THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF COACHING YOUTH SPORTS

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Coaching my son's team is a great bonding experience
Coaching my son’s team is a great bonding experience

As a father, one of the best bonding times I’ve ever had with my sons has been coaching their sports teams. Unfortunately, it also has been one of the most trying times and has tested my resolve and patience more than once. On top of all that, you have the dreaded “parents” to deal with which can really make or break your love of coaching pretty quickly. (I know, I’ve been a  dreaded parent myself before as well). I’ve been coaching my boys football and baseball teams going on 10 years now and I’ve had my share of ups and downs so I’ve put together a few do’s and don’t below that will hopefully help you along your journey or get you started on this rewarding role.

The Good 

The good is the reason you coach, it’s what makes all the other stuff tolerable and if you get enough of it you may even continue coaching. 

coaching football, coaching polo
Donning my custom coaching polo as we get game ready on Saturdays.
  • First and foremost, the ability to positively influence a group of athletes I’m coaching is #1 on my list.  Win or lose, if I can get a bunch of kids together and see weekly progress in the team and in the athlete personally and see visible improvements by season’s end, I will walk away feeling like I’ve done a great job and believe it’s by far the most rewarding aspect of coaching. 
  • The Development of Character is a very close second because sports teaches life skills like nothing else in the world can. Being a team player, helping others, lifting your teammate up when they are down, getting up time and time again after falling and how to handle both victory and defeat like a champion. Character is what makes a boy a man or a girl a woman and I get to be a part of that maturation. 
  • The Memories.  For the rest of their lives, they will look back and remember their teammates as well as their coaches taking the time out to mentor them, push them and get the best out of them when they were young and long after you’re gone, these precious memories will live on. How’s that for a legacy!

The Bad

Unfortunately not all of your interactions with your players will be great.  I’ve been blessed enough to have coached some amazing kids in my time but I have ended up at times doing more damage than good. Major Payne is a funny movie but nobody wants a real life Major Payne coaching their kids.  In order to avoid this costly mistake you need to focus on a few things

  • Never make the game more important than the kid’s. “IT’S JUST A GAME”.  If you find yourself wanting to strangle a kid you are probably taking the game too seriously.
  • Encourage your kids constantly- point out the bad but when they fix it make sure to encourage them for it repeatedly.  If you want a behavior to continue, encouragement is your best weapon.  Most athletes do not respond well to criticism unless it’s limited and immediately followed up by encouragement when they do it right. 
  • Be prepared- It’s easy to say it’s just a game and not come in ready each game but that’s an attitude you need to drop if you’re going to coach.  You need to be understanding and encouraging to your players but as the coach you need to make sure you are always ready and prepared.  Believe me, the kids and parents all know when they have a dud coach and you don’t want to be that guy. 

The Ugly

The parents, some can really be that bad. To be fair, you get a lot of great and supportive parents, but there is rarely a time that I’ve coached where I didn’t get at least one or two critical and divisive parents.

The worst ones are the parents that scream and put their kids down during the games. If you want your kid to hate you when they grow up, congrats you are well on your way when you do that. There’s also the average athlete parents that think their child is the team MVP.  I can see them after every game creeping around the group with a frown on their face before hearing those dreaded words “coach can we talk for a minute?” 

The last thing you want after coaching for two hours and pouring your heart out is Karen’s lecture on how you clearly don’t see that their kid is the best kid on your team and you need to be playing them more than your “favorites”.  My favorites according to Karen are always the best 2 or 3 players on the team and the only reason I’m playing them according to Karen is because I like them and not because they are any good. 

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that every season I’ve coached I’ve thought about being done with it for good because of the parents which is why you really need to make the good count. Times like this, I have to put myself in Karen’s shoes and appreciate that they are being their kids number one fan, which is something to be admired. I also look to my assistant coach/coaches for input so we can address the parents concerns and do our best for the kid. Sometimes, no matter what I do, it will not be good enough for Karen. 

The kids look good in their league provided football jerseys. For your own  custom football jerseys, check out Allen Sportswear’s custom football uniforms. Disclaimer: Allen Sportswear did not provide the league’s NFL stock jerseys.

Block out all the noise and focus on the kids, get your encouragement from seeing them flourish and don’t worry about Karen watching your every move. If you do this you can have an amazing and rewarding coaching career whether it’s for little leagues or something bigger like high school or college.  You have a chance to change a child’s life and there aren’t many things in this life of ours we can do that will that kind of impact.

