Top 12 Barriers to Women Launching Businesses

March 17, 2010

Ladies Who Launch has identified the top twelve barriers that prevent more women from launching their own businesses.  Do any of these barriers ring true for you?  A brief explanation of the ways in which Ladies Who Launch is addressing these barriers is also provided.  What else is preventing you from working towards your entrepreneurial aspirations?

1. Lack of business networks: Ladies Who Launch provides women with access to consistent and integrated online and offline networks through the Local Community franchise structure which includes monthly meetings, events and workshops with online extensions and applications. Ladies Who Launch Linc Up! meetings and LIVE events are specifically geared towards networking.

2. Lack of role models in the workplace: The Ladies Who Launch flagship Featured Lady stories provide women with weekly success role models, guidance and advice. Additionally, Ladies Who Launch features its own successful STRATA members that have gone through its programs and launched and grown their businesses.

3. Lack of growth and expansion capital: Access to resources and content based on their profile that will enable women to understand the strategies around fund-raising. LWL also provides education around this area through the Fresh Entrepreneur workshop offering.

4. Lack of entrepreneurial education / training: Ladies Who Launch provides “nuts and bolts” business education delivered across both channels: Online and Offline. Online this education is delivered in the form of weekly webinars with expert partners on a range of business topics identified to be relevant and important to women entrepreneurs. Offline, the same topical structure and access to experts is delivered through a monthly meeting membership structure.

5. Negative self-perceptions (i.e. self-confidence, fear of failure): Ladies Who Launch validates the feminine approach that women use to start and launch businesses and gives women the tools and support to leverage these traits to be successful. Distinctly feminine traits that we have identified include: “Using connecting to move forward”, “Starting organically, testing plans as they go”, “Giving back as a component of launching or reason for launching”, “placing a high level of importance on creativity, passion, lifestyle flexibility and control” as primary motivations for wanting their own businesses”. Ladies Who Launch has built a strong and recognized brand around delivering all of its content and resources in a distinctly feminine way that speaks to women specifically in an environment they deem safe and reliable.

6. Access to credit and financing : Ladies Who Launch is actively identifying key funding partners through banks or investors that are interested in reaching these targeted women and facilitate these connections through advertising and promotional vehicles on the site.

7. Child and dependent care responsibilities : Provide access to resources and content based on their profile that will enable women to understand solution based alternatives to lower stress around this area. LWL provides education around this area through the Fresh Entrepreneur workshop offering in terms of building a support team to enable business growth.

8. Discourse of entrepreneurship inherently male, with traits of defined counter stereotyped female traits: Ladies Who Launch just launched a second workshop offering: The Fresh Entrepreneur which provides women with more robust business content, including road-mapping, monetization planning, and an accountability structure, all delivered using the signature feminine voice of the Ladies Who Launch brand. This workshop combines the typical Male /liner approach to launching with integration of the feminine approach unique to the Ladies Who Launch philosophy

9. Lack of turnkey solutions from trusted source: Ladies Who Launch has identified four distinct market segments (Dreamer, Pre-Launcher, New Launcher and Established Launcher) and is currently evaluating and developing solutions to address each segment. Ladies Who Launch will essentially re-merchandise the way these solutions are currently being delivered and offered to launchers.

10. Lack of adequate marketing, PR and distribution for their products and services: LWL currently offers high-profile public relation opportunities to its Local community membership base through weekly emails and the opportunity to self promote thru classified and directory listings

11. Lack of roadmap, clear path and focus: The flagship Ladies Who Launch Incubator Intensive Workshop provides women with a platform for gaining clarity, focus and momentum around their business projects. Ladies Who Launch provides women both online and in-person, with an environment of like-minded, motivated women that is conducive to success. Additionally, with the new and improved re-merchandized Ladies Who Launch website that is solutions-oriented and using a custom approach for each market segment, Ladies Who Launch will be able to better deliver turnkey solutions, including roadmaps and inspiration that is relevant to each user.

12. Fear that starting a business will mean family and personal life sacrifice: Work and lifestyle integration is the fundamental principle of which the LWL brand is built upon and is the sole reason LWL has grown exponentially. The strategy of the entire site is focused on absolving or reducing this fear by providing concrete solutions in order for women to succeed in business and in life.

For more information about the Ladies Who Launch community here in Portland, please contact the Director Katie Kelley at KKelley@ladieswholaunch.com and go to www.ladieswholaunch.com/portland.

