Frequently Asked Questions
About Small Business and LifeThe Big Questions we all face from time to time in business
To Build a Beautiful Business and Life and build a business that stands the test of time, there are the Big Frequently Asked Questions all of us have to face.
The Big Frequently Asked Questions to Build a Beautiful Business and Life are:
- About Business Growth: My business is stuck at a certain size… How can I grow my business?
- About Money: I’m not making enough profit and cash… How can I make more money in my business?
- About Overwhelm and feeling Stuck: I am overwhelmed, stressed and frustrated… How can I feel happier and less overwhelmed in my business?
- About Support: I feel alone in my business… How can I find the right support, advice and guidance in my business?
- About Work-life balance: I’m missing out on life, on family, and on friends… How can I find better work-life-balance in my business?
- About Leadership: I am spinning my wheels as a do-er rather than a leader… How can I become a better business owner and leader?
- And about Family Businesses: We are struggling with the challenges of being business partners as well as life partners… How can we make our family business work better?
Each of the Big Questions has a dedicated FAQ page on this website, with links to many relevant resources both within my website as well as throughout the internet. Scroll down or click on the links above for a summary of each of the Big Question with a link to that question’s full FAQ page.
Further reading:
- What is Business-Life Coaching anyway and why would anybody care?
- “The Five Steps to discovery”
- The 10 foundations for building a Great Business
- More about me, Roland Hanekroot
- Forbes: How to build your business around your life
- We can build a beautiful business
- LinkedIn: How to build more beautiful businesses
- Hubspot: 54 beautiful small business ideas
- Bo Burlingham: How to build a business that will be around in 2115
- Free books, resources, webinars and other downloads
How can I grow my business?
Business growth is about research and product and systems and quality assurance and innovation and inventory management and people management and everything in between and then when you get that right, it’s about customers, and marketing and sales and communications and PR and SEO and content marketing and advertising and design and branding and of course leadership and you might well argue that before all of that comes Visioning, Mission, Purpose, Goal setting and Strategic planning. In short Business growth touches all aspects of business. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can I make more money in my business?
Business growth will have an impact on the flow of profit and money in the business, both positively and negatively, but many other aspects of business have an impact as well. There’s pricing, discounting, inventory management, costing, trade terms , collection policies and procedures, expense management, cost control and many other aspects of business will determine the profitability and sustainability of your business.
And on the other hand there is financial management. The management, reporting and analysing of the flow of profit and money through the business. Having your fingers on the pulse of all of the key indicators of the health of your business every day, week, month and year. Management of the numbers in other words. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can I feel happier and less overwhelmed in my business?
Staff don’t seem able to tie their own shoe laces without input and supervision from the boss. Customers expect the business owner personally to solve all their problems, immediately, rather than the perfectly qualified and expensive staff that are employed by the business for that purpose.
As a result, the critical business development projects are constantly pushed back and the business gets stuck in the mud. The way out of this overwhelm is to learn to focus on three letters FUN. Fun in Business is the opposite of overwhelm. Developing a discipline on making Business Fun again works, because when business is Fun it means everything is working. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can I find the right support, advice and guidance in my business?
Human beings work well with external accountability and advice. Independent external support is invaluable to any business owner who wants to build a Beautiful Business that Stands the Test of Time. External support can take many forms: A mentor, a business or life coach, management consultant, a virtual board, an executive coaching group, a regular get together with a group of fellow business owner buddies or all of the above.
One thing is for sure: Don’t think you can do it on your own. But how do you go about finding the right support for you? Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can I find work-life-balance in my business?
In the many years I’ve worked with business owners, I’ve come to believe that business owners are the most “guilt driven” people on the planet, “worse than Catholics” I sometimes joke. Business owners generally go through life believing they are not up to the job in some way. They tell themselves (and me), that to compensate for their perceived failures, they’ve got to work harder than anyone else in their business or else how could they ever ask their people to put in the hard yards when required? (see also what I wrote above about overwhelm). But in the mean time they’re missing out on the important stuff in life. Their health and well-being suffers, as are their families.
For business owners to create a greater balance between work and life, the first step is to acknowledge that owning a business is never a 9-to-5 job, you probably won’t ever be able to close the door behind you on the way home entirely. The business is your baby, you’ve put your heart and soul into it and it’s part of who you are as a person.
Once you acknowledge that fact, the immediate next step is to recognise that your own time, your health and your general well-being are the most valuable and important assets of your business and as the business owner it is your prime responsibility to look after your assets. In other words, not looking after yourself and ensuring you are in a great physical and mental state means you are not taking your responsibilities as the owner of the business seriously. Once you’ve learnt to accept the realities of those two principles (contradictory as they might seem from time to time), you’re on the path to create the business and life you dream off. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can I become a better business owner and leader?
Few business owners have studied to be a business owner, and even those who have attained an MBA or similar qualification, find that they’re not prepared for the realities of life as a small business owner. Suddenly everything is down to you, the big decisions about whether or not to bid for that contract, or hire that expensive employee, or sign the lease for the new office, as well as making sure the toilets are stocked with toilet paper and that there’s ink for the printer.
To top it off, your people look to you for having Vision (with a capital “V”), having the answers and being the leader. It’s a frightening place to stand in the middle of, but there are three pieces of good news: (1) You got this far and you’re still breathing so you must be doing something right. (2) Your people actually want you to be the leader and they’re ready to forgive you just about any balls up you’re going to make along the way. (3) Leadership is something you can learn, practice and get better at. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.
How can we make our family business work better?
Often, it is at this point that the spouse decides to enter the business as well, to sort out the chaos, in no small measure, to protect the interests of the family, and the family business is born. 70% of all businesses in Australia are family businesses and a large percentage of those can be classed as husband and wife family businesses.
In my experience there is wonderful opportunity in being in business with your spouse. It holds the possibility of providing for your family very well and there is a great opportunity to grow as a couple. But waking up beside your business partner in bed every morning also comes with a bunch of unique challenges. Read More Here…
Click here to download my Free Guide to finding the perfect coach or mentor for you.