The number one priority a small business owner should have in growing their business is ....
A business plan generated with care and kept a living breathing document staying abreast of the times.
A business plan is the vehicle by which you conduct the research for your market, decide which individuals to involve in the sales of your product, and validate your revenue and expense financial forecasts. It is the means by which you will convince first yourself and then others who can help you that your company has a road map to success.
Small Business owners should go to the SBA web site that guides them through the business planning process. They should follow the site presentation and note the factors to consider in growing a business.
SBA
This link contains examples of business plans ....
Business Plan Examples
Entrepreneurs can also choose a free counselor below who is experienced in their industry and that they feel can help them. They should try their plan out on the counselor. The counselor will put on a banker's or investor's hat and give them a reaction, then make suggestions to improve the plan and how to communicate it to a financial institution.
Free Counselor
Above all - PLAN --- to Succeed!
If you can't plan it how are you going to do it --- or convince a financial source you can?
Showing posts with label Small Business Growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small Business Growth. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday, October 17, 2011
3 Areas Today's Small Business Must Embrace Now To Survive & Grow
1. UNDERSTANDING THE NEW NORMAL
Higher interest rates
Slower economic growth
Increasing numbers of retirees
Less consumption; more saving
A more diverse population
A shift in the balance between private and public sectors
More uncertainty in our personal & national futures
2. APPRECIATING NEW CONDITIONS AND HOW THEY EFFECT SMALL BUSINESS
Chronic government deficits & cuts in service
Worries about how to pay for past promises
Creative destruction/disruptive innovation will change the way we deliver services
3. RECOGNIZING A WHOLE NEW WAY OF LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
Future economic growth will depend increasingly on increasing productivity and less on labor force size.
Education has been the key to productivity and prosperity.
Future productivity increases will depend on decisions and the investments we make now. Public sector productivity growth will be essential.
"I skate to where the puck will be,not to where it has been." - Wayne Gretzky
Higher interest rates
Slower economic growth
Increasing numbers of retirees
Less consumption; more saving
A more diverse population
A shift in the balance between private and public sectors
More uncertainty in our personal & national futures
2. APPRECIATING NEW CONDITIONS AND HOW THEY EFFECT SMALL BUSINESS
Chronic government deficits & cuts in service
Worries about how to pay for past promises
Creative destruction/disruptive innovation will change the way we deliver services
3. RECOGNIZING A WHOLE NEW WAY OF LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES
Future economic growth will depend increasingly on increasing productivity and less on labor force size.
Education has been the key to productivity and prosperity.
Future productivity increases will depend on decisions and the investments we make now. Public sector productivity growth will be essential.
"I skate to where the puck will be,not to where it has been." - Wayne Gretzky
Monday, August 1, 2011
What Is The Biggest Obstacle Standing In The Way Of Small Business Growth?
I think the biggest problem that small business are facing these days is the cost of doing business altogether. Generally, prices are rising, regulations are increasing in number and negative impact on doing business, purchasing power is decreasing, and uncertainty due to Goverment (sic Obama Administration) actions is increasing. Right now, the overall economy is playing an integral part in most of the small business' failure. It leads to lower revenues and lower profit margins and thus they have to go out of the business.
One other thing that most of the small entrepreneurs face is lack of skills, knowledge, know-how and customs for the specific industry they're working in. Although being innovative has its advantage sometimes when you're taking on national level companies, you need to either know or quickly learn the rules of the games.
Failures are also a big problems for small businesses. Motivation is a great factor against it. How well you take the failures whether small or big and so on. You'd hardly find any business without any setbacks. All those garage dreams didn't became multinational corporate giants overnight. They had setbacks and failures. The abilities, skills and unyielding attitude of these successful entrepreneurs led them to what they are now.
One other thing that most of the small entrepreneurs face is lack of skills, knowledge, know-how and customs for the specific industry they're working in. Although being innovative has its advantage sometimes when you're taking on national level companies, you need to either know or quickly learn the rules of the games.
