The Biggest Crime in Service Businesses That No One Talks About & You May Not Even Be Aware of Committing

The Biggest Crime in Service Businesses That No One Talks About & You May Not Even Be Aware of Committing

This is a tale of a crime that you must know as a service business owner.

This is a crime I have knowingly committed in the past, and I am coming clean about right here, right now.

Whether you’re aware or unaware, if you end up identifying with what I am about to share, you must also come clean for the sake of your business and your customers.

It’s funny how this is NOT often discussed as a "crime." But I'm calling it a crime because it's not the way to run a sustainable business.

So, what is it, you might ask?

Well... Let me tell you a story & give a few examples.

Once upon a time, my main business model was a monthly retainer model. Before that, I was charging hourly.

I thought, "I made progress!" Charging a flat rate on a monthly basis made me feel like a badass. In case you are still charging hourly for your service, check out “Still Trading Time for Money? Overcome These 5 Key Hurdles & Finally Stop Charging By the Hour”

But soon after, I started to question this model.

I thought, "Wait, there's only so many clients I can take on. And my sales cycle for getting them is long. The only way to keep going would be to make sure that I keep my current ones as long as possible."

Do you know exactly what I was thinking of as a “quick solution”?

I'll give you a min. I want you to think about what my immediate solution was.

OK, so my thinking was:

Why I Booked a Branded Photoshoot When I Wasn’t Ready: The 5 Key Elements of a Successful Shoot for Service Business Owners

Why I Booked a Branded Photoshoot When I Wasn’t Ready: The 5 Key Elements of a Successful Shoot for Service Business Owners

Oooo, let me tell you how much I dislike getting my photo taken. I’ve dodged it very cleverly for the longest time…4 years to be exact. So why did I book a proper branded photoshoot a.k.a. a “branded lifestyle photoshoot?” Well, you’ll find out all about it in this post.

But you might be saying, “Hey Maiko, I’ve seen your photos all over the place. What do you mean you’ve been dodging it?”

Did I not just say I’ve been “cleverly” dodging it? I’ve had 2 very casual shoots done by my friends in the past, just so that I didn’t get too nervous & worked up about the whole thing. Then while I was using some of them, I hired photographers to shoot my live events for “candid shots.”

Candid shots are great because I don’t need to pay attention to what the photographers are doing. I let them do their thing & voila! A ton of good photos come out of nowhere. Then I picked a few & threw them up on my website.

These are a couple of clever ways to avoid a proper photoshoot.

But there comes a time when you want to buckle down (more like suck up) and do one.

How to Identify & Overcome Resistance to Change: 7 Game-Changing Questions that Will Instantly Get You Out of a Perpetual “Resistance” Rut

How to Identify & Overcome Resistance to Change: 7 Game-Changing Questions that Will Instantly Get You Out of a Perpetual “Resistance” Rut

Exactly a decade ago, I was sitting in a classroom at the IBM Conference Center in NJ. That's where I went every other weekend to get my MBA from Cornell while I worked full time.

It was during lunch time that a free class was offered. The topic was "How to Develop Your Personal Brand." William Arruda was the instructor. (I suggest you look him up on LinkedIn and connect.)

When he touched on the importance of securing a domain name under your full name, I raised my hand to make a comment,

"That seems too much like shameless self-promotion to me."

Attendees looked at William to see how he would respond, as they were secretly thinking the same thing. In this particular situation, for whatever reason, I decided to be the trigger-happy one to point out the elephant in the room.

William took a pause, looked straight at me & calmly said,

"Ms. Sakai. Get. Over. It."

Everyone laughed. Nervously.

Message received, nonetheless. That weekend, I bought my domain name.

But it wasn't until 5 years later when I finally did something with it. Yes, that's the one you're looking at right now.

"Resistance" is a powerful & distracting behavior both in life & business that we tend to hold onto. Sometimes consciously, and sometimes unconsciously.

What happened was…I was hiding behind the age-old Japanese virtue of "Wise hawks hide their claws."

The saying means to convey the importance of not showing off your craft to create unnecessary commotion which may scare off your prey. Sounds noble. Sounds logical.

