Small-business owners often are self-conscious about being small. We are often very conscious of the ways that we compete at a disadvantage to bigger businesses. They have the big budgets, the high-powered executives, attorneys and banks at their beck and call, they have all the advantages... Well, maybe not ALL the advantages. There are some great things about being small. One of the greatest advantages to being a small business is having the ability to know your employees, customers and community. Most likely, you have no choice but to know them. A small company has only a few employees so you work with each of them directly; you need the whole team to pull together to deliver the … [Read more...]
Butts in the Seats
The words "I quit" may signify the end for an employee, but for an employer, the words can mean the beginning of a long, often painful process. When I was General Manager for a 120 person manufacturing company, my right-hand man left for a promotion at a nearby company. Almost immediately after, half the team followed him. I was left with half the resources, but still had to accomplish the same goals. That's when I learned about the importance of "Butts in the Seats." As each person left for better opportunities I tried to take on their essential duties while searching for their replacement. Covering for the VP of Operations wasn't too bad since he had competent people below him. … [Read more...]
5 Lessons learned from 5 Years of Anchor Advisors, Ltd.
Fifth Anniversary Celebration It's hard to believe, but Anchor Advisors, Ltd. is turning five this month. In recognition of this milestone, I would like to share the top five lessons I've learned as a business owner during the past five years. 1. You Can Never Have Too Much Cash. Cash is my best friend. That's because it's always bailing me out, and I don't mean from jail either. What I've learned is everything costs more than I think and takes longer than I want. I can make a budget and plan my cash flow to the smallest detail, but the unexpected, unanticipated or just overlooked issues are enough to make a mockery of my plans. The only way to handle this situation is to have cash in … [Read more...]
When the Boss is a Lunatic – and You’re the Boss
There's nothing better than being a business owner and your own boss, right? That's what I thought when I started my business - but then I learned. As a business owner, I work for a demanding, unsympathetic and controlling person - myself. It's understandable. Business owners, bear a lot of burden. We have to fulfill both the role of "the boss" and "the worker" - a dynamic that, if we're not careful, can lead to frustration, inefficiency and even failure. One of the first key elements to balancing the roles of boss and worker is to identify and understand their key distinctions. Boss (Working on the business) Worker (Working in the business) Maximize … [Read more...]
Keeping Customers is as Important as Getting Customers
When you get new customers, do you know what happens to them? Are they thrown into a sea of impolite customer service representatives and employees? Are they getting the high-quality product or service you promised them? New sales are but a small part of a successful business. While new customers are important, actually critical, to every business, properly managing and retaining customers form the real backbone of business success. Everyone, from the sales staff to the front-line customer service representatives to the CEO, should concern themselves with customer satisfaction and customer management. All employees, regardless of their primary job duties, are responsible for … [Read more...]
Healthy Businesses Check Their Vitals
Is Your Business in Good Health? Check Your Business Vital Signs to Find Out A desperate business owner trudges into a doctor's office and says, "My business is not feeling well." "What seems to be the problem?" the doctor asks. "I don't know...my company is not making much of a profit, the employees aren't happy, we've got worker's comp cases left and right..." "Well, it sounds like your company needs a full-blown check-up. Here is a referral for a great management consultant who can help." Okay, this scenario may be a little unrealistic (and perhaps self-serving!), but the doctor did have the right idea in thinking this man's company needed some help. His company was not … [Read more...]
Focus on Results, Not Just Talk, at Your Meetings
Every meeting has a purpose. That goes without saying, right? No, actually not. Oftentimes, meetings have agendas, but no goals for what should be accomplished. People talk, people listen, but no one makes any progress. That's why the purpose of your meeting -- that is, what you want to accomplish -- must be clearly communicated at every meeting. It will help keep everyone focused, and, as a result, make your meeting productive. The first step in holding a productive meeting is determining what you want to accomplish. This requires you sitting down before your meeting and focusing on the four W's -- wish, worst-case, will and without -- which are explained below. What is … [Read more...]
Motivating Your People to Stay
Your employees are job hunting. As the "jobless recovery" starts to create more opportunities people who have stuck with you through the tough economy are going out and looking for greener pastures. The May 24th Newsweek reports that, "In the first quarter of 2004, 4.2 million people posted their resumes on Monster, the online job board, up 44 percent from a year earlier; this year "confidential" postings (usually made by people trying to hide job hunting from their boss) are up 13 percent. At the Five O'Clock Club, a New York-based career-counseling firm, half of new clients already have a job but are looking for a new one; last year most new members were unemployed. In Fresno, Calif., … [Read more...]
Strategic Priorities
Looking for New Markets As the economy has declined from it's height the office furniture business was particularly hard hit. As the size of the market shrank, each of the players fought harder for the business that remained. Margins have declined and may never rebound. One of the leading office products dealers in the Chicago area approached Anchor Advisors to help them to develop strategic alternatives to this trend. The project began with an analysis of the company's sales by customer for each of the previous 3 years. The trends that emerged helped our client to identify their most profitable customers and tailor their offerings to more effectively reach those segments. We also … [Read more...]
Starting Off on the Right Foot
Starting a new business can be a daunting process. When Peter's professional services firm had survived its first year, he wanted to pause and look at where he was headed, and develop some systems and processes to make the back-end of the business more efficient. He called Anchor Advisors to help. This project was executed through a series of coaching sessions twice a month for several months. In each session we took one phase of the client's business and analyzed its efficiency and effectiveness, looked at its scalablity and whether there was someone else who could better accomplish it either inside the firm, or through outsourcing. This review enabled the client to get a clean look … [Read more...]