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Mar 23
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Practice What You Preach And Become Your Own Best Client

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

When dissecting this proverb, “the cobbler’s children have no shoes”, it can be understood as a phrase that describes a person who doesn’t benefit from the products or services of their own profession and as far back as this saying goes, it remains clear how relevant it is in business today.

In my experience with coaching, I’ve come to find that the lack of internal use of services or products that a business provides is a common occurrence within plenty of industries, whether it’s a law firm, advertising agency, or media company – implementing their own solutions seems to be out of the equation.

I don’t quite agree with that logic, as every company should be their own number one client and make practical use of the services (and products) that they provide.

Salaries Are Paid, So Provide The Service To Yourself

 Indeed, it does take time, resources and plenty of effort to provide a great solution to different clients. And as a business owner, you make sure to put your best effort in when giving people the greatest possible value that you have to offer.

But, the same logic should be applied when looking at your company; clients will come and go, leaving the most consistent and important client being your own organisation.

For some strange reason, too many entrepreneurs feel as if they should outsource or pay for external involvement to solve some of the problems that they are perfectly capable of handling within their own company.

I find it quite a common occurrence in ad agencies, where they often look past their own employees to advertise and market their business by looking elsewhere – wasting energy and resources on other people to do the job. The very same thing happens in particular law firms, where legal issues are handled externally, instead of looking at their own highly qualified and capable staff to get certain jobs done.In doing the research and going through a number of case studies, I’ve come to find that some of the most successful companies that exist make use of their own services internally and take this approach quite seriously; often spending up to 20% of their total budget around providing homegrown solutions to themselves.

This becomes even easier (and obvious) to do when staff are already being paid salaries to provide these solutions for other clients.

When you boil it down, it’s simply a case of practicing what you preach. You should put your own services into practice and utilise them to advance your business, while avoiding unnecessary spending.

It becomes a bit counterproductive to spend time and money hunting down external sources to do things that your company is already highly capable of doing on its own. Every business owner should be aware of this when seeking out solutions for their organisation.

You’re technically paying for the service already, so make your own company a client and treat that client with love, respect and attention.

 

More Benefits To Becoming Your Own Best Customer

 Making efficient use of the solutions that you provide within your own business is obviously very useful and will be of great benefit, so it goes without saying that running with the idea of being your own client or customer can bring about even more promising results.

Taking the time to act as a client for your own company will give you more insight into the way that it operates.

You go from actively seeking clients to becoming one – looking at your business from a different perspective. And by using your own products or services, it will help you pick up on issues, flaws and points that could be worked on to build a better brand identity.

This brings awareness around processes or interactions that could be made better for your customers, improving delivery in different departments and discovering areas where money, time and resources can be saved.

Becoming your own customer or client allows for more involvement and understanding, which will aid you in developing a much better solution.

Give it a try, be more involved, practice what you preach and make a far greater impact.

As a business coach, I’m constantly practicing what I preach and have to ensure that it’s my duty to deliver an impactful, remarkable and informative solution to my clients.

It isn’t easy running a business, it isn’t easy being alone at the top, it isn’t easy figuring out the right direction to take when the going gets tough, but it is easy to connect with a coach that has the ambition, drive and desire to make a difference in your life.

I am that coach and I am eager to take the journey with you in becoming the best version of yourself, so that your business will flourish.

Make life easier by contacting me whenever you’re ready:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

Mar 16
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The 7 Year-Cycle. Re-invent, Recreate, Re-incarnate

By Business Coaching Coaching Entrepreneur No Comments

Do you remember the old Etch-A-Sketch, or am I just a boomer? For those of you that don’t, it was a pretty amazing toy back in the good old days (look at that, I am a boomer), being made up of a book-sized board and filled with an aluminium powder that you could create sketches on.

By using two knobs, each controlling horizontal and vertical movements to lay out your masterpiece, you were open to a realm of possibilities (if you could actually figure out how to use the thing properly) and by shaking it, the image would clear away – leaving you with a blank screen, ready to start the next new idea.This piece is not about that killer toy, but rather about going through the process of design and creation; only to clear it up and start again with something fresh, new and exciting.

Reincarnate Yourself While You’re Still Alive 

Around 2012, I wrote one of my first blog posts about a pretty dark and confusing time in my life. After seventeen years as a business owner, I threw in the towel and walked away from the years of torment, tears and trepidation that I was facing and made the difficult decision of starting over.

By trying numerous activities and finding solace in distractions, I was taught the valuable lesson of reinvention and coming to terms with who I am and what it is that I want from this world.

I was able to find purpose, a new-found passion for people, life and business; I was able to find myself.

This clarity and direction dawned on me in a profound way, proving that taking a break is often necessary in rewiring and refreshing the repetitive and monotonous nature that life can sometimes dish out at you. In taking the time to trade in years of hard work and sacrifice for a few justifiable moments of simplicity and stupidity – you’ll come to find how rewarding a trade-off like that can actually be.

And this isn’t a new or foreign concept, as there’s a term for people who do this on an ongoing basis – generally university lecturers and a few other fields of work will recommend taking time-off for yourself after every seven years of hard grind; the sabbatical.

After seven years of driving down hard on your work, taking a sabbatical is one of the best things you can do for yourself. I can’t tell you that it won’t be filled with a bout of initial boredom, anxiety and hints of insanity, as a vacation for a full 12 months can certainly be a major shift in gear, especially after forming routines, rituals and a certain rhythm; but it is extremely rewarding to your mind, soul and body.

In taking this time off, you’re going through a sort of pseudo-metempsychosis (or reincarnation) of yourself – allowing a new creature to form within you that is filled with creativity, passion and the reignition of the dimming flame that had you driving yourself to those great heights for so long.

Tabula Rasa – The Clearing Of One’s Slate 

In a wonderful Ted Talk by world-renowned graphic designer, Stefan Sagmeister, there’s a huge amount of emphasis put on taking up to one entire year off after every 7-year run in order to give yourself that much-needed rejuvenation of the mind.

He talks about all of the beautiful insight, vision and invigoration that comes with taking such a necessary break from the constant and relentless effort that goes into working for many years on projects, deadlines and business growth.

The theory of tabula rasa says that we’re born with a clean slate and clear mind, without any innate abilities and that our environment etches our ideas, concepts, notions and abilities onto that slate. There are plenty of arguments against it, as language or talents can be argued to be innate, but if we take the concept and apply it to ourselves after every seven years; we are capable of doing some incredible things.

Similar to the Etch-A-Sketch, once you’ve spent a period of time constructing, creating and working hard to make a beautiful picture; shake it up, clear away all of that effort and see a new, bold and profound ambition come into play.

Adopt and embrace a clean slate, refresh yourself, clean up your act and either take a whole new direction in life, or go back to what you’ve been doing for so many years with a radical, new perspective and love for what you do.

Business owners and entrepreneurs who have been in the game for a long period of time can benefit greatly from doing this, as they can come back with a whole new vision and direction to take their business; perhaps creating a brand-new enterprise with the pent-up child-like wonder that they’ve been struck with.

I’ve taken a huge leap to get where I am today and if it wasn’t for me walking away and taking a much-needed break from the same cycle for so long, I might have ended up bitter and resentful – taking my frustrations out on the people around me.

Learning to embrace and engage in sudden change like that has rewarded me on a whole new level. I’ve become my own brand, adored by my clients and able to make the difference in people’s lives that I have always wanted to make. I’m happier than I have ever been.

Try it for yourself. Shed your skin and come out a better, bigger and stronger creature with a healthy, new appetite for the world and conquer it with a forked tongue. Especially if you’re like me and have put so many years of dedication, time and effort into working your ass off only to find yourself coming to a point of suffering.As a business coach, who’s been through hell and come back stronger than ever, I invite you to take my service into consideration and let me help you decide whether or not this is the perfect time to take a much-needed vacation.

I just need to check-in with the wife, but I’ll be glad to join you on your sabbatical:

Riding out into the sunset on over 1000cc of pure adrenaline, while the wind runs through my not-so-long and luscious locks of hair (a bald head equals more speed, BTW. Less resistance, or whatever).

Contact me, I’m cool with calls, emails, a face-to-face, or even a slow motorcycle race (boomer alert):

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

 

Mar 09
Love0

The 8-Layered Approach To Business Strategy

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Strategy No Comments

In unpacking the most suitable strategy methods for my clients, I make sure to have them thoroughly understand this approach and how to apply it to their thinking in order to achieve some kind of business objective in the next 12 months.

This strategic approach is split into 8 layers that provide insight and analysis into the goals and measurements required to get some solid work done within a particular window period.

Let’s take a strong, hard look at how exactly it works and in what ways it will help your business shine.

 

The Situation, The Victory Conditions And The Goals

 

When looking at this multi-layered approach, there are first a list of questions that need to be asked and key information that needs some sort of identification.

Taking a look at the very top of the approach, you’re welcomed by the need to identify the current situation you’re facing in your business:

This is done by taking a look at some important factors like understanding your risk analysis using all of the right tools; where you sit financially from a cash-flow and liability perspective; understanding what the market looks like in terms of risks and trends; ensuring that you have the right product set for the market at this particular time and where you are in terms of producing your product; and finally, what the current state of your suppliers and staff look like.

Begin with confronting and truly understanding the current situation you’re in and answer all of those particular factors that apply.

The next piece to look at is your shareholder’s victory conditions:

Identify and think clearly about what the shareholder wants to achieve long-term (around 3-5, or 5-7 years); then mid-term (the next 12 months); and begin to unpack what winning and success looks like from a shareholder’s perspective in the next year of engaging in this strategy. When identifying what’s needed at this stage, you look at what winning looks like and by a set deadline, ensuring that you have all the necessary goals that need to be achieved at a particular time.

The third fundamental piece of information that you need to provide before moving on would be the actual business goals:

In finding the best way to go about this, make sure to break it down into a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal); what would be the single measurement to confirm that you’ve won or succeeded in the next 12 months? Would it be winning a certain account, getting x amount of people or clients, achieving x amount of turnover – it needs to be something that’s measurable.

Take it further and find your SMART goals (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Time-based) and then set those objectives based on each business vertical, such as sales, marketing, operations, HR, finance, the product and the rest of the departments in your business.

After identifying your situation, victory conditions and goals – you can now decide what the initiatives are that you need in order to achieve these objectives.

 

Initiatives, Thrusts And Impact vs Effort

Based on the situation that you’ve analysed, the victory conditions that you’ve identified and the goals that have been set; it’s time to decide on the key strategic initiatives that will be run over the course of a year.

This takes your 12-month goal or objective and has them broken down into four key strategic initiatives that become a quarterly break-down of the year (3 months per initiative). Each of those quarterly initiatives can be divided further into thrusts for each quarter, which refer to the particular things that need to happen in each quarter to get closer to achieving the final year-end goal.

If you manage to complete all four initiatives, you’ll complete your goals.

It’s important to list what you’ll be doing in each thrust (usually 2-3 thrusts per initiative) and achieve them to move on to your next 3-month initiative. However, this can become a little bit difficult to manage all of these things, while running the business on a day-to-day basis.

So, I suggest putting those thrusts into an impact vs effort quadrant, where you can determine whether each thrust is either: low effort and high-impact; low effort and low-impact; low-impact and high effort; or high-impact and high effort.

You’re looking to find the low effort, but high-impact work and pay attention to that, leaving the high effort, but low-impact work to do last.

We want results that we get the most amount of impact from, while doing minimal effort. This has you focus on that first, then on high-impact, but high-effort work; thirdly low-impact, but low effort; and lastly, work that is high effort, but low-impact.

It becomes easier when you can decide which of those thrusts are more important to work on now and which ones can be focused on or left for later in the year.

 

Tactics, Resources, Sprints, Then Control and Measure

Once you’ve established and categorised the thrusts into appropriate positions and which of them will take priority, you can shift your focus toward deciding which tactics, resources and weekly measurements are needed to get those thrusts done.

