How to Deliver A Winning Vote of Thanks Every Time!
Home The vote of thanks…why can’t you just get it right? Why do you make it the worse speech on the program 7 times out
Welcome to ITDS Small Business Blog!
Hello There And Welcome!
I’m Lorna Barrow Founder of Impact Training & Development Services and author of the ITDS Business Box Blog
And I already know you…
You’re a Small Business Owner who often nails the operations part of your business but fumbles the people part.
Running a business is hard enough without struggling with the people stuff. Not to mention struggling to engage in your own self development like I’m always asking you to do.
And googling “how to be an authentic leader” or “the best way to delegate” at 11 p.m? that simply does not cut it!
Well, you’re in the right place. The ITDS Small Business Box Blog is where we fix that for you.
Here you’ll find a fabulous collection of actionable strategies, ready-to-use templates, and honest advice on hiring talent, managing change, managing your people effectively and so more.
They represent real solutions for you. That’s because I believe that small businesses are unique and constantly applying “big business” approaches do not always work for your small business.
So go ahead and browse the post! I’m sure you will find lots of helpful content you can use. And you can always contact me.
Hey…I’ve even included the categories just in case you want to browse that way…
I’m really excited to serve you!
ITDS Business Box Blog Category
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10 Valuable Business Solutions to Really Skyrocket Your Business!
Home Wanted: Ready-to-use business solutions to grow my business that are smart, simple and just right for my small business! More and more, that seems
Imposter Syndrome: How to Beat It and Reaffirm Your True Success
Home Imposter Syndrome. How does that term land on your consciousness? Depending on if you’re a business owner or a professional, a man or a
Hiring a Business Coach? How to get the powerful results you want
Home You’ve watched other business owners transform their companies by hiring a business coach. You’ve also read the success stories. And you’ve had that “hiring
Managing Your People: 20 Key Skills To Master For Rapid Success
Home I fully understand the problem you have placing emphasis on having some system for properly managing your people. I am also aware that’s because
Holiday Etiquette: 7 Easy Tips to Navigate The Holidays With Grace
Home So I ask you…What is it about the holidays and its social events that drives good and proper etiquette right out the door? I
3 Bold, Unusual Ways to Explode Your Confidence Fast
Home “Explode your confidence! It’s really the single greatest key to your success in life and in business!” Why did I say that? How do I know? Well…read
Business Etiquette: 8 Easy Ways It Can Help You Own Your Niche
Home But you only need to know business etiquette if you’re the CEO of a large corporation!” This statement was deposited into a conversation I
Save Your Business: 8 Dynamic Ways To Rekindle Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
Home Raise your hand if you feel you’re at that point where you’ve lost your entrepreneurial spirit. You know, you’re no longer growing and neither
The #1 Guide to Crafting The Perfect Formal Thanksgiving Speech
Home The thanksgiving speech had dropped heavily into the lap of Aunt Emelda this year. “How did this happen??” She agonised aloud for the 37th
How to Use Storytelling In Business Presentations to Skyrocket Your Impact
Home Wow! Do I have a story to tell! And I especially love using storytelling in business presentations! Believe it or not, those were the
Good Ideas In The Workplace: 8 Surprising Ways You Block Them
Home I have to admit that I have not met a business owner, a CEO or a leader who ever claimed to NOT want good
How to Convert Business Debt Default Into Triumph
Home Defaulting on your business debt is the one thing that can make you feel like a loser. And in the worst way. Trust me…I
How To Finally Overcome Your Problems Meeting Deadlines
Home Let’s be honest: you probably have more problems meeting deadlines than you care to admit. Maybe you missed submitting that proposal you promised a
Mastering Delegation: 7 Actionable Steps to Raise Your Efficiency
Home Mastering Delegation. Just as it stands alone in the sentence above, when it is a problem in the operations of a small business, it
Top 10 Leadership Success Secrets For Explosive Personal Growth
Home “Do you have any leadership success secrets you can share with us, Ms Barrow?” the young entrepreneur asked eagerly. “I might…but I like to
2 Key Boxes to Tick That Really Boost Your Employee Engagement
Home Where this “employee engagement” thing come from all of a sudden? This question, coming from the owner of a business who was becoming increasingly
Continuous Learning: The #1 Strategy For Quality Business Growth
Home If you know nothing else about me…please know that I am absolutely passionate about continuous learning for small business owners. This was the main
4 Proven Steps To Actually Begin Writing Your Report
Home So what’s your approach to begin writing a report? Is it something like this? You sit at your computer and type a few sentences.
