Kel Shipton, Owner of The Happy Herb Shop, Midland WA

Kel Shipton, business franchise owner at the Happy Herb Shop Midland in Western Australia recommends Executive Coach, Tony Inman to help you when the going gets tough, to sort out your business and your life.

If you would like a free strategy session to see how Tony can help you, contact Club Red via this website, or by phoning

(08) 9328 2203.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Gambling or working a plan?

Would you gamble with your home or your life savings without a good reason?
Unless you had some kind of gambling addiction, the answer would probably be no.
Yet that is exactly what people seem to do in the business world each day.
A common theme I have seen with new clients has been the subject of the need to establish purpose.

Key Point – It might seem kind of obvious, yet somehow it slips through unnoticed, that if you’re going to take the trouble to put yourself through the daily tests of running your own business, then perhaps you should know why you’re doing it.

Let’s take that a step further, imagine if your staff also knew, understood, agreed with, and supported what you were doing!
Now here’s an interesting thing – sure there are quite a number of medium and large businesses that produce a company mission statement because they have read somewhere that this is what successful businesses do, but do they align with the owner’s values?
You will often see these plaques mounted proudly in reception areas with bold statements like, ‘We will deliver exceptional customer service with a smile’.
It appeals to my twisted sense of humour that you are reading this as you have been kept waiting for an absurd amount of time by a sour-faced receptionist for an executive who is too busy to greet a potential customer.

Develop Your Mission Statement

There are also those classic service messages like, ‘Your call is important to us, (but obviously not really, because we’re not answering you. In fact, after we have transferred you to the wrong person three times, we will now cut you off’).
I could easily go on a lengthy rant about service standards in Australia and please don’t get me started on the topic of telephone companies or I’ll be here all day.
So back to my point, and I guess this applies more directly to smaller businesses that have an owner rather than a board and a bunch of shareholders, but my question is ‘What is having this business going to do for you?’ or, to put it another way, ‘Why do you do it?’.
Before you retort with the obvious answers like ‘pay my bills’, ‘feed my kids’, ‘subsidise my wife’s shoe-shopping addiction’ or ‘lifestyle, I definitely do it for the lifestyle’, I challenge you to stop and think for a moment before blurting.
The most common blurt is probably ‘To be my own boss’, and that’s great.
Alas, too many people are content to continue on the daily treadmill with that solitary blurt as their sole motivating force.

I challenge you to ask yourself these questions:
•    Why am I in business?
•    What are we trying to achieve?
•    How will we know when we have achieved it?
•    What values do we stand for?
•    How will we endeavour to run our business?
•    How should our staff behave?
•    How will we treat our customers?
•    How will we treat our staff and our suppliers?
•    What is the mission of the business?
•    What is my personal mission in life and how does the business fit into this?
•    Do the business values reflect my values?

Now a lot of people don’t actually know want they want to do with their entire life and I’m not suggesting that you should. Nor am I suggesting that you have to decide right now and stick with that decision for your entire life. The plan doesn’t need to be set in concrete, but there does need to be one at least.

Sir Richard Branson is very clear about his missions!

I do believe though that you should have a good idea of what you stand for and what your business stands for.

I also believe that you should at least have written down a 12 month plan and a 3 year plan.

When you look at the most successful leaders in the world, they almost certainly have put some thought into it, and that’s why other people follow them – because people sense and respond to their passion, enthusiasm and conviction.

To conclude, the stronger your belief in your cause, the more you are guided intuitively to make the right decisions and have the courage to smash through the obstacles that will lead you to success.

In fact, with a clear mission statement and goals all written down, you can shape your destiny.

NB PM Gillard picture courtesy of Sydney Herald Newspaper; Sir Richard Branson picture courtesy of Virgin Unite.

Jim Rohn - Motivational speaker & Author

“Something will master and something will serve.

Either you run the day or the day runs you; either you run the business or the business runs you.” — Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 – December 5, 2009) was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. His rags to riches story played a large part in his work, which influenced many others in the personal development industry.

Tony’s Viewpoint

I’ve always followed Sir Richard Branson’s method of keeping a notebook with me almost all of the time. It’s my diary, my memo holder and my ideas jotter rolled into one.

OK the geeks may say I’m a dinosaur, but it doesn’t matter what you use – as long as it works for you.

In the ’4 Hour Work Week’, Tim Ferris adds this great point, “Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals”.

So that’s what Jim Rohn is talking about.

I say this, “Run your business and run your life or the tail will be wagging the dog!”

Tony Inman – Managing Director of Club Red International Coaching & Consulting

John Denton -Business Ready For Sale Consultant, Denton & Associates

“I referred two business owners to Tony a few months ago.

One of them has a business which is owner centric and therefore unsaleable.

