The Business Brief
March 2019
March Madness, Year-Round
My Life With Twins
It's a time of year all sports fans look forward to: The thrill of the buzzer- beater, the atmospheric rhythms of school bands, the Cinderella stories of rags-to-riches teams from parts of the country nobody's even heard of. March Madness is a special time to be alive. For me, the chaos and fast-paced environment of the NCAA basketball tournament is something that I can relate to very well. On December 7, 2017, my wife gave birth to two beautiful twins, a girl and a boy, and my life has been a whirlwind of trials and triumphs ever since. I shoot a buzzer-beater every night that I get more than a few hours of sleep, and I get the ball stolen every time I forget to change a diaper, but at the end of every day with my family, I settle down knowing I'm a winner. The ultimate irony began two years ago, when my wife and I were still living in Boston. We were busy living, laughing, and loving life with our one-year-old toddler and were in the middle of debating on whether or not to make the move across the country to Boise. One day, while I was in the middle of taking my final exams in law school, I got the news from my wife that we had another little miracle on the way. In the beginning, there was no indication that it would be anything other than a normal pregnancy. After all, how much harder could it be, having one more shining face around the house? We were nervous but elated to watch our
little family grow. After we'd locked in our plans to move back to Boise, we were sitting around at home one night and my wife started explaining how uncomfortable she felt. Her mother's intuition, and her previous knowledge of what one baby felt like, told her that something wasn't going to be as easy this time around. The next day we went to the doctor's office to get to the bottom of it and were quickly reassured that there wasn't any problem at all. There were just two kids instead of one. The funny part is that my wife could not have been more of a prime candidate to become pregnant with twins. She was the textbook example of all of the required traits: Twins ran in her family, she was tall, she was breastfeeding, and she had recently been pregnant. Now we had to turn around and re-buy all our baby stuff, this time in pairs. After they were born, we would need a stroller big enough for three kids. We would need to feed two babies every two hours while they were in the most crucial part of their growth. We had to shell out for special car seats that could fit three-across in the back. Now, I won't say it was easy, because it wasn't, but I will tell you that it was a miracle we are thankful for every day, despite how many late-night trips we may have to make for formula. It gets a little easier with each passing day. We'll miss these times, I imagine. We plop the kids down in their playpen,
and they go at it. Being a boy and a girl, they fight a lot, but they also have the luxury of a built-in best friend. While they share almost everything by design, I still won't tell them which one was born first. I figure it's better that way; we'll keep it as even as we can for as long as we can so we don't have to deal with any more infighting than they already exhibit. My daughter recently started walking. Her brother isn't quite there yet, but I'm sure the competition will only make him a better walker when he gets there. Between their rivalry, their love, and the whole family's new lease on life, you could say that I know a thing or two about the spirit of March Madness. You could definitely say that.
–Matt Wolfe
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Are You Qualifying Your Prospects? 3 Questions to Ensure You Obtain the Right Clients
Spring is here, and watching flowers sneak up through the soil in your front yard may remind you to consider growth of a different kind — the growth of your business. Regardless of whether you soared over your revenue goals the previous quarter or you took these last few months to recover from failed marketing efforts and missed opportunities, spring provides a great opportunity for overall growth. Still, it’s hard to know where you should focus your energy. To aid your efforts, here are four factors to consider for strategic business growth. 4 Factors That Might Be Affecting Your Business’s Growth This Season SPRING HAS SPRUNG Similar to nature’s processes during springtime, business growth begins far below the surface through good leadership. Your employees’ perception of you and your company’s mission is what determines their motivation to work hard. Take a step back to evaluate your leadership tactics and determine if they match your ideal business model. Often, replacing poor leaders with stronger ones makes all the difference in a company’s success. Business growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Just as leadership from your management team should be a major focus, your employees need a standard but solid foundation of knowledge in order to cultivate their own growth in the company. This spring, consider revamping your training programs by moving to online platforms that customize learning paths for each new employee based on previous employees’ feedback. 2. EMPLOYEE TRAINING 1. LEADERSHIP
