not to care. Branding helps a business establish what the owners of the business stand for. What they want to say to their end user/client/customer.



What does your business say about you?

• High Quality


• Low Quality


• Cheap


• Expensive


• Accessible


• Hard to get/find


• Average


• Classy


• Mediocre

Brand your business in 5 easy steps:
If you want to brand your business or yourself, consider these five easy steps to establishing yourself uniquely in the market:

1. Determine what it is that makes you or your business so special that you will not have to compete on price in the market.


2. Make sure every part of your business emulates this message – if it is quality of service or product etc. – maintain it all the way through.


3. Systematize your business so that you deliver to your customers expectations EVERY time.


4. Test and Measure your systems on a regular basis to audit yourself. Have no surprises – know what the expected outcomes are and continuously deliver.


5. Establish a Guarantee – one that you know you can deliver on – every time.

Source: ActionCOACH weekly newsletter, ActionSTEPS, by ActionCOACH, Patsy Foxworthy