Success Tips Booklet

8/4/2019 Success Tips Booklet

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SucceSS TipSFrom Small Business Owners

by Mike Van Horn, MBA

Without DrivingYourselfCrazy

How to

Your

From the book


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Publshed byThe Busness Group185 North Redwood Drve, Sute 160San Rafael, Calforna 94903

Tel: 1-800-367-9848.1-415-491-1896Fax: 1-415-891-1855

www.businessownerstoolbox.com

Prnted n Unted States of Amerca.

Cover and boo desgn by Ruth Marcus ([email protected]) and

Pete Masterson, Aeonx Publshng Group (www.aeonx.com)

Cover and nsde llustratons by Bran Narelle ([email protected])

Publshers catalogng n publcaton dataVan Horn, Me, 1942-

Success Tps from Small Busness OwnersBoos Small busness, Entrepreneurshp

ISBN 0-9714114-1-7 Frst Prntng, 20021 Small busness 2 Entrepreneurshp 3 Management

2001-9 Me Van Horn. All rghts reserved. Ths boo s the sole propertyof Me Van Horn. No part of t may be coped or duplcated by any meanswthout hs pror wrtten permsson.


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For any business owner

From 1 to 100 employees

T he bigger a small business grows, the more difficultit can be to grow yet larger.Everyone thinks their own business is unique. However,I have worked with way over a thousand small businessowners, and I assure you, the problems are very similar.

Once I give the same piece of advice a thousand times,I put it in this little book.

If you just read these pieces, they are platitudes. If youignore these issues, they become roadblocks. If you heedthem, they are a roadmap to business success.

But this isnt rocket science. You wont find the

latest management theories and buzzwords here.Just two things:

Common sense tips that suggest practical things youcan do, or that remind you of what you already knowbut neglect.

Questions to stimulate your thinking. Answering thesequestions for yourself is almost always better than anexperts opinion.

These tips are very condensed. If you want to follow upand get more, find out how at the end of the book.


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conT

enT

S

v

Vson 1Success 3Do what you love 5Plannng 7Balance 11Tme use 15Schedulng 17Sell value, not tme 18Be the Presdent 20Problem-solvng 21Wor on yourself 22 Your employees 24Team buldng 26Should you hre? 27

Boost productvty 28Maretng and sellng 31Boulders, rocs, and pebbles 34Frng a customer 35Cash flow 36Prcng 38

Proftablty 40Brea-even vs. brea-out 41


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1

Why are you n busness?

You go nto busness soyou can do what youwant to do.

What do you wantto do?Are you dong t?

If you won thebg lottery,what wouldyou then do?

ViSion


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2

Where are you going with your business?

Do you want to grow? Why? How big?

By when?

Are you more interested in profitability than

growth? How much? How soon?

Or are you most interested in not having to

work so hard? Less stress, greater ease.What would this look like for you?

Growth. Profitability. Ease.You can have them all.

Why grow or change? Ask yourself, what

happens if you just continue operating at

your current level?


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3

What s success for you?

What s your vson of busness success?Pant a paragraph pcture n broad stroes.I now I am successful when _________.

SucceSS


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4

What do you want to accomplish in business

that justifies the effort you put into it?

Lac of clarty on ths queston s one of the

greatest causes of unsatsfyng busnessperformance.

Anchor yourself nyour vson of successto gve you the energy

to overcome your barrers.


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Do whaT you loVe

5

Fnd the sweet spot of busness satsfacton where these three crcles overlap:

What you love to do.

What you do very well.

What people wll pay for.


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6

How well does your busness support yourlfe goals?

How can your busness be restructuredto be a better vehcle for the flowerngof your personal strengths and desres?


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planning

7

wh h g?Some busnesses act le they are at the mercyof unpredctable, uncontrollable forces.

Some busnesses try to predct, plan for and

nfluence outsde forces.

The latter preval.

Plan for what you can.

Then plan how you wll cope wth the thngsyou cant plan for.


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8

There are

two ndsof busness plans

1. SLICk PLANS to mpressbaners and fnancers,whch then st on the

shelf gatherng dust.

2. PRACTICAL ACTION PLANSthat gude your decsons throughoutthe year, and get mared up and revsedconstantly.

Whch nd do you have?

Ive got my plan n my head, you say.

That way you never have to be heldaccountable for whether you achevet or not.

1-2


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9

When you set busness goals for thecomng year, what are they based on?

Could be three thngs:

1. Mang steady progress towards yourdreams and aspratons

2. Provdng for your personal needs

3. Stayng n lne wth your recent busnessperformance

Set goals based on each. If the three dvergewdely, then your strategc busness planshould focus on how to get thesethree nto algnment.

