How to Transform a Growing Business

I can see it coming. Maybe I'm developing a sixth sense for it. I run an operations management business and I regularly get calls from business owners saying; "I need your help. My business is taking off and I feel like I'm losing control". The first question I ask always seems to be the toughest for them... When can we get together to talk? I've learned to anticipate that they will cancel one or two appointments before we're actually able to meet. I plan for our first meeting to be away from their office so I am able to get their full attention.

Their business has typically been operating for three to five years, which means their business model is working for them and has begun gaining traction. They've passed the infant mortality point where many new businesses fail and have had some taste of success. They're now at the point where they're starting to think about taking their business to the next growth plateau.

The business operates in a mostly ad hoc mode. Up to this point they've managed to keep things on track by shear force. They're beginning to realize that they can't do everything themselves and they continue to hold things close because they feel they have to maintain control by personally making every decision. They're not willing to delegate anything but the most trivial tasks. "My entire life is tied up in this business and it's succeeding because of the energy I put into it." They have in fact become the operations infrastructure of their business and they're beginning to realize that they have now become the primary constraint on the growth of their business. Take a vacation, a sick day, a coffee break... Not likely!

Transforming these businesses requires an objective look at two areas: their organization and their operations. I start slowly by trying to find some activities the owner is willing to offload to others.

Businesses at this point in their development are usually organized on the "Conestoga Model", meaning their organization chart looks like a wagon wheel. It's a person centric organization model where the owner has become the hub of the wheel with all of the other functions circling around the hub. They may have made some attempt to change things themselves but I often find they were unsuccessful because they delegated responsibility without being willing to also delegate the authority to do the job.

The next step I take with clients in these situations is to begin transforming their organization to a more traditional hierarchical model. This is a difficult step for them because it means they have to be willing to delegate the authority to complete tasks along with the responsibility for completing them.

Completing the organizational change requires more than simply creating an organization chart. The new organization has to be designed to meet the businesses needs and to make best use of the resources at hand. Each block on the organization chart should have a defined mission statement and a set of goals. Owners who are already over burdened often revolt at the thought of doing all of this "useless paperwork". "We have real work to do." This a great place to recommend they bring in their new first line managers or supervisors to help and it also lets these people take ownership of their new roles. This is the point where I usually have to expand my role from working with the owner to working with their staff. Including the first level managers and supervisors in these activities has an amazing effect on the culture of most businesses once the staff realizes that the owner is saying I trust you and am relying on you to help grow my business. Kicking off the new organization can be difficult. "You mean I work for her now? But I used to work for the owner." You have to plan to hold a lot of hands and mend some hurt feelings as you go through this exercise.

After the organization is in place you need to define a sustaining operations infrastructure for the business. You do this by assessing the businesses operations, identifying weak areas needing definition or improvement. I begin this by formalizing the workflows of the business. Remember, the operations infrastructure has to be able to support the restructured business in the future. I divide the operations infrastructure into the nine areas described below. Each area controls a major workflow through the business so, by definition, each infrastructure area crosses organizational boundaries. Don't, for instance, limit the sales and marketing infrastructure to the sales and marketing department.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: The customer satisfaction infrastructure has to be designed as an integral part of the business operations and not simply included like a facade over the front door. Every employee needs to learn their customer satisfaction role. The customer satisfaction infrastructure defines the role of functions such as product support, requirements definition, and quality assurance.

PRODUCTION/SERVICES: The production/services infrastructure defines the methods that will be used for the delivery of all products and services and ensure that this is being done in a safe, compliant, and consistent manner capable of bringing all products and services fully to market.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: It would be a tremendous understatement to say that all businesses today are information intensive. The information management infrastructure includes the IT systems but can be much wider in scope.The information management infrastructure defines the methods for protecting all business data, the electronic tools that form the backbone of the business, printed material and all media that is used to support the business. All personal privacy and security controls need to be addresses here.

SALES AND MARKETING: The sales and marketing infrastructure supports the businesses primary goal; to sell products and make a profit. It defines the methods used for everything from pricing and lead flow needed to support the sales pipeline to the methods used to develop new products and markets including the use of competitive and strategic analysis as assessment tools.

ORGANIZATIONAL: The definition of the organizational infrastructure includes the formal and informal structure of the business. It includes the organization chart that forms the command and control structure plus the informal structure that becomes the culture of the business.

PERSONNEL: The personnel infrastructure defines the working relationship between the business and its employees and between employees including the roles and authority of the management team. It defines the benefit strategy and compensation plan plus the procedures for hiring, firing and everything in between.

FINANCIAL OPERATIONS: The financial operations infrastructure forms the framework for all financial operations of the business. It defines all financial authority and controls including AP/AR, payroll, cost account and project management, plus the definition of methods to be used for budgeting and projections.

LEGAL OPERATIONS: The legal operations infrastructure forms the framework for all legal operations of the business. It defines all legal authority, professional licensing and controls needed to support the business on a continuing basis. It defines all activities used to protect the business from legal risk and liabilities and to ensure the compliant operation of the business.

INSTITUTIONALIZED PROCESSES: The institutionalized processes infrastructure includes the definition of all formalized policies, procedures and methods that guide the businesses operations. Methods such as ISO, CMMI, Six Sigma, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Lean or Quality Management Systems (QMS) where the business needs certification to qualify for a market driven process are defined.

It is important that the infrastructure areas be documented but this doesn't mean it has to be a voluminous set of policies and procedures or that it has to be completed overnight. The infrastructure needs to be formalized to be effective and repeatable but applying the "Keep It Simple" approach works well here. Complex procedures don't get read so plan to start light and build as needed in the future. After base lining each of the infrastructure areas (and training employees on their use) the final step is to establish a continuous process improvement program so that the infrastructure will continue to evolve along with the business.

Business Plan: Why Should You Create A Business Plan For Your Online Home Business

Having a business plan is so important to you as an online marketer. But most people, who start online businesses, especially small businesses, do not really take the initiative to make a business plan. Probably they think that it's not necessary. But for sure there is little you can achieve in life without proper planning. More so in the contemporary times when survival depends largely on one's ability to organize your physical and mental resources well. The future is actually for those who are organized. And the future of your business is dependent on your good planning.

Planning is very important in life. Everybody should do planning at individual or family level. As an individual, you should plan for the day well in advance in order to accomplish what is to be done in that day. At family level, a family plan helps to focus on supporting the entire family in its growth and development. Planning is also done at business and organizational level.

A business plan is therefore an outline for taking an idea for a product or service and turning it into a commercially viable reality. It's a roadmap of the business you intend to start and without it you may end up getting lost on the way. It should therefore be remembered that having generated your business ideas and analyzed them to come up with the most viable idea, it's important to create a business plan for your online home business. Do you have one?

Some people think that they do not need a business plan for a small business. But let me make it clear that the size of the business doesn't matter. Whether small or big, you need a plan. If you need a plan as an individual and for your family, then why not have a plan for your small business? Like for individuals and families, you need to plan for your online small business.

A business plan shows you what you would like to achieve and how to achieve it. Although not all plans are written down, a good business plan should be written down. If you have it in your head, it's high time you spent some time to write it down for better results.

Why should you create a business plan?

1. It encourages you to think deeply about your business objectives and goals.

When you create a business plan, you get to think about the short-term and long-term objectives. It also helps to develop a mission statement for your business. This helps you to remain focused as you do your business.

2. It encourages you to think about the possible problems and how to overcome them.

In any business you may think about, there are always risks involved. Creating a business plan enables you to anticipate the risks that you may encounter in the process of running your business. It also makes you to think about the various ways of overcoming the problem in case it happens. That's a proven way of looking at things for you to remain in business.

3. You get a clear picture of the whole business project.

The process of making a business plan makes it possible for you to focus on the nature of your business in details, to analyze your target market, to develop a marketing and operational plan and to make your financial projections.

4. You get new ideas.

It becomes easy to communicate your ideas to the people you interface with, who in turn can give you better ideas or complement the ones you have. Collect all the material to one place. Having a business plan makes it possible to have all your ideas and plans in one place. It becomes easier for you refer to it and to use it to develop your business. You become a more committed business person and even others people, like your prospective financiers, can easily regard you as a serious business person.

As I conclude, I would like to advice all people, who want to start any kind of business or who already have business without a business plan, to think about creating one as way to building a successful business. One of the causes of failure in business is lack of proper planning. Create a business plan if you want to succeed in your online home business!

How To Grow Your Business!

Many small businesses fail to grow due to the lack of a solid foundation. This article explains how the introduction of structured financial management can help small businesses optimize their business and strive for growth. Growth can actually be a fatal for a business that does not have a solid financial footing. The process of selling more and actually collecting the increased revenue can put a real strain on a small business if not planned effectively. The extra investment and capacity management can ultimately lead to cash flow problems that have serious short term consequences for the business.

There isn't anything more important in a small business than having a healthy balance sheet and a sustainable cash flow. It is the foundation to which all else is build. It is impossible to grow a business and expand inventories and equipment without stable company commercials. Yet worrying numbers of small businesses go through life wholly under-prepared when it comes to the discipline of financial management. There are many examples of sole traders, contractors and tradesman running their businesses without any real knowledge of sustainable financial management. This lack of knowledge ultimately leads to their business not growing at a rate that their skills/product is capable of.

In the current environment there are no reasons why any small business owner should lack the knowledge and skills they need to successfully run the financial performance of their business. The emergence of accounting software has made it possible for even completely financially illiterate owners to run their financials as soundly as seasoned accountants. There exists a range of accounting software products that cater for all manner of businesses all offering the same benefits -

1) Easy to use and understand tools to manage the company's financial performance - Accounting software is specially designed to ensure that somebody with no knowledge of financial accounting can successfully manage the company financials. Bringing businesses owners closer to the financial health of their business is the biggest advantage of this technology. The software easily allows business owner to see the detailed financial performance of the business and use to make sound business decisions for the company. This ability to understand the current performance and forecast the future is a critical part of the planning required for growth.

2) Lowering operating costs - suitable accounting software package can often help reduce a business reduce its operating costs. The most direct saving comes on the form of accountant fee savings. Accounting software allows businesses to successfully submit their own year-end reports rather than submitting with an accountant. Also, accounting software enables small businesses to get increased transparency between their supplier costs. Consolidating suppliers or renegotiating rates costs on the back of this information can mean significant savings. Growing companies build on a foundation of optimised cost control and profit margins.

3) Time for growth - Small business owners are burdened with lots of administration which can be time consuming and unproductive. Time is very much money in a small business environment as the more time spent on non-value adding tasks the less time can be spent on strategically driving the business for growth. Accounting software automates non value adding tasks such as year-end reporting meaning more time can be spent on growing the business.

Ultimately a small business needs 3 things to successfully grow 1) The desire to grow 2) Sound company financials 3) Time to plan and execute. In days gone by there existed a significant cost to structured financial management via high accountancy fees. Today for as little as £100 a business can get a value adding too that enables them to get closer to their financials, manage incomings and outgoings and save time on non-value adding year end reports.

All businesses looking to grow should give real thought and consideration to buying a value adding accounting software package. There are many products available that cater for businesses of all shapes and sizes so it's important that research is done before any purchase is made. There are tools available to compare product across the market quickly and easily. Don't let the sombre mood of the current economic climate detract you from taking control, managing the financial health of your business and striving for growth.

How To Start a Business You Can Afford Right Now

Are you sure that you are ready to open a business? Do you know what businesses to start? Some things are the same about any business. You need a business license, inventory, advertising budget and customers. You also need to rent a place where your business will be located. This all cost money and lots of it. It normally takes thousands of dollars to open a business. We have all heard that it takes money to make money. If you have money to gamble with, you can proceed with starting a business that requires lots of money. For the rest of us there is a great alternative and one you should consider.

It's a janitorial cleaning service of your own. How big you can grow the office cleaning business is up to you. The sky is the limit because in the janitorial service business you can duplicate yourself. You can replace yourself with labor that you employ. This way, more than one office or building can be getting cleaned at the same time. This is the ultimate business to business idea. Every customer is a repeat customer and will be paying every month for your service.

For this reason, when starting a business, you should consider the janitorial service. Before you dismiss this opportunity, consider this. When it comes to business to business ideas, this is one of the best. You don't need to pay rent for an office as you can use your kitchen table to get started. Customers have no reason to come to your home office so you can avoid paying rent to do business. You can even take advantage of the tax deduction of a home based office. You can get started this way and avoid the big start-up cost associated with normally starting a business. In the janitorial service you can line up your first customer before you need to spend any money on anything.

You can start a business this way and eliminate the financial risk of getting started that is so common with other types of businesses. Instead of going out and spending money right away because you are going open a business. You can put the cart before the horse.

In the cleaning business you can acuumulate things and do so only as you need them. If you have ever wondered about starting a business of your own, you should know that no other business offers you so much opportunity for growth and financial rewards. You can start your own janitorial service business on a shoestring budget. When you compare the low start-up costs of starting a cleaning business to the start-up costs for any other kind of business it's really no contest.

You can always employ people to help you get the cleaning done. Needing help should not stop you from starting your own cleaning business. Many people would love to have a part- time job and clean for you. Many entrepreneurs spend large sums of money to start a new business and risk it all in the process. The fact is, most businesses end up going out of business after the first year but not in the cleaning business. It is a great service business and the opportunity is open to all. Ask anyone to name you a cleaning business and they would have to think about that one because no company dominates the cleaning business. It is wide open, so when your thinking about starting a business, consider the ultimate business to business idea of your own janitorial service. Commercial cleaning takes place everywhere and cleaning is here to stay.

The Easiest and Least Expensive of All Business Growth Strategies

As a business growth strategist, I've had an opportunity to speak with a lot of business owners. What I find is that they're usually stuck in a "catch 22."

Their business is suffering. It's being blown around by the roller coaster economy. Every time there's a hiccup in the European economy or something spooks investors on Wall Street, they feel it in their business. And every month is a struggle to keep the lights on and the doors opened.

A recent newspaper article reported that over half of business owners polled hadn't taken a salary for themselves in years. They've been putting what they make back into their business to keep the doors opened another week.

A recent "Rock Center" episode with Brian Williams had a segment about how some business owners are turning to online pawn shops to raise the capital they need to stay afloat.

It's a brutal environment for owning and operating a business.

The "catch 22" is that savvy business owners know that they MUST earn more in the future in order to survive... yet, they feel they can't spare the money now to invest in the very strategies that will grow their business and ensure their survival.

Sadly, many choose to naively believe that "things will just turn around soon."

But, the fact is that, even if things in the U.S. and global economies do improve, without proven business growth strategies in place, businesses are still going to struggle. The economy will always be a roller coaster.

Business owners who implement tested strategies find that they can weather turmoil in the economy much better than those who don't.

The sad truth is that most business owners don't take control of their business growth. They mistakenly believe their success or failure is totally dependent upon the economy, location and other outside forces.

There are so many things a business owner can and should be doing... even in this depressed economy... that will make an impact on their bottom line.

So, when you've got limited funds, where do you start?

One of the best high-impact business growth strategies I can think of is actually the simplest. And it's 100% free.

The simplest and cheapest business growth strategy of all is...

Make it super easy for customers to do business with you.

This sounds ridiculously simple. Doesn't every business owner naturally do this?

Sadly, the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT!

One would think that in tough economic times, every business owner would make certain to eliminate every obstacle to doing business with them.

But, if you look inside almost any business, you'll usually find at least one major obstacle. Every obstacle holds your business back. It stops the cash flow and sends would-be buyers to your competitors.

Let me give you one example...

I recently pinched a nerve in my neck and wanted a simple neck massage. You'd think it would be simple just to call any local spa and make an appointment to get a massage. Not so much!

As I called around, I couldn't believe how difficult it was to book a simple massage appointment.

This was the typical scenario: I'd call the spa and be told that I needed to call the massage therapist directly. Then I'd call the massage therapist's cell and get voice mail. So, I'd leave a message with my availability and ask for an appointment. I'd finally get a return call late the next day.

Now, I've already left a voice mail informing them that I want a neck massage because I have a pinched nerve and I've told them when I'm available for an appointment. If they listened to my message, they know that I've clearly said, "I am ready to give you my money!"

Yet, they couldn't be bothered to call back the same day... which is obstacle number one. Not being able to muster the energy to return the call of a new customer within 24 hours is pretty unbelievable!

The whole exchange... from start to finish... was one huge hassle. I called the spa and told them I wanted to do business with them and they required me to jump through more hoops to complete the transaction.

And once the therapist finally called back... do you suppose she made it super easy for me to book an appointment? Nope! She actually made it even harder!

She could have (and should have) left a voice mail saying, "I got your message and you mentioned that you're available all afternoon tomorrow... I have 2pm available, so I'll put you down for 2pm. Please let me know if that works for you."

Instead, she said, "I'm returning your message about wanting a massage. Call me back."

What do you suppose happened when I called her back? I got her voice mail again!

That was it for me. I gave up because she made it way, way too difficult for me to do business with her. She took too long to return my call and then she turned setting an appointment into a HUGE headache.

Massages are meant to reduce stress! Trying to book an appointment was adding to my stress... so I simply gave up and they lost an easy sale.

I had the same experience with each spa I dealt with. It was truly unbelievable. I never did get a massage because I couldn't find anyone who wanted my business badly enough to make the transaction smooth and easy.

I was even more amazed that not one massage therapist followed up after leaving me a message. Not one. I literally told them on their voice mails that I was ready to book an appointment... so as far as they knew... they had my business. But, they never followed up.

Believe it or not... this kind of thing happens in most businesses. I'd bet good money that your business is doing something similar.

Where are you making it difficult to do business with you?

It would be in your best interest to assume that you are guilty of making it difficult in some ways for your customers to do business with you.

If you can't take an objective look inside your own business, simply ask your customers if they perceive or experience any obstacles. Your customers will appreciate being asked and you'll discover some blind spots in your business.

Taking control in this area costs you absolutely nothing! But, it can make a dramatic difference.

In some cases, it might actually be a good strategy to make clients jump through some hoops. But, for most businesses, it's just bad business!

So, by all means... make it super easy for your customers to do business with you by eliminating all obstacles!

If you make doing business with you easy, you've already set yourself apart from your competitors