Written by: Todd Marinshaw (President/CEO Allen Sportswear, Dad/Football Coach)

Write down Goals? Only if you want to succeed

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

business concept, accuracy

 

 

Every study done over the past 30 years has shown goals are one of the biggest keys to success and wealth, yet so few people actually write them down.

In the book “What They Don’t Teach You in the Harvard Business School”, Mark McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program where graduate students were asked the question: “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?”  The result, only 3% had written goals and plans, 13% had goals but they weren’t in writing and 84% had no goals at all. Ten years later, the same group was interviewed again and the results were shocking.

The 13% of the class who had goals, but did not write them down were earning twice the amount of the 84% who had no goals. The 3% who had written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% of the class combined!

Many times people don’t write down goals because they just don’t see the importance of them, but now that we know how important goals are I’ll give a simple example of what a goal sheet should look like:

 

2015 PERSONAL/BUSINESS GOALS

Before you start, know the golden rule of goal setting!

SPECIFIC

MEASUREABLE

ATTAINABLE

REALISTIC

TIME BOUND

Goals Concept 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUSINESS GOALS – Whether you are the owner of a company, a manager or an up and coming rep it’s important to have things you want to achieve each year. Below is an example of a manager or owner writing out a business goal

– What I want to Achieve

1. x% growth in revenue over last year

– How am I going to Achieve it?

1. Raise up a new sales manager

2. Hire x additional entry level sales reps

3. Raise up x number of reps to senior level

4. Generate x% Leads by running a Referral campaign

5. Bring Back x% of lost clients via a new Win-Back Campaign

– What I want to Start

1.  I need to inspire my people during weekly meetings with great training on self improvement and specific skill sets.

– What I want to Stop

1. Being negative when we don’t hit out goals (ie Get rid of specific words that are morale busters)

– What I want to Keep Doing

1. Raising up new leaders

2. Showing up to the office ahead of everyone else

 

PERSONAL GOALS – Work hard, play hard. It’s important to set attainable personal goals for the year as well

 

– What I want to Achieve

1. Get my pilot’s license

– How am I going to Achieve it?

1. Save up $x for it

2. Pick out a great school and take up x classes

3. Start reading flight manuals by x date so I can get through course quicker

4. Set a realistic training schedule

– What I want to Start

1. Reading and discussing at least one marriage and one parenting book a year

– What I want to Stop

1. Yelling and making threats

– What I want to Keep Doing

1. Encouraging my kids to the best they can be by utilizing a great point system for them and me

 

There are many ways to create written goals. In business we usually start by identifying where are are at, our key issues, key priorities, and then setting quantifiable goals, which we then flesh out by brainstorming strategies then tactics. As a small business owner, I encourage my team members to keep it simple! Remember, complexity is the enemy of execution. Write it down in a way you understand. Grab a notepad, or start writing in your note taking app. Just remember, no matter how simple you want to keep it, make sure your goals are measurable and not vague and open ended.

The keys to success are simple to do but many times hard to follow, so keep your eyes on the road ahead and not on your rear view mirror. It’s easy  to get distracted and defeated by past failures but with written goals you will keep your eyes and mind on the future and not on the past.

Goals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

Positive Passion Minus Negative Passion=One Direction

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Over the last half decade,  I have seen more people lose hope for the life they dreamed of than I’d ever seen in all my life. The economy has not been great but at the root of the issue is not what has happened, it’s our perspective and attitude about what has happened. In a study conducted by Gallup over 142 countries, research has shown that only 13% of all employees are actively engaged at work. America has the highest rating at 29%, but this still means 71% are disengaged at work, and 24% are actively disengaged.

Go to many college classrooms and half the class will be asleep, texting, or not paying attention at all; Then follow those same kids to the bars that night and the place will be blowing up with excitement and fun. Go to many work places and you will see a bunch of people clock watching and just doing their time, but follow them home for the weekend and you will see the same lethargic person jumping up and down screaming or cheering their favorite Football team as if their life depended on it.

What makes the same person average at one thing, but amazing at the other? It is because they are fully engaged. Before we get into what that means, let’s start with what makes us fully engaged. PASSION. Passion is what drives us to marry the person of our dreams. Passion is gets us out of bed when we are young and train every day when we are playing sports.  Passion is what makes us great, yet so few people have it when they get older.