There may be a need for particulars to get the jobs done, like: people, money, tools and applications, time allocation, smarter marketing – paying attention to the tactics necessary for completing the thrusts in the most effective way.

After identifying those required tactics and particulars, I suggest breaking it down into weekly sprints; figuring out what you’re going to be doing every week (sometimes bi-weekly) to try and push the business forward to achieve the thrust. Then at the end of each quarter, to re-evaluate those initiatives and take another look at those thrusts.

And last, but not least, as you’ll find in every strategy is the control measurement phase:

Identifying when you start doing these weekly sprints, how well the implementation of these actions are working and what other actions need to be taken to achieve the desired results. Paying attention to the what, how, who and when; how do you know it’s actually working?

You don’t want to get ahead three months, look back and say, “that was a waste”. So, it is important to step away from it on a monthly basis and look carefully at what’s been done over the past four weeks and ask yourself if you’re closer to achieving the thrusts and whether or not you need to speed things up, slow things down, realign, or just cancel.

Like with every strategy, you can (and should) always adapt, accordingly.

There you have it!

An 8-layered approach to a solid strategy that will have you achieving your goals like Christiano Ronaldo.

Speaking of goals: you should include me in one of them. Get yourself a powerful and kick-ass business coach that will take your business all the way to the top.

We can hang-out sometime, have a chat, a meeting, a sit-down and discuss where you see your business going in the next couple of years.

It’s so easy to reach me (almost too easy):

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

Mar 09
Love0

A Great Recipe for a Gripping Consultant Coach

By Business Coaching Consulting Entrepreneur No Comments

Just in case you were curious, wondering what it takes to be an ideal business coach or  consultant, what the difference is between those and a mentor and where exactly I fit into the equation, worry not.

For I am here to unpack it for you.

While they all have a very similar ring to them, there are differing definitions for these occupations. Each one is different in a few ways and it’s important to be able to distinguish them from one another, just so that you make the right choice when picking one to bring out the best in your business.

 

So, how do all of these differ from one another?

Let’s start with a mentor: even though it’s someone you know and respect, who offers you both guidance and advice, they tend to come unstructured – with no goals or timelines that are set, remaining unaccountable to their processes and guidance. They also tend to be subjective in their approach, giving you opinions on how, or why certain things should be done.

This is not what I do.

So then, am I a coach? Coaching tends to have a more structured approach – with set periods of time, there are goals made that should be adhered to and accomplished. A coach is also paid for their time, so there’s more pressure and accountability that comes with the package. While remaining objective, they are non-advisory in their nature, tending to stay away from giving advice, but rather have a clear mission to understand where you are so that they can help motivate you and find solutions – keeping you on a path to achieving your dreams and finding success.

Although I touch on some of these points – this is not what I do.

Ah! So I must be a consultant?

Not exactly.

While a consultant also has more accountability and helps in defining their client’s objectives, they often work together with the client to achieve their goals and to bring better results by being part of the process and producing actual work. With a project-based approach, there will be clear timelines and deadlines that need to be adhered to, while they are also very advisory in nature and have a lot more to say when giving direction.

 

“Spillly. WTF?!  What do you do then?”

 

I’d consider myself a hybrid. I sit somewhere in-between coaching and consulting – helping you define your growth objectives and assisting you in achieving them with strategic thinking, planning, advice and an outcome in mind of how to get there. I am objective towards your targets and goals, respecting the objectives that you’ve set to accomplish and will push you toward learning and attaining more to get to your desired outcome.

The role I play in my clients’ lives is that of a silent-theoretical partner – one who is always a call or text away. I act as a catalyst to the success of your business, helping make the right decisions, while inspiring, motivating and educating along the way.

 

Intelligence + Emotional Aptitude 

A person’s IQ (Intelligence Quotient) has been used for many years as a predictor of success and a way to determine how intellectually capable a person is in any given environment. Affecting everything from school and job performance, to income and health, IQ was seen as the ultimate test of character.

Until, EQ came along.

Emotional Intelligence has gained massive popularity in recent years by giving spotlight to empathy and its effects on leadership. It is the ability to connect with people on a higher level, sharing personal experiences and understanding which results in better leadership skills, mental health and job performance.

What if you were to combine these two powerful social commodities?

With my coaching-style built on a rigid foundation of both intelligence and emotion, I’m able to bring the right ingredients to a wide variety of scenarios. With IQ, the ability to logically piece together all the observations over the years gives me the foresight to pick up on risks, behaviours and immediate benefits within your business.

While EQ lends itself to my years of understanding and working with hundreds of staff (as well as clients’ staff) and identifying what makes my clients and the people around them heard and understood. I take a clear-cut route to finding and fostering connections with people.

 

Strategic AND Practical

Not only will there be a need for a healthy combination of EQ and IQ, but there are elements of strategy and practicality needed to make for a well-rounded approach.

In being strategic, there should always be a plan of action that encapsulates the needs, desires and end-goal of my client. Through careful, thorough analysis, I will provide the tools and steps to implement and execute a plan that will bring about the best results.

Being practical means that it’s always better to have a certain level of involvement in the process. Being able to add value and effort where needed, so that results are proven and not just from a theoretical standpoint. Putting in actual creative effort – not only providing ideas.

If there was a coordinate plane to help you visualise where exactly I sit on the axis of both EQ and IQ; Strategy and Practicality; I’m slap-bang in the middle. Blending all of those aspects best I can to complement you and your business.

Fresh Ingredients Go A Long Way

The longer I spend as a family man, a coach and a business owner, the more I learn and grow those commodities. By finding the right fertilizers and giving just the right amount of nourishment, my lessons and advice become ripe for the plucking. Giving my clients only the freshest ingredients to savour all that I have to offer.

A successful business consultant/coach not only has the intuition and ability to use all of the right information at the right time, but also knows all the right measurements needed for their secret recipe.

The desire for your success is of great importance to me. It is my duty to understand your goals and challenge you to achieve more, all within your boundaries and levels of discomfort.

