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NAPPS Conference 2016 Recap

This past weekend, the Handlr Team flew to beautiful Orlando, Florida to experience the magic of NAPPS Conference of 2016. To say the least, we were blown away by the amount of professionalism, creativity, and entrepreneurialism displayed by every single one of the business owners we had the pleasure of meeting. We learned everything it takes to run a pet care service business. From dog training techniques, software solutions, marketing best practices, to eco-friendly poop bags! The pet care industry is vast and growing at an exponential rate, and NAPPS plays a pivotal role to providing great resources to their members. It’s a place that allows professionals in the industry to connect, exchange ideas, promote growth, and learn. This weekend encompassed all of those aspects, and more. We thank you for giving Handlr the opportunity to be there and we thank all of the guest speakers for their leadership in the industry and sharing their knowledge with us.

Below are recommended links for pet-related business owners in need of resources.

  • Catch Academy - Canine training academy

  • FetchFind - Education and resources for professionals, by professionals.

  • Big Dog Marketing - provides pet industry marketing services.

  • Dognostic - provides online academic pet industry career programs.

  • Hireology - A hiring software that simplifies the hiring process.

For NAPPS attendees who didn't get a chance to see our demo, no worries! Request a demo to see Handlr in action by clicking the button below. See everyone at NAPPS 2017!

For non-NAPPS members, NAPPS is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources for the pet sitting industry and championing the welfare of animals. They provide resources, webinars, insurance, and skills for success (and more) in the pet care providing industry. For more information, visit: www.petsitters.org.

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Ch. 10 of the Comprehensive Checklist for Growing Your Business: Community Outreach

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In the midst of your crazy day of managing a business, the thought of community outreach and social responsibility probably isn’t floating around at the front of your head. They all say, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and that applies to raising a business as well. Without the support of your neighbors and community, your business probably wouldn’t exist. Let’s take a minute to surface the real ROIs on doing a little something for your community.

There are different levels of involvement that you can choose from that best fits your availability. You can sponsor local events, organize meetings/networking gatherings, or participate in a meetup. The opportunities of helping your community can get really fun and creative while also being a cost-effective method of marketing. It’s also a great opportunity to rally up your employees for good old team building and morale boosting. Now, on top of all those positive things, let’s get to how it can help build your business.

  1. Get yourself publicly known by your locals.

    The more you put your name out there, the more your community will gain awareness of your business. Community outreach is heavily effective because it puts a real person in front of prospective customers. In contrast, with an ad, or website, it garners a one-way communication to your audience. Making real connections to people involves engagement, and a moment that you and your customer share - it’s hard to forget that.
     

  2. Build long-lasting relationships with them.

    By putting a face on your business and engaging in conversations with people in your community, it’s only natural that you start to build long-lasting relationships with them. You get to know first names of pivotal people in the neighborhood, their family, and story. Slowly, business owners can build their network and make important connections that are beneficial for the long run. However, these connection are symbiotic. The more resources and value you can provide for your customer, they more they depend and come to you.
     

  3. Increase company reputation and image.

    By staying active and involved in community events, it builds fantastic repertoire amongst your neighbors and customers. The driving force of purchasing decisions are made by emotion. If you can connect with your community on an emotional level, it’s a win-win for them and your business.

Community outreach can build your clientele and strengthen your presence in your community. By participating in these events, businesses can develop customer loyalty and top of the mind recall. It is also fantastic for building a positive reputation which can then lead to long-lasting, returning customers. Investing time into this method of marketing doesn’t have to be a complex process. Doing something as little as printing branded bookmarks for the library, or providing water for your local marathon can leave an unforgettable, lasting impression on your business.

 

 

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Let’s Take Customer Relationships Back to the Basics...

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Blake Warren

We recently talked about tips for successfully utilizing a CRM (Read it here), something you’re probably already using as a business owner. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is typically a software that helps your business keep track of… what exactly? Well, obviously things like phone numbers, addresses, lead status, purchase history, etc. But what do these things embody? It’s in the name; a CRM is a Management tool for Customer Relationships. So let’s discuss Customer Relationships, that you can better understand how to foster and keep those very things you need a CRM for. Google the words “customer relationships” and you’ll be met with a dizzying amount of articles, books, DVD’s, Podcasts and videos promising the newest techniques, software and guides to CRM. It can be daunting to say the least. Let’s take a step back and look at the basics of customer relationships.

Stay Relatable

As a consumer, would you rather do business with a personable company than the corporate machine of a big business? Of course you would. Having personality disarms your customers, they will be more likely to trust your recommendations. Don’t try to deceive your customers, are you a small company trying to get your foot in the door? Show it. Working out of your moms garage? Show it. Customers will be further compelled to give you their business if they can see you as a peer.

