The beauty of the policy.  This is one of those things that has been so important for me to learn.  I think I finally have it now, so I wanted to share it with you.  

I believe that there are two types of businesses.  The type that functions and the type that thrives.  I'm slowly learning that within those businesses, it is the policies that are driving the business.  Policies aren't just rules, guidelines or things to hit the customer with in order to be a hard ass.  

There's actually a deeper principle and meaning behind policies that completely shape your business and what you are able to do or not do within it. 

For an abstract analogy...when you are building your business, your policies are like the veins that run through the body of your business.  It is what pumps everything into action and keeps it all connected together both within your system and through your customers.

Now, back to reality.  Generally speaking, policies allow for you to have the good people come in and keep out the bad ones.  Let me use this as an example.  I have a policy that all of my customers have to provide a down payment.  It's reasonable and I build trust first before payments are made.  I do this because it is a symbol that I can trust them to invest in my services.  

I made a huge mistake a couple of weeks ago.  I was asked to write website content for a customer.  I had personally known them for over a year.  While I still went through my general contract, I slipped on getting the down payment.  The project went from bad to worse.  I had to stop the project and wait for the payment to come through.  What happened was that the mind set of the customer was lost and it became difficult to communicate the project, mostly because he didn't feel like he had time to care.  This all happened because that simple policy is not used just for money, but also for respect and awareness.  If I slip with it, or if a customer slips in acknowledging it, it's all down hill.  The respect and awareness for the project is magically missing.

The policies that we are given for our businesses aren't just there to be there.  It demands respect, partnership and openness to communicate from all sides.  When one slips on them, like I did, all of that is lost and it's a huge business problem until it is fixed again - if it can be.    

That's not saying that you can't set up different policies for customers that you know will work differently within your system.  But, have something there to support you when you are making transactions is SO important and can not be underestimated.  

So, my lesson that I've learned and am sharing with you... your best policy is to have policies and to stick to them like your life depends on it...because your business...does. 

For professionals and amateurs alike, there always seems to be some sort of mysterious process that goes into writing.  It's not one that is just about what type of thing you are writing, how it is being done or what takes place when it is in print.  

The process of writing is more than just putting words together.  It's not like the term papers where anything goes (sorry teachers, but you know that you let kids slack a little sometimes).  What I'm talking about is professional writing, where it takes a new level of effort in order to get it to work correctly and to be tweaked exactly right.  That's the difference between really letting your customers in the front door or just keeping them at a distance.  That's what the process of writing means.  

At a very basic level, you have the writing inspiration.  It's probably hit each and every one of us at some point - to write a book about our lives or our dogs or something that we can't get out of our head that is coming from somewhere.  I get into that frame of mind so much that most of the time, the inspiration is usually a simple phrase that I can't get out of my head.  

My suggestion after that point is to go for it.  There is nothing like making a mess out of words, tearing them apart and putting them together.  It's fun, beautiful and nothing beats it.  

That's when the when happens - after the writing's done.  The real process begins.  

That's right, I'm talking about editing.  However, unlike most think, editing is more than flipping around a couple of words, changing information and saying it's not quite right.  The process, craft and art of editing is truly getting into the meaning of what needs to be said and what the atmosphere of the piece is.  It's thinking about what the writing needs to be, and making the changes later.  I emphasize thinking because it takes more than a first reaction to really figure out what works and what doesn't.

Along those lines, here's a great story.  I heard of a client who went to a writer and asked to edit some things that had been written before.  The very next sentence from the client was that they actually hadn't read the piece yet.  I think it's funny, because the art of editing can't work unless there is a certain level of understanding of what the writing is really about.  The client talked to the writer for over a half an hour, but no changes could be made to the writing, because everything was contradicted or actually had been done. What was needed was to step back, think and really figure out how to craft the whole thing together.

