Imagine for a moment you are at the hospital, and the doctor is explaining to you that your wife/daughter/father… is very sick and over the next few months, they will be fighting for their lives. After the initial shock and as you support them through this, you start realising you are not able to put the time into your business that is needed.

Slowly but surely the business starts to stutter; small problems become bigger; staff are not "stepping up" like you need them to; cash flow starts to get tight, and you just don’t have the time to sort these things out. It’s becoming necessary to be at the hospital more and more, but if you don’t resolve these problems with the business, there is going to be one more casualty.

If you were in this situation, would your business survive for a week, a month, six months, a year? Would it continue to produce profits and income for you, or would it struggle to survive?

Here is the not-so-secret secret: Your business doesn’t care what’s happening to you. It just reacts to what you give it.

Your business is like a plant. If you give it water (customers), sunshine (good systems and staff), and good soil (the right market), it grows and flourishes. But if you neglect it, forget to water it, and put it in the wrong place, it will struggle. Leave it alone for too long and eventually it will die. 

What if you found the perfect place for your plant, set up an automated water supply, and gave it nutrient-rich compost? Sure, you still need to check on it from time to time, but if you are away for a while, it would be okay. The plant doesn’t care what is happening in your personal life or if you or your family are healthy or well. It doesn’t understand and never will. To live and flourish it just needs what it needs.

I have seen businesses too reliant on the owner get into trouble very quickly. The owner experiences an unexpected personal crisis, can’t work for awhile, their attention is elsewhere. All of a sudden jobs start going wrong, customers start complaining, cash flow dries up, work stops coming in; it’s very very stressful.

As we all know (especially in Christchurch), unexpected things can happen in life. Circumstances can change in an instant, and your whole world looks different.

What kind of stuff can happen? Well, anything.

•    Trouble with your marriage/partner
•    A family member is very sick/Life-threatening illness
•    Death of a loved one
•    Personal injury or illness/chronic pain
•    Spouse/partner needs a minor or major operation
•    Addiction struggles (your own or a family member)
or
•    Staff you rely on are experiencing one of the above

The list is endless, but you get the idea.

By the way, although the odds of these things happening to you in the next year are relatively small, if you look at the list entirely, the chances are at least one of these things will happen to you or your staff.

When it does, you will not be able to give the time and effort to your business that you once were. You will need space to deal with these important life events. (Even if you are still spending time in your business, you won’t be at your best).

I think we all agree family is more important than business. So if someone you love needs you, you need to be able to step away from your business without things falling apart.

In these storms, you need a business that will look after itself for a while or at least survive with only a little focus and help from you.

Remember too there are plenty of good things that affect your business also, although these are easier to see coming. 

•    Weddings and new relationships
•    Pregnancy and new babies
•    Moving house
•    A big holiday or trip overseas

Think about what happened last time you took a few days or months off. What shape was your business in when you got back? Maybe you don’t take holidays anymore because the mess you come back to is just too stressful…

The good news is with planning and some good strong systems, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Two of my clients not so long ago each had an unexpected health crisis, and both of their businesses have come through in good shape. I am not saying the businesses were performing at optimum capacity, but they kept functioning properly in spite of the owners absence - continued to produce results, perform well and provide income. Staff knew what to do, so there was no extra stress on the owner. 

You know what? Every single circumstance I listed above has happened in the lives of business owners I work with, at least once, in the last two years alone! And some in my own life as well. 

As a business mentor and coach, I know how important it is to hope and plan for the best, but also have a plan for the worst.

So to sum up: your business needs protection. You need to make sure you have everything in place so, just like the plant, it will carry on regardless of your circumstances.

​PS:
If you need help, email me to ask about the 7 Most Important Action Steps to ensure any business would survive a personal crisis.

It's January again, and this is a great time of year to make a fresh start. I love this time of year, as it feels like a new beginning, to build on last year but also start something new, to create an even better business and have more impact on the world.

So I have put together 7 empowering questions that will get you focused and ready to make this your best year ever.

I recommend you allocate at least 30 minutes to go through these questions and answer them with as much detail as you can.