As a business consultant and coach I act as a propellant in helping you achieve success, clarity in your dreams and goals, healthy business growth, financial stability and a sense of joy in what you do.

 

I am a coach that cares;

That listens;

That understands and seeks to find understanding.

So, go ahead. Squeeze the best out of what I have to offer.

Let’s get together for a fruitful discussion and an enticing cup of something strong.

You know where to find me: 083 253 3999 or brent@spillly.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 14
Love0

Pushing Through Sir Galton’s Wall

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

Think about this scenario for a second: there are two people, each with an exact set of circumstances in a closed environment; both the same race, age, gender, living in the same city, with the same education and the same opportunities decide to start the same business and provide the same service, but in a period of 2-3 years only one of them does incredibly well and the other fails dismally.

Even though every person is unique and capable of doing similar things, the greatest and best business owners have an inherent drive that differentiates them from others.

At the end of the day, it’s all about who the person is that determines their success.

A Wall Of Limitation 

Around the late 1800s, Sir Francis Galton proposed in his book Hereditary Genius that individuals could progressively improve until they hit a wall of limitation, regardless of education or determination to keep pushing beyond it.

He recognised that people were limited to a certain level of skill, abilities or talent and that once coming into contact with that wall, there was no surpassing it; however, most people never quite get to that wall, instead coming to a place called the “OK Plateau”.

It’s something that I’ve noticed in coaching my different clients and there’s a lot of solid and interesting theories to back it up.

Psychologists in the 1960s discovered three unique stages that we all go through in our journey to learning a new skill or ability and that there is a stage that everybody inevitably reaches called the “OK Plateau”, where we get comfortable and stuck in the process of mastering that particular skill or ability.

This is a prominent feature in all of us and in particular, business owners.

Similar to the process of learning how to drive a car, we start off with complete and total awareness and heightened cognitive function in the way that we process and learn how to make efficient use of the new skill we’re attempting to master, while progressively getting worse at the skill with time after a certain level of understanding and control is attained.

In these three stages that psychologists have discovered, we reach a stage of relaxation and autonomy in the way that we manage a skill, leaving the final steps of mastery or expert-level status to slowly fade from our sights.

The Three Stages Of Skill Acquisition

By taking a look at these three stages, we can see exactly how we move from the unknown to the known, to doing great until a certain point and then to doing a shit job, thereafter.

The first stage, known as “the cognitive stage”, is where we begin learning with great amounts of effort and ability, using strategies and tactics to navigate the new skill in the most effective way, while keeping a high level of awareness on rectifying mistakes that we make while processing this new information.

Similar to the learning phase in driving a car, where we’re alert, aware and constantly engaged in how to best apply this skill, so that we can take the necessary steps to mastery.

Move forward to the second stage, the “associative stage”, where we make errors and mistakes, rectify them and develop better ways to use the skill efficiently and effectively. We start becoming far more adept at the skill and it starts becoming easier to handle.

Again, with the car analogy, we’re going through repetitive sequences and begin forming a sense of comfort in the way that we drive, while not needing as much attention to be paid as it becomes a bit easier for us.

In the third stage, “the autonomous stage”, we’ve come to our most comfortable level in making use of the skill that we’re learning; basically taking the step from ‘learning’ to ‘learned’. In this stage, we act through muscle memory and begin to develop habits that have us finding shortcuts and loopholes in the way we operate the skill. This is where it becomes dangerous for us.

As with driving, when we reach that stage of autonomy, we tend to feel supremely comfortable in making use of the skill, that we recognise when to change gears through sound, we engage in multitasking by listening to music, making and taking phone calls, use one hand and are capable of conversation during this important task.

It’s at this point that we reach the “OK Plateau”, becoming autopilot in our control of the skill and feeling a massive sense of comfort in how we make use of that skill.

This becomes dangerous for business owners and entrepreneurs in particular, as they become relaxed and lose the original sense of focus that they had in the early stages of starting their business. Once money is flowing, the workload is easier to manage and control and learning becomes a thing of the past; the growth and potential of the business becomes stunted.

Everything becomes easier, so you take your foot off the gas and decide to coast, rather than keep pushing towards the wall of limitation; to the point of true potential that you possess.

Don’t Stop At Mediocrity

During this crucial stage, it’s so important to keep away from the mediocrity that comes with being highly-autonomous and in a perpetual mode of being in autopilot mode.

The psychology shows that it’s possible and highly rewarding to push past that plateau and strive towards even higher levels of success. Once you’ve learned how to drive, it doesn’t quite end there, as professional or expert-level driving is a skill that can also be added to that existing repertoire.

 

In the same way, business owners should take themselves above and beyond to the next level and become experts in their field, instead of resting and relying on a state of comfort.

By refreshing yourself, you can push through the limitations that you’ve made for yourself and create an environment of exponential growth and dominance in more than one field, expanding yourself to better and even more promising rewards.

Many entrepreneurs in that stage can often begin developing a nasty bias, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, where they believe they are the absolute best at what they do, absent of the skills and talents necessary to actually launch themselves past the stratosphere. It’s absolutely crucial to become aware of the limiting self-belief that you actually load on yourself and begin the process of learning and education all over again.

Don’t stop at a point that you think is ultimate success, as it’s more than likely that you haven’t even reached that wall of limitations, just yet.

Your journey just begins when you find autonomy, ease and comfort in the skill you’ve developed. That’s when you take on the next chapter, the next level and enter new arenas to conquer.

I know that I, myself, haven’t quite reached my wall of potential, so I’m still constantly learning and open to as much new information as possible.

In taking this stance, I want to learn exactly what it takes to convince amazing people like yourself to take me on as a business coach – what it will take to make you my client, so I can be pushed even closer to my wall of limitation, while helping you reach yours.

Teach me! Show me the way to your pocket, I mean your heart. (Just Kidding!)

 

This is how you can find me; catch me; cook me; and enjoy me:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

I take Whatsapps, Calls, SMS, Emails, DMs (that’s what the kids call it, right?).