3


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10

When you nowwhat your goals are,

mae sure each days actonscontrbute to them.

Structure your busness as f you plan tosell t some day.

Even f you never expect to sell t, thsapproach can mae your busness moreproftable and easer to run.

What would a prospectve buyer pay for n

your busness? How can you buld up thspart of your busness?


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11

Balance your busness and personal lfe;dont run yourself nto the ground.

Tae tme off.

Tae vacatons.

Tae care of yourself.

Balance


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12

Block out personal activities

on your calendar and guard them jealously,

as if you are your most important client.

Pay yourselfa regular salaryeven f you have a

sole propretorshp.


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13

A Zen master says,Every day I medtate an hour,

no matter how busy I am.Except on those days when the crush of wor

s overwhelmng.Then I medtate two hours.


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14

Suppose you were an employee of yourcompany, rather than the boss. What wouldyou go to the boss to complan about?

Im not pad enough. I wor too many hours.

Im tred of worng evenngs and weeends.I never get a rase. I dont get enough help.I dont have the rght tools.

What else?

How wll you as bosstae better care of you,

the prze employee?


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15

Where can you get the hghest return on anhour of your tme?

How can you leverage your tme by turnng theservce you provde nto a product?

Time uSe


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16

Tme management often focuses on

savingtme.You should focus on

investingyour tme.

Focus on the thngs you personallymust do to mae your busness thrve,then delegate or dump other actvtes.

Tme trage.Where can you recapture a small amountof tme, to gve you the space to focus onlonger-term mprovements n your tme use?


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17

ScheDuling

Under-promse and over-delver.

Are your schedules always busted byunscheduled wor, urgent requests,unantcpated problems?

Then schedule only three-quarters of your

tme, leavng one-quarter for unantcpated,rght-now demands.


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18

Sell Value,

noT TimeBrea the ln between hours wored andrevenue earned. Sell value, not tme.

wh v, you focus yourclents on what they want most: results,more sales, hgher proft, ncreased exposureand recognton, reduced costs, greater ease.

wh , you focus yourclents on what they dsle: spendngmoney, montorng your performance,worryng about gettng cheated.


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To sell value, you force yourself to as:

What value do you truly brng your clents n concrete dollar terms?

How can you provde even greater value?

How can you communcate ths value tothem?

Sellng value has mmedate benefts to you.You have more fun. You focus on clents whoclearly want what you sell, so you dont haveto convnce, wheedle or justfy. You can raseprces and mae more money.


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20

How can you become a better CEO of yourown company?

If you spend all your tme beng the worer,you cant be a good manager.

If you spend all your tme managng, youcant be a good executve.

You cant clmb to the next step untl youhave good people to clmb onto the stepbeneath you.

Be The preSiDenT


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21

proBlem-SolVing

The soluton to any busness problem hasthese fve dmensons:

1. Gettng needed help and support

2. Upgradng systems and procedures

3. Mang changes n your worplace,equpment and materals

4. Improvng slls and capabltes

5. Worng on your management style andhabts, your belefs and atttudes.


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22

work on

yourSelf As yourself, how are your management

style and habts, your atttudes and belefs,part of the problem?

How are you the bottlenec n your ownbusness?


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23

Fll n the blans: The real reason I dont________ (maret, mae calls, do fnancals,delegate) s because I am ___________ (shy,

ntmdated, bored, afrad that _______).

Complete ths sentence: The one thng I actle I have under control but really do not s______.


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24

your employeeS

Hre smart so you dont haveto manage tough.

What s the hghestslled person youcould brng n tofree you up to focuson tass needed to

grow your busness?


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If your tme s worth $100 per hour,and you handle your own offce tass,then you are payng your admnstratveassstant $100 an hour for a job that sworth $15.

Do your employees wor for you,or do you wor for your employees?


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26

Team BuilDing

People who head rapdly growng companesare extraordnary team bulders.

How can you buld the team needed topower your desred growth?

Do you dare to hre people who are betterthan you?


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27

ShoulD you hire?

How much should you pay for good help?

Frst as yourself: What s the cost ofmedocre help, or no help? What s the costof replacng someone?

Wrte a job descrpton for the employee fromhell. Then thn of all the oppostes, and youhave descrbed the person you see.


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28

BooST

proDucTiViTyCapture all the specal thngs that only younow, and all the routnes you hold on to.Put them nto manuals and checlsts, so

that other people can do them, and free youup for new challenges.

