Business Education

3 Effective Ways to Beat Zoom Fatigue

Family businesses generally operate a bit differently than traditional companies. While many aspects are the same or similar, odd situations occur more often in family businesses. And, that’s due to the fact it’s family and not “strangers” that are part of the day-to-day operations. So, common things in regular business arrangements might be quite different than in a family business. For example, employee compensation. Some family businesses neglect to give their employees pay raises because they are members of the family. In other words, it’s not a common practice, because the business is run by a family, instead of unrelated individuals. Of course, the phenomenon of unconventionality is something that can easily be part of a family business, simply because all the individuals involved are related and feel an obligation and duty to the company.

Family Business Fringe Benefits are Fine, but Not Compensation Replacements

Some family businesses provide their employee relatives with certain fringe benefits. These might be things like extra flexibility with schedules. Or, extra time off for vacations with pay. It could even be things like a company credit card and/or a company vehicle.

The job of operating a family-owned company is often grievously complicated by friction arising from rivalries involving a father and his son, brothers, or other family members who hold positions in the business, or at least derive income from it. Unless the principals face up to their feelings of hostility, the business will suffer and may even die. —Harvard Business Review

While such perks are nice, they do not take the place of compensation. But, it isn’t at all uncommon for the family business head to see such fringe benefits as a replacement for compensation. Since their relative employees enjoy perks, they view this as some type of offset to a raise and reasonable pay. This can create very awkward and sometimes even toxic situations to arise. Moreover, if non-relatives are working in the company, who do receive bumps in pay periodically, this can lead to outright resentment.

How to Talk about Pay Raises in a Family Business

Needless to say, it is a very frustrating and even unfair position to be put into by the very business you so loyally serve. Worse still, is that the longer you let it go on, the more normalized it becomes. And that is definitely something you don’t want to happen. Here is some effective advice for approaching the subject about a raise in pay from your family business:

Determine your actual value. This applies to every employee, and not just individuals working for family businesses. You need to know for certain what your worth is, based on real-world comparisons. Unfortunately, too many employees overestimate their value and therefore, ask too much from their employer. So, be sure to do your research in order to determine your actual value in the workplace, base on your skill sets, experience, position, and responsibilities.
Understand the company’s financial position. Before you bring the subject up, be certain that you know the financial circumstances of the business at large. Don’t assume anything, particularly if you’re not regularly involved in the company’s finances. Guessing and vague ideas will only lead to trouble in one form or another. If you do not have a firm understanding of the business’s financial situation, it might make the entire exercise moot. Or, it could also cause you to become envious and greedy.
Be calm, reasonable, polite, but firm. There’s no question that being in such a set of unfair circumstances will cause you to have any number of negative feelings. Remember these are counterproductive to your end goal. You will get much further by being respectful but firm and by engaging in a good-faith negotiation, rather than starting a family feud. If you let your negative emotions get the best of you, it will only lead to a bad outcome in the short term, and perhaps even ruin your relationship over the long term.

What other suggestions do you have for such a peculiar and awkward situation? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your unique perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

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How to Deal with Customers who Monopolize Your Time