Failures are also a big problems for small businesses. Motivation is a great factor against it. How well you take the failures whether small or big and so on. You'd hardly find any business without any setbacks. All those garage dreams didn't became multinational corporate giants overnight. They had setbacks and failures. The abilities, skills and unyielding attitude of these successful entrepreneurs led them to what they are now.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Small Business Growth Quiz – 7 Market Focused Questions You Must Ask To Help You Grow
There is a lot of attention directed at small businesses this year. President Obama talked about the need to help and support small businesses in his State of the Union address. And one outcome was the launch of Startup America. Also, states are talking about easing regulations and the tax burden on small businesses in their quest to reduce unemployment.
Is this the year of the small business?
Possibly.
Is this an opportunity for you as a small business owner?
Maybe.
Now, a Warning to Small Business Owners...
As a small business owner, however, it is not a good strategy to hope that the federal or state governments will pass the right legislation and write regulations, which will help you succeed in the next 12 months. Hope may spring eternal, but it is not a good business strategy.
Be wary of generalizations about how the economy is doing: who the winners are and who the losers are or will be. It's distracting and frankly, it's filled with conflicting information.
It's like trying to decide on what is the best way to add 10 years to your life. You would be correct if you said – it depends on whom you ask. A dietician will tell you to focus on good nutrition. A trainer will tell you to exercise and use protein supplements. Some physicians would say hormone therapy. As the adage goes: when all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
Yes, we'll admit that the economy is showing signs of recovery, but the real question is... whether it's showing signs of recovery for you and your business. To answer this question you need to stop thinking like a small business owner and start thinking that you are running a multi-million dollar enterprise. Why, because many small business owners tend to think like a small company. And the answer to growth is to think big.
Here Are 7 Questions to Think About and Respond to When Planning for Business Growth:
1. Do you have a strategic vision that outlines your business direction for the next 12 – 24 months? And if you have employees, do they know it?
2. What is your stated mission (or purpose) statement? How is it communicated to your employees, and how does it help drive business decisions?
3. Do you have stated, written and practiced company values to align how you and your employees work together and serve your customers?
4. Do you have a branding strategy that promotes how you want to be seen by prospects and clients and articulates your competitive advantage or differentiation from your competitors?
5. Do you have standard monthly financial reports to track the financial health of your business and to help drive your decisions?
6. Do you have outstanding customer service? If you can't answer based on your customer's feedback, loyalty, references and testimonials – your answer is not yet.
7. Do you have an exit strategy for your business? Every business needs to have a sense of what the end game will look like. It drives growth and helps focus business decisions.
How did you do in answering these questions? Did you have thoughtful and detailed answers for each question? When we talk to small business owners about these questions they often remind us that they are small businesses and not GE, Nordstrom's or Zappos. And that's the problem.
We have also seen companies that believe answering questions such as these is a waste of time.
Why Our 7 Vital Questions for Small Business Owners Who Want to Grow Their Business Is NOT a Waste of Time?
A small research oriented company who had been in business for 10 years was modestly successful. They were concerned, however, that although they were able to come up with a strategic plan every year, they were not disciplined enough to implement the tactics required to achieve the plan. And they really didn't have to. Business came in and they were comfortable. You have likely heard us reference that success can be your greatest inhibitor to growth. And, the issue for them was that they weren't growing.
They decided to re-focus their efforts on growth. To do that they:
1. Looked deep inside themselves and their business and discovered they were missing a number of ingredients for small business growth success. They uncovered this realization simply by honest answering our 7 questions.
2. Established company values to guide their work together and in serving their clients
3. Created their strategic vision (ideal future state)
4. Refined their purpose (or mission) statement
5. Identified key strategies and tactics to implement the vision and created accountability by assigning those to lead individuals. Progress on tactics was reviewed quarterly, with general updates given monthly.
