25/08/2017
Critical Points to get to when your new business is up and kind of going:
So you have started your business and are in the situation where you are doing absolutely everything yourself, or maybe you have one or two real juniors that you can barely afford. They may also only just have the skill to do fairly minor tasks - commonly (and unkindly) referred to as gofers. You also seem to have very little money, your sales are not really happening and you don't have the time to get through everything.
If its any consolation, this situation is normal and even predictable. You are suffering from the two key problems that afflict all small and growing businesses.
RESOURCE SCARCITY and DOING EVERYTHING YOURSELF.
Resource scarcity comes in many forms but chief among them are:
1. Time - because if you had the time to do things properly
yourself, there wouldn't be a problem
2. Money - because money could pay for the other resources
that you don't have
3. Skill - because organisations require a variety of skills which
are seldom if ever found in one person
Its time to sit down quietly, take a few deep breaths and focus on the few vital activities that will work for the business.
Take a blank piece of paper and a pencil (old school but helps you not get distracted) or open a new MS Word page on your PC and write down these really vital activities. These should include
1. How I am going to best use my time
2. How am I going to get, or generate more money
3. How am I going to acquire the skills or find the skills that I
need
Determine what are the FEW, BEST actions most likely to succeed.
1. Time management - the daily checklist
- At the end of your day list the few important task that have to be attended
to the next day. (15 - 20 mins)
- First thing on getting to work check your staff, premises, stock etc are all
in order and instruct/delegate staff on requirements to get them going and
attend to emails and other important communications
- Balance of day start on each important task and complete each one
before starting on the next
- Walkabout, take regular short breaks to engage with staff and check on
progress of day
- Make this a management habit
2. What MONEY I will be needing for the next month and then the next 6 months or year.
For this you will need a BUDGET and CASH FLOW FORECAST. This can
be used to show you
- Whether you are on target for the month in terms of sales
- Whether you are on target for the month in terms of collecting money
It will also tell you
- Your break even sales required
- An estimate the maximum amount of money you are going to need over a
period (ie a year, 6 months)
It can also be used to present to potential funders of the business or the
bank
This is an incredibly important financial tool because as you replace the
forecast figures your spreadsheet with actual figures achieved (sales,
expenses), it should automatically show you the future financial
consequences giving you time to make adjustments to your business. By
this, I mean if your sales are lower than expected, you will see that you
either need to improve sales or reduce the costs and by how much
3. How I am going to increase my SALES to reach break even (the sales
amount needed to stop making financial losses) or generally speed up my
growth
- Who is my customer, write down the profile - the age, gender, location,
preferences
- What need is my business really satisfying - describe it in detail
- How am I attracting their attention - how am I presenting my business to
these (my target) customers, adverting, promotions, social media
- What FEW ACTIONS must I now take that have the best chance of a
successful outcome
4. What SKILLS to I need to help me and where do I find them.
You don't always need to hire expensive skilled staff. Often in the early
days, you only need those skills for a short period; a day, a week or a day
or 2 a month. Many skills can be brought in for short periods and although
expensive, they are far less expensive than full time staff and you should
look at them as a valuable investment in your business growth. These
include:
- HR specialists (say 1 day a month)
- FInancial specialists (2 days a month to present and explain your financial
performance
- Business coaching, mentoring and management training
- Sales, Marketing or Social Media expertise
Find such organisations and let them explain how they can help you. That
part will cost you nothing
Always focus on the FEW, BEST ACTIVITIES.
Good Luck, you also need some of that.