November 11, 2021 No Comments

You’ll encounter a number of personalities as a business owner. Most are pleasant but some are downright rude. Others might be quirky, yet fun. Still, others can be flat-out nightmares. Then, there are those clients who demand too much, want to pay too little, and brag about their importance, yet still, have high praise for you. Of course, there are also niche personalities, people who possess less-than-desirable traits, such as individuals who take up way too much of your precious time, completely oblivious to the fact you must also take care of others. Fortunately, there are a few ways to cope with customers who tend to monopolize your time. Time-Wasting Customers Take a Big Toll It’s not just the boring, pointless conversations that are problematic. It’s the fact that you’re having to take time away from true priorities. Obviously, this can be very frustrating and even detrimental to your business. After all, if you can’t attend to matters as needed, it causes you to rush and that leads to mistakes. But, it also has other negative consequences. For instance, draining you mentally and straining your patience thin. Good salespeople understand how to walk a fine line between ignoring a client and spending too much time on him. As a sales professional, you need to learn how to use your time to maximum advantage. If a client or customer is monopolizing your time with no intention of buying anything, the ability to disengage without causing offense is vital. —Houston Chronicle Small Busienss When you experience such feelings, it can easily put you in a bad mood. A foul state of mind could also cause you to unfairly snap at your own team. Or, just ruin a good portion of your day. At the very least, you’ll probably become preoccupied and ruminate on your misfortune, which might lead you to become apathetic for the rest of the afternoon. How to Deal with Customers who Monopolize Your Time The thing is, a good percentage of time-monopolizers aren’t really conscious of their own behavior. (Unless it’s such an annoying trait, other people have made them aware.) Even if he or she knows their tendency, it’s a very difficult behavior to change. Which means it’s largely on you. Here are a few effective strategies for dealing with customers who monopolize your time: Redirect his or her attention. Instead of cutting off the conversation entirely, steer it in another direction. Ask about his or her specific interests in relation to your mutual business and give them a few options to consider. This creates a bit of a diversion and puts the onus on him or her to move the interaction along in a constructive manner rather than meandering from one thing to another. Reschedule and restructure. You can also reschedule a day and time to meet, with certain parameters so it isn’t open-ended. For example, excuse yourself with the caveat you’ll meet again soon. Set a time and also set a structure or an agenda so that he or she knows it’s all about getting things accomplished in a cooperative, timely manner. Get him or her to focus. If you sense he or she is about to go off on a tangent, grab his or her attention with a point or fact that moves the conversation toward a conclusion. This could be about a timeframe, price, quantity, or something else. It should serve as a way to complete the transaction at hand. Regardless of what strategy you choose, or even if you use a combination, always express your appreciation and let them know how valuable they are to your business. Don’t rush and take time to listen to his or her feedback so you don’t accidentally cause an unnecessary rift that could result in unexpected repercussions. What other suggestions would you give entrepreneurs who experience time monopolizers? Please take a moment to share your thoughts; it could be a big help to others when they need it most! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Disney is Purposely Pricing People Out of its Parks – Should Your Business Follow the Same Strategy?

October 28, 2022 No Comments

Disney has a strategy to increase its bottom line and squeeze more revenue out of its most iconic assets – price people out of its theme parks. This definitely seems counterintuitive, but it actually makes a lot of sense when explained. On its face, this sounds ridiculous, except it does seem to have a lot of potential and that’s why the executives are making some very bold moves. Why Disney is Purposely Pricing People Out of its Parks Disney has a serious problem with its parks – they are just too popular and that means they’re overcrowded. Anyone who’s been to its theme parks, particularly over the last several years, has most definitely noticed this. The predicament is most pervasive in Orlando, where ride wait times have gone up to as much as 420 minutes or 7 hours. You read that correctly. Just last week, its newest and most anticipated attraction, Rise of the Resistance, recorded a wait time of seven hours. This, despite the fact the experience opened in December 2019, nearly three years ago. Be mindful of competitors. If they are raising prices, it’s easier for you to do so too. Don’t forget to evaluate how your customers will react (fully accept the increase, stop, or lower purchases) as well as the possibility of maintaining price to generate higher volume (stealing customers from rivals). If the competition holds steady on prices, there is less opportunity for a hike. —Harvard Business Review And, it’s not just the latest and greatest rides and attractions either. Some of its oldest staples routinely experience wait times in excess of an hour, even two or more. What’s more, wait times for sit-down restaurants can easily be two or more hours for anyone without reservations. (By the way, those reservations must be made three to six months in advance.) Just these anecdotal figures should tell you something – the parks have way too many people visiting. In fact, exiting Main Street in the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks show can take up to two hours to get from the park exit to the parking lot on busy days (a twenty-minute trek when crowds are super light). Of course, anyone who looks at these figures would think that Disney would be very happy with its premium capacity. But, as executives have explained on various earning calls, their per capita spending in the parks is somewhat paltry – particularly among annual passholders. Annual passholders are a problem for Disney because they present a conundrum. While they pay a premium for their privileges, they spend relatively little money in the parks. Conversely, families and couples traveling from out of state or from international destinations spend quite a bit of money in the parks on top of the pricey admission. In other words, annual passholders come in through the gate, spend a few hours enjoying rides and attractions, and then leave. Meanwhile, couples and families making dedicated trips plunk down a lot of money on things like hotels, souvenirs, snacks and dining, and Genie Plus (a paid skip-the-line service), as well as special experiences. Should Your Small Business Raise its Prices Too? For the foreseeable future, Disney will continue to raise its prices on everything: admission, food, merchandise, and services and experiences. The company plans to earn more money from fewer visitors. This brings up an interesting question – should your small business follow the same strategy? If you haven’t raised prices in quite some time and/or offer discounted rates to be out pricier competition, it’s probably a good idea to consider. Plus, if your business needs substantially more customers than your competitors to turn the same profit, it’s definitely worth exploring. To answer these questions and more, speak with an experienced business consultant who can assess your situation and help you determine a new pricing strategy. You just may be losing out on revenue that could be going to your bottom line. Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Best Ways to Manage Your Time and Energy

