Attracting the best employees requires some ninja strategies in today’s tight labor market. On today’s Profit by Design Podcast, Mike Ciavolino joins Dr. Sabrina and Mike to discuss how to use marketing strategy to recruit. At Shore Creative Group, Mike and his team help their clients developing a unique Employer Brand while implementing the latest tools and techniques in recruitment marketing. After listening to today’s show, you will be chomping at the bit to get Mike’s free gift for you.  Mike Ciavolino provides a unique and practical perspective on marketing and advertising. As owner of Shore Creative Group (shorecreativegroup.com) and having spent over 30 years in the marketing industry, Mike has focused his energies on helping clients develop brand strategies and marketing campaigns to better position themselves and win with today’s changing customers.  Show Highlights: . A company’s most important brand is really no longer their consumer brand, but their talent brand because of the promises they make to their customers. Mike C. discusses how many employers use the “spray and pray” tactic by putting job posts all over social media or other sites, and hoping for the right people to respond. Mike C. says, at times, candidates begin filling out an application and then abandon it on the site, which can sometimes be attributed to the many forms they must complete during the application process. Employers, when considering their onboarding, need to think like marketers. Blog, post on social media about your company, or post on your website to pique the curiosity of potential applicants.  Mike C. says to make the hiring process seamless and easy. Mike C. says to send e-mails to applicants letting them know the next steps to expect, for which Dr. Sabrina suggests using automation.  Mike B. says the hiring process can be difficult and frustrating, and that employers should have a process that’s welcoming and entices applicants to proceed with the application process. Mike C. suggests creating a page on your website to describe your business, or to highlight testimonials or to include an enticing video about your business. Dr. Sabrina says we should design our hiring processes around the ideal applicants we want to attract. Mike B. says he has to take down personal walls and been a bit vulnerable when designing hiring practices to let applicants know who you are and lay out qualifications for the ideal candidate. Mike C. says to think like a marketer to get your talent. Run ads if you need to, and also set up a landing page or a blog on your site to entice potential employees. Mike C. shares tips for coming up with content for a blog even when you do not have very much time to blog. Dr. Sabrina suggests having a team member take photos of memorable events and then share them for potential employees to enjoy and share. Mike C. says recognizing employees in a special way for going above and beyond what is expected, and showcase that information on your site. Mike C. says building out your employer brand is key to enticing employees. Outline, in advance, a blueprint of what your business will look like when you have additional team members and clients. (Mike C) Mike C says to do your due diligence when looking to hire a recruitment marketer and Dr. Sabrina suggests talking to other businesses who used a specific recruitment marketer to gather information before hiring one. The companies with a strong employer brand really do have more engaged employees. (Mike C) Dr. Sabrina says to create a great place to work and then intentionally document it by taking photos, capturing moments on videos, and blogging, to reinforce it and keep the whole cycle going. Mike B says that even if we have a recruiter, we still need to make sure we have a good employer brand on our material. Mile C says to look at competitors’ information to see what they are doing to recruit employees to see if what you’re doing is in the same ballpark. Connect with Mike Ciavolino: Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn SPECIAL GIFT from Mike: 50 Content Ideas to Fuel Your Content Marketing!  E-mail Mike C Special Thanksgiving Offer: 40% off the registration of Dr. Sabrina’s How to Hire The Best course using the code THANKFUL. Resources: Profit by Design Podcast Website Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com How to Hire The BestMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit by Design Podcast, our guest is Jeffrey Shaw, author of the book Lingo. In order for a business to attract more and more ideal clients and customers, we have to understand the lingo of the ideal clients, which is what Jeffrey shares on today’s episode.    