1) What were my biggest accomplishments for 2015?
Think back to some of the wins you had last year, the things you did well that you were really proud of. Not just in business but also personally.

2) What were the biggest mistakes I made in 2015?
This is a chance to review what went wrong - important as you don't want to make the same mistakes again.

3) What skills have I improved? What lessons did I learn in 2015?
Take a few minutes to reflect on what you learned.

4) What are my 3 biggest business and personal GOALS for 2016?
Make these into "SMART" GOALS - Specific, Meaningful, Action-Orientated, Realistic (but challenging enough to motivate you!), and Timely.
For example "To double the profits in my business from $200,000 to $400,000 by 31st December 2016. I will then use this extra money to get rid of the business loan of $200,000."

5) What new habits do I need to achieve my GOALS?
To achieve your GOALS you will need to do some things differently this year. If you do the same things as last year you will get the same results. 
For example, a new habit for the goal above might be measuring sales weekly to see if you are on track; new initiatives might include developing new/different marketing strategies to get more leads or improving sales skills to increase conversions.

6) What do I need to let go of, to make room for these new habits?
It's important to make room for these new initiatives and habits. To do this you will need to decide what to let go or say "NO" to, so that there is time available. So list the things you will no longer do or will delegate. It might be limiting time on emails and Facebook, eliminating TV so you get to bed earlier, or getting a staff member to do those low value repetitive tasks that must be done but are taking too much of your time. 

7) What is the first step to achieving each GOAL?
Each GOAL then needs an action step towards achieving it. If you don't have action, then your GOAL is really just a nice idea that probably won't happen. Following the example above, a first action step could be: Making a 12 month marketing plan to get the extra $200,000 profit. (Calculation: $600,000 sales x 33% margin).

Action Points
1) Set aside 30 minutes in your diary and go through the above exercise.
2) Find someone you can show the answers to, who will help keep you accountable. Writing down your goals and sharing them with someone else makes you statistically way more likely to succeed!
​

If you've been watching the news lately, you'll know that parts of the economy are starting to struggle and the mood is changing. The latest ANZ business survey headline reads "Business confidence remains on the ropes, hitting a new six-year low in August". The dairy industry is struggling and construction in some sectors is starting to be affected by the oversupply of houses.

A number of businesses I talk to are concerned about the current climate and if sales will be affected over the next 6-12 months. It's important to be aware of the climate and adapt accordingly, but also remember that all these things are in cycles, so this is nothing new (some suggest every seven years, but this will vary depending on the market).

As these cycles change, what can you do to make sure any impact is minimal to sales and profits for your business?

Smart businesses who recognise the downward trends will be looking for strategies to minimise effects on their business.

Here are six strategies that will help to ensure your profits stay intact even when your market is in a downturn:

1) Be in more than one market 

Every market and customer group has highs and lows every few years, so it's important to make sure that you have customers in more than one market. Often when one market is at the bottom of a cycle, another is growing. By selling to more than one market you will still have growth in at least one area of your business.

Look at your existing customers in segments or groups. Some groups will be growing - spending more each sale or more new customers coming to your business. Other customer groups will be shrinking - they are spending less, buying less frequently or not at all. Identify the customer groups that are growing and target them individually in your marketing.

Note: there may be some customer groups that might be growing - but are not attracted to your company - and you don't recognise them. Check out what areas might be growing in the market or your competition is promoting to that you are not.

In every business there are a number of different customers and markets. Let's look at two examples of companies with different markets in a downturn:

IT Company: This IT company might have four main customer groups: residential, commercial, new installs, and maintenance.
Opportunities: Commercial might be slow but there could be plenty of home based businesses starting up and commercial requiring help scaling down; there could be opportunities to decrease costs for these businesses with current telephone technology and cloud based solutions for both existing and new customers.

Water Pump Installation and Servicing: This company may have three main customer groups: farmers, new subdivisions and servicing.
Opportunities: Dairy farming might be quiet; but beef and sheep farmers could still be good. While new subdivisions, and pump servicing will still have growth.

Every small business should have a number of different customer groups, to avoid being too exposed when these cycles come and go.


2) Look after existing customers

Make sure you keep looking after your existing customers and go the extra mile. Put more focus into building good relationships. It’s much easier to keep old customers happy, than find new ones. This is also a good long term strategy, for when the cycle comes back around.


3) Look for more of the type of customers you already deal with

This seems obvious, but are you doing it?

If a trades business currently gets work from two large building companies, they should seek out others. Relying on a small number of customers is dangerous anyway because if one is lost, the business is very exposed.


4) Diversify

Think about what else you can offer your existing customers.You might be able to re-package or sell them something different, introduce new lines. 

For example, a shoe shop in a recession, could expand their range to include kids school shoes, workboots, and add on's like laces, protective sprays, polishes, etc.


5) Keep things tight

It's important to make sure that any losses you incur in a downturn are kept to a minimum. So work on:

• Reducing unnecessary expenses 
• Becoming more efficient with your production or service
• Non-performing staff need to come up to speed or leave/be reassigned (this may seem harsh, but staff that are not producing results will reduce the effectiveness of the whole team)
• If price is an issue, offer more economic options for customers (without the bells and whistles)
• Protect your margins (be careful as selling two times as much for half the margin will not help)

6) Keep investing in the right areas

There are some areas of your business that you should spend more on like:

• Sales related activities (keep marketing to your customers - but always measure what leads and sales these are generating) 
• Staff training (make sure your sales team keep learning and improving as this will improve sales)
• Your training (as a business owner, the better you are at business, the better your business will be - so don't stop investing time and money in your own training, and seek quality advice when you need to)

Action Points
1) Profile your customers and list what markets and opportunities there are for growth.
2) Go through your expenses to see what you can reduce.
3) Decide on one area you need to improve on personally that will help the business (this might be marketing, selling, negotiation, dealing with staff, etc), and commit to improving with some formal training.

I was talking recently with one of the top surgeons in Christchurch about how he works with high-risk patients or any patients for that matter. He said he starts with Plan A, but then he also has a Plan B, and a Plan C, and more if needed. The whole surgical team talk through these in depth and everyone knows exactly what to do in each scenario.

Nothing is left to chance - every possibility is evaluated and the best course of action decided on if it were needed. So then, when they perform the operation, the whole team has confidence that they will not get into trouble if things don’t go according to the original plan, and more importantly they know what to do, no matter what happens.

Now does that mean that nothing ever goes wrong? Of course, not. Patients sometimes are unpredictable - they are people after all. The difference is that the plan is there ready and waiting if unlikely scenarios occur. This saves lives.

And this approach ultimately can save your business too. It’s the surprises that you don’t know how to deal with, or just don’t have enough time to fix in the heat of the moment, that are the most dangerous. These usually cause the most damage, take all your focus and attention, and cause the most stress. Have too many of these and you are in trouble big time. You may not be in business any more.  

So, do you have a business plan? Because if you don’t, you need one.

A plan is important to any business, no matter what the size, and I am not talking about the 50 page type plan that sits in the office drawer never to be looked at again. I am talking about a day by day, week by week, month by month plan for areas of your business that need attention like marketing, cashflow or maybe profits, just to name a few.

For example let’s have a look at a typical problem business owners have – cashflow. The cashflow plan would look something like this depending on the business and their situation:

Plan A
•    System for invoicing (making sure money is invoiced on time)
•    Ensure target margins are being meet with jobs
•    System for collecting money on time
•    How to deal with late payers
•    Ensuring you are getting the right kind of customers (in other words the ones that pay)
•    Negotiating with suppliers for credit terms
•    Good stock control (not buying stock too early before needed)
•    Complete a cash flow to see when money is likely to be short

Plan B
•    All of the above, plus:
•    Selling dead stock
•    Extra facility in place with bank when needed
•    Access to extra capital

Plan C (last resort - if in crisis)
•    All of the above, plus:
•    Negotiate payment plan IRD for overdue and current outstanding amounts
•    Negotiate with suppliers to help you through a bad patch

This plan if followed will keep most businesses out of trouble and the bank account thriving.

Now the thing with a plan is that it needs to be put into action and used. So Plan A should be applied every day or at least every week. This is the proactive “sort things out before they get out of hand” plan. 

Plan B and C are if things are a little more serious. By the way please make sure that if you are reading this and you do owe the IRD overdue payments, negotiate a payment plan immediately. If you don’t, you will find very quickly that the penalties and interest will accumulate and could double the amount you owe. If you are unsure how to negotiate with IRD then get your accountant involved or give me a call and we can talk through some negotiation tactics that have worked very well with those I have helped get out of trouble.

On Plan A you will also notice “Complete a cash flow”. This is important as it will show you what times of the year you are likely to out of cash like Christmas holidays, and what times of the month are difficult. Once you know this, you can work out how to deal with it. Always better to see a problem coming and make a plan, than be caught by surprise. I hate bad surprises as I am sure you do also. 

So how does your bank balance look? Are you constantly being surprised when you don’t have any money in the bank? Take the stress out of it and make a plan, follow the plan and have Plan B and C ready if needed.


At the end of the day, if it is you that ends up on the operating table, you want to know that your surgeon has thought through his plan of action and has every eventuality covered. Your business is your livelihood - your family, your staff, your customers are depending on you - think like a surgeon and use this approach to win.


Task:

1. Pick the area of your business that you are having the most difficulty with. 
2. Now list all possible solutions to the problem – Create Plan A.  (If possible involve your staff in this as they will often have some perspectives you would not think of)
3. Think about things that might derail Plan A - other things that could go wrong – and think of solid solutions for these scenarios. This is your Plan B, C and so on.
4. Take action - use Plan A – remember a plan without action does not work! 
5. And have Plan B ready if needed. 

If you want to make your business successful and get rid of the problems and frustrations that keep you from getting the result that you want, then it is time to identify exactly what the problem is. And it is TIME TO GO TO WAR.

I was listening recently to this motivation guy Brendon Burchard who was talking about going to war on the area of life that is causing you the most difficulties. It got me thinking about how this concept is very relevant to business.

Imagine you are a general in an army. There is key territory that, if you can take it, will be a prime position for you for all communication and a base where you will be able to launch future attacks on your enemy. It will be the difference between whether you win the war or not. This is valuable territory and it is a must-win - get this and you have made some serious ground - lose this and things are going to be much harder and you will be at a major disadvantage. Basically this is the tipping point for success or failure.

So what do you do? Try one attack and hope for the best? No, it's way too important to stop there, so you throw everything at it until you win. You send in spies to get the lie of the land, planes and missiles to disrupt the enemy, place ground troops in key locations, you have back up troops in case the first layer are overcome, you have boats waiting with more men in case they are also over-run. You have bulk supplies of weapons and food in case it takes longer than you expect. You send in your best most highly trained soldiers at key times. Basically you do whatever it takes for as long as it takes. 

What about if you just did one thing? You send in your troops, and if they don't succeed then at least you have tried. What would the result be? You might get lucky and catch the enemy off guard, but most likely you would fail the first time. Would your peers be happy with this approach? I very much doubt it. Yet often I see this approach in business; all too often, even when the key territory will make or break the business.

Let's look at how this approach relates to business:

A local restaurant is struggling. It's the middle of winter and sales are down - our humble business owner is losing money. The bank account is in overdraft. Basically his problem is that these lean months are eating away at the hard earned profits he has made during the year. If this keeps going he will have nothing to show for his hard work for the whole year.

So he puts an ad in the local paper - it doesn't work - not a single customer! Oh well, he did his best, he tried, but it's winter time, what else can he do? Just have to wait until things get a bit better and bleed in the meantime. No! No! No! He can do way better than that!

What if instead, he decided to go to war on the problem? What if boosting profits during winter was the key territory he must take? What if he threw everything at it until the sales and bank account moved in his favour? Let's have a look at some quick strategies he could apply:

He could increase sales by:

• Using his customer database to send his regular patrons a special invitation and free dessert promotion for winter 
• Teaming up with the local jeweler and offering a voucher for a free main meal at the restaurant when customers buy jewelery over $500.00
• Training his staff to give better service and up-sell desserts and drinks 
• Offering the local businesses in the area a takeaway lunch special 
• Encouraging his best customers to put their feedback on dining websites like Dine Out and Trip Advisor
• Launching a Facebook page and advertising to his local market
• Trying Google Adwords with a special offer
• Starting up a happy hour with a live band (where there are good margins on drinks)
• Having a themed party night and promoting the heck out of it (eg if you had an Indian restaurant what about a Bollywood night)
• Initiating loyalty cards with free extras after spending x amount
• Doing a good old mailbox drop of nearby businesses and homes with a special limited time offer
• New signage, or signs advertising specials of the day

He could reduce costs by:

• Negotiating with key suppliers for better deals
• Reducing staff hours in the most quiet times
• Modifying the menu and getting rid of the poor selling meals which take all his chefs time
• Reducing wastage

There are plenty of other things he could do also, but you get the picture.

By just picking one of these strategies each week - it won't take long before the bank account and profits are looking a whole lot better.

So are you ready to go to war in your business?

What "key territory" do you need to capture for your business?

What will make all the difference?

What is the biggest frustration or challenge in your business right now?

What is the obstacle stopping you from achieving the results you want and need?

TIME TO GO TO WAR.

Action Point: 
1) Pick that one problem in your business that is causing you the most grief and decide to go to war against it. 
2) Write down at least 8 strategies you will use to beat this problem once and for all.
3) Schedule time to apply one of these strategies each week in the business. 
4) Commit to completing the whole 8 weeks and don't give up if the first few things don't produce results.

Richard Branson’s book “Screw It, Let’s Do It” is a great read if you are looking for some inspiration. 

His story of how Virgin Airlines got started is amazing. Richard was waiting at the airport for a flight to see his girlfriend. The flight was cancelled but Richard was very keen to see his girlfriend and did not want to wait until the next day.  So he chartered a plane. He didn’t have the money to pay for it but was confident that other cancelled passengers would want to fly that night too. He then advertised his flight on a small blackboard and sold tickets for $39 to fill the plane. He pulled it off, was able to see his girlfriend, and that was how his famous “Virgin Airlines” was born. 

So what happened here? Why did Richard succeed when few others would not have even thought about doing it, let alone followed through? 

I believe that firstly he asked a better question: “How can I still get there tonight?” - even though the flight was cancelled. Then took action and hired the plane. At this point he was committed – he had to make it work as he didn’t have enough money to pay for the plane. He sold the tickets and it all came together. 

I am sure that if you look through the rest of Richard’s life you will see the same thing over and over again. He has started over 300 companies throughout his career - there is no way that he could have become an expert in this many fields before committing to these projects. He asked a better question, made a plan and then took a calculated leap of faith.

So what stops us?  Fear. 

Fear that it won’t work, fear that we will look stupid, fear that we are wasting our time... fear, fear, fear...

By the way, fear is really just confidence in a negative outcome, where as faith is confidence in a positive one. 

Did everything Richard try work? – No, of course not. 

One of Branson’s biggest failures was Virgin Cola – he famously drove a tank into Times Square to announce that his new brand would take down Coca-Cola. Obviously he didn't even get close on this one. However he says “At Virgin, we don't spend much time regretting the past, and we don't let mistakes or failures get to us, and we certainly don't fear failure. We picked ourselves up and tried again and searched for opportunities in other gaps in the market.”

In another interview he says: “Remember that it is impossible to run a business without taking risks. Virgin would not be the company it is today if we had not taken risks along the way. You really do have to believe in what you are doing. Devote yourself to it 100 percent and be prepared to take a few hits along the way. If you go into something expecting it to fail, nine times out of 10, it probably will. Above all, remember to have fun with it. That keeps you and your colleagues enthusiastic and motivated. One of my favourite sayings summarizes this perfectly: ‘The brave may not live forever -- but the cautious do not live at all!’”
 
So what is the project or business idea that you know you should do, but haven’t? 

Ask a better question. When you have the answer - Take action.

And may I encourage you to embrace Richard Branson's famous words and in the face of your own opportunities, say “Screw It, Let’s Do It”!

Action Point: Take that project or business idea that you have not yet gotten around to starting – but you know you should.

1) Write down what this project will do for your business
2) Write down the worst possible outcome if it fails (in most cases it's really not that bad)
3) Make a plan
4) Take that all-important first step.

As a business coach, sometimes I have to have awkward conversations with my clients...

These conversations can feel awkward because FACING REALITY and making a CHANGE isn't always easy. And sometimes the TRUTH is hard to hear - but these conversations address what is really going on - and they are essential to make you and the business the BEST it can be. 

Remember the main restriction of any business in nearly all cases is the owners' abilities and thinking. So take a look and see if YOU need to have an awkward conversation.

"So do you actually know how much profit you are making?"
The first awkward conversation business owners can expect when I start working with them. You wouldn't think so, but many just don't know how they are going month to month. This is a crucial piece of information to know; after all you CAN'T win if you don't know the score. And it's way too late six months after the year-end when your accountant tells you the result. There is nothing you can do then. That game is over, you are playing the next one. You can only look to next year. Don't be scared of the outcome of asking this vital question, because when you know your figures, then you can improve.

"You aren't actually making any money."
Talk about an awkward realisation! Many business owners are working very hard for very little return. IT AIN'T RIGHT! If you discover that you are not actually making any money in your business then instead of freaking out, you just need to fix it fast. Ultimately when you lose money in your business, odds are it won't be long before you will need to start dipping into your own pocket or going into more debt, to pay the bills. And if you are consistently losing money, you will not be in business for very long. For a business to survive it must make profit, so if you are not, find out WHY and make a new plan.

"If you don't sort out your cashflow, bad things will happen."
You have all heard the saying 'cash is king'. If you run out of cash you are in trouble. It won't take long before your suppliers or the bank say "enough". If your cashflow is continually stretched, this puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on you and the business. Get this one right and you halve the stress! Cashflow often gets left undealt with, but believe me, if you have issues in this area, you need to set some time aside to sort it out now (and it's not as difficult as you think).

"Are your staff really no good?"
Is it a case of "It's not you, it's me"? We all have employed staff that just did not make the grade, but this should be the exception not the norm. If you are consistently dealing with poor staff you are either picking the wrong ones or maybe it's you. I talked with a business owner once who said he "hated going to work", and told his staff this regularly - I bet with an attitude like that, his staff felt exactly the same way. Staff need leadership, reassurance and feedback good and bad. If you are not happy with your staff, then work on changing yourself and your approach first, then them. If you hate going to work - well, you are the boss, so change it.

"Are you a workaholic?"
I ask my clients how many hours they are working and if they think they can keep this up week after week, month after month, year after year. We all know many business owners consistently work 55+ hours a week. Remember friends, business is a marathon not a sprint. It's okay to work long hours for a while, but in the long term I can guarantee you that you will not be at your best and neither will your business. We are made to work AND rest. It's during the rest times where inspiration comes and we often have those 'a-ha' breakthroughs. You will achieve a lot more if you rest regularly. Remember your best asset is yourself. After all, if you get sick, how much work happens? Usually not much.

"Your family is missing out  - and you know it."
This really is awkward to address but if your family starts falling apart, guess what you are going to be doing? It's not going to be working more - a family crisis puts a stop to that real quick. Not meaning to be negative but bad stuff happens sooner or later to all of us, but spending time with your family will build a solid foundation to deal with it and minimize the downside (and hey, it's a lot more fun). If you are not married/shacked up, or do not have children, the principle remains - you still need to invest in those important relationships in your life. After all, owning a business should give you a better lifestyle than being someone's employee. If it's not, then something needs to change, RIGHT NOW!

