This is a copy of an email that Dominic Rubino, Our Executive Vice President sent off to a well known reporter who is looking for story ideas....In red is the original question...
Questions About Pricing and Wage Pressures -- please share your quick feedback. I'm getting called almost daily by the media asking what I'm hearing from the mid-market segment of the economy. With increased food and fuel costs they are asking two specific questions: 1) are you feeling the pressure to raise your own prices and by how much; and 2) are your employees asking for increased wages to offset their own increased costs of putting food on the table and commuting to work? I'll keep your responses anonymous unless I get your permission to share with the media that contact me.
Hi Vic,
Just saw your call for input. As you know, Business Coaches are in a bit of a different spot in this conversation, as we actively work to show business owners the roses in the thorns. In this case, opportunities among the threats.
Over the various cycles we've seen, we've noticed that companies who are aggressive in a downturn, really launch rapidly ( we call it boomeranging) at the first sign of an upturn.
A case in point is the Bosa Construction Group in Canada. At the start of the 80's downturn, they were just another construction company specialising in residential homes. Early to mid 80's - They went into acquisition mode, buying up "odd" parcels of land. Things like Blueberry Farms, Mountainside Farm land, and low- low-low rent apartment buildings etc.
Fast forward to now and they ( along with their numerous spin off company's) spent all of the 90's and the first part of the 00's building huge mega -high rises and town home complexes. The Vancouver boom is done , and Bosa has already leapt into other markets. Let me reiterate, in 1980, they built 2 story homes! ( their Sandbox changed)
Here's what our business coaches are seeing North America wide. Fear and Uncertainty
Business Owners are afraid to raise prices, or make the changes they know they need to make.
So compensating for fuel and wages is something they typically look internally for as opposed to being critical of their operations and making changes there.
One of our Coaches ( Dulcee Loehn, Florida) has a client who makes this point well. One of her clients is a Commercial Electrical Contractor. When she began the FocalPoint Coaching Process , the owners had a dim view of the future, but knew something had to change. In 9 weeks she's found them savings in how they run their business. One operational change will net them around 8k per year, and another of about 11k annually. Those savings will now continue annually.
She's only 2 1/2 months into coaching with them. A 7 million dollar company today and that's already a significant uptick in profitability. Coaching will really take them into a new level of business.
Brad Ness is another FocalPoint Business Coach in Columbus, Ohio. Brad is an excellent coach who delvers results. He works with a client who is a Civil Engineer. Aside from making a living from his company, profits were approximately 30 k annually.
With coaching, and quite a bit of strategic planning, this client is now looking at providing a contract that will net him 300k in profit annually. He simply started the coaching relationship hoping to "get a better handle on his business". The FocalPoint System is based on the work of Brian Tracy who has been the leader of Business Growth and Sales Growth of over 3o years.
I think the business public would be surprised to learn how few main street businesses ( 1 to 40 mill/yr) do job costing or profitability analysis. Or how many of them proactively approach hiring , training, or "topgrading" their people.
It seems that the last thing on a business owners mind is making a change in their business,. We all know these are all brilliant people. They just don't know where to start. Fair enough.
What do do first, what to ignore, and what to do last can be a significant challenge.
Vic, I know telling this to you is singing with the choir, but Coaching really works!
I hope these stories helped you out. If your magazine need a hand with a story, let me know, we have lots of them, and we're glad to help.
Talk to you soon,
Dom
*****
I've shared this with you as I think it gives a pretty good perspective on the Business of Business Coaching.
Your comments?
Thanks,
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
Saturday, May 31, 2008
FocalPoint Business Coach Anniversaries
Hello World,
I was looking back over some files and I noticed that we have some FocalPoint Business Coaching Anniversaries out there!- Ron McNutt in Charleston
- Ray Mead in New Jersey,
- Charles Holland in Colorado,
- Jim Masters in Nebraska,
- Susan Spitz in St. Louis
- Brad Ness in Columbus Ohio
- Paul Gillman in Cincinnati
- Tom Breitenbach in Cincinnati
- John Peluso in Charlotte
All of these Business Coaches work hard at doing good things in their communities. That's what Business Coaches do. We work with Business Owners and Senior Corporate Executives who are high performers. In every case, improvements are made.
Congratulations to our coaches! Congratulations to their clients!
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Great People on FocalPoint Discovery Day
What a day!
