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SMALL BUSINESS LEADER
ISSUE November, 2004
My energy level is really high this month. It better be; I have 3 speaking engagements within the next 30 days, plus we're hosting 3 events and I'm still working on web site updates.
One of my speaking topics is "organization", which I believe is a basic requirement for any business that wants to survive long term. It's also imperative for any business that wants to grow. In this month's feature article, "Organization: The Key to Business Freedom", you'll read my perspective and approach to organizing your business.
For the November 18th Telephone Roundtable we have Fat Fr-ee Writing Expert, Carol Andrus, author of Fat Fr-ee Writing for the Information Age, and international seminar leader, who will share her wisdom on how to cut the fat out of your business communications. See below for full details.
For those who are available on Tuesday, November 30th, we also have our regular Brain Exchange Roundtable which meets in midtown Manhattan. This small group continues to amaze all who participate. The interest in this monthly Roundtable event continues to draw increased interest. Do check out our calendar, http://primestrategies.com/calendar, and join us if you can.
For those in North America who celebrate Thanksgiving, remember to be thankful for what you have, no matter how little it may seem. Remember, once upon a time every big business was a small business. Let's begin the holiday season on a positive note and look forward to a productive and prosperous new year.
To your success,
Marian Banker
Publisher
Small Business Leader
mailto:marian@primestrategies.com
http://primestrategies.com
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FEATURE ARTICLE
ORGANIZATION: The Key to Business Freedom
One of the recurring themes among my clients and small business colleagues is the desire to be set fr-ee from the demands of running a business. It's only when your business operations are in order and running predictably, that you can become fr-ee. In other words, you must be well organized.
What does being organized do for us? It affords us the ability to streamline the process of getting our work done.
By organizing our business and our work we can save time, effort, confusion and frustration. We can increase productivity (both business and personal) and gain a level of freedom that all business owners strive to achieve. Organizing allows us to put our procedures on autopilot as much as possible. This is the key to gaining the freedom from business that seems to elude so many entrepreneurs.
Organization is step number three in a six step process toward achieving your goals. The six steps are:
Set Goal - What are we trying to accomplish?
Assess - What are the factors involved in getting the job done?
Organize - How do the factors most logically fit together and in what sequence?
Plan - Document the process and how it will be incorporated?
Act - Implement the Plan
Assess - Did we accomplish our Goal?
This approach works whether you're organizing your personal work or that of your business.
So why aren't we better organized? Most of us don't know how to approach the process of getting organized. We're in the bad habit of "winging it" when we really could be better prepared.
Let's face it, effective leaders are organized. They have a system for handling predictable work. Most businesses have a great deal of predicable work.
How do you determine predictable work? These are the key elements or factors that must take place in order to complete each aspect of your business. If you're a retail business with product it will be different than if you are a service business with intellectual property. In order to give order to your activities and predictability to your results you must assess the activities in your business and understand how each step takes you closer to the finished job.
Organization requires thought and a strategy to establish the most cost effective workflow.
Let's take a closer look at the Steps 1 through 3.
Step 1 - Set Goal
What are you trying to accomplish? Here's where you must consider the value of all aspects of your ultimate goal, like accuracy and timeliness. An example of a Goal might be: Assemble information from 15 sources into accurate and timely news to be released on a web portal.
Step 2 - Assess
How much of your work is predictable? It's easier if you think in terms of percentage of time involved. Using the above example, probably 90% of this work is predictable.
You also want to determine what is within your control and what outside controls you must work within. The theory to apply is: control what you can and manage what you can't.
Internal processes generally are within your control. If you have to live short term with systems that are outdated or not serving you, be sure to include a plan for changing them over time. And don't forget to include financial controls because you cannot afford to be vulnerable to fraud and embezzlement.
What's generally not controllable are external rules, deadlines and timeframes. If your work includes submitting RFP's, you need to gather the information as required and transmit to be received before the deadline. That must be considered as you set up your workflow and sequence.
Step 3 - Organize
What internal predictable factors apply? How do they interface with the predictable external factors? Sometimes it's easier if you break them down into manageable parts.
Intake - When setting up this part be sure to determine ahead of time what must be received or created in order to complete the job. Structure intake to provide what you need.
Process - Think through the sequence of key factors that lead to completion and identify decisions that need to be made along the way. Outline your process and test it a few times before committing it to a system.
Manage - This involves relationships and tasks that keep the business functioning. Be sure to include management of employees, customers and providers. What do you need for a baseline level of satisfaction in each of these situations? What actions will most likely assure this is achieved?
Maintain & Retrieve - When and under what circumstances will you need to retrieve information about the steps taken, the decisions made, the outcome or account status? Identify frequently needed information and keep it readily available. Less frequently needed information can be more remote.
Resources - What will you need to carry out your activities? Consider technology, people and capital. If you don't have resources when you need them, you could reach an impasse.
