A Critical Move for Your Success this Year

It’s a New Year. Great, but … so what? New beginnings … resolutions … yada yada yada. I promise this letter isn’t more of that.

It’s about cutting loose the albatross around your neck. And the start of a new year is a great time to unload that baggage.

Let me tell you a short story that highlights the point I want to make.

If you’ve been reading our newsletters for a while, you’re aware that we have a condo in Mexico … our home away from home. We love it there! And we rent it out when we can’t be there.

We just left Mexico after six wonderful weeks … in plenty of time to have our property manager to arrange for a thorough cleaning and fresh laundry for our Canadian guests arriving Jan. 1.

In between enjoying fun activities and running to the beach, Tom and I’d been working our butts off doing the extra deep cleaning and maintenance that needs to be done every 6 months or so. We were really pleased and proud of how the good condo looked.

All it needed was a simple standard cleaning. I’d reminded my property manager several times, and she confirmed everything was arranged.

Our guests arrived safely as night was falling. Our property manager greeted them, relayed a couple of questions to us about the safe, which we answered, and that was that. They were tired, ready for bed, and all was well … or so I thought.

You can only imagine how absolutely appalled and mortified I was when the next morning the guest emailed me to tell me the condo had never been cleaned!

What?!

The maid was scheduled, but never came due to illness, and our property manager never checked her voice mail or the condo before the guests arrived! She arrived shortly before they did, realized the maid had not come, and scrambled to do what she could … including making their bed with freshly laundered sheets.

Stuff happens. I get it.

But she never addressed the problem with them … nor did she mention it to me!

So, what’s that got to do with your business?

I’ve been coaching business owners for over 20 years, and I know that every business has that one thorny issue or problem that still needs to be solved.

Maybe you’ve tried to address it and you’re unsure how to proceed. Maybe you’ve been avoiding it, hoping it’ll go away! Or maybe like me, you’ve been “limping” your way through, hoping that, over time, you could effect the change you want.

But, as in my example, if there’s a shortcoming in any aspect of our businesses … and that shortcoming isn’t addressed head on and completely resolved, it’s bound to get worse. You can almost count on it!

The fact of the matter is I’ve been trying to “coach” my property manager for the last year or so … to get me financial reports on a timely basis … and to get repairs scheduled, etc.

Until now, while there’ve been some little “annoyances,” there’s been nothing that would impact a guest’s experience.

For me, impeccable client service is non-negotiable.

So, as uncomfortable or burdensome as it might be to look for a new property manager, it’s now got to be done.

And I imagine you almost certainly have some burdensome thing you’ve not dealt with head on and resolved completely yourself.

Yeah? Well, here’s my advice. Don’t wait till you get to this critical juncture. The best time is now.

So, what’s the one issue in your business that if you fully addressed and resolved it in 2022, you’d be freed of the albatross … and your life would be so much better and easier because of it?

What is it for you? What needs to be solved? What are you putting up with?

Don’t be afraid to look at where your business systems, marketing approach, or your team may be falling short, no matter how uncomfortable the process.

Because if you don’t, it’s bound to come back and bite you in the butt like it did me.

Ouch!

Love,