Understand what makes your product or service desirable.

It’s impossible to be relatable if you don’t have a true understanding of what drives your customers. It’s easy to think about your business concept from the wrong shoes. As a business owner you may have no problem coming up with reasons for making your product or offering your service. But you need to spend a lot of time looking at it from the perspective of potential customers. What are the real reasons they might be purchasing your product? What real-life circumstances lead them to booking your service? This is an easy exercise to shrug off, “Of course I know why people want what i’m selling”. But the more you explore this practice, the more you discover about your customers and how to serve them.

Take a look at the customer experience from start to finish.

Even if you simply sell an online product, what is the experience of the purchasing process like for your customers? How do you handle inquiries, returns, confirmations, packaging? Everything, no matter how small adds to the customer experience. Obviously this entails much more for a service-based business and should be treated as such. Every aspect of the process should be scrutinized until the customer experience is perfected.

Be Honest

The biggest downside of the countless books, products and techniques that you’ll find when researching this subject is that through all the fluff, we’ve been taught to do anything but be honest with our customers. We’re told to follow a call sheet, distract our customers with special offers, or avoid gripes they may have with our product or service using fancy techniques. The reality is, your customers will appreciate your honesty more than you may know. Calling up a customer and asking for feedback, apologizing for a mistake or simply telling them how much you appreciate their business can take you farther than any call-sheet or internet technique.

 

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7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your CRM Software

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““Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.””
— Steve Jobs

The late Steve Jobs said it best, knowing your customer better than your competitors is the only way to succeed. Knowing how to actually do that is where it gets tricky. A solid Customer Relation Management system is the first step in that process, so we’ve compiled some solid tips to ensure that you use your CRM to its full potential.

1. Choose a platform you can stick with.

Talk to a few business owners and you’ll undoubtedly hear some horror stories about switching CRM’s. Choosing the wrong form of Customer Management can set you back big time down the line. It’s important to choose a simple, easy-to-use software with enough features to work now, and down the line. This doesn’t mean you need to pay thousands of dollars for SalesForce to manage your ten customers and 2 employees, but don’t just take the easy route and start a messy, half-assed Excel Spreadsheet either. One of the worst experiences in business is realizing 2 years-in that you need to go back and redo all the work you’ve put into your CRM now that business is starting to pick up. We recommend checking out ActiveCampaign or Nimble.

2. Consider CRM training a crucial point in your small business growth.

Take the time to learn every corner & every inch of your new CRM, and make sure your employees do too. Employees often treat training programs as waste of time or a chance to relax. Don’t allow this to happen in your office. You’ve made a considerable investment in your CRM and you should insist that everyone takes the training process seriously.

3. Use it to track sales and new leads.

Your CRM has one main purpose, to keep track of your customers; so use it! Insist that your sales team processes any and all new leads through the new system. It will make keeping track of these potential customers so much easier as they move through the process of cultivation.

4. Use all the features of the system instead of resorting to other ones.

Even the most simple CRM systems out there come packed with features. Explore these early on and try to use them as much as possible. Does your CRM have a group huddle or chat feature to keep everyone on the same page? What about a document manager? Use them instead of an outside program for a better flow of your daily operations.

5. Use in-house feedback as much as customer feedback.

Introduce your new CRM and it’s very likely that a few employees will adapt to it rather quickly. Focus on the feedback they provide about why they like it, what features they use most and where it can improve. Customers are an equal source if this type of information. Send out a quick survey or interview your more trusted customers about their experiences with the new way your business operates.

6. Don’t forget the least active users.

If you have a few employees neglecting your new investment, don’t just slap them on the wrist and push them to use it more. Try to understand what is holding them back and why they don’t like the new system. You’ll find that some simply don’t understand it and need more training, while others have specific gripes that can be fixed with simple solutions. Don’t be afraid to contact your CRM company directly with these complaints as they will often have a work-around or trick to fix the situation.

7. Try a system that engages the customer directly.

You’re CRM is all about the client, so try using one that has tools to get you in touch with them directly. ActiveCampaign for instance, works as both a CRM and email system, so you can track your customers and message them directly from the same software. This ensures that customer management, feedback and things like open-rates and stats are tracked in the same place.

Investing in a CRM is a big step in a small business. Learning to use it properly and introducing it to your staff can be a big commitment. These CRM best practices can help you ensure your effort is rewarded.

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4 Office Hacks to Keep the Creativity Flowing

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  1. Get a Whiteboard, Any Board

    Visualization is so important to help conceptualize ideas and sometimes, an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper just won’t cut it. Drawing out your thoughts on a greater scale that’s quickly presentable to your colleagues helps everyone understanding your thought process. It’s also more efficient in hashing out possible contingencies and with a good whiteboard eraser, anyone can jot down ideas as fast as the conversation is going.
     

