8 Urgent HR Tips for Growing Businesses - Part I | SCORE

Coaches for the Worlds Best Enterprises

Are you Exploring Crowd Funding?    Maybe YOU Don't Need Venture Capital Now!  

There are some things you can do this month to add to your non financial Capital Assets!  Yes, you can raise venture capital or find angel investors or you can find the angels in your employee ranks to help you grow to places you never imagined.    

 I'd like to help the world's finest companies get even better and create amazing careers and fortunes for the owners.     

Are you ready to grow?  Do you need stronger wings for your business dreams?        You can find and lead better people and they will love the time the work with you.  

Become a talent magnet and a better leader.  You will soon find this to be true "people LOVE to send me money."    I learned from financial coaches and mentors a long the way.  I learned in the trenches, at USC, UCLA Entrepreneurs Program, at Stanford University, Berkley for the Corporate Governance programs where I received ISS Certification and  at Harvard for Leadership.  

 It won't have to take you 5 years to hit your million or 30 years to learn the lessons that I did.  Just join us this week and come to the SCORE Free Webinar by Patty DeDominic* on March 19, 2015 at 10 am pst.

Let me break it down  and help you step by step. I want to make it easier for you! 

8 Urgent HR Tips for Growing Businesses - Part I | SCORE

You can click this link to register and I hope you can attend.  This is a FREE seminar for small business owners.     Things YOU need to know about managing your team, becoming a greater leader and a talent magnet!    Part Two on 3/19/2015 at 10 am pacific time.

Unabel to Join the Webinar?  Drop us a line and let me refer you to the worlds best coaches!

Coach@dedominic.com    

DeDominic Is Chief Catalyst and Coach to some of the worlds most amazing and accomplished leaders in business, philanthropy and economic development.    She has benefited from over 40 years in business, with mentors like David Gergen, .United States Presidents, Governors, the Council of Women World Leaders and the Young President's Organization. Stanford University wrote a case study about her Corporation PDQCAREERS.com on succession planning before she sold it to a firm which consolidated and is now over $3 billion in sales.     You can find her in the Women Business Owners Hall of Fame, the top business consultants in California and in the book:  Leadership Secrets of America's Top CEOs

If you have a mission driven company and are ready to move your team to the next level, you can reach her office easily  805 565 9967 and benefit from the network which is often called her Golden Rolodex.  

A Conversation with Top Banker, Dennis E. McGaughey

Click here to listen!

Get banking advice and tips from a top banker! Listen to Patty DeDominic interview, Dennis McGaughey of McGaughey Financial Services and stay on top of the latest trends in lending.

Looking for Venture Capital or Angel Investors? Think Twice.

By Patty DeDominic

Look closer and think about some alternatives that might enable you to save a huge percent of your equity. Perhaps the right question here is WHY DO YOU really need to raise that seed capital?   Perhaps the real challenge here would be to raise ADVISERS who can help you develop your plan for gross revenue increases and help you leverage your contact base for more creative ways to accomplish what needs to be done.

You’re a tough, resourceful and capable entrepreneur.You’re probably known as an expert in your field yet global competition, technological changes and government regulations all add up to tremendous pressure and challenges for business owners ready to grow.   It’s hard to pick perfect partners. Just think of the marriages that end in divorce in spite of how great the honeymoon was. It’s impossible to know it all and none of us has built an empire without a virtual army of supporters, contractors and subs on our team. 

Given that you are a pro—If you are like most successful small business owners I know—you are also working hard to please and stay a few steps ahead of demanding clients and an empowered management team. Add to that the pressures of your real estate needs, be they physical on main street, virtual online or on Google’s first page, raising and investing your capital assets for higher returns and it’s a wonder that you are still standing!

Smart entrepreneurs know not to make promises they can’t keep, nor can they sustain months of burning the midnight oil. I just don’t want you taking on another Master in the form of a hungry investor or business partner who may not be as passionate about your mission as you are.   Sometimes it seems like we are on a treadmill and it’s impossible to hop off without a catastrophe.

That’s why I think you need a strong Advisory Board for your growing enterprise if you are going to SCALE it. But WHO and HOW are you going to find, recruit and enlist them? I would like you to identify at least one thought leader or futurist in your field and connect with them.  Add to that your banker or other top CPA or financial brain, a legal brain, a customer advocate, a people expert and a digital marketing guru.  With these skills you can make money and you just about have your village. Find wise advisers by referrals.  Start with your banker.   Your top local insurance agents usually have a fabulous Rolodex since so much of their business comes by formal and informal referral systems and high level networking.   

Instead of shopping for investors,  shop for brains and bring them together to brainstorm innovation and the low hanging fruit that each sees after you share your mission and vision for your future.  I want you to develop a smart, strong and profitably sustainable company. 