The owner is looking to retire and needs help to get the business in to good shape to be able to sell.

Since Tony has been working with him the owner has taken actions which he had previously put off and is now moving forward towards his goal.

The owner speaks highly of Tony and his whole demeanour and outlook on life and business is much brighter.

Well done Tony.”

March 8th, 2012

John Denton

Business Ready For Sale Consultant and Business Mentoring Group Facilitator at Denton & Associates

Sir-Richard-Branson

Sir Richard Branson has been one of my heroes long before he became a Knight.

If you haven’t yet read any of his books, grab one as soon as you can.

Despite becoming a billionaire, he has retained that down to earth style and connection with everyday people.

One of the reasons – simple alignment between business and life – remembering to do what you enjoy and have fun with it.

Kim Jewell, Owner, Inner Stillness-Integrative Wellness Practice

“I met Tony when we were both receiving our Certification as NLP Trainers in Sydney.

During the course we often had to work together in teams to help refine our ability to present on the topic in front of groups.

Tony is a conscientious and charismatic leader and speaker with great compassion for and interest in, his fellow teammates.

I have kept in touch with Tony since the course and I would highly recommend him as a trustworthy and committed professional, whom I am certain would go above and beyond to help his clients.”

February 26, 2012

Kim Jewell

Owner, Inner Stillness-Integrative Wellness Practice

Halle Yilmaz, Managing Director HQ Business Consulting & HQ Financial Solutions

“You can have an open communication with Tony easily.

He really cares about people and he is committed to make a contribution to other people’s life and happiness.

He is a great life coach.”

Halle Yilmaz

Managing Director, HQ Business Consulting & HQ Financial Solutions, Melbourne

How To Get a Bigger Bite Out of Life by George Faddoul and Tony Inman

I’m pleased and honoured to announce the release of a special edition book in conjunction with my friend and NLP mentor, the legendary George Faddoul.

It’s a thought provoking, light and easy read that has already changed many peoples’ lives.

George Faddoul is a successful entrepreneur and author of several books including ‘The Evolution of i-NLP’ and ‘The Modern Day Alchemist From the Land of the Pharoahs’.

George is also a Certified Trainer of Hypnosis and a Certified Trainer of Neuro Linguistic Programming.

I’m Tony Inman, the co-author and you can read about me here.

Click here to go to order page

This book also makes a perfect gift idea for special occasions, such as :

• birthdays
• Mother’s and Father’s Days
• helping cheer someone up
• helping a friend to get moving!

The recommended retail prices is $20 (Australian) but you can order at a special price through this website for only $15.00. Click here to order today!

The book is a power-packed reference manual for personal growth and prosperity. It’s potential value to you is unlimited!

Topics include:

• Learn to unleash your full potential
• Learn some major fallacies regarding time and money
• Learn to increase your individual capacity
• Learn the secret of savings and wealth creation
• Learn Pareto’s Principle – what to focus on
• Learn basic Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
• Discover how to have mature judgement through NLP
• Learn the 6 major NLP presuppositions & resourcefulness
• Learn the secret to total and complete personal empowerment
• Learn the secrets of mind power and controlling your attitude
• Learn the 7 major laws of the mind
• Learn to put purpose into your life
• Learn to balance the 6 major ares of your life
• Learn how to build courage the easy way

‘After reading this book, the individual who walks out into the world will be a different person than the one who started reading it in the first place’.

Darren Stephens, Chairman, Mars Venus & author of ‘Success Principles’

Build your 'Why?'

A random conversation with a neighbour provided the source of this week’s business topic.

He asked what I did for a living.

When I told him about how I help people reinvent their lives or their businesses, or help them set up new businesses, my new friend, I’ll call him ‘Mr X’ to preserve anonymity, told me that he would love to open his own café one day. He seemed to be seeking some advice or input.

As the conversation continued, it became clear that this was a goal he had thought about for some time. He admitted that fear was the main thing holding him back. He didn’t want to lose what he had already worked so hard to achieve.

‘X’ is an experienced restaurant manager, currently running a successful and iconic Perth restaurant.

What may be weighing on his mind a little is that a friend of his had pursued his dream of opening a gourmet burger bar and turned that concept into one of Perth’s most successful burger restaurant chains.

Conclusion? If someone I know can do it, maybe I can too?

Another interesting thing about ‘X’ was that, even in the early days of his hospitality career, he had relished the idea of managing a restaurant just like the restaurant he was now running; in fact his dream had been to be the Manager of the very restaurant he is now running.

What does that tell you?

We attract what we focus on

Well, any of the motivational gurus will tell you about the Law of Attraction – you attract what you think about and focus on (good or bad!), as long as you back that up with action of course!