The shotgun lead generation approach is both ineffective and inefficient. For years, businesses put the power of decision-making in the hands of the consumer. Companies chased after any opportunity to put their name in front of a lead, hoping their skills would lead to a conversion. It wasn’t until recently that marketing and lead generation trends flipped the tables. Rather than an organization spraying out strategies across every feasible medium, new tactics implement a more targeted approach to get the right clients. Here are three questions you can ask to qualify your prospects. Rather than taking any client they can get, a smart business owner focuses their attention toward the leads they want. It’s important to focus on candidates in a specific demographic. Doing business with those who match your requirements will result in happier clients and better relationships. HOW MUCH TIME ARE YOU WILLING TO SPEND ON A LEAD? Once you understand the type of client you’re looking for, the next step is to designate how much time you’re willing to spend fostering a connection. Just because someone fits what you’re looking for doesn’t mean they are worth the time investment. Some of your ideal prospects will demand excessive time from your team, making the cost of client acquisition even higher. Set a maximum amount of time you’re willing to dedicate to a lead, and as you get closer to that threshold, ask yourself if it’s worth continuing that relationship. You may attract the right lead, and you might be able to convert that lead efficiently, but that doesn’t mean they are the right fit for your company. Above all else, a client needs to match your core values. Your team is a direct reflection of your company, but so are your clients. By qualifying your prospects effectively, you’ll increase client retention, improve client satisfaction, and create rave followers. Rather than trying to find leads under any rock you can turn over, ask these three questions about each prospect, and you’ll find more success in business. WHAT DOES YOUR IDEAL PROSPECT LOOK LIKE? DOES THE PROSPECT ALIGN WITH YOUR VALUES?
3. CUSTOMER LOYALTY
While it is important to increase brand awareness and expand your customer base, it is essential to also increase sales potential with your existing customers. Look for opportunities to grow your profits with the customers you already have through add-on sales, customer loyalty programs, and referral business.
4. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
When you adopt policies of social responsibility, you affect your community — and therefore your customers — in a positive way. Take the month of March, for example, which is National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month. You can get your business involved in various organizations geared toward raising awareness. Through sponsoring events and donating money, you can increase your client base while simultaneously helping others.
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Get the Most out of Your Digital Home Assistant
More and more people are welcoming in the Amazon Echo or the Google Home into their spaces. Everyone knows they make great Bluetooth speakers and can tell you the weather forecast, but they’re also capable of so much more. Digital assistants can do a variety of tasks depending on how much you want them to do for you. For example, if you want your digital assistant to be heavily involved in your daily life, you can use the Echo or the Home as the core of your “connected home.” You can connect numerous compatible devices to these assistants, including other Bluetooth or networked speakers, lights, thermostats, coffee makers, refrigerators, and even microwaves. Of course, therein lies the challenge — you must have compatible devices to make a connected home efficient. And let’s be honest: Many of us aren’t going to buy a connected fridge or Wi-Fi enabled lightbulbs just to get the most out of our digital assistants.
What you can do, however, is make use of what you already have. Here are some ways to put your digital assistants to work without committing to a connected home. Both the Echo and the Home make excellent communication hubs. In the home, they can be used as a local intercom system. Do you have a few Echo Dots or Google Home Minis? If you do, you’re set. You can communicate in any room where another device is present. Your digital assistant can also make outgoing calls. As long as the device has access to your contacts (or the person you’re trying to contact has an Echo or Home), you can easily make the connection. Want to send a text message? No problem! You can dictate a text to anyone in your smartphone’s contact list and send it without ever touching your phone. Aside from communications, the assistants can handle calendars, appointments, emails, and more. You can ask for information relevant to you, like “When is my flight again?” Google Home can recognize your voice, or the voice of anyone in the house, and respond accordingly. There’s no worry that anyone’s calendar or appointments will be mixed up with yours. If you want to learn more, search for tutorials online. We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to what these digital assistants can do for you.
PUZZLE
HAVE A Laugh
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412 E. Parkcenter Blvd. Suite 210 Boise, ID 83706 208-401-9300 www.genlawgroup.com
Inside This Edition
1.