Having been one of the most sought-after portrait photographers in the U.S. for more than three decades, Jeffrey Shaw, a.k.a. the Lingo Guy, uses this honed intuition to teach entrepreneurs how to attract their ideal customers by speaking their Secret Language. Jeffrey is the host of the popular business podcast Creative Warriors, a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker, a business coach for entrepreneurs, and author of the book, LINGO: Discover Your Ideal Customer’s Secret Language and Make Your Business Irresistible.     Show Highlights:   Jeffrey shares the bumpy start he had beginning his photography business in his hometown when he realized he was speaking the wrong lingo to his clients. After the passing of his father, Jeffrey realized that he was exhausting himself, yet pushing forward. Dr. Sabrina shares that often, entrepreneurs stretch themselves thin and don’t pay attention to the signs of their exhaustion and that she and Mike began the Profit By Design Podcast to give strategies, mindset tools, tips, and techniques so that entrepreneurs, perhaps in this situation, can have a sustainable business that supports the lifestyle they deserve. Dr. Sabrina shares about The Pumpkin Plan, by Mike Michalowicz, which includes knowing who your top clients are. Jeffrey tells how to speak someone’s lingo, which involves knowing what someone may want before they even ask for it and really speaking to their heart. Jeffrey explains that he needed to work with wealthy people because he understood them, not because they had money. He wanted to work with others who thought as he did. Jeffrey shares how studying people evolved into a 5-part system. If you are not attracting the clients you want, you may need to consider Jeffrey’s 5-step system: 1) Perspective 2) Familiarity 3) Style 4) Pricing psychology 5) Words that speak to your ideal customer Jeffrey gives advice on how to hire the ideal employees for your business. Jeffrey says the energy built in the back room of your business permeates the front room. Clients will notice the energy put forth. Lingo, spoken and unspoken, binds people together. Gift from Jeffrey Shaw: Jeffrey is offering a free gift to you. He will review your website with your ideal client in mind and make suggestions, following his Secret Language System, to make your site more effective in attracting your ideal clients.  Go to Lingoreview.com to take advantage of this offer.   Lingo Review website Creative Warriors Podacast Jeffrey's Website Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Jeffrey Shaw Photography   Resources: Profit by Design Podcast Website Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sarbinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.comMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit by Design, Dr. Sabrina has a conversation with Rhamy Alejeal. Rhamy opens our eyes to the subtle micro-transactions that create friction between a business and its team members. You work hard to bring on A-Players. Now find out how to keep them.  Rhamy and his wife, Elizabeth, are the owners of Poplar Financial, a provider of integrated, automated HR processes. Rhamy and his team work with hundreds of companies across the United States, helping them learn how to stop pushing paper and start prioritizing people. In addition, Rhamy serves on the Federal Reserve’s Industry Council on Healthcare, providing insights into employer costs and how they affect businesses in today’s marketplace. He holds a bachelor’s degree in financial economics and an MBA with a focus on economics.  His book, People Processes was an Amazon #1 best seller in the HR category, and one of INC.com's Top Ten leadership books in 2018. Listen in and hear how to make a great experience for your employees, especially during the on-boarding process. Show Highlights: Why Rhamy is so passionate about what he does to help businesses create a great expereince for their team members What business owners need to pay attention to for the lifecycle of employees Rhamy’s company focuses on the processes that minimize both the employee’s negative feelings and minimize the administrative time it takes to do repetitive tasks Examples of paperwork errors that create more work and time Micro-transactions and their effects Four critical steps for the on-boarding process explained Annual review tips and how to handle them in an effective way How to know, as a business owner, if your employee pay is competitive  Things that get overlooked when on-boarding an employee From the beginning, business owners should start paying attention to their people processes Solutions Rhamy’s company can provide for a business Resources: Profit by design Podcast Website Profit by design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com   Find Rhamy at poplarfinancial.com or listen to his podcast at peopleprocesses.com.   Social Media Links: twitter.com/poplarfinancial facebook.com/poplarfinancial linkedin.com/in/rhamy/   Rhamy’s gift: https://peopleprocesses.com/design/ Pick up a copy of Rhamy’s book, People Processes, for $0.99!   