I just finished something called "Discovery Day." It's a part of the process someone goes through before they join us as a Business Coach.
We have a 2 party decision making process. The potential Business Coach has to decide to do this, and we want to make sure the right people join our team.
Today's call was great. The group was representative of the kind of people that look at FocalPoint Coaching. - Senior VP's, Serial Entrepreneurs, and High Performing Managers. I love it when we do our intro's and it becomes clear its a meeting of peers.
One of our guests said something I jotted down that really captures what many others have said. His reason for looking at joining us and becoming a coach was based on his question..." What can I do with the skills I've developed, and use them in my own business?..."
He's right. Business Coaching is the logical conclusion for someone who wants to get paid from the neck up. It only make sense to build on your existing skills.
You might be interested in an overview of the varied backgrounds of the people who were on our call. By way of summary...
I also want to give kudos to one of our top coaches, Brad Ness from Columbus, Ohio who joined us to share his perspective on being a FocalPoint Coach .
As I said, what a great day. Our team is growing at a perfect pace, with the perfect people!
Thanks for tuning in!
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
I just finished something called "Discovery Day." It's a part of the process someone goes through before they join us as a Business Coach.
We have a 2 party decision making process. The potential Business Coach has to decide to do this, and we want to make sure the right people join our team.
Today's call was great. The group was representative of the kind of people that look at FocalPoint Coaching. - Senior VP's, Serial Entrepreneurs, and High Performing Managers. I love it when we do our intro's and it becomes clear its a meeting of peers.
One of our guests said something I jotted down that really captures what many others have said. His reason for looking at joining us and becoming a coach was based on his question..." What can I do with the skills I've developed, and use them in my own business?..."
He's right. Business Coaching is the logical conclusion for someone who wants to get paid from the neck up. It only make sense to build on your existing skills.
You might be interested in an overview of the varied backgrounds of the people who were on our call. By way of summary...
- A Business Professor, turned corporate, rising to very senior levels in Banking
- A high performing Mortgage Broker
- A CPA who also has an MBA
- A Corporate Finance and Accounting Exec
- A Real Estate Exec
- A Senior Manager from Major Accounts in Telecom
- A serial Entrepreneur in the Consumer goods industry
- A Seasoned Professional Presenter with an very interesting entertainment angle !
I also want to give kudos to one of our top coaches, Brad Ness from Columbus, Ohio who joined us to share his perspective on being a FocalPoint Coach .
As I said, what a great day. Our team is growing at a perfect pace, with the perfect people!
Thanks for tuning in!
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Respect and FocalPoint Business Coaching
Hmm, where are we? We’ve talked about the Culture and Values that we uphold as part of being on the FocalPoint Coaching Team. As you might imagine, being part of an organization with Brian Tracy in it is bound to be a group that is laser focused on Excellence.
Above you’ll see my thoughts on Forever , and Integrity.
Now let’s discuss Respect.
Respect is something I almost touched on in my last post, in Integrity. We Respect the Intellectual Property of others and give credit where due. This is important in an industry where we draw on so many authors, writers, Biographies, and learning tools. Be very cautious if one person holds themselves up to the guru of everything.
We respect the people on our team and work hard to be respected by others. Respect isn’t to be confused with agreement on all fronts, but rather, the willingness to take a stand and defend it.
What about Respect for self? This could be a blog all unto itself. As a matter of fact, it is the root cause of a number of social ills we are surrounded by every day.
We also respect everyone's right to make a profit,- you, me ,and the guy over there. It ties in with Forever, it ties in with Profitability - another core value I’ll outline later. (Remember? I'm a Capitalist)
And as another example, we respect the right and the responsibility of being part of a high performing team. Everyone on our team is different. I love that, and I think they do too. Being part of FocalPoint is being a strong individual, who contributes to an even stronger team.
Thanks All! Have a great day!
Keep tuning in!
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
Above you’ll see my thoughts on Forever , and Integrity.
Now let’s discuss Respect.
Respect is something I almost touched on in my last post, in Integrity. We Respect the Intellectual Property of others and give credit where due. This is important in an industry where we draw on so many authors, writers, Biographies, and learning tools. Be very cautious if one person holds themselves up to the guru of everything.
We respect the people on our team and work hard to be respected by others. Respect isn’t to be confused with agreement on all fronts, but rather, the willingness to take a stand and defend it.
What about Respect for self? This could be a blog all unto itself. As a matter of fact, it is the root cause of a number of social ills we are surrounded by every day.
