Small Business Revitalization Blog

Have you ever wondered how Richard Branson built his empire from nothing?  What’s certain is that when he was 19 and larking about with his student newspaper he didn’t sit down and write out a business plan that included owning a couple of airlines, a space program, an island paradise and a financial institution or two!  

At 19 Branson was just like most small business owners… thinking really creatively about where  income could come from so he could pay the bills.  So what changed?  Those who dare to think big with their businesses are adept at taking the next step…

What’s different about their next step is that it is the step beyond what they can see clearly now.  Leaders who live large are willing to take steps into the unknown.  If you want to live a life larger than any movie star or business guru, this is the first and only step you need to take… and you’ll need to take a lot of them!!

So what’s the use of a business plan or strategic plan if stepping beyond the obvious is all that’s required?  Well, this morning I woke up at 4am (sleepless in Brisbane) dreaming intricate details of the products I’m creating for BlissTribe.  

Over the weekend we had done some creative brainstorming on BlissTribe and this had clearly carried over into my subconscious.   Last night those plans showed me the next steps beyond my waking imagination…that’s why I create plans!! I use plans to dream and to create… to develop my ideas beyond what I can see now… to catch glimpses of what else is possible and to discover what those ‘next steps’ could look like.  

Does this make planning sound just a little more interesting and appealing to you?  If you want to accelerate your business with ease… the Revive Business Coaching Planning Playshop on 21 June could be just the catalyst you require!

If you are tired of throwing out your strategies time after time (or you need to throw out the ones you've got and revitalise your business!), the phenomenally useful book “Rework”, written by the founders of 37Signals, offers some of the best advice on business strategy I have seen in a long time…  consider these five little gems (and there's more Rework inspiration at www.onstartups.com) :

“Great businesses have a point of view, not just a product or service.”  If you ever wondered where to find your twenty of so points of difference to your competitors, this is a fantastic place to start!

“You have the most information when you’re doing something, not before you've done it.”  The best way to answer your strategy questions is to put your toe in the water and get real customer feedback.  Don’t just imagine… test and measure!!

“Saying yes when you should say no leaves no bandwidth available for the great rather than the merely good.”  What’s NOT in your strategic plan matters more than what is in some ways!!

“The longer it takes to develop, the less likely it is to launch.”  Quick wins… quick wins… quick wins are the key to getting traction and profits quickly. I launched a product for BlissTribe before I had a website… I was testing the BlissTribe concept and playing with ideas… now I know it has great legs and is worth putting lots of time into!!

“A business without a path to profit is a hobby.”  This is my favourite… I see this happening every day with new businesses… the funny thing is an hour or two spent on developing your business model (ie the plan of where your profits come from) will solve it!!

If you want some different perspectives on Accelerating Your Business strategically, the next Revive Playshop is for you.  21 June 2010 in Brisbane, Australia – miss it and you’ll miss out on insights that will make your business more profitable than you can imagine!!

There's more Rework inspiration at www.onstartups.com too - what's your best strategic business advice?  Share it below...

I was talking with a business coaching client recently about what they had learned during the GFC.  One of the key things they are changing in their business is the way they look at debt – instead of pulling every cent out of the business and investing it personally, they are now considering ways to reinvest their profits into the business so that they need never worry about another financial crisis again.

This conversation reminded me of some uncommon but simple rules for business prosperity that I learned from Access Consciousness… what would change in your business and your life if you did these three simple things?

1.    Save 10%
If you put 10% of every dollar that comes into your life away and never touch it. Within a year, your whole financial situation will change. When you save the 10%, you finally realize that you have money!

2.    Ask Questions:
With everything you buy, ask: “If I buy you, will you make me money?” If you ask that, every molecule in the universe will support you in making money.

3.    Willingness to Receive
Many business owners are very independent and not in the habit of being willing to receive…  What would it take for you to be aware of where you cut off the energy of receiving because of your point of view, your judgments or your unawareness of the possibilities that could occur if you are willing to ask more questions?

If money weren’t the issue, what would you choose?

Many of the businesses struggling in the current economic environment are actually facing the same core issue:  their business model only works in a growth economy - that means it is looking a little beaten and broken right now.  An effective business model will work for your business in fair weather or foul... so what are the key issues you need to consider in developing a really profitable business model?

