You are currently browsing the Business Bulldog weblog archives for April, 2009.
29. April 2009 by Bob Griffin.
Very often when there is a shift in the economy there is a desire for people to jump into business ownership. I know that is appealing, but it is not for everyone. Bulldog Rule #9 states, “You may not be the right person for the job.” As much as I can help a person be a good owner, they just may not fit the mold of being a good business person.
The world economy flipping upside down does not surprise me. There is a “righting” of the financial world every decade (sometimes a little longer) and the people who have been sailing through not paying attention to their business get knocked on their butt because the market changed. I want to point out that this has happened to countless big public companies in the last year and the formula for failure is the same.
Many people get into business for the wrong reasons. I have a friend that I worked as a consultant for who wanted to be a restaurateur. His plan was to work in the business with his wife. She was better at the back-office paperwork and he was better coordinating the operations. It sounded good, but as soon as his wife got tired of smelling like a french fry she moved on and then he lost interest. The business failed. There simply has to be a reason bigger than a dream that makes you an owner. Lost interest is why big businesses fail too. How many Boards of Directors but short term goals in front of a CEO and then wonder why the business failed in the long term. The CEO’s interest is in meeting the goal and looking good to the Directors and the stockholders. After the short term goal is met you see a lot of CEO’s jumping ship and a lot of employees scrambling to fix the mess in order not to lose their jobs. Interest in the entire business and the industry is critical to making a strong business and keeping customer share.
Business is all about change. The vendors change products, customers move, or even a news story that affects the entire industry could be the reason to be ready to move to meet the new demands. I worked in the ice cream industry for a few years and when the Mad Cow scare took hold it was a daily PR effort to get customers to the stores. No one got sick from ice cream, but customer perception of all dairy products was strong. Change happens and you are going to have to be face it. Most people hate change. If you can’t handle that kind of stress do not be a business owner.
Early in my career as a consultant I thought I could make anyone a great business owner. It is just following a basic formula that makes a business good. There is so much more to small business. Now my first statement to anyone thinking buying or starting a business is “Are you qualified?” It is a shocking question to someone who is new to business, but I am probably the only person around them to ask that question. No one is ready for business since you can not tell what the day will bring. The right person for the business may not be you and that is OK. It isn’t like love. It is most definitely better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but to be a business owner and have lost is a pain that can hurt more than just you.
I want to finish with a saying that I heard many years ago. “The path to happiness is yours to walk down. It may not be the same one you thought you would be on, but it is the only one that will lead you to happiness.” Not once in that statement does it mention being a business owner. Find your own path to happiness wherever it leads you.
Posted in Creating the Culture, Being the Boss, Saving Money, Making Money | Print | 2 Comments »
29. April 2009 by Noel Guilford.
It matters now more than ever for small business owners to explore the options of using local talent to streamline business costs. Far too often cutting payroll seems an easy and immediate fix to rising costs and declining sales. Issues of controlling labor cost should be left in the hands of the management - at least for now. Given the cost of hiring new employees, outfitting them with uniforms if necessary, and the time needed to train them properly, this is not as cost efficient as some may believe. Not to worry, there are still other options that actually are more impactful to your business annually. If you use Bulldog Rule #8 – “Re-examine your business often”, then you’ll find that you are easily able to pinpoint your areas of opportunity. Here are a few ways you can go local.
Marketing
Look for opportunities to spread brand awareness at minimal costs. One of the more common and successful tactics is a business co-op. Form a working partnership with other local businesses and use incentives to increase customer counts for you and your partnered businesses. Get creative and remember all businesses involved must handle these shared customers with the greatest of care.
Another source of low cost marketing is supporting a charity. Keep in mind that just as the community is there to support its businesses, those same businesses are there to support the community it operates in. If customers believe they can contribute to the community through your business you have gained their loyalty.
Products and Services
Now is a good time to consider how your products are presented to your customer and how to better meet their needs. The name of the game in this arena is Convenience, Cost, and Consistency. It should be easier to get the same quality of products and services for a better cost. Keep an eye open, it might just be easier to purchase the same products from a struggling retailer than a struggling distributor.
Distribution and Shipping
That big time distributor might not be as convenient and cost efficient as he use to be. Don’t hesitate to change distributors or explore your options locally to meet your customer’s needs. In the event that the cost to ship goods from a central location becomes unfavorable, search for local distributors that can provide the same quality product and form a working relationship. Remember the objective is to make sure that your customer receives their product faster for a good price.
Customer Interaction
Even though I like to speak to a person when purchasing products or services, there are many who would rather not. Options include online purchasing, or using some form of automated service to interact with your customers on their schedule. The time and resources saved on errors, miscommunication, and labor more than make up for this type of premium upgrade to your business.
Overall the market is still very full of opportunity; you just have to: Assess the Situation, Plan the change, and Act on it to fight your way through the storm. Or as the timeless saying goes, when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade!
Posted in Creating the Culture, Saving Money, Making Money | Print | 15 Comments »
11. April 2009 by Bob Griffin.
There are a million things that a small business owner must tackle each and every day to keep things going. How many of those items can you pass along to an employee to handle?
It sounds like a simple question that requires a simple answer, but many times we look at the job an employee does as either too vital to take them away from to teach a new job or not qualified to handle the job you want to delegate.
Many times we group tasks by job title and never look at the skills of the employees in other jobs. If you could spend one hour a day to teach an employee a part of your business that now takes you away from earning more money would you do it?
Think of it this way, if you can’t do the payroll and write the checks to pay your employees who is going to handle it in your absence? Your employees won’t work for you very long if they don’t get paid. Having one or two more people who can handle the jobs that keep your business going makes a big difference.
Now, I want to convince the rest of you who are Type-A personalities (the “only I can do the job right” kind of people). How much is each job worth at your business. Payroll, scheduling, local store marketing, and more have a cost to them. What would you pay someone to do those jobs if you couldn’t do them?
How much is your time worth? Is it worth the time you spend on those jobs that do not bring you any money? Those jobs that are in the cost category on your P&L statement. Are you worth more finding new sources of income or are you saving more by doing them yourself?
The answer is clear that you are worth more, as the owner, going out and getting more customers and building your business and paying someone else to do the small jobs. It is easy when you are starting out to think that you are dropping more dollars to the bottom line by doing everything yourself. The truth is that you are the best face of your company and need to be the force in driving it’s growth.
Train your crew, give them time to get the job right, and then when you are comfortable letting them do the job get back to building your business. Your time is more valuable as the leader than hiding in the back office crunching numbers or out front sweeping floors.
Posted in Training, Making Money | Print | 584 Comments »
11. April 2009 by Bob Griffin.
I have been asked a few times about Bulldog Rule #15 and I want to take some time to explain it. Most people think that being right is the only way to get ahead and build a strong business. This rule does not mean that bringing the right ingredients and service to the marketplace can somehow be cut back and you can still be profitable in the long run. There is never a reason or need to cut back on providing the best you can bring to your customers. That is not an issue of right or wrong, but rather of being a smart business owner.
Being “right” all the time means being the only one with the answers and not listening to the people around you who have great ideas to offer. It means that you are inflexible and unable to handle the fact that you are sometimes wrong.
Does this sound like someone you know?
I have learned over the years that some of the best ideas to grow a company come from the front line employees. These are the lowest paid employees, but also have more face to face contact with customers than anyone else in the organization. You may be the one who steers the ship, but they are the ones making it move. By listening to them and that they can be right about the direction of the company you are growing not only the success of the business, but also the culture of your organization.
Bulldog Rule #15 is also about admitting when you are wrong. How often do we look at things from a right or wrong perspective and miss the fact that the boss is human and can make errors. By being a true leader you have the opportunity to let your employees know that making mistakes is a path to finding great ways to do things better.
Be right when you need to. Let others be right when you can. In the big picture, focus on the goal of your business and not so much on being perfect.
Posted in Creating the Culture, Being the Boss | Print | 87 Comments »
7. April 2009 by Noel Guilford.
Any one that has gone into business is surely doing so in hopes that it will be extremely profitable at some point. At the end of the day a business is an investment and investments get sold every day. Unfortunately for many business owners this becomes reality at the worst of times. Now businesses are sold for various reasons and I’m sure that everyone can name the worst of them. The truth is that sometimes a better opportunity presents itself and it comes right down to what is best for business. Either way, when the day comes the objective is to get as much return on your investment as possible, plain and simple.
That’s right, for most business owners there is the reality that the business will one day come to an end. How that day goes will depend on how many of these three things can be brought to the bargaining table. With the right preparation this can be an easy thing to accomplish, saving time and energy for everyone involved.
Growth (Past)
Giving records of sustained growth is simply not enough. All instances of documented growth should include the factors that contributed to that growth. This not only lends credibility to those fine financial statements but also reinforces the viability of the business model.
Consistency (Present)
Every business will experience some ups and downs. However it is important to show out how profitable the business can be when the right factors are in harmony. For some it might be a combination of Leadership, marketing, and operations. Whatever the factors might be, providing detailed records of the business functioning at an optimal level and having it currently doing so, will showcase your businesses muscle.
Potential (Future)
This will require you use Bulldog Rule for Business #12 Be aware of your entire business. Having an intimate knowledge of your customer base and the opportunities there to include proposed actions to tap those opportunities is potential.
Yes your accountant can provide evidence enough, but they can’t sell your business for you. Financial statements give an overview of the life of the business, but thorough records provide all the details potential buyers are looking for. Invest in a Business Consultant to assist with creating a system and finding the tools needed to properly document the performance of your business. When the time comes to move on be prepared, and make a difficult process into one that mutually benefits both parties.
Posted in Being the Boss, Saving Money, Making Money | Print | 15 Comments »