What passions do we have that are due for purging and which ones need to be rekindled?

NEGATIVE PASSIONS:

Negative passions are not necessarily bad things to do, they are just not productive and don’t really do much to further your life. 

  • We are passionate about our sports teams –  There is nothing wrong with loving a football, baseball or basketball team. But when your entire week gets affected by the outcome of a game there is a problem. There is a commercial that came out recently with NFL player following fans around and yelling at them while they are shopping, at work and at home. I think it’s great because it puts in perspective how dumb it is to yell at your TV and get all distraught about a game that means absolutely nothing in your life. Whether they win or lose your life is still the same, so why freak out?  Instead, spend a little time on Sunday reading or learning a new skill, I guarantee that will do more for your life then yelling at your favorite team.
  • We are passionate about our TV shows – The fanaticism we have for our favorite shows is alarming. There is nothing wrong with liking a show but if the highlight of the week is your favorite show, your priorities are in serious need of re-order. I’m blown away by all these ladies nowadays that fantasize about being hunted down and eaten by a vampire, only to have him fall in love with them because they have special blood? Seriously? The premise of that fantasy is too stupid to even comprehend, and yet millions of girls are dreaming about it  and directing their passion to the shows and books that push that fiction.
  • We are passionate about ourselves – If I hear one more person say “I’m just learning how to love myself” I’m going to puke. What I’d like to say to them is “ You are great at loving you, just look at your FB page and check out all your selfies”. Americans have been raised to please themselves at all costs, whether its over eating, promiscuity, drinking problems or even selfie addictions. The thing I love about FB is that you can see exactly what kind of person they are in about 30 seconds of looking at their page. Unfortunately, American culture has turned most people into passionate self lovers, but instead of being passionate about your self love, be passionate about helping others. Focusing on family, friends and charities are just a few ways to get out of yourself and make a positive difference.

POSITIVE PASSIONS:

There are three basic passions that we know to be passionate about, but easily overlook in the busyness of our daily lives.

  • Passion for your family – When you’re young, many teenagers dream of getting away from their dysfunctional family and unfortunately there is usually good reason. Marriage is a lot of work and when two different people never learn to love their family over themselves what you usually get is disaster. This is a common problem in today’s family and the only way to fix it is to have two parents make the choice to stay passionate about each other and their kids. Take note I said choice, unlike what Hollywood wants you to believe, you don’t always wake up with passion every day of your life as a spouse or parent. But we  are not animals, we are human, so we have the ability to control how we feel and how passionate we are about anything we want. This passion is the key to true happiness, if you are passionate about being a good husband or wife, father or mother, you will find happiness daily.
  • Passion for your faith – Many people choose to have no faith and without sounding condescending which I am sure I will anyway, I want to say I sincerely feel sad for them. To live a life without believing in something, someone greater than yourself is a life without meaning. Without meaning,  your life will be like a ship in the sea that’s lost its engines, being tossed around and going with whatever tide comes your way. You can always tell a person that has weak or no beliefs because they end up getting passionate about whatever new philosophy or ideal comes along, then the next time you see them is something new and on and on it goes. What you believe in will be your compass. Where is your faith or lack of it taking you?
  • Passion for your career – This one goes back to my football comment above. What has more impact on your life, your career or your favorite sports team? Again, I love sports but in the end my career is quite a bit more important so why wouldn’t I put more passion in it? When you go to work, whether you work for someone else or for yourself, you must make a daily decision to be passionate about what you’re doing. The bible says if you are great at what you do you will work in front of kings. I think the point of this scripture is if you want to be esteemed, be excellent at whatever you do, especially the little things.

Passion in the right places will lead you to happiness, fulfillment and prosperity while passion in the wrong places will only take away from what matters most. Rethink what you are passionate about and see how fast you can change your direction.

 

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

Giving when you don’t have any? What’s the point in that…

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending Dreamforce 2014 in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to watch one of the keynote speakers of the convention, Tony Robbins. Up to this time I had only heard of him but never really heard any of his motivational speeches. I’ve never seen a room full of highly educated, influential industry leaders get up on their feet, jump like they were at a party, scream like they were watching the Super Bowl, and waive their hands like they were ready for him to crowd surf. Not to mention pointing at each others face and screaming “I own you!”