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Taking Your Invention to the Market

February 2, 2010

I have received inquiries about how to go about sourcing manufacturers, particularly early in the short run stage, both domestically and in China as well as how best navigate the route to market with one’s invention or product line.  Here are guidelines from inventor expert Bob Dematteis, whose inventions exceed $25 million a year to companies like Sears, Wal-Mart and Kroeger:

A smart inventor will build a team as soon as possible. The four principal team members will be you, a patent attorney, a manufacturing expert and a marketing expert. Again, keep in mind that sales generate income, which will generate profits or royalties. And, since inventors are usually not very good at sales, your marketing expert is the most important key member you will want on your team as early in development as possible.

An inventor can brainstorm the basic concept and even make a crude prototype. But prototyping should not be advanced without substantial input from the marketing expert. After all, this marketing expert (or group) is the one that is going to generate the sales. It makes no sense to spend your valuable time and money on developing an idea that no one wants to buy. Having the right marketing person on your team, at the earliest possible moment, will ensure that you will be developing your invention with all the right attributes. This marketing expert will provide valuable input into evaluating the invention and can even provide sales projections.

The simple flow chart below shows how the initial invention evaluation process dovetails with your patent protection process. You basically have three alternatives to start the patent protection process of an idea while it is being evaluated.

The first and best alternative is to evaluate your invention’s merits and its sales potential with an expert you know and trust. Second, if you do not know any trusted experts, you can use confidentiality agreements. Third, if you want to spend the extra money and speculate on having your invention ready for mass production and producing income in a year, you can file a simple, provisional patent application for as little as $75.

As you can imagine, many larger companies will not sign confidentiality agreements as a matter of policy. Filing a provisional patent application can replace the need to use confidentiality agreements and serves to protect your invention’s priority date (the date you file for patent protection). If you file a provisional application you can more openly talk to and interview those marketing experts working with larger companies. The downside of filing a provisional application at an early stage is that you will be incurring the higher costs of filing the regular patent a year later. One year is not necessarily a lot of time to build your team and fully develop your invention. But it should be adequate if you plan your development well.

All three methods are viable approaches for inventors and have their merits. You only need to determine which works best for you in your particular situation. To give you a little insight into my invention activities, I prefer to work either with those marketing experts I know and trust, or using confidentiality agreements with those I do not know well. Any company that will not sign one of my confidentiality agreements I will not consider as a viable team member. And, I will never sign one of their agreements, which invariably protects them a lot more than you.

Figure 6-1 Invention Evaluation – Patent Protection Flow Chart

In your pursuit of finding that key team member, a marketing expert, you will want to interview them based upon several factors. Just remember that some marketing experts will not have any interest in selling your invention and others will simply not have the ability. You would be wise to keep searching until you find just the right match.

If you receive a lukewarm response from one or more, don’t give up right away. Try to field, as many objections as possible from the interviewees to better understand why the objections exist. These problems can invariably become opportunities once they are resolved. Discuss the various alternatives with the expert.

Finding the right marketing expert for your team can quickly propel your efforts forward and can even encourage manufacturers to invest their resources to gear up to manufacture your new invention.

Smart marketing experts who understand the benefits to your invention and have the right contacts can pre-sell your product based upon some simple prototypes. Think about it… can your marketing expert get a commitment for an initial sample order of $20,000 [for instance]? Then it would be easy to assume that subsequent orders from others would probably total 10 times (or more) that amount. With pre-sold orders, it is a lot easier for your manufacturing team member to make a commitment to spend its resources and get the product launched and producing income.


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How to Apply For a Business Loan

February 1, 2010

Here is some quick and straightforward advice on how to get a business loan today from Barbara Weltman. In today’s tough credit market, if you need a commercial loan to buy equipment or machinery or to expand your business, be prepared (and qualified) for the loan process.

Have the right numbers
While lending standards vary from bank to bank, the following is a good rule of thumb if you expect to get a commercial loan:

  • Business owner’s FICO score of 680 or better. Since small business owners must give their personal guarantee for loans to their business (with the possible exception of mortgages on business property), they must have a good FICO score.
  • Cash flow (or debt service) rate of 1.5. Figure the rate by dividing income by debt. Lenders want to see that income is at least 40% greater than debt to achieve a cash flow rate of at least 1.5 to serve the debt.
  • Net operating profit of 15% to 20%. Net operating profit is your gross profit less expenses (selling, general and administrative costs; interest; depreciation; etc.), including officer’s compensation, provision for bad debt, and other expenses. If your gross profit (net sales less the cost of goods sold) is $1 million, then your expenses should be no more than $800,000 to produce a net operating profit of $150,000 to $200,000.