We also respect everyone's right to make a profit,- you, me ,and the guy over there. It ties in with Forever, it ties in with Profitability - another core value I’ll outline later. (Remember? I'm a Capitalist)
And as another example, we respect the right and the responsibility of being part of a high performing team. Everyone on our team is different. I love that, and I think they do too. Being part of FocalPoint is being a strong individual, who contributes to an even stronger team.
Thanks All! Have a great day!
Keep tuning in!
Steve Thompson, FocalPoint Coaching
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
More on what it means to be a FocalPoint Coach
A few posts ago, I started outlining our FocalPoint Culture Statements - what it takes to be on our team as a Coach , Area Developer, or Head Office Team.
In a previous post you'll see that I discussed what we mean by "Forever." Our actions, reactions and thoughts, strategy and planning reflect a long term view, with a Business timeline of “forever”.
Let me tell you about our next Cultural Value..."Integrity"
Integrity is an interesting one, because it encompasses a number of other values. Did you know that when we first set out to write down our Values, we came up with 23! Clearly too many, but also just enough. If you sat down to ponder your values with a professional, certified Business Coach, how would you feel if that Coach limited you to an arbitrary number?
Far better to start with too many, and then , like a nice box of chocolate, savor the list over time and select the ones that best represent your tastes. There is no need to rush - this list is an expression of us and what we strive to become ( see Forever, above!).
OK, I digress. Integrity. We act with Integrity at all times. I have a favorite saying. "If you ask me a question, I'll give you the answer - you may not always like the answer, but you'll get it straight. "
Integrity also shows itself in respect for I.P. - I'll discuss that in Respect, another Cultural Value - I'll save that for another Blog post.
Now, I feel that Integrity is something that is best measured by consistent action. Your integrity may be different than mine. That's OK...it makes the world go 'round.
If your Integrity is based on you being a Vegan, that's OK. Just because I enjoy a nice steak ( medium well, please) with some blue cheese on it doesn't mean I don't have integrity. We're just different. Thank God for that! ( and mouthwash)
For us Integrity means being the kind of person who lives by the values of Win-Win -Win. A FocalPoint coach is always looking for the 3-win. It means being honest and direct yet respectful of, with and for the people we deal with. Imagine the Executive or Business Owner who had just another Yes-Man ( or yes- woman???) across the table from them.
From years of coaching, I've found that our Integrity in dealing directly with high performing individuals, business owners, and executives comes as a breath of fresh air.
Perhaps you've see this yourself. Who will give YOU the straight goods? If you're the boss, will your team tell it to you like it is? You sign the check. Will your suppliers or salespeople come in and tell you , with Integrity whats best for you, or, as a coach would, lead you down a path based solely on your benefit. No - they want you to sign a check too.
As Professional, Certified Business Coaches, it's our Right and Responsibility to act with Integrity. It may make us unpopular some of the time, but I think that's OK, in light of Forever.
Thanks for tuning in!
Steve Thompson, President, Focalpoint Coaching, powered By Brian Tracy
In a previous post you'll see that I discussed what we mean by "Forever." Our actions, reactions and thoughts, strategy and planning reflect a long term view, with a Business timeline of “forever”.
Let me tell you about our next Cultural Value..."Integrity"
Integrity is an interesting one, because it encompasses a number of other values. Did you know that when we first set out to write down our Values, we came up with 23! Clearly too many, but also just enough. If you sat down to ponder your values with a professional, certified Business Coach, how would you feel if that Coach limited you to an arbitrary number?
Far better to start with too many, and then , like a nice box of chocolate, savor the list over time and select the ones that best represent your tastes. There is no need to rush - this list is an expression of us and what we strive to become ( see Forever, above!).
OK, I digress. Integrity. We act with Integrity at all times. I have a favorite saying. "If you ask me a question, I'll give you the answer - you may not always like the answer, but you'll get it straight. "
Integrity also shows itself in respect for I.P. - I'll discuss that in Respect, another Cultural Value - I'll save that for another Blog post.
Now, I feel that Integrity is something that is best measured by consistent action. Your integrity may be different than mine. That's OK...it makes the world go 'round.
If your Integrity is based on you being a Vegan, that's OK. Just because I enjoy a nice steak ( medium well, please) with some blue cheese on it doesn't mean I don't have integrity. We're just different. Thank God for that! ( and mouthwash)
For us Integrity means being the kind of person who lives by the values of Win-Win -Win. A FocalPoint coach is always looking for the 3-win. It means being honest and direct yet respectful of, with and for the people we deal with. Imagine the Executive or Business Owner who had just another Yes-Man ( or yes- woman???) across the table from them.
From years of coaching, I've found that our Integrity in dealing directly with high performing individuals, business owners, and executives comes as a breath of fresh air.
Perhaps you've see this yourself. Who will give YOU the straight goods? If you're the boss, will your team tell it to you like it is? You sign the check. Will your suppliers or salespeople come in and tell you , with Integrity whats best for you, or, as a coach would, lead you down a path based solely on your benefit. No - they want you to sign a check too.
As Professional, Certified Business Coaches, it's our Right and Responsibility to act with Integrity. It may make us unpopular some of the time, but I think that's OK, in light of Forever.
Thanks for tuning in!
Steve Thompson, President, Focalpoint Coaching, powered By Brian Tracy
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day - hey Stop for a second!
Hi,
Thanks for checking in.
Today is Memorial Day . This is a day for all of us to remember why we have the freedoms that we do.
I am a capitalist. And that moniker comes at a price. Freedom will always require sacrifice. Whether it's the freedom to be your own boss, or the freedom to live in a free and democratic society, it comes at a price.
Memorial day isn't just another day off. Its a day to reflect and give thanks for all that we have, and to consider those who have given of themselves so that we may have it.
I found this neat link on the history of Memorial Day http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html take a few minutes and read it. Consider all of those who are fighting for us right now.
We coach Veteran Owned businesses and have a number of Veterans as our Business Coaches.
Today is our day to say Thank-you.
Slow Down! We have this day for a reason.
Steve Thompson
Thanks for checking in.
Today is Memorial Day . This is a day for all of us to remember why we have the freedoms that we do.
I am a capitalist. And that moniker comes at a price. Freedom will always require sacrifice. Whether it's the freedom to be your own boss, or the freedom to live in a free and democratic society, it comes at a price.
Memorial day isn't just another day off. Its a day to reflect and give thanks for all that we have, and to consider those who have given of themselves so that we may have it.
I found this neat link on the history of Memorial Day http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html take a few minutes and read it. Consider all of those who are fighting for us right now.
We coach Veteran Owned businesses and have a number of Veterans as our Business Coaches.
Today is our day to say Thank-you.
Slow Down! We have this day for a reason.
Steve Thompson
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Business Coach Training is over. And it's really just begun
Well, we've just completed another intensive training session for some Business Coaches who have just joined FocalPoint.
It's been an exciting 6 days. I'm always amazed at the amount of learning that gets packed into such a short time frame. What comes next for these coaches is just as exciting - because this is just the "start" of training.
Now things really get interesting. My partner, Dominic Rubino and I are committed to 2 things as we lead this elite group of Business Coaches. Coach Success and Client Success.
To that end, we'll continue to pour support and resources into these coaches so that when they get home they have all the tools they need to be hugely successful.
From myself, Dominic, Brian Tracy and Cam Fraser - welcome!
It's been an exciting 6 days. I'm always amazed at the amount of learning that gets packed into such a short time frame. What comes next for these coaches is just as exciting - because this is just the "start" of training.
Now things really get interesting. My partner, Dominic Rubino and I are committed to 2 things as we lead this elite group of Business Coaches. Coach Success and Client Success.
To that end, we'll continue to pour support and resources into these coaches so that when they get home they have all the tools they need to be hugely successful.
From myself, Dominic, Brian Tracy and Cam Fraser - welcome!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
More on Focalpoint Business Coachign Culture- What does it mean to be an Elite Business Coach?
In my last posting, I talked a bit about our Culture. What does it mean to be part of FocalPoint Business Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy?
We think our Culture Statement is pretty interesting, and we take it seriously. My job is to make sure we, at head office, walk the talk and lead by example. I also overlay our culture and values against any potential coaches who join our team.
I'd love to hear your comments.
Over the next few Blog posts, I’ll share our Culture points with you here. These form the foundation of who we are …
FocalPoint Culture Statements
· Forever. Our actions, reactions and thoughts, strategy and planning reflect a long term view, with a Business timeline of “forever”.
Well, that summary seems pretty straightforward, but I ask you to consider for a moment what we did during one of our retreats.