  2. Find a New Playlist

    Music makes you think more creatively - plain and simple. According to an article on bufferapp.com, “moderate noise levels increase processing difficulty which promotes abstract processing, leading to higher creativity.” Simply stated, if we distract our brains just a bit more, it’ll push itself a bit harder and find new approaches to understanding the work at hand.
     

  3. Mobile Office Day

    The day-to-day environment of being inside the same four walls can get you stuck in the same mindset. Throwing yourself into a fresh setting or location will push your mind to reconceptualize ideas as new influences come into play. Go outside, catch some sun, feel the breeze on your face! At Handlr Headquarters, we like having our meetings on a hike or during a fencing lesson, no big deal.
     

  4. Wine

    Need we say more? Dealing with a task that you just can’t solve is frustrating as it is. And, acknowledging the frustration can push you deeper into the spiral of frenzy. It’s all going to be just fine. Now, although we don’t condone excessive amounts of alcohol consumption, letting loose over a glass of wine can increase your creativity. Don’t believe us? In a study titled, “Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving,” it stated, “Moderate intoxication … improves problem solving and leads to what participants in the Consciousness and Cognition study referred to as ‘sudden insights,’ which the sober participants reported significantly less often” (Vinepair) Boom.
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Ch. 8 of the Comprehensive Guideline for Growing Your Business: Marketing & CRM

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It’s a challenging game of choosing which avenues will work best for your business but as a general rule of thumb, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Marketing should be an integrated mix of efforts that will eventually increase your brand recognition and customer awareness.

The 7 touch theory states that your consumer should hear or see your marketing efforts at least 7 times before they make a purchasing decision. This means that your marketing message should be consistent and repetitive across all your chosen platforms. Here are 7 suggested touches to keep in touch with your audience.

 

  1. Direct Mail campaigns – make your content engaging and most importantly, relevant to your customer. It’s a complete waste of time to construct an email full of content to have it go straight into spam.

  2. Email Campaigns – keep in touch with regular newsletters with what’s going on with your business and news from your industry. Let your customers know that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy. And as a best practice tip, create a simple call-to-action. Do you want your customer to call, sign-up, download, or come in? Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want!

  3. Social media – research and find out where your customers are online. It’s also a game of fine-tuning what works best for your business. For example, Facebook and LinkedIn are platforms that are information oriented and article driven. On the other hand, Instagram is all about dreamy pictures and visually strong images that quickly capture your audience’s attention. So, if your business is selling medical equipment, using Instagram is a platform.

  4. Telephone follow-up – Cold calling is one hard task to check off. Often times, people don’t answer the phone, you’re mostly spending your time talking to a voicemail, or you’re getting a straight up hang up. Give context to your prospects. They are more than likely to respond to your calls when they know what you’re talking about or can recall your brand! Sending them literature via e-mail, or handing out marketing materials at events are great actions to take before going straight to the phone.

  5. Community Outreach – get out there, build connections and get noticed! Sponsor a local baseball game, organize a beach clean up, or host a networking event with other strong and like minded organizations in your area.

  6. Speaking engagements – speaking at workshops or industry related events builds credibility and trust with your customers.

  7. Print Materials - build on top of your face-to-face contact within your community and leave a stronger impression by giving them take away content. Whether it's a brochure or a simple business card, your prospects can refer to these later on when they need more information. You can hand these out at local fairs, expos, and business/industry events. 

For the full 2016 Comprehensive Checklist, visit here.

 

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5 Platforms to Increase Efficiency for Your Small Business

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We get it, entrepreneurs! Time is like gold to you. It’s hard to manage it efficiently when there’s a constant flow of incoming emails, phone dings, and alert beepings, on top of just having to simply work. It’s also hard to let loose the reigns of your business and trust a platform that will better your productivity, instead of sucking away the little time you already have. We’ve compiled a short and sweet list of platforms that we can first-hand say, is f@#$ing awesome. Here we go:

Start with the core of the business. You and your team members need to know what to do. Here’s two of our favorite task management tools.

 

Trello

We like Trello because it’s a visually-focused way of organizing a project. You can assign different boards for different topics and build a list of things that need to be done within that topic. Trello allows you to assign responsibilities and set deadlines for when they need to be completed by. The interface also allows users to click and drag boards in different orders to prioritize.

Asana

Asana’s approach to task management is a user-friendly list view of projects and tasks. Create tasks, assign them to one or more people, and set a deadline for the job. You can leave notes on each job, attach files and start a discussion. The fun thing about Asana is that it triggers this endorphin kick to get things checked off your list - when things are checked off, you might just see a flying rainbow unicorn - really. Lastly, they are on top of sending you reminders via email so you don’t forget.