 

 

 

 

 

Feb 07
Love0

To Be, Or Not To Be A Family-Run Business

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Strategy No Comments

Family is a beautiful and sometimes icky subject to approach when business is involved, as there are so many arguments for and against the involvement of family in forming any kind of business.

In my years of coaching a diverse variety of clients, I’ve found that a number of them run family-owned businesses and that there is a certain level of both ease and discomfort that come with making such an unpredictable choice.

As with everything in life, there’s always a lurking list of pros and cons that can be used to spark either healthy debate or ignite a scorching argument – so get your pitchforks and flamethrowers ready, as we take a look at some of them.

Is Blood Always Thicker Than Water? 

In breaking down the different arguments for and against having a family-run business, I often run into both plenty of benefits and detriments in the situations that my clients often come to face.

These family-owned businesses come in different shapes and sizes: a husband and wife partnering up to conceive a healthy, young startup; a father and son building towards a timeless legacy; sometimes 3rd generation families that start with the grandfather and trickle all the way down to the grandchildren, exist, as well.

There is a lot of conversation around how to run the dynamics of a family business and a lot of business owners will often run into the decision whether or not to include or employ family.

Usually in those family-oriented businesses, there’s a tendency to employ family members that are either unemployed, miserable in their current jobs, or that they could trust in building a great business that will last. Most of the time it’s done out of love, but sometimes because employing family can work out as a nice, cheap option.

Some of the biggest advantages of having a family-run business would be more empathy all the way through the company, as there is an extra level of care; you often know who or what you’re dealing with in an employee and understand the person better; the opportunity of a faster start-up, because you avoid the process of sifting through people that you don’t know, avoiding tedious interviews and background checks; and family tends to be a bit more united from the get-go, having more motivation to succeed with and for one another.

Take a look at some of the most powerful family-run businesses like Nike, Walmart and Samsung – they are amazing at what they do and provide a pretty solid defence around family involvement.

Get your fire extinguisher ready – because on the contrary, Harvard research has proven that family-run businesses have a success rate of around only 30%. A scary statistic that should be paid more attention to, as 70% of these businesses fail, get bought out, or never make it past the 2nd generation.

It’s not difficult to find arguments against having a family-run business, as it’s not always a peachy and pleasant road to go down.

You’ll find that those high levels of comfort ultimately slow down the company growth, with a reduced sense of drive and professionalism; conflicts don’t necessarily stay business-related, but can carry through into personal affairs; often blatant levels of unfairness on staff that aren’t considered family, as promotions and progress in the company become a contentious issue; deciding which family members deserve leadership roles and raises certainly push buttons; and often a lack of accountability follows if management doesn’t want family who are in the wrong left feeling butthurt.

It can often change family dynamics quite quickly, creating resentment and rifts that were never there before.

 

Blood and Business Can Be Like Oil And Water 

One of the saddest things that I come across in my experience coaching is the disjointing and disruption of families that can often be found in running a family business.

Quite often, married couples might partner-up in starting a business and pretty much all of their energy, time and efforts are spent on making that vision work in the best possible way. Waking up together, going to work together and all that is ever discussed is the business – creating an imbalance between their relationship and business-relationship.

As the proverb goes: “familiarity breeds contempt”.

All of that time spent on work and business, without enough focus on love, ends up eating away and destroying a marriage faster than a divorce lawyer with bills to pay. The power dynamics in family-business relationships often shift, too – the water gets murky and power becomes an issue between couples, parents, children and even grandchildren. It doesn’t always work out for the better when the kids take over the business, kick mommy and daddy to the curb and play with their budgets, while partying away the profits.

There’s a funny saying that’s echoed through time: “the grandfather started it, the father built it and the children spend all of the money.”

My stance is that if you don’t need to employ family or friends, simply don’t.

It’s not always worth the risk of burning bridges, creating rifts, starting fires and ruining the precious gem that is family. Love your family, take care of and respect them enough not to bring them into a potential and likely mess.

It’s impossible to go back in time and make your amends when the damage has already been done.

For more polarising and hard-hitting thoughts on your business decisions, tactics, ideas and plans:

Feel free to get in touch with a business coach that actually gives a shit, We can have a chat, grab a lunch, maybe a warm beverage, You know exactly how to reach me:

 

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

 

 

 

Feb 03
Love0

Work-Life Balance – The See-Saw Analogy

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Lifestyle No Comments

Finding the right balance in work and life can often be quite difficult, especially in this day and age.

With social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook giving us a glimpse into the lives of celebrities that live in complete leisure, or family and friends that are constantly embraced in fun and having a good time, it’s easy to hit the brakes on responsibility and accelerate towards trying to live like royalty.

During a podcast with KungFu Digital’s Chief Excitement Officer, Matt Brown, we briefly touched on the topic of work-life balance and my beliefs on the subject and while I don’t necessarily agree with the approach, or scope of a day-to-day view on the matter, I certainly believe in looking towards the future and the balance you’ll find in your later years if you can manage to put in the energy, focus and hard work during the first half of your life so that you can achieve an easier and far more comfortable life in the future.

 

Like a See-Saw, There’s a Point of Balance 

In my early 20’s, I was honestly making far more money than I actually needed. I felt invincible and like the immortal jellyfish – as if I would live forever.

Working 6.5 days a week for 6 years straight, I had my candle burning at both ends. I pushed through every Christmas and drilled through every New Year’s Day. Working early mornings and late nights, barely seeing the light of day, I worked my hardest and the best that I could. I was pretty much unstoppable.

By the time I was 22, I had paid for a house in the upper suburbs of Parkhurst, possessed 2 German cars and owned a motorbike. While my friends were either at home or still studying, I was hosting extravagant parties to blow the excess cash that I had. I felt rich.

Looking back, I wasted a lot of my hard-earned cash on some pretty ridiculous things and I would have definitely put away some for the future.

However, this did teach me a valuable life-lesson: through focus, hard-work and dedication on my career earlier-on in life, I’ve come to find the right balance in the present.

