Do you have a Mighty Cause you champion outside of your career? Perhaps your Mighty Cause is integrated into your work? For me, helping entrepreneurs and small business owners grow their revenues, and helping nonprofits grow funds IS my professional career and main cause.

Whether you volunteer as a Big Sister or Big Brother, donate to charity events, or make donations online, you need to know that many not-for-profits (in particular the smaller ones) don’t often think like a business – which can cause a lot of struggle, stress, and lower operating dollars.

When I say to “think like a business” – I mean that good non-profits need MORE money coming in than going out – first and foremost. Here are a few other points to think about – and talk to your favorite cause to make sure they are maximizing their time and efforts:

- They need to contact their constituents more than just when you want something from them

- They need to set goals and objectives working off of a mission and vision for the charity

- They need to clearly state who they are and build their brand to gain more supporters

- They need good tax and financial advice so their efforts won’t be in vein

- They need to work on donor retention as well as finding new donors on an ongoing basis

- They need a solid board of advisers or directors

What cause do you champion? If it is not a huge non-profit, are there ways they could be more effective and manage their funds better? Why not offer your ideas to them and help them grow?

Post your thoughts – it will help others.

I’m in Austin today and heading to Dallas tomorrow to give talk at a leadership conference on communication and presentation. My big point, and theme for the talk is built around George Bernard Shaw’s quote,

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

Think about it. All communication challenges stem from this.  We think we have communicated, and the other party did not receive it well, did not even receive it, put on their own filter, didn’t like what they heard so are responding accordingly, or some other issue.

We need better checks and balances when it comes to communication. Some ideas for starters:

Ask people the best way to reach them and the best times to reach them. Anyone under 30 is typically texting (almost exclusively) and many over 45 either rarely text (just to their kids, usually) or occasionally do.

Some people want instant information, others don’t want to hear from you over the weekend if it is business-related.

Many clients respond well to emails – but some still prefer the telephone. Meet them where they are – as long as it is effective for both of you.

I met up with amazing digital strategist and PR maven Nettie Hartsock while here in Austin. For several reasons in and  out of my control I was running way late, and thought I had her cell phone but it was her office number. I wondered if she’d see a tweet or an email – not knowing if she had a smart phone. Ultimately, she emailed me with her cell phone number and we did meet up – but I felt that was something I definitely should have had together prior to that day.

Today I’m meeting another amazing colleague – and yes, I have three phone numbers to reach her at, including her cell phone. I’m ready. Are you?

What areas could you clean up your communication? Post your thoughts – we’ll push them out to the world.

How do you communicate?

When I was in my 20’s I went river rafting for the first time. I didn’t go on just any-old river for my first time, but instead went on a river that had from Class III to Class V rapids in the Pacific Northwest.

It was such a crazy trip, even our guide fell into the rapids! You know that is bad when your leader is down. I was scared.  She was our leader, and the rest of us were strangers – and none of us had any experience at all. What a trip that was.

At one point, when our guide was back in the boat, we went through a particularly rocky part of the trip.

“OK, you guys – nobody fall in here!!” she exclaimed, as we all wrapped our suddenly stronger legs under the inflated sides of the boat. I don’t think I ever held on tighter to anything in life.

Some folks I’m talking to these days have been on a very rocky ride keeping their small business afloat – restaurants and retailers have changed up how they are doing business. Higher end products have had big sale offerings, and lower priced lines of clothing and other “nice to have” products have been rolled out to keep dollars rolling in.

Now is not the time to fall out of this boat – wrap your feet around the sides – get good guidance, and you will find a way to make it.

Lori Richardson is on a “Small Business Innovation” tour around the U.S. and parts of Canada. If you know of a town she should visit, or a local expert she can co-present with, drop her a note. Set your big audacious goals and post them for the world to see – then take action on them. More on Lori and the tour at Small Biz Innovators.

Having been contracted to find the “top” auto dealerships in five markets, it makes me curious to hear others comment on “what makes a great auto dealership?” It would be interesting to learn who your favorite auto dealership is for any of these categories:

- top dealer from a revenue standpoint: who is the most successful dealership in your market?

- top dealer you prefer to work with: have you purchased multiple autos from them?

- top dealer from an ethical standpoint: community leader, low employee turnover, great dealer principal leadership

- one you’ve heard about for years

It’s funny you can’t find a list of these dealers (at least I haven’t found one) – even regional lists -  the markets I’m most interested in are: New England (Boston, CT, Providence, Upstate NY);  Las Vegas / Nevada; Bay Area, CA; Seattle / Pacific NW; and “other” – to be determined. Any dealer comments are of value though.