A Look Behind the Scenes
2.
Strategic Growth This Spring
3 Ways to Qualify Your Prospects
3.
Are You Getting the Most out of Your Digital Home Assistant?
Have a Laugh
4.
Longevity in Your Company’s Practices
How to Make Sure Your Business Is Evergreen Don’t Let Your Productivity Dip From ‘Unforeseen’ Changes
YOUR BRAND’S FUTURE
The typewriter, the horse and buggy, dueling to the death for the honor of your lover — some practices just get phased out, often for good reason. Humans are constantly coming up with ways to make our lives as easy as possible. But, as with all progress, that means the old ways are abandoned in lieu of a new fad, and this can happen overnight. Don’t let this happen to your brand. Don’t let “unforeseen” changes in the marketplace sweep your product into the proverbial garbage can. While some things are simply unavoidable, there are certainly some pre-emptive measures a businessperson can take to ensure their innovations stay evergreen. Keeping your product relevant for years to come starts with research. At the beginning of your venture, make sure to look into trademarking, even for trademarks overseas. Nothing can derail your brand faster than having to change a product name after working so hard to gain traction. After you think you’ve found the right name, make sure that appropriate domain names are readily available before making your final decision. STARTING OUT
When planning for your business, you need to consider whether or not there is a market for it in the future — or in the present, for that matter. Conduct research to determine if new technology could emerge that would render your product ineffective. It’s also important to study proposed laws that could potentially compromise your operations. For example, Washington joined about a dozen states earlier this year that required paid sick leave to be awarded to employees. Since it didn’t make headlines, you wouldn’t know unless you made it a mission to be informed. Not complying with laws like these, whether out of defiance or ignorance, could result in penalties and fines. To truly make your business evergreen, you need to be thinking and planning far ahead. Any amount of time spent researching the future of your field is not time wasted. If you don’t plan for inevitable change, your business may fail before it even takes off.
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Your Concierge Counsel SM COUNSEL AND ADVICE When You Need It
StopWorrying About That (SWAT) In-house legal counsel can bring increased value to your company, pro- vide proactive solutions for your business, lower your risk, and improve performance. But, putting a full-time lawyer on your team is expensive. Your Concierge Counsel SM is on-call so you can “Stop Worrying About That” (SWAT)!
We get it. Spending money on legal work can feel like spending money to replace a blown engine in your car. It’s inconvenient and expensive, and you don’t feel enriched by the experience. Contrast this to a hotel con- cierge, the person you turn to when you need to get the best (and most relevant) information quickly and when you need it. An ongoing relationship with a strong legal team is a critical part of a successful business. Your business can only succeed and survive if it has a robust legal foundation that supports your efforts.
What is "Risk Rating"? BUSINESS RISK ASSESSMENT Complimentary Do you know your current level of Business Risk? There are tens of thousands — perhaps millions — of claims made and lawsuits filed each year.
We also write stories about businesses just like yours and how their owners solved issues in their business and personal lives. Visit our Blog at WWW.GENLAWGROUP.COM to read more.
Now you can assess your current level of risk in business for FREE by spend- ing 20–30 minutes taking our Business Risk Assessment Profile.
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How Your Concierge Counsel SM Helps Your Business
HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICE Your business needs to have high-quality professional legal services to be successful. This advice needs to address your risks, liability exposures, and legal issues without you having to micromanage any of it. 1 TIMELY You also need answers when you need them, require contracts when you want them, and need all solutions crafted specifically for your unique business. 2
ACCESSIBLE When you need answers, you need access to your lawyer. When you need it, you need it. When you don’t, you don’t. 3 FEES YOU CAN AFFORD We created flat-fee packages so there are NO MORE FEE SURPRISES. You decide on the level of service you feel you will need, and we determine a flat fee that works for you. 4
SIMPLY VISIT: WWW.GENLAWGROUP.COM/YOUR-CONCIERGE-COUNSEL/ TO GET STARTED TODAY!
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