‘X’ had focused on his dream, to attain his ideal job, and with dedication and persistent application to his craft, he had fulfilled his desires. He had been the boss of this restaurant for two years now and didn’t want life to now become like ‘Groundhog Day’ (a movie starring Bill Murray, in which the lead character is trapped in a small town where he has to relive the exact same day, over and over).

So, I now knew that ‘X’ was a goal-oriented, hard worker who could commit to a dream and achieve it. Also from my conversations, I had gleaned that he is a good manager.

I suggested the following:

• If you’re going to start something like a café, but you don’t want life to become repetitive and dull, perhaps plan to progressively build a chain of cafés.

(That’s when he told me about his friend with the burger bar chain.)

I suggested that he start with the end in mind and set up really good systems that could be duplicated and that anyone could follow, so he could put them under management or franchise them.

•  If he didn’t want a chain, then at least think about an exit plan before he started. In other words, consider how long a project this would be; how much money did he want to make; when would he plan to get out, or ‘exit’ the business. We call it ‘starting with the end in mind’.

He agreed that a small café would probably not make enough profit to pay him as well as a manager and staff.

Buying Yourself a Job?

Key Point – The danger of moving from a well-paid manager’s job to the owner of a small business like this is that you may just be ‘buying yourself a job’ and possibly one that pays less than you earn now.

Without an exit plan, it could easily become a job that you’re stuck with, until you can find a buyer!

Now of course it’s not all about money! There are considerations like ‘loving what you do’ or ‘being creative’, ‘being your own boss’ or ‘working the hours that suit you’.

Here’s another tip though, because ‘X’ revealed that one of his motivations is that he no longer wants to work evenings – you have to be prepared to put in some extra effort to get a small business off the ground. This can often mean working longer hours than you were working in your old job!

• I then asked about his motivation for wanting his own business, which was largely to escape the mundane routine of his job.

I explained how we tend to move away from something with which we are discontented (a pain), or towards something we desire (a pleasure).

What can happen is that people often want to escape the job, so they start the business, but if they don’t have big enough goals to continue moving towards, they can slip back towards what they don’t want.

(A good example of that is the way people try to lose weight because they don’t want to be fat. As they lose some of the weight, they lose the motivation to continue because the goal has been partly achieved already. Without the motivation, they regain the weight).

Key Point – Be clear about why you want to start your business. What are you moving away from and what do you seek to gain, i.e. where do you want to be in a few years time?

• In case any readers think I was being negative, I wasn’t. I pointed out that he was clearly goal-oriented, clearly motivated, obviously he knew something about the type of business he was planning because he already had management experience in that field (that point alone put him way ahead of many ‘would be’ business owners) and he had a lot of contacts in that industry.

Focus on the Outcome You Want

The issues then involved how to design the business so as to increase the chances of success (thus not losing what he has already worked for, but exceeding what he currently has); and how to design the business so that he could end up not working evenings – i.e less hours, more money.

Key point – A crucial question that can determine success or failure is, ‘What would your niche be?’. What is it that will set your business apart from your competitors?

‘X’ had some ideas, but they must of course remain between him and me.

• Another key question to ponder – knowing that you have this dream, and that you are becoming dissatisfied with the present position and lifestyle, where will you be in a year’s time if you don’t take any action?

• ‘X’ has better odds than most people because of his experience. He is also willing to seek advice and has a network of people willing to help. He is an intelligent guy with much to ponder.

The Take aways from this talk-

Cons – Most small businesses struggle if the owners are short of capital or lack the necessary skills or knowledge; as a business owner you need to have a large diversity of skills encompassing many aspects of business management – even being exceptional in one area may not guarantee success if you fall short badly in others.

Pros - Business allows you to be creative; it has the potential for you to build a saleable asset as well as a cash flow generator; it offers many tax benefits unavailable to employees and managers; missing skills can be learned if you have the desire; business allows you to shape your own destiny.

You won't know if you don't try!

My View: Business ventures carry inherent risk, but as the old saying goes, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’.

Are you a risk-taker? What is Your Mission in Life?

Afterthought : Increase your chances of success – engage a coach with business and life experience.

Contact Tony today for a free strategy session - click here to arrange a chat about how we can help make you more successful

Until next time – Seize the day!

See also these other posts : ‘Why Go Into Business?’

‘Do You Love What You Do?’

‘Living a Meaningful Life’

‘Am I Happy?’

‘Are You Living A Life of Fulfillment?’

George Barr -From Breaking Point to Point Break

From ‘near death’ to ‘full of life’ – the following ‘Rave Review’ is an inspirational story in its own right that was sent in to Club Red’s office this week. I hope you find it as moving as I did.

It was written by a former Club Red employee, George Barr, who worked in both our Tourism and Cleaning Divisions, and who remains a close friend of Club Red CEO, Tony Inman.