 

If You Want to be in the Top 1% – Give-up on the Work-Life Balance Myth 

If you imagine a see-saw and put on one side your work and career, and on the other side everything else in life, you can determine the balance. By focusing and pushing down on your career and working hard for the first half of your work-life, you will achieve balance in the 2nd half; if you focus on all the comfort and relaxation on the first half, the 2nd half will leave you with the burden of working your arse off playing catch-up.

Even though you pay the price of the present, you bring forward all of the future pain in order to have more balance and less pain in your later-life. You take on all of the extra responsibility with the promise of a better future.

Successful people (the 1%) have a tendency to carry far more responsibility than others and seek to carry a heavier load on their shoulders, as they instinctively understand the long-term benefits. They tend to become career-obsessed in order to achieve far greater results down the road and go on to enjoy the final chapters of their lives far more.

 

Comparing my Early 20’s to my 40’s 

If I compare my life back then to the life that I have now, there is definitely a noticeable difference in my lifestyle. Yes, I’m older with a lot less hair on my head (okay, not much hair at all) and far more all over my body, but I am more relaxed now and am able to explore new passions, interests and frontiers with the peace-of-mind that I am wealthier than I have ever been.

At 45, I only own one car, one awesome property and plenty of cash in the bank that sustains all of my daily living expenses.

I am far richer now than I was at 22 – even though I have less net assets than I had back then.

In order to have a better understanding of a healthy work-life balance, one needs to understand wealth, as being wealthy is what ultimately gives you true balance in life.

 

Rocket Science? I think Not.

So, if you haven’t already done so, figure out where your priorities lie and give that see-saw a solid ride, decide where to put your time and energy so that you have a far better balance in the future. Push down hard on your work and career, making it your priority.

The harder you work in the present will determine your comfort and ease in the future.

All the comfort, relaxation and wealth awaits you. Just so long as you are willing to take on the responsibility of working hard and to your best ability.

Remember that successful people shoulder more responsibility than others and seek more to shoulder as they instinctively understand the long-term benefits that come with it.

Seriously, it’s not rocket science.

If you’re in need of some direction, just a few pointers on navigating that see-saw: Then do yourself a solid and get together with me for a one-on-one and let’s make some magic!

You can always reach me on 083 253 3999

Or, brent@spillly.com

 

 

 

 

Feb 01
Love0

The Myth of Partnerships (Why Ownership is Everything)

By Business Coaching Consulting Entrepreneur No Comments

In starting a business, many would consider having a partner as necessary, helpful and a way to allow you more opportunity further down the line. You’ll find that costs are shared and will find it easier to navigate through rough times with a trustworthy companion.

But, does it really make life easier?

Quite honestly, I’d beg to differ.

Maybe I’ll rub you the wrong way, but I couldn’t really care less.

I’ve come to find that in the 8+ years of experience coaching business owners, there is far too much time spent on dealing with partner-related issues, instead of focusing enough energy on growth and strategy in the business.

 

You Don’t Rush Into Marriage – So Why Would You Do It In A Partnership?

Sure, there are definitely a whole lot of benefits that you could find in starting a business with a partner, but they tend to be very surface-level; you eventually find the pool runs extremely deep and you’re only just learning how to swim.

I cannot even fathom the amount of conversations I have as a coach around business owners having to deal with pesky partners – it’s both scary and hilarious acting as a sort of marriage counsellor to clients that have to deal with this.

There are so many issues brought up, it’s almost not even funny.

When partners don’t pull their own weight and the burden is left on only one capable individual; when partners get paid high salaries, without a certain level of responsibility and accountability; when partners’ spouses get involved and make life unbearable for everyone else – it can often be a bitch to deal with a bitch.

More often than not, having a partner – sometimes two – ends up being a burden on the most involved business owner. Going in with the idea that 1+1= 3, is hardly ever the case. That addition of a partner doesn’t always necessarily result in better outcomes.

If you’re looking at it from the perspective of comfort, then get a damn business coach (like me), or find yourself a husband or a wife; all the comfort you need can be found there without the risk of an unpredictable ally.

People often rush into taking on a partnership without stopping to think about the future and the possible repercussions. You wouldn’t just find someone and then marry them from the get-go, would you? You would take the time, get to know them, discover their vices and develop a lasting relationship before getting down on one knee.

Why, then, do people rush into partnerships, only to find resentment further down the line. It just ends in a nasty divorce, filled with resentment.

1+1 ≠ 2. It Just Doesn’t.

When starting a business, you should employ the skills that you require versus partnering with them. There are often situations where it might be a bit expensive to pay for a particular skill that is required, so the business owner will cut costs by offering shares, instead.

This is a very dangerous mistake.

There comes the quick realisation that great skill doesn’t necessarily translate to a great partner. They often don’t go hand-in-hand and that’s why it’s far easier to employ the required skills to do the work.

It needs to be said that separating ownership from employment is vital to a better working system – just because a particular skill is provided, it doesn’t mean that you should be paid a high salary; the skills provided and offered should be an indicator of the profit you get to pocket.

I’ve also found that one of the biggest losses that come with the decision to partner-up is that of freedom. Your freedom is the perceived option of choice and partners tend to pluck those choices away from you. Leaving you with little, or no leverage when it’s absolutely essential.

In losing some of that freedom, you don’t always take on just the partner, but also their spouse. A husband, or wife of a partner can wreak complete havoc on the business in bringing personal issues to the equation.

Jealousy often comes up (“why does he get to drive that car and you don’t?”); or even vengeance can play a role (a partner is caught-up in an affair and gets caught, now there’s money being siphoned from the company to pay for silence and to save their reputation). Oh, sweet blackmail.

So many things can go wrong and often do.

I believe that ownership is everything. Having ownership means better control and ease of leveraging when it’s required; employees are far easier to make decisions around, where partners – and even minority partners – make it difficult.

 

Sometimes, Just Sometimes, It’s Forgivable To Partner-Up 

In going against what I’m preaching, I do find that there are specific conditions that warrant the use of a partner. Although I’m primarily against having a partner when running a business, I do believe that sometimes (only sometimes) it’s forgivable to work together with one.

There are certain provisions that need to be made and specific things that need to be adhered to when making the commitment of partnering up.

Get your pen and paper ready; write this down.

So in certain cases like Sergey Brin and Larry Page, or Wozniak and Jobs, you’ll sometimes find that the right partnerships can exist. Which can produce massive results and skyrocket you way past the stratosphere.

When looking for the right partner, then you need to find a polar-opposite in skills, to complement both of your abilities. If you’re creative and a designer, then seek to partner up with someone that has an MBA, or who’s involved in law; with an analytical skill set that can help in the decision making, or vice versa.

You need someone that you work well with to divide and conquer the business, have separate roles and responsibilities and both have a keen desire to grow the business to the best of your abilities.

It CAN be advantageous to have the opportunity to go on holiday from time to time with the comfort of a partner that has the company’s best interests at heart – one that would be able to run things smoothly if either one of you had to be away for whatever the reason.

However, I will say that it isn’t easy to find a perfect match; Cupid doesn’t waste any time on business partnerships, he’s got his own industry to run.

 

So you can walk away from this red in the face with rage, because you’ve already made the mistake of finding an insignificant other, or you can heed my warning and be very careful about taking on the tremendous risk of a partner.

They might act as a band-aid, but might also be infected; waiting to give you gangrene.

Dealing with these relationships can be quite difficult, so if you’re in need of some partnership counselling and more perspective from somebody who’s seen this far too many times, someone who has sound advice: I’m a ring, or email away:

+2783 253 3339

brent@spillly.com

 

 

Jan 24
Love0

Learn, Leverage and Love – The 3 Ls That Make Up Spillly

By Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

“Spilly” was a nickname given to me by friends and classmates back in highschool, way before I had any idea that I would be delivering speeches to industry giants like WPP, or becoming a successful business coach to remarkable clients from all across the globe.

Around 2008, I had created my first Twitter profile and unsurprisingly came to find that the name ‘Spilly’ (with two Ls) was already taken. I was left with two choices, either change the name completely, or simply add an extra letter to the nickname and keep it.

Thus, Spillly was born. An intriguing new moniker which would later have me remembered by some of my best clients as “Spillly with 3 Ls”. The bright side was that these three L’s would come to support my coaching beliefs and ultimately contribute to and shape my presentations forever.

So I formulated Learn, Leverage and Love. It made perfect sense as a general rule for squeezing the best out of any burgeoning business. And by definition, these three concepts carry a profound ideology that will shape and develop any business in a wonderful and convenient way.

 

 

Learn, Learn and Learn Some More

One of the key personal values that I hold is to learn as much as possible and to keep growing through learning. This will not only be a way to complement an already developing skill-set, but will also enhance the ability to use information as effectively as possible.

Learning and education go hand-in-hand with creativity and I’ve come to find that too many creative business owners have trouble growing without having a keen interest in delving into the unknown. This can contribute to a lack of awareness and foster a sense of insecurity in oneself, making it difficult to adapt and diversify their business.

Lifelong learning carries many advantages to any business owner and can enhance multiple aspects of their life, including stronger self-motivation and inspiration, the discovery of new interests, an improved professional life and a major boost in self-confidence.

By cultivating your abilities and knowledge, you gain new perspectives and see far more solutions than problems, allowing you to control and navigate all the many situations and curveballs that life throws at you.

Part of my process is not only to educate, consult and guide my clients, but to nurture and nourish decision-making throughout their business-growth path. This starts with a framework that gives them the ability to set clear objectives and achieve them through the various learning pieces that I provide.

 

Leverage Yourself Upwards Towards Success

As important as learning is, without leveraging what you have learned, you run the risk of diminishing the value of that precious knowledge you’ve come to accumulate.

The powerful quote by entrepreneur Derek Sivers, “if all it took was knowledge, we’d all be billionaires with six-pack abs,” encapsulates exactly what this concept is about. Action needs to follow knowledge, or what would be the point in all the information you have stored up in that incredible brain of yours?

It’s too easy to sit with the knowledge of doing something great, like becoming the next Jeff Bezos, but not many people take action to usher it into reality.

Being able to apply knowledge in a practical way is just as important as accumulating it. Without practice, perfection simply can’t exist. Applying what you know and learn will help leverage your skills and ultimately, contribute to exponential growth.

 

The word ‘leverage’ has a few definitions in the dictionary and for the purpose of this section, it means to “use (something) to maximum advantage.” By using your knowledge to its maximum advantage, you leverage and yield far better results for your growing enterprise.

A study done in Bethel, Maine proved that by making practical use of learning, the level of information retention for future use becomes much higher. Where simply learning the information gave retention rates of 5-20%; by engaging in discussion and teaching others, results of 50-90% were achieved. Which proves just how important applying that knowledge can be.

Many entrepreneurs have an amazing array of skills and abilities, but often struggle to apply them in the right way. That’s where I come in. My goal is to foster those skills in my client, helping them make use of it in a sharp and effective way, creating an awareness of their hidden potential.

Situations often arise in which my clients try to leverage too many things at once, making their load heavy and difficult to operate, which gives me the opportunity to help them focus on using the right tools, at the right time.

Sometimes leveraging your time, resources and ambitions can be necessary in developing a strong business and becoming a successful business owner.

 

Love Until It Hurts and Then Love The Pain

The title might sound somewhat masochistic, but love for your work, environment and for yourself, can be extremely rewarding to your business. Effectively, making you a better entrepreneur and leader.

As cliche as it may be, you need to love what you do and enjoy every outcome that your business brings with it. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to love the product, the staff,  the clients, or the long hours that you put in, as it can often be difficult to enjoy every single element of running a business. There will be great days and there will be days that drive you to the brink of insanity. The idea is to find joy in every moment and focus on the elements that bring you a sense of happiness and pleasure.

Hold onto the various things that bring you satisfaction, then delegate and outsource the rest to people that can grow your business. You need to enjoy the journey you’re on, making it bearable and not a burden.

