Small business startup advice – SmallBusinessVoodoo.com

Christmas is a great time to pause for breath and that’s something that we small business people find difficult to do.

So in this enforced pause for breath let me use it as an opportunity to wish great things in 2009 to all people who’s business is business.

To those full of hope incubating an idea that has yet to blossom into a successful business: I wish that you ask yourself two questions: 1. Is your idea going to change the world and 2. Has it been done before? If your answers are yes and no then it is only you that lies between its success and failure.

To those in business for whom business has become a metaphor for pain, hardship, suffocation; for whom the promise of eternal financial and social freedom has become a distant footnote: I wish that your 2009 resolution be that you break out at all cost, whatever it takes. Visualise your exit with a renewed gusto and plan that you succeed without fail. Read more »

As an intrapreneur, it’s easy to get stuck between the dual roles of corporate visionary and day to day manager. You’re told to “work smarter not harder” and to “work on the business, not in the business”. But how?

The business needs you down there at the coal face right now. There’s not enough staff, you haven’t got time to train anyone else right now and, hell, you can do the job quicker anyway.

The problem with this mindset for the intrapreneur is that it’s not scaleable. You are not creating a framework for your business to grow.

Work smarter not harder. You are simply rushing from one crisis to another like an entertainer spinning plates hazardously on the end of bamboo poles.

With each stage of growth the crises are getting harder for you to manage. You are losing site of the horizon. The plates are about to come crashing down. You need help. Read more »

Someone else’s business failing can be bad news for you – if they are a customer. A bad debt of £1,000 can mean having to increase your turnover by perhaps £10,000 to claw back the profit.

So wouldn’t it make sense to spot your customer’s business failing before it’s too late?

There are broad indicators that can help you identify when a customer might be heading for trouble. For instance market conditions might change – a rise in the price of steel, exchange rates, new technology making current products obsolete and so on.

It is also helpful to understand why small businesses fail. However, there are some more specific and immediate indicators that can save you from unwelcome bad debts.

1. Visual check.  Keep a close visual check on all your customers. Regular visits are great for customer relations but also a chance to soak up any visual signals of your customer’s business failing. Signals could be external property looking shabby, less staff with even less work to do, stock and inventory levels looking low, a quiet goods-in bay and most potent of all a ’sense’ of gloom, a lack of a buzz. Almost tangible. But you have to visit. You can’t sense it over the phone.

2. Falling orders. A bit obvious but the process can be gradual so keep on top of customer trends. (Of course, it might be that you are being phased out in favour of another customer so you ought to know that too.)

3. Rising orders. No that’s not a typo. Watch out for rapidly rising orders. Your order of two widgets per week suddenly goes up to six widgets per week. Your customer is running out of suppliers and is leaning more on you. Avoid the temptation to take the volume, you won’t get paid. Read more »

Wow – what a christmas this is going to be.  I’ve only been working on SmallBusinessVoodoo.com for a few months and I’ve already hit the big time. Sorry to brag about this one but when you see this I think you’ll understand why?

www.sun7news.com

As the recession becomes ever more real, how to improve cash flow progressively dominates our business thoughts. Small Business Voodoo is playing its part by providing you with even more ways to improve cash flow for your small business.

Before you dig in, check up on 10 Ways To Improve Your Cash Flow and Another 10 Ways To Improve Your Cash Flow.

OK, let’s go.

21. Cut overheads – Recheck all overhead costs with a fine tooth comb. There is always something that can be stripped out of costs.

22. Combat seasonality by diversifying – Diageo, owners of the great British summer drink Pimm’s, launched Winter Pimm’s to address seasonality. Breweries produce lagers and light ales for the summer, stouts and porters for the winter. Walls ice creams were joined by Walls sausages. Greetings card makers celebrate all year round. Christmas Day, Birthdays, Mother’s day, Father’s Day, Auntie Edna’s Day.  Small business can always develop off season related products to smooth out the revenue curve, improve cash flow and keep the business clockwork well oiled all year round. Read more »

The perceived importance of innovation has reached heady heights. But innovation hasn’t just arrived so why now?  What’s the fuss all about?

Man has survived and thrived on innovation since day one. Cavemen realised the importance of innovation when they discovered an ability to create fire from sticks.  The wheel rolled in to our lives in about 3,500 BC whilst the canning industry was born out of Napoleon’s need to feed his army in the early 19th century.  The Anglo-Saxons, Normans, Tudors, Stuarts and Victorians were all innovators. George Stephenson gave us a steam locomotive, Henry Ford modern assembly lines bla bla bla ……..

And yet now its “all about innovation”. The importance of innovation is unrivalled. Nothing else matters.

Corporations preach innovation with the smugness and self-satisfaction of teenage lovers convinced they’ve pioneered great sex for the benefit of mankind. Read more »

Like it or not, handling customer complaints is part of life. In fact, customer complaints are great news. Why? 80% of customers don’t complain, they just don’t come back.

Handling customer complaints is one of those times when you really earn your crust. After all, managing the status quo is easy. But don’t keep the pleasure to yourself, train all your staff in handling customer complaints. This is empowering for them and gives a very mature feel to your business in the eyes of the customer.

So here’s handling customer complaints in 9 easy steps:

1. Mindset – Put yourself on the same side of the fence as your customer.  This isn’t a battle. Don’t take it personally, they hardly know you. Prepare for some great feedback for your company.

2. Validate the complaint – If you remember nothing else about handling customer complaints, remember this one. You are about to be verbally assaulted. The first thing you must do is ‘validate the complaint’. In other words, say something like: “Yes, I can understand that must be very frustrating”. You have just diffused 60% of their anger. A sympathetic tone is helpful. So is an apology. Regardless of whether you think your company is in the wrong or not. Read more »

Did you say “Why do small businesses fail – nearly always?”

Does that really mean that MOST small businesses fail? Ouch.

Like it or not, 75% of all small businesses in the UK fail within their first 5 years. So, why do small businesses fail ? Let’s take a look:

- Lack of experience This is either lack of experience with the main theme of the business or simply lack of experience at running small business.  Or both.  People who have good ideas don’t neccessarily run good businesses. “It’s my train set so I’ll drive the train” tends to prevail. Personally I would rather employ a train driver. a.k.a. The Intrapreneur.

- Insufficient capital This can be expenditure on capital items as well as working capital i.e. the cash needed on a day to day basis to keep the business afloat. Arises from a combination of poor planning, over enthusiastic sales estimates and lack of a contingency fund. Read more »

Do you sometimes feel that you just don’t know how to get your message across any more?

You’re telling the world about your company and your products until you’re blue in the face but little is happening. Perhaps your products aren’t cutting the mustard or is it your marketing messgage?

Take a time out and look at these 6 simple reminders how to get your message across:

1- Keep your message simple. Don’t be afraid to state the bleeding obvious. Seth Godin uncovered this cutting which brings simplicity and stating the obvious to new levels:

2- One message at a time. 90% of prospects will have forgotten everything you have said within three days. Don’t forget that they are bombarded with messages 24/7. So make what they have to remember as easy as possible and try and increase that time to…. four days. It might make the difference. Read more »