Personally, I’ve been fascinated with auto dealerships for years based on the low numbers of women sales professionals (still) that I read about – so for bonus points, I’d love to hear additionally about dealerships that have solved that issue and have a mix of sales professionals on staff – men and women. Not just one lone woman or “we used to have a woman” – where are the auto dealers that have more than one woman in sales on staff? [this could be a totally different answer than my first question - but somehow I suspect they might be connected.]

Your comments needed! Wherever you live, please report back on the best auto dealerships you know of – regardless of where they are. Send a link to their site and I’ll post a list once I’ve collected responses. You can reply here, or email me at lori (at) score more sales (dot) com. Thanks for your help on this one!!

Many small businesses who are building (or coming back in a recession) don’t make time to take smart, basic steps to protect their business. I’ll share two of the big ones: creating non-compete and non-disclosure agreements as well as creating specific contracts with vendors and clients.

1. Entrepreneur Angela Jia Kim of Savor the Success says it all – about NDA’s – see her video.

2. No matter how much you like someone or even if they are friends and acquaintances, do not offer to do business with them – especially if you are a services provider – until you have a written and signed agreement between you.  I can say from experience – gaining a breakthrough idea over a meal and shaking hands on it with someone is JUST the first step. Next draft it out, AND create all of the “what if” scenarios should the client relationship, or vendor relationship discontinue.  It can literally cost you a market niche or multi-thousands of dollars if you cut corners.

Better yet, hire an attorney to help you draft your documents.  Then, USE them – every time!

It was truly delightful to see the post that very successful business-building author and speaker Bob Burg created about something he calls a pre-apology.  He explains it better than I will, so be sure to check out his post, then come back here.

I have gotten into numerous discussions and even a heated argument about using an apology in the course of doing business over the years.

“Never say you’re sorry – it’s a sign of weakness,” I was told by several of my corporate technology sales managers and CEOs.

“Women apologize, men just plow through,” said one of my alpha-male colleagues many times.

The funny thing is that I never did listen to them. Call me hard-headed, but even in my early twenties, I somehow was learning about empathy and how showing a little can absolutely change a situation from negative to very positive almost instantly. I have said “I’m sorry” in a pre-apology form as well as a plain old apology form for many years. It’s part of who I am, and so while Bob mentions it as an approach, for me it is just part of the fabric of my being, and others whose style I respect. Here’s why:

When you say “I’m sorry” it takes nothing away from you – nothing. It is not a sign of weakness – it is an olive branch.  The minute you show some empathy toward someone you have opened the door to a solution. Here is an example:

In retail, frustrated people come in with broken things or what they feel are broken promises. Instead of matching their frustrated stance, simply saying, “you sound frustrated” after they begin talking – can set them aback.

It’s like blowing someone a kiss after they flip you the bird when on the road. Try it! (ok, a bit different, but you are not matching anger with anger – will talk more about that sometime)

I’ve used the apology and the pre-apology in business situations and in heated family situations numerous times.

In his post, Bob references the saying,

A mighty person is one who can control their emotions and make, of an enemy, a friend. – from the Talmud

I’d challenge you simply to try this out – an approach perhaps – or which for me, is the only way to be. Post what happens, or send me a note at Score More Sales.

Logo represents health, revenue, innovation, and giving back

As sometimes is the case, great projects take more time to get off the ground than most of us plan on. Writing a book, building a house, or creating a great website can take a lot more time than expected.

I’m pleased to offer an update on my tour to meet business owners around the country (and a few Canadian stops) so here goes:

The tour has “tweaked” itself a bit – becoming one of 50 business events – from small in-person stops to 300 attendee engagements to 100 attendee webinars. By the end of 2010, there will be at least 50 of them. We are up to 20 and counting. (A complete rundown will be available here shortly.)

A brand new blog will be launched by the great firm, BeyondUs. They are putting final touches on it and I’ll be announcing that hopefully this week. Two new sponsors are coming on board – very excited to announce that soon as well. I’m next off to Las Vegas on June 22 , where I hope to meet up with Chris Voss, the social media machine. I want to know if he is a real person or four (or more). His creates incredible amounts of helpful and great content about social media.

Next will be the glorious San Juan Islands, then Dallas, Austin, and the Bay Area. I’m looking for local small business innovators – if you are one or know of one, contact me through the Score More Sales website.

As for the other goals I have set for this year (involving assisting non-profits to raise funds – that is happening… and my health goal now has been modified to “50 minutes outside every day”.  Will update on each of these shortly. How are your goals going?