When you do, you will find investors approaching you and the “sales pitch” will have to be theirs, not yours.

Let me know if you wish to hear more information on our Advisory Board services.  

DeDominic & Associates does this with teams as small as two and up to 10 “board” members.     

Email me at Patty@dedominic.com  

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The Importance of Strategic Alliances for Growing Enterprises and Their Owners

By Patty DeDominic

Is the entrepreneurs’ journey really a solo trip to riches based on their own brilliance?  Or is it still pretty “lonely at the Top?”  Let’s face it, many a small business owner feels the whole weight of their future is on their shoulders.   They think the whole reason their business is successful is on them…and they are probably right if they have not built a team.

But how to build a team when the business is small and finances are tight?   Reinvesting for growth is one way and I recommend that all businesses reinvest in their people, in training and in systems. Another way to grow, and be bigger and less lonely than a “solo- preneur,”   is to partner with others for mutual benefit. I love Strategic Alliances and limited join ventures for growth oriented businesses. Mary Ohara Devereaux tells us to “learn to drink at dangerous waters” during chaotic economic times. Our competitor could be our partner tomorrow and competition can come from all over the world so we better find others who share some of our values, our vision and a reason to partner with us for mutual benefit.

It does not have to be expensive to add to your credentials. You can bring on millions of dollars’ worth of talent with the right Strategic Alliances. With creative licensing arrangements you can also “borrow” others halo with branded merchandise, white labeled products and services too. 

As founder and entrepreneur, you are probably the whole reason for your business existence. And if you are over a few million dollars in gross revenues now, you are most likely the reason for your small business staying small or being stuck in a rut now too.    YOU, the owner are THE GOOD NEWS but you can also be your own bad news too if you don’t keep on growing.  It’s time for you to reach out and connect with some “business partners” to expand your team. Too many small enterprises run without the benefit of outside advisors. Now I don’t expect you to all run out and get an advisory board or even a coach, although it might be a great idea for you to do both. Give some thought to adding some strategic alliances this quarter to help you provide added expertise to your team and deeper resources for your customers too.  

Over the years and again this year, I have added some great experts as part of the team at DeDominic & Associates. I brought on people with shared values yet difference skills and varied points of view. Adding strategic partners can help you reach out and connect with advisors and others outside the business who can give you another set of eyes and ears.   Strategic Alliances can also help you expand your service offerings without adding overhead. We at DeDominic & Associates have just added special advisors and experts in the Marketing and Social media, sales training, a business plan system and financial services arenas. We did this by finding other business owners who share our values and who also love helping small business owners grow.

Try it….  You can only grow as a result of every new business “adventure” you engage in. I would love to hear your success stories. Please write to coach@dedominic.com and let us hear from you about your own Strategic Alliances and joint ventures.   

How to Create Stronger Accountability to Meet Your Business Goals

By Patty DeDominic

Business people are empowered when they know which targets they are aiming for in their company. That has a lot to do with accountability in the workplace.

Many business managers these days are seeing the effects related to a lack of accountability. Leaders must immediate corrections to align their goals and push for better performance with a strategic accountability system.

The best employees often depart because they seek accountability. They become upset when they are not recognized and less productive performers are not held accountable. These businesses find it more difficult to bring in talent because those workers want to perform in a setting that makes accountability a high priority.

A company without accountability won’t reach its potential. If standards are low, the company’s goals won’t be accomplished. If the business isn’t performing as planned, morale will drop as well.

Employees in the wrong jobs will bring down the company culture. Mediocrity and complacency will become accepted. Because of this, more responsibilities will fall upon the company’s top manager who must tackle more responsibilities, including recruiting more workers. He or she could become overwhelmed because accountability has not been maintained down the line.

However, a business with strong accountability will perform much differently. A leader who uses accountability will create ownership for the company’s workers. This is important because building a sense of ownership will help accomplish the firm’s goals. The job will be done. The company’s pace will be set with accountability.

What is and what is not working for the company will be uncovered with greater accountability. Leaders will discover if they’re on the right track, if there are square pegs in round holes and if their goals are being met. This information can be used to make any necessary changes.

How to Increase Your Cash Flow

By Patty DeDominic

Cash-flow problems arise often when clients get behind on fee payments. The best way to avoid this problem is to get paid up front or have a more enforceable agreement about when fees will be paid.

Good quality control is important so that clients can be sure they are getting the service for which payment is due. Cash may be king, however, finding options is queen

It may be time to consider increasing prices to maintain a consistent revenue stream. Or, it may be a good idea to start trimming operating costs as well.