Life coaching  -what is it?
This really happened to me but imagine this as being you.
You’re on a plane just taking off from Hong Kong international headed back to Australia.
Ahead is the beach and working with a mate you have known for a few years.
He owned a good business, a backpackers-that’s how I first met “Tony Inman”.
On my return from an extended overseas trip I was going to the backpackers hostel business that Tony owned at that time, ”Planet Inn” to live and do a little part time work.
I got there and started going the basic routine and eventually was driving great, enthusiastic people to the beach and generally getting immersed in the busines.
Tony was keeping a watchful eye on things, and I think that he soon picked up that I was not all on deck health wise as I had been helping out with another aspect of his enterprise, the cleaning contracting.
I helped out with this occasionally too, but my standards had slipped due to something I could not personally pin down.
I had to admit I was not up to speed, I couldn’t pin it down I just was not myself, and I knew it.
Standing in the backpackers one day, I went really cold and had symptoms of a heart attack.
One of our mates, being on hand, drove me straight to ICU and WOW… all the bells and whistles went off.
I lay on the gurney signing the paper for the Doctor to go ahead with extreme life saving measures like stoppping the heart, injections of adrenalin and god knows what else.

I knew I was as good as dead.

I had been down this road before at age 32 and recovered.
This time I did not feel confident at all, after all how can you when red lights are flashing and half a dozen people are looking really serious and you know it’s not a joke?
Basically it’s game over.
I actually surprised myself and everyone else I think, as I walked away with this as a memory and a need to recover.
This happened twice in the space of two weeks.
So enter Tony.
He sat me down and gave me a brief talk and ahead we went, with me still working but in a supervisory capacity. I had backpackers to do the muscle side and Tony gave me advice on how to keep it organised.
He was coaching me as we went along, feeding me the information and advice as required.

Tired and not wanting to be a burden, I actually wanted to crawl into a hole and just go away as I felt that was it, I had after all been technically gone(dead) twice in a month, and I had a new shiny machine implanted in the chest as a medal, my reward from God for not filling a seat in paradise.

But Tony kept me inspired, mainly due to his own diligence in heading up the numerous branches of his business.
What I learned took me forward further than I could have imagined at the time.
Initially, I was not skilled in the running of business or dealing with people in that certain way that you need when working at the coal face.
I became adept at handling difficulties and difficult people, an essential quality when working with the public or supervising staff.

George the Adventurer

When Tony sold this aspect of his enterprise, I went road tripping, reasonably well recovered on a road trip to Broome.
On arrival, I headed into a life of beach, sun and surf, money of course is not in never ending supply.
So I went looking for bar work, hopefully it would workout at the local pub called the “Famous Beer and Satay Hut”.
On my CV was mentioned that I had been an approved bar manager at Tony’s licensed backpackers.
Tony had of course endeavoured to make sure that this part of the business was covered and I had done the relevant courses and studied for it.
So there I was, trained and experienced under the watchful eye of Tony, two and a half thousand kilometers away, looking for bar work.
They actually required a bar manager and I just happened to be there at that time and place.
Now that’s is a combination.

The life skills that Tony employed and his coaching under the most extreme and difficult circumstances put me there at the right time and place.
I stayed at the job until my feet and surf board were in demand on another part of the continent, that’s the life I lead, and it is a life to wish for.
Some call it ‘living the dream!’

Uncle George with his nephew, Jeremy

In the last three months I have surfed more beaches than I could name, driven in excess of twenty thousand kilometers and have travelled across the Nullarbor twice in as many months.
I have great prospects and no doubt there’s a beach or point break waiting for me over the horizon.
Take the hint and get with Tony, his skills are solid and the life coaching? Well the facts of my story say it all.
If you’re at breaking point, look for your point break.
Go surf life and have Tony assist.

A short reply from me, Club Red CEO, Tony Inman:

George’s story is an inspiration to us all and I am proud to count him as a friend.

For me, business was always about the people, and always will be. It’s about helping your customers and nurturing your staff.

If you don’t look after your staff, and put time and effort into developing and training them, you won’t have a business.

I knew that the last thing George needed was to wallow and feel sorry for himself. I also knew that we had to keep a very close eye on not letting him overdo it. Fortunately, we got the balance right and he was able to pick himself up and find a new purpose for his new direction.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been in a position to help George through one of the most significant and challenging times in his life. The irony is that in helping other people, we learn more about ourselves.

This is one of the reasons that my mission today is now to help people with business and life coaching, and why I became ‘The Reinvention Specialist’.

So, thank you George, for your support and friendship.

One day soon, I will write a book that I’ve been promising people about my many stories of people like George. Until then, if you need any help with finding your personal ‘wave of success’, don’t hesitate to call me for a chat.

Seize the day!

Tony Inman