 

There was a lot to learn, but what was amazing was to see how much his love of giving is at the core of everything he does. You can literally see the excitement in his eyes from 50 rows back every time he talks about helping others out and what great goals he has in the future for his giving. Tony Robbins doesn’t give anyone an excuse to not give, and basically called out the crowd, “Don’t kid yourselves, if you won’t give 1 cent out of a dollar, you wont give a million out of 100 million .” In short, giving is a state of the heart, and if you don’t start somewhere, you will never have the right heart when you are actually in a position to make a bigger impact.

It’s interesting-I have found that many times in my life when everything seems to be falling apart and my life seems to lack meaning is when I’m the most self centered and focused on my own needs. When I get outside of myself and help another out, all of a sudden my life doesn’t seem so hard or bad.

Here are a few reasons I have found to make giving a lifelong habit:

1. Giving makes me feel happy – If someone asks me what will make me happy I start dreaming about sailboats, living on the beach and traveling the world. Would this make me happy? If I was by myself the answer would be a resounding no, but if it meant taking my friends and family out on the boat, sharing vacations with my wife and kids and having the time to do some good in the lives of others I definitely believe it would. When I’m using my wealth to encourage others is when I’m at my happiest. I may not be rich, but what I do have bring me joy when I share it with others.

2. Giving is good for my health – When I’m focused on others and helping, I spend more time focused and less time worrying. Since I’m also happy I keep my weight down, my blood pressure down and my spirits up. Overall this keeps me healthy and ready to conquer the world.

3. Giving makes me friends – Years ago I watched a movie “Pay it Forward” and was amazed at the impact one little boy can have on others. In my life I have found that when I give “whether it is time, money, or labor”, I tend to make and keep my longest lasting friends. When I’m going into any relationship thinking about what I can get out of it is when I’m the least successful. This goes for business as well as personal life.

4. Giving makes me grateful – Whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of a gift, that gift can illicit feelings of gratitude. When I have given to families without food or home it makes me grateful for all that has been given to me, on the other end of the spectrum the ones I gave to are grateful for what they’ve been given and this benefits both parties by providing happiness, health and friendships.

5. Giving is Contagious – When we give, we don’t only help the immediate recipient of our gift. We also spur a ripple effect of generosity through our community, friends and family.

After looking at all the great benefits of giving, it helps me to see why God was so adamant about it. It’s one of the hardest things to do, but it’s a habit we desperately need if we are to stay grounded and humble in spite of whatever future blessings may come our way. As with a man as successful as Tony Robbins, you can tell what truly makes him happy is not all his accomplishments, money and fame, it’s the power he has to make a difference in other peoples lives. Personally, I don’t have anywhere near the kind of influence or power he does to help others and change lives but one thing I remember is that the scriptures say, “Each should give in accordance with what they have been given”. Simply put, we should make as much as an impact on others as we have the ability to.

 

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non-profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

 

Find A Job! Getting In The Door

by ⋅ 2 Comments

 

I’ve been hiring people for over 10 years now and I’m still blown away about how clueless most people seem to be when it comes to job hunting. What I find is that the older generation usually have pretty good resumes but lack great cover letters while the newer generation lack pretty much everything. It’s like nobody has ever taught our youth that one day they are going to have to grow up and get a job. Our families and colleges have completely failed the past couple of generations and now 85% of graduating seniors do not have jobs coming out of college. Some people are just lazy and there’s not much you can do for them but if you’re reading this I’m going to assume that you are not one of them.  I’ve come up with a few tips to help people get back into the workplace.

Hire Me Concept

I’m going to break this up into different parts for easier reading.

Below are five tips on how you can get in the door:

 

1. When looking for a job, that is your job – Get up early, dress in a button down shirt or polo and slacks, then go to a coffee shop with wifi, sit down and get started. You need to be going to all the major job site providers such as monster.com, indeed.com, careeerbuilder.com and snagajob.com just to name a few. There are also local job fairs you can go to and places like craigslist.com. If you are a college grad, most colleges have job boards you can visit online., where employers are actually looking for recent grads. Leave no stone unturned because 99% of the companies out there will only post their job listing in one or two places max!