Become an Authentic Leader: Cut These 10 Useless Practices Now
Home There I was, minding my business…Well, not really…I was minding the business of an “authentic leader”. He was in the gym with some other
Hiring Talent? 10 Unusual Questions to Ask For Reliable Results
Home Hiring Talent… Is it just another Human Resources (HR) buzz word or an approach to recruiting that can benefit your small business? Is it only for
Working From Home? Top 10 Things You Need To Know Early!
Home Working from home. It’s out there. Or maybe in this case we can say it’s “in here!” Propelled by the Corona virus, it continues
7 Unusual Time Management Strategies to Reach Your Goals
Home “Time management strategies? Most of the time I’m too busy for any time management strategies!” “Time management strategies? Oh! my favourite one is: love at
Improve Your Public Speaking The #1 Quick, Unusual Way
Home You want to improve your public speaking. And you also want a quick and easy way to do it. How do I know this?
Change Management Success-How To Easily Get It Right
Home “Y’all talking about change management success?” asked my friend and business colleague. It’s as elusive as my last boyfriend!” She continued in response to
How to Easily Differentiate Your Services In A Crowded Market
Home Have you ever struggled to differentiate your services? I know I have. And I bet as small business service providers, we all have. When
How To Really Improve Your Leadership Problem-solving Process
Home “Leadership problem-solving process?” What’s that? And why do you think I would need such a thing?” As you would expect a good consultant to, I sat
Top 10 Proven Ways To Ignite Your Small Business Success
Home The stats on small business failure are so staggering, whichever country you choose, they undermine small business success. And whichever country entrepreneurs and business owners are
How To Use Attentive Listening To Actually Skyrocket Sales
Home Recently, at a monthly mastermind group meeting, a member asked me, “Lorna, what does it take to really, really skyrocket sales?” I let the suspense
9 Useful Things To Remember When You Name A Business
Home When you name a business, you should think of what they say about naming a dog. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: Give a
8 Easy Ways Business People Can Improve Their Writing Skills
Home Show me the average entrepreneur, business person or manager of a small business, working off-line or online, who cannot benefit from improved writing skills!
Conflict Management: How to Make It Your Best Leadership Tool
Home Before I discuss how to make conflict management your best leadership tool, perhaps we should step back and take a quick look at leadership first. Very
Make Decisions That Will Last In 7 Smart, Easy Steps
Home I knew I was procrastinating but sometimes I hate when I have to make decisions. So there I was…suspended between writing a blog post
9 Key Negotiating Strategies Small Business Owners Need to Win
Home If I were to ask you, “What does your business need most?” Without hesitation, you’d say “money!” If you were to ask me the same thing, without
6 Ways To Turn Small Business Failure Into Amazing Success
Home My spirit was in turmoil and my body was feeling the stress. I had too many sleepless nights…pacing my house in straight lines and
How To Master Raising Money For A Business
Home “Raising money for a business”… You were enjoying the conversation until someone mentioned those words. But why do you get that nauseous feeling in
10 Easy Public Speaking Tips Just For Small Business Owners
Home Would you like some easy public speaking tips to jumpstart your “info sharing career?” I thought you would say “Yes!” You see, I know
Team Building: 7 Ways To Quickly Build A Highly Effective Team
Home “What’s all this foolishness about highly effective team building? You mean to say, that after I hire people, and pay them good money, I have to
How to Lead Your Team to Amazing Success? Start Here!
Home “You must be Lorna! Please tell me you know something about how to lead! Leaders must really be born…because I am no leader and
12 Secret Entrepreneurial Skills You Need for Startup Growth
Home When I typed “entrepreneurial skills” in good old google on my trusted desktop, I immediately got 674,000,000 hits. When I reviewed some of these
How To Really Skyrocket Your Confidence Before You Speak
Home “Always try to build your confidence before you speak, girlfriend!” I warned quietly. “Go from around me with your public speaking BS!” Julia replied
6 Easy Steps to Begin Your Personal & Professional Development
Home “Auntie! I’m ready to jumpstart my personal and professional development!” This was the last thing I expected to hear when I took a call
8 Simple Ways to Support Your Guest Speaker
Home You’ve just been elected Chair of the Events Planning Committee of your Old Scholars Association and you are indeed honoured. However, before you can catch your breath,
Small Budget? How To Still Get The Best Employee Training!
Home “Employee Training for my team? Did I hear you correctly? Sweetheart, I’m barely making payroll!” That was the response I got from a small
New Employee Orientation: How to do it in 3 focused phases
Home “Mummy! You have to come over here and tell these people about new employee orientation, PLEASE!” I can still remember the agony in my
What Is The #1 Barrier Really Stopping Your Self Development?
