Small Business Guru

Big Picture Thinking

I have a big issue with long-term business planning.... actually, I have many.  1. It’s very hard to predict the future; 2. I have enough trouble thinking about next month, let alone the next few years; 3. Most small business owners don’t have the time, resources or industry data to make sound predictions or meaningful plans and 4. I actually find it quite daunting to think of everything that is required of me to make my goals a reality, so setting the goals in the first place becomes a bit overwhelming.
However, I still believe it is very important to have an eye on the bigger picture of my business – I mean, let’s face it, if all I have to look forward to for the next 30-odd years is more of the same.... well, that doesn’t exactly turn me on.

I know many small business owners find business planning just as challenging as I do.... which is why I recommend planning in a ‘general’ sense – clarifying the picture of the general essence of your business in the longer term rather than creating a list of ‘disconnected’ targets.

Answering questions like....

• Who will I be working with?

• How will I fill my days?
• What will my business be known for?
• What kind of lifestyle do I want to have and how will my business support that?

.... give you a sense of the general direction you need to take your business.... and gives you benchmarks against which you can measure new opportunities or strategies. 

Once you have this kind of picture in your mind, then you can create short-term goals or focus points for moving closer to your bigger picture.  Personally, I work well with a 6-month plan... that keeps me focussed on key projects and strategies that move me closer to my bigger picture outcomes.  Once those projects are complete, the next strategies become apparent... and I keep moving forward with flexibility and within the context of the wider economy.... all the while moving closer to my big picture outcomes.

How do you stay focussed on your bigger picture?  Vision boards?  Goals? Traditional business plan?  Other business plan format?  Let me know in the comments below.

Igniting your business performance through strategy and mentoring,

Cat

Tough times? Really?

I am so tired of hearing about how tough things are.  People are citing the current economic climate as the reason for not buying, the reason why business is struggling, the reason why they’re ‘cutting back’.

The fact is, for most people, things are no more ‘tough’ than they were two months ago (I know some people have unfortunately lost their jobs but that’s not the majority).  Sure, people’s asset-base has taken a hit (yes, your superannuation fund does not look as good as it did month ago), but your day-to-day discretionary income has not changed one iota.  Grocery prices having been going up for the last 18 months.... petrol prices have been going up for the last 12 months.... so we have already been dealing with those increased cash flow burdens. 

Since the supposed economic crisis hit, petrol prices have actually come down... and so have interest rates!!  So in reality, most people should have more free cash to spend... not less!!

The fact of the matter is mainstream media would have us believe that we are moments away from recession.  This does nothing other than fuel fear... which influences buyer behaviour... which then creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of slowed economic growth.  Readers older than 50 would recall similar ‘slow-downs’... and would recall coming out of them unharmed.  The problem is we’ve had such a long period of growth that most people in business haven’t seen ‘conditions’ like these before – it’s easy to make hay while the sun shines.....

So what does it mean for you, a small-medium business owner?

Normal operations!  Stop thinking ‘doom and gloom’ – be proactive amidst the negativity.

Get smart with your marketing and reconnect with your customers.... demonstrate you are as important (and valuable) to them now as you were last month.  Expand your communications, your programs, your products, your services – resist the temptation to shrink and ‘go small’.

Unless you are selling to retirees or people servicing that market, your customers have the same discretionary income (if not more) they did six months ago.  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking ‘times are tough’.  They’re not.  They’re just different. 

Netweaving... not networking

Well, it’s official!  With Melbourne Cup Day now behind us, it really is a downhill slide into the festive season of social engagements and parties – business related and otherwise.

Rather than decline these social invitations citing ‘busy-ness’ as your excuse, consider using these opportunities to expand, enrich and ‘weave’ your networks.

I don’t mean handing out as many business cards as you can, or trying to generate as many new customers or clients you can in the shortest space of time.  What I really mean is what I call ‘netweaving’ – truly connecting with people and connecting them with others.  Netweaving is more about helping others... whereas traditional networking has been about ‘what’s in it for me’ (WIIFM).... which, by the way, is why so many people don’t like traditional networking.

The festive season is a great time to reconnect with your networks (business and personal) and practice the art of netweaving.  Look for ways that you can put people in touch with others where they can create mutually beneficial relationships.  For example, if someone mentions they are experiencing a particular problem, or looking for a particular service provider – pass on those resources that you would personally use if you had the same need.  I recently was talking to a client who mentioned they were having challenges with their electrician.  I gave her the name of mine as someone she could call if hