Small Business Today Magazine OCT 2015 TEXAS SECURITY SHREDDING | Page 14

EDITORIAL FEATURE

The Assessment of

Your Business is Personal                     
Rita Santamaria

I

t is time to assess your goals that you put in
place the first of the year. We are half way
through the year and if you are not where
you intended to be, ask yourself; why not?
Here are my personal suggestions for moving
your business forward, fast and efficiently.
As part of the process, you might call your
good customers and ask them for any feedback
they can give you to increase your business. Use
this feedback in the second half of the year to
reach the level you expect based on your good
business planning and goals.
Work on your marketing program over the
next 30 days. Your networking may need to expand either on the personal level or on the E-Social Media level. Do an assessment of where
your contacts or referrals are coming from. That
is the area which deserves extra emphasis including old school “thank you notes” to those
loyal persons who are helping you succeed.
Speaking of E-Social media, how does your
website look? It should be easy to navigate and
please make sure there is a phone number as
well as e-mail contact on your home page. In today’s world of technology, being accessible via a
mobile device is mandatory. People will contact
you while traveling and they typically are using
their mobile devices.
Diversification and delegation are ongoing
training platforms which the business owner
must consistently visit. Diversify responsibilities while at the same time cross train each
associate working with you. Examine your own
task list and decide what specific tasks can be
delegated to a trained associate in your office.
Spend time away from your business to do
better “in your business”. Business owners need
time to “sharpen the saw”. The best new ideas

12 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ OCTOBER 2015 ]

for change that can take your business activity
to the next level often happen while away from
the daily must-do on your task list. Go to the
beach, the mountains or your backyard and
spend time alone to get clarity on growth and
development of your company. You didn’t decide to become an entrepreneur by being a slave
to your company.
We, as human beings, are constantly maintaining stability in our lives. We work hard to get
our business to where we feel safe and comfortable. It’s difficult to institute change. The most
difficult challenge is the battle we have within
ourselves to allow change to happen. If your
business model is lacking what you need to
bring your production and services to the next
level, break the current pattern and replace it
with a new pattern.
New patterns to institute change within you
and your business can be time away from the
business to work on yourself and your business
model. Reading new literature of substance relating to your business proves fruitful. Signing
up and taking a course that allows your creative
juices to flow will always improve your business.
The same routines that keep us comfortable,
predictable, where our ideas are safe and where
our skills are sufficient will not produce lives
and a company that are wise and skillful. Take a
company temperature reading and make plans
for change, today. SBT

Rita Santamaria is the owner and CEO of Champions School of Real Estate,
which was founded in 1983 and is a five time Pinnacle Award Winning
School. The Champions School of Business Etiquette division was founded
in 2012 and has grown in a short time to be a leading development venue
for individuals and companies. For more information, visit their websites
at www.ChampionsSchool.com or www.ChampionsBusinessEtiquette.com.