Some bosses hold on to routne tass toavod taclng the challengng tass ofgrowth.


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29

How can you help your people do a betterjob for you? As them.

Thnng about what ncentves would

ncrease the productvty of your staff?

Frst, remove the dsncentves.


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30

Gve your employeeseverythng they need

to do the best job for you.

What changes n your worplace, equpment,and materals wll mprove productvty andeffectveness, and reduce stress and errors?


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31

markeTing

anD Selling

Sell value, not tme; benefts and solutons,not features and processes.

To do ths, you must understand the valueyou brng to your customers.

To fnd ths out, call them and as: Why doyou do busness wth me rather than wthsomeone else?


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The best maretng:eep your customers happy.

They wll come bacand wll ntroduceother good people to you.

Customers who complan are nvaluable.They gve you a roadmap on how to mprove.


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33

Maretng trage

Where can you mae lucratve sales

rght away,so that you can then focus

on longer-termstrategc maretng development?


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34

BoulDerS, rockS,

anD peBBleSBoulders are very large customers,lucratve but domnant.If you lose one, you can go under.

Pebbles are tny customers; the cost ofmang the sale can exceed the entre proft.

Rocs are sold md-sze customers,proftable, and no sngle one domnates yourbusness.

A mx of pebbles, rocs, and bouldersflls n most of the space. What s the bestmx for you?


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firing a

cuSTomerSeems crazy to fre a customer, butperhaps you should f . . .

Ther jobs are too small, so that the cost of

servng them taes most of the potentalproft.

You must put n tme for whch you cannotcharge.

They buy somethng that you no longerwant to sell.

They are more trouble than they are worth.They are never satsfed, or are slow to pay.

But as, how can you turn an undesrablecustomer nto a good one?


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37

Borrow money when you dont need t;youll never get a loan f you wat tll youdesperately need t.

Money trage. What s your shortestroute to cash flow, so that you canthen focus on longer-term proftabltymprovements?

How could your operaton be restructured

so that the money just pours n?


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38

pricing

Many small busnesses under-prce.They say, Ill gve more value for lessmoney than my larger compettors.Ths s the route to banruptcy.

Charge what you are worth on the maret.If you gve more to your customers,charge more.

Advce to under-prcers:never subsdze customers who are

wealther than you are.


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39

Rase your prcesand get more wor?

Sounds paradoxcal,but t s often true.If you prce too low,

many prospectve customers wll questonyour qualty and experence.


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40

profiTaBiliTy

know the proftablty of each part of yourbusness.

Insst that each actvty and product lne be

proftable.

Pay yourself what you are worth.How much s that?

You cannot now how proftable your wors unless you now the value of your tmeand how much of t you spend on jobs.


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41

Break-eVen VS.

Break-ouTBrea-even revenue = survvng.

Brea-out revenue = thrvng.

Shft from brea-even to brea-out mentalty.

Shft your focus from growng revenue togrowng profts.


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wanT more?

___ Buy the boo from whch these weretaen, How to Grow Your BusinessWithout Driving Yourself Crazy.

___ Chec out our practcal worboos ande-boos to get help on any aspect ofrunnng and growng your busness.

___ Tae our annual plannng worshop, to completea bref, practcal plan of acton for the comng year.We offer both face-to-face and tel-onlne sessons.Chec webste for schedule.

___ Jon one of our Busness Owners Groups.

gt t t bv bst,

.x.c

Clc "Self-Help Tools/Boos" or "Worshops" or"Busness Owner Groups"

Or call

1-800-367-9848


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43

mike Van horn

I love my wor! My company, The BusnessGroup, has led ongong problem-solvnggroups for busness owners snce 1984.I have an MBA from UCLA and Ive advsedsmall busness owners for over twentyyears. I have wrtten over a dozen busnessboos, and I have spoen to organza-

tons as dverse as Ctban and the IdahoAssocaton of Mortgage Broers. Id be glad to come tal toyour group.

But I don't wor all the tme. My wfe (of a quarter century)and I love to he and sal and s, and we lve n a greatplace to enjoy t all. My famly contrbutes to my busness.Wfe B.J. s the resdent Human Resources genus anddaughter Rebecca s offce manager. Lfe s good - and notall wor!

I would love to hear from you. What are your tps forbusness success?

SucceSS TipSf S Bsss osPRINTED VERSION MAkES A GREAT GIFT.

Lasts a lot longer than a box of chocolate.


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g y Bsss

THE BUSINESS GROUP185 North Redwood Drive, Suite 160

San Rafael, CA 94903

Sss Tsd Qsts

t g y Bssswtt Dvys cz

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