by Liz Clark | Mar 10, 2016 | Personal Development, Pursuits
“He’s going to the Olympics, you know.” The smell of chlorine burned my eyes as I watched her son walk along the edge of the indoor pool. He certainly looked like he could be a pro swimmer one day – lean and sleek. “Really? That’s incredible!” I replied. I welcomed the distraction of conversation while wrestling with regret over my terrible wardrobe choice to wear a sweatshirt to the most humid pool on the planet. The mom next to me continued sharing her son’s swimming accomplishments. “Yeah, we just have to get him competing on the high school team. He just needs to work on his speed. Mark my words. He’ll be in the Olympics.” My 15-year-old son was taking lessons alongside her son, but he had a very different motivation. In an epic parenting move, I had lovingly shared my humble opinion with my teenager that video games DO NOT count as exercise. I generously “allowed” him to choose a winter “activity” – one that actually worked his real-life body (without a screen). He protested, then saw I wasn’t kidding and finally agreed to “do swimming.” Probably because it alleviated the troublesome “problem” of gravity. (And he loves to swim.) Snow flurries danced outside the foggy glass walls encasing the pool, while the boys descended into the water for their first advanced lesson. My new mom-friend detailed her son’s workout schedule and the long saga of all the coaches that just don’t believe in him. I listened and watched. I tried not to notice that my video-gaming son, who stopped taking swim lessons about 8 years ago and...
by Liz Clark | Mar 7, 2016 | Business Matters, Getting Stuff Done, Personal Development, Pursuits
We all use excuses from time to time in our lives. The “no excuses” movement is unrealistic and dismissive. So, what are excuses and why do we all make them? Do they actually PROTECT us? When do excuses go from being a socially acceptable way to communicate boundaries…to something much more...
by Liz Clark | Mar 3, 2016 | Business Matters, Getting Stuff Done, Personal Development
Imagine for a moment a society without structure. Try to imagine the chaos if: Schools didn’t have set start and end times and there were no bells or buzzers to signal everyone to go to their next class. (A dream come true for many kids!) Grocery stores didn’t organize food into categories and didn’t keep regular “hours.” Banks didn’t have procedures for depositing and withdrawing money. Traditional jobs didn’t assign work to employees, never set schedules or coordinated efforts to achieve the company’s objectives. “Developed” societies are built on structure and lots of it. In fact, without structure, we’re often at a loss as to how to behave. Think about it. From the moment you were born, through school, jobs, and every day society – you were given external structure “cues” that helped you understand how to behave, what to do and even where to be at what time. At some point in your life, you’ll likely try do something big on your own – like start a business, write a book or invent something. You think it’s going to be exciting (and it is), but suddenly… There’s no one there to tell you where to be. There’s no one with a textbook on how to write your book or make your invention a success. You no longer “get in trouble” for being late because suddenly… you’re the boss. The problem with a structure-obsessed society is that structure is usually developed for us. We aren’t taught how to create structure for ourselves. We’ve been given a fish sandwich with a side of fries…instead of being taught how to fish,...
by Liz Clark | Feb 25, 2016 | Business Matters, Pursuits
Last week, I shared a really common situation where business plans are a waste of time. Poor or ineffective planning wastes time, resources and causes frustration. However, business planning itself is not a waste of time when it’s done effectively. Effective planning – for business or otherwise – is a process that helps you define a desired future outcome and then anticipate, evaluate and decide activities to accomplish that outcome. Effective business planning can be like a GPS for your business – it can help you figure out how to get where you want to go. Now, it’s true that once you choose a route – unexpected things can happen. You might get stuck behind a slow-moving truck in a no-passing zone. You might hit an unexpected detour. But, the potential for a delay is not a good reason not to plan your route. So, how do you create an effective business plan? If you’re starting a traditional business that requires a big outlay of cash for equipment, facilities or staff to start up, go with a traditional business plan. An investor or bank will likely require it. There are free templates for traditional business plans and financial statements available here: https://www.score.org/resources/business-planning-financial-statements-template-gallery. But, in today’s world, many entrepreneurs aren’t starting traditional businesses. The allure of being an online entrepreneur, sometimes called a “solopreneur,” by essentially parlaying your unique skills and services into an online business, funding yourself out of your profits. In this model, a traditional business plan is overkill. In this model, what’s needed is a more flexible, responsive approach to planning. Positive cash flow is critical to...
by Liz Clark | Feb 18, 2016 | Business Matters
Eleven years ago, I wrote one of the most painful things I’ve ever written. More painful than the 40+ page research paper on Immanuel Kant I wrote my senior year of college. More painful than the middle-school, broken-hearted poetry I poured out into my journal after a tragic break-up. Far more painful. What was it? A business plan. It wasn’t painful because I didn’t know what one was. I had taken a business writing class in college where I learned how to research and write them. I had even written a few for “real” small business owners. This particular business plan was painful because we were already in business. And it was failing. We had a few clients and a “promise” of more jobs, but not enough resources to grow without fast cash flow. As a last resort, we applied for a small business loan from our local bank. They required a business plan before they would even look at us. So, I researched. And wrote. And cried. And went through the gamut of emotions: desperation, anger, shame and totally illogical “hope.” Every section, every word, every financial calculation was like bleeding our very livelihood onto the page. I believed that the outcome of this loan process would determine whether or not we would be able to “grow” as a business – or force us to close our doors. Like I said: painful. We got our meeting with the bank. They were very kind, but ultimately our financial projections weren’t solid enough for them to approve the loan. In retrospect, I’m glad we were denied. The LAST thing we needed...
