Five Things To Know This Week:
1) The Powerful New Features of iOS 16
2) Should You Start a Business During a Recession?
3) Avoid End-of-the-Year Stress
4) Are You a Perfectionist Manager?
5) Resource of the Week: Bricks or Sticks?
Hello Readers,
Welcome to Autumn!
I love the change in seasons—the contrast between summer and fall, cooler weather, fire pits, football games, and trees transforming themselves into works of art.
I have long used this week to review my business goals for the past three months. Where did I achieve my objectives? Where did I fall short? More importantly, what do I need to do in the next three months to stay on track to reach my annual goals?
Until putting this week’s newsletter together, I didn’t know that September is National Self-Improvement Month! So, I suggest you do what I do—use this time to recommit yourself to hitting your goals for the year.
If you are a business owner and need help solidifying the foundation of your company, then you will definitely want to read our “Resource of the Week” below. It might just be the edge you need to succeed in 2022, 2023, and beyond.
And thank you very much for your feedback about our weekly newsletters. It takes a village to get these done each week, but I work with a team of awesome professionals, and they always deliver.
See you same time next week.
Brian
Brian Moran, CEO
Small Business Edge
Brian Moran & Associates
brian@smallbusinessedge.com
The Powerful New Features of iOS 16
If you own a smartphone, you likely know that Apple just released the newest version of iOS last week. If you’re wondering if you should update your phones, CNET says, “It comes with a slew of new features and upgrades that aim to improve how your iPhone works. This includes a more customizable lock screen, a way to edit sent messages, and a magic photo editing tool.” And the much-missed battery percentage is back.
You can find out which iPhones can support iOS 16 here.
Learn more about the details of iOS 16.
Should You Start a Business During a Recession?
During recessions, many entrepreneurs pause their business efforts. Whether they plan to start a new company or grow their current one, they think going ahead with their plans is too risky.
This is the wrong approach, says a partner in a VC firm that focuses on early-stage startups. On the SCORE blog, he says there’s less competition during recessions, and it’s easier to find customers (your marketing messages go further).
Learn more about starting or growing a small business during a recession.
Avoid End-of-the-Year Stress
The first day of fall starts Thursday. This year has gone so quickly, and typically many of us get extra stressed as we hurtle toward the end of the year.
A blog on the Eblin Group asks if you have a strategy for “surviving the mad dash? How will you stay focused, sane, and healthy and still get a lot of stuff done?
Read more about how to avoid year-end stress.
Are You a Perfectionist Manager?
You may think that the more you demand from your team, the better your business will be. But that’s not typically the case. An article in Harvard Business Review says, “being a perfectionist manager is a surefire way to undermine” your team’s morale and performance.
For businesses to succeed, the author asserts, you have to “encourage experimentation” and show your staff you “recognize that failure is part of the process.”
There is more than one type of perfectionist—see if you recognize yourself as one.
Learn more about avoiding the pitfalls of perfectionism.
Resource of the Week: Bricks or Sticks?
Most people know the story of the three little pigs and the big, bad wolf. The first two pigs built their homes with foundations of hay and sticks, respectively, and lost them when the wolf huffed and puffed and blew their houses down.
They ran to the third pig’s house, the one that used bricks to build his foundation. The wolf tried hard but was unable to blow his house down. He ultimately fell into a pot of boiling water when he tried to climb down the chimney. The pigs were spared.
This story is reminiscent of the pandemic, and COVID-19 was the big, bad wolf. Many companies discovered whether their businesses were built on flimsy foundations or strong ones. If your business has been struggling for the past few years, trying to navigate the twists, turns, and obstacles thrown in your path, I want to help you.
I am co-hosting a monthly workshop with Jocelyn Ring starting in October for 20 business owners. The workshop is divided into four weekly pillars designed to provide you with the bricks you need to build the strongest possible foundation for your business.
If you’re feeling uncertain about what’s next for your business, this workshop is for you.
Visit www.bricksorsticks.com and sign up for our workshop. It starts on October 3rd. Let Jocelyn and I help you run a more efficient and productive business by showing you how to build the strongest foundation so the big, bad wolf cannot destroy your business.
Listen to my podcast with Brandon here.
