“I left my first meeting with Grant and Marla knowing 2 things without a doubt: 1) Kindness and generosity are at the forefront of every interaction they have, and 2) I needed to be part of the Nextra team" (Jordan - Nextra Team Member) 

Generosity and humility are two of our core values at Nextra. We believe in their power and strive to live them out in our professional and personal lives every day. We have been on the receiving end of much generosity and humility and we remember how good and thankful it made us feel. We want people to experience that feeling when they interact with us.  

Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. And it is so true. Generosity and humility are expressions of kindness. Did you know studies have linked kindness to physical and emotional health? They’ve discovered kindness lowers levels of stress hormones, leaves people feeling less lonely and happier. The...

Customers evolve. The customers you had when you first started your business are not the same kind that you have now. Their needs and wants change and you need to be changing with them. 

In The New Gold Standard, author Joseph Michelli takes you on an exclusive tour behind the scenes of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Through unprecedented access, he uncovered principles they use that all business owners can implement. Things like:

• Understanding the ever-evolving needs of customers
• Empowering employees by treating them with the utmost respect
• Anticipating customers' unexpressed needs and concerns
• Developing and conducting an unsurpassed training regimen 

Throughout the book Michelli shares engaging stories from the company's employees--from the corporate office and hotels around the globe. He describes innovative methods the company uses to create peerless guest experiences and explains how it constantly hones and improves them. 

The New Gold Standard integrates practical ho...

As you move into the very busy spring season, it’s crucial that you as the owner be organized. 

Over the years I have tried different tools and strategies and have a few I’ve come to love and use regularly. Click the link below/ the resources link in our bio for my list of go to tips and tools.

• Always keep a notebook handy - Evernote is my preferred digital notebook. https://evernote.com/
• Use a planner. It doesn’t matter if that’s paper or digital, just make sure it’s being updated on the go so that appointments and meetings are not being missed. I love using Calendly for appointments. If you’re using paper - I would recommend the Michael Hyatt Full Focus Planner. https://fullfocusstore.com/
• Set a morning routine and stick to it. When you do the same thing every morning, it removes the decision-making from that part of your day. This allows you to save your decision-making energy for the business and avoid decision fatigue
• Work with a coach to help scale your business in a susta...

Do you train, motivate and protect your staff like they're the greatest asset you have in your business? 

You put so much work into finding the best people for the job and then training them. But don't assume the team development work ends when their job starts. If you hire an employee and then never speak to them again, you are wasting time, money and potential talent. It creates a  work culture that feels like "come and go" and can lead to high turnover & poor morale.

Here are a few tips to ensure that’s not the case in your business:

• Training is the foundation that will set the tone moving forward. Take the time to share the company's mission and the role they play in that bigger vision.
• Keep morale high among your staff so that you get the best work out of every employee.
• Invest in staff from the beginning and you will have experienced and confident team members to grow with your organization. 
• Develop a career ladder with each employee to allow you to help them achieve the...

Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy, is a book about living on purpose. It’s about making a plan for what you want your life to look like instead of drifting through life in reaction mode.

“The average person spends 5 hours researching and shopping for a new car. The average bride-to-be spends 40 days planning a three-hour wedding. However, the average person never spends 1 day planning his or her life.”

Growth and development as a business owner is crucial because success doesn’t just happen. It takes time, goals, direction and a plan to get there.

My thoughts on Living Forward:

1. It’s a step by step guide to building a life plan for your personal and business life instead of drifting through your life.
2. A great read to compete on a vacation or a couple of day sabbatical where you have time to read and reflect on who you are and where you want to go with purpose.
3. To achieve great things in your life you need a...

"When you make a gift all about you, it's not a gift. Gifts are meant to be all about the recipient, from the timing to the personalization of the gift itself. When it's all about you and your company, it shows a lack of genuine appreciation for the recipient.”

So often in business the idea of generosity is believed to be a waste of money but John Ruhlin, author of Giftology, shares that it’s actually the opposite. During the short read you will find practical ways you can give back as an owner. John shares the do’s and don'ts of gift giving in an easy-to-understand and implement way - it takes time and effort to gift well.

Some tips:

• DO make sure the gift is not about you, the giver, but about the person receiving the gift
• DO make sure the gift is personal 
• DON’T brand the gift to your company
• DO budget how much you want to spend on gifts

Reading Giftology has made me take time to really consider the recipient and what would be special to them. This requires knowing enough ...

Employees who feel like they are in the know at work are happier and more engaged. A lot of us have heard this before, yet most business owners still do not feel comfortable sharing the numbers and real time status updates with their staff. Jack Stack, author of The Great Game of Business, did the complete opposite and it paid off.

What did he do? He introduced a concept known as the open book management operating system. It’s a system built on sharing business and financial information with employees so that everyone is informed about the status and goals of the business and how their contribution directly impacts the company as a whole. It will completely change the way you look at business and it can really be summed up by doing 3 things:

1. EDUCATE all employees about business in straightforward and easy to understand terms using the analogy of playing a game. 
2. EMPOWER them to use that education to make business decisions
3. ENGAGE employees to drive business success by rewarding t...