Many people have innovative ideas about products or services that they believe would be accepted by the consuming public. Anyone with a creative bone in their body can see a need and develop an interest in filling that need.
Seeing the need and coming up with the solution are the easy pieces of starting a business. Bringing that idea to reality is a different story because it involves a total commitment to addressing the identified need.
The story that comes to mind is the level of commitment involved in fixing bacon and eggs for breakfast.
The chicken has an interest in the meal, contributing an egg or two. The pig is totally committed to the meal.
What we suggest to the entrepreneurial spirit is to seek the counsel of those who have expertise outside your own. Barely one of every 50 business ideas is found to be commercially viable, so it's important to learn whether your "interest" is worth the total commitment required to bring the product or service to market.
You can save, time, money, and heartache by discovering whether the project is feasible before investing a lot of time and effort. Start out like the chicken.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Passion For Customers
The purpose for your business stems from the passion you had for your business idea. What business owners often fail to realize is that this purpose - passion, if you will - is what drives the service provided to customers.
Yes, customer service is about passion!
As a business owner, it is essential you convey your passion to your employees. Networking with a business coach last night, he was telling the story of a business owner who was lackadaisical about his business venture. The coach asked him if he was passionate about his business. The answer: "I guess so." Wrong answer! Passion needs to exude from every pore when you're talking about your business.
With an "I guess so" enthusiasm for his business, what amount of passion are his employees likely to have for their work? Now multiply that a few times for how the employees' passion is conveyed to the customers.
Yes, you are in business to make money, but without customers, generating revenue is hard to do. You are in business to provide your consumers with a service or product they want to purchase from your company. You created that product or service because you saw a need. Need and want go together. Why your passion is so important is that the consumer can usually get what they want from someone else, especially if they sense greater passion from your competitor.
Your employees should want to work for your company because they believe in you and the purpose for the business, and want to share their passion with the customers. Simple concept. More difficult execution.
Yes, customer service is about passion!
As a business owner, it is essential you convey your passion to your employees. Networking with a business coach last night, he was telling the story of a business owner who was lackadaisical about his business venture. The coach asked him if he was passionate about his business. The answer: "I guess so." Wrong answer! Passion needs to exude from every pore when you're talking about your business.
With an "I guess so" enthusiasm for his business, what amount of passion are his employees likely to have for their work? Now multiply that a few times for how the employees' passion is conveyed to the customers.
Yes, you are in business to make money, but without customers, generating revenue is hard to do. You are in business to provide your consumers with a service or product they want to purchase from your company. You created that product or service because you saw a need. Need and want go together. Why your passion is so important is that the consumer can usually get what they want from someone else, especially if they sense greater passion from your competitor.
Your employees should want to work for your company because they believe in you and the purpose for the business, and want to share their passion with the customers. Simple concept. More difficult execution.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Passion Produces Purpose
Operating a successful business comes from having a purpose - knowing why you are in business!
Purpose gives meaning to our lives, and our business ventures. Purpose can be manufacturing a product that makes life easier for consumers or providing a level of professional service that is unparalleled in business. It can also be profit-oriented or of a charitable mindset to benefit a favorite cause. The purpose becomes the mission statement for your business.
Your purpose is the reason your business exists.
When the purpose is clear and focused, you and your employees - and your customers - can become passionate about your products or services. Things become much more simple. You avoid trying to be all things to all people. You know what you're doing. Consumers know what they're getting. Employees know their roles in the bigger scheme of your business. You can stay focused and when you stray and begin to wonder why, you re-visit the mission statement and re-commit to the purpose you're in business.
Important part of a business plan? Your purpose is essential; probably the most important element in putting together business and corporate marketing strategies.
Flip the coin. How do you know or find your purpose? Listen to your passion! What you desire, love to do, and care deeply about comprises your passion for business. This is why you want to start or operate your business venture, because you're passionate about providing that product or service to the consuming public.
If, like me, your passion is writing, you can trust that the mission statement for Fluidity includes writing successful business plans for entrepreneurs, business owners, and companies.
As you go into business, remember it is your passion that determines the purpose, or reason that your company exists. Keep in mind that you need to also have a focus on the consumer because, without customers, your idea is merely an idea without passion or purpose.
Purpose gives meaning to our lives, and our business ventures. Purpose can be manufacturing a product that makes life easier for consumers or providing a level of professional service that is unparalleled in business. It can also be profit-oriented or of a charitable mindset to benefit a favorite cause. The purpose becomes the mission statement for your business.
Your purpose is the reason your business exists.
When the purpose is clear and focused, you and your employees - and your customers - can become passionate about your products or services. Things become much more simple. You avoid trying to be all things to all people. You know what you're doing. Consumers know what they're getting. Employees know their roles in the bigger scheme of your business. You can stay focused and when you stray and begin to wonder why, you re-visit the mission statement and re-commit to the purpose you're in business.
Important part of a business plan? Your purpose is essential; probably the most important element in putting together business and corporate marketing strategies.
Flip the coin. How do you know or find your purpose? Listen to your passion! What you desire, love to do, and care deeply about comprises your passion for business. This is why you want to start or operate your business venture, because you're passionate about providing that product or service to the consuming public.
If, like me, your passion is writing, you can trust that the mission statement for Fluidity includes writing successful business plans for entrepreneurs, business owners, and companies.
As you go into business, remember it is your passion that determines the purpose, or reason that your company exists. Keep in mind that you need to also have a focus on the consumer because, without customers, your idea is merely an idea without passion or purpose.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Essential: Market Research
If you own a business and wonder if your sales people represent you well in the marketplace, you need to do market research.
If you are curious about whether your customers will buy a new product in your line, you need market research.
If you would like to know how you compare to the competition in any particular area, you need to consider some market research.
Managing your business and remaining successful depends on market research. Plain and simple. Your initial market research should have told you there was a place for you in the market for your services or products. It also should have helped you understand how to compete effectively, where your market niche was, and what your consumers looked like.
Then you wove that market research into your business plan and developed a strategy for marketing your business profitably. The research in your plan is one of the aspects you manage by tweaking your business according to reliable market data. Some trends you ignore, others you try to position yourself to greatest advantage and ride out the trend. How you do it depends on your management style and the preferences of your management team.
So, how do you check on (do market research into) your sales people? Ask your customers and prospects to give you feedback. Go visit your customers yourself and see how they're being treated. You can always tag along with your sales representatives, too, knowing that you may get false indicators because you're with them. You can also monitor their performance each month, track it in a graph on a consistent basis, and identify trends that tell you how they're doing or where they might try to improve.
How do you determine if it's a viable market for a new product line? Talk to your customers and prospects. Ask them what they need, how they'd like to see it, what they'd pay for it, and how they'd like to see it delivered. Check out the marketplace. Does anyone else have anything similar? Get feedback from people you trust, including your banker, your accountant, your investment representative, your insurance agent, your business planner (who can help you with the market research), and your attorney.
How do you keep abreast of the competition? Watch the media. See what their ad messages say and who they're targeting demographically. Watch their signs. Talk to employees or have secret shoppers talk to their employees. Get to know the owner and build a relationship; usually there's more than enough business to go around if you can avoid being greedy.
Make adjustments to be better, and take care of your customers. They'll take care of you.
If you are curious about whether your customers will buy a new product in your line, you need market research.
If you would like to know how you compare to the competition in any particular area, you need to consider some market research.
Managing your business and remaining successful depends on market research. Plain and simple. Your initial market research should have told you there was a place for you in the market for your services or products. It also should have helped you understand how to compete effectively, where your market niche was, and what your consumers looked like.
Then you wove that market research into your business plan and developed a strategy for marketing your business profitably. The research in your plan is one of the aspects you manage by tweaking your business according to reliable market data. Some trends you ignore, others you try to position yourself to greatest advantage and ride out the trend. How you do it depends on your management style and the preferences of your management team.
So, how do you check on (do market research into) your sales people? Ask your customers and prospects to give you feedback. Go visit your customers yourself and see how they're being treated. You can always tag along with your sales representatives, too, knowing that you may get false indicators because you're with them. You can also monitor their performance each month, track it in a graph on a consistent basis, and identify trends that tell you how they're doing or where they might try to improve.
How do you determine if it's a viable market for a new product line? Talk to your customers and prospects. Ask them what they need, how they'd like to see it, what they'd pay for it, and how they'd like to see it delivered. Check out the marketplace. Does anyone else have anything similar? Get feedback from people you trust, including your banker, your accountant, your investment representative, your insurance agent, your business planner (who can help you with the market research), and your attorney.
How do you keep abreast of the competition? Watch the media. See what their ad messages say and who they're targeting demographically. Watch their signs. Talk to employees or have secret shoppers talk to their employees. Get to know the owner and build a relationship; usually there's more than enough business to go around if you can avoid being greedy.
Make adjustments to be better, and take care of your customers. They'll take care of you.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
How Well Is Your Business Positioned For 2012?
There are several aspects to knowing the position of your business:
- Where is it in the business or product life cycle?
- What percentage of market share do you own?
- How well do actual sales compare to budgeted projections?
- How do we stand when it comes to cash flow?
- Have we been able to retain enough earnings to weather a downturn?
- Is our management team watching costs and making good decisions?
- What is our cost of goods percentage, and is that within reason ... or acceptable?
The days of being able to say everything is "fine" and keep plodding along until you fall off the cliff are behind us. As a business owner, it is vital to stay on top of the information that affects your business. You need to know your position so you can keep moving forward or know when to step back, re-focus, and move forward again ... perhaps in a new direction.
Since you are probably too close to the business - which you should be - it is a good idea to bring in an independent, 3rd party professional to help you assess where your business is and, most important, offer suggestions on how to move forward and achieve full capability. The new year is already under way, so the time to act is now to make 2012 your best year ever!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Business Owner's 2012 Resolutions
Thought we'd share what we find may be missing from your repertoire as a business owner. We have found that these are helpful suggestions any time of year. They're also good resolutions to consider in 2012 to manage and grow your business. As much as we deny it, we need professional help so we can concentrate on doing what we love - running our business!
Business owner's resolutions for 2012:
1) I will rely more on my legal counsel to ensure that my company and I are protected when it comes to any contracts, proposals, or other legal documents, especially franchise agreements.
I will talk to my lawyer about my personal estate, too, and make sure my will is up to date when it comes to designated heirs.
I will also discuss my succession plans for the business, and while I'm at it, check with my attorney on how my business is established to ensure it's the most beneficial legal entity for me, my family, and the business.
2) I will check with my business insurance agent at least twice this year to make sure I'm adequately covered.
I will talk to my agent about disability coverage, especially since I travel a lot on business and I've had employees calling in sick quite a bit lately.
I will ask about Key Man insurance as part of my succession strategy and make sure my beneficiaries are correct on all policies.
I also want to make sure my life and my property - vehicles, too - are adequately covered. It will be hard to replace me, so I want to protect your legacy as best I can.
3) I will set up monthly appointments with my CPA (or accountant) to look over the financial statements for my business. Having my accountant compile these statements, including my balance sheet, income statement, and statements of cash flow and retained earnings, will decrease the chance for recording errors.
I will rely on these statements to give me more reliable information on which to make decisions about my business. I will also count on my accountant to answer the questions I need answered.
I will get my accountant more involved in my business so they can stay on top of potential tax situations that may arise ... and I vow to avoid waiting until the end of the year to see my CPA (or accountant) with my tax information ... when it's too late to do anything about it!
4) I will place more faith and trust in my banker and visit with her every month or two in 2012.
I know my banker wants to see me succeed and is there to help me any way she can.
I will share my financial statements quarterly (or more often) with my banker to keep her informed. I need her to bat for me with the government inspectors and auditors looking over her shoulder at my loan portfolio.
I will ask about services I've been wondering about whether the bank can provide, and I will talk to her if my accountant suggests a line of credit to get through cash flow shortages.
5) I will save money on advertising by working more closely with a professional business planning and strategic marketing firm - Fluidity comes to mind.
I will revisit my business strategy, even if it's on that proverbial cocktail napkin, and make sure my focus is clear. A clear, market-driven focus will enable me to deliver the right message to the right customers and prospects through a vehicle that encourages them to do business with me and my company.
By failing to plan for the growth of my business, I am leaving it all to chance.
To your success and unparalleled profitability in 2012!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Will You Hit Your Target In 2012?
What are the chances your business will be successful in 2012?
Have you clearly defined what you want your new year's success to look like at this time a year from now? That's the 1st step in increasing your odds for being successful.
Imagine an archer shooting for a bull's eye on a target 75 yards away. This experienced bowman has all the confidence in the world that he can hit dead center from that distance. He gets in the right stance, notches the arrow properly, draws back, aims and lets go ... only to see the arrow land five yards short of the target. He tries again, making the necessary adjustments, and falls just three yards short. Maybe it's the wind, so he adjusts and comes up a yard short. Frustrated, he moves the target to 50 yards out, notches an arrow, and strikes dead center.
Your target needs to be a SMART goal: Specific; Measurable; Attainable; Realistic; and, Timely.
If you fail to plan for your success, you leave it to chance.
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