Do You Have A Business Plan?

If you're a new entrepreneur, I have to ask: Do you have a business plan written? If you don't, I urge you to take time today to do just that. Why? I work with too many clients who don't have a business plan and they end up saying "yes" to every project, spreading themselves too thin and not charging enough for what they do. They eventually suffer burnout as well as having a bottom line that remains in the red.

I think a business plan and success go hand in hand. Here is what you need to have in yours, at a

minimum:

1. Your business's purpose aka mission and vision statement
2. The problem your business will solve for its clients
3. The solution you offer and how it differs from your competition 
4. What is the market you're targeting?
5. Who will be on your team and why? 
6. What is your financial model and how much do you want to make? 
7. Who can you work with as a mentor or who can you emulate that is a success in your niche? 

Take some time to at least get these basics down on paper. You can add to it as you go because your business plan should be a living, growing document. Do you need help with your business plan? Our team can provide assistance. 

Schedule Your Downtime

Guest post by Robbi Hess, All Words Matter 

Scheduling down time is a must for entrepreneurs. Why? Because if you don't, chances are the day -- or several days -- will get away from you and all you will have done is work. I realize that entrepreneurs need to work and need to be in the office, but they also need to step away and recharge

their batteries if they want to remain effective and healthy.

Here are some ways to schedule downtime into your business calendar to avoid burnout: 

•  Schedule time for lunch. You need to make a concerted effort to get away from work and the computer and eat your lunch. Schedule time during your lunch downtime to get in a short walk or even a bike ride. Your mental and physical health will suffer if you are sedentary every day, all day. 
• Take a vacation. Whether it's a weekend or a week long getaway, you need to do just that get away. When you plan a vacation, let your clients and your staff know that you're away and that you will have limited access to the Internet. Plan occasional check-ins. Know that if you've hired well your office will function in your brief absence. 
• Attend networking events of conferences. You need to interact with others in your industry and you need to keep up with the latest trends. Also, attending networking events or conferences just may help you grow your business. 

Do you have downtime scheduled into your calendar? 

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'Shark Tank' Business Lessons

Start-ups or long-term business owners might find themselves in the situation of having to approach investors for capital for their businesses -- this is a great position to be in, but it does require planning and forethought on the part of the entrepreneur. 

If you're meeting with potential investors you will need to have your "investor pitch" prepared. What

goes into an investor pitch? Here are a few items:

1. Stating your business premise and the clients you serve in a concise and clear manner. If you're stumbling for words, you haven't honed in on your ideal client yet and you need to do so. 
2. What are the potential flaws in your business plan? A flaw could encompass not having thought through who will manufacture your widgets, or how you will market, or not having a plan in place for growth and hiring of staff. 
3. How will you make money? Having passion for your business is ideal, but if it doesn't put money in the bank, you need to step back and consider how you will generate income. An investor won't want to invest if he isn't sure whether he will see a return. 

Are you ready for potential business growth? Do you have a written business plan? That will be a necessity when you meet with potential investors. 

Just Let Your Employees Do Their Jobs

Do you find that you're continually in hiring mode? Do you ever do exit interviews to find out why your people are leaving? It might be an eye-opening experience. You may find out that your employees are unhappy or unfulfilled or any number of other factors of dissatisfaction with their jobs in your company. While you may not be able to address all issues of dissatisfaction, there may be issues that you uncover that you can -- and likely should -- address if you want to keep any new hires.

In many studies it's found that employees are dissatisfied if they feel they are being micro-managed.

If you hired diligently you should have hired staff who are qualified to do the job for which they are hired and after a training period, let them do their jobs. If you don't want to lose your employees, consider changing these micromanaging traits:

1. Let them do their jobs. It's that simple. If your employees don't feel you appreciate their skills or respect their work ethic they will stop working. Plain and simple. 
2. Provide training so the employee understands the nuances of your firm and how it works, and then let them do the jobs for which they were hired. 
3. Make certain there are goals and expectations set that are reasonable and attainable. Benchmarks help everyone understand whether they are performing up to expectations and if not, you can address with them, why not. If they are meeting or exceeding expectations, then mention that. 