Editing is reaching perfection in writing and making sure that the communication is absolutely clear.  If you have another writer for you, this is really the time to show that you understand and respect the inspiration that has been reached and work constructively in the tweaking process.  I always ask my customers to take a good week to really look over the piece, reflect over it and see what is needed.  The inspiration and major footwork should be done from the beginning.  Now, it's time to see how exactly the words will help you shine.

In fact, I will even move to say that editing is the real inspiration of any good piece of writing.  The persistence to reach the best state of perfection is definitely something that can only come from a place of honesty, integrity and vision about what words mean to you and what is being represented.

So, what are you doing after the writing's done?  Are you allowing yourself to be inspired?

As I move into my own business, trying to decide how to handle the ins and outs, I am also waking up to several facts about what business is and what it means. As I continue to deal with customers and what they are becoming as a business, I am realizing that business is not what it is supposed to be. In fact, the entire concept of commerce has been completely lost.

To move into the spiritual basis of business, business is supposed to be a trade. It is supposed to be an area where one set of services or products that come from a highly skilled professional and qualified set of individuals are supported by an individual who needs those highly qualified services or products. In return, the business is rewarded with some type of wealth. I mean wealth because it is not always money. Trading and bartering used to be a common way for businesses to support each others commerce. There are several ways to reach wealth in a business, not always by a green piece of paper. (more about that later).

Trade and business has quickly moved into the ability to support others trades and businesses and into something that is opposite of what that is. Making a million, gaining wealth or throwing up what the latest rage is are all signs of the mental disease of business. It's not about supporting commerce – it's about making money.

The more businesses continue to operate this way, the more problems there will be with greed and corruption in the work place on every level, from employees feeling trapped in positions to uncovering of individuals stifling money out of their own system. Even things such as lack of quality in items to identity theft or a specific result of businesses not moving into positions because of their knowledge, but instead because of their desire for money.

I call this the disease of American business. Greed. It's that simple one word. Business owners are addicted to it, they will treat each other badly because of it and they will loose all common sense and reasoning in order to play for it. It's often times called “the business game” in which individuals have to loose their money, valued time and energy in order to keep getting it. Not only will they do that, but they won't stop until they humiliate and break down another person's soul. It happens at all levels, and a large majority of business owners today have the symptoms.

This idea isn't an attack on businesses or business owners. There are still several individuals who are sincere with their interactions with customers and within the entity of their business. However, if the business disease continues to be supported, it will also continue to grow. As long as we keep shopping for low quality and operating our businesses because it is the “latest fad” or because we want money, we are supporting the disease and bringing it into our own lives.

The question is: how are you making your business transactions?

Hey!  Have you caught your shooting star yet?

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I don't know how many of you have noticed, but the idea of owning a business is becoming incredibly different than it was even 10 years ago.  The Internet, alternate and untraditional methods of marketing and organizing a business are bursting into the business-sphere.  

Being a business in the stars means having the capabilities to build an idea and business different than the traditional methods.  That doesn't just mean one area of traditional methods, but all of them.  Business is being done differently.  You can either choose the traditional route, or you can choose to jump into the stars!

Orion Information Services was built with the understanding of non-traditional methods used for building a business.  I'm not just talking about marketing.  I'm talking about the nuts and bolts of how a business functions, what it needs and what it is striving to become.  It's about taking the small steps to reach the huge goals.

Because I understand what it means to build a business organically and from the ground up with alternate methods of reaching goals, I also can offer this to businesses that need something a little bit different.  When I say that I help businesses reach the stars, that's exactly what I mean. 

I look at the business from the top down, see what the goals are and see how to reach them.  Orion Information Services has been built off of helping to reach those goals as well as to provide the steps in between that can help businesses get to the stars themselves.  That's the little stuff and the big stuff, with the support that is needed from several different perspectives.  

So, if you have a business that you want to reach the stars, let's connect!  Contact Brooke at info@orion-services.biz or check out our website at www.orion-services.biz.  

Here's to reaching the stars!