"Is your business causing stress in your marriage?"
Very common scenario, especially if your partner is involved in the business in some capacity. If the business is not going well, then despite your best efforts, you will be bringing these stresses home with you, and it will affect the people you love. If you don't believe me, ask your partner. My bet is that you will be arguing about the same business problems over and over again - maybe it's time to face them and do something about it. Don't let work problems steal your profits, happiness, or your life.

"You are getting distracted." 
This is trap that we all fall into at times. If you are not making the business better in some way, every day or at least weekly, then you are not working ON your business, you are working IN it. Stop doing the small tasks, delegate them and start working on the important ones. And remember delegate, delegate, delegate everything you can. 

How did you do? Are some of these relevant to you? Some of these questions may make you feel frustrated - that's good - it means it's time to do something about it. If you do, the rewards can be amazing. So dare to peek behind the curtain and tackle the issues head on.


Action Point: Spend a few minutes now writing down the top three awkward conversations you need to have and then make two action points for addressing each one. Commit to take this action - then as Nike says "JUST DO IT"!

Cookie Monster first appeared on Sesame Street in 1971, and there are very few characters that have been popular for this length of time - puppet or otherwise. To have lasted this long, we can conclude that he has done some things right and as any child will tell you he always gets the cookies - so let's take a look at some of the lessons we could use and apply to business, from this very likable childhood icon........

1) Mission
Cookie Monster has one vision or mission - and everyone know what that is. He wants cookies (not cake, walnuts or apples), cookies - and no one around him is in any doubt. What is your mission for your business and does everyone know it? - your staff, customers, suppliers........ Apple's mission was to make the their Mackintosh computers/iPhones/iPads easier to use than anyone else and the world knew it - so what is yours? 

2) Focus
Very few people have anything like the focus that Cookie Monster has. Virtually nothing can distract him from his goal of that next cookie. What is your main GOAL? and how can you make sure that you do not get distracted from it?

3) Enthusiasm
One of the reasons why Cookie Monster is so likable is is absolute enthusiasm. Just watching him you can't help but have a smile on your face and catch a little of his enthusiasm yourself. People like to feel good and believe in something. The more enthusiastic you are, the better customers, associates and staff you will attract to you and your business.

4) Action
GOALS are great but without action they are of little value. Cookie Monster imagines how good the cookies will taste - and then he takes whatever action he needs towards finding them. He will look anywhere and everywhere until he has his cookie.

5) Standards
Cookie Monster loves cookies, but he still has standards. He doesn't hurt people on his cookie missions. As you persue your business GOALS make sure that you not only make a better business for your customers, staff and yourself, but that you also ensure the world is a better place because you and your business are there.

6) Enjoy the Journey
Remember that although the GOAL is the end destination, it's really about what you learn and become on the way. Cookie Monster takes enjoyment and pleasure every step of the way, imagining the cookie, enjoying his friends on the way, finding the cookie, eating the cookie, remembering eating the cookie. So make sure you celebrate and enjoy every step along the way. Business is not always easy so celebrate every win you can.

7) Timing
Timing can make the difference between success or failure. Cookie Monster although he is not always the smartest, has a habit of being in the right place at the right time. In business make sure that you are in the right place. If you are an accountant wanting business clients, you are unlikely to find many by advertising at the local rugby match. Better to advertise at a local business event instead.

8) Recognizable
Cookie Monster is recognizable wherever he goes. He is a big blue monster, and with slogans like "Me eat cookie!" every kid knows and understands him. Make sure that your business has a strong logo and colours, and that your story is clear - to make you recognizable to your market.

9) Keep Learning
Even Cookie Monster is still learning. As we can see by his latest YouTube hit "Me Want It (But Me Wait)", he is now learning self control, delaying a few seconds to enjoy the cookie even more. Every business is a reflection of the owner, so you need to keep growing to get the best from your business. So keep learning and becoming better both for your sake and your business.

Action Point: Take a minute and write down one thing from the lessons above, that you know you need to do to improve you and your business. Then decide on the next step - it might be getting a book on the subject, asking another business owner how they solved the problem, or getting hold of a mentor to help you work it out.