These are not the only numbers that a lender will review. Be prepared to show a balance sheet with a favorable debt-to-equity ratio, a profit and loss statement, and any other financial documents requested by the lender.

Find the right loan program
Look for loan programs that make sense for your business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) increased its guarantee and waived fees on two of its popular loan programs — 7(a) and 504 — through the end of this month (legislation could extend this). Check with SBA lenders about these programs. Find a complete list of SBA loan programs here.

If you can’t qualify for an SBA loan (one that is guaranteed by the SBA but made through a commercial lender), consider alternative financing. Key options:

  • Vendor financing. If you need to buy inventory, machinery, or other items for your business, look to the seller for assistance. Vendor financing is typically short term and available on attractive terms.
  • Factoring. If you need cash quickly and are sitting on accounts receivable, use them to get the cash now. Factors can advance you cash based on your receivables and can usually arrange this payment to you within a few days. Your credit history is not taken into account in factoring. Learn about factoring from Smart Money SmallBiz. Find a factor through the International Factoring Association.
  • Credit card financing. If you need to buy something and expect to pay off the loan quickly, this is the easiest (though not the least costly) way to finance a purchase. Check with your credit card company for details; some cards, such as Chase’s Ink, let you choose which charges you’ll pay off immediately and which you’ll finance. View your credit card options at LowCards.

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Blogger Basics

January 29, 2010

Hollis Gillespie, author and expert writing instructor, has imparted her ‘must-do’s’ to help you blog you way  to financial freedom as well as position yourself as a blogger.  Here’s what she has to say:

1. Focus your content: Decide what is your ONE thing that you are going to write about…it doesn’t have to be BIG, it just has to be big to YOU.  Connect with your voice and your unique narrative-do not obsess about grammatical perfection.

2. Best sites to help you monetize your blog: Problogger.net & Copyblogger.com

3. Killer Blogs=Traffic=Income

4. Six characteristics of killer blogs: Post often, forget perfection, write like you speak, specific subject matter, know your audience, keep it short.

5. Migrate your blog content to your own domain: Reserve your own domain name on GoDaddy.com and then employ the services of www.techadvocatesolutions.com to integrate all of your blog/website needs.

6. Explore sites you like, take a ‘news’ post and write an opinion piece on it.

-Check out Google.com/trends

-Set up Google Alerts for your subject matter (www.google.com/alerts)

-See what is popular in the blogosphere: Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit

7.Investigate options for affiliate marketing on your blog(Amazon.com has a program)

8. Create a PayPal Merchant account that allows you to accept credit card purchases on your site

9. Research top blogs in your category (www.technorati.com) and guest blog on them

10. Advertise your blogs on your Twitter account and Facebook Fan Page

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How To Conduct A Feasibility Analysis On Your Business Concept

January 12, 2010

Here is a robust checklist of considerations when conducting your feasibility analysis:

A. Industry analysis

-Is the industry growing?

-Who are the major competitors?

-Where are the opportunities in the industry?

-What are the trends & patterns of change in your industry?

-Are there successful and young companies in the industry?

-Are there any threats to the industry?

-What are the typical gross profit margins in the industry? (Revenues-cost of goods sold= $ left over to pay overhead)

B. Market Analysis

-Competitive Intelligence: Look at the following of your top competitors:

1. Management style of the company

2. Current market strategies

3. Unique features & benefits of their products

4. Their pricing strategy

5. Their customer mix

6. Their promotional mix

- Check information on public companies with Hoovers Online, Us. Securities & Exchange Commission, OneSource.

C. Customer Analysis

-Questions to answer your potential customers:

  1. What are their demographics?
  2. What are their buying habits?
  3. How do customers hear about your product? Do they buy based on TV ads, magazines, Internet advertising, word-of-mouth, referrals?
  4. How can our new product meet customer’s needs?

Manufacturer       Distributor     Retailer         Consumer

-The easiest way to identify the customer is to find out who pays you-follow the $

-You need to know as much about the end user as you do about the customer because you must convince the distributor that a market for the product exists and that the end user will buy enough products so that the distributor and retailer will profit. Thus, conduct the same research on the end user that you do on the distributor.

  1. Why will you buy this product? If not, why not?
  2. Why do you purchase in these locations?
  3. What would it take for you to purchase this product?

D. Forecasting Demand:

-          Use substitute product to gauge

-          Interview customers & intermediaries

-          Go into limited production with a test market

E. Product Development Analysis

Design Preparation/Prototype Building & Testing/Initial Test Production/ Ramp-Up & Mrkt Intrdctn

-****Make sure your exact product and your business name is not already patented (both can be verified on http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp or you can hire an intellectual property attorney to advise you on patents and trademarks in existence that could be problematic)***

- It is best to involve all parties in the process from the beginning:

  • Customer: By providing info on the product design and functionality you ensure they get what they need.
  • Engineering: Uses comprehensive product info. To design the product correctly the first time.
  • Finance: Follow production costs and warns developers if they are choosing a component or cost that will be too costly in the final product.
  • Manufacturing: Makes sure a viable process for producing the product exists.
  • Marketing: Keeps tabs on the marketplace to ensure that the product is well accepted when it is launched.
  • Purchasing:  Establishes reliable relationships with vendors to ensure that they deliver parts on time.

The feedback that you want to solicit from all these parties is:

-          What makes the product better & easier to manufacture?

-          What does the marketplace think of the product?

-          What improves the product, its components & the way it is built?

-          How reliable is the product? Are any parts less reliable than others?

-          Are customers satisfied with the prototype?

-          How will you service the product?

-          How will you handle complaints?

-          How will you get positive publicity for the product?

  • Suggestions For Overcoming Scarce Resources:

-          Begin with the product that will bring you the greatest ROI.

** Focus your energies on what you do well & outsource everything else **

-          Don’t try to manufacture products that others already do very well.

-          Purchase off the shelf parts and components, when possible

-          Research job shops that work with entrepreneurs regularly and use them.

  • Designing Correctly

-Start with a good product definition

-Ask customers what they need, expect & want

- Deploy quality function

- Design for manufacturability:

-Minimize the # of parts (and electrical cables)

- Simplify components & use common or standard parts

- Design parts with symmetry

- Make parts independently replaceable

- Eliminate adjustments of manufacturing equipment, fasteners & jigs

  • Sourcing Your Materials:

-          Materials & costs account for about 50% of total manufacturing costs.

-          Best to purchase 80% of your parts from main vendor & 20% from a backup.

-Questions To Ask When Looking For The Best Vendors:

-          Can this vendor deliver what I need when I need it?

-          How much will freight cost using this vendor?

-          What services does the vendor provide?

-          Is the vendor familiar with the product lines I am using?

-          What are the vendor’s maintenance & return policies?

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How To Attract Investors & Find Sponsors

January 6, 2010

Maria Simone, Founder of Dream Scout, LLC has outlined the following steps to attract investors and find sponsors. Here they are:

1)      Determine your overall vision/business milestone that you would like to attain

2)      Create a budget that includes every resource you will need to reach that milestone

3)      Include operating expenses and salaries

4)      Create a funding strategy:

a)      Self-fund without jeopardizing your personal financial well being

b)      For resources or ‘human capital’, barter or offer revenue share or equity

c)       Consider employing pre-selling strategies

d)      Purchase order financing to help defray manufacturing costs

5)      Establish business credit

-Business credit is independent of your personal credit score

-Paydex: Start the process immediately

-Begin building Trade Credit by signing up for D-U-N-S # @ http://dnb.com

-Contact John Brown @ jbrown@thefundinghouse.biz, he can assist you in getting bank lines ($5K-$250K)

6) Consider attracting corporate sponsors if you are offering significant exposure to a market

-$16 Billion has been spent in corporate sponsorships

-Best bets: Heavily trafficked website, events and launches, TV/Radio Show, partnering with a non-profit

-This is a time intensive strategy-no payback to sponsors (you can ask for $5K-100K/yr)

7) Short term ‘seed’ or ‘bridge’ financing from friends and family

-You can offer them attractive returns on 1-2 year notes

8) Private stock offering for equity in the company

-ROI comes at sale of company or at IPO or if/when you pay dividends

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Building The Foundation For Your Business Enterprise

January 5, 2010

In honor of the new decade that is upon us, I wanted to share some key suggestions for those of you who have recently decided that 2010 is the year that you are going to bring your business dream to life. (My phone has been ringing off the hook this week with just these people.) Fantastic!  This outline was produced by Kelly O’Neil, a fellow ‘coachsultant’ of UpLevel Strategies based in Silicon Valley.  A few suggestions to help you get started:

1) Decide What Type Of Business Owner You Want To Be?

a) A Service Business: You want to be paid well for what you do well. You don’t envision needing to hire a team.

b) An Entrepreneurial Business: You have a big vision and you want to make a big impact. You do see a need for a team to help you reach your goals.

c) An Empire Business (Company): You will need to align with other leaders to create it. It will require highly leveraged teams and high ticket services.

2) Treat Your Business As An Asset:

a) Get Incorporated: Enlist as a LLC, S-Corp or C-Corp for tax advantages and protection against lawsuits.

b) Get Insured: Check with a qualified agent about errors & omission, personal liability, SDI (disability insurance) and property insurance.

c) Set Up An Accounting System: Hire a bookkeeper, get set up on Quickbooks, run monthly reports on cash flow, income statement and balance sheet. Track your ROI.

d) Set Up Your Technology System: Use Grasshopper.com (a virtual phone system designed for entrepreneurs), take credit cards with Nova Information Systems, do not use AOL, MSN or Hotmail.

e) Build Your Success Team: Coach/Advisory Board; Legal/Accounting/Insurance; Marketing; Technology; Administrative Assistant, (Web Designer, Marketer, Manufacturer, Product Designer, Branding Expert).

3) Create A Cash Flow Infusion: What is easy to offer? Create a package with a low barrier to entry and decide how many you will sell.

4) Creative Funding: Produce more sales, lenders, SBA loans, 401K.(next blog will be on funding strategies)

What else was essential for you getting your venture off the ground? Some other key issues to establish:

5) Creating Your Brand: DIY and test it with your target market, or hire a branding expert

6) Web Design/Presence: Hire a web developer.

7) Sales & Marketing: How will clients find out about you? Hire a marketing/PR professional.

8) Distribution: Product-Service Delivery

9) Manufacturing Sources

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Top 10 Lessons I Learned in ‘09 While Starting My Own Business…

December 30, 2009

Patience, Patience, Patience. Keep in mind that the ultimate vision that I am building towards will be my life journey and not an overnight transformation.

Just Be Me. 99.9% of the time, someone is already offering the same product or service that we are now selling. What differentiates me from my competitors is my authentic signature brand.

It’s A Family Affair. The risks, costs and rewards that are incurred in my business venture involve my entire family so I have learned to involve them in any strategy and decision making processes.

Know When To Hold ‘Em, Know When To Fold ‘Em. Evaluate my revenue model regularly and be sure to constantly adapt so that I am spending my time and resources on my most profitable activities.

Adopt A Platform Building Mentality. Construction begins in 2010.

Take Time To Get Inspired. I uncover my greatest ideas and solutions when I am swimming or running, not when I am staring at my laptop and forcing the process.

To The Market We Go! Determine what forms of marketing I can and will do myself and hire someone to manage that which I don’t enjoy. Love it or hate it, either way, we all must embrace social media but be cautious not to lose ourselves in it.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. #1 way to build my business is through public and private speaking opportunities. Get out of the office and behind the podiums as much as possible.

Prioritize Your Priorities. It sounds so obvious, but now that I am blessed to have a husband and a four month old baby-I am amazed at the challenge of focusing on what needs to get done and what would be  ‘nice’ to get done for my business,  for our family and for myself-each day.

Educate, Entertain, Inspire. By doing these three things for current and future clients, I am slowly but most definitely growing the business of my dreams.

**********************************************************************************************************

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How to Make Your Book a Best Seller

December 21, 2009

My business goal for 2010 is…. to begin (note, my qualifier) to write my first (yes, it may not be the last) book (there, I said it). Do you think you have a book in you?

Many have admitted this same desire to me but fear that it may be pure fantasy as the journey appears to be hugely intimidating.  This is why I wanted to share with you invaluable information from Cindy Ratzlaff, Founder of Brand New Brand You.  Cindy was responsible for the marketing and publicity campaigns for more than 100 New York Times Best Selling Books. Specifically, she was responsible for the launch and publication of ‘The South Beach Diet’ which published 11 best-selling books in 36 countries and sold 22 million copies. Here is what she suggests:

1. Keep in mind these questions as they are the basis for a publisher’s ‘Profit & Loss’ forecasting:

  • Is the book well written and is it unique?
  • Is the content already covered in previous books?
  • What do you, the author, bring to the table that is different?
  • How big is your ’sphere of influence’?/What is your platform strength?
  • Do 100’s of 1000’s of people know your work? (ouch)
  • Are you dynamic enough to sell this book through television, radio and print interviews or your own network?
  • Will you deliver an audience to the publisher?
  • Are you passionate enough? Do you have the personality and drive to ensure a best seller’s launch?

2. Best Seller List Formula= Distribution + Display (online & in stores) + Media + Marketing + Volume of sales within a one week period weighed against total Volume of sales of all (yes, all!) other books that same week.

3. Begin to create ‘Pre-Buzz Buzz’ a year before your book campaign by:

  • Establishing yourself as an ‘expert’ within your field
  • Connecting with ‘Key Influencers’ within your field/a.k.a  your ‘Fire Starters’
  • Platform Building Activities: blog, establish high visibility across social media, talk radio, internet, tv, webinars, tele-seminars, newsletters, in other words: Be noisy!
  • Building your Email List: they will be your social currency/your key evangelists

4. Identify a ‘Top 25 List’ of the places your ideal reader is likely to find you. Then, go to those places and get involved in the dialogue, ask to be a guest blogger, and engage the group’s leader as a strategic partner whom you can seek feedback on your ‘galleys’.

5. Coordinate your book launch for the publishers. Your goal in attaining best seller status is velocity of sales in a short period of time. The less work the publishers have to do the better.

6. Build a incentivizing campaign for your followers when they purchase your book in the first week of launch.

7. Maintain ‘Maximum Strategic Visibility’ across multiple media channels in order to create the impression that you are everywhere all the time.

And you thought writing the book was ‘our’ biggest hurdle? I will write more about self-publishing in the new year but for now, happy platform building!

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Do you have managerial courage?

December 11, 2009

Managerial courage is a skill that some bold entrepreneurs are surprised to find they are not adept at practicing in contrast to their otherwise well honed tool kit.  For some, there is a level of frustration and then avoidance in confronting their employees sub-par performance.  For others, there is sheer discomfort in what they foresee as a confrontational show-down that they don’t think they have the energy, time or experience in navigating. Either way, if you want to survive as a small business owner, as Michael Gerber asserts in his E-Myth series, you have got to divvy up your time and skills into part entrepreneur, part business owner and part manager.

Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger define managerial courage as, “saying what needs to be said at the right time, to the right person, in the right manner’ in their book, ‘For Your Improvement’.  Here are their ten suggested remedies:

1. Check it out. Verify the facts of the situation, analyze the situation thoroughly. When you have clarified what you want to say in a few clear statements and have given yourself the time to ensure your message-it is time to deliver your stand.

2. Delivering the information. Strive to deliver your message directly to the person who can do the most with it. Don’t use indirect messages or messengers.

3. The message. Be succinct, go from specific to general, stay purely factual, non-emotional. If others are not composed,  just stick to your message.

4. Bring a solution if you can. Provide a path toward an improved outcome.

5. Tough concern. Be prepared to convey empathy for their emotional response if needed. Mentally rehearse for worst case scenarios.

6. Timing. Set up the meeting beforehand to deliver you message and explain very briefly what will be discussed in the meeting. Make the meeting private and allow for adequate time to process.

7. Don’t shy away from delivering a message because you fear conflict. You will end up having to spend inordinate amounts of time and energy cleaning up the mess down the road if you don’t manage the situation as it is right now.

8. Is it personal? Separate the event from the person. Just deliver the message enough so you are sure they understand it. Don’t seek instant acceptance-give it time.

9. If you must. If your message is rejected, covered, denied, hidden or glossed over and you have stuck to a message of a specific problem and consequence-go up the chain of command or if you are the top, it is time to enforce consequences.

10. Put balance in your message. Balance the scales by positively reinforcing their changed behavior or outcome.

Do these suggestions resonate with you? Tell me about a situation where you exercised managerial courage.

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