My Virtual Sidekick | Management, Marketing & More | Raven Howard

Feedback and complaints are really important in building your business successfully. They’re an opportunity for us to improve ourselves, our products, our services, and our processes – if we act on the feedback that we receive.

Unfortunately most feedback is either handled horribly or goes in “one ear and out the other”. Mishandling complaints this way is why a company’s performance never improves.

A more effective solution to deal with feedback is establishing a 3-step customer feedback process:

1. Gather customer feedback.
2. Take action.
3. Communicate company feedback.

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Most clients, prospects and random entrepreneurs, I meet have a long list of items they’d like to accomplish. Unfortunately, only a few actually accomplish them. I wanted to identify what could be the common factor for those that do achieve their dreams and those business owners that seem stuck in the mud. What I found was pretty basic. Successful business owner have clearly defined goals that spark and continue to fan their motivation.

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, but are finding it difficult, it’s time to increase your motivation.

The first step is to identify what de-motivates you and then tackle these areas head on. Create a table, like the one below and take 15 minutes to reflect on things that steal your motivation. List these under the column, De-motivators.

Now determine if these de-motivators are occasional (unexpected visit from family; or being under the weather), or are they habitual (leaving tasks unfinished; or saying yes to everything). Mark the cause, circumstantial or habitual, in your table.

Next comes the solution column. If circumstantial factors bother you, then get a grip on exactly what is it that “switches you off” and try to nip that de-motivator in the bud. If you can’t kill it immediately, at least list the solution.

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Today is the start of two 30-DAY Challenges for me….One is a 30 day blogging challenge and the other is 30 days of physical inactivity.  As for the first challenge, I’ll be blogging on a daily basis for the month of April.

The second one wasn’t something I signed up for, but was the result of deciding to “just play” a physical sport.

The problem with this is…. I didn’t ♪ ease on down, ease on down, down the physical activity rooooad. ♫

In the past my physical activity has been broken down into two distinct periods. From August – February, I loafed around the house, counting my blessings that I don’t have to confront Old Man winter because I work from home and allowed my physical activity to go dormant. Then, when the first signs of spring arrived, I get Spring Fever and am compelled to get active. It is very much like clockwork!

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