By Maria Marsala
There are certain concepts that successful business owners
create, and then refine, over and over again. Does your
business have a mission statement? Have you defined the
strategies and objectives of your business? What if a lender
asks about your ROI?
Successful business people talk to each other in these
terms. (If you're curious, skip ahead to the end of this
article and read other concepts that you need to define to
increase your chances for business success.) If you're not
familiar with these concepts, brush up on the "language" of
business. Spending your energy defining and applying these
concepts to your business can build a strong, solid
foundation.
Plan on spending some time crafting these terms as they
relate to you and your business. The language of business
provides a handy framework for review, but there is so much
more to each of the concepts than its dictionary definition.
In order for the concepts to be effective, it’s necessary to
internalize and use them daily. And keep in mind how not
using these principles in your business may cause problems
later on. Consider these events:
-- The dot.com, Enron, and WorldCom fiascos are excellent
examples of what can happen when businesses forget about the
basics. Some folks decided they were smarter than more than
a hundred years of proven-to-work business concepts.
-- Established business owners who are stuck. To date, I
have not worked with an established business that is able to
provide me with a basic business plan—vision, mission,
objectives, strategies, etc. Some companies did create a
plan for funding purposes but haven’t looked at it for years
and years. If you’re running your business properly, you’re
looking at your business and marketing plan at least once a
week.
-- The blackout on the east coast taught us to make
sure we have backup plans and that our web hosting companies
have back up servers, too. Do you know that most companies
are so computerized that their customer service departments
don’t know how to process orders?
-- Your death. Many business owners don’t consider this
possibility at all. The goal is that in case of an
emergency, illness, death (or even a vacation!), your
business will run efficiently without you. Is your
business this ready?
Weaving these ideas into the operation and administration of
a business produces clarity and helps management to make
informed decisions, save time, and reduce expenses. Yes,
some businesses function well without the groundwork for a
time. However, at some point within the first five years,
the owner(s) end up "stuck" or decide to sell their
businesses. It’s then that they realize that the missing
piece—yes, you got it—is that they're not speaking the
language of business —yet!
Have you added these concepts to your business?
Vision Statement -- Mission Statement -- Objectives
Strategies -- Marketing Plan -- Ideal Client Profile
USP (Unique Selling Proposition) -- ROI (Return on Investment)
Assets Liabilities -- Back up Plans
Operations/Procedure Manual -- Licenses -- Insurance
Customer Service -- Asking for Help -- Hiring Help --
Networking
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