Keeping an open line of communication between members of your business makes for a more streamlined, efficient team. One word, Slack.

Slack

We are in love with Slack. It’s a versatile team communication platform that allows you to do more than just that. Create different topics of discussion, (called channels) and invite people to join it. Slack supports a long list of different file types that you can send and allows users to privately message other teammates. Integrate other apps into Slack such as Twitter and Lyft even, and send a tweet or order a ride via commands.

Here are two of our top email management tools to help stay in touch with your leads and existing customers.

MailChimp

MailChimp simply said, is a great email management platform that allows you to easily design engagement templates, and is versatile for all business types, small or big. You can run reports and see how successful your emails are. MailChimp lets you send better emails to the right people by filtering through different targeting options.

Active Campaign

It’s a great tool for creating different email templates. Do you find yourself sending out the same email and drafting it a million times already? Create a beautiful template as you need it, save it, and send it out when you need it. Staying in contact with your leads is the lifeline of your business and Active Campaign makes it simple.

Social media management is often overlooked to maintain when there's more pressing matters to tend to - especially when there's so many avenues to maintain and track. Here's two platforms that make it simple.

Hootsuite and Spredfast

Both of these platforms lets you schedule social media posts so that you don’t waste your time having to log in and post across all your different channels. Hootsuite allows you to use their service for free with up to three different platforms before you need to upgrade. These both work in similar fashion as you can see analytics and insights of your posts so you can better communicate with your audience.

How much time are you wasting creating schedules, collecting payment, and marketing your business? Our all-in-one business management platform saves countless hours in your work week.

Handlr

How nice would it be to wake up, sit back, and see your business run on its own? Handlr lets you do just that. Handlr is a mobile business management software specifically designed for small businesses to become bigger businesses. Upload your list of services, create open availability, and watch customers schedule themselves with you. Handlr lets business owners and their team members chat directly and share photos with customers. Team Members can check-in to services and you get paid instantly upon check out. That’s just the tip of the iceberg!

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10 Inspiring Entrepreneurial Quotes for the Mid-Week Slump

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“Your biggest enemy is the unknown and assumptions.”
— Donald Bittar
“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.”
— Mary Kay Ash
“Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them.”
— W. Edwards Deming
“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.”
— Seth Godin
“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”
— Andy Warhol
“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.”
— Henry Ford
“Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing...layout, processes, and procedures.”
— Tom Peters
“Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.”
— Peter Drucker
“Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.”
— Gary Ryan Blair
“All lasting business is built on friendship.”
— Alfred A. Montapert
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Ch 6. of the Comprehensive Guide for Growing Your Business: Modernize and Invest in Your Brand

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It is mission critical to have a logo that conveys your brand’s look and feel. According to smallbusiness.chron.com, the company logo is, “the single most visible manifestation of the company within the target market.” We couldn’t agree more. For this reason, it is heavily important that you brand your company in a position that aligns with your target market. It’s a visual first impression to your customers so, make it count. Another astonishing stat from ConversionXL says, “visual appeal can be assessed within 50 ms” (Laja). That’s a fast assessment! Where does your logo stand on the eye-catching meter? Graphic trends are ever-changing but we do know that resorting to ClipArt, gradient heavy graphics, and busy elements in a logo add noise when you’re trying to break through the clutter. Seek for a clean, easy-read symbol for your company.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you logo is a clear read if it is shrunk down to a 1-inch area. Often times, many businesses strive to include tiny details in their logo that unfortunately, get lost when it’s printed on a business card or other small marketing materials. If your logo needs a bit of a facelift, there are many platforms available to you to solve your problem. You can hire a local graphic designer to create branding and marketing materials for you. 99designs or Canva for Work is commonly used to instantly get a few designs created. Moo.com and Vistaprint.com are great options for cost-effective and high-quality marketing materials with a fast overturn rate.

If you have employees, it’s not a bad idea to have matching team shirts made. Even having branded marketing materials like table cloths and tents can help strengthen your brand image amongst customers and team members both. Having a cohesive and unified look across your company on all platforms goes a long way. Paying attention to small details and cleaning up the look of your company positions your business in a better spotlight in consumers’ minds.

 

 

 

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5 Reasons to Not Just Take Checks and Cash

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Welcome to 2016, where consumers are less and less carrying around their wallets. Consumers these days are now being exposed to many different payment platforms. We have Square, Venmo, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, the list is growing everyday. Where does your business stand with accepting other forms of payment? Here are 5 reasons why your business should not just take checks and cash.

 

1. Checks are becoming an archaic thing of the past

Let’s face it.  Soon, checks will be an extinct method of payment. According to Bank Innovation, “From 2003-12, checks decreased by half, from 36 billion to 18 billion.” It shows that soon enough, (estimated by 2021 with the rate of decline) check use will plummet to a whopping zero. Major grocery retailers like Whole Foods and Albertson’s have stopped accepting checks for the past several years now, and we’ll continue to see this trend widen as more payment technology expands and becomes available to us.