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Building a business isn’t easy and it requires a lot of time and energy to be successful. For the majority of entrepreneurs, challenges are met by putting in long hours and trying to be more productive. However, this leaves little time for family and friends, exercise, and hobbies. While it’s generally accepted as just part of the cost of doing business, eventually, a hectic schedule and overdrive pace will take its toll. This can lead to health issues, deteriorating relationships, and personal dissatisfaction. You might also come to despise your own creation and view it as a curse, rather than a blessing. Best Ways to Manage Your Time and Energy If your business is an energy drain, it will do more damage than just make you tired. It will also cause you to make decisions that aren’t necessary in your best interest or your employees’. You’ll probably begin to rationalize assigning certain responsibilities to different team members, it won’t necessary be for the good of the company, but rather, just to give you a break. That’s not a good practice and will lead to even more poor decisions. The core problem with working longer hours is that time is a finite resource. Energy is a different story. Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings: the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. In each, energy can be systematically expanded and regularly renewed by establishing specific rituals—behaviors that are intentionally practiced and precisely scheduled, with the goal of making them unconscious and automatic as quickly as possible. —Harvard Business Review If you feel tired, unenthusiastic, and generally uninterested, it’s because this very phenomenon is happening to you, and, it’s time to realize its unhealthy impact and do something about it. Your energy, like your time, as the nearby quote states, is finite. Both must be managed in order for you to be productive and content. If you’re not productive and content, then, you’re sabotaging your own company, and doing your employees and customers a disservice. The best way to manage your energy is to manage your time and here are some ways you can improve your time management skills: Create useful lists. One reason people tire is they are hand-wringing over what needs to be done and that often wastes enough time to cause them to rush. When you write down a list, you have a clear, actionable plan. Prioritize your lists and entries to ensure that you have ample time for what’s most important. This might take some time to master, but, eventually, you’ll become more organized and discover how much time was wasted when you didn’t have lists to follow. Minimize company meetings. The not-so-subtle truth about meetings is nothing actually gets done. Okay, so you lay out a course of action, or, come-up with a strategy, but, you don’t execute during meetings — you execute after them. So, keep company meetings to a minimum to increase productivity. Take advantage of waiting times. You wait in traffic, you wait at the doctor’s office, you wait, you wait, you wait here and there. What’s more, you’re fully aware of the fact that waiting means time is being wasted. So, make it productive. These are great times to go over or create to-do lists, write out a grocery list, reply to email, make a phone call, the possibilities go on and on. Stop trying to multitask. There’s a persistent myth that multitasking is a way to get more done in less time. However, when you multitask, you’re asking your body, mind, and senses to do something that isn’t natural. It’s counterproductive and conducive to making mistakes. Instead, focus on one thing at a time to do it right. Delegate responsibilities. Delegating doesn’t have to be a four-letter word. It’s part of being a good leader and giving others the power to unleash their own potential. It’s also a great way to avoid multitasking and get more done. When you accomplish something, be sure to reward yourself. Do so in a healthy, upbeat way and without excess. You’ll find that you enjoy what you do more and be more optimistic about the future. As you transition into 2016, knowing you have a finite amount of time to achieve your goals with the energy you have, what will you do different to better manage your time so that you remain energized, productive and get results? Want to find out about what a business coach can do for you? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]