Think Big and Start with the Why

by | Nov 7, 2016 | Strategy

My Goal: Travel the World to Experience Different Cultures

It’s difficult to get anything done without planning in advance. You can say “I’m gonna lose 10 lbs” or “I’m going to take a month off to travel” but you most likely won’t get there without taking a step back, thinking about how to accomplish it, and making a realistic plan. The same rules exist in business.

The first step: Start with the why. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to travel? To achieve your goals, you must be really clear about what’s motivating you. You’re going to need to find the willpower and the drive to continuously push yourself toward your goal. So you’ll need to always remember why. Ask yourself why until you identify the true reason deep down that is motivating you. Maybe you want to lose weight so that you are ultimately a healthier person. Fitting into those jeans from college may be a strong motivator, but feeling good emotionally because you are more physically fit may be closer to why you really want to lose weight. Constantly remind yourself of that “why.”  Simon Sinek gave a great TED Talk about the importance of “why” that you can watch for inspiration.

Once you understand why, don’t be afraid to think big. Eventually, you’ll break your goals down into smaller, more digestible pieces — objectives that will be realistic for your specific life and business needs. But from the start, you should aim high and think big. Don’t sell yourself short! Remain true to yourself and true to your passions. If you set yourself out to achieve a sweeping goal that only so-so aligns with your interests, it going to be that much harder to push yourself to achieve that goal. So find a goal that motivates you and gives you something to work towards.

The best part of all of this: If you start with the why and really think big, then your business goals will naturally align with your personal passions and you’ll be one step closer to creating a mission-driven business. Empower yourself with a mission. It’s much easier to come to work if you’re accomplishing more than a bottom line. And if you’re the one setting the goals, then you’re able to be your own boss. Which is a great goal, isn’t it?

Catapult Productivity With Core Values

Catapult Productivity With Core Values

by | Oct 25, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing, Policy, Thought Leaders

Who doesn’t love Wegman’s?

The fresh produce. The large beautifully designed aisles. Carefully chosen offerings that are sustainable, healthy and delicious. Each decision that goes into making Wegman’s such an inviting space to load up on crunchy apples and aged cheddar is guided by the institution’s core values. Which means everyone from the CEO to the person stocking the prepared foods knows exactly the environment that Wegman’s strives to create – and more importantly doesn’t waste time with choices that run counter to those values.

What are core values, exactly?

Well, first a definition: Core values are attributes shared by key stakeholders in the organization. They embody the brand identity, are used in the tone of the value proposition, and describe standards held by the organization. Most simply, core values are adjectives or common phrases that describe the personality traits of the people involved with the organization – from staff to investors to the clientele. You with me?

How can core values increase productivity and efficiency?

Core values increase productivity by aligning personalities and standards in a work place. This increases efficiency by focusing attention on work that will be most productive or eliminating the work that is not.

It’s simple and you’re probably already doing it. Let’s say you’re hiring. In the interview process, you’re most likely going to look for someone who complements your existing team. If you acknowledge what traits your staff share that make them work together so effectively and look for those traits in a new hire, you know you’ll build a stronger team.

You’re already doing this, right? Keep going.

So take it a step or two further by keeping those traits identifiable to all stakeholders. Likewise, not taking on a client or vendor who doesn’t share your core values helps you avoid situations that won’t be a good fit.

For example, one of the core values at R&R Creative is creativity. If someone approaches us with a project where there’s absolutely no room to propose new or innovative solutions then chances are we won’t be happy doing the project. Unhappy teammates make for an unhappy work environment which could result in our product suffering. The beauty here is that clearly stating our core values increases efficiency because they enable us to say no, and focus on what will end up being more productive in the long run.

What’s next?

Now, if you don’t know your core values or those of your organization I suggest you find out. If their answer is: what core values? Then maybe it’s time to make the case. Lucky you, R&R Creative knows just where to start. We can show you how to feature those values throughout your organization and marketing strategy to make sure you are attracting the right vendors, customers and team members, which means winning half the battle right from the start.

Find Freedom in Your Budget

by | Oct 21, 2016 | Strategy

Get Some Budgeting Clarity

Budgeting is a dreaded task. But it shouldn’t be. Budgeting should be a freeing task that clarifies where your organization will spend money and ways to generate revenue. So then why do so many people dread it?

Budgeting is scary because it involves money. We all like money, right? So why’s that scary? It’s the connotation about financial success that puts pressure on us.

Our materialistic culture has raised financial status to be a measure of success. So naturally we’ve begun to think that our success is directly linked to the amount of money we have.  And sometimes, we can be just as scared of being successful as we are of failing.  Success raises the bar of standards to maintain. If we’re consistently maintaining the status quo and failing at budgeting, then we haven’t let anyone down.

Plus, for many start-ups, small businesses, and nonprofits, cash flow is a consistent challenge. We are constantly bombarded with having to prioritize which vendors or bills we pay first, or thinking about how long we can wait until the next big payment to clear. This creates decision fatigue and a sense that financial management is stressful. If we’re consistently stressed about financial decisions, it becomes a chore and something we dread.

So how can we change these two reasons we dread budgeting, and budget effectively? Here are three simple tricks to increasing your ability to manage a budget.

  • Start with what’s in hand. Too often, we fall into a Goldilocks situation when it comes to budgeting. We either budget for an ideal to give us a goal to work towards (or we pad the budget in expectation of cutbacks). Or we budget too conservatively to set us up for success… or a worse case scenario. Having a contingency budget is a great idea. Be sure to have a practical budget first.  A trick: view your finances as enough. You have enough. You have what it takes to do what you want or need. If we stop wishing for more, or thinking we need more, we will manage what we have better. Sounds cheeky, I know, but it works. If you look at the money in hand, or the income your are confident about generating, and start a budget with that, you’ll suddenly be less stressed about revenue goals. Then, you can use money above and beyond to do more. Build out the “what if” plans, for if you were to spend more, not how you can be more conservative or get by with less.
  • Build out contingencies.  What if that contract falls through? What if this event gets cancelled? Worrying about money is stressful. But what if you didn’t worry about what ifs? Have contingency plans. And I’m not just talking about the worse-case-scenario planning. While you should have a baseline budget and an exit strategy, you should not always be planning for the worst. On the contrary, plan for how to grow. Have a vision. Draft an action plan for your current needs, and build contingencies for what you’d like to do when you grow.
  • Create a system that works for you. Quickbooks too complicated for your day-to-day budgeting needs? Skip worrying about debits and credits and put together an Excel Spreadsheet.  Always on the go? Use Google Sheets or another cloud-based software. Visual learner? Use a visual template. Go with pencil and paper. Do what works for you. That way you will actually use it.

Personally, I love Excel. I build out program areas or specific project budgets in separate sheets. This allows me to edit smaller details without messing up formulas or assumptions on larger department budgets. Then I take the the column with all of the totals and aggregate them on a simplified sheet.

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