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Business Tips:
Success Tips:
Wendy Mackowski
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Client SpotlightMary Anne Murray of Griswold Special Care awarded SBA’s Small Business Person of the Year Awardby Wendy Mackowski, Inner North Coaching Mary Anne Murray: A small business success storyGriswold Special Care is a non-medical home care provider, referring carefully screened helpers to older or disabled individuals who need some assistance in their homes. By providing affordable caregivers, we help these individuals live longer at home and avoid having to move to a nursing home or other facility. We offer peace of mind to family members. With the aging population, the need for non-medical home care is exploding; in five years, the Orange County, California office of Griswold Special Care has grown by 500%. (http://wwwOrange County, Californiaspecialcare.com) How did coaching help?Wendy: The following is a short interview with Mary Anne Murray on how the coaching process specifically helped her to grow her business. Wendy: What made you decide to hire a coach? Mary Anne: As a new business owner, I needed some support in managing my office. I met Wendy at a conference where she was giving a seminar at the Orange County, California Women’s Conference. Her approach appealed to me and I felt she could help me with what was missing in my skills as a business owner. One of the first things Wendy and I did together was create a vision of where I wanted my business to go. Wendy: Many times business owners are so involved in the day-to-day work that it’s hard to find the time to stop and really envision where you want to be. How was doing this visioning work helpful to you?
Mary Anne: After working on a vision, I got very clear on where I wanted to be financially and what size I wanted my office to reach. Wendy: What was the next thing that was helpful for you? Mary Anne: After I had my vision, we began to identify gaps between where I was and where I wanted to be. We spent time looking at my strengths and also my weaknesses. One area that needed improvement was in the area of communicating with my staff and clearly defining expectations. Wendy: So one area for you as a business owner to look at was:
Mary Anne: Yes. We sat down and did an honest assessment of my strengths and weaknesses and developed a plan to maximize my strengths and compensate for my weaknesses. For example, one of my weaknesses involved communicating my expectations to the existing staff. Once I was able to do that, I realized that I didn’t have the right people who were able to carry out my vision and I was able to ease them out of the positions. Mary Anne: One area that we identified as critical for me was getting the right people in place. So we brainstormed attributes and skills needed for the jobs I was hiring for. We then devised questions to identify these traits in the individuals I was interviewing for the jobs. Having previously worked on clear job descriptions and expectations for jobs made this part easier. Wendy: So what were the results from this exercise? Mary Anne: When interviewing candidates, I became much more behavior and attitude focused seeking to match the culture of the office with the skill set of the individual. Mary Anne: So once we identified the gaps, and implemented changes, we also developed a plan for maximizing my strengths. One of my strengths is analyzing numbers and developing a plan. The Incentive Program I created was one such plan. Wendy: What did this program do for your business? Mary Anne: It produced a level of accountability for the office staff; I didn’t have to micromanage the details of the day-to-day operations. In order to achieve a bonus, the staff had to incorporate certain standards into their workload. The bonus really helped them do that. Wendy: What do you see in the future? Mary Anne: The future for me is to continue to create a vision for business, redefining my role within the business, and developing my own personal expanded vision on how I want to impact the community. These are the things I will continue to work with Wendy on.
Wendy: In my opinion, the thing that has contributed most to Mary Anne’s success is MARY ANNE! She is a smart businesswoman, who is very motivated. She has a passion for her work, is very caring, but most importantly she is always open to looking at where she needs to improve, or make change. She always wants to learn and grow from her mistakes. Business Owners, see Wendy's article "Tips for making your business work for you" Wendy Mackowski, a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, lives in Orange County, California and is the owner of Inner North Coaching. For more information about coaching, sign up for Wendy's free email newsletter, contact Wendy. |
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© 2008 Inner North Coaching.