ENTER TO WIN A PROFIT by DESIGN T-Shirt https://kingsumo.com/g/mefpor/tune-into-the-profit-by-design-podcast-and-enter-to-win-a-profit-by-design-t-shirt Contest ends Friday, Nov 9. We’ll announce the winners on Episode 10   How to Hire the Best On-Line Course www.TapThePotential.com/join Save 40% with code: DESIGN Code is valid through November 16, 2018Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit by Design, Dr. Sabrina and Mike speak with Dr. Ken Keis. Not only is he an author, speaker, podcast host, and coach,  but he is also the President and CEO of Consulting Resource Group International (CRG). Some of his latest books include: Why Aren't You More Like Me?, Deliberate Leadership, and The Quest For Purpose.  Ken’s experience covers all areas of development—career, business, sales, personal, professional, purpose, wellness, leadership, communications, team-building, HR and organizational. He has served clients from Cape Town, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Vienna, and Brussels, to LA, Miami, Vancouver, Singapore, and Mexico City.  Listen in to today’s show to hear a thought-provoking conversation about how to use personality assessments as personal development tools, the unexpected link among values and stress, and the entrepreneurial quest for purpose.  Show Highlights: Why self-awareness is key to building a sustainable business  Going to a wise counsel for mentoring rather than people with just opinions and no experience  Values based decisions bring clarity There are 6 habits of high performers, number one being clarity Internal motivators, and what they are What it would mean to make the right decision every time You get to decide if a value is being met Playing to your strengths but not letting them be your weakness Self-Management is important to self-awareness Lifestyle business definition and mindset Personality differences and why it’s important to understand them Resources:  High Performance Habits by Brendan Bruchard Why Aren’t You More Like Me by Ken Keis and Terry Anderson Deliberate Leadership: Creating Success Through Personal Style by Ray Williams and Ken Keis The Quest for Purpose by Ken Keis Keys to Success Podcast Profit by design Podcast Website Profit by design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com   We’re coming up on 1,000 downloads and to celebrate, Dr. Sabrina Starling and Mike Bruno are offering a chance to win FREE Profit By Design T-shirts! Listen in to find out how to win. The contest runs November 1st through November 9th.  Enter to Win a Profit by Design Podcast T-shirt Click here.(The more you enter, the better your chances of winning. You can enter daily!)   A gift for listeners Click here This is an E-copy of Ken’s most recent book, The Quest for Purpose. Learn more about the CRG’s Assessments, including the Personal Style Indicator, Value Preference Indicator, and Entrepreneurial Success Indicator: Click here Connect with Dr. Ken Keis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenkeiscrgleader/ https://twitter.com/crgleader https://www.instagram.com/crgleader/ https://www.facebook.com/KenKeisPhd/ www.crgleader.com   Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Are you waging emotional battles that may be blocking you from managing your employees properly? The whole “people side” of running a business can be baffling, especially if emotions cloud what you should be asking of your team members, or are preventing you from coaching their behaviors that need to change for the good of your business. Mike and Dr. Sabrina share their personal experiences of managing team members and even tell us about a few mistakes they made along the way. It is so important to have the correct mindset as an employer in order to manage team members effectively so that your company can stay sustainable and profitable. But how can entrepreneurs keep their emotions in check? Show Highlights Business owners already wear many hats, so adding the task of managing employees can be challenging. Dr. Sabrina advises us to guide and shape team members in our businesses so they come into alignment with our values and expectations. Mike shares personal struggles he had early on with managing employees when the lines between friendship and employer were blurred. Dr. Sabrina says many times business owners find themselves getting very frustrated when they don’t have a healthy mindset. The mental rock bottom was a difficult space for Mike early in his business but changed when he reached out to coaches and others in order to work on his perception of the employer/employee relationship. If an employee doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean he is a bad person. Mike says letting an employee go can help improve a business and actually can be seen as growth rather than something negative. Mike emphasizes that from day one, let a new employee know how important it is to communicate with you. Set specific roles for employees and tell them to let you know how you can help them.  