Abaminds Entrepreneurs

Joe Sobieck is a management consultant specialised in business development, sales management and training, marketing planning and social media marketing. He blogs at Joe Sobieck and you can also meet him at LinkedIn and Twitter.

Below he answers questions on business strategy/development and client relationship.

- What’s the most common strategic mistake that business owners make?

I have identified two major strategic mistakes that business owners make. The first mistake is forming the planning around the “available” budget and not having the budget complement the planning. When a business is forecasting a budget the business decision makers usually increase the budget by a certain percentage, based on the previous performance years. That way of budgeting usually has a first come first serve, the money runs out, and takes away from any cushioning later in the year. Now, if a business plans the budget around major strategic plans for the year, that allows the strategic objectives or goals to be implemented without worries of cutting short the execution because all the necessary money will be set aside just for that objective or goal.

The second mistake is creating strategic planning with more “data” than execution communication. Business owners like to put in all these numbers associated with the planning, which looks very impressive, but lacks the communication to the managers or employees as far as “how” or “what” they’re responsible to get the objective or goal accomplished. My tip is to make sure that everyone throughout the company knows what they are suppose to do, to hit the objective or goal effectively.

- What’s been the most rewarding thing you’ve heard from a client?

I have had some business owners tear-up from relief and being there when needed. That one experience was because a client of mine, had a big event coming up in a few days. Most of it was last minute and I believe I stayed up throughout most of the night to finish some presentation details. When I showed up with the materials, she just started tearing up that I was able to be there for her and do whatever is necessary to get the goals accomplished.

Overall, the most rewarding part of my business, is being able to surpass the objectives or goals that we had set-up at the end of the time frame and seeing the smiles on their faces to look at the improvements of the business today from when we started. Also, during the journey, building the relationship or trust and knowing my clients as people and not a statistic on the sales board.

- How does it feel like when you do your best and still a client ignores your advice?

When a situation like that arises, that a client is not listening to my advice, I first ask myself “what am I doing wrong or how am I not communicating the plans properly”? I will all ways look at the situation on my performance first. The second thing I do, is professionally lay out the situation. The business owner may not understand what is going on or may not agree with some part of the advice and has not found a way to present that to me. All in all it can get a little frustrating, but I set up that conversation to take down any barriers. These businesses are paying me to help them improve and I want them to get their money’s worth.

- What’s the worst decision a business owner can make amidst an economic crisis?

The main thing a business owner cannot do in an economic crisis is quite simple. Business owners cannot panic. Staying focused and flexible will allow your business to get through the hardest of times and even come out ahead when the economy picks back up. Being aware of the situation, staying on top of the current events is completely different from worrying about outside controls and what has happened to another business.

- Where do you see your business 3 years from now?

With the positive response I have received since my business has been established, I see my business being quite successful in three years. Allow me to further explain. With the mindset to accomplish total customer satisfaction, passion for people, and success to grow, I see my business being quite dominating in the up coming years. I see some duplication behind my methods, a strong client base, and a business that has a respected philanthropy plan.

- How does your professional and/or academic background helps you assist your clients?

I would say that my professional background is the key drive to my success in assisting my clients. I am continually reading and expanding my academic knowledge, but it is really hard to conduct business from a school book. Experience and surrounding myself with professionals that are more successful than I am has been the main asset to my everyday learning. I will all ways continue my education, but I learn the most in my business and everyday operations. I may be a business owner, but I am not too good to learn from someone else’s successes or failures.

I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to get to know who Joe Sobieck is. I would love to be an of assistance to anyone who needs and I am all ways up for taking sometime to network or talk to others. Please take a look at my site http://joesobieck.com/, and make it a great day!

Many thanks to Joe for this interview!

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