Constructive Criticism: How to tell when the "haters" have a point.

To start, let's consider "American Idol".  (And while we're considering, please also think of a time when you made a terrible decision.)  The show "American Idol" has identified and produced many highly-talented musical acts.  However, it is almost more popular for its rejects, for those people who were so delusional about their abilities that they gain a short-term measure of infamy for their embarrassing auditions.

There is a running script shared amongst these rejected contestants where they disagree vehemently with the judges and reject their critiques, assuring the camera that they will achieve their dreams regardless of what any critics (frequently mislabelled as "haters" in these diatribes) say.

It is easy for us to find amusement at the expense of these failed performers.  However, how many of us have made equally bad decisions which, mercificully, were not recorded for the benefit of a nationwide audience?  Thinking back to a terrible decision you have made in your own life, were there people in your life who, at the time, advised you against that decision?  Did you listen, or were you dismissive of them as critics?

I'm asking about these things because, lately, I've seen some terrible business advice being shared across social media.  Particularly "inspirational" quotes such as

"Don't let the voice of critics paralyze you.  Believe in yourself.  You can do anything you set your mind to!"

On the surface, that sounds like great advice.  "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," and all that.

However, the problem comes when entrepreneurs cannot accept any criticism, and instead write off unpleasant truths as the sour grapes of "haters".

So, how can you gauge when criticism is constructive and when it is truly just jaded attempts at crushing your dreams?  Ask yourself these questions...

Does this person love me?  Or, do they at least like you or care about you?  There is the possibility that a loved one will be more cautious than optimistic, as they don't want to see you suffer a setback.  Someone who is just a casual friend or acquaintance might be more encouraging, as its more important to them that you like them.

Alternatively, what is the likelihood that this person despises you to the extent that they would actively attempt to prevent your success?  If the person disparaging your plans is an actual avowed enemy, feel free to ignore their criticism (and, perhaps, avoid interacting with them socially at all).

Think back to those hopeless "American Idol" contestants.  The judges don't critique them because they hate them, and many of the contestants families offer them excessive encouragement out of blind (or, in this case, deaf) love.  The judges are able to be objective because of their personal indifference to the individual.

Does this person stand to gain or lose from my failure or success?  If you are discussing a new business venture with someone who would be a direct competitor, they probably are not rooting for your success.

However, if they are a spouse or someone with whom you are financially entwined, it's possible that their criticism is coming from a place of caution.  While they might share in your success, they also stand to lose along with you in the event of failure.

Also beware of "friends" who are willing to build you up but not invest in you.  There are people who will encourage you into risky ventures in the hopes that you will remember them in your success, but who will abandon you should you fail.  While someone is patting you on the back, make sure they aren't also trying to hitch onto your coattails.

 Am I paying this person and, if so, what am I paying them for?  Obviously, as people in the business of providing financial guidance, we believe in the value of business coaching and related fields.

However, we do not see the value in "yes men".

There seem to be two types of people you can hire to help you with your business:  The first type is how we at The Bookkeeper fancy ourselves.  We want to help you succeed, but we don't think you're paying us just to give you "'Atta boys!"  We want to help you set and achieve realistic goals and, if that means saying something you're not happy with, well, that's part of the service we're being paid for.

The second type of business professional (one that seems to be becoming more popular lately) is the professional encourager.  They provide endless affirmation and assurance that, "If you can dream it, you can do it!"

They are paid cheerleaders.

And, as long as you know what you're getting into and that's what you want, that's fine.  By all means, pay someone to tell you what a great job you're doing; it's your money.

But be aware that all of those good vibes do not guarantee your success.  There have been countless business ventures that have failed despite entrepreneurs really believing in them.

Therefore, we hold to a less popular old saying:  "When two people in business always agree, one of them is superfluous."

Disagreement can be healthy.  We live in an imperfect world where not every idea is a good one and not every venture will succeed.  Recognizing that can help you to recognize who is acting as a critic out of "hate", and who is doing it out of love.


How to watch the NCAA tournament when you're supposed to be working.

The NCAA tournament starts this week and, with it, millions of workers desiring a way to watch the daytime games.  Since most businesses frown on calling out sick with March Madness, many employees have gotten creative in devising schemes for watching the first few rounds of the tournament.

Today we're going to examine some of the best and worst ways to watch the games when you're supposed to be working.