Dr. Sabrina adds that one on one, weekly, team meetings are imperative to maintaining clarity and open communication between you and your team members. Moving forward past any negativity in your business is important. Mike says employers need to learn from mistakes and move past them. Resources: Dr. Sabrina’s ‘Short & Sweet’ Weekly Meeting Agendas and Blog Post with Meeting Best Practices The 4 Week Vacation™ Program Tap the Potential website  Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit by Design, Dr. Sabrina Starling talks with her good friend Donna Leyens.  Donna is the President and Co-Founder of the Provendus Group. She is on a mission to save small businesses from extinction, by providing business tools, strategy, training and support to business professionals who want to make a big impact by becoming small business growth strategists. This mighty team of strategists uses The Pumpkin Plan Action Guide, a business growth program Donna developed based on the methods in the book The Pumpkin Plan written by her Co-founder Mike Michalowicz. Pumpkin Plan Strategists help small businesses to not just stay afloat, but to scale and grow in both profitability and size, while allowing the owner to have time for a life as well.  Today, we will learn how to make your business more sustainable using the Pumpkin Plan. Show Highlights: Donna gives us a brief overview of how the Pumpkin Plan is so helpful to business owners. The 3 crucial elements in your business. How you know if you need to find the Sweet Spot in your business. The Client Assessment for ranking your clients. What questions to ask your best clients to find more clients like them. What the Pumpkin Plan offers for business owners who are overworked and spread too thin. Why Profit First needs The Pumpkin Plan. An example of narrowing what you offer to get better pricing on what you sell, increasing profitability. The Blueprint for Growth Resources Profit by Design Podcast Website The Business Growth Blueprint: 3 Things You Must Know to Grow Profit by Design Facebook group Provendus Group Website Tap the Potential Website The Pumpkin PlanMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

What has your business done for you lately? Is your business running you rather than you running your business? On today’s Profit By Design, Dr. Sabrina Starling hosts a special Ask Dr. Sabrina segment to answer an important question asked by a listener. You’re going to absolutely love this episode because Dr. Sabrina takes time to really dive deeply into answering the all-important question relevant and important to each of you: How do you actually start freeing up your time in your business to work toward that 4 Week Vacation?   Show Highlights Dr. Sabrina discusses interrupting your patterns of behavior so that you can make well-thought-out decisions, rather than making decisions while in a fight or flight mode. It may feel awkward to put your phone down and step away from your business for even an hour, so expect it. Dr. Sabrina suggests it’s easy to just get into “busy mode” and solve problems rather than creating a system to take care of the problem if it should occur again. Remember why you began your business and the lifestyle you wanted to create? Dr. Sabrina says there are questions you need to ask yourself as to why you are not yet reaching your goals, and many are included on Dr. Sabrina’s webinar. What is Context Switching? Context switching deals with how unproductive it is to have multiple projects going simultaneously. Dr. Sabrina describes the process developed by Gerald Weinberg in the early 1990’s, and recently, Todd Herman created a fantastic YouTube video related to it.  If you are working on 3 projects simultaneously, you will experience a 40% loss due to project switching. Context switching can help you realize that your projects are competing and that you really need to focus on the most important project in order to get you the most forward momentum. Dr. Sabrina discusses the $10,000.00 an Hour Webinar and how you take steps to work toward it. What areas of your business can you automate in order to free up your time? Dr. Sabrina suggests taking a long look at this and to put systems in place to automate what you can. Resources Gerald Weinberg’s book describing Context Switching, Quality Software Management: Systems Thinking Todd Herman’s YouTube video on Context Switching 10K An Hour Webinar The 4 Week Vacation™ Program How to Hire the Best Tap the Potential websiteMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit By Design, we are excited to have Chad Hatfield, owner of Chad Hatfield Builders and Remodelers in Plano, Tx. Chad and his team have won many awards, and recently won 6 ARC awards from the Dallas Builders Association. Even though Chad’s company has endured its share of setbacks, it continues to do stellar work. Chad, Mike and I have a candid conversation about overcoming problems in your company by incorporating the right screening, onboarding, and evaluation processes.   