Nothing can have an impact quite like good advice. However, that can be hard to find these days in business. That’s why we reached out to the awesome members of The Executives’ Club of Fargo-Moorhead to find good solid actionable business advice for you to put into practice.
1. Patrick Kirby, Founder of Do Good Better Consulting
“Give more than you expect to get. Whether it’s value, time, money or effort — your generosity will be remembered by those who benefited from your business. They may end up singing your praises to others who could use your products, skill set, or perspective. Remember, third-party endorsement is exponentially more valuable than first-party solicitation. So, rack up those testimonials for going above and beyond expectations and reap the benefits of an awesome reputation for giving a ton!”
2. Mike Meagher, President of Sagency
“Constructive interaction (a.ka. conflict) is something that most business leaders would rather avoid. However, engaging difficult conversations in a timely, clear, and kind manner is a leadership skill that helps create an environment of trust, accountability, and growth.”
3. Austin Morris, Co-Founder of Enclave
“There will be times in your business when outsourcing expertise makes sense; it’ll be more efficient and produce results without increased overhead. It can also teach someone within your organization something valuable. One of the things we’ve learned over time is to find the right vendor and treat the relationship as a true partnership, setting high standards in communication and product/service delivery on both sides. By doing so, we find that our partners are often elevating their business by providing enhancements and adding value that they hadn’t recognized as a need before. It creates a win-win strategy for everyone.”
4. Paul Highness, Managing Partner of PRO Resources
“Time is the currency of the 21st century. If someone else can do your “back office” employee stuff (Compliance, HR, Payroll, Benefits, etc.) for the same or for less than it is costing you, outsource it. Use that time to focus on your business, mission, and strategic plans.”
5. Sarah Koustrop, Chief Strategy Officer National Hospitality Services
“Setting people up for success sets your business up for success. If you have a great employee that isn’t doing great, look at what they are great at and what they enjoy doing and put them in a position to do that. Then, find people to fill in the areas that are left. Have an accounting manager that is amazing at accounting, strategy and process development but hates managing people? Then create a role that uses those skills to the maximum and find someone that loves the people management side. You end up with super productive, happy team members that are fired up to do their jobs every day versus a great employee who is bad at, dislikes or just avoids core parts of their job. Nothing says you have to stay in the organizational chart boxes.”
6. Shanna Cramer, President of Creatively Uncorked
“Get a trustworthy web designer and own your own domain name. Make sure you have control over all of your social media accounts. Online advertising is pretty cost-effective if you are doing it right.”
7. Dave Harmon, President of Harmon Entertainment
“At Harmon Entertainment, we use quite a bit of technology to help keep our company in good communication and automated. If you’re looking for a great way to communicate between staff members and keep your to-do list organized, try Microsoft To Do. For document sharing, we can’t find a better solution than Google Drive, especially since most of our staff works from home. Just to be safe though I back up the company’s entire google drive account weekly to an external hard drive. For scheduling meetings with clients, we use acuityscheduling.com.”
8. Maddie Schultz, Owner of Blue Cypher Bookkeeping
“Get a password manager! The average person today has over 100 unique logins/passwords they have to track. As a bookkeeper, I have different logins for every client and a password manager makes it easy to organize, keep track of them all, and keep them more secure than a spreadsheet or piece of paper.”
9. Trent Lee, Founder/CEO & Business Advisor at Compass Leadership Advisors
“Nothing happens until you make a sale. Many new businesses focus too much time on getting their process/systems/culture “right” before aggressively selling their product/service. Get people to buy into your product/service before investing a bunch of time into making it perfect. You might have the best widget ever or have the process down perfectly, but until you sell something, nothing else matters.”
10. Peter Schott, CEO and Co-Founder of Genesis Feed Technologies
“Look closely at social media and identify areas that are beneficial for you and your business, as well as those that are draining your energy. Cut the draining ones out of your life. The reduction of mental noise will be immensely helpful in staying focused on what matters.”
11. Jason Orloske, Founder/CEO Bridge the Gap Consulting, LLC
“The sooner you get behind schedule on your project, the more time you have to make it up. If you see delays in the schedule, say something right away. Though it may be an uncomfortable conversation to have with your boss and leadership, drawing attention to being behind may get you the assistance you need to get back on track.”