But the truth was... I just wasn’t confident enough to push myself out there in that way. So, my brain decided to wrap that up with all sorts of logical reasoning as to why I shouldn’t do it to achieve 2 things:

How to Pick Your Perfect “Word of the Year” that Will Help You Finally Achieve Your Massive Business Goals in the New Year

How to Pick Your Perfect “Word of the Year” that Will Help You Finally Achieve Your Massive Business Goals in the New Year

Drum roll, please! Finally, I have my Word of the Year for the new year.

Here we go. Ta-da!!!! 

It’s “Limitless.”

Now, I don't want you to think I randomly picked this because..."It kinda sounded good." 

Wrong! 

I've stewed my brain over this for a few weeks. Then I observed my entire process. 

The good news is you don't have to stew your brain like I did. What you get here is the cleaned-up, efficient version of it so that you don’t waste any time.

See, I always think of you.

By the way, we'll come back to my new word of the year a little later to uncover my thinking process after we go over the why & the how so that you can get started.

Sound good?

First, we're diving into why this is NOT some kind of cute thing to do to avoid doing real work in your business. 

This is real work with a real purpose.

So, I hope you take this seriously if you have big plans for your business in the new year.

The Ultimate Roadmap: How to Instantly Reduce the Amount of Uncertainty in Your Entrepreneurial Journey

The Ultimate Roadmap: How to Instantly Reduce the Amount of Uncertainty in Your Entrepreneurial Journey

I'm sure you agree that we all have the tendency to hold on to what's familiar to us, even if that means we remain sitting still in discomfort.

Ahhhh, the comfort of certainty!

I'm going to be flat-out honest with you. The entrepreneurial journey is filled with uncertainty regardless of where you are at in your business. There's no way around it.

But is "predictability" a lot better than "giving a shot at something that's loaded with new possibilities"? 

See, holding on to certainty can delay your progress in growing your business. It's because you are perpetuating the status quo. 

Think about your own experience for a sec. You might have delayed quitting your job just because you didn't have enough evidence to support the idea of you making the right decision.

You might have held off on going on your own because you weren't sure if you could hack it & ended up keeping your side hustle as a side hustle for the longest time.

You might have stayed on the job you passionately hated because, at least, you knew they weren't going to fire you any time soon & your paychecks were guaranteed.

Looking back, is it safe to say you feel like you should have done it a lot sooner? 

That's the point. 

"Well, I wouldn't have known what I know now back then. If I did, I would've done it much sooner!" 

If you just said this to yourself, that's an indication that you are in the right place. Today, I'm going to map out the typical journey of an entrepreneur in the service business from 2 perspectives: revenue & time.

This will help you understand that the experience you are about to go through isn't at all like driving on a highway during a tropical storm. Instead, you'll see your runway clearly without the help of a fortune teller.

Want to be an Opportunity Magnet? 9 Secrets I Found by Observing Successful Entrepreneurs

Want to be an Opportunity Magnet? 9 Secrets I Found by Observing Successful Entrepreneurs

“I always wonder how in the world (insert a name) gets so many offers and opportunities, like speaking at XYZ conference or getting an invitation for ABC.  No one understands what he is selling.  Frankly, when it comes to credentials, I am a lot more qualified… I network a lot, too!  I just don’t understand what he does differently.”

Have you ever wondered about the same thing? 

Then, you are in luck.  This is NOT one of those articles you find online about networking & creating reciprocity.  Here, I am going to share the secrets I found from successful entrepreneurs by closely observing what they practice (most of the time subconsciously).

The reason this post is different from other “how to identify & attract business opportunities” articles is I am going to touch on some facts that not many discuss publicly.  You won’t find this on social media timelines. It’s because what I have here is the result of many “behind closed doors” conversations. 

To be honest, as a revenue & growth strategist (link), I was a bit hesitant to even talk about this, as none of these are “strategies.”  But at the end of this post, I will tie it all together.

And…there is more.  As a little bonus, I am going to share one thing the entrepreneurs I observed would NOT do at the end of the post.  This is going to help you assess whether you’ve been growing your business the right way or not.

Curious?

But wait.

Before diving in, let me define what “successful” means in this post since it’s a pretty broad & subjective term.  Let’s start with what it’s not.  Here, I don’t define successful entrepreneurs as simply those who generate a specific amount of revenue, i.e. 7 figures, 8 figures, etc.  Rather, they satisfy these 3 things that are essential to be a confident and fulfilled entrepreneur:

 

1.     Always generating leads (by being an opportunity magnet)

2.     Taking care of themselves & their people (their team, family, vendors, friends & peers) to be happy

3.     Having future-proof strategies

 

These are the only 3 jobs CEOs are responsible for. The ones I know who are doing great also have one more thing in common: they receive various business opportunities at all times.  If you like the way I clarified the definition of “successful entrepreneurs,” you are in for a treat!