Show Highlights Chad tells about setbacks, from morale to the bottom line, he had when team members quit unexpectedly. Chad discusses the worst thing that’s happened to his business including having the wrong people on the bus, not recognizing that fast enough, and allowing them to poison aspects of the business and his life. Chad shares how he screens new employees, what he looks for when vetting, and cues that help him make a hiring decision.  Know exactly what you’re hiring a person to do and have a written job description. Have a hiring system before interviewing someone. Know how you will evaluate someone in a particular position before hiring. If asking questions to someone in a job interview makes them uncomfortable, then question why they’re uncomfortable and whether they are the right person. Chad discusses how many small business owners perform many tasks and often wait until the very last minute to hire someone. Dr. Sabrina suggests slowing down and taking your time hiring someone. Onboard new employees in an intentional way. Chad shares how to continue accountability after 30, 60, or  even 90 days. Chad discusses how employees need to know how they are being successful or where they need to improve. Chad gives great advice to business owners who find themselves in difficult situations. Chad stresses the importance of business owners having good mentors and friends to call on when needed. Mike discusses the importance for business owners to reset their mindsets. Sabrina shares why she is passionate about creating great places to work. Resources Hatfield Builders and Remodelers in Plano, Tx Hatfield Builders on Facebook The 4 Week Vacation™ Program How to Hire the Best Tap the Potential Leadership Bootcamp Program Tap the Potential website  Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today’s Profit By Design, Mike interviews co-host, Dr. Sabrina Starling. Dr. Sabrina is The Business Psychologist™  and author of the How To Hire The Best series. Dr. Sabrina discusses her new book, How To Hire The Best, Construction Edition, which will soon be released.    Show Highlights: It is not sustainable to pursue opportunity for the sake of pursuing opportunity if you know all that work is going to be on you and you don’t have a reliable team behind you to do the work Dr. Sabrina shares why she decided to write the Construction Edition of How to Hire the Best. Dr. Sabrina tells a story about the difficulties of running a business and hiring in rural Wyoming, which was the inspiration for her first book, How To Hire The Best. The lack of trades being taught in schools contributes to the lack of workers in the construction industry. Surprising solutions to hiring challenges Growing businesses need the owner focusing on a system for attracting A-Players Mike discusses his experience with changing his mindset about hiring. What worked in the past isn’t working now.  “I’m paying someone why shouldn’t they just do what they’re supposed to do?” Hiring PTSD. Do you have it? Always be recruiting. Dr. Sabrina’s shares the story behind the 4 Week Vacation pledge and why we NEED to take vacation. The 4 Week Vacation is about the business running without you.   Resources: The 4 Week Vacation™ Program How to Hire the Best Tap the Potential Leadership Bootcamp Program John Bates Executive Speaking Success Tap the Potential website    Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Maybe you’re an entrepreneur just starting out or, like Mike Bruno, perhaps you’ve been doing it the past 27 years. Today, Mike and I talk about a few examples of where your business can be once you commit and focus. Mike has been a successful entrepreneur for years, and now he’s here to share how he’s been so successful at juggling so many obligations.    Show Highlights Mike’s unexpected career pivot while owning three separate companies What led Mike to join a Construction & Development company What it was like working for someone else after 27 years How entrepreneurs make 99.9% of the “fires” up in their heads Why it’s important to protect your time How Mike got his businesses to self-sufficiency in 3 months How we define ourselves as entrepreneurs and owners of the business Planning your business with the 4 Week Vacation in mind Mike talks juggling 3 businesses, working for another company, and participating in a podcast Resources: The 4 Week Vacation™ How to Hire the Best  Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.