Best Ways To Better Your Business in 2022!

It’s 2022: a new year, a new chance to grow into a better, brighter YOU! For business owners, think of this as the start of YOUR year—the year you achieve the goals you’ve always envisioned and stride even further down the path of success.

As you strive for greatness for both yourself and your business, Sun Group Wealth Partners is here to support you. We’ve invited business owners and financial coaches to this week’s Tweet Chat to guide you in seeking out improvements in your everyday practices and set your business up for long-term prosperity. Let’s welcome expert panelists Nathalie Gregg @NathalieGregg, Rich Perry @CoachRichPerry, and Maiko Sakai @MaikoSakaiBiz to share the best ways to better your business!

Missed the Tweet Chat? Here’s a recap:

Q1. Everyone strives for greatness. How can you expand on things that make you feel great? How can you improve on your surroundings and activities to include more things that make you feel like the best version of yourself? How can you pour that greatness into your business?

Rich Perry: Having the right mentor is a powerful way to improve one’s efforts in business in life. A mentor has been there and can help guide the way. Also, taking the time to learn more in all areas of personal and professional growth.

Maiko Sakai: Start living the person you are becoming NOW. Sure, it'll be shaky as we don't know exactly what that looks like, but we do it anyway. Live + practice our best version will build a path to get there faster.

Navicore Solutions @navicorePR: Pinpoint what makes you feel great and put it in your schedule for at least once a day. Feeling great for even a moment a day can improve your overall quality of life.

Q2. To grow, you need to know what is and isn’t working. What problems are you currently trying to solve? What obstacles did you encounter the most last year? What obstacles are you expecting you’ll encounter this year? How do you creatively plan to solve them?

Maiko Sakai: It's all about getting out of my own way. Can you relate?

1) Don't decide how it's going to play out before trying. 

2) Don't get run over by my inner critics.

3) Failing is one of the stepping stones to get there.

4) Stop setting unrealistic expectations

Paul Haury @PaulHaury: Missions, vision, and promised land. If your mission ain't moving you towards the promised land, probably should be scrubbed. Biggest obstacle, helping people believe in their belonging. Worse, getting caught in my own belonging.

Q3. Every great business is in it for their clients. How do you build / strengthen trust with your current and potential clients? What relationship building practices have had the biggest impact on your business? How do you inspire your current clients to tell their friends and family about your services? 

Pavel Stepanov @pavelStepanov77: We usually send them surveys and ask for their feedback. If we receive a negative one, we reach out to the person and work on how we can improve their experience. We also created a Facebook group to support them in all things possible.

Maiko Sakai: For me, the most successful strategy is simply to show up + perform. My job is to help them make a decision they'd be happy with. "Showcasing" has been the biggest factor in my practice, which includes collaborations, videos & workshops.

Amy Hampton @lonedaisymedia: Building an atmosphere of trust is the most important thing for me. Design is so much more than people think. It's not just a pretty copy, but it's putting their creative work out into the world — and their hopes and fears with it. It's a true honor to help.

Q4. If they can’t find you, do you even exist as an option? How can you continue to use social media with the mission of creating a bigger business footprint online? How can you amplify your business’ presence?

Jim Fuhs @FuhsionMktg: Make sure your business is on the map and getting reviews. Share content of value, both yours and those you admire and tell people why. Engage where your potential business prospects hang out, they will see you and gravitate to you.

Nathalie Gregg: Amplifying my #visibility! Your clients must know, like, and trust you. We must remember that #trust is where the conversion happens! “Visibility is the power to get seen, paid, and heard!” @therosholive

Paul Haury: Use whatever social media platform to...

Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate, Relate

Q5. When you feel great, you do great! What can you do to prioritize putting yourself first? Why is this so important? Should you incorporate self-care as part of your business duties? Why or why not? 

Zen Yinger @ZenYinger: Grew up with the maxim, health is wealth. Later during my years of practicing Vipassana Meditation actually experienced self love. How can we possibly love another until we completely love & accept ourselves?

Maiko Sakai: First, we want to reframe our belief about prioritizing ourselves. If you feel a bit guilty about it, then consider this: It's your JOB to feel good so that you'll leverage your max potential & manage your team the best way possible. Once you frame it this way, it comes easy for you to find ways to take care of yourself without feeling guilty about it. Your elevated vibes will be contagious.

Nathalie Gregg: Scheduling time daily to #relax and #unwind is a power move! 

Walking, mediating, deep breathing, stretching, bubble baths and candles are some must schedule daily activities. 

We must protect our#peace and give ourselves#grace.

Q6. It’s common for business owners to keep one eye on their revenue and the other on operations. Should business owners pay more attention to business costs and profit margins vs revenues? Why or why not? 

Nathalie Gregg: They all play a role in our success. A savvy business owner will keep their eyes on them all. Based on the specific goals at the time will determine the sequence of importance.

Maiko Sakai: Too many service business providers spend virtually no time figuring out their profit margin %. Just because we sell intangibles doesn't mean we don't need to figure it out. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to know what you are netting.

Start by conducting a time audit. What are you doing throughout the day? Track it for 2 weeks. Then quantify your time, sanity & energy (dollarize them). That needs to be subtracted from revenue.

Lastly, having a revenue goal is important. But don't just come up with a number that sounds good. It must be aligned with your overall business vision. Otherwise, you risk the danger of prioritizing this # over trust & relationship building.

Q8. It’s been a rough couple of years for small businesses, with many unfortunately closing their doors. What smart steps did you take to ensure your business’ success? With many big companies bringing in the big profits, do you think small businesses still have a shot at thriving and not just surviving? Why or why not? 

Nathalie Gregg: Building a strong, robust #personalbrand and a community will sustain large and small businesses. Anticipating problems and driving results will assist in their success!

Maiko Sakai: Owning an equitable business can potentially hedge the risk by relying on keeping a job. It does not have to start out big. Anyone can do side-hustling. Don't hold yourself back by not leveraging what you've earned through working your day job.

And, I think we still have a shot. From this experience, many business owners are recognizing that it pays to secure a line of credit or a loan when they don't need it. (It's a bit too late when you need it.) 

Amy Hampton: Absolutely. But what does "thriving" mean to you? Piles of cash? Flex schedule? Creative or editorial freedom? This is your life and your business and YOU get to decide what success looks like. Sometimes money is a lousy way of keeping score.

We hope that these experts’ pointers can steer you and your business in the right direction this year, but bear in mind that everyone’s journey will look different. At the end of the day, your success must be defined on your own terms—only then will you know what kind of “better” to strive for.

As Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh once said, “Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.” Remember to stay true to your values, and the rest will fall in place! Wishing you the best of luck this new year.