Home I am done with self development…you declare to the world at large! And you really do mean it. After all, you spent close to
How to Easily Stop Poor Service Ruining Your Retail Store
Home This is not why you set up your small retail store! Not to constantly make poor sales… You take off your glasses and rub
Really Unlock Funding: Avoid These 11 Risky Business Plan Errors
Home Business plan errors…there seems to be no avoiding them! You see, a well-written business plan requires the writer (if it’s not you, the entrepreneur)
7 Simple Ways You Can Build Successful Business Relationships
Home Some of you just don’t get it. Business relationships are critical to your success. Especially as a Small Business Owner. So why don’t you actively build
In Retail?6 Easy Ways to Keep A Positive Cash Flow
Home Cash Flow…When you think of it, what comes to mind? Simply put, cash flow is the amount of money flowing into your business (revenue/sales)
Big Contract: Is The Money Worth It For Small Business?
Home It’s every small business owner, consultant and entrepreneur’s dream: A Big contract for their small business. What am I talking about? You know…that large
Fear of Public Speaking? Smart People Beat it in 3 Easy Steps
Home Fear of public speaking? Who? Me? Yes you! Picture this You’re at the top of your game and you have to present a proposal
The Best Way For You to Learn How to Speak Impromptu
Home How many times have you wished you knew how to speak impromptu? Does the following scenario seem all too familiar to you? You’re at
10 Reasons Public Speaking Is Important For Business Owners
Home Since I’ve shared so many aspects of Public Speaking with you, if you’re now thinking that there must be many reasons public speaking is important, then
Self-employed? 25 Realities You Need to Embrace for Success
Home So…you’ve started that business. And whatever you call yourself, you’re finally self-employed. Congratulations! you’ve have joined the approximately 582 million entrepreneurs around the globe who are
Entrepreneurial Couples: 8 Ways to Work Together & Stay Together
Home Entrepreneurial Couples! I’m sure millions of couples across the globe take on this challenge all the time. After all, what could be greater than
7 Steps to Help You Deliver An Amazing Persuasive Speech
Home “Yes Lorna! I really want to learn how to deliver a Top-Level Persuasive Speech!” Standing before me, making this declaration, with so much conviction,
How to be Successful? 12 Ways to Master The #1 Success Factor
Home How to be successful at anything? You could ask my Grandmother but she’s no longer with us. But you’re still in luck. When I turned
Why Is Coaching Now One of The Most Powerful Business Tools?
Home “Coaching!? You are an idiot! This is not a football game, this is a workplace! Whew! This onslaught was the result of a gentle
How To Break Established Rules So You Can Really Win
Home Okay…I admit. I know how to break the rules. But I am not alone. We have all broken rules at some point in our
Non-paying Clients? 7 Easy Ways You Can Fix That!
Home They’re out there…Non-paying clients or customers. And it seems like they’re just waiting to prey on small business owners and entrepreneurs like you. Increasingly,
12 Strategies to Easily Deliver A Really Great Team Presentation
Home You have no choice. You do have to organise a team presentation. Let me remind you how you got there. Because of your networking skills, you
7 ways to Unlock More Of Your Revenue With Great Customer Service
Home I know You. You are a frustrated Service Provider who believes you’re offering great customer service to your clients. Yet your clients appear to be ungrateful, demanding
10 Effective Communication Skills That Make A Big Difference
Home From business to business, workplace to workplace, Small Business Owner to Small Business Owner, they all had the same nagging problem. Poor or lack
How to Make a Budget Guaranteed to Get The Results You Want!
Home Make a budget…don’t forget to make a budget… How many times have you been given this advice, whether you asked for it or not?
Marketing A Service? 10 Wrong Beliefs You Need to Ditch to Win!
Home I can always tell when you’re having a particular problem out there. For example, marketing a service. 1 or 2 people, in a meeting somewhere,
7 Great Tips For Practicing Your Speech to Wow Your Audience
Home Look at you! You’ve overcome your glossophobia and you’ve accepted an invitation to be the guest speaker at the Secret Society of Persons Dedicated to Watching Paint
How to Love Your Business And Really Grow Your Bottom Line!
Home Love your business! Yes YOU, Ms Entrepreneur! And YOU Mr Business Man! Love your Business! Am I Crazy? Nooo but I AM serious. Think
7 Super Networking Tips That Will Actually Get You Business!
Home “I HAVE to share some networking tips fast”…I thought to myself as my eyes were riveted to the cocktail scene before me. In the
Business Flexibility: 6 Ways to Embrace Its Competitive Advantage
Home In a world which makes it so easy for us to be flexible, I am still amazed how elusive business flexibility can be for
How to Easily Reduce Information Overload in 5 Proven Steps
Home “I’m suffering from information overload! Help! Lorna help!” The voice screeched in my ear… I held the phone at arm’s length from my ear
Employee Recognition: 10 Simple, Budget-friendly Ways to Do It
Home “Employee recognition? I want to do that but I can’t afford it!” Declared my favourite client. And he’s not alone. “I can’t afford it!”
