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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
Do You Have a Succession Plan In Place?
You're open for business, dressed for success and business is good. You've planned your company's day-to-day operations with budgets, flowcharts, key staff and contact lists. You have all the right people in place. But are you really prepared? Have you prepared for crisis management and is there a recovery plan in place?
You're open for business, dressed for success and business is good. You've planned your company's day-to-day operations with budgets, flowcharts, key staff and contact lists. You have all the right people in place. But are you really prepared? Have you prepared for crisis management and is there a recovery plan in place?
Although natural disasters are the most obvious and dramatic, such as Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Gustav or the burning fires in Southern California or the deadly floods of the Midwest, companies should be prepared to resume business after a natural disaster, theft or the loss of a key manager.
Do you have a succession plan? A succession plan policy is a tool to help an organization prepare for planned or unplanned absences of the director, clarifying authority and decision-making and thereby maintaining accountability and ensuring stability. What steps would you take to transfer the business to a key employee or the next generation? It is a process of determining critical roles within a company. Failure to have a succession plan in place can cause monetary loss or worse, the loss of your business.
Succession planning includes:
Choosing your successor – this can be a key employee or a family member
Create a formal training plan – consider the critical functions of your business and train your successor in each of those functions to ensure he / she is ready to take on the new responsibility
Set a timeline – decide when you want to retire and set goals leading to your retirement. If you are in a natural disaster, make sure your plan includes steps to cover this.
After Hurricane Katrina catastrophe, I talked to several small business owners who lost their entire business; customer records, equipment, inventory and property. To make matters worse, some of them didn’t have their computer files backed up or a plan to relocate to a temporary facility so that their business would resume to some degrees. This was devastating! A local business owner died suddenly and neither his wife nor employees had a clue of how to run the business. Don’t be caught without a succession plan!
To learn more about creating a succession plan, read, ‘Succession Planning 101.’
Sunday, April 19, 2009
How Do YOU Handle Change
How well do you handle change as an entrepreneur? Change can be sometime difficult, especially if you weren’t expecting it. The most successful entrepreneurs not only embrace change, they actively seek it out knowing that greater fulfillment, success and growth is obtained when you can adapt to an ever changing market.
So, what do you do if you experience change in your business or personal life?
As a former business owner, I remember having to deal with a few situations where I needed to make quick and fast decisions. Though frustrating, I was able to evaluate the situations and make sound business decisions based on my evaluations. By doing this, I made a positive change in my operations which benefited my company and employees.
Some business owners find it difficult to adjust to change. Older business owners are reluctant to adapt to new technology or even new internal changes that could help increase sales and growth. As a project director and business consultant, I have witnessed many small business owners who were reluctant to change. For example, one client writes his invoices by hand instead of investing in software such as QuickBooks to manage his business.
Do you think he could benefit from making a few changes in the way he handles invoicing?
Perhaps you've grown from a one-person office to managing a staff of five or maybe one of your largest clients just announced that they no longer need your services. Whether large or small, sudden or planned, change is change!
To your business success,
Sylvia
So, what do you do if you experience change in your business or personal life?
As a former business owner, I remember having to deal with a few situations where I needed to make quick and fast decisions. Though frustrating, I was able to evaluate the situations and make sound business decisions based on my evaluations. By doing this, I made a positive change in my operations which benefited my company and employees.
Some business owners find it difficult to adjust to change. Older business owners are reluctant to adapt to new technology or even new internal changes that could help increase sales and growth. As a project director and business consultant, I have witnessed many small business owners who were reluctant to change. For example, one client writes his invoices by hand instead of investing in software such as QuickBooks to manage his business.
Do you think he could benefit from making a few changes in the way he handles invoicing?
Perhaps you've grown from a one-person office to managing a staff of five or maybe one of your largest clients just announced that they no longer need your services. Whether large or small, sudden or planned, change is change!
To your business success,
Sylvia
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Start or Grow Your Business Even in a Bad Economy
A fragile economy doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad time to launch a new business or expand an existing company. Prospective entrepreneurs and small business owners should take some extra precaution and soul-searching before making any big decision.A recent segment of the Today Show talked about entrepreneurship, specifically, how many individuals are beginning to start businesses in response to a fragile economy and job market. It also featured a small business owner who after being layed-off from her corporate job, turned her hobby into a thriving business. To view the video, click here.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, in March 2009, the number of unemployed persons increased by 694,000 to 13.2 million, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent. With the rise in unemployment, many driven individuals find themselves without jobs and are forced to find creative solutions to their economic pressures.
If you have a business idea, by all means, research and find out if it has the potential to be a viable and profitable business venture. Take the time to find resources available to assist you in this process. The following sites will give you invaluable information on business planning:
A huge online directory with over 200 directories in PDF. www.sba.gov
This is a link to SCORE's toolkit. http://www.score.org/business_toolbox.html or
http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html
The IRS provides a checklist for business start up. www.irs.gov/businesses
This site has articles and links. www.inc.com
This is an online workshop. www.myownbusiness.org/course.html
As an entrepreneur, you are constantly looking for ways to get your business name in front of potential clients. Here are four quick tips to help you market and grow your business:
Know your target market
It is important to know who your customers are. I have talked to entrepreneurs who wanted to sell their products or services to everybody. No business can be all things to all people. Not only is this inefficient, but it’s ineffective!
Create a Marketing Plan – Revisit it Often!
Every small business should have a marketing plan. It is an essential tool to any successful business. A marketing plan helps you to map out how you plan to attract and attain customers. By having an effective marketing plan, you are able to boost your sales and increase your profits.
Use the Internet - Low to No Cost Marketing
Many businesses, small and large, use the internet to market and grow their businesses.
This is a link to SCORE's toolkit. http://www.score.org/business_toolbox.html or
http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html
The IRS provides a checklist for business start up. www.irs.gov/businesses
This site has articles and links. www.inc.com
This is an online workshop. www.myownbusiness.org/course.html
As an entrepreneur, you are constantly looking for ways to get your business name in front of potential clients. Here are four quick tips to help you market and grow your business:
Know your target market
It is important to know who your customers are. I have talked to entrepreneurs who wanted to sell their products or services to everybody. No business can be all things to all people. Not only is this inefficient, but it’s ineffective!
Create a Marketing Plan – Revisit it Often!
Every small business should have a marketing plan. It is an essential tool to any successful business. A marketing plan helps you to map out how you plan to attract and attain customers. By having an effective marketing plan, you are able to boost your sales and increase your profits.
Use the Internet - Low to No Cost Marketing
Many businesses, small and large, use the internet to market and grow their businesses.
- Start writing a blog regularly. This can help you to establish credibility as an expert in your industry. Two free blog services that I am familiar with are www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.com.
- Create a monthly e-newsletter. This allows you to market to your client on a regular basis. You can send clients updates on upcoming sales or give them relevant tips to help them. I am familiar with and use Constant Contact, www.constantcontact.com. Always research and compare price and services of similar companies.
Network, Network, Network!
I can’t stress how important networking is for your business! If you want people to know about your business, then you must get out and talk to them. There are many opportunities to network your business. Chamber meetings, professional associations, conferences or trade shows are types of venues that business professionals gather.
Yes, these are trying times, and though it is easy to buy into the doom and gloom, aspiring entrepreneurs should continue to pursue their business ideas and small business owners should take aggressive steps to successfully grow their businesses.
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