6. Candidly discussed how they worked together and how work should be distributed to take advantage of each partner's strengths
7. Identified their target market and the market niche
8. Created tracking and reporting tools and a process to monitor sales
9. Created a financial reporting system, reviewing it monthly and using ratio analysis to do a year over year comparison
10. They are embarking on a re-branding strategy
11. They are working to identify and develop an exit strategy
They started this initiative in 2008. 2009 was the best financial performance year they had in the company's 10-year history. 2010 was almost 40% higher than 2009. And note this was accomplished in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
So what really happened? Were they lucky? Were they in the right place at the right time? No - neither of these can explain their growth. What they did was stop thinking small. They stopped behaving like a "mom and pop shop" and decided to focus on growth.
So, we encourage you to take a dispassionate view of your business. Stop listening to the generalities and honestly and thoughtfully respond to your own market-focused questions we suggested. Thinking small will keep you small; thinking big and planning big will lay the path to your growth.
Management Consultants and Business Performance Improvement Specialists Sara Laforest and Tony Kubica have 50+ years of combined experience in helping small and large entrepreneurial businesses accelerate their business growth in record times. Now, you can learn how to think big and avoid the self-sabotaging behaviors that most owners possess at: KubicaLaforestConsulting.com
Is this the year of the small business?
Possibly.
Is this an opportunity for you as a small business owner?
Maybe.
Now, a Warning to Small Business Owners...
As a small business owner, however, it is not a good strategy to hope that the federal or state governments will pass the right legislation and write regulations, which will help you succeed in the next 12 months. Hope may spring eternal, but it is not a good business strategy.
Be wary of generalizations about how the economy is doing: who the winners are and who the losers are or will be. It's distracting and frankly, it's filled with conflicting information.
It's like trying to decide on what is the best way to add 10 years to your life. You would be correct if you said – it depends on whom you ask. A dietician will tell you to focus on good nutrition. A trainer will tell you to exercise and use protein supplements. Some physicians would say hormone therapy. As the adage goes: when all you have is a hammer, the whole world looks like a nail.
Yes, we'll admit that the economy is showing signs of recovery, but the real question is... whether it's showing signs of recovery for you and your business. To answer this question you need to stop thinking like a small business owner and start thinking that you are running a multi-million dollar enterprise. Why, because many small business owners tend to think like a small company. And the answer to growth is to think big.
Here Are 7 Questions to Think About and Respond to When Planning for Business Growth:
1. Do you have a strategic vision that outlines your business direction for the next 12 – 24 months? And if you have employees, do they know it?
2. What is your stated mission (or purpose) statement? How is it communicated to your employees, and how does it help drive business decisions?
3. Do you have stated, written and practiced company values to align how you and your employees work together and serve your customers?
4. Do you have a branding strategy that promotes how you want to be seen by prospects and clients and articulates your competitive advantage or differentiation from your competitors?
5. Do you have standard monthly financial reports to track the financial health of your business and to help drive your decisions?
6. Do you have outstanding customer service? If you can't answer based on your customer's feedback, loyalty, references and testimonials – your answer is not yet.
7. Do you have an exit strategy for your business? Every business needs to have a sense of what the end game will look like. It drives growth and helps focus business decisions.
How did you do in answering these questions? Did you have thoughtful and detailed answers for each question? When we talk to small business owners about these questions they often remind us that they are small businesses and not GE, Nordstrom's or Zappos. And that's the problem.
We have also seen companies that believe answering questions such as these is a waste of time.
Why Our 7 Vital Questions for Small Business Owners Who Want to Grow Their Business Is NOT a Waste of Time?
A small research oriented company who had been in business for 10 years was modestly successful. They were concerned, however, that although they were able to come up with a strategic plan every year, they were not disciplined enough to implement the tactics required to achieve the plan. And they really didn't have to. Business came in and they were comfortable. You have likely heard us reference that success can be your greatest inhibitor to growth. And, the issue for them was that they weren't growing.
They decided to re-focus their efforts on growth. To do that they:
1. Looked deep inside themselves and their business and discovered they were missing a number of ingredients for small business growth success. They uncovered this realization simply by honest answering our 7 questions.
2. Established company values to guide their work together and in serving their clients
3. Created their strategic vision (ideal future state)
4. Refined their purpose (or mission) statement
5. Identified key strategies and tactics to implement the vision and created accountability by assigning those to lead individuals. Progress on tactics was reviewed quarterly, with general updates given monthly.
