Posts Tagged ‘managing stress’

As a Christian and a family focused entrepreneur, I believe that faith is a key ingredient in small business success.  In this current economy, the people of God must remember that if you honor God through your business he will direct your path.

Each year, I pick a bible verse as my theme for the New Year.  As I considered which bible verse would guide me in 2010, I thought it would be helpful to share some of my favorites. Use these bible verses in the good and tough times in your small business.

1. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Learn something every day.  If you only lean on your own knowledge in your business, you will not be able to grow.  You must grow yourself to grow your business

2. “Behold, I am doing something new! It’s already happening; don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.”  Isaiah 43:19 (GOD’S WORD® Translation) Sometimes your business will need to move as the market pulls you in a different direction. You might need to reinvent your business, and you should not be afraid. God’s always got your back.

3.”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 (NIV) One of the most important things you can do for your business is to pray every day.

4. “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 (KJV) You can’t just pray for success. Develop a plan and work your plan. If you can do something about your situation, then do it. Stop making excuses, stop procrastinating, and do it!

5. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV) There will be contracts that you really need that you will not win. There will be days when you drop the ball on your customer service, but you can not let that define you or your business. You will get another opportunity and even if you don’t, God is with you always.

6. “As I think in my heart, so am I.” Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) Your thoughts can be your number #1 asset or your biggest liability. When you are alone in your office or back bedroom, your thoughts can easily turn on you. Your ability to stay positive, learn from all experiences and shake off mistakes quickly will be a big asset to you and your business.

7. “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) Making decisions in your small business based on fear is never helpful. For that matter making decisions in anger is not good either. Try hard not to be reactionary with clients, vendors or employees. Use factual information and up-to date financials to make sound business decisions.

8. “But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day.” Habakkuk 2:3 (TLB) You need to understand that God’s time is not your time. There may come a time in your business when you just know you have a contract, one that you really need and things fall through. Those are the times when you need to trust in the Lord the most. When we accept God’s timing, we can learn to live in hope and enjoy our lives while God is working on our problems.

9. “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding;” Proverbs 3:13 (NIV) You need to be a life long learner in order to be successful in business.  You should constantly seek to improve yourself and increase your knowledge about the business of running a business.

10. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) This is my new bible verse for 2010. It came to me watching a college football game. I believe I was only watching the game to see it.

Remember, whether you are religious or not you can always pray about your business.

Special Shout out to Joyce Meyer Ministries for her book The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word which gave me guidance for this post and to Pastor F.L. Anderson who gave me some biblical wisdom for this article. Read his blog http://www.FLAnderson.com.

Do you have a special bible verse that has helped you in your business? Please leave a comment and tell me about it.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady“, is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #Smallbizchat on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months. A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works will be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

For more tips on how to start or grow your small business visit http://succeedasyourowboss.com and subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog.

Does this sound familiar…”How many 16 hour days is this project going to take?” “My client has saboteurs working with me on this project,” “This project started with an unrealistic deadline and has gotten crazier every day since.” If you have said any of these phrases out loud to yourself recently – you are not alone.  Professional service businesses, particularly creative service businesses can really get abused and lose profit margin to rework.

Unanticipated hours spent trying to please a client that is never satisfied can drain you and your business like a vampire.  From the countless unnecessary revisions, to the “I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want that” dance or too many people allowed to influence the look and feel of your project.  Then there’s the real kicker– the client beat you up on price in the first place.  After more than a decade in business, I have seen that devil more than a few times-and now I have strategies to cope.

When it seems like nothing that you do is right, forget about preserving the relationship – save your sanity instead.  With a client who just won’t be satisfied no matter what you do, you need to operate defensively. 

Smallbizlady’s Rules for Managing Difficult Clients

• Never start work without a signed agreement and at least a 50% deposit.
• Don’t accept less than your standard fee without a good reason.
• Reserve the right to adjust the budget if the scope of the project changes.
• Make sure the budget is significant enough to hire a project manager to help you.
• Have a kickoff to meet all the key stakeholders.
• Create a project timeline and then have the client sign off.
• Develop a detailed project plan with assigned task and deliverables.
• Praise stakeholders openly who are helpful.
• State clearly in your contract agreement, and every time you send over a draft how many business days the client will have to review the draft based on the project timeline.
• Insist on a single point of contact.
• 1 edit, 1 revision -That’s it! All additional changes are billable for time and materials hourly.
• Use a signed work order for revisions. Before additional revisions are made, make the client sign a work order to approve any additional charges.
• Over communicate with status reports.
• Document all communication, just in case you need to prove ridiculous directives after the fact.

 If you are a project-based company it may make sense to invest in a project management software/file share program such as GoPlan, Microsoft Sharepoint, or SharedPlan Central. These programs allow you to give restricted access to clients and your project team 24/7.  It will also keep you from having 42 emails back and forth about the same project.

Always make time to fill your pipeline.  Do not fall into the trap of spending all of your time on one extremely demanding clients to the point where you can’t devote yourself to any new opportunities.  Say “no” or “that’s impossible” when necessary.

Take great care of customers, who love your work and acknowledge your dedication and professionalism.  They are rare, but they are the backbone of your long-term business success.

You will not love all of your clients; not everyone is a good customer.  The great thing about being in business for yourself is that you can move on from difficult clients after their nightmare project is over. Never be afraid to cut your losses and move on.

Have you ever dealt with a difficult client? How did you handle the situation? Share your story in the comments.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #smallbizchat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Be Your Own Boss in 12 months or Less; A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in early 2010.

For more helpful tips to start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog. http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com