Call out sick.  Your boss knows you're not sick.  This almost never works.  The only way to have a shot at this one is to start planning in advance.  A few coughs and sneezes at work the Friday before, come in Monday looking tired and haggard, sucking on cough drops and clutching tissues and, by Tuesday, be acting so miserable that everyone starts suggesting you just go home.  "Tough it out" on Tuesday, come in like a zombie Wednesday morning, and beg off sick to go home at lunch.  Since everyone will have seen that you're "sick" over the course of nearly a week, it will be far more believable when you need to take Thursday and Friday off.

The major downside here is that you are relegated to watching the games at home, lest anyone sees you watching the games with buddies at a sports bar while you're supposed to be recuperating.  (Though should you see your co-workers skipping work to watch basketball, mutual blackmail might be a possibility.)

 Boss

"Team-building" event.  I actually pulled this off once at an old job.  My co-workers and I were all big ACC fans, and we really didn't want to miss any of the games.  The boss was new and not much of a basketball fan.

I convinced the new boss that a tournament viewing party would be a great way to bring everyone together and help hi
m get to know the employees.  The way I convinced him was by getting him to think it was his idea.  Again, this is an option that requires a great deal of prior planning.  However, an office party has the benefit of great food (everyone brings potluck), comfortable accomodations (the nice conference room chairs) and superior viewing (the game streamed to the big projector).

Also, if you pull this off, you will be a hero to your co-workers.

Be the boss.  Yet another one that can't be arranged on short notice (unless you feel like dramatically quitting your job).  However, if you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, congratulations!  You don't need to ask anyone's permission to watch basketball.  Give yourself the afternoon off, and go catch Xavier vs. Ole Miss.  You've earned it.

Write a blog article loosely relating the NCAA tournament to business.  You're not slacking off and watching basketball.  You are doing serious research to help your company socially connect to customers in a real and relevant way through targeted marketing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go "research" whether Notre Dame is still leading Northeastern.


What makes an owner?

If you're reading this, chances are you want to be a business owner, or you already are one.  And, if you're the sort of person who wants to run their own business, it's probably not because you plan on working a daily grind into your 60s.  You probably have a dream for your business, and for your role in it.

Maybe you see yourself hanging out nightly in the VIP section of a nightclub you opened.  Or managing your wealth long-distance, answering emails on a satellite phone while you recline on a tropical beach.  Perhaps your vision of success is your business doing so well that you can yacht away to somewhere without any cell phone reception at all.

Here is the problem we see time and time again...A new business owner spends so much time daydreaming about what their position should be, they don't put in the work to make their dream into a reality.  The result is owners frustrated because, "I didn't start my own business to work myself this hard!", and failing businesses.

So, how does an owner achieve success?  A few things to keep in mind...

You should be your most dedicated employee.  No one has more stake in your business than you.  So why expect anyone else to work harder for your business than you do?  Employees take their cue from the boss.  An owner who puts in their hours and maintains high levels of work ethic and professionalism shows the employees that the business is being taken seriously, and inspires them to follow in that same example.  Unfortunately, many owners adopt a "Do as I say, not as I do" style which lowers employee morale and motivates them to do their job...when the boss is looking.

To assess your success in this area, take a step back, and think of yourself not as "the owner", but as one of your own employees.  Ask yourself these three questions:

  1. Would you hire you?
  2. Would you write you a letter of recommendation?
  3. Would you fire you?

If what you're giving your business would be unacceptable from anyone else you hired, it may be time to reimagine your role as the owner.  And...

Play to your strengths.  You know a business type that makes a killing?  Dental offices.  So why don't I open a dental office?  Because I am not a dentist.  It makes no sense for me to try to start a business about which I have no knowledge, just because I'm hoping it will somehow prevail and make me a lot of money.

Unless you're simply a brilliant, Richard Branson-esque entrepreneur (in which case, Thanks for reading!  Need a bookkeeper?), your business should involve a field in which you are an expert, or at least be something you have a strong passion for.  Also, you should be leveraging that expertise and that passion in the most appropriate area of your business.  (You are your own best employee, remember?)

For example, say you have a business detailing cars.  You are a dynamite car detail-er, and, between word-of-mouth recommendations and repeat customers, business takes off.  So, you hire four more people to detail cars, and you step back to do "owner things", like marketing and money management.