 

2. Cash isn’t always available on hand

If you’re anything like me, and a part of the emerging generation of the young, mobilized, “Swipe” generation, getting cash requires taking an extra step to get a transaction done. Going to the ATM to withdraw cash, or going to a store just to hit the cashback button, it all takes extra time in the day. People have to find cash and the stash (as much as I’d like it to be) isn’t infinite - the cash flow has to be replenished. As opposed to electronic funds, consumers always have access to their accounts, whenever, wherever.

 

3. Cash =  Room for Error

Dealing with cash is a mainly a manual activity. We count cash with our hands, do the math in our heads, and in cases where cents are involved, there’s a million coins multiplying and jingling in our pockets. We’re constantly adding and subtracting figures even with a register machine. This leaves a huge margin for error and inaccurate cash handling, especially when a business owner has a staff of workers dealing with cash all day. Lessen the friction of handling cash and automate payment processing. When dealing with a large fleet of people out in the field, it's best to not have them physically handling the cash and checks so that they don't have to be responsible for dropping off payments to you as the owner.

Choosing cash as a means of payment also means dealing with receipts. In other words, generating trash. Whether a business is writing up a receipt for the transaction, or a consumer is receiving one for his or her payment, how inconvenient is this process? Going paperless is on the rise (soaring, actually), and receipts are thrown in the trash 2.5  seconds after it’s handed to the customer. Whether it’s choosing Square, PayPal, Venmo, or it’s built into an app like Handlr, automating payment processing means businesses get paid quicker, and faster. The best part of automating the payment process is avoiding the awkward conversation of, “So, that invoice from last week…”

 

4. Mobile payment is preferred

Since 2014 and the almighty release of Apple Pay, I’ve gotten used to the idea of not carrying around my wallet anymore. In fact, I get a bit irritated when I walk into an establishment that doesn’t support Apple Pay. I even prefer to shop at locations that accept it. When they don’t, I think, “Why isn’t this business investing in the easiest ways to accept payment?” But taking a step back, the percentage of preference of mobile payment is outstanding. TechCrunch reports that, “Ninety-four percent of consumers under 35-years-old bank online,” weighing the scale far on the electronic/mobile side. It’s the livelihood of a business to offer methods of payment that consumers prefer, otherwise, they’re not coming to ya.

 

5. "Electronic Funds are Not Safe."

In, “How the Decline of Cash Makes America a Safer Country,” posted by The Atlantic, Thomspon states that cash was the bloodline of the black market, because cash is absolutely untraceable and easily stolen. Now with the declining statistics of using cash, we see a correlation if a decline in the percentage of crime rates, particularly with robberies and other illegal activities. There’s dangers to using anything really, including using cash.

Also, banks and payment processing companies ensures consumer safety and most of the time, gets the money back pretty quickly to their account when there are instances of fraud. In cases of unauthorized transactions, it’s common for banks to immediately issue a new card (with a temporary card in the meantime) fast.

And lastly, we have to remember that convenience trumps all. Paper checks are quickly dying because it takes days to process and it’s simply a long process to deal with it. The success of fast-food restaurants and on-demand services like Uber, is because it’s so instant, easy, and accessible to use. 

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Ch 5. of the Comprehensive Guide for Growing Your Business: Review, Review, Review

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Review your financial reports for the year before and make sure that your bookkeeping is organized for the year ahead.

Financial Reports and Statements come into play when you least expect it. It’s important to stay on top of your reports because investors, creditors, and banks look at these to analyze a company’s performance and overall standing. It’s a good rule of thumb to review your statements to ensure accuracy and thoroughness.

Stay organized! We’re still early on in the year and starting off on the right foot can make this your easiest year of bookkeeping yet. Here are some tips we’d thought might help:

  • Get a separate bank and credit card accounts for personal and business.
  • Dedicate a small amount of your time per week to organize your finances.
  • Ditch the paper & declutter- the IRS accepts electronic copies of your receipts.
  • Store it in the cloud - you can’t do a quick word search through your physical folder of files!
  • Sign up for Quickbooks Online to keep your finances organized and ready for taxes.
  • Don’t know what you’re doing? Simply, ask for help from a professional.

 

I’m Behind on Bookkeeping

 

Is, “I can’t even right now,” your first reaction when you hear, “bookkeeping?” It’s a heavy chore, we get it. If you’re at a loss of where to even start when you need a Profit & Loss Statement, hire a local bookkeeper for a few hundred dollars per month. They can help keep you organized and prepared for taxes. You can also outsource your bookkeeping to a company like Bench.co who provide bookkeeping experts you can depend on.

