small business — Rebecca Morley Coaching

Mar 26

Mar 26 Can you create a high performing team in a high growth environment?

I’ve been rewriting my website recently. It’s been fun, spending time thinking about what it really means for my clients to make the shifts they do when working with me. Last week I was chatting to Elizabeth who’s doing a stunning job of helping me drag all of the tangled thoughts out of my head. She was asking me about what it really looks like when a team is functioning brilliantly.

It’s like an orchestra I said. You are the conductor. Your team members know their roles, they know what they’re good at and they know that they need to follow the music and look to you for pace, emphasis, energy. You’re not leaving your conductor’s podium every two minutes to play first violin. Neither are the members of your team playing tug of war over different instruments. You have agreed what pieces you’re playing, in what order and when.

Jan 30

Jan 30 The 5 things your business can't live without...

Rebecca Morley

OK so this is the second time I’ve written about this but the more clients I work with and the more I learn, the more I think this message bears repeating. For all the advice there is out there about how to run a business, there are really only 5 very basic things that every business needs to do well. And yet, I find very few businesses that have all of these nailed.

I’ve worked in, and with, businesses of all sizes. From multi billion pound blue chips that exist in hundreds of countries to kitchen table enterprises that are just getting off the ground and literally everything in between. And only a handful have all 5 of these things down pat. They all do some of these things, and some of them do all of them to some extent but none do all of them, all of the time.

I thought when I started working with small businesses and start ups that they would be hugely different to the big corporates. And they are, massively different –

Dec 12

Dec 12 The four golden rules every small business owner needs to know...

Rebecca Morley

Want to know how to be a better leader? Know this - leadership is everything you do.

At a recent panel discussion I went to, the question was asked - how do I find time to lead my team? When do I lead in between all of the other priorities I have? And the answer? Leadership is everything you do. Your team will look to you for cues and clues on exactly how you want your business to run. Every conversation you have with them or someone else, you are showing them how people have conversations in your business. Every decision you make, you are showing them how decisions are made and what the priorities are in your business. The way you deal with customers and suppliers is the way that customers and suppliers are dealt with in your business.

Dec 6

Dec 6 Want a more successful business? Take the time to pause and reflect.

Rebecca Morley

As business owners, we're so used to working in the business, managing the next big thing, fixing issues, thinking of ways to drive sales, managing the admin and so on that often it feels incredibly indulgent to just sit and think for a while. Sit in front of a coach though, especially one you've paid to spend time with, and you've really very little choice.

If 'sitting and thinking' feels as though it lacks focus for you, my simple structure for doing your own review of things should work a treat. I've been using it recently to help small business owners review their year in business and the feedback has been incredible. It's disarmingly simple but incredibly effective.

Dec 6

Dec 6 Running a business... it's an emotional rollercoaster!

Rebecca Morley

"The bit no-one talks about is the emotional side of running your own business" - Steph Douglas, Don't Buy Her Flowers. A quote from a talk I attended at Stylist Live last Friday - three successful female business owners, on stage talking about how to start a business in an industry that ostensibly you know nothing about.

All three, very impressive women, all three, disarmingly, well, female. Maybe it was the audience (at least 99% women), maybe it was the event (a fashion and lifestyle event), it was probably the brief (make your story accessible) but they were unashamedly and wonderfully open about what it means to be a woman in business.