 

2. Set goals for yourself – It’s easy to do step one and come home feeling like you accomplished a lot when in reality you didn’t do very much. Busy work is work that takes a lot of time but accomplishes very little. A great way to make sure you don’t fall victim to this mistake is to set daily goals of no less than 20 resumes sent. This may not sound like a lot but if you do it right it will take all day; More on that to follow…

 

3. Tailor each resume for the job – In a sea of resumes one of the biggest mistakes you can make is sending a generic resume with the heading (I’d like to get a job with a company I can grow to my potential in, yadayada, whatever). First of all, it’s not about you! In a world of self indulgence and entitlement this may come as a shock but if you haven’t heard this yet it’s time you did. Write a heading that pertains to the job at hand and how you will help the company, not the other way around. Then only include jobs on the resume that will strengthen that conviction. If you are lacking in jobs in that field include internships or any other activity that pertains to that position. Whether it is a software, a gatekeeper, or the hiring manager, the first one reading your resume will be short listing for the most likely match. MATCH is the keyword, not generic.

 

4. COVER LETTER – I’m amazed at how many resumes I get without cover letters. Covers letters are your opportunity to say what a resume never could. Show your intelligence, ability to learn and adapt, and your desire for that job in just two paragraphs! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve interviewed people I normally wouldn’t have because of great cover letters. When writing a cover letter be conversational and talk about how the skills you’ve obtained translate into you doing a great job in the position and in helping the company. End it by letting the hiring manager know what days and time you are available for interviews. Also, make sure you find out what the hiring managers name is and address them in the letter, do not say “To whom it may concern”. That just says you are either too limited mentally or too lazy to figure it out; Neither of which looks good on you.

 

5. Follow up– After submitting your relevant resume with an awesome cover letter take the time to call the hiring manager and ask if they received your resume. If they actually take your call, push for a time to come in and interview. You can’t get a job without seeing them face to face so that is the whole objective when calling in. Be aggressive but not pushy, simply say “I have time on (whatever days you can come in) to meet, do one of these days work for you?” Whether or not you actually talk to the hiring manager or just leave a voice mail make sure you do a follow up email within a few days asking if there is anything else they may need from them and thank them for their consideration.

Job Hunting

If you follow these 5 steps you will get in the door for an interview, with luck you will have multiple interviews a week. Next week I’ll be writing about how to blow the hiring manager away once you get into the door, so stay tuned!

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

Will Jesus Make Me Rich?

by ⋅ 1 Comment

 

Will Jesus Make Me Rich?

America has long been the land of opportunity and for many years it was also considered a Christian Nation. I grew up like many believing the reason America was the richest, most powerful nation in the world was because we were a Christian Nation. Now that we are no longer a Christian Nation is it a coincidence we are also collapsing like a stack of cards? The messages in the bible can be very confusing so I’d like to break down a few misconceptions many people have in today’s day and age.

In the bible there are two covenants, the old and the new.. It doesn’t get much simpler then that but it has created a lot of confusion.  For example:

Old Testament says in Psalm 112

1Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
2Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.

 

Hmm, sounds like God blesses those who please him with money to me; but wait!

 

The New Testament says in Matthew 19

21Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

His Disciples were astonished because the Old Testament taught that God blessed the righteous with wealth.

So which one is right?

Well, they both are right. You may be asking how two opposite ideologies could be right but it’s really quite simple. Jesus is not Santa God, running around throwing gifts on those who are nice and give coal to those who are naughty. He’s also not the “Ticket to a wealthy life” as many multi level marketing companies like to teach.

The best way to explain how they both are right is to tell you how being a Christian has affected my life and business. I am by no means close to being a rich man in American standards but I have a beautiful wife and three amazing kids along with a business and a nice place to live in. My needs are taken cared of and my relationships are fulfilling. Wealth to God is more than money, true wealth to God is a life filled with joy and a heart refined by fire. That doesn’t mean a Christian won’t get wealthy, but if he or she does it will be a byproduct of living a good life and being the best they can be at what they do. I consider myself wealthy in all the areas that matter except for monetarily.  At the same time, when a person is bankrupt in their relationships and has a heart that’s never been tested because they run from their problems, it’s nearly impossible for them to ever attain true happiness, which is true wealth. They have more money than they can handle and think they can literally buy their way out of every situation. They forget about God, grow callous in their hearts and in the end have bankrupt souls.

So, will Jesus make you rich? Yes, but not in the way most people think of it. When you live your life as a Christian business owner and not as an owner that happens to be Christian the by-product of your beliefs will produce a business that has integrity, compassion and a never ending need to be the best at what you do. Profit is the inevitable result of a healthy business, and hopefully by the time God blesses us with that, we are ready to be used as good stewards of God’s riches.

