Thriving Business Owners Always Have This One Trait
Those who own successful companies have many exceptional qualities. One of the most important is two-fold: Know where there are weaknesses in the organization and find solutions that will turn those areas into strengths.
I’ve been married for 17 years to my lovely wife, Christina, who is also my business partner. She is an incredible woman – both at work and at home – and a wonderful mother and cook. What she isn’t is a baker or pastry chef. And while I love her dearly, I finally figured out why her cakes have come out looking like some oven monster already chomped into them during the baking process, cinnamon rolls taste like it was definitely salt instead of sugar in the batter (because it absolutely was), and cookies were a tad over-baked and mistaken for barbeque charcoal. (Forgive me, dear… but there’s a point to be made here.)
She truly is an amazing, awesome cook… but cooking isn’t the same as baking. True, they both happen in the kitchen, and ingredients can overlap a bit, but the difference is more like ‘night and day’ than ‘black and gray’. Baking requires a specific recipe and process to be sure the needed chemical reactions result in a dough rising, a batter solidifying, and the end product coming out of the oven fluffy and delicious. Inexperienced or not professionally trained bakers will have better results if they follow any baking recipe to the ‘T’ and pay close attention to the details and measurements.
My wife can cook a mean meal, and while her dessert-type techniques are not quite as honed, there are benefits – we eat a lot less sweets, for one. I love my wife, but she absolutely refuses to admit she’s not good at baking. Perhaps it’s her pride that won’t let her, and I can’t help but think of how not delegating, or admitting a weakness or lack in skillset, is present in both our line of work and other enterprises as well.
I really do find it very interesting when it comes to other areas of running a company and having a life outside of that. I can clearly see the similarity when I analyze our clients’ businesses, comparing the owners who disconnect daily and have a robust home life (both physically and mentally) versus the ones who struggle to make time to smell the roses that they keep seeding every day, but rarely get to enjoy.
Success means different things to different people, of course. To me, as a very proud father with a goal to spend as much time with my 4 kids (until they won’t care to do so anymore), family time, vacations, and often enjoyments with those who I care about (“alone time” included…), without feeling guilty, look at my phone every 3 minutes, and actually REALLY BEING THERE “in the moment”, while disconnecting from the business worries and stress – THAT is success in my eyes.
How did I become successful? I realized what I’m NOT good at, what I should outsource, or whom I should hire to take care of certain aspects of the business. I am also blessed to have the ability to choose which clients I do NOT want to bring onboard, and which clients we already have that I might want to politely say goodbye to, for particular reasons. I’m familiar with my limitations as a business owner. I’m aware, for example, that I’m never going to be a good salesperson. I’m never going to be able to design a pretty logo or have the patience to sit at my computer for 15 hours to write code. I don’t enjoy analytics and I am not interested in dealing with HR headaches. So how do I handle these things?
I surround myself with vendors and employees that over the past 20 years I worked VERY hard to be able to afford. I’m successful now because I CAN smell the roses, and I CAN take a few weeks of vacation every year (…and leave the phone at the hotel room or cabin for hours each day). And most of all, I get to be in the moment when my kids body surf with me, or play Yahtzee for 5 hours straight while cheating constantly (because like their mom, they refuse to lose), or sit on the couch with my wife and kids while binge watching “Modern Family” for a full, uninterrupted weekend.
My success started when I realized what I should NOT be doing – what clients I should NOT be offering services to, what vendors I need to hire, and most importantly, I learned that not every dollar is worth working for or keeping.
What are YOU doing these days, that you can comfortably outsource, or should hire someone else to do? If you’re like many people I meet, IT / Technology is one of those things. If that rings true for you, let Gallop Technology Group take care of that part for you through me and my awesome team. I promise I won’t send you my wife’s homemade cookies as a welcome gift when you become a client.
Beits Livneh
Owner
Password Manager Video
In a day, how many programs and apps that require logins do you use? Do you have similar or the same passwords for each, because then you can remember them all? Do you have them saved, choosing convenience over increased security? What do you do when the more secure services you use, like online banking, require you to change your password and to use all kinds of characters, symbols, and numbers? That just throws your entire password-knowing vibe completely off-kilter. Password manager apps have been around for many years, and over time, their security, ease of use, and capabilities have increased dramatically.
If you just want to remember one password, which will allow you access to all your others, you might want to consider utilizing one of the password manager apps we recommend. To find out which ones we like, including our preferred one, check out this video!
Backup and Data Protection Needs for Growing Businesses
What You Need to Know About Keeping Business-Critical Data Accessible
Businesses of every size are creating more data than ever, and that data is ever more deeply intertwined with revenue-producing activities. Businesses that intend to keep growing in good times and bad need robust solutions to back up their critical data. They can’t afford to let operations grind to a halt because a ransomware attacker has rendered critical data and applications unusable or an employee has accidentally deleted, overwritten, or corrupted critical data. Nor can they run the risk of fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, or catastrophic system failures wiping out customer or financial records. Even a lost laptop or failed hard drive could have serious repercussions if it contains important information not duplicated elsewhere.
Having limited financial and IT resources, small and medium businesses (SMBs) must know exactly what to look for in a backup solution that meets the requirements of business continuity and disaster recovery. In this guide, we’ll outline essential features for reliable but cost-effective protection.
Funnies From the IT Files
Sometimes technology issues require the expertise and training of an IT professional, while others can be solved with just some common sense. Everyone has had tough days at work and got the IT department involved for a few… “user errors”. Laugh along with us as we show you the lighter side of being an Information Technology expert!
Can you hit the F1 key and help will appear? Yes, if you’re looking for on-screen help. We, however, were told of an employee who apparently thought they were working inside The Matrix – they had been pressing F1 for hours, and when the IT person happened to walk by, the aspiring Neo exclaimed “Where have you been?! I’ve been pushing the help button forever!”
What funny stories do you have to share about technology troubles and IT issues? Visit our social media to post your IT funny story or submit your funny story below.
The Gallop Technology Group is offering a complimentary assessment of your entire technology infrastructure and provide you with a custom solution to make your life easier and your technology secure, so you may focus on your business.
Call us at 480-614-4227 today or use the button below.