Self-Development

Self-development is great, for personal and professional uses.  In the last two months, while these blogs have been dormant, I was taking a few courses to improve upon my skills.  One of them, titled Interpersonal Communications, was great at teaching me skills to use in the business world and in my personal life.

Enrolling in a similar course for small business owners should be on the list of ‘must do now’ items.  It was great to learn about how to deal with conflict in a professional setting.  You, as a small business owner, are going to be stressed.  You are going to deal with conflict, and in order to respect yourself, your business and especially your customers, you will need to understand how to deal with conflict.

A few things to understand about taking personal development classes are this:

1.       The skills learned can be used throughout your entire life

2.       You can never have too many skills

3.       Something doesn't need to be broken before you fix it.  Taking a course to deal with stress doesn't mean you don’t know how to deal with it now.  It means you want to learn more tips and tricks to deal with new kinds of stress, e.g., the pressure of starting and running your business

4.       You can pass this knowledge along

Understanding yourself as a business owner will enable you to step out of your shoes and look at any situation with a new approach and vision.  I strongly encourage any business owner, small or not, to take at least one personal/professional development course in their lifetime.  More, if you can find the time!

Business Plan Goals

Let's piggy back off last weeks blog about writing your business plan.  I spoke about writing the goals sections first, and reviewing it each time you start a new section of the business plan.  This will help you out by keeping your focus.
Your goals section should include everything you want to get out of your business.  I believe you should also write a separate goal section outside of your business plan that is just for you.  What do you want to get out of your start-up business personally?
I find that if I remind myself of why I am going through the trouble, heartache and sleepless nights of starting a business it helps me stay motivated to keep going.

Here are some goal ideas to get your started on listing your own:
"I want to have a list of loyal customers, for life."
"I want to be a leading innovator in my industry, paving the way for [fill in the blank]."
"I want to change the way the world views America through [fill in the blank]."
"I want to create jobs for life."
"I want to bring back great customer service."
"I want to [fill in your own goal here]."

These are just a few ideas, there are so many reasons why you might be starting your own business.  Personally, I wanted to start a business for reasons that only included myself and my family and then it grew into what I could do for the community.

My goals include:
Financial Freedom
Be my own boss
Put my ideas to use, outside the corporate cubicles
Guide and help others reach their goals through business start-ups

Now that you have an idea of what your goals might entail, write them where you will see them everyday. Review them, recite them and work towards them.

Happy goal writing!

Plan Your Business Plan

Writing a business plan seems daunting, or downright boring.  It's true, it is.  A business plan is all the boring stuff about marketing, financial planning and other boring writing.  But it is also an insight into your business, and will help you figure out what you need to get started.

You don't need to write up a business plan in one sitting. In fact, I don't recommend it.  You should really write it over time, revising and rewriting parts as you go.  The part I always like to start with is the goals section.  What do you want out of owning and operating your own business?

Re-read that section every time you begin to write another section, it will motivate you to finish your plan.

I find that using a pre made template is a great way to get that push and help.  To find some great ones, just enter "business plan" in the search bar and watch the results pile up!  I also like a couple that people have uploaded to Microsoft Word in the templates section.

Revise your business plan once you start operations, and every year thereafter.  Doing this will enable you to see where you are in relation to your goals and projections, and will allow you to create a more structured plan in order to continue operations.

I hope this helps, and if you want help with your business plan, feel free to contact me.

Thanks and happy planning!

Small Business Finances

Finances are important no matter what you do or who you are.  For small businesses, though, it could make or break your business.  If you don't manage them properly, you could face fines or even go under.  You also don't need to break the bank to hire someone to do your finances year round, either.

A few good tips would be to consult with an accountant before you start your business.  Determine if your field requires a lot of hands on accounting, or if it would be more beneficial to work your accounts just a few times a week or month.

Once you have determined how extensive your accounting needs are, budget for those needs accordingly. There are many companies that you can outsource your accounting needs to and many out there specialize in small business structure.

If you are more comfortable hiring a full time accountant, do your research.  Get references and also it is recommended that you hire an accountant who is CPA (certified public accountant).

Many small businesses can function just as well with some small business accounting software.  When doing this, research each one and read reviews.  Find one that is easy to use, but also does all the functions you require to ensure your business' assets are protected.

More blogs are to come with information on small business finances, so stay tuned.

Small businesses failing before they start, WHY?

Small businesses can and should be successful.  So why do so many fail before they even start?

           Entrepreneurs might be getting in over their heads with a business idea that they just didn't think every detail through.  And how can they? There is so much that goes into starting a business, that it is nearly impossible to get it all taken care of.  That is truly a natural part of the process.  The real problem, though, is that business owners forget to go back to those details.  Or just don’t know how.

           If you are an entrepreneur or already a business owner, here are some details you might be forgetting (in no particular order)

1.       Proper bookkeeping/accounting/financial management

2.       Continuous marketing/advertising

3.       Client/customer follow up

4.       Updating and following your business plan (or having one all together)

5.       Creating a set of policies and enforcing yourself and your employees to follow them

6.       Consistency on how you run your business

7.       Having a defined set of goals for your business, and ensuring you reach them

8.       Personal development

9.       Quality customer service (people want to know what you have to offer them, not what they can do for you)

There are so many more, but most other details can fall under one of the bulleted items above. Next blog: talking about proper bookkeeping/accounting/financial management.