Look into ways to lower the cost of fulfillment by automating business systems. Avoid wasted labor expenses for things that can be automated. Create check lists and protocols to provide staff or substitute workers with written or automated documentations, macros and automatic responders to save time and money.

Don’t reinvent the wheel for every new vendor or hire. Provide a video orientation for them. Provide self-serve and frequently asked questions on the company website. Also add phone systems that will keep hiring to a minimum. (For example: “Press 2 for hours and directions to our location.”)

Here’s another idea that might help cut spending: Perhaps a business can use a barter system or receive in-kind services in lieu of a fee or partial fee.

It’s a good idea for businesses to keep close watch on their cash-flow shortage as opposed to operating losses.

While some small businesses use credit card companies, it may be a better idea to get a line of credit from your existing bank before a cash-flow crisis occurs. Your bank usually will listen to your needs at no extra cost instead of sending bill like an attorney or accountant.

 Businesses should project their spending, plan and budget accordingly. Watch for recurring expenses. Prune clients. Businesses should ask themselves, “Are we just spending or investing?”

 In the long term, strategic planning will pay off.

Building Your Management Team

By Patty DeDominic

All champions have a coach. So, it’s a good idea to take some advice from an entrepreneur who has built some management teams.

Here are some tips about team building

n  Appreciation pays big dividends. Showing appreciation in any form for team members will help keep the team together. Like a well-oiled machine, an appreciated team works well together.

n  Turnover costs a lot. After the right hire is made, retain your team member as long as possible because it’s costly to recruit and start all over again.

n  Lack of turnover also costs a lot. If the new team member isn't working out, it’s best to evaluate the hire, assess the situation and take corrective action. That could mean changing assignments.

n  Seek diverse skills. To multi-task, which is so much required these days, a manager must have multiple skills. Training is needed is something is lacking in his or her skill set. It’s not a good idea to hire someone who is not willing to learn new skills.

n  Seek unified actions not uniformity. A team works together as a unit, but not every member is the same. Some members may be stronger at some positions than others, but everyone should have a well-defined role that fits into the company’s strategic plan.

Why New Managers 'Sink or Swim'

By Ray Estrada

When I was a boy, my father used to tell me how he was going to teach me how to swim: “I’m going to throw you in the river and yell, ‘alligator!’”

I like to swim, but I’m still not very good at it, despite my dad’s pressure.

Many new managers are told to do their job with as much incentive as I was given to swim. Good managers are made, not just made up.

During about 25 years in various management roles, I initially learned the ropes from mentors and other managers. My experience as a manager was mostly trial and error, hit or miss. However, it was not until I received a scholarship for formal management training at the Medill Campus of Northwestern University that I realized how to do my job as an office leader.

While there is no substitute for experience, training is invaluable. Want to be a successful manager? Get some real training and your experience, and success, will grow exponentially.

Another reason why new managers fail is micromanagement. Many times their supervisors will not let them manage effectively. Looking over a middle manager’s shoulder makes for a less than desirable situation. Managers should be allowed to fulfill their job descriptions without significant changes for at least one year.

A performance review is a good idea after a period of time in which the new manager can prove himself or herself in a designated role.

A third reason why new managers fail is that they are the proverbial square peg in a round hole. This often happens when nepotism or other types of favoritism are involved. It is vital to hire – and train – the right person for the proper management role. Not doing so is costly and frustrating.

In short, to assume that an employee is management material can be folly. The way to be even more certain involves training and proper evaluation. Find the best people for management roles and back them up with proper support.

Professional Resume Templates

By James Coleman
Managing Editor 
Hloom

According to a large survey by Gallup published in 2013, analyzing answers from 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries, only about 30% of employees worldwide are satisfied with their jobs. What’s even worse, approximately 25% of people hate their jobs. That raises a very important question. Why do so many people stay in a job where they are not happy? While the answer to that question is multifaceted, we all know that the process of applying for new jobs can be both time consuming and daunting.

Building Your Resume- Where to Start?

Your resume represents you as a professional on a piece of paper – it is your first impression with your future boss. Interestingly, resume writing is not a skill that is generally taught in school so once you are ready to start looking for a job, you are left to fend for yourself. In this age of technology, most people search the internet. There is an overabundance of information available online, yet very little of it is helpful and if you decide to take matters into your own hands, it is difficult to figure out where to start.

Start by putting together the content: work experience, summary of qualifications, achievements, education, keywords and any other important information that makes a powerful resume. (Not sure what and how to write? Get this Resume Writing Guide ebook). Then, chose a format: chronological, functional, or combination. Once you have your content ready, and only then, find the best template to ‘dress up’ your content.