As the late, great Steve Jobs once said, “the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

By showing a great deal of love in running your business, you become a better performer and make better decisions. If you bring love on your journey, there can be many other benefits and most of them can be attributed to the concept of “flow”.

Coined by Hungarian Psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the concept of flow refers to, “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it”. This love and pleasure in what you’re doing yields powerful results in many different areas.

Do your absolute best to enjoy the process of building something new and meaningful;

Love to learn new things;

Love strategizing and achieving your goals;

Love the competition and competing in the market;

Love your day;

Love yourself for being brave, dangerous and a brilliant business owner.

 

I Leave You with This:

The 3 Ls that I make strategic use of are backed by years of research and a strong understanding of how business owners think. By applying my concepts, you will be one step closer to becoming a powerful and successful business proprietor, making it easier to do what you do best.

It’s my passion to help shape and develop extraordinary people in their journey to grow phenomenal businesses and to provide business owners with what they desire and deserve – whether building a business that brings them millions in profit every month, or one that allows them to have more time for leisure and themselves.

If you’d like to have a chat, or get together for a strategic coffee, feel free to contact me any time on 083 253 3999, or feel free to shoot me an email at brent@spillly.com

 

Jan 24
Love0

Retirement On The Horizon – The Perfect Time To Start a Business

By Business Coaching Entrepreneur Motivation No Comments

Aging is so much fun, isn’t it? Getting slower and sluggish with far less energy to spare; finding irritation in the small things (like bread crumbs on the counter); or arthritis and other health issues paying you an unsolicited visit with no indication of when they’re leaving.

It can be a bit of a bitch, but wouldn’t you say it’s the best time to become an entrepreneur and start a business? I believe so.

You might be asking, “Spillly, what drugs are you taking?”

I might tell you that I’m snorting… the beautiful, fresh air outside and getting high on some life.

Because, with age comes a wonderful, novel perspective on life and the ability to move swiftly into the future with all of that hard-earned knowledge, expertise and a network worth its weight in gold.

 

Are You In Your 50s, Yet? Hurry, There’s So Much Potential! 

When you reach an age going past 40, you’re sitting on a goldmine of potential that could see you making your very own business and conquering a whole new dimension of your reality.

As time goes by, sure, you’re becoming more tired, have a greater aversion to taking risks and seek the comfort you’ve been waiting so long for.

But, you’re now in your prime – able to see and cut through the bullshit, know exactly what it is that you don’t want and have a strong network of people that can propel you to extreme heights far quicker than when you were in your 20’s.

You’re well-connected, you’ve got the wisdom and the knowledge of seeing it all. You know what you want in life and have a better idea of how to get exactly what you’re looking for.

The biggest difference between that age bracket and someone in their early 20’s and 30’s is that of the deadline. There is a due-date and it lingers over you, like the grim reaper; it waits patiently for your demise, eager to present you with an invitation to death, itself.

I don’t mean to be morbid, but when you’re young, you feel as if you’re bulletproof, unbreakable and like you’re going to live forever; the understanding that there is a time-limit, one where everything slows down, tends to be but an afterthought.

When you’re young, you can start a business, crash and burn in 5 years and get right back up to go for another round (ah, those were the days – limitless stamina and a soaring libido).

Also, your risk profile is far different to that of someone older – without a family to support, with heaps of energy, with self-delusion and minimum responsibilities, you’re far more at ease when taking a route to a successful business; where failure is an option.

However, when you’re in your 50’s, you become far more aware of the fragility of life and the pressure that it comes with. Time is of the essence, you have a blatant deadline looming, but most importantly, you have the right tools and means to get you going way faster than anyone else.

 

The Asset of Age

 In reaching an age beyond your 40’s, your risk profile tends to change in a number of ways.

When taking the early steps into your 30’s, there was a different kind of pressure – one to settle down and find comfort in a spouse. Taking on more risk, you get a bond for a home, get dogs or pets, have cars to maintain and bills to pay (medical aid, insurance, etc.).

Your time is spent and you’re unable to put in the energy to now create a business with all of these responsibilities that need your constant attention.

Fast forward a few more years and as the age of 50 draws nearer, you’ve found ease in navigating and delegating those tasks. Life becomes a little bit easier. Which is why it proves itself to be the perfect time to introspect, to look at yourself and how valuable you are.

You know exactly what you don’t want; you have a strong network of people that you can rely on, work with, sell to, get referrals from; you’re aware of the deadline and that you need to execute your idea well and to the best of your ability – these are the perfect tools to start a business. To become a successful entrepreneur.

Your age is ultimately an asset that can be used to bring about far more benefits than if you were to retire and give up on everything that you’ve accumulated.

A Lesson For The Youth To Take Away

I always say that I’d much rather back a 50-year-old entrepreneur over one half his/her age. They have all the right attributes and assets to see a successful business through.

This doesn’t mean that it should be limited to that age. There’s a lesson to be learned there and if you’re young, then take into consideration the deadline; look past your perceived invincibility and come to terms with how short this life can be.

IF you can apply the pressure and put in the hard-work, then you can make something powerful with a shelf-life that can withstand a nuclear threat.

As the great Jazz composer, Duke Ellington once said, “I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline”.

Face that deadline head-on and put the pressure on max.

Apply as many life-lessons from the older-generation as you can and reap the benefits, rather than wrap yourself up in the same repetitive cycles.

Being old can be extremely beneficial – sure, it won’t be as easy to accumulate all the network and credibility that someone that age has, but you can approach it from a place that pushes for strong connections, credibility and trust from the people that will ultimately carry your business.

If you’re above the age of 50, keen to get started on a business, become an entrepreneur, ready to squeeze your network for what it’s worth:

Hit me up! Let’s talk. Let’s get right into it. I’m here to nudge you in the direction you’ll need.

I also don’t discriminate. I’m no ageist. So if you’re still young and know that you need the guidance, the motivation and a plan to get you on track to success in your business, feel free to contact me, anytime:

+2783 253 3339 brent@spillly.com