Simply Junior

In the value based business, the successful business owner or manager concentrates on the unique value that his or her business offers to its customers. This ‘uniqueness’ is discovered only through depth of thought and rigorous analysis of the reason and purpose that one is in business for in the first place.

It involves listening intently to what customers are saying and understanding their particular needs. Engaging customers at this level creates a close bond between the business and the customer. It creates opportunities for working with and through customers in a way that delivers results that are mutually agreeable.

Deep critical reflection is demanded to arrive at effective decisions that will deliver what the customer really wants, and not just what we may want to sell to them.

The three key elements that must be adopted to ensure customer focus, create value and transform both the value-based business and its relationships with customers are:

Adopt a ‘Customer Needs’ Driving Force

The mindset required for establishing a ‘customer needs’ approach must be imbedded in an understanding of the vision of the business, through a clearly articulated statement about what drives the business.

Such a driving force must be chosen by the business owner as part of setting the strategic agenda of the business. This then ensures that strategic choices are aligned to business capabilities, customers and markets and that these are properly differentiated and segmented within small business plans.

Adopting a ‘customer needs’ driving force results in products and services being developed by the value-based business around the current and future needs of its customers.

Build Strong Customer Relationships

Helping others get what they want builds strong customer bonds.

Use your business capabilities to help your customer strengthen their position in the market. This means tailoring your products and services to the needs of the customer, within the bounds and context of a mutually beneficial and trusting relationship.

This approach also applies to the internal environment of the business. The value chain of the business that extends to customers in the external environment begins in the internal environment as a series of processes.

People accomplish these processes. Seeing employees as customers, along a continuum of service, focuses business activities at the highest level in all its dealings with each other and external customers.

“What do you want to achieve?” and “How can we help you achieve what you want?” should always be the first words out of our mouths in addressing the needs of the people around us, both in our business and to the customer in the external world. Such questions display a degree of emotional intelligence in business.

Customer requests, feedback and complaints provide the opportunity to improve products and services by incorporating the valuable information that they contain.

Develop Strategic Partnerships, Alliances and Networks

Successful business owners join up processes between their companies and those of their customers in order to build an interdependent network of relationships that delivers greater returns to everyone.

When we work with and through others, we add value to what is on offer. This continuum of service and product delivery expands the reach of the value-based business and the customer.

Strategic partnerships, alliances and networks must never be entered into lightly. They must be built on a firm foundation and a shared value base. This is critical to ensure that products and services that are offered are not degraded or watered-down, in any way.

When forming such relationships it is paramount that the Mission, Vision and Values of the business are not compromised in any way. A partnership matrix framework that aligns these elements between prospective partners must be generated, as part of the business policy development process.

Business alliance and partnership relationships must be evaluated diligently before they are entered into. They require sound skills for negotiation and must be reviewed regularly as part of the business planning cycle.

Warning: this article reveals an essential strategy that must go in your business plan for small business success. After working with 146 businesses of all sizes I have noticed an inherent difference between success and struggle.

Virtually every sustainable long term enterprise inserts into their small business plans this key strategy. Without fail, most struggling enterprises do not implement this key tactic. So what is the strategy?

Essential Strategy to include in your business plans for small business success.

Stay in touch with prospects and past customers on your database at least every 90 days or less. Now it can be as frequent as weekly, fortnightly, monthly but never more than 90 days.

How do you do this? Well the very first step is to collect all contact data and have a simple database to put them in. Worldwide database management software such as Goldmine and Act are good possibilities for smaller business. Larger businesses will need more sophisticated industry specific versions.

Burn this saying into your mind: “More contact equals more sales.” The reverse is also true: Less contact equals less sales.

In the 21st century a new paradigm of successful business communication has emerged and it does not matter what industry you are in. After all, we are all human beings with wants and needs. Our past and current customers deserve our attention.

If you do not stay in touch with your past or current clients at least quarterly, there is a high percentage chance they will become someone else’s (your competitors new customer).

So this must do strategy no matter what business you are in, is critical to your success. Include it in any business plans for small business success.

There are some very compelling reasons for writing a business plan for small businesses. The challenge is that the misconceptions about what needs to go into a small business plan scare most owners and entrepreneurs away.

If you are like most small business owners or managers, you are incredibly busy, if not borderline overwhelmed. The idea of taking hours of valuable time to write a plan for your business may not seem worth it. But the data proves differently.

When writing a business plan for small business, focus on what really needs to be done, and what really needs to be measured. The plan does not have to be a 15 or 20 page document. In fact, it should only be one or two pages maximum. You should also have a yearly budget or financial plan as well. You really do not need to go overboard and do tons and tons of research about the market, and the opportunity, especially if you are already in business!

To write your plan, you will need a few things to get started. If you can assemble any of your sales and financial information for the past couple of years, that would be a bonus. You will need a notebook and writing instrument, possibly a laptop or a computer, and yourself. Then, basically find a quiet place to sit down for about an hour, and think about your business, and where you want it to go, and how you think you can get it there.

Let’s start with where you want your business to go. This is just a fluffy way of saying your vision for your business. Set a timeline for your vision; say 18 months or up to 5 years out. Then think about what your sales would be if everything goes as planned. What are your primary products or markets, and where will you do it.

Here’s an example: Within the next 3 years, grow MS Cut to $750,000.00 in sales providing industrial routing and cutting services to manufacturers and distributors in the Indianapolis market.

Or how about this: In the next 18 months, launch Tim’s Lunch & Deli, growing to $250,000 in sales. We will provide delicious sandwiches, soups and salads using all locally grown vegetables and products to the public in downtown St. Paul.

By writing out where you want your business to go in this fashion, you can clearly imagine the end result of your vision.

In terms of how you are going to get there, this is the strategy and tactics section of your plan. Again, what are the ways you are going to do the things you need to do? This could be everything from the methods you will use to attract customers, to the way that you will approach pricing your products or services. It can also address your marketing and advertising plans.

The main thing to keep in mind when it comes to your strategies and tactics, is to make them realistic. If you are going to need a lot of specialty skills (that you don’t currently have…) or technologies or a lot of money to do them, then chances are they won’t get used. Write this section of your plan so that you can actually do everything you need to do.

Next, you need to create a few measurables for your business. These are things like monthly sales revenues, profit percentages, labor hours to sales, number of returns per month, number of employee hours each month, etc.. These are all things that you can keep track of so that you will know if your plan is working, or if you need to address something quickly.

Each business, and each industry can have it’s own set of unique measurables. You may have one statistic you can keep that is a telling symbol for your business. Keep track of it, and see how it effects other areas of your business.

You should be able to track anywhere from 3 to 9 different measurables. Any more than that and you will not get much from it, and you are less likely to actually collect the information anyway. If you are using software like QuickBooks, Peachtree Accounting or another accounting app, there are several measurables you can pull and use to track your success.

All of the above information will fit nicely on one or two pages. Once you have that information, and you have written your business plan for your small business, the number one thing you can do is to use it, and use it often. Make a monthly (or weekly) appointment with yourself, your business partner, or your senior staff to review the plan, and make sure it still relevant. If something changes (and it will!), change your plan. It should be a living, dynamic document that you use on a regular basis to run your business.

By writing a business plan for your small business, you are creating a better opportunity for your business, and giving it a better chance of success.

As we near the end of 2010, crucial business planning for 2011 and beyond has to start if not already started.  One area where so many small businesses and home businesses fail is putting together valid business plans for the future.

You have to imagine your home business is a large corporation and treat it no less.  In any large corporation performance and profits and reviewing the client base and how best the company can serve them is key to survival of that corporation, so it should be the same for your home business.  So what can you be doing to get your business ready for 2011 and beyond.  As a student of Jim Rohn, I am always planning for my seasons to ensure that I get a good harvest at the end of the day.

What Can You Learn From 2010?

Right now, its a good time to reflect on the year you just had in your business.  2010 was a very challenging year of learning and change for me, the internet marketing arena is constantly changing and for me it was about keeping up with the changes and how I could use them to my advantage in my business.

Look at the different areas within your business, advertising, prospecting, leading, service how did you perform in each.  Did you meet your objectives that you set yourself.  If you didn’t look at why you didn’t, could you have done better,  its good to make notes of these and see if you can somehow look at lessons learned to improve and go forward with.  Where there things that you did not manage to achieve in the year, do you still need to carry these forward?  Make notes,and ensure they are not missed.  I suggest taking a week to look back at the year you just had, and what you could be taking forward for the following year.

Future Planning – Developing Business Strategies

Having a Business Strategy is key to any growing and developing business, why should your home business be any different.   Depending on where you want your business to go, you need to ensure you have a strategy in place to help you get there.  Don’t make the mistake of developing a business strategy then never look at it again through out the year.  Make sure the strategy is reviewed monthly to ensure you are on target.

Here are some things to think about to put in your business strategy:
Have you thought about what direction is your business going in? What is the market like, and how does your business compare? What is the unique selling point of you / your company? List out your key objectives for 2011 and beyond Based on those key objectives put together your plan for the next year, and the following 2-3 years making sure there is growth in there and realistic targets. Once you have prepared your plan, its good to get the opinion of others. You may want to share with peers or with a mentor or coach.  Take a step back and look at how realistic your targets are.  Are they ‘safe’ targets or will they be stretching you?

Key in all of this is about making yourself accountable.  What ever you put to paper it wont mean a thing if you don’t commit to making it happen.  Go out or your way to take action. Leave fear behind, because fear is what always holds us back. Fear of becoming a failure, fear of success!

F=For

E=Ever

A= Always

R= Running

Or the one phrase I really like is Forget Everything And Run.

I shall leave you with a positive note and that is

‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’.

To Your Success

Colette Morris aka workfmhomediva

Writing a business plan is very important for a small business. You have to explain your background, qualifications, experience and your capacity to implement the project. A good business plan is absolutely essential to convince the banks and financial institutions to lend you money for the project

Your business plan should explain who is starting the project. What is the project? When are you starting the project? Why are you starting the project? How are you going about it? The results expected from the project, should also be mentioned.

Your background and qualifications have to be explained in detail. You have to explain what projects you have done before. You should give a detailed explanation of the product or service you are going to launch. And also the competition you might face. If you are already in business, you should also give details of the activities of the company or business. The revenue expected should be mentioned in detail.

If it is new business the details of how you are setting up the business. How long it would take to set it up? Your production and sales targets should also be mentioned. How you are meeting these targets should also be explained.

Where are you going to set up the business? Whether it is a shop or a factory? How are you acquiring the land? The details of construction of the building and the costs involved should be mentioned.

Your marketing plans will have to be explained. Who are your customers and how are you going to reach them should be explained. Whether you are hiring a marketing company to market your product or marketing it on your own has to be explained. If you are planning an expansion, the details of how it would be financed should be mentioned.

You have to do quite a bit of ground work and research before starting any new project. It is always better to have contingency plans to get over any unforeseen problems. I have seen people visualizing various scenarios, and making plans to face them. It is always better to look before you jump.