by Brady Nash | Feb 10, 2019
January is traditionally a time when businesses plan out the main objectives they want to achieve by the end of the year. Usually, the conversation is limited to how to maximize profit from the resources they have. However, this year, in addition to looking at our goals, we took a step back and asked: “What are our employees’ goals for this year?”
As we look to our staff and ask them to help the business grow, we should be willing to return the favor. I know what I’m suggesting is somewhat radical in the world of business, but this year we decided to invest time and money into helping our employees reach their personal goals.
by Brady Nash | Dec 23, 2018
After ten years of owning a business, I’ve come to appreciate the value of networking, but I can understand why many business owners hate it. Going to events and talking to strangers can be exhausting and feel like a waste of time. Regardless, having the ability to network is invaluable to a company.
As any business continues to grow, the CEO will naturally transition to the role of maintaining current relationships with vendors and seeking out new partnerships with other companies. That includes attending various events and conferences with the sole purpose of building relationships.
Talking to strangers comes naturally to me, but not everyone is an extrovert. However, a person doesn’t have to be outgoing to succeed at networking. It is possible to develop business relationships by being authentic, a good listener, and patient.
Here are some strategies for anyone looking to improve their skills and maximize their time networking.
by Brady Nash | Dec 21, 2018
December 21st, 8:00 AM CST, Fargo, North Dakota – BNG Team breaks the mold on traditional business once again and hires Jeff Vanlaningham as their new “Dream Manager.” The company stated Vanlaningham would be starting in January 2019, where his job will entail...
by Brady Nash | Oct 21, 2018
In my circle of fellow business owners, I’ve noticed a recent trend in debating the pros and cons of whether it’s a businesses processes or individual people that make the difference at the end of the day.
It can be a bit of a catch-22 situation no matter what. Will the perfect process succeed if the wrong people are using it? Or will a business with perfect employees fail due to a lack of processes?
Lots of businesses like the praise their success on how quickly their employees turn out results because they have strict processes in place to make sure they reach profit goals. Of course, part of that side usually involves the business treating their employees terribly, and the business is experiencing a high turn over. Amazon recently fell into trouble for employees being treated like machines and not taking a bathroom break. They put too much faith in their processes and sacrificed their employee’s well-being for money.
Sometimes I see owners of smaller businesses following the same logic, the process is more important than people. Treat your staff like they are dispensable as if anyone could replace them. As if they are merely a cog in a machine.
Lots of successful business owners think they can increase productivity by paying their employees less, making them do more, and expect better results.
Forgive me if I think that’s a bunch of crap.
I don’t know any relationship in the world that improves if you tell the other person they don’t matter. Tell a spouse they’re replaceable and you’re not going to encourage commitment or inspire them to put effort into the relationship.
This is the exact mindset I seeing some companies exhibit, and it blows my mind! I know I’ve talked a lot about employees and culture this last year, but this mindset has just been weighing on my mind that I wanted to put my two cents into the debate.
by Brady Nash | Sep 9, 2018
I’m a fun loving person by nature and have a very dedicated “work hard/play hard” mindset. Even in the very earliest days when my friends and I were working 24/7 from a basement we still took time to blow off steam by playing a friendly game of foosball.
While we’ve moved from a basement to our own building, our company has never really lost the desire to have some fun on the job.
All of that is fine, but a fun-loving culture is harder to maintain as you grow. I want my employees to work hard to make the business successful, but I also realize there are times when people need to take a break and do something else, just like we did all those years ago.
I think a lot of businesses have difficulty in balancing the work/play dynamic within their business. Sure, you want to be the “cool” fun-loving company, but you don’t want staff goofing off and ignoring their job responsibilities.
Is it possible to have a fun work environment and still get work done? Should a business even care if their employees can blow off steam at their job?
Well, I think so, and I want to go over some of the biggest reasons I think it’s important for a company not to exclude play from their work culture.
by Brady Nash | Aug 5, 2018
I’m not sure most entrepreneurs started their first company because they wanted to run a business.
Sure it sounds like a great idea, setting your hours, and being in charge of your career. I think a lot of times hobbies or interests become profitable and begin to question how you can turn it into a career.
Someone really likes fixing computers and ends up helping family and friends, and people start paying them money for their help. Then all of a sudden that small time computer fixer needs to start tracking revenue, doing accounting, taxes, business cards, work phone and email, etc.
Tell me you don’t know this story.
All of a sudden what was a hobby and a skill they were earning some money with, and now they have a full-time business or sole proprietor job. They realize they have no great way to manage all of these customers with more people because everything was just in there head and spreadsheets, but it doesn’t really work well with another person in the mix.
As great as owning a business sounds, most entrepreneurs had no idea of what it takes to run a business. You may have wanted to make money doing something you love, and now you have to worry about HR, paying salaries, accounting, marketing, and sales.
Well today, I want to talk about all the things you stumble into when becoming an entrepreneur and the obstacles running a business can present.
by Brady Nash | Jul 8, 2018
Everyone wants talented individuals to work for their company. You want to know someone is giving their job everything they have and are passionate about what they do.
However, many businesses are finding it difficult to attract and retain talented employees. Recent studies have found that more and more companies are losing money due to turnover rates, and the price to replace an employee can be anywhere between 16% for a low tier position, to 213% for an executive level position.
Even more alarming, another study found that 31% of employees quit their job within only six months of employment.
All of that adds up and creates problems with your business operations. So in light of the rise in turnover rates, I want to go over how you can keep talented employees engaged in working at your company and make them want to stay.
Today’s topic is a suggestion from Kelly Wentz, so thank you for submitting it!
by Brady Nash | Jun 3, 2018
Last month for the blog I talked about what it takes to become a manager, and at the time I thought it was only going to be one part. But in hindsight, I realized I still had so much more to say about becoming a leader, and I have some other things I wanted to say about being promoted.
I talked about a lot of the positive attributes we look for when we want to promote someone internally. However, I didn’t really go into the negatives a person might exhibit that could be blocking them from becoming a manager.
Now a lot of what I’m going to cover is going to be directed toward people who specifically looking to be promoted but have these negative habits.
Universally any of these traits are frowned upon in the workforce, and you should avoid them. It sets a bad standard if you let any of the people in leadership who represent your brand demonstrate any of these behaviors.
When you’re looking to become a manager, or promoted to more responsibility within a company, make sure you don’t demonstrate any of these traits.
by Brady Nash | May 6, 2018
As our business begins to grow, I find myself looking for more managers to take the burden off my other senior staff. We’re just getting to big and we need a lot of talent to manage individual departments.
I’ve gotten several questions on what I look for when I’m seeking to promote someone, and I wanted to take some time and share my thoughts on anyone who’s looking to become a manager at their current job.
Now, some of this is specific to our company, but a lot of things I talk about are true for many small businesses who are growing and looking for people to promote.
So if you’re seeking a role in management, follow these tips.
by Brady Nash | Apr 1, 2018
This month’s topic was submitted through a comment! Thank you Ella Taguiam for suggesting I talk about business development and researching products.
To me, product development is always one of the most exciting parts of owning a business. I love meetings where we discuss new ideas and services our company can create.
When it comes to business opportunities, for me, it’s never a lack of ideas. I always have hundreds of ideas for new products or services we could invest time and money in.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what problems your company is capable of solving and what it would take to do it.
There are a few key things to keep mind when your business is sitting down to discuss new ideas.