How to Write a Mission Statement in 5 Easy, Proven Steps
Home “How to write a mission statement…?” Do you find yourself pondering this question, especially right after you read another one that makes you go: “Wha
How to Use The Meeting Agenda to Your Advantage
Home I sat at my desk and waited for the call I know would come. I was not disappointed. “Lorna…You coming to the meeting? “You
Personal Development: Top 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Early
Home “What are the top five questions to ask yourself when working on personal development?” Just last night when I checked my email, I realized
How To Introduce A Speaker Like A boss (No-fail Template!)
Home I’m just asking…what would you do if you had to introduce a speaker, let’s say at your big Product Launch or your next PTA
Strong Core Values: How to Select Them to Unleash Your Business Growth
Home Real quick now…no pondering, no guessing, no googling or reflecting…Gimme the top 7 core values which are in your values set! Look at you!
How to Find The Money Sweet Spot in Your Leadership Context
Home “Unique Leadership Context? Wha you coming wid now? That was the response I got when I asked my group of small business leaders if
4 Unusual Ways A Work Routine Can Actually Save Your Sanity
Home Depending on a work routine? Who me? The Queen of Creativity? Yeah…I know…I couldn’t believe it myself, either. But I, Moi, the great “keep it
Assertiveness Skills: How To Use Them To Be Confident And Strong
Home For a long time in my life, I was completely unaware that there was any other way to behave except passive or aggressive. Assertiveness
From Good to Outstanding: How to Be Great in 5 Simple Steps
Home So…What does outstanding look like? Outstanding is when you figure out how to do what you’re already doing, but in such a way, that
Good Advice For Growth: 20 Obvious Things To Stop Doing Now!
Home Good advice for growth is always best when it comes from someone’s personal experience. And when that person is someone you know or have
How To Reduce Employee Turnover In 8 Unusual, Affordable Ways
Home Employee turnover, in its simplest form, refers to the number of employees that leave you business and have to be replaced, in a given
11 Smart Strategies For Small Businesses to Get Hiring Right!
Home There is no getting around it…many small businesses cannot seem to be able to get hiring right. Here’s an example of how bad the
6 Unusual Signs of Business Incompetence You Need to Know
Home Business incompetence is like a global epidemic. And like any true epidemic, while it is widespread, there are pockets of higher concentration in certain
Avoid Poor Training Results: 8 Low Budget Strategies For Success
Home I understand your frustration with poor training results…I really do. You have limited cash flow but you would love to train your staff. At
How to Develop a Scalable Business Model (Free Template Inside)
Home What is a Business Model? No…I’m not playing 20 questions with you…I’m actually having a conversation with you and I really want you to
Building teams? Discover 7 Proven Ways Not to Fail
Home If you are between the ages of 15 and 70 and you have not heard how important building teams is for business, please step off
New Supervisor? How to Conquer The Envy and be Successful
Home Congratulations! Three months ago, you were promoted…you’re the new supervisor. And you’re proud of yourself because you worked long and hard for it and
How To Choose a Great Business Mentor Every Time
How To Choose A Great Business Mentor Every Time Home “Why is it that people continue to treat having a Business Mentor as just the
11 Unusual Ways to Ensure Participants Engage in Training
Home When my participants, especially your employees, engage in training…I mean fully engage, I am over the moon! Not only because I love training, but also
How To Expertly Handle Questions After Your Speech
Home At my recently held successful workshop “Public Speaking for Everyday Business People” when we were discussing fears around public speaking, one participant emphatically replied “how to handle questions after
The Exit Interview: How to Make It A Really Useful Process
Home The exit interview…you have heard of it, haven’t you? You haven’t? lucky you! But it is that interview that businesses, mostly big but some
5 Actionable Ways to Build Lasting Trust In Business
Home It is an undeniable fact that trust in business matters. After all, people do business with people they know, like and trust. Yet in
How to Write Business Proposals That Win Clients Every Time
Home Raise your hand if you hate writing business proposals. Yeah…I thought there would be that many of you… And to make matters worse, you
7 Cost-free Strategies to Grow Your Business Fast!
Home “Do you know you can grow your business fast without money?” “Really? Money Talks! And when times are bad, it’s the only conversation worth
How to Make A Winning First Impression In Business
Home I understand the importance of making a winning first impression. Even more important, I know that when you want to make a big impact