We’re going to start off with a story. Imagine that you are the CEO of a very large company. You show up to work on Monday and are informed that over the weekend a number of people became sick or died after ingesting your product.

Every organization goes through transitions. Whether it is planned or unplanned, it is part of “the circle of life” of a business or organization. As a leader, in the midst of transitions, you can keep your organization moving forward and stay on track to be the best you can be and move through the transition, coming out better than before!

Transition in any small business is inevitable. It comes in many shapes and sizes – expanding to a larger facility, adopting new industry trends, hiring or losing employees, financial hardships, or a client that decides to go in a different direction. Transition in your organization and in the lives of the people who make up your organization, can affect your ability to market and communicate your message clearly. Transition also provides an excellent opportunity for your small business to get some clarity in your messaging and marketing.

Google is always rolling out new updates, and many times as businesses and marketers we aren’t too excited about them. They often impact your small business in a way that requires you to tweak your internet marketing strategy. Well, the most recent update is actually a good one, in my opinion. You just need to make sure your business is on board so you don’t get punished.

What kind of marketing do you invest in for your small business? Somewhere along your journey as a successful small business owner you’ve probably tried billboards, radio ads, print ads and other types of traditional marketing. As a business owner who is constantly keeping up with trends and competitors, you probably have also invested in online marketing and have a decent looking website and Facebook business page. How’s all that working out for you?

Do you want to be a business that people like? Do you want to be a business that people enjoy working with, buying from and associating with? Most people would answer yes to all of those! As a small business owner you can have two different types of philosophies when it comes to your marketing. In order to grow your business and give back to your community, there is one philosophy that is the right answer.

When you created your business, you most likely were trying to fulfill a certain set of needs. Whether it be providing financially for yourself, or trying to help others by providing a product or service. Your marketing efforts have a similar mindset. You are marketing your business to create a successful small business to provide financially for yourself and to ensure that you are taking the right steps necessary to make sure your potential customers are aware of your product or service.

Are you feeling the struggle of your business as a weight on your shoulders? I am going to tell you a story about how one man’s genius can help you create a successful small business full of passion and provision.

You’re the successful small business owner of a handyman company. You started out as a jack of all trades and master of none, but over the years you’ve been wise about hiring the right people for the right positions, and now you can focus on managing the business and building relationships.

You’ve grown your business from a small one-man service truck to a 50 employee small business that provides a number of services ranging from gutter cleaning to landscaping to painting. Over the years, your friendly customer service and positive relationships have made you one of the most trusted businesses in town. So trusted in fact, that business is booming. Or so it seems. Service request are rolling in faster than your employees can keep up with them.

Alright, so you run your small business day in and day out. You want to have exciting goals and motivated employees. You want to see employees achieving key milestones and enthusiastic about success. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems like the goals of your business just aren’t tangible or exciting enough, and day to day accomplishments aren’t tied to the big picture. Here’s one thing you can start doing now that will help you be more efficient, and also can help to engage employees and keep them involved.