When I changed my business name to Simply Business Coaching a few months ago, it was because I felt everything had become so unnecessarily complicated and also I wanted people to better understand what I do!
As I was explaining to my dad the other day, I thought I was being so clever when I came up with FrontLine Results as a company name 5 years ago. To me, it represented the brave business owners and sales people who were in direct contact with customers (in the frontline - geddit?). Unfortunately not many other people ‘got it’. Perhaps I should have twigged after the umpteenth phone call inviting me to advertise on an armed forces calendar.... but I soldiered on (pun intended) and made the best of a badly chosen name, until earlier this year when I decided to go back to being self employed. There were other reasons behind my decision, which I covered in an earlier post.
So, now it’s about keeping things simple - like a business name that actually gives a clue to what I do. No more trying to be clever - I don’t think anyone was even remotely impressed.
To me, keeping business simple also means breaking complex processes down into fewer steps that are easy to understand, straightforward to put into action and quick to see results from.
Here’s what I mean by keeping processes simple:
Getting Clear on what kind of business I’m really in. This includes asking searching questions about what I most want to achieve with my business.
Having a Strategy written down. Knowing what to do and when, so that marketing and sales systems easily and consistently attract new prospects and convert them into paying clients.
Sorting out any ‘Mindset’ Issues. Finding out what motivates me,what could be getting in the way of success, and how to overcome the terrible twins of Procrastination and Perfectionism.
Managing my Time. Organising what I need to do each day so that I can work on the most important activities - those that will bring in business and make money!
Growing the Business. This means being able to taking a step back occasionally from the day to day busyness so I can identify and plan my move to the next stage.
I can already see that some of these processes will take longer to work through than others, so they may need breaking down into even smaller steps - but that’s OK with me.
And if I can find a simpler way to do this for my business, I’ll be able to share it with you too. Nothing fancy, no magic tricks and definitely no more clever names!
What does keeping business simple mean to you?
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