Do you have a lot of turn over? Are you wondering what you can do differently to keep your employees? Call me for an onsite evaluation. 

Money Matters: Are You Getting Yours?

When is the last time you looked at your bottom line? Do you regularly check out the profit and loss statements from your business? You should. Why? Because if you're not charging enough or if you're paying too much for particular items now is the time to take the time to see if you're making money

and if not, why not?

Entrepreneurs seeking success and wealth can check these few items:

• Always be ethical. Define what success means to you and then assure that you’re seeking it ethically. 
• Demonstrate your benefit to your clients. Don't chance a client walking away from you just because they aren't quite clear on the benefits you offer. Understand what sets you apart. 
• Answer the questions your clients are asking -- whether to you personally or on social media. Be the go-to expert in your business niche, you will see your business income soar! 
• Stay current on industry trends and technology.  

What can you do to become more successful?

Marketing On A Budget

Entrepreneurs need to look at where they're spending their money -- especially when they're first starting out. Budgets are usually tight and money can't be spent without planning and forethought. That being said, you do need to have a marketing plan in place or you won't be able to grow your business to the point where you can earn a living from it. 

What can you, as a new entrepreneur or an entrepreneur going through budget

constraints, do to market your wares? Here are some of my tips for marketing on a budget: 

• Get out of the office and have a face to face meeting. There is no better way to build a business than through a handshake and an in person meeting. 
• Word of mouth. Talk to current customers and ask them for referrals or testimonials. People want to do business with a known entity and if you are a known entity through a business connection, you will have an in. 

What Leadership Traits Do You Possess?

Attention business owners: It's not enough to proclaim, "I want to own a business." You need to have myriad skills and strengths in order to lead and manage a company, whether you're a solopreneur or manage a staff of hundreds.

Do you have the leadership traits it takes to succeed? Here, at a minimum, are the traits I believe any

want-to-be business owner should possess:

• The ability to share your expertise with others
• The ability to articulate your business mission and vision
• The personality that allows for follow through on ideas as well as the creation of them
• The perseverance it takes to keep moving ahead even if you're faced with failure. Look at a failure as a chance to regroup and look at the process and start over
• Are you approachable and able to take constructive criticism, whether from a colleague, customer or coach? 

What do you have planned for your business this year? Do you need help honing your leadership skills?

Set 2015 Business Goals

Can you believe that the new year is almost two weeks old already? Wow! 

Before it moves forward any further, take time to evaluate your business and your business plan. Look at 2015 as a way to get an "out with the old, in with the new" mindset. 

Don't toss what worked last year, but do look at what didn't work with a critical eye. In fact, you may want to work with a business or manufacturing consultant -- someone who can look at your processes

with a fresh perspective and help you make 2015 the best year ever.

Before week three of the new year arrives, take time to look at the ways you're monitoring success: 

• Are your goals clearly defined? 
• Are your goals measurable and trackable, ie have you set performance indicators to your goals? 
• Are you using the correct tools and metrics to measure your goals? 
• Are you setting aside time to check in with the goals you've set and make sure you're on track? It's easier to correct course early in the process than to wait until the end of the year and realize that what you were doing wasn't working

If you need help with a course correct, give our office a call!

David Senkfor has 20-plus years of experience as an owner of a gear manufacturing facility in Northeastern Ohio. That experience gave him the opportunity to examine trends and practices that affect the gear industry in specific and the  manufacturing industry in general and allowed him to develop a clear business focus. He uses this manufacturing consultant focus to help companies seek new opportunities for business development, quality improvement and in crafting aggressive strategies to achieve competitive advantage.  No issue is too small to examine for improvement and optimization.

CEOs And Productivity

I found this great post and wanted to pass it along.

As business owners, we need to get myriad tasks done during the course of the day and here are some great tips on how CEOs work smarter every day.

What, from this list, could you add to your workday to help you be more productive?

Get Prospects To Call You Back

You met with a prospect and you felt like you hit it off. What gives with them not calling you back? Could it be your phone etiquette or when you're calling or the message you're leaving?