Staying on top of paperwork is one of the many keys to success when owning your own business. Double checking, or even triple checking your numbers and financial reports safeguards you and your business from future mishaps when those reports have to come into play again. If you have any suggestions or ideas on what works for you when dealing with reports and statements - we’d love to hear them! Feel free to drop us a line in the Contacts section.

 


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Bigger Business Book Club

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If you're a small business owner who is looking to become a bigger business owner, you must read our first two books on the list...

 
 

 

Being an entrepreneur requires a growth mindset that is constantly open to learning and improving yourself. You have to be willing to make changes and put in the heavy lifting in order to grow and experience freedom. These two books are the ultimate guides for taking the necessary steps to put your business on autopilot. We're not being paid as an affiliate to promote these books, they've just really changed our lives.

4-Hour Work Week

The book seems a little crazy at first. Especially if you're a small business owner who is a solopreneur and working 24/7. It seems a little outlandish to reduce your work day by 20 hours, however, we highly recommend that you give it a chance because Tim Ferriss does a great job of putting your business operations into perspective. Ferriss points out how many hundreds of hours per month are wasted on mindless tasks that can be automated or outsourced in order to free up your time for growth and more sales. Ferriss gives a ton of examples of, "high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either."  Ferriss lays out step-by-step hacks for things like - how to tackle email more efficiently, how to negotiate better with clients, and most importantly, how to go from making $40,000 per year working 80 hours per week, to $40,000 per MONTH working only 4 hours per week. Read this book and your mind will go into growth hyperdrive. If you're on the go, you can listen to the audio book or you can catch the Tim Ferriss Show podcast for a serious dose of inspiration from truly revolutionary entrepreneurs, artists and scientists. We're addicted to it.

The E-Myth

This book is the holy grail for small business owners. This is the book that you will be giving to all of your business owner friends after you read it. Michael E. Gerber is considered to be the World's #1 Small Business Guru for a reason. He makes a convincing argument that most people are working too hard "in" their business and not "on" it. The problem that most small business owners face is that they get into daily habits that are difficult to change and they are afraid of relinquishing control to other people. A lot of small business owners are stuck as a "One Man Band" and are so busy walking dogs, making pies, tutoring kids or teaching lessons, that they have no time left over to really work on the actual business. Gerber breaks down the mental barriers that we put up by reminding us that we can't do it all and we can't keep going in the vicious cycle of only making money when we're physically working.  If you are never able to confidently step away from your business for the day, the weekend, or for a vacation - you will burn out and you will feel stuck. Gerber points out that the most successful service companies in the world have been built by putting the systems and processes in place for people to consistently follow in order to maintain quality control and order. You are not the only person who can walk dogs, make pies, or tutor kids. You can build a bigger, better business by releasing control and putting the branding, systems and guidelines in place so that you can trust your team and free yourself up for more growth and freedom. This book tells you how and it speaks volumes to anyone who is starting a business or looking to take their business to the next level. We give it an A+++.

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Are you a fearless entrepreneur? Here's 3 tactics for overcoming fear.

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Britt Alwerud

A few weeks ago I sat in an audience of 40 other business CEOs and founders and listened to Mike Jones of Science, Inc. say the words, “Are you doing something right now that makes you money?”. This quote ended up on my whiteboard as a constant reminder to stay on track and work on tasks that make me money instead of make me busy. Which is ironic, because right now I’m writing a blog post instead of calling a hundred small businesses to spread the word about Handlr. The truth is, starting a business is completely overwhelming. It’s like staring up at a massive mountain and thinking, “How the hell am I going to scale this thing?”. The answer? One step at a time. Mike shared with us that success rides on two basic principles: sales and an unfaltering belief in your business’ potential for growth.

The bottom line is that fear is the enemy when it comes to sales and believing in your success. It’s scary as all hell to cold call people or to walk up to strangers with your card in hand. It's nerve-wracking to put your idea out into the world. It’s scary to hear the truth and the truth is, not everyone is going to love your idea. It’s scary to put your whole life savings (and wedding fund if you're like me) into a new crazy idea and it’s scary to think that there’s a possibility that not a single soul will want to sign up for your new app. Fear is a bitch. It can paralyze you and make you want to crawl up into a ball.

Owning my own business for the last 9 years and starting a new one, has been quite the roller coaster. It’s the best feeling in the world to be financially independent and to grow something from nothing, but it’s also scary to see your bank account near zero and to have so many employees relying on you to pay their living wages. It’s sometimes terrifying to shoulder so much responsibility for your business, your employees, your business’ reputation and your own living expenses. But it’s so worth it and the last 9 years have taught me so many lessons in bitch slapping fear in the face. I’m not going to lie, I have moments of panic, every entrepreneur does, but I now know how to stand up to my fear and most importantly, I know how to change my mindset.

The only thing that we have control over in life is our own mind. We have the power to choose the way we want to think about things. Dog training has taught me to train my own brain. I can train myself to approach difficult matters confidently, objectively, logically and without fear (ok, most of the time). Today we aren’t running from saber tooth tigers or wolves to survive, but we are still experiencing varying degrees of stress to make it in the modern world. You can think about stress as something negative, or you can change your mind about it and think of it as a motivator to keep you moving forward. Some stress is good, it keeps you going. It’s just important to keep it in check and not become paralyzed by it. I’ve found that 1) perspective, 2) progress, and 3) balance, keeps stress in check and fear at bay.

#1 Perspective in life is everything. It’s really the only thing that we truly have control over in life.  You can choose to think about things any way that you want. You choose to be scared, unknowledgeable, ungrateful, panicked, or clueless, or you can choose to be confident, knowledgeable, grateful, poised and clued in. You can be these things by taking action and taking control of your thoughts. To do this you must be self-aware and reflective in order to make a conscious effort to cancel out the negative and change it to a positive. Being scared or panicked is caused by a stressful response based on something that happened to you in the past or because of staring at the unknown future. Being in the present moment and taking one tiny step at a time toward your goal is really all that you can do and is completely do-able. You can look at a giant mountain that needs to be climbed, or you can look at your own two feet and put one ahead of the other. This perspective will propel you forward instead of become stuck in a quagmire of fear. Being grateful for being on your own two feet and being thankful to be on your personal journey of learning and growing will keep your perspective healthy and manageable. Like the old saying goes, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Where you think you’re going to end up isn’t always the case and worrying about the future just slows progress.

#2 Progress is another key to keeping fear in check. Checking off little goals and tasks gets you one step further on your hike to the top. Everyone starts somewhere and overnight success is a rarity, not the norm. I have a tendency to look at the big picture and end goal way too often and fear sets in. Changing my perspective to what I can do today, keeps the fear in check. I have to remind myself that DogZenergy started as Wagz n’ Wigglz on my street with just a handful of dogs and that it took a few years to walk a dog on every single street in all of La Jolla and greater San Diego. We all start somewhere and progress is made when we keep on moving.

#3 Keeping life in balance is an art form and is the key to staying calm, brave and laser focused. Even though I can’t juggle, I have an imaginary Brittany in my head who is a fantastic juggler. She juggles a lot of balls. There’s one for my family, friends, Handlr, DogZenergy, pets, fitness, fun, health, mindfulness and learning. I am happiest and most brave when all of these balls are up in the air. If I drop one, a few others start dropping and then I’ve lost all my balls and marbles. Luckily I have ball obsessed golden retrievers who help me pick up my metaphorical balls. This is sounding weird and somewhat dirty. Getting back on track here… it’s tricky to keep your life in balance, but especially as an entrepreneur, it’s essential to take care of yourself to be the best version of yourself. You are your business and your business needs you. You don’t have time to be worrying and fretting about the future or whether or not things are going to turn out the way that you want them to. You just need to keep it all in perspective, make progress and stay balanced.

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“Fear can only grow in darkness. Once you face fear with light, you win.” -Steve Maraboli”
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The End of an Era: Why Yelp is on its Last Leg

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More than ever, an online review, often anonymously written on websites like Yelp can make or break a small business. If you own your own service business, chances are you’ve already felt the dramatic effects of a single negative review can have. A disgruntled customer can ruin a business’s reputation without ever stepping foot inside, and with little to no evidence of their claims. Search the web and you’ll encounter endless horror stories of distasteful reviews that, regardless of merit, have essentially crushed a business’s standing with the public. Even when countless good reviews outweigh a few bad ones, the systematic way in which Yelp strong arms its business users creates a dead end for a small business on the cusp of greatness. The real problem lies in Yelp’s ability to “filter” reviews in an effort to reduce fake reviews that have plagued the site.

However, the more you look in to this feature, the more you begin to wonder if Yelp is using this as a tactic to scrape money from a helpless business. John, an East Bay Restaurateur explained his experience to the East Bay Express in an article that explores the Extortion tactics that Yelp is using against owners like himself. John received multiple phone calls from Yelp employees after a few bad reviews of his restaurant inexplicably appeared at the top of his page. When Yelp offered to remove these reviews at an enormous price, John knew something was wrong "It totally felt like a blackmail deal. I think they're doing anything to make a sale." John isn’t alone. Hundreds of businesses around the web are stuck in similar situations, all the while potential customers avoid their establishment. Simply google it and you’ll see for yourself.

The lack of a standardized format for reviews means that a business's Yelp profile rarely accounts for an accurate reflection of it’s standings with the public. This is an out of date process that will eventually fail. As the public catches on to the scheme, Yelp will lose credibility and more structured review systems will take its place.

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Business Handlr Spotlight: Mrs. Owl's Tutors

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Mrs Owls Tutors Vanessa
 

Meet Vanessa. She's our Business Spotlight of the week and one of the many, new business owners that just on-boarded her business onto Handlr. Vanessa operates a tutoring business in North County San Diego, and we are so excited to watch her business grow with us. We asked her a couple questions about her journey of starting her business and what inspires her to keep growing.

Q. How did you start your business?

A. I started my business by saying “Yes” to opportunities. I was a newly credentialed substitute teacher struggling to get a job in a poor job market for San Diego teachers. I had begun tutoring to supplement my income and made the big decision to stop substitute teaching and focus on tutoring. After 3 years, my schedule was packed and I was still getting new student requests so I decided to start Mrs. Owl’s Tutors and bring on like-minded tutors to help me out. Three years later, we continue to grow and I now have a part time office manager and part time office assistant! We have over 50 students now!

Q. What was your biggest struggle in the process?

A. My biggest struggle in the process was and still is balancing the number of tutors and the number of students. At this point I am constantly looking for qualified new tutors to keep up with the student requests. 

Q. What’s one product/business tool you can’t live without?

A. One thing I can’t live without is my office space. I joined a co-working space that is only for female entrepreneurs and business owners, called Hera Hub. It’s an amazing community of strong, intelligent, brave women who support each other. 

Q. What’s your favorite inspirational quote?

A. My favorite inspirational quote for my business is: We “bring an attitude of acceptance and interest.” from Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore. My favorite inspirational quote for myself is: “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others” 
  — L. Frank Baum,  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Q. Which historical person do you most look up to?

A. My historical person that I most look up to is Maya Angelou. She is a strong woman who isn’t afraid of being honest. Her words are beautiful and deep reaching. She is the Phenomenal Woman.

Q. If you could be an animal, what would you be and why?

A. If I could be an animal, I would be a tiger. I know, don’t I want to be an owl? That’s my business animal! Frankly, I just would want to be an animal that is at the top of the food chain, I don’t relish the idea of being eaten by a predator.

Q. What does your typical weekday look like?

A. My typical weekday looks like a whirlwind. I am a Stay At Home Mom/ Small Business Owner. I have a 3 month old, Lucas, who (so far) allows me to cram a few hours of work in. So, my day tends to be spent bouncing between taking care of Lucas and taking care of my business. It’s too exhausting to get into specifics. 

Q. How many hours do you spend on marketing, sales, scheduling, employee/contractor management, customer communication, accounting, business development, other?

A. Hours spent on different tasks per week are:

  • Marketing – 1-2 hours, word of mouth works best, but we do have a Facebook page, a Yelp page, and a website (www.mrsowlstutors.com).
  • Scheduling – Many hours - depending on new students and changes in existing students schedules.
  • Tutor Management – 4 hours – I help tutors when they need support, offer materials for them to borrow, and deal with any issues that come up.
  • Customer Communication – 3 hours – I check in with new families after their first session, talk with parents about any questions or concerns and take care of any payment questions.
  • Accounting – 3 hours – we cross check tutoring sessions to try to avoid incorrect invoices, process payments, etc.
  • Business Development – 3 hours

Q. What’s your favorite business hack?

A. My favorite business hack is having other people do the work!

Q. What does your morning routine look like?

A. My morning routine is: Wake up and feed Lucas, put him back to sleep, eat, work for about 2 hours, then feed Lucas again. 

Q. Where do you see your business in 5 years?

A. In five years, I hope to be offering tutoring to families all over San Diego County, if not more!

Q. If you could do anything right now, what would it be and why?

A. If I could do anything right now, I would sleep!

Q. If you could go back and change anything when you first started your business, what would it be and why?

A. I don’t have anything I would go back and change at the start of my business. Starting my own business was scary, but I did it anyway. I appreciate what I’ve learned along the way and I don’t regret those lessons. 

Thanks Vanessa for a great interview! If you're in the North County San Diego area, book a tutoring session with Mrs. Owl's Tutors on Handlr today! For more information on Mrs. Owl's Tutors, click here.

Introducing Handlr: The first all-in-one mobile service business platform that is f@#$ing awesome.

We have a million words we want to share with you, but to get started... here's a little video from our founder Britt and the reason why she started Handlr. 

Put your local service business on autopilot. Handlr automates scheduling, fleet tracking, payments, feedback, reporting and more so that you can organize and scale your business. The Handlr Business Dashboard is connected to the Handlr customer and team apps to streamline your daily operations.


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