6. Candidly discussed how they worked together and how work should be distributed to take advantage of each partner's strengths
7. Identified their target market and the market niche
8. Created tracking and reporting tools and a process to monitor sales
9. Created a financial reporting system, reviewing it monthly and using ratio analysis to do a year over year comparison
10. They are embarking on a re-branding strategy
11. They are working to identify and develop an exit strategy
They started this initiative in 2008. 2009 was the best financial performance year they had in the company's 10-year history. 2010 was almost 40% higher than 2009. And note this was accomplished in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
So what really happened? Were they lucky? Were they in the right place at the right time? No - neither of these can explain their growth. What they did was stop thinking small. They stopped behaving like a "mom and pop shop" and decided to focus on growth.
So, we encourage you to take a dispassionate view of your business. Stop listening to the generalities and honestly and thoughtfully respond to your own market-focused questions we suggested. Thinking small will keep you small; thinking big and planning big will lay the path to your growth.
Management Consultants and Business Performance Improvement Specialists Sara Laforest and Tony Kubica have 50+ years of combined experience in helping small and large entrepreneurial businesses accelerate their business growth in record times. Now, you can learn how to think big and avoid the self-sabotaging behaviors that most owners possess at: KubicaLaforestConsulting.com
Thursday, January 27, 2011
How Should Government Encourage Small Business Growth And Entrepreneurship?
The government should encourage small business by doing absolutely nothing.
That's right -- nothing ...
It should stop altogether making up incentive/punishment programs to get businesses to do what the government wants them to do. And it should stop trying to "level the playing field"; which, of course, is just another way to intervene on behalf of their political allies.
As a small business owner all you want is predictability and stability from your government -- not more carrots to chase or sticks to avoid. The more small business "incentives" they legislate, the more chaos and distortion they inject into the business environment.
You want to encourage small business growth? It's simple. Stop trying to "help" us with elaborate schemes. You want more competition? Stop fooling around with basic market dynamics to protect your political allies.
Do that, and everything will work out fine.
I would never solely trust the "invisible hand" to manage a just and fair marketplace. A certain amount of regulation is required to protect consumers. That I accept, completely understand, and support.
However, when government picks and chooses which industries and businesses it will promote and support, and develops "programs" to appease special interests and manipulate outcomes under the guise of "helping small business," then it has crossed a not-so-fine line. So this is not about regulation. It's about unnecessary, unproductive, meddling for purely political reasons.
Every new business incentive/punishment program the government creates automatically spawns people intent on "gaming" the system, and builds entirely new -- otherwise useless -- entities designed to help more people participate in that gaming.
Then more legislation is passed to address the problems government just created, more gamers are generated, and so on and so on. You almost have to play -- at least defense -- to survive, and that just shouldn't be the case, especially if you are playing by the established rules.
So just tell us what the deal is. Not what it might be or could be. Then stick with the deal for a reasonable period of time so we can plan. Remove the gamesmanship. All we're looking for is stability.
That's right -- nothing ...
It should stop altogether making up incentive/punishment programs to get businesses to do what the government wants them to do. And it should stop trying to "level the playing field"; which, of course, is just another way to intervene on behalf of their political allies.
As a small business owner all you want is predictability and stability from your government -- not more carrots to chase or sticks to avoid. The more small business "incentives" they legislate, the more chaos and distortion they inject into the business environment.
You want to encourage small business growth? It's simple. Stop trying to "help" us with elaborate schemes. You want more competition? Stop fooling around with basic market dynamics to protect your political allies.
Do that, and everything will work out fine.
I would never solely trust the "invisible hand" to manage a just and fair marketplace. A certain amount of regulation is required to protect consumers. That I accept, completely understand, and support.
However, when government picks and chooses which industries and businesses it will promote and support, and develops "programs" to appease special interests and manipulate outcomes under the guise of "helping small business," then it has crossed a not-so-fine line. So this is not about regulation. It's about unnecessary, unproductive, meddling for purely political reasons.