It could be any of those, so here are my tips for getting a call back:

• Don't call Mondy morning or Friday afternoon. Chance are you don't want to talk then and chances are, neither does your prospect. Mondays are typically catch-up time from the weekend and Friday is slowing down time. 
• Leave a clear message with your name, your number, the reason for your call and the action you're requesting,  ie...a call back, a meeting, etc.
• If you're cold calling but have a connection to the prospect, mention it, ie. "Jack from XYZ Company said I should give you a call because (fill in the blank that shows the relevance)."

Make the best use of your phone call time and give the prospect a reason to call you back. 

Honing Your Marketing Plan For 2015

Just as one size does not fit all for manufacturers, neither does that approach work for your marketing efforts. The ultimate goal of your marketing is to reach potential clients and turn them into clients, right? To do that you need to find them, gain their trust and then convert them into clients.

When you're putting your 2015 marketing plan together here are three items to consider:

1. Where in your sales stage do you find that prospects convert into customers? In other words, how often do you need to touch them before they convert?
2. How do they like to be communicated with? In your initial conversations you should be able to gauge whether a prospect prefers a text, an email, a face-to-face or a phone call. "Meet" them where they are comfortable.
3. Ask permission. This is especially important if you want to add someone to your e-newsletter mailing list. Having an e-newsletter sent to prospects and current clients regularly helps you stay in touch in a non-intrusive way.

What steps can you take to amp up your 2015 marketing efforts?

Hone Your Collaboration Skills

Post by Robbi Hess, All Words Matter 

How can you help your workforce to become more effective? By becoming an effective collaborator. Just as you likely don't run your business by yourself -- unless you're a solopreneur, but even in that case you may still work with a business coach or contract out some of the tasks at which you are not

an expert.

I believe that collaboration can help you grow your business. Why? Because you're drawing in information and expertise from others and putting them all toward the company's greater overall goal. Here are some of my collaboration tips:

Looking Ahead To 2015: Make More Money

Every company owner wants to increase his profits. At the beginning of every year, many owners make plans to improve profitability but as the year progresses, they find it hard to follow through. On paper, the road to higher profits is pretty straightforward.

• Cut Costs and/or
• Increase sales

However, and as simple as they look, there are so many nuances to each that I’d have to write a book about each one. As with most things in life, there are a few ideas that can be put into place quickly and rather simply to really boost profits with a little effort on your part.

What could those be? You’ve probably heard about all the “system” type approaches such as Six Sigma, TQM, Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing. These are all sophisticated and thorough systems that define every aspect of a company and its processes and attempt to manage them. On the surface, these seem like the “right” thing to do. However, most of these systems are a bit of overkill for most small and medium sized shops. Perhaps some of the readers of this newsletter will disagree but with a few simple techniques and a little follow-through, much can be accomplished without these complex systems.

My approach is go back to the basics.

Is Your #Manufacturing Company A Job Shop?

If you were to ask manufacturers if they are a “job shop," I’d guess a great percentage would say “Yes.” They’d say they work on “jobs” and of course a “shop” is just another name for a facility or factory.

In my mind, a true job shop is one that makes discrete quantities of parts on a purchase order and ships them all to a customer in one shipment. No long-term delivery or commitment requirements. On the other hand, a shop that does have longer term purchase orders with multiple releases and/or formal purchase agreements or contracts is not what I would describe as a job shop.

Let’s go through some of the pros and cons of each so you can clearly see what type of business mix you have and whether it works best for you.
                                   

“Job Shop” (as described above)
         
Pros:

• Lower volume- lower investment in outside processes
• Shorter time to payment as total process/invoice cycle is short
• Lower or no WIP (Work In Process) and finished inventory.

#Manufacturers: Is All Change Good?

I was recently at an IT seminar and heard something about change that really got me thinking.

Obviously, change has to occur for a business to evolve. But, what should you change?

The speaker's answer was: "Only change or improve those processes that impact your ability to deliver outcomes." Pretty profound.

Think about what that means to your business and how you've been thinking about how, or what, to change.

I'd like to hear from you if you have any thoughts about this statement and/or what the changes are that you're considering making . I'd love to help you "change."

Email or call me to discuss.