Once you've gone through all the steps you have the basis for a system or a structure - that can be used over and over again when predictable work occurs. Think of Michael Gerber's concepts, as outlined in his business classic, The E-Myth Revisited". He suggested every business should be organized as if it were to be franchised. In other words, operate from a clearly documented and well integrated system.
Write the System - As a place to start you will probably want to do it in as an outline until you've lived through the process a few times. Make sure everyone knows the system and their place in it. Your job gets easier when you have a system that works.
Now you've not only got yourself organized to DO THE JOB, you've got a foundation to grow on. In the process you'll gain your personal freedom from your business.
Yes, it takes time and commitment to make the changes that will set you fr-ee. As David Allen says in his book, Ready for Anything, "It's hard to stay on track without rails". With the rails in place you can concentrate on the controls and enjoy the trip.
If you're ready to change your results, get organized NOW, and set yourself fr-ee.
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TIP:
NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP
To stay current on political and economic trends and how they are affecting small business, you might benefit from the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship. This is an initiative sponsored by The Public Forum Institute of the Kauffman Foundation and is designed to improve awareness of the value of entrepreneurship. The home page is http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/aboutnde/index.htm. You can sign up for their weekly newsletter at http://www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/index.htm.
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NYC Small Business Awards - Last Chance!
For those of you who fit the profile, this is a great way to get some visibility and credibility.
DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Apply through November 15, 2004!
Awards of up to $30,000 can be won by participating in the first-ever New York City Small Business Awards. Brought to you by the Mayor's Commission on Women's Issues and the Department of Small Business Services, the awards were developed to recognize model businesses, which have demonstrated business success, entrepreneurship, and a commitment to benefit women in New York City.
Learn more about this exciting award at www.nyc.gov/women.
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BRAIN EXCHANGE BUZZ:
Find out what New York regional small business leaders are buzzing about. Join the next Brain Exchange Roundtable, http://primestrategies.com/bxrt, on Tuesday, November 30th, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. EST. You'll really get to know other entrepreneurs and be in a position to introduce yourself in a comfortable and informal business environment. This is where valuable connections are being made.
"I liked the diversity of the participants at the Roundtable. While I heard little that was new, there was much I needed to be reminded."
Donald Schwartz, ImageLink Productions
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November Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable
Moderator and Discussion Leader: Marian Banker, MBA, Business Leadership & Strategy Coach
Topic: "Fat Fr-ee Business Communications"
Date: Thursday, November 18, 2004, 1 to 2 p.m. EST
Guest Expert: Carol Andrus, , president of Write on Target, and author of Fat-Free Writing for the Information Age, travels world-wide presenting Fat-Free Writing seminars to help people cope with email overload. Today's time-pressed readers want their information faster.
In this roundtable, Carol will share some of her Fat-Free tips that will make your written communication instantly available to your reader's eye and mind.
You'll learn how to:
Use short, familiar words.
Get rid of WORD WEEDS.
Eliminate time-wasters and out-of-date clichés.
Go for the verb!
Make items parallel.
Be specific & concrete.
Format for your reader's eye.
This will be another fast-paced interactive Roundtable session with a dedicated expert. Plan to join us.
There is NO CHARGE for this Roundtable.
To register and receive the call-in number, send an e-mail to
roundtable111804@primestrategies.com. Within minutes you will receive the call-in number and instructions by-email from our autoresponder.
Here¹s what's been said about our popular Roundtable.
"The Guest Expert gave fresh ideas to reinvigorate the small business owner. I love the format."
Carolyn Tierney, ASID, Ferrium Design Studio
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FAST FORWARD
This Fast Company article looks ahead to see where and how business is going to happen in the next year and beyond. Expect Relationship Marketing to be a key theme.
http://www.fastcompany.com/fastforward/forward-networking.html
PROJECTING C^SH FLOW
Until you have control over your c^sh flow you won't have control of your business. Projecting c^sh flow is a matter of asking the right questions and making sure you have accurate information. Read the four-step process as outlined in Phillip Campbell's Inc.com Finance & Capital column.
http://www.inc.com/resources/finance/articles/20041001/cashprojection.htmlCRLF#
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
Marian Banker has been publishing Small Business Leader since January, 1999. Her focus is on bringing to the busy entrepreneur a quick look into the current world of small business from the perspective she's gained through coaching, consulting and training entrepreneurs in both service and product based businesses.
Marian offers individual coaching, business support groups, seminars and workshops on topics of critical interest to small business owners. Her monthly Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable has proven to be a popular way for business owners to come together around a specific business topic without leaving their office. See notice about this month's topic in the content above.
To learn more about her services, visit http://primestrategies.com.
FEEDBACK:
Your feedback is always appreciated. Please write to marian@primestrategies.com.
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COPYRIGHT 2004 SMALL BUSINESS LEADER
A publication of Prime Strategies, 333 East 23rd St., New York, NY 10010
http://primestrategies.com
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