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

Jesus In the Workplace

by ⋅ 86 Comments

Prayer in the workplace

The name of Jesus has become taboo in the workplace because of an increasingly fearful and political climate. Many employees can be fired for so much as inviting someone to church and it’s safe to say the anti-Christ movement in the business community has won the war in resounding fashion. Unless you own or are a part of a faith based organization, your options can be very limited. For the purposes of this article I will assume you own or have a prominent position in your company. Here I will talk about a few ways in which you can run your business as a Christian without hiding your faith or offending others.

1. The first thing I would recommend doing is to pray at your meetings.

This can really be scary for many people but it’s important that people know you are accountable to a higher power and that you rely on Him. The bible says: Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

I have to admit this is a tough scripture to follow. It’s easy on Sundays to praise God with like minded people, but it’s a whole another story to sit in front of a bunch of guys and girls who don’t necessarily share your opinions and may even look down at you for praying and still pray. If you want a business that has honesty, integrity and character it starts at the top (Christ, not you).  You don’t want to just show up one morning and start praying unless you’re okay with a lot of weird looks and shock. Each employee needs to be taken aside privately and told what you will be doing from now on. Personally, I tell every new employee that “I’m a Christian so I like to pray over my business once a week; you don’t have to join along if you don’t want to but I want you to know what to expect.” If they are uncomfortable they can choose before ever working here to pursue other options but at least they won’t be blindsided at their first meeting. Below are a couple do’s and don’ts of praying:

 DO:
1. Lift up your employees individually for the good they are doing
2. Ask God to bless your employees
3. Admit your dependence on Christ in front of them (humility is a good thing)
4. Keep it short and to the point
 
 DON’T:
1. Insult others in your prayer
2. Put down other religions
3. Correct someone or the group during the prayer
4. Ridicule
5. Have a marathon prayer
 

2.  Next, it’s important to put up your company core values based on biblical principles. Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Foster an atmosphere of honesty, integrity and respect; which is essential for any successful business but even more so the business owned by a Christian. At times it’s good to bring the core values up at meetings and ask people if they are sticking to them. Say what you mean and mean what you say!  

3. Last but certainly not least is your own example. I Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. Once you tell people you’re a Christian and pray in meetings, they will look at everything you do. You will no longer be afforded the same leniency that other owners and bosses are given; you will now be held accountable for all your actions and if you fall you will most certainly be called a hypocrite. This is what makes professing your faith at work so scary. We all fall short and God knows I’ve made my share of mistakes and said things I wish I could take back, but in the end you will be judged on the whole of your work more then anything else.

You may be wondering if all this is worth it and rightly so. I can tell you from my experiences that if done right it’s more than worth it. I don’t use God to promise people riches because I don’t believe he’s some kind of magical fairy that grants us wishes. The benefits that I do get from running a business like this is the ability to walk into the doors each day and find satisfaction in the work I do. Also, each time I pray I hope it plants a mustard seed of faith in the people around me and maybe one day it could change their life. My business is my ministry, it’s the road I have chosen to travel and I think it’s fitting to end this with the famous poem of Robert frost.

 

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

BY ROBERT FROST

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
 
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
 
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
 
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

How to navigate your company through change and turnover

by ⋅ 81 Comments

Inevitably, no matter what you do, your business will go through change and turnover. Sometimes that change is the direction your company needs to take and sometimes the change is a good employee leaving at a bad time. Change in general is stressful. It can and will produce at least some anxiety and uncertainty but that does not mean that change is necessarily a bad thing, in fact, when handled right, it can be a good thing.  Whenever faced with change here are 3 tips to make it a positive for your company

 

Change just ahead

Change just ahead

1.  Step back and evaluate – Where have you come from and where are you going? Now is the time to analyze your business and look at it objectively. In the case of a good employee leaving the question you should ask is:

  • Should I keep the position they are vacating or eliminate it? Sometimes you may not ever realize it but you will find you kept a position just because you had someone good doing it. On hindsight, that position may be able to be outsourced or become part of another position which is already in place.

  • Should I hire from within or outside? You should always hire from within if at all possible because it builds team morale and rewards loyalty. If nobody is qualified then you have no choice but to go outside for help

  • Can we make the department better? Overall, look at the department and determine if there is any way to make business processes easier, more efficient and more cost effective.

2.  Take action – Don’t be indecisive, once you’ve evaluated the situation, take the necessary steps immediately and let your team know you have a plan.

  • Meet with each team member –  meeting with each team member individually lets them know all is well and gives you a chance to talk about their future with the company as well, ensuring they go away excited and inspired instead of depressed or down.

  • Promote – Now is the best time to promote a team member and or give them new responsibility. You don’t always have to give raises either, sometimes just working out a nice bonus if they do a great job is the best solution. Again, this will boost morale, and morale is always infectious in the office

  • Re-evaluate – It sounds silly to re-evaluate after you’ve made changes but it’s important to look at your body of work and make sure the pieces are all fitting together. If not, it’s better to make a change now then 6 months from now when the damage has been done.

3. Celebrate – Whatever changes you have to make, make sure the team sees it as a positive and not a negative. Celebrate the promotions and future opportunities for the whole department and as long as the employee that’s leaving is leaving on good terms you should also celebrate how much they have helped your business and let them know you appreciate them. The goodwill you create with  the rest of your crew will be immeasurable.

In the end, face every challenge and see every change as an opportunity for growth. As the leader in your organization, you are the man or woman behind the wheel, navigating each twist or turn, no matter how unexpected, to eventually lead your team to your intended destination. You set the standard so when your team sees you as a steady rock in a sea of change they will remain confident and productive.

 

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan

How To Create The Right Sales Atmosphere

by ⋅ 7 Comments

Sales atmosphere is a tricky thing. In order for your team to be productive you need the right combination of pressure vs fun, fear vs safety, self motivation vs teamwork. Balancing the atmosphere can be a full time job, but if you pay attention every day you can stay on top of it before it gets lopsided and toxic.

Pressure vs Fun – Too much pressure creates “The Boiler Room”, too much fun creates an early 90’s dot com company. Both are bad for business and unsustainable so it’s important to find the happy medium. I have to look, listen, and feel the tempo of what’s happening on the floor. If the  atmosphere gets too tense I’ll go out and bring up some random sports news that get people to stop thinking about their problems and allows them to relax for a few minutes while discussing things like “Is Richard Sherman really a thug or not.” If the atmosphere gets too lax and everyone is having fun but practically nothing is being accomplished, then I need to go out and redirect everyone’s attention to the numbers. This usually sounds like a SONA (State of the nation address) but it jolts people out of dreamland and focuses them back on winning. Usually I will accompany this by finding additional cold call leads for each of the reps and adding it to their call list. If they can’t find any work to do, I will find it for them and once they know this they usually figure out how to stay productive.

Fear vs Safety – Personally I like my office to feel like a family atmosphere but that can backfire at times. Managers will tend to either make their employees feel too safe or too fearful and I’m definitely on the safe side. This can be good and bad; good because people like coming to work and enjoy the atmosphere which in turn creates camaraderie and loyalty, and bad because they can tend to get lazy, not hit their sales numbers and feel like it’s okay because their job is safe. To stop this from happening, it’s important to have regular meetings with your reps to go over their numbers along with plans to get them moving if they are behind. If for some reason their numbers stay down you need to nip it in the bud quickly by putting them on probation. Don’t let bad habits sink in or you will end up losing a good employee in the end.

Self motivation vs Teamwork – Every sales rep needs to be self motivated (this is a must). At the same time if you want to have a great team, the reps need to have some selflessness and be able to help the team. A good sales rep many times will hit their number a week or two before the end of the month and this is great but it also makes them tempted to sandbag deals to get the next month started off hot. I put individual numbers up on the board but I stress what the team goal is often to try and prevent this. In order to hit your team goals each month all the reps need to put that extra effort into helping the team and not just worry about themselves. A sure sign you have a sandbagger is that he/she always has a slow last week of the month followed by a bunch of sales turned in the first couple of days of the next month. This is a person you need to talk to about being a team player before it becomes a problem. You want every rep giving 100% each month, when they don’t, other reps see this and it becomes a cancer that has to be cut out.

Atmosphere is not hard to regulate as long as you stay on top of it each day. If you as the manager let this go too long, you will suffer one way or another, which usually means losing sales reps and costing you money to hire and re-train. To effectively run a company and keep your bottom line, it is important to avoid unnecessary expense and turnover. Take these tips to the bank and enjoy a prosperous year.