Now that that’s sorted, let’s unlock the secrets!

13 Tried and Tested Unconventional Creativity Boosters for Non-Creative Business Owners Who Need New Ideas Right Now

13 Tried and Tested Unconventional Creativity Boosters for Non-Creative Business Owners Who Need New Ideas Right Now

“I am not a creative person like you.”

I get this a lot from small service business owners.  The funny thing about it is that I don’t consider myself a creative person in the way they describe.  But as a business growth strategist, providing various perspectives to my clients is my job.  Because of this, I am definitely intentional about keeping my mind open for new ideas.

There is bad news & good news associated with this story of “I’m not creative.”  So, if this is you, read on!

By the way, I call this statement a *story* because they are the ones who made a decision to label themselves as such based on…really no scientific or logical reasons.  It’s just a thought backed by nothing. More on that later.

Let’s start with bad news.

News flash: Trying to grow a business without being creative & resourceful, especially when you need to solve problems, will end up costing you in the long run.

Why? 

There are many problems that can be easily solved by using what you already have.  But because you feel you are inadequate to do creative problem-solving or to come up with new ideas to take your business in the direction you want to take it to, you end up relying heavily on outsourcing.

If it works out, great.  Most of the time though, the process of having others do the job requires some trial & error unless you are driving those projects.  This eats up your time, and you have to pay money for their work if the arrangement is not results-based, meaning you only pay for the results they are bringing in. 

The bottom line is, if you want to grow your business, it is your job to expand your way of thinking.

Now the good news.

I have 3 pieces of good news for you.

1.     Being creative doesn’t mean becoming the next Picasso.

2.     Small actions you can take will make a huge difference.

3.     None of the tips I will share in this post cost much.

How to Conduct A Business Detox the Right Way – Missing This 1 Crucial Step Will Undo All of Your Efforts

How to Conduct A Business Detox the Right Way – Missing This 1 Crucial Step Will Undo All of Your Efforts

You know that yucky feeling you get when you see something that has so much “build-up” that you just want to wash it all away?  Whether it’s the way you feel about your hair being coated in product or your brain jammed full with daily to-do’s or not knowing what’s in your bag, I am sure you’ve had this feeling before. 

There is so much going on that you don’t even know what to keep and what to get rid of unless you just dump it all on the table.

The same thing happens to our business after running it for some time.  Conducting a business detox by removing all the build-up can bring in so many new business opportunities without actually starting anything new. 

Imagine being free from the anxious thoughts of having to offer something new or to try new marketing to gain more traction.  You just need to detox your business first by eliminating stagnant areas, which will allow things to run smoothly & effortlessly.

This is, by far, the most underrated, low-hanging fruit when it comes to business transformation strategies.

Visualize a gem covered with thick mud and clay that gets purified with fresh, clear water, revealing its true form.  That can be your business!

If your business is in the season of growth and expansion, what you don’t want to do is to amplify your mess.  Many entrepreneurs tend to focus more on adding things to their businesses over subtracting time-wasting activities, and that’s not a way to go.  For more on how to find out whether your business is “scale-ready,” check out my previous post here. (Insert the link)  

“Oh gosh! Right, I’m ready to detox my business!  Where should I start?”

Glad you are game. But hold your horses for just a minute.  Here, I am going to unearth this one crucial step business owners tend to overlook.  It’s possibly because it’s not often discussed in the business community.  Can you guess what that is?

How to Treat Your Business Like a Business: 5 Valuable Lessons from My Time in the Show Biz You Might Want to Steal

How to Treat Your Business Like a Business: 5 Valuable Lessons from My Time in the Show Biz You Might Want to Steal

Do you find yourself having a hard time setting boundaries for your business?  Do you feel like there is no clear distinction between your personal life and your business?  You may be thinking you are too close to your business, and it’s nearly impossible to let go of some of the duties. Or maybe you feel hesitant to publicly declare what you do as a legitimate business.