Only problem is, you have crippling social anxiety and couldn't add 2+2 without a calculator.  So, you end up not doing the marketing because you hate it (and, truthfully, aren't that great at it) and you get your finances in a huge tangle.  Meanwhile, customer satisfaction slips because those car detail-ers you hired can't match the level of service you're provided in the past.  And in your rush to get to what you envision is the role of the "owner", you've hired too many additional people, anyway.

So, how should you play it?  First, stop thinking about what an owner is "supposed" to do and just do what you're supposed to do.  Keep detailing cars yourself (take on one or two people you can train) and hire somebody else to do the marketing and the books.  If detailing cars is what you know and what you're good at, why take your best employee (again, you) off of that to do something else?

And, sure, maybe you don't want to detail cars forever.  Maybe you really want to reach that place where you're just relaxing on the yacht.  That's why you have to...

Have patience.  So many businesses fail when they attempt to expand too quickly.  (We recently compared this to buying hotels too soon in Monopoly.)  Likewise, we see a lot of businesses run into trouble when the owner decides they'd rather work like Don Draper than Peggy Olson.  (If you're not familiar with "Mad Men", then just substitute anyone who doesn't work very hard versus anyone who does.)

If there's something your business needs which isn't being done, and you refuse to do it yourself because, "I don't do that; I'm the owner," you're not likely to find long-term success.  You can't just rely on your employees' hard work; you have to contribute your own.


The "First-Date Effect": Are you treating new clients like a long-term relationship, or a one-night stand?

Business partnerships, like any other relationship, can be very exciting in the beginning. You meet someone new, and the two of you click. You're on the same page, you have the same vision...You just get one another. Contracts are signed, meetings are arranged and, for a while, the two of you work happily in sync.

Then, something happens. Maybe they're your financial planner, and they stop answering your emails in a timely manner. Or your IT services provider shows up to your office dressed a bit more casually than you're comfortable with. You ask your marketing representative whether you should re-design your logo or leave it as is and they respond with, "Oh, whatever you think is probably fine."

When you first met, you fell in love with their customer service. But now? The thrill is gone, baby.

You don't like being treated like a sure thing, so you know your customers don't either. Here are some ways you can keep the spark alive with your clients so you know they'll stay loyal to your business.

Stay in communication.

Let's say you go out to dinner on a romantic date. You have a nice time, and think the other person did, too. You call them the next day and leave a voicemail thanking them and asking if they'd like to go out again sometime.

Then you wait. And wait. Three days later, you just get a text reading, "sure sounds good".

You probably wouldn't be too impressed. You definitely would feel like they were not as invested in the relationship as you. It's the same way customers feel if you don't respond to communications from them in a timely and appropriate manner. Some general rules:

1.) Respond via an appropriate medium. In other words, unless specifically indicated in the voicemail, don't respond to a phone call with a text or email. If they consider an issue important enough to warrant a phone call, and you shoot back with a casual text or email, it implies that the problem isn't as important to you as it is to them.

2.) Be timely. Don't leave someone hanging, waiting for your response. Many business etiquette guides advise responding within 24 hours to all communications. Faster is even better. If you are trading emails with a client as the two of you collaborate on a project, don't just log off at 5:00 and drop them until the next afternoon. If you have to attend to other business (even if that "business" is really just "having a personal life"), let them know that you have to run for a bit, and then resume communication with them as soon as you can the next morning.

3.) Be professional. This shouldn't have to be said but, sadly, it still does. No matter how friendly your client is, no matter how much you like each other, your communication still has to be professional. Every email doesn't have to include an attached notarized PDF copy in triplicate, but it does need to be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Taking the time to make sure your communications are professional is a sign of respect for your client.

While we are on the subject of professionalism...

Stay attractive.

One of the cliches of romantic comedies is a couple experiencing tension because of complacency in the relationship. At the beginning of the movie, when they fall in love, they go out to five-star restaurants in formal wear. The second act features them eating take-out on the couch in sweats.

When your customer service starts slipping, it is the metaphorical equivalent of you showing up to the client site, wearing sweat pants and eating pizza. (Also, please don't literally show up wearing sweat pants and eating pizza, either.) If you don't provide the same quality of service you did at the beginning, it makes your customer feel taken-for-granted, and like you misled them with false advertising.

Your business should always strive to grow and improve, and your customer service along with that. If you want to really shock your customers, surprise them by providing exceptional service, even above-and-beyond the high level they've come to expect from you.

Stay interested.

Nothing makes people like you more than when you make them feel attractive. Just like you try to remember your significant other's birthday or favorite dessert, your clients will be flattered if you can remember the intimate details of their business. You do not want your client to have to remind you of items discussed at prior meetings, or current issues being faced. No matter the size of the company or how much income they bring you, you want each client to feel like they are at the forefront of your mind.

There are small things you can do to make your client feel significant. This could be something as small as tweeting them a relevant news article, or as large as arranging a referral meeting to help them earn new business. By going above-and-beyond the minimum which is required of you, you can help ensure a lasting client relationship to profit you both for the long-term.


Nice Guys Finish First

Anyone who knows us here at The Bookkeeper knows that we’re a pretty friendly bunch. That extends to all aspects of our lives, most notably in the way we do business. We do not care for the cynical “nice-guys-finish-last” mentality, which opines that success requires selfishness and back-stabbing. We firmly believe that kindness and goodness take you farther in business and in life.

Not buying it? Check out our tips on how to make niceness work for you.

1.) Be nice when you network.

networkYou may have also heard this phrased before as, “Don’t be interesting; be interested.” People remember the people who make them feel important, much more than the people who are just trying to look important. Imagine that you’re out at a networking event and you meet two people in identical fields.

Person A bounces around the room like a ping pong ball, making his introduction (really more of a pitch) so fast he doesn’t hear your name when you respond. He’s already moved on to his next scripted paragraph, explaining why his company is the best and how you need him for your business. He shoves a business card in your hand and tells you he’ll see you at coffee next Tuesday morning. (Did you agree to an appointment? At this point you’re so overwhelmed you’re not even sure.) Before you can open your mouth to say that Tuesday isn’t a great day for you, he’s spotted another mark over your shoulder and is striding off.

You may meet Person B later in the night. He has the same profession as Person A, but never mind that; he really wants to hear about what you do. And he actually listens when you tell him about your business. In fact, he knows someone in a complementary field who could be a really good referral partner for you; would you mind if he introduced you two? At no point does he try to sell you on his business. If you express interest in enlisting his services, he’d certainly love to follow up with you, but he lets you make the first move. Overall, he seems like he is genuinely just there to help.

So, who would you rather do business with? The nice guy, right? And if you want to work with nice guys, then everyone else probably does, too. So be the nice guy.

2.) Be nice even without the potential of reward.

meetingYou really can’t fake niceness. People can smell insincerity a mile away and we’ve all known that “friend” who only seems to come around and be helpful when they want something. True kindness is a way of life.

Here’s a real-life example (and, I won’t name names, because he’d be embarrassed if he knew I wrote this about him): I know someone who is an expert with a certain type of software. (We can call him C.) A friend-of-a-friend he’d been introduced to a week or so earlier contacted him one day about a glitch he was experiencing with the program. This man wasn’t a client, nor even a close friend; just someone he’d met once. But he spent a good part of the day emailing with the guy and trying to find out the source of the problem. They found a solution, the problem got fixed, and C forgot all about it.

A month later, the man he’d helped shows up at a networking meeting. With no prompting, he spoke up and gave C a huge kudos, and encouraged anyone who was looking for those type of services to go to C. He even said, “This is the man you want to do business with.”

He didn’t have to do that. C never said, “Sure, I’ll help solve your problem, but you’d better get me some business out of it.” He did it just to be nice. And would do it again, even if the favor hadn’t been repaid.

Because, when you’re nice, you…

3.) Do it for you.

wonderful-life2Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once stated, “You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” This can be especially true for those of us who go into business for ourselves. Entrepreneurs and small business owners can get a bad rap, as being either bloodthirsty financial sharks or paranoid penny-pinchers. But cynics aren’t the ones who start new businesses. Optimists and dreamers are the ones who launch new ventures and, while everyone would enjoy making a lot of money and becoming very rich, it’s rarely the main goal. People go into business for themselves to do what they love, to create something new and exciting, and for the freedom of being their own boss.

To look at it in (literally) black-and-white, take perennial Christmas favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. You can take the role of one of two* important characters in that story: nice guy and town hero George Bailey, or the miserly Mr. Potter. Only one of them is happy at the end of the movie.

* Okay, three important characters if you count Clarence. But we’re just saying you should be a nice guy; no one is asking you to be an angel.