 

Successful Business Team

Successful Business Team

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan.

7 Tips To Boost Your Company’s Morale

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Owning a business or leading a team can be one of the most challenging things you can do, but it can be fun and rewarding if done right. I always say I’d take the worst day in my life as a business owner than the best day I had working for someone else, and I say this because for the most part (since I got to choose the industry I want to be in-sportswear), going to work has always felt like a lot of fun, instead of a tedious obligation.

It is easy to take for granted that my team members may not feel all the excitement and vision I have for the company. One of the biggest yet seldom addressed pitfalls of a small business is the psyche of the team members and how they feel about you, the company and the brand. I have learned over the years that pre-maintenance is a lot easier than damage control so in order to keep my office up and running on all cylinders there are 7 things I like to do:

1. Have a plan and write it – Sounds so simple but one of the biggest failures of small business owners is that you have dreams and ambition but it doesn’t make it on paper. This leads to constant changes, instability and employees losing trust that you’re the right person to lead them. Nobody wants to be lead by someone who changes their mind about the direction of the company on a whim (I’ve learned this the hard way). You may have a ton of brilliant ideas and in time you will get to them but remember you must first “plan your work and work your plan”.

2. Communication – Nobody will tell you that they like meetings but it’s vitally important that you have at least one scheduled each week to talk about where the company is at, what direction the company is headed and at least one personal victory story from the week before.  Personally, I like to start my meetings by casually talking about the weekend events and really try to get the team involved. When you are meeting with 12 and under this shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish; if the group is larger you may have to be a little creative. Next we go over each team members highs and lows of the previous week so we can learn from each other and finally we cap it off with this weeks expectations; it’s simple and to the point.

3. Food – Everyone loves food and there’s no quicker way to get a group moving and motivated than bringing in something delicious for them to eat before your meetings or during the week when you feel the momentum has shifted away from what you want. Every once in a while I’ll go out and buy each person the candy of their choice or just pick up a big bag of assorted candy and put it in a bowl… Be careful of candy coma (yes, this has happened to the office before). Also, never underestimate the power of freshly brewed coffee in the morning.

4. Games, games, and more games – I own a sportswear company so games come easy. We have office brackets for the NFL and NBA playoffs, March Madness and pretty much anything else that comes up. We also play in an inner office fantasy football league which creates some very fun and colorful talks each week. Participating in inner office games like these will bond your team members and create a sense of belonging and loyalty.

5. Have a plan for each employee – Everyone wants to achieve and succeed at what they do. Your job is to map out a career path for each person working for you and let them know about it. When an employee knows you have a plan for them, it is easier to get through the hard times when they come (which they will, they always do). The plan also motivates them to work harder to achieve the next step in their careers. As a small business you may not have a lot of opportunity at the moment but you can plan to grow and when you grow, the new positions that become available should be filled by current team members if at all possible. This will give the next guy who’s working his way up some hope for his future as well and boost company morale.

6. Plan trips – Each year I try to take a company vacation with the team. This may sound expensive and unnecessary and at times it is, but if you can budget it in, your team will love you for it and make your company a place everyone wants to work at. We usually make our annual business planning session an excuse to hit the slopes or spend a weekend at the beach. When budget does not permit, be creative! Paintball nights or something that everyone loves to do can go a long way.The benefits  far outweigh the costs and create memories that will stay with you forever.

7. Get to know them – In America employers have a phobia about actually getting to know the people who work for them.  I find this to be one of the dumbest things American businesses have adopted. Knowing about your team members’ family and kids, or other loved ones and actually asking about them (God forbid) is a great way to help them achieve their goals and let them know you care. For some reason we have been raised up to believe the boss has to be cracking the whip and glaring through their office window at their employees to be effective, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. A great leader will know how to balance being personal and objective and when to be what.

Boosting Employee MoraleShow you care and your team will also care, that’s a win-win if I ever heard one. Morale is one of the most important factors of growth that a leader has to pay attention to in a small business. If your employees give up, your business will soon follow. I have had my share of letting it slip every now and then but it is always good to be reminded that it can turned around if we put the above tips into practice.

By: Todd Marinshaw. Todd owns and operates a sportswear business based in Orlando, FL and recently founded iPrevail, a non profit organization focused on relief and rehabilitation for victims of disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan.