Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
Every one of us has done it. We download software, and we click the yes button that we agree to the terms and conditions.
The truth of the matter is we have not read the terms and conditions. We have no idea what's in the small print.
It is never a good idea to sign a legal document without reading it. Yet, we do it all the time. Software aside, how about a long-term lease for space?
Example: A business owner I know was so anxious to get her business moved into a more desirable location, she signed the lease without reading all the small print. Soon, she began receiving bills for electricity and natural gas amounting to more than the monthly rental. Both were used to heat the space, and the bills came from the landlord--not the utility companies. She had an expensive mess on her hands--with no way out but to pay.
Example: A holistic counselor rented a small office in a professional building without reading the fine print in the lease. Turns out the lease stated that this business agreed to expand into the adjoining office space as it became available. Several months later, the business next door suddenly vacated their space. The holistic counselor was notified that the new monthly rental would triple. Fortunately, this landlord was accommodating and let the holistic counselor out of the lease--writing a completely new one.
People in business learn quickly that a lease is a legal document. Signing a lease without reading it--and understanding it--can be dangerous. The danger usually lies in the scary small print.
Before signing to any legal document, it is a good idea to run it past an attorney. Language you and I use every day can mean something entirely different in court. Of course, an attorney looks for the legalities. You, as a business person, must look for the business aspects.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Time to start
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
The time to start a business is now. It is never too early, and it is never too late. No matter your age or situation, today is the day to begin.
Teenagers and pre-teens are good at starting businesses. If nothing else, they have energy and attitude. These two traits will take them far.
Seniors have gained much of life's experiences. They know the value of persistence. They can turn a long-held interest into a business, avoiding the set-backs younger people might experience.
Adults between youth and retirement frequently change career directions and start a business. They are looking for more fulfillment than that they leave behind.
Example: I once helped a woman in her late 70s establish a new bagel house. She bought used equipment, rented a high traffic space, and in less than a year, she had established a thriving operation, selling bagels retail as well as wholesale. The key here was her drive and the excellence of her bagels. People came, they came back, and they brought others.
Example: A teenager came to me for advice on growing his business. He had spent years cutting grass, trimming shrubbery and doing yard clean-ups. He wanted to grow into a full landscaping operation after he graduated high school. I helped him do a business plan and he was on his way. It was an easy transition to grow into a business based on the customers and reputation he already had.
Example: A lady in corporate American left her office every day to hurry home. There, she pursued her first love--at her potter's wheel. After we talked a few times, she took early retirement and set up her own pottery operation. Her special glazes attracted early attention, and her pottery commands high praise--and high prices.
Anyone can start a business at any age. Never think that you're too young or too old or too locked into a career that no longer excites you.
Today is the day to begin. It's easier than ever to get that idea off the ground and running. The Internet makes it easy to reach out, far beyond your own community, tapping more and more people on the shoulder, and turning them into customers.
I wish that the Internet had been around when I first started out. "Yeah, Dad," my daughter would say. "Those were the olden days."
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
The time to start a business is now. It is never too early, and it is never too late. No matter your age or situation, today is the day to begin.
Teenagers and pre-teens are good at starting businesses. If nothing else, they have energy and attitude. These two traits will take them far.
Seniors have gained much of life's experiences. They know the value of persistence. They can turn a long-held interest into a business, avoiding the set-backs younger people might experience.
Adults between youth and retirement frequently change career directions and start a business. They are looking for more fulfillment than that they leave behind.
Example: I once helped a woman in her late 70s establish a new bagel house. She bought used equipment, rented a high traffic space, and in less than a year, she had established a thriving operation, selling bagels retail as well as wholesale. The key here was her drive and the excellence of her bagels. People came, they came back, and they brought others.
Example: A teenager came to me for advice on growing his business. He had spent years cutting grass, trimming shrubbery and doing yard clean-ups. He wanted to grow into a full landscaping operation after he graduated high school. I helped him do a business plan and he was on his way. It was an easy transition to grow into a business based on the customers and reputation he already had.
Example: A lady in corporate American left her office every day to hurry home. There, she pursued her first love--at her potter's wheel. After we talked a few times, she took early retirement and set up her own pottery operation. Her special glazes attracted early attention, and her pottery commands high praise--and high prices.
Anyone can start a business at any age. Never think that you're too young or too old or too locked into a career that no longer excites you.
Today is the day to begin. It's easier than ever to get that idea off the ground and running. The Internet makes it easy to reach out, far beyond your own community, tapping more and more people on the shoulder, and turning them into customers.
I wish that the Internet had been around when I first started out. "Yeah, Dad," my daughter would say. "Those were the olden days."
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Future markets
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
Today's world is very different from yesterday's. And tomorrow's will be even more unrecognizable.
A degree of certainty is required for business to survive, much less thrive. Right now, your small business is caught up in a juggernaut of change.
Think of what's happening with energy. We are caught up in a big debate on energy sources, and who knows where it's leading us.
You and your customers depend on electricity. Without electricity, your computer will go dark. Without electricity, banks and supermarkets will close. You won't be able to drive your vehicle (gasoline stations close), you won't be able to cook meals or wash clothes (most appliances stop running), reaching out by telephone will be iffy (then your batteries run out). And your customers will be in the same fix.
Viable alternative sources of energy are still largely out in the future. Hydroelectric and nuclear plants are producing significant streams of electricity right now. So are solar farms and wind turbines--to a more limited extent, considering the need. Coal is being banned.
Where will tomorrow's energy come from? Like it or not, we are still in an age of oil and gas. And we will be for the foreseeable future. As coal is phased out, electricity generating plants are using more and more oil and gas. Luckily, this country has more proven reserves of oil and gas than all of the Middle East combined.
So where does all this leave you and your small business? Well, if I were still in business (I'm retired now), I would be giving a couple of thoughts to the problem. How will I stay in business and serve my customers if the electric grid goes into frequent brownouts, or worse, crashes for a month or two?
Other uncertainties will affect your business in the future. As a nation, we are in a big debate on health care. Is the future in small, privately run health clinics or in big government bureaucracies? Or is another system of health care on the horizon?
Another: Genetically modified foods now pervade the food chain. A reaction to GMOs is afoot--cities and some states are insisting that GMO foods be so labelled. The concern revolves around the effects of these foods on human health--and there are good reasons to be concerned.
Still another: 3-D printing technology is right now producing devices that will forever change manufacturing. Will small machine shops and tool makers go the way of the hot lead typesetters of the past? 3-D printing companies are already making parts for the automotive industry, aerospace, health care, home and personal products--including jewelry, lighting fixtures, shoe wear and more. All these and other items are now being manufactured in plastics and metals.
As owners of small businesses, we tend to think about today's problems. But it's a good thing to consider where we're headed. The future is not knowable, but trends tend to continue. Thinking about these trends will help you structure your business to survive--and prosper. Or, maybe, get into a new line of business altogether.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
Today's world is very different from yesterday's. And tomorrow's will be even more unrecognizable.
A degree of certainty is required for business to survive, much less thrive. Right now, your small business is caught up in a juggernaut of change.
Think of what's happening with energy. We are caught up in a big debate on energy sources, and who knows where it's leading us.
You and your customers depend on electricity. Without electricity, your computer will go dark. Without electricity, banks and supermarkets will close. You won't be able to drive your vehicle (gasoline stations close), you won't be able to cook meals or wash clothes (most appliances stop running), reaching out by telephone will be iffy (then your batteries run out). And your customers will be in the same fix.
Viable alternative sources of energy are still largely out in the future. Hydroelectric and nuclear plants are producing significant streams of electricity right now. So are solar farms and wind turbines--to a more limited extent, considering the need. Coal is being banned.
Where will tomorrow's energy come from? Like it or not, we are still in an age of oil and gas. And we will be for the foreseeable future. As coal is phased out, electricity generating plants are using more and more oil and gas. Luckily, this country has more proven reserves of oil and gas than all of the Middle East combined.
So where does all this leave you and your small business? Well, if I were still in business (I'm retired now), I would be giving a couple of thoughts to the problem. How will I stay in business and serve my customers if the electric grid goes into frequent brownouts, or worse, crashes for a month or two?
Other uncertainties will affect your business in the future. As a nation, we are in a big debate on health care. Is the future in small, privately run health clinics or in big government bureaucracies? Or is another system of health care on the horizon?
Another: Genetically modified foods now pervade the food chain. A reaction to GMOs is afoot--cities and some states are insisting that GMO foods be so labelled. The concern revolves around the effects of these foods on human health--and there are good reasons to be concerned.
Still another: 3-D printing technology is right now producing devices that will forever change manufacturing. Will small machine shops and tool makers go the way of the hot lead typesetters of the past? 3-D printing companies are already making parts for the automotive industry, aerospace, health care, home and personal products--including jewelry, lighting fixtures, shoe wear and more. All these and other items are now being manufactured in plastics and metals.
As owners of small businesses, we tend to think about today's problems. But it's a good thing to consider where we're headed. The future is not knowable, but trends tend to continue. Thinking about these trends will help you structure your business to survive--and prosper. Or, maybe, get into a new line of business altogether.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Planning box
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
I firmly believe in business planning. The planning process forces you to think through the ideas you have.
Planning is a straightforward exercise in principle, but it can be extremely difficult to do.
With business plans, the aim is to match your business to the market. This forces you to look at the market, define it as best you can, and see if your business ideas measure up.
Questions: Is there truly a market for my goods/services? How big is this market? What part or parts of the market can I serve? What's the future of the market segment I plan to address? Is there a technological component/impact?
More questions: Is this market mature? Is it moving to the Internet? What's the competition? Shall I establish a bricks-and-mortar operation with an Internet presence? Or is it better to be totally Internet based?
These questions--and more--get at the foundations of a business. The answers must be reduced to numbers. The hard, cold numbers you derive from the marketplace will tell you whether you can succeed or fail. Planning can save you from dead-ends and failure.
Projecting numbers of future sales and costs is an iffy undertaking. The marketplace is dynamic. It can change directions very quickly. Business owners must account for this as best they can, continually adjusting.
I've found it useful to have a planning box. It rests on a shelf among the books. Anytime an idea occurred to me or a scrap of useful information crossed by path, I'd write it down and drop it in my planning box. About every 2 to 3 months, I take my planning box down and sift through the whole mess.
At this point most of the miscellaneous notes got discarded. But there were always gems to be found. These became a part of my road map to the future. I would flesh out ideas with some numbers, I would round out some projections, and then I would decide whether or not it would be worthwhile to change the business direction.
Get yourself a planning box. It can make planning an on-going and almost daily process. Then you'll have a solid basis to write that formal plan the lender requires for a loan. And you can head off into that expansion, confident that you've covered all the bases.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I'm not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
I firmly believe in business planning. The planning process forces you to think through the ideas you have.
Planning is a straightforward exercise in principle, but it can be extremely difficult to do.
With business plans, the aim is to match your business to the market. This forces you to look at the market, define it as best you can, and see if your business ideas measure up.
Questions: Is there truly a market for my goods/services? How big is this market? What part or parts of the market can I serve? What's the future of the market segment I plan to address? Is there a technological component/impact?
More questions: Is this market mature? Is it moving to the Internet? What's the competition? Shall I establish a bricks-and-mortar operation with an Internet presence? Or is it better to be totally Internet based?
These questions--and more--get at the foundations of a business. The answers must be reduced to numbers. The hard, cold numbers you derive from the marketplace will tell you whether you can succeed or fail. Planning can save you from dead-ends and failure.
Projecting numbers of future sales and costs is an iffy undertaking. The marketplace is dynamic. It can change directions very quickly. Business owners must account for this as best they can, continually adjusting.
I've found it useful to have a planning box. It rests on a shelf among the books. Anytime an idea occurred to me or a scrap of useful information crossed by path, I'd write it down and drop it in my planning box. About every 2 to 3 months, I take my planning box down and sift through the whole mess.
At this point most of the miscellaneous notes got discarded. But there were always gems to be found. These became a part of my road map to the future. I would flesh out ideas with some numbers, I would round out some projections, and then I would decide whether or not it would be worthwhile to change the business direction.
Get yourself a planning box. It can make planning an on-going and almost daily process. Then you'll have a solid basis to write that formal plan the lender requires for a loan. And you can head off into that expansion, confident that you've covered all the bases.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I'm not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Business dreamin'
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
Today's leaders in computing technology and social media started small. So did the fast food chains--one outlet at a time.
To get a business out of the garage and into the big time takes dreamin' and vision. Not all small businesses grow large.
The ultimate size of a business depends on the vision of the owner. But the main constraint is the marketplace. Markets limit business growth.
The same applies to your business. No matter how big your dreams, more important are the buyers of your goods and services.
Example: Small cafes can specialize, attracting tradespeople looking for hearty breakfasts and lunches. Electricians, plumbers, construction crews, landscapers and others start their day very early. They represent a niche market in the restaurant business. Is there a chain of specialty cafes catering to these buyers? I'm not talking Starbucks here, or Burger King.
Example: Gift shops can grow larger by targeting certain types of buyers. This plan serves the niche market that is full of up-scale buyers. A small gift shop can brand itself for this market. Fill the shelves with hand-made pieces from artists and artisans--these creative types are always looking for outlets. Then consider a second store in an appropriate town or neighborhood. You are on your way to possibly franchising your gift shop operation.
Example: People will deprive themselves in favor of spending for their pets. It's a huge and growing market. True, there are national chains (both brick and mortar and on the Internet), but I suspect that the local pet store will always attract a loyal clientele. Owners of pet shops must stay on top of what's new and offered for pets--you can bet your customers will know. Or reach out to this market on the Internet.
No matter your business, you're only as big as your dreams. When you match your dreams to the available markets, you're on your way to solid growth. Just know that markets rule.
Dreams. They are the stuff of small business.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
Today's leaders in computing technology and social media started small. So did the fast food chains--one outlet at a time.
To get a business out of the garage and into the big time takes dreamin' and vision. Not all small businesses grow large.
The ultimate size of a business depends on the vision of the owner. But the main constraint is the marketplace. Markets limit business growth.
The same applies to your business. No matter how big your dreams, more important are the buyers of your goods and services.
Example: Small cafes can specialize, attracting tradespeople looking for hearty breakfasts and lunches. Electricians, plumbers, construction crews, landscapers and others start their day very early. They represent a niche market in the restaurant business. Is there a chain of specialty cafes catering to these buyers? I'm not talking Starbucks here, or Burger King.
Example: Gift shops can grow larger by targeting certain types of buyers. This plan serves the niche market that is full of up-scale buyers. A small gift shop can brand itself for this market. Fill the shelves with hand-made pieces from artists and artisans--these creative types are always looking for outlets. Then consider a second store in an appropriate town or neighborhood. You are on your way to possibly franchising your gift shop operation.
Example: People will deprive themselves in favor of spending for their pets. It's a huge and growing market. True, there are national chains (both brick and mortar and on the Internet), but I suspect that the local pet store will always attract a loyal clientele. Owners of pet shops must stay on top of what's new and offered for pets--you can bet your customers will know. Or reach out to this market on the Internet.
No matter your business, you're only as big as your dreams. When you match your dreams to the available markets, you're on your way to solid growth. Just know that markets rule.
Dreams. They are the stuff of small business.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Business joy rides
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
You're a business owner. You're running your business.
You make daily decisions. Some are good and some are not-so-good. You discard those that don't work and concentrate on those that do work.
Right?
Then, why do so many business owners take their businesses on joy rides?
You've seen it happen. You stop in at your favorite coffee shop, and the place has been transformed into lattes and biscotti. A regular cup of coffee? Maybe down the street.
Example: A hairdresser begins spending more and more time checking out and stocking products new to the market. This gives the owner a great deal of personal satisfaction, and the new products might attract new clients. But if you spend more and more time in this new area of the business, you're changing the direction of your business. It might be good, or it might be bad.
Example: An Internet marketing expert pushes every newly minted social media possibility to clients. It's because of his interest, not theirs. He's changing his brand and trying to change theirs. It might be good, or it might be bad.
Example: An American foods restaurant begins offering more and more healthy alternative meals, crowding out the popular burgers that diners have come to depend on. The chef is taking the restaurant on a personal joy ride, to the chagrin of regular customers. It might be good, or it might be bad.
These examples show what can happen when businesses go "off target." Once your brand is established, changing course can confuse regular clientele.
All businesses change--they must change to keep abreast of market demands. The key to success lies not with the owner's personal whim, but with the marketplace.
Changing the business is not the same as letting it drift. All businesses must change to keep up with changing markets. The business will tend to pull in one direction or another. You must give customers what they want or they go elsewhere.
Drifting toward a new market demand is one thing. Drifting toward the owner's newly discovered interest is another thing. A personal interest might coincide with a developing market that can be tapped. Or it might not.
Before heading off on your personal joy ride, see how it measures up to your overall business plan. Many business joy rides can grow your business. Others are just joy rides.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
You're a business owner. You're running your business.
You make daily decisions. Some are good and some are not-so-good. You discard those that don't work and concentrate on those that do work.
Right?
Then, why do so many business owners take their businesses on joy rides?
You've seen it happen. You stop in at your favorite coffee shop, and the place has been transformed into lattes and biscotti. A regular cup of coffee? Maybe down the street.
Example: A hairdresser begins spending more and more time checking out and stocking products new to the market. This gives the owner a great deal of personal satisfaction, and the new products might attract new clients. But if you spend more and more time in this new area of the business, you're changing the direction of your business. It might be good, or it might be bad.
Example: An Internet marketing expert pushes every newly minted social media possibility to clients. It's because of his interest, not theirs. He's changing his brand and trying to change theirs. It might be good, or it might be bad.
Example: An American foods restaurant begins offering more and more healthy alternative meals, crowding out the popular burgers that diners have come to depend on. The chef is taking the restaurant on a personal joy ride, to the chagrin of regular customers. It might be good, or it might be bad.
These examples show what can happen when businesses go "off target." Once your brand is established, changing course can confuse regular clientele.
All businesses change--they must change to keep abreast of market demands. The key to success lies not with the owner's personal whim, but with the marketplace.
Changing the business is not the same as letting it drift. All businesses must change to keep up with changing markets. The business will tend to pull in one direction or another. You must give customers what they want or they go elsewhere.
Drifting toward a new market demand is one thing. Drifting toward the owner's newly discovered interest is another thing. A personal interest might coincide with a developing market that can be tapped. Or it might not.
Before heading off on your personal joy ride, see how it measures up to your overall business plan. Many business joy rides can grow your business. Others are just joy rides.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
Monday, April 21, 2014
New customers
Free daily advice for people in small business
from someone who has been there, done that.
Some experts in marketing say that new customers are more valuable than existing customers. They base this on reckoning that new customers represent future value.
That's certainly true. New customers expand your sales--now and in the future.
So where do new customers come from? How do you find them? How do you impress them to deal with you instead of the competition?
Many possibilities are available to you. Only you can decide what will work in your business.
Attend networking meetings. Join local organizations. Ask existing customers for referrals. Send out news releases. Build your email list. Keep your Facebook page active. Form a MeetUp.com group centered around your interests. Get your business on Angie's List. Offer your expertise as a guest speaker. Offer free "how-to" workshops. Hold an open house. Offer freebies.
Examples: I know an exercise and fitness operation that offers a free initial consultation with a personal trainer. A doctor of chiropractic does the same thing. A free initial consultation puts the new person's mind at ease. It attracts new clients and begins the relationship.
Examples: I know a healthy foods store that sets up a daily sample table. It's filled with free goodies for customers. A bakery does the same thing. New people coming in are introduced to new products and they are impressed with the operation. They linger, and they come back.
Examples: I know a lawyer who offers free brochures. One explains what to do when you get a traffic ticket. An accountant offers free tax tips. These are simple, easy to prepare and have on hand. New clients appreciate information and remember you when their need arises.
As you can see, there are all sorts of freebies. And freebies cast your operation in a new light, attracting interest and new customers. With a memorable experience, they are much more likely to tell others about your business. This can get the referral process in high gear.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired, and I'm not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
from someone who has been there, done that.
Some experts in marketing say that new customers are more valuable than existing customers. They base this on reckoning that new customers represent future value.
That's certainly true. New customers expand your sales--now and in the future.
So where do new customers come from? How do you find them? How do you impress them to deal with you instead of the competition?
Many possibilities are available to you. Only you can decide what will work in your business.
Attend networking meetings. Join local organizations. Ask existing customers for referrals. Send out news releases. Build your email list. Keep your Facebook page active. Form a MeetUp.com group centered around your interests. Get your business on Angie's List. Offer your expertise as a guest speaker. Offer free "how-to" workshops. Hold an open house. Offer freebies.
Examples: I know an exercise and fitness operation that offers a free initial consultation with a personal trainer. A doctor of chiropractic does the same thing. A free initial consultation puts the new person's mind at ease. It attracts new clients and begins the relationship.
Examples: I know a healthy foods store that sets up a daily sample table. It's filled with free goodies for customers. A bakery does the same thing. New people coming in are introduced to new products and they are impressed with the operation. They linger, and they come back.
Examples: I know a lawyer who offers free brochures. One explains what to do when you get a traffic ticket. An accountant offers free tax tips. These are simple, easy to prepare and have on hand. New clients appreciate information and remember you when their need arises.
As you can see, there are all sorts of freebies. And freebies cast your operation in a new light, attracting interest and new customers. With a memorable experience, they are much more likely to tell others about your business. This can get the referral process in high gear.
Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
I am retired, and I'm not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.
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