In essence your business model must be strategically designed so that your business can deliver you with lots of cash – regularly and easily!  As a business coach, I often observe that this part of the business is the most poorly defined for start-up businesses.  

If you don’t know who is going to give you money, for what, why they’ll hand over cash and how that will happen systematically, you don’t have a business, you have an interesting product or service idea, at best!  To build a sustainable business you must develop your ideas into a profitable business model!!!  

If your business model is based on one-off transactions you need to consider alternative models as the model most likely lacks sustainability.  To start with, you need to be able to offer a solution to the following:

• What do you offer and why would people choose your products/services over anyone else’s?
• What are your supply sources and how do they enable you to maximize your profit margins?
• Where will you find a ‘hungry market’ and how easily can they find you and buy from you?

Once you can answer these three questions you need to put your ideas into practice and work on fine-tuning your model so that it works everytime.  If the basic model is strong, then when the economy changes, in most cases, you will only need to tweak your tactics, rather than reinvent your business from scratch.

The businesses which will grow the most strongly in the next boom will be the ones which have created the strongest business model during the recession! 

What is required for your business to be financially successful?

For many small or micro businesses, it is tempting just to get a bit of marketing going and forget about some of the more tedious basics.
I know it sounds boring, but a little bit of attention to some legal basics at the beginning can sure save you a lot of hassles and stress later on…Here's my top 3 essentials!

1. Make your business work for you financially. Get a good accountant and ensure that you set up a business structure that works for you on multiple levels (taxation included!).
2. Register your business name, ensure your business name and logo are protected by trademarks (national or international) and register any domain names that relate to your business.  You want to own the visual and naming space that your business occupies.  Don’t run the risk of someone liking your name and ‘borrowing’ it for their own purposes!
3. Acquire the necessary business insurances e.g. public liability, professional indemnity etc.  Every industry is different in its requirements, so obtain the appropriate advice.

You don't have to make it difficult...use the government resources available in your state to get started!

1. Buy or build your own?
2. Staff or no staff?
3. Do or delegate?
4. Indoor or outdoor?
5. Work hard or work smart?
6. Online or bricks & mortar?
7. Lots of people contact or not?
8. Creative or logical?
9. Capital intensive or at-home start-up?
10. Ideas: innovative or copycat?
11. Secure income or new venture?
12. High workload or systems oriented?
13. You: self-employed or chief resource coordinator?
14. Product/Service: fun, meaningful or serious?
15. Work time: flexible or structured?
16. Individuals or teams?
17. Existing customer base or build-up from scratch?
18. Your talents and passions or any business?
19. Automated business or tied to the business?
20. Growth potential or cash-flow now?

For extra insights, you can also clarify ‘why’ you chose the answer you did. Again, patterns will emerge and you will identify a clear direction for your business search. Once you have a clear picture of the business structure and design which will work for you and your ideal lifestyle, start to investigate business opportunities which meet your criteria.

What is your biggest challenge in starting a small business of your own? Share it in the comments section below. If you need to share more than just a comment, call the Start-Up Experts!

This week I spent 6 hours and completed my business plan for the year.  Unlike many small business owners, I find this document invaluable (and not as a doorstopper either!!) and here's why:

• My business plan is less than 5 pages, but provides a comprehensive roadmap of where my business is headed for the year.
• The key strategy page is posted on my wall and used daily to measure productivity against goals.
• All new marketing and joint venture opportunities can now be pushed through this 'strategic sieve' to see if they'll bring me closer to or further away from my strategic objectives.
• It encompasses my business model and highlights key product development opportunities.
• The monthly results data keeps me firmly focused on profitability and other key measures which will create profitability!

Do you have a business plan that can achieve all this and more for your business?  If not, you may want to consider participating in the Revive Business Coaching hands-on 'Business Planning Workshop'.  Just register your interest on our contact form, including 'Business Plan Workshop' as the topic and I'll be in touch with a date as soon as I can.  It will be a half day Business Planning Workshop in Brisbane towards the end of January or in early February.

I promise you'll leave the workshop with your business plan well underway and you won't need to use it as a doorstopper or dust collector!!

What would it take for your business to be phenomenal in 2009?