Many of us start a business by pursuing a passion and/or what we mastered as a working professional, and then we grow it organically from there.  The downside to this is the line gets blurred between our personal life and our business. This also makes us feel like our business is an extension of ourselves, a part of our identity.  At times, it gets too personal because of this.

If you want to scale your business, you have to start treating your business like a business. 

A large part of this is because you are not going to do everything by yourself. You are going to need a team. If you deploy a team, then you need to systematize your processes.  In order to systematize your processes, you need to pull all of them out of your brain and start documenting.

So, what can you do immediately to start treating your business like a stand-alone, profit-generating machine?

Just like many of you, I was once living a corporate life.  Someday though, I knew I was going to leave this life, so I leveraged everything I could learn on the job.  I was consciously “intrepreneurship’ing” within all organizations I worked for. 

It was much later in my life I realized how fortunate that experience was and how much it impacted my business, which enabled me to skip most of the rookie mistakes. In a way, the experience allowed me to get right into making many more of the ‘other’ mistakes, but that is a story for another time.  At least, I did not have to start from complete scratch, so I’d say I was fortunate.

How to Bounce Back from Business Setbacks Fast: 5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Immediately After a Setback

How to Bounce Back from Business Setbacks Fast: 5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Immediately After a Setback

A sudden loss of a major customer, a delayed shipment, an unexpected departure of your superstar employee, an injury/accident, a failed launch, a deal falling apart in the last minute, family emergencies… Operating a business comes with many unexpected challenges. Worse yet, multiple setbacks can come at us all at once.

When setbacks like these happen to you, they can take you right out of your element. This is particularly true when you are laser-focused on achieving your goal, leaving no room for doubts.

 

So, how do we bounce back from setbacks fast?

 

On a personal note, while writing this post, I experienced a setback. 

Only a few days from my meetup live event in NYC, I had no choice but to put it on hold due to an unexpected complication with the venue, where the event was supposed to be held.

This has never happened during my 2 years of running live events.  

If you are experienced in running events big or small, you know the production process starts way before the actual event.  You may also know that securing a venue is the biggest hurdle for anyone who wants to host a live business event. 

Needless to say, it was a blow at first.  To make the matter worse, in just one-weeks’ time surrounding this setback, I have gone through a massive water leak in my apartment, resulting in a section of the ceiling falling down and a family member getting injured.  Luckily, none of these were life threatening. 

Nonetheless, they did not help me get through a setback any easier.

This experience prompted me to write this post on how you can handle business setbacks better and faster.

At this point in my career, I can safely say that I'm a pro at dealing with setbacks because I've had so many in my life - both business and personal.  As I faced numerous setbacks, I have perfected a way to handle them better without forcing myself to believe everything is OK.

Recovering Workaholic’s Staycation Gone Wrong:  My Story & What You Can Learn from It.

Recovering Workaholic’s Staycation Gone Wrong:  My Story & What You Can Learn from It.

There were many things my father taught me back in a day.  One lesson that stuck with me was, “When (notice: not ‘if’) you fall, grab something, anything, on your way up.”

Recently, I attempted to take some time off in a lazy way by making it a ‘staycation.’

The description of “staycation gone wrong” may be a little exaggerated.  In hindsight, it was not as terrible as it seemed at the time, but the experience was not great.  This was one of those moments where my father’s advice seemed quite fitting.

In this post, you will see 3 simple sections: Before, during, and after.

If you consider yourself a “recovering workaholic entrepreneur,” this post can help you plan your time-off effectively, mainly by not doing the things I have done.  So, read on!

The Back Story

Despite my skillful mindset practice involving meditation, continuous education, and other energy preserving strategies, I was burned out.

The reason was obvious.  I had not taken a vacation since late 2015.

Unfortunately, this is pretty normal for entrepreneurs like myself.

Because we can't rely on paid vacations or time-off like regular employees, we end up burning out.  The most challenging part of this predicament is giving ourselves permission to take time off. Sounds simple, but it’s a hurdle that is extremely hard for some (myself included) to jump over.

This process could be made easier if we could just ask someone else to give us an OK.  In some cases, family intervention plays a role in this type of situation (if you are lucky).

Bootstrap Trap: The Hidden Cost of Being Thrifty that will Keep You Away from the Place of Growth

Bootstrap Trap: The Hidden Cost of Being Thrifty that will Keep You Away from the Place of Growth

My parents happen to be a bunch of mad thrifty & handy people. They don't suck at anything. They sure know how to "get by" with a limited amount of resources.

