Reib Law May 2019

Reib Law May 2019

REIB LAW

SHATTERPROOF NEWSLETTER

MAY 2019

WWW.REIBLAW.COM | 940.591.0600

business owners quarterly and discuss challenges and suggestions for moving our businesses forward. Knowledge is a crucial tool for success, and it’s something you have to constantly seek out as a business owner. 4. POWER OF COACHING I’ve had a business coach since 2012 who works with me to achieve my goals. Perhaps most importantly, they hold me accountable. It started when I was creating our Access Plan. I needed someone to turn to, and after trying a few avenues, I reached out to a friend who referred me to his coach. Working with a coach gave me a map to achieve what I was setting out to do. He helped us build many of the systems we have in place today. A “solo-preneur” can achieve a lot, but it’s really tough unless you have other people helping you. 5. POWER OF EXECUTION The main problem most business owners face is a failure to implement. We know what needs to get done, but we just don’t do it, usually because there are so many other little tasks that need to get done. The antidote is to take massive action . That’s my mantra this year. It’s also the opposite of what we’re generally taught to do. We’re often taught to take small steps to achieve a big goal. You can do that, but the going will be slow. Since it’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed, narrow your focus. Pick three goals to focus on, and take massive action to reach them. Every night, I write down my three goals and plug them into my tasks for the following day. For example, I was having trouble getting some of the audio recordings done for our podcast. I needed space at home to work on them. So, I set that as a goal. In January, I called a contractor and had them start the following week. They quickly converted our bathroom into a studio office. This is something I’d talked about doing forever, and until I made it a priority and took massive action, it didn’t happen. Now, I have a comfortable space at home — essentially a replica of my office — where I can focus and work. I hope you find these superpowers helpful; they’ve been crucial in my journey as a business owner. Let me know what you think, and until next time, –Scott

5 SUPERPOWERS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

While building my business, I noticed five powerful factors have been key to getting Reib Law where it is today. I like to think of them as the superpowers that have allowed us to achieve some level of sustainable success. Implementing and utilizing each power has been crucial for overcoming challenges and continuing to move our business forward, so I want to share them with you. 1. POWER OF SYSTEMS Having systems in place allowed me to recover from a huge setback in 2014. I lost my entire staff, and the company whittled down to just me. Four years later, we doubled our revenue, and this was only possible because of our systems. From logging calls to software and communication with our Access clients, everything either has a system in place or has one getting established. If a challenge comes up, we create a system to manage it. They’re a series of parts that work together to solve a problem. 2. POWER OF STRUCTURE Having the right legal structure in place has allowed my business to survive. In writing, we have the right business entity with all of our preferred providers and what they’re supposed to do, which has been essential for protecting us and creating a secure foundation from which we operate. 3. POWER OF KNOWLEDGE Every month, I read at least two books related to business. I listen to podcasts daily, and I attend conferences quarterly. Why? Learning from others is essential for my growth and my business’s growth. No one can develop if they remain stationary. I also joined a mastermind group to get together with other

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MONDAY–THURSDAY

ARE 4-DAY WORKWEEKS THE SECRET TO PRODUCTIVITY?

a problem in the United States, providing employees with a better work-life balance may be the secret to a happier, more productive workplace. After the successful trial, Perpetual Guardian opted to stick with the four-day workweek permanently. They provide several tips for implementing a four-day workweek at your company.

Could you get more done with one less day in the week?

Of course not! Most of us need more time in the week, not less. At least, that’s the assumption. But a New Zealand company recently proved that when it comes to company productivity, less may mean more. In March of 2018, Perpetual Guardian, a finance management company in New Zealand, began testing a four-day workweek for its 240 employees. Researchers from the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology studied the firm before, during, and after the trial. Perpetual Guardian isn’t the first company to test-drive a four-day workweek, but during the trial period, they did something unusual: They didn’t reduce employees’ salaries. Paying employees for five days of work while only requiring four days sounds like a surefire way to bankrupt a company, but researchers found the change had the opposite effect. By trimming the hours down and maintaining pay, Perpetual Guardian saw a 20 percent increase in productivity. The shorter workweek motivated employees to get their work done quicker by cutting down meeting times, becoming more self-motivated, and telling their colleagues when they were being distracting. After the trial, employees at Perpetual Guardian also reported feeling 7 percent less stressed and reported a 24 percent improvement in work-life balance. Considering the fact that burnout, and the sick days that come with it, is such JUST LIKE MAGIC Do any of you struggle to pass off tasks you know you can do yourself? Last month, I spent several hours building a landing page for my podcast previews. It was a pretty decent page, but when I reflected on the time I spent making it, I was hard-pressed to justify it. Was this the best use of my time? Probably not. I enjoyed doing it, but there were bigger projects I should have been focusing on. Delegation is something I still struggle with. As a business leader, I feel excited about so many ideas that I know can improve efficiency, and I also often feel like I can get things done quicker myself. During my conference in San Diego in March, I learned about a new tool that promises to solve some of these challenges. It's called Magic, and it’s an on-demand, personal-assistant service that takes care of small tasks to make the lives of business owners, and anyone for that matter, easier. Magic isn’t AI. It uses text messaging and email to help you contact trained personal assistants, and then it manages the fulfillment of your requests. The service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You pay by the minute for the service,

assure them there will be no drop in service. Ensure the new employment structure doesn’t cut across legal requirements. Be clear that the aim of the initiative is to benefit the company as well as the employees. Recognize that flexible working initiatives aren’t magic bullets.

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Do your own web and local research. Speak to your staff and be clear about your objectives. Ensure policy is well- supported and resourced. Create a policy that can flex depending on workloads, projects, or customer requirements. Let your customers know what’s going on and

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If you’re interested in learning more about Perpetual Guardian’s four-day workweek, check out the white paper written by The University of Auckland researchers at 4DayWeek.co.nz/four-day-week-trial.

THE ON-DEMAND PERSONAL ASSISTANT

and when you text Magic to complete a task, like scheduling a doctor’s appointment, it takes care of it for you.

So, I put Magic to the test. I’ve been wanting to do more meal preps so I eat better and don’t go out to lunch as often. I gave Magic my macronutrient levels, and they gave me a spreadsheet with lists of meals. They made it simple to get this done, and the turnaround was fast. Later, in a meeting with my marketing manager, I realized we need more information about our marketing efforts. He’s been tracking these monthly, but I wanted more detail without the task eating up his time. So I suggested we let Magic take care of it. We now simply download the raw >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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