Are you planning to start your own small business? Do you hate your job and dream of being your own boss? How hard can it be? These 5 questions are vital to ask yourself. You are the best mechanic, IT geek, baker, cleaner or candle stick maker in town. All your friends think you are a genius. They don't even know why you haven't done it sooner. Or I got a redundancy payout from the public service or the bank or left the armed services. Time to take control of your time and be your own man. What better back ground for a small business owner than coming out of a large corporation, public service or the military?  Here are the five vital questions to ask yourself before you take the leap of faith and start your own business. 1) Why do you want to run your own business? The stronger the reason the greater the emotional drive. If you are planning to run a cleaning business to make a bit extra cash to supplement your day job is very different to want...

  Are you currently battling with effectively balancing your family and business life? Are you working when you should be with your family? Maybe you are struggling with changes to your business and family life balance ? Maybe you lay awake at night “ freaking out” from nightmares about what may happen to your business if you don’t go into the office on Saturday? Do you break out in a sweat whenever a friend simply raises the subject that perhaps, you should consider changing your work pattern? Or, perhaps your partner makes plans to go out to dinner and a show, but you are always too late at work? If the above describes you, you just might have a problem that needs to be addressed. There are 2 very different drivers behind these behaviors: 1)       The Workaholic 2)       The Just Too Scared to Stop Running   Workaholic: A person who compulsively works excessively hard and long hours   Fi...

Do you own a service business or a home service franchise? Are you struggling to convert a high percentage of your quotes? Maybe you have no idea on how a professional actually quotes? We have the answers that will make work and make you income now. If your business is home cleaning ,lawn and garden care, window cleaning ,carpet cleaning ,car detailing or pet grooming .These 3 simple keys will give you a professional advantage when quoting  to your client.   Step 1 Present Your Quote in Person. The service provider who makes the time to get in front of their client has a major head start on building a relationship and getting the long term business. The Face to Face Communication makes all the difference If you are in front of your client you have the opportunity to get the details of your quote exact to meet your clients needs. If they have concerns you have the opportunity to answer those concerns and offer other options. Your client is gi...

Starting a small business and don't know where to being? Is your family business not performing as you would like? Maybe you don't know what you don't know about running a family business? The James Family business took Robert James' one man band car cleaning business into a national franchise of 400 franchisee turning over $20 million in annual in homes services Australia wide. These 7 proven steps have been used successfully in over 2000 family businesses since 1993 . Our Family built successful businesses using these steps in a wide range of industries , from home cleaning, lawn and garden care, pet grooming, carpet cleaning, coffee industry, real estate , performance horse breeding and bloodstock agency. These steps will give you the foundations to build a business at works for your family. They have stood the test of time, they are proven in the marketplace.   If you use all the 7 steps constantly they will work for you . Step #1 Design...

You want to start your own home service business? You are worried if your level of service will be professional enough? Are you running a home service business but want to take it to the next level? Over the last 25 years we have coached over 2000 home services franchisees to deliver professional home services. The systems we built in James Home Services, were based on a strong foundation of practical principals which put the customers needs first. We grow from my one man band car cleaning business to a nation brand of 400 franchisees servicing $20 million. These are the base foundations that we built our professional home service culture on. 1) Return the Call Within 15 minutes. I know that you maybe busy cleaning a car ,washing a dog, mowing a lawn , cleaning a house or spraying the cockroaches. Believe me the cockroaches can wait and the lawn isn't going to grow that much in the 15 minutes it takes to return the call to the new client. Don't let today's ...

You have decided to start your own business and have no idea how to make it like a professional brand ? Maybe you are not even sure you should you brand it ? How do you decide what it should look like? Where do you start? You may have heard ,"You only get one chance to make a good first impressions! In the small business world this is as true as anywhere else. Most family business fall into the trap of ignoring the necessity of their business to make that" commercial good first impression". The Pro Marketer knows it is all about the first impression , that is how you get the client to contact you to start. If your branding promises professional friendly service. Remember you do have to deliver the promise, (We can talk about that on another day). Can the independent small business owner create the image that can position them against the professional, larger brands ?   The answer is, yes you can.  You just have to follow these simple proven rul...

Being a Successful Small Business Owner is Very Rewarding Feeling chained to your business? Would you love to have your business work for you when your not there? Becoming a successful small business owner is very rewarding, either as a franchisee or an independent operator.It takes true passion, commitment and motivation that turns the hopeful small business person into a competent success.  Running a business that feeds your family is a true triumph. But if you are not careful, with that success sometimes the business can become a burden to bear. That same passion that drives, can make it difficult for a lot of small business operators to delegate roles in his or her business to others. No one is going to love your business the way you love your business! Good staff are hard to find! Then they don't have your commitment to the customers! All these things have an element of truth to them. Passion that drives you ,can make it difficult to delegate We all nee...

Are you struggling to manage your business through a challenging family hardship? Maybe the pressure of an illness of a family member is effecting your ability to run the family business? Maybe your own health is the issue? I have been working for myself since I has 21.That is an achievement I am very proud of! But the road has not always been smooth, I have had my share of personal challenges ,every family has their share. No matter what the motivational gurus say.Life doesn't always go to plan!Stuff happens!The greatest plans of mice and men can go out the door in a heartbeat. The things you should worry about you will not see coming.The kind of thing that hits you at 11.28am on nondescript Saturday morning. Our Family has got through our share of family challenges Over 20 years of franchising,we have seen so many people meet face personal mountains that at the time seemed insurmountable.Illnesses like Cancer.MS.Heart Conditions,Organ transplant. ...