Presentation Matters

While the content of your resume is always the most important part, the presentation is a close second. Consider for a minute the restaurant industry. What are some of the main differences between an average restaurant and a 5-star restaurant? The quality of the food is (or should be!) the main difference, but presentation matters. Our first experience of food is usually how it looks, and if something doesn’t look good, it is less likely that we will want to eat it.

Liken this to your resume. It doesn’t always matter if you are the best person for a particular job if your application doesn’t reflect it. Your resume is your ticket to the next step in the hiring process. A recruiter or a hiring manager spends an average of just 6 seconds looking at a resume and if yours doesn’t catch his or her attention in that time, it is sent straight to the discard pile instead of getting a second look.

So how do you make sure that you catch the attention of a hiring managerwho has 300 other applicants for the same position? Well, just keep your application organized, easy to read and add a little “wow factor”. Clear headings and concise information is essential as well as the order of the content. The thing about a resume is, you want to stand out and be remembered without going overboard and ending up in the “noticed – but not in a good way” pile in the hiring manager’s office.

When it comes to job search, “any press” is NOT “good press”. If you stand out because your resume is disorganized, cluttered, or just over the top colorful, you may not get a second chance with that company. And people talk. You may not get a second chance with three other companies that they are collaborating with either.

Resume layouts on this page come with “lorem ipsum” content since they are designed to help you with appearance of your resume. We also have examples sample content – be sure to check them out: High School Graduate Resumes, High School Student Resumes, Massage Therapist Resumes, Medical Assistant Resumes, Biodata,Cashier, and Babysitter.

Using Resume Samples: Good, Bad or Evil? 

A good template can really help you streamline your resume and keep it organized and professional without taking up a lot of your time, allowing you to focus on the actual content, as well as searching for your next job. It helps you add a touch of personality, stay structured and consistent and present your experience in a chronological, easy to read manner.

There are some professionals out there who advise against using templates because they believe it makes your resume look generic and won’t help you stand out from other job applicants. This is certainly true when you use the very same generic sample that everybody else is using, without making any changes. Recruiters and hiring managers see hundreds of resumes every day, and they can spot resume templates a mile away.

Don’t use our samples as a ready-made cookie-cutter solution. Use them as an inspiration, as a foundation of your unique, one-of-a-kind, creation.

Read more here

Big Dreams Fly on Strong Wings - lynda.com featured in Forbes Magazine

Big Dreams for those whose Business Wings 

have Passion, Purpose 

and  

Great Advisers.

Lynda Weinman, co founder of Lynda.com

How would you like to grace the cover or pages of  globally powerful business magazines?   Some of us have been fortunate to get this type of recognition for business success.  I have been honored to be among them and have ridden the entrepreneurial roller coaster myself.  I sold my companies nine years ago and watch the aggregator surpass a staggering billion dollars in sales.   That, my friend, is a whole different ball game than the mom and pops which may up 90% of America's businesses.   Today,   I am a  business coach at DeDominic & Associates in Santa Barbara California.    I have been been fortunate to associate, advise and learn from some of the best entrepreneurs in America.   

  Don't you think everyone should be featured in Forbes Magazine just in time to celebrate a special birthday?  It's not an impossible dream,  it happened this month  as Lynda Weinman got a very special gift.  The company announced another hundred million in investment capital, was featured in Forbes Magazine  and there are not too many more unique "gifts" than that.

  Lynda of lynda.com,  and her husband created the now famous business used by universities, governments and people around the world.   She is featured in Forbes as an American success story of epic proportions.    Congratulations to a woman, and her whole team including her husband Bruce, who has been living and working her dreams for over twenty years. You have earned your great success story and we here in the Southern California area are proud to call you a local! 

 Not exactly an overnight success, Lynda tells of some lean years and times when resources were scarce.    After 911, when people stopped flying in to Ojai for classroom training the company was forced to reinvent its service offerings.  Over the years  the company grew and added  more expert lead training sessions and content to help people learn about almost anything. Today the company is considered one of the fastest growing educational companies in the world. 

The Pacific Coast Business Journal  and other  technology news media reported that her company accepted over $186 million in outside funding and gross revenues are estimated to  have reached $150 million.    Not bad girlfriend!

She has been passionate about wanting to change the face and tools of education.    Years ago she told me she wanted to demystify and simplify the making of websites. Lynda wrote the first "plain English" version of  books on  website design. She has told the story to the MIT Venture forum,  the International Women's Festivals and the National Association of Women Business owners many times.  Partnering with her husband Bruce Heavin  and being blessed to have a teachers minds and great skill, the couple created Lynda.com.    Their Carpinteria, California based company with 400 employees has enjoyed a spot on Inc. Magazines fastest growing educational companies for the past few years. 

  I recently renewed my membership it is still only $25.00 to have access to a world of training on almost any business subject you could wish for.