About David: One of his key strengths is ability to listen to people and his desire to help them improve their practices and better utilize resources. He works effectively with all levels of employees, from shop floor technicians to the CEO, establishing an atmosphere of trust and open communication that can enable change to happen quickly and productively.

Three Ways To Work More Efficiently

Guest post by Robbi Hess

The great equalizer is time: We all are only given 24-hours per day. It's what we do with those hours that can set us apart from the competition.

What can you do to make the most of your hours and work more efficiently and effectively? Here are

my three thoughts:

1. Plan your upcoming week. Whether you plan your upcoming week on Friday before you leave the office or if you sit down on Sunday and plan for the week ahead, planning is crucial to success. It's a cliche that "if you fail to plan you plan to fail" but it is true. Having a written plan means you can check items off when they're complete. 

Do Something In Your #Manufacturing Business NOW!

In a recent newsletter I wrote about how many business owners are... too busy running their businesses to take time to manage it. The management of your business is critical to its long term

success. You need to know what's going on back at the plant as well as what's going on with your competition. 

Just taking the time to think about what you want from the business is vital if you are to succeed. As they say, "Failure to plan, is planning to fail."

If you find yourself spending so much time running your business that the management of it has fallen by the wayside, give me a call to discuss how we can get you back on track and get your manufacturing operation back to being a smooth, well-oiled machine. 

Can You Grow Your Business Globally?

Guest post by Social Media Manager Robbi Hess

In today's internet-based world. you don't have to do business with people right in your backyard any longer. If, however you want to grow your business, how can you network effectively and efficiently?

Here are my tips on how to make the most of networking opportunities:

1. Attend face-to-face events, but don't shake a few hands, hand out business cards and then hope for
   
   the best. Make a connection. Make an appointment to get together at a later time. Even if you and the connection can't work together, you may both become valuable resource partners. 
2. Network online. The beauty of the internet and its plethora of social networking sites is that you can "meet" people from across the country and across the globe from the comfort of your home. You can make a connection on Facebook or LinkedIn and then have a "face-to-face" via Skype or a Google Hangout. Sometimes it is nice to put a face to a name. 
3. Volunteer. Again, volunteer opportunities can be in person or via the internet. There are many groups that may benefit from your skills and expertise in an online way. 

What can you do to grow your network both locally and globally?

About Robbi: I am a professional blogger, social media consultant, internet copy writer and ezine creator. I grow my clients' businesses through the content I create and share across blogs, social media and ezines for them. 

Why and How to Fire a Customer

For many companies, the mere mention of “firing” a customer is unthinkable and even sacrilegious. I say if you can’t or won’t consider it, then you must stop complaining, suck-up all the problems and get a big bottle of your favorite medicine for headaches. You’re sure to need them.

On the other hand, if you are concerned about your bottom line and mental well being, there are a few things you need to consider and then do.

1. I’m going to make the assumption that you’ve already exhausted the communication route to resolve the issues. Most problems develop slowly over time and we let them slide until they are overwhelming
   
   . If no solution(s) can be found, you’ve got to move on to the evaluation/decision phase.
2. I’m also going to assume that you are doing at least a quarterly if not a monthly evaluation of the profitability of all of your customers. If not all of your customers, then at least those comprising 80% of your sales. If possible this analysis should also look at individual jobs by customer as well. If you aren’t doing this analysis on a regular basis, then you need to do one immediately for the customer that is in question.
3. Look at how you are doing. Is the profit for that customer high enough to justify the higher “maintenance” you are putting in? Make sure that you not only consider the direct labor and material, outside purchase and fully loaded hourly costs but also add in how much extra unpaid time (times an hourly rate) you and your employees are expending. Be fair but be honest. This would include the phone call time, uncharged expedite costs and the cost of your mental anguish of dealing with these folks.

The Most Cost-Efficient Way To Boost Sales

Guest post by Robbi Hess

As a business owner, whether in #manufacturing or dog grooming or accounting, you need to spend a portion of your time on your marketing aka sales efforts. 

There is an 80/20 rule that states you should spend 80% of your time on meeting

existing client needs and 20% of your time marketing and pursuing new opportunities. Are you doing that?

Here is a three step break down on the easiest and most cost-efficient – and frankly, most productive way to boost your sales: