Keeping Small
Business Informed

NOVEMBER 2005 Edition

Click to learn more about Business Resource Systems, Inc.

In This Edition

Market Studies
Business Productivity Surges
What is Success?
What is an Entrepreneur?
Update Your Business Plan
Online Directory
Small Business Voice in Regulations
Some Smiles

 

market studies - Go no-go

Have you ever done and in-depth market study for any company or product?  Based upon my research when I ask this question the answer is very few.  Most people have not been taught how to complete a comprehensive market study or analysis, but in so many business classes that deal with marketing the instructor tells you to do exactly that.  Doesn't that seem odd that you are asked to accomplish something that you've never done and there is an expectation that you will do it successfully?

The first study we will review is what I call the Go No-Go Study.  This is the one a person should accomplish before they ever open their doors of business.  It is also the one people should do if they are considering getting into a new market, market area or product.

If you are going to open into a new market area, or launch a new product, or start a new business you will be spending several thousand dollars.  Ask yourself this question before you launch off into this venture; how much do I know about the market?  Another question to ask is; what is it worth to me to know ahead of time this expansion or business has a reasonable chance for success or am I willing to just "wing it"?  Unfortunately many people choose the latter.

It makes more sense to me to obtain some facts before you risk your investment of a few thousand dollars.  You obtain facts via a Market Study.  The Go No-Go Study should include at least the following:

• Industry Trends

• Business Leaders

• Demographics

• Potential Customers

• Economic Forecasts

• Competitive Pricing

• Industry Resources

• Sample Financial Data

In the coming months we will explore each of these segments of a good Go No-Go Study so you fully appreciate how important this information is to you.  For now you can get more information on my web site by clicking Go No-Study.

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BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITY SURGES

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WHAT IS SUCCESS?

A Ten-Point Plan for Creating Success in Career and Life

After a long and successful career, my mentor and friend, Dr. Carl Larson retired this year from the University of Denver.

Carl modeled success in every respect.  His teaching, research, publishing to his ongoing consulting touched hundreds of lives.  His teaching style is exceptionally engaging, his research uniquely insightful, and unlike consultants who tout the latest fad, his consulting advice is based on thorough study and analysis of what works and what doesn’t.  His book Teamwork:  What Must Go Right, What Can Go Wrong (co-authored with Frank LaFasto) has been a bestseller for Sage Publications since it was first published in 1989. 

We had a magnificent retirement celebration for Carl, and we raised our glasses to his successful career.  As I visited with him and the multitude of well-wishers, I reflected on what makes a career successful.  In fact, I began to ponder what, exactly, is success – not only in terms of a career, but also in life.  And how do we go about achieving it?

Jonathan Winters’ wonderful quote, “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it” is right on target.  If we want success in our careers and our lives, sooner or later we have to take action and just go for it. 

All too often we think we’ll pursue success “someday.”  Sometimes we’re indecisive because we’re waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect inspiration, or the perfect plan.  But perfectionism can be deadly, and hopes and dreams can atrophy if we wait for everything to be exactly right.  We can spend our entire lifetime “getting ready.” 

The truth is that success is achieved one step at a time, through regular daily actions and perseverance.  Every day is the perfect day to begin, to take action, to define and pursue your dream. 

The question, of course, is how.  In my coaching practice, I’m often asked for advice on how to begin.  Here is a ten-point plan for creating success in your career and your life:

1. Start by defining success.  Clearly define your goals.  Be bold.  Dream big.  Great achievers dream big dreams.  Visualize the details of your success and the people involved.  Clearly define the benefits, foresee the pitfalls, and identify the skills and knowledge you need to reach your goals.   The best way to predict your future is to define it and create it.

2. Create a plan.  If we don’t have a plan for ourselves, we end up being a part of someone else’s.  Specify, step-by-step, what you need to do to realize your goals.  Just as it is virtually impossible for a runner to run a marathon without proper conditioning and preparation, it is extremely difficult to achieve any goal without meticulous planning.  Set specific goals, and put them in writing.  The quality of our success is reflected in the depth of our planning.

3. Contact others, reach out, ask for help.  Identify successful people in your field and contact them.  Choose heroic models and interview them.  Ask them about their path of development and what made them successful.   For his Teamwork book, Carl Larson identified the best performing teams in the United States – the best cardiac surgery teams, the best military strike teams, the winningest sports teams, the most creative new product development teams.  When he contacted these teams to learn what made them so successful, almost every person agreed to an interview.  Make the calls.  Meet people.  Life is fascinating in how it unfolds.  Step up and make contact. 

4. Communicate your goals and your vision.  Words are powerful. Tell people about your plans, and they will respond with ideas and suggestions.  State honestly and directly what is needed for success, and doors will open.  “I need” are two of the most powerful words in the English language.  Asking is the beginning of receiving.

5. Take action.  A year from now you will wish you had started today.  The first step is  often the most difficult.  Start with just one small action, and build.  As Goethe said, “Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.  Begin now.”   Every day, do at least one thing that will further you along your chosen path to success.  Make the phone calls, do the research, write the letter.  Reach out and grab what you want with both hands.  Only then are you in charge of your own life.

6. Attend to details and establish a timeline.  Use your calendar to create challenging deadlines.  Many of us do our best work under pressure of a deadline.  Significant achievements are made up of small, daily actions.  Methodically schedule and organize your objectives.  Analyze your “to-do” list – are the items on that list getting you closer to your goals?

7. Set boundaries, learn to say no, and eliminate distractions.  Delegate more, hire people to do the errands, the cleaning, the bookkeeping and other things that have to be done but distract you from your goals.  Look at what you’re tolerating in life currently, and eliminate those tolerations.  Set clear boundaries.  Say no to distractions.

8. Be willing to take a risk.  Successful people are open to new ideas and alternatives.  They are not afraid to take risks.  We must have the courage to bet on our dreams, to take the calculated risk and leave behind forever the internal forces that hold us down.  Stretch yourself now to soar later.

9. Believe in yourself.  Unwavering and passionate belief in your dreams and goals is the only fuel that will get you over, around and through the many obstacles you’ll encounter.  Without belief, the opportunities to give up will tempt you to take the path of least resistance and quit.  The magic of belief is far greater than many of us realize.  Without exception, the people who have excel in life are people who believe in themselves and their goals.

10. Work with a mentor, a local expert or a coach.  Successful people have mentors and coaches.  Olympic athletes work with conditioning coaches, great actors and singers work with acting and voice coaches.  Even Tiger Woods, the greatest golfer ever, continues to work with a coach.   We all need someone to believe in us, challenge us, encourage us, ask us the tough questions, tell us the truth, and support us on our journey to success. 

Success is no accident.  It is the result of thinking big, working a plan, connecting with people, taking action, being willing to risk and believing in yourself.  We are fortunate to live in an age where one of our greatest personal freedoms is our power to choose -- our attitudes and habits, what we read, what we learn, who we take counsel from, and what we do about the future.  Choose wisely for success.  Define your success and do what you have to do to create it.
 
Laura A. Belsten, Ph.D. is an executive coach with the CEO Partnership, Coaching Executives and Organizations, specializing in coaching women executives and business leaders. She offers a variety of Emotional Intelligence assessment instruments, as well as workshops and coaching on Emotional Intelligence. She can be reached at laura@ceopartnership.com or 303-471-6100.

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what is an entrepreneur?

I ask this at virtually every training I do, and if possible anytime I am doing a speaking engagement and it is interesting the variety of answers I hear.

If you are with people engaged in the high tech or bio-tech arena the answer usually refers to only those who are highly educated and smart enough to start a high tech business.  This group is also the one supported by much of the media and numerous government support programs.  However, according to the research done by one of the most renowned experts in American business David L. Birch from his article in Inc., "Managing in the New Economy", high tech only represents about 2.5% of the growing companies in America.  This figure tends to support what I observe as I work with many organizations and companies.

Rather than get hung up on who is smart enough to be an entrepreneur, let's focus on the traits of one.

• Willing to take a risk

• Willing to work extra hours, days weeks, months and years to achieve a specific objective

• Has the support of their family to weather the storms to come

• Has the resilience to walk through the fires of difficulty toward their goal of success

• Has a vision of something they are passionate about

• Has sufficient belief in them self that they can fail, get up and fight again, fail again, and get up and fight again rather than just give up when it gets tough

• Listens to their own self-worth more than those who judge them

One of my case studies is a company a fellow started about 17 years ago.  The business is an auto repair shop.  I've known this man since he started it and I know that originally he only wanted a shop big enough to support he, his wife and perhaps another person.  Now, after these years he has a business with 25 employees, a large facility and now he wants out of the business so he is working hard to position it for sale.

Is he an entrepreneur?  In my mind he is indeed, but I would classify him as an inadvertent entrepreneur.  He did not start out as one as he only started as a job builder, but life took over and he became a business owner and entrepreneur.

I am quite certain this drive and determination is what makes a true entrepreneur.   It is the fire inside one, the passion and resiliency that makes a business work long-term.

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update your business plan

Do you have a business plan?  If you do not, why not?  Would you go on vacation with your family without some sort of a plan on where you are going and what it will cost you?  Of course not, so how can you possibly justify trying to run something with as many pieces as a business without a plan?

Ok, so much for the lecture on the reason every business needs a business plan whether it is five pages or 50, you business needs one.

The fourth quarter is the last quarter of the year for the vast majority of businesses and the perfect time to update your business plan.  We do through this process every fall and I encourage you to do so also.  The following is our process and the process we see many folks use so feel free to apply it to your business:

October Task - Develop Base Line Information

Review your customers and develop a comprehensive customer profile.

This needs to include at least:

• Look at your books and see which customers bring you the most revenue

• Also look to see which ones generate the most margin and if you cannot do this then get a bookkeeper or CPA who can because it is vitally important

• Once you get these lists made sit down and write next to each one how difficult they are to do business with.  Some of our largest customers are the largest pains to work with and you must answer the question; are they worth it?

The next item to review is your vendors.

• Which ones are the easiest to work with?

• Which ones have you spent the most money with?

• Which ones help you create the most margin?

• Which ones match your ideals of customer support?

Look at your employees the same way

• Which ones match your ideals of customer support?

• Which ones have the "can do drive" and don't whine?

• Which ones are passionate about what they do?

• Which ones generate the most margin?

• Which ones help create a great working environment versus those who destroy it?

November Tasks - Compile the information and edit

Pull out last years business plan (oh yes, you have to have one to pull it out) and read through it.  Compare how the information you obtained in October matches (or not) what you expected to happen.  This is a very important part of the process of updating so take the time necessary to do a proper evaluation.

This phase can take several hours if you do it right and I strongly suggest you do it right since your business depends on it.

You need to accurately review what you projected last year and overlay the information you pulled together from your bookkeeping records and figure out where you were correct and where you were inaccurate.  It is only through this type of process that you can make adjustments to your business for next year.

Next month I will fill in more blanks on how to adjust your plan in December in preparation for 2006.

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ONLINE DIRECTORY

Finally, a search system specifically developed for small businesses.  You can search by product or service, company name or state to locate a company.  You will see their logo, a description of their products or services and all the pertinent contact information including a hot link to their web site if they have one.

This system is available for all small businesses for a nominal quarterly cost so join now and help build the only search tool for our small businesses...

For more information click here...

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small business voice in regulations

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some smiles

This is a new section we've added to this publication and the purpose is simply to bring a smile to your face.  It is unfortunate that many of us have to look hard to find something to smile about which is why we put the Humor button on our web site.  If you are having one of those bad days and need to lighten up, click on it and look at the humorous pictures or view some videos.

Here are some notes from Steven Wright...

• I installed a skylight in my apartment....  The people who live above me are furious!

• I put tape on the mirrors in my house so I don't accidentally walk through into another dimension.

• My watch is three hours fast, and I can't fix it.  So I'm going to move to New York

• Ever so often, I like to stick my head out the window, look up, and smile for a satellite picture

• Cross-country skiing is great if you live in a small country.

• One time I went to a museum where all the work in the museum had been done by children.  They had all the paintings up on refrigerators.

• What's another word for Thesaurus?

• I'm writing a book.  I've got the page numbers done, so now I just have to fill in the rest.

• I replaced the headlights in my car with strobe lights, so it looks like I'm the only one moving.

• There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot.

• When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for five minutes without moving.  He said it was elevator practice.

• After they make Styrofoam, what do they ship it in?

• If all the nations in the world are in debt, where did all the money go?

• If the pen is mightier than the sword, in a duel I'll let you have the pen!

• What do batteries run on?

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