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The Challenge of Ownership

August 26, 2013 by

The Challenge of Ownership

Besides the challenges of having enough cash to start and run a business the next big deal is to get the business running well enough that the owner can afford good assistants or partners, and or workers so that the owner can begin to ‘have a life’ beyond the business. Building solid working relationships with employees is key to growth and keeping one’s sanity.

So how do you find and keep good help?

Some small businesses are a family business and whoever is available and ready to work may be your next employee even if they are not the ideal candidate. Most owners will be challenged to find a good assistant or sales person. Here are some tips. You want to find someone slightly over qualified who is truly interested in what the business is and wants to do whatever it is you want them to do. Easy said, I know. But the idea here is whoever you hire they likely will leave when they find a better job somewhere else unless…and this is really important, they have an opportunity to learn and earn more with your firm.

There needs to be a way for a person to both learn to excel at a job and have the chance to grow into having more responsibility and of course, earning more as well. If not you might have an assembly line of first time workers coming through and you will be spending way too much time training each one and managing them and no time to grow the business.

Where to find good people? Depends on what kind of help you need and how much you are will to pay or can afford to pay. But pay is not always the prime issue. If the business has potential for growth and is challenging in a good way, then you will have a better chance at finding ‘good’ help.

Good help can come in all shapes and ages and from every possible background. But it’s the individuals that have a more outgoing personality that often make the best employees if they also want to work.

Can you pick out who wants to work…not out of necessity but out of that’s just how they were made? There are tests to find these kinds of people but often small businesses don’t have the resources to go down that road. Meeting someone and shaking their hand, looking them in the eye and talking with them for 10 minutes should be all the interview you need. Let you gut be your guide. If it feels right to hire them then do so and get on with your business.

Some people are quick learners some not, but if they want to learn it will show in their actions and questions. If they push for more to do that’s a good sign. If they do tasks well and on time then tell them so and invite them to do more.

More on this later…keep on keeping on

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A Job Well Done

August 12, 2013 by

Blog 13                                                                       81213

 

 

When was the last time you experienced ‘a job well done’?

What service or product was it? What was it about that service or product that made you think, “Wow, what a great …”

Can you pin point what it was that was so great? Maybe everything was great.

Friends and I went to a local restaurant, The Five Mile House, outside of Nevada City and had great service, great ambiance, a great meal, and great entertainment at a reasonable price. Each one of us was impressed and will return again…the highest rating a business can get indeed. Not only that, here I am telling everyone what a great time we had. It was so good I had to personally thank the Chef and owner before we left for the evening.

Now, take your business, whatever it is, and think like a customer. Would you give your business a “great” rating? Why or why not? Of course, we like to think everyone would be impressed with our business and its offerings but are you getting those kind of ‘thank you’ comments from clients?

If not, why not?

Surely, there are always improvements to be made, but once you have the right formula for success in your particular business then the business should be flowing and growing. If not then look close at what is going on. Ask your clients for their feedback and take it seriously.

Even with impeccable service and/or products businesses do fail. So looking at the bigger picture is paramount for all owners. Timing, market placement, a unique selling proposition, and clever marketing are also very important aspects of the business. Also, as we have gone into previously, cash flow is king.

The Five Mile House owner had to endure the past 5 year of bust to get to what looks like a profitable place in the crowded food service industry here in the Gold Country. But endure he has and now his hard work is paying off. The growth may be slow but slow steady will when the day in most cases.

Keep on keeping on…

Filed Under: Analysis, Strategies for Success, Tips Tagged With: , , ,

One Small Business Conundrum

August 5, 2013 by

One Small Business Conundrum

 

Those who know say a business has to grow if it is to survive. There may be some exceptions but I want to focus on the proposition of growth as a way to go.

I was fortunate to have been invited into a new business as a person “Friday”. I did whatever was needed from sweeping the floors to answering phones to stocking to testing electronics. Being a card carrying English major I was happy to have the second job. My main work at the time was in Public Relations. The new electronic business was started by a very bright Stanford graduate who knew his way around Silicon Valley just as it was becoming Silicon Valley. Anyway, the team assembled worked well together and sooner than I had expected I was helping in sales and then managing sales. The business was growing mostly in spite of itself just because we were in the right place at the right time with the right services—electronic recycling and distribution.

Three of the that companies’ main players (myself and two others) decided we could go start our own company because the owner was getting more insane each week. And so we did leave and managed to catch some of the same good timing of the markets.

Like most business cycles we had to weather the ups and downs of the electronic industry boom and bust juggernaut. But mostly we grew the company because: 1. We recognized that we needed help, 2. We didn’t want to continue to work 80 plus hour weeks. 3. We could share the wealth and work less, that is, we had a budget that would support hiring support staff.

That was many years ago and I have had the opportunity to start other businesses…smaller businesses mostly and learn that good ideas do not always equal success. Timing and teamwork are more important than ever.

As a small business you need to have a vision of where you want the business to go but perhaps even more important you must know 1. That there is a market for what you want to offer, 2. That you know who will buy and how much they will pay for your offer. 3. And that you must know you will not get there alone…you will need help and you will need to budget for that help.

To grow the service or product you offer must have a future…there must be evolution inherent in your plan to survive. Evolution is the natural order of life. Chaos happens but eventually order comes out on top. So consider the long view when considering your business plan.

Take a look around, notice who has survived the longest in your niche. Notice what they have done well. Some lessons can be learned without spending money. Ultimately you will spend money to make money, so do so wisely by getting help before you need it.

Keep on keeping on…

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