Every new business incentive/punishment program the government creates automatically spawns people intent on "gaming" the system, and builds entirely new -- otherwise useless -- entities designed to help more people participate in that gaming.
Then more legislation is passed to address the problems government just created, more gamers are generated, and so on and so on. You almost have to play -- at least defense -- to survive, and that just shouldn't be the case, especially if you are playing by the established rules.
So just tell us what the deal is. Not what it might be or could be. Then stick with the deal for a reasonable period of time so we can plan. Remove the gamesmanship. All we're looking for is stability.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Small Business Digest ….. Weekly Guide For Small Business Owners
Announcing the Next For Small Business Growth Digest, a weekly guide that delivers knowledge you can use right now … gleaned from the cutting edge of small business growth.
If you’re struggling with the challenges and overwhelmed by what always goes hand in hand with small business growth …..
If you’re approaching that $500k/year milestone of success and are having troubling finding the way forward …..
Or if you’re just looking to get that extra edge in your business so you can be less stressed and have more free time in your life …..
You’re going to love the Next For Small Business Growth Digest!
In it, you’ll discover the latest tools, tips, and tricks to keep you ahead of the competition by getting more customers easier, and keeping them longer.
Now you too can benefit from 63 years of combined experience helping small business owners achieve maximum profits and impact.
When you subscribe to the Next For Small Business Growth Digest, you’ll gain powerful, inside information on a wide variety of topics (and you’ll be able to read it all in less than 7 minutes on most weeks).
You’ll discover principles such as:
* How to uncover the leverage points that will explode your business growth (and root out major “business breakdowns” at the same time)…
* How to drive traffic to your website—using SEO, social media, PPC, affiliates, and more…
* How to create easy videos that pierce the noise in your market and grab the attention of your prospects…
* How to laser-focus your business so that it serves your ideal customers (so you can stop wasting time and money “casting a wide net”)…
* How to develop a focused mind and unstoppable spirit so you’re moving forward each and every day… no matter what your external circumstances!
* How to convert visitors into buyers (you’ll discover age-old principles that are overlooked by most small business owners)…
* How to sell with total confidence and enthusiasm, without scaring your prospects away…
* And much more…
Your Free Bonuses …………
You’ll also receive 2 special gifts just for signing up for the Next for Small Business Growth Digest ($47 value).
These special bonuses work together as a “one-two punch” to bring your marketing to the next level ….. no matter how long you’ve been in business.
The fact is, in their years of helping small businesses grow, the one thing SBD has discovered is what super-charges business growth like nothing else is pinpointing your ideal customer ….. and then serving them wholeheartedly and single-mindedly.
And most small businesses ….. even if they think they’re already serving their ideal customer ….. actually mess this one up and waste precious time and money because of it.
Focusing on your ideal customer is such an important part of growing your business that they’ve also developed a video guide and special report to walk you through the entire process.
To sign-up just go to: Small Business Digest
E3KQCPSYE53M
If you’re struggling with the challenges and overwhelmed by what always goes hand in hand with small business growth …..
If you’re approaching that $500k/year milestone of success and are having troubling finding the way forward …..
Or if you’re just looking to get that extra edge in your business so you can be less stressed and have more free time in your life …..
You’re going to love the Next For Small Business Growth Digest!
In it, you’ll discover the latest tools, tips, and tricks to keep you ahead of the competition by getting more customers easier, and keeping them longer.
Now you too can benefit from 63 years of combined experience helping small business owners achieve maximum profits and impact.
When you subscribe to the Next For Small Business Growth Digest, you’ll gain powerful, inside information on a wide variety of topics (and you’ll be able to read it all in less than 7 minutes on most weeks).
You’ll discover principles such as:
* How to uncover the leverage points that will explode your business growth (and root out major “business breakdowns” at the same time)…
* How to drive traffic to your website—using SEO, social media, PPC, affiliates, and more…
* How to create easy videos that pierce the noise in your market and grab the attention of your prospects…
* How to laser-focus your business so that it serves your ideal customers (so you can stop wasting time and money “casting a wide net”)…
* How to develop a focused mind and unstoppable spirit so you’re moving forward each and every day… no matter what your external circumstances!
* How to convert visitors into buyers (you’ll discover age-old principles that are overlooked by most small business owners)…
* How to sell with total confidence and enthusiasm, without scaring your prospects away…
* And much more…
Your Free Bonuses …………
You’ll also receive 2 special gifts just for signing up for the Next for Small Business Growth Digest ($47 value).
These special bonuses work together as a “one-two punch” to bring your marketing to the next level ….. no matter how long you’ve been in business.
The fact is, in their years of helping small businesses grow, the one thing SBD has discovered is what super-charges business growth like nothing else is pinpointing your ideal customer ….. and then serving them wholeheartedly and single-mindedly.
And most small businesses ….. even if they think they’re already serving their ideal customer ….. actually mess this one up and waste precious time and money because of it.
Focusing on your ideal customer is such an important part of growing your business that they’ve also developed a video guide and special report to walk you through the entire process.
To sign-up just go to: Small Business Digest
E3KQCPSYE53M
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
How To Grow Your Small Business
Tony Lockwood is the founder of Business Growth Mastery - a website dedicated to providing a range of support to SMEs looking to grow their businesses. The site is broken into a number of areas covering ......
1. aligning your personal and business visions
2. developing an effective business growth plan
3. identifying and building your management team
4. investing in your team
5. managing the cash to ensure that you can fund your growth
6. driving growth in profits
7. establishing an exit strategy
Tony is in the middle of reworking the website and will be offering a very interactive 8 week program at no cost. The new website should be launched by the end of April
1. aligning your personal and business visions
2. developing an effective business growth plan
3. identifying and building your management team
4. investing in your team
5. managing the cash to ensure that you can fund your growth
6. driving growth in profits
7. establishing an exit strategy
Tony is in the middle of reworking the website and will be offering a very interactive 8 week program at no cost. The new website should be launched by the end of April
Monday, December 7, 2009
Why Is Smaller Government Better For Small Business?
In a nutshell smaller government means less regulation and hopefully lower taxes.
This allows small businesses to spend less of their potential profits on compliance and taxes .... and use more of that to grow and avoid the pitfalls that come with living on the edge.
That is why businesses tend to go where government regulations support them and get out of high tax, high regulation states and municipalities (or countries).
Small business is leading the way to smaller government in the US.
It is becoming apparent that the 81-agency US federal government ..... combined with spending at the level the Pentagon consumes ..... simply cannot be afforded any more. It is also becoming apparent that big business, Wall Street, and the existing US federal government have been .... and still are .... in tremendous collusion.
World economics, the current recession, and events such as those in Dubai will restructure the mammoth government industrial complexes that have been growing since World War II. And small business will be there to fill in the gaps, pick up the pieces, and lead the way to more efficient and affordable approaches.
It is a hard way to go but it will happen by default. It's called going broke - printing money until its value is shot - taking credit from others until the risk is so high they take their assets and walk away - becoming a third rate player because the necessary foresight is lacking.
The future is bright for small business. . They are the inspirational members of the greater/industrial business base that will be tasked with picking up the pieces and re-inventing the future. So our government can follow along, using every form of unique inventiveness imaginable - efficiently created, using technology to the max and not seeking financing to the hilt - only the opportunity to succeed.
Put simply ....... small government is better because:
* It means that the government has less power to interfere.
* It means that it has less power to tax or commandeer your income.
* It means that the government has to be more responsive to the citizens and their needs.
* It means that you can keep more of the profits that the company generated.
* It means that you have more freedom to decide what is the best policy for your company rather than the government make those choices for you.
* It means that you have greater freedom on deciding who to hire for your company.
Bottom line .... with less government involvement, you have the power to decide how best to run your business.
This allows small businesses to spend less of their potential profits on compliance and taxes .... and use more of that to grow and avoid the pitfalls that come with living on the edge.
That is why businesses tend to go where government regulations support them and get out of high tax, high regulation states and municipalities (or countries).
Small business is leading the way to smaller government in the US.
It is becoming apparent that the 81-agency US federal government ..... combined with spending at the level the Pentagon consumes ..... simply cannot be afforded any more. It is also becoming apparent that big business, Wall Street, and the existing US federal government have been .... and still are .... in tremendous collusion.
World economics, the current recession, and events such as those in Dubai will restructure the mammoth government industrial complexes that have been growing since World War II. And small business will be there to fill in the gaps, pick up the pieces, and lead the way to more efficient and affordable approaches.
It is a hard way to go but it will happen by default. It's called going broke - printing money until its value is shot - taking credit from others until the risk is so high they take their assets and walk away - becoming a third rate player because the necessary foresight is lacking.
The future is bright for small business. . They are the inspirational members of the greater/industrial business base that will be tasked with picking up the pieces and re-inventing the future. So our government can follow along, using every form of unique inventiveness imaginable - efficiently created, using technology to the max and not seeking financing to the hilt - only the opportunity to succeed.
Put simply ....... small government is better because:
* It means that the government has less power to interfere.
* It means that it has less power to tax or commandeer your income.
* It means that the government has to be more responsive to the citizens and their needs.
* It means that you can keep more of the profits that the company generated.
* It means that you have more freedom to decide what is the best policy for your company rather than the government make those choices for you.
* It means that you have greater freedom on deciding who to hire for your company.
Bottom line .... with less government involvement, you have the power to decide how best to run your business.
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Effect Of The Economy On Small Business
No matter where you stand on the fence .... pessimist, optomist, or somewhere in the middle .... no one can argue that the current state of the economy is having an effect on your small business.
Some are finding opportunity.
Some are hurting or even failing.
Some are simply surviving .... hoping to make it through.
Recession, depression, inflation, cap and trade, stimulus package(s), bank bailouts, company bailouts, health care reform, credit crunch, job loss, energy prices, tax proposals, consumer confidence, stock market fluctuations, investment / funding decline, business debt, consumer debt, declining consumer spending, going "green", construction slow down, real estate depreciation, and much more .... it all seems to be coming at you from every direction. That's alot of pressures to deal with ... if it applies to you at all (somewhat depends on your business niche of course).
So what is the effect on YOUR business? (Positive, painful, not much, making changes to get through it, etc.)
What opportunities are YOU finding? (there are some ... believe it or not)
What problems are YOU having? (please be specific ... plus what did or can you do about it OR what can someone else do about it for you e.g local, state, or federal goverment/agency)
How are YOU surviving? (again please be specific, what tips or insights could you share that others may benefit from)
Here's YOUR chance to weigh in ... and LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
Speak up, speak out ... make yourself heard!
Sort of like your own townhall just for small businesses. ;)
Please leave a comment ... as long as you'd like.
My request .... "say what you think, think what you mean, mean what you say".
Some are finding opportunity.
Some are hurting or even failing.
Some are simply surviving .... hoping to make it through.
Recession, depression, inflation, cap and trade, stimulus package(s), bank bailouts, company bailouts, health care reform, credit crunch, job loss, energy prices, tax proposals, consumer confidence, stock market fluctuations, investment / funding decline, business debt, consumer debt, declining consumer spending, going "green", construction slow down, real estate depreciation, and much more .... it all seems to be coming at you from every direction. That's alot of pressures to deal with ... if it applies to you at all (somewhat depends on your business niche of course).
So what is the effect on YOUR business? (Positive, painful, not much, making changes to get through it, etc.)
What opportunities are YOU finding? (there are some ... believe it or not)
What problems are YOU having? (please be specific ... plus what did or can you do about it OR what can someone else do about it for you e.g local, state, or federal goverment/agency)
How are YOU surviving? (again please be specific, what tips or insights could you share that others may benefit from)
Here's YOUR chance to weigh in ... and LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
Speak up, speak out ... make yourself heard!
Sort of like your own townhall just for small businesses. ;)
Please leave a comment ... as long as you'd like.
My request .... "say what you think, think what you mean, mean what you say".
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