Because of it, it's been engraved in my brain so much so that, if I left myself to my own device, I don't have a moment where I don't say to myself, "How do I get that with the best deal I can possibly find without wasting time? Ah heck, I'll just do it myself."

I had to 'unlearn' this mentality entirely when I left my corporate life. By the way, the process of 'unlearning' is an ongoing process; it never ends.

Here's the ultimate question for you that I had to ask myself:

“Do you want to just... ‘get by’?”

Likable vs. Relatable: Why Your Innate Desire to be Liked is Killing Your Business (and What to Do about It.)

Likable vs. Relatable: Why Your Innate Desire to be Liked is Killing Your Business (and What to Do about It.)

“The Courage to be Disliked” has been a Japanese’s bestselling self-help book for the past few years.

It is a big deal as this probably is the last group of people on earth voicing their desire to be "different" and to be totally OK about it. It is a long time coming.

Born and raised in Japan, I have the first-hand experience in failing miserably at being a “girl next door.”  I have been (and still am) more like Wednesday (Christina Ricci) from The Addams Family or Lydia (Winona Ryder) from Beatlejuice. Not the most approachable in the eyes of a well-behaved collective. 

Days of No Wins: How to Defy Your Emotional Gravity and Stay Productive.

[Fact] Every entrepreneur experiences "Days of No Wins" on a regular basis. In this post, I will share my 3 tips for making those days meaningful and reveal the reason why I don't look for small wins.
 

Seeds have been planted.  This is the point of no return.   Leading up to that point, you have mapped out your strategy, your intention was clear, you poured yourself into it, and you went for it. All in.

Now what?

How to avoid FOMO by Creating Bold Themes that Ground You

How to avoid FOMO by Creating Bold Themes that Ground You

My biggest take away this year was how effectively creating clear themes helped me to stay on the right path. 

It had a tremendous impact as I managed to avoid chaos and FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) often triggered by hot new trends and crazy sounding success stories from the online world.

In our head, we all know that we should not get side-tracked by the noise coming from social media posts and relentless ads full of ridiculous success stories. But, let's face it; it is so hard not to get sucked down the rabbit hole. It's because those are designed to tap into your emotions.

A No BS Guide to Beating Generosity Burnout

A No BS Guide to Beating Generosity Burnout

The holiday season is fast approaching. Do you feel the rush of excitement from gift-buying suggestions, travel planning, and an increased communication among your family members? 

I get giddy from sparkly lights that illuminate long, dark nights. I reminisce over cheesy holiday music. I cleanse my brain by breathing in cold air loaded with the sharp, green smell of spruce. I feel hopeful seeing holiday-themed gratitude quotes that are passed around over social media...

Instantly, this season puts many of us in a generous, giving mood. It's simply contagious.

But then...what goes up, must come down. Ying and Yang. I sense a fuzzy dark cloud forming and it’s coming my way. Every so often I come down from a holiday hype high, and I don’t feel well at all. What’s really going on there?

,

Recap: Battle-Tested Tips to Create Explosive Growth in your eCommerce Business

,
Recap: Battle-Tested Tips to Create Explosive Growth in your eCommerce Business

Here are the take-aways from my June 19th fireside chat with Tai Odunsi (Wizker.com), to discuss his entrepreneurial journey as an eCommerce brand owner.

We experienced a massive tropical rain storm in NYC, that night. As my luck would have it, it was the biggest one yet this summer. Still, there were plenty of eager attendees who braved through the storm to witness firsthand the testimony of an author turned into an owner of a product-based brand. It turned out to be a very intimate, and special event.

Stop Using This Word If You Want To Maximize Your Potential in the New Year

The word in question is everywhere and, of course, all over social media. The next 3 months is THE season for this word to pop up even in many ads. Can you guess what that is?

The word is: Goal(s).

“Have you set your goals for 2017?”
“Do you have goals for your business?”
“7 goal-setting tips for 2017”

Coupled with the, ‘resolution’, you will start seeing similar posts or polls like these very soon if not already in your social media timelines and feeds.

Goals are great. Knowing what you want to achieve personally and professionally is important. However, I feel that psychological impact of the word, goal(s), has been diminishing over time.  It almost feels lukewarm.