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Text Box: February 2011

Text Box:   Test Your Creativity     3 easy puzzles...maybe not so easy...   1) Can you name four days which start with the letter "T"?   2) If you are in a dark room with a candle, a wood stove and a gas lamp. You only have one match, so what do you light first?   3) How far do you have to travel to reach the North Pole, if you start from the equator and always head north west     *Answers at the bottom!

Text Box:   “Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Text Box: Notable Quote

Text Box: Executive Coaching  · Strategic Planning  · Team Building  · Continuous Improvement  · Professional Development © 2011, E.A. Lewis Consulting          www.ealewisconsulting.com

Text Box: You are receiving this free newsletter at your request or as part of E.A. Lewis Consulting Services.  If you have been forwarded this newsletter from someone you know and would like to subscribe, please click here to send an email. To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here to send an email.   This material is provided as general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice or consulting services specific to you, your employees, or your organization. This content may be forwarded in full, without permission, when used in a not-for-profit format. No other reproduction of this publication, in whole, or in part, is allowed without the express written consent of E.A. Lewis Consulting. This newsletter is a free service of E.A. Lewis Consulting, Management Tips and Best Practices Newsletter, all rights reserved. Copyright 2011 E.A. Lewis Consulting.   *Brain Teaser Answer:  1) Tuesday, Thursday, today, and tomorrow! 2) The match. 3) Trick question: It’s not possible to get to the North Pole by traveling north west!

Text Box: Brain Teaser

Text Box:   “Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, began where he stood to put his dream into action, and despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by that dream until he made it a physical reality. Practical dreamers do not quit.” - Napoleon Hill

E.A. Lewis Consulting

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Text Box: Know Your Boundaries Business owners need to establish boundaries.  When we don’t, we often end up in situations where we are overstressed, feeling resentful, and the business is struggling.    For a service business as an example, boundaries need to be defined not only in terms of what we will do but also what we won’t do.  Our ideal target client or project size might be $15,000, but what is the minimum or the maximum?  If we don’t know, we can’t make good business decisions.   Set our boundaries too low and we leave opportunity on the table.  If we take every $5,000 client, we may soon have so many that our systems and processes, including time management, become inefficient and profit margin goes out the window.   Set our boundaries too high and we take on more than we can really handle.  A $75,000 client make take all of our time and resources and actually keep us from servicing our other customers and lowering customer satisfaction levels and again profit margin goes out the window.   If we don’t define our boundaries, we end up having to be reactive rather than being able to be proactive where we can plan and implement for steady and controlled business growth.   Systems for Small Businesses Defining your business systems can provide many benefits even for the small business owner.  Many of us think about expensive processes and quality programs like ISO 9001 and their huge time and manpower investment when considering quality control and trying to become more efficient and more effective.  It doesn’t have to be costly!   Defining your systems can be done simply and easily and the benefits to the small business owner can be immense.  Sit down with paper and pencil and map out all the steps to make your product or provide your service.  Define the inputs, outputs, and the resources needed.  Define the time line, communication lines, etc.  Use blocks, circles, arrows, and keep it simple.  Just taking a few minutes to map your systems can help you realize where the bottlenecks are, where efficiencies can be had, and the bottom line improved.  

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Ernest A. LewisText Box: Presentation Skills for the Small Business Owner! Discover how to connect with your customers, improve your business image, quickly and easily put together great presentations and even get to the sale quicker!   Tried and true methods every business owner needs to know!   Tuesday, March 1st, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Toledo Area, Limited Seating Call for Details:  419-345-4254, or email:  ernest@ealewisconsulting.com  or Register Online

Text Box: Upcoming Event:  Leadership Toledo Fundraising Breakfast Leadership Toledo’s Annual Fundraising Breakfast is coming on Friday March 4th, 7:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.!  LT supports and encourages community involvement and leadership development.  The Fundraising Breakfast supports the Youth Leadership Toledo Program for 50 area high school youth.  The Breakfast is free and we’ll ask you to donate and if you do, that’s great.  If not, that’s fine too.  Just come to learn about this great program for adults and youth!  It’s also a great networking opportunity with 500 other professionals in attendance!    RSVP to me at:  ernest@ealewisconsulting.com so we can save you a seat!

Text Box: Small Business Boot Camp! Review the fundamentals of effective business growth including having the right business model, effective marketing, appropriate systems, and much more.  Discover the power of peer support and learn how to grow your business right!   Starts Tuesday, March 22nd, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., 5 Weeks, Toledo Area, Limited Seating Call for Details:  419-345-4254, or email:  ernest@ealewisconsulting.com  or Register Online

 

 

Text Box: This issue we have a couple of great quotes below by Napoleon Hill and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  They make you think!   Thanks to Tom Massetti  and Trace Routes in Levis Commons for hosting our recent Presentation Skills workshop.  Tom opens his spacious conference room for outside presentations and he even makes the coffee!  Check out Trace Routes at: http://tracerts.com/ Take a look at the upcoming Small Business Boot Camp, 5 weeks, starting March 22nd!        -  Ernie