Why would we even consider the concept of "forever"? Because it colors our view of the kind of questions we ask when we make critical decisions. There is an interesting Asian quote I like tat says "... To plan for a year, plant wheat. To plan for a decade, plant trees. To Plan for a lifetime, educate people..." Its all perspective. We act and react based on the timeline we view for our business.
Forever + Business Coaching + Education= Success.
Thanks for reading,
Steve Thompson
FocalPoint Business Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
By the way, if you know who actually coined that Chinese proverb, please let me know!
We think our Culture Statement is pretty interesting, and we take it seriously. My job is to make sure we, at head office, walk the talk and lead by example. I also overlay our culture and values against any potential coaches who join our team.
I'd love to hear your comments.
Over the next few Blog posts, I’ll share our Culture points with you here. These form the foundation of who we are …
FocalPoint Culture Statements
· Forever. Our actions, reactions and thoughts, strategy and planning reflect a long term view, with a Business timeline of “forever”.
Well, that summary seems pretty straightforward, but I ask you to consider for a moment what we did during one of our retreats.
Why would we even consider the concept of "forever"? Because it colors our view of the kind of questions we ask when we make critical decisions. There is an interesting Asian quote I like tat says "... To plan for a year, plant wheat. To plan for a decade, plant trees. To Plan for a lifetime, educate people..." Its all perspective. We act and react based on the timeline we view for our business.
Forever + Business Coaching + Education= Success.
Thanks for reading,
Steve Thompson
FocalPoint Business Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy
By the way, if you know who actually coined that Chinese proverb, please let me know!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Looking forward to Business Coach Training
I’m excited about our training class coming up. We’ll be adding some great coaches to our roster.
This training also sees us the addition of Abby Vega to our team. Abby will be the Area Developer for FocalPoint Business Coaching in Northern Florida.
We’re very lucky to attract strong people to our team and Abby is no exception. I look forward to great things from this territory.
We’ve also added FocalPoint Certified Business Coaches in Atlanta Georgia, Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona ,Seattle and Tacoma Washington, Houston and Dallas Texas.
It takes a special kind of person to qualify for our team. Not only do they have to have strong business background but they have to fit our culture as well. Did you know that less than 1.5 % of people who we talk to ever qualify to join our team?
We've only just started with the training and these coaches already show what it takes to succeed!
Thanks for reading, have a great day!
Steve Thompson
This training also sees us the addition of Abby Vega to our team. Abby will be the Area Developer for FocalPoint Business Coaching in Northern Florida.
We’re very lucky to attract strong people to our team and Abby is no exception. I look forward to great things from this territory.
We’ve also added FocalPoint Certified Business Coaches in Atlanta Georgia, Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona ,Seattle and Tacoma Washington, Houston and Dallas Texas.
It takes a special kind of person to qualify for our team. Not only do they have to have strong business background but they have to fit our culture as well. Did you know that less than 1.5 % of people who we talk to ever qualify to join our team?
We've only just started with the training and these coaches already show what it takes to succeed!
Thanks for reading, have a great day!
Steve Thompson
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Welcome to my Blog!
Welcome to Steve Thompson FocalPoint Blog.
Welcome to my blog. I’d like to use this tool to tell you more about myself, Steve Thompson, and FocalPoint Business Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy.
I’m the President of FocalPoint Business Coaching. Myself and my partner Dominic Rubino operate globally as the Franchisor, seeking the elite few who qualify to join our team of Business Coaches.
If you’ve heard of Brian Tracy, you know that he’s invested 30 years as a top speaker , author , business coach and mentor. He’s published over 50 books, is a best selling audio guru and it’s all becase he deals in reality – not theory.
In this Blog you’ll find out more about me, and more about FocalPoint, so please bookmark us and check back often!
Welcome to my blog. I’d like to use this tool to tell you more about myself, Steve Thompson, and FocalPoint Business Coaching, powered by Brian Tracy.
I’m the President of FocalPoint Business Coaching. Myself and my partner Dominic Rubino operate globally as the Franchisor, seeking the elite few who qualify to join our team of Business Coaches.
If you’ve heard of Brian Tracy, you know that he’s invested 30 years as a top speaker , author , business coach and mentor. He’s published over 50 books, is a best selling audio guru and it’s all becase he deals in reality – not theory.
In this Blog you’ll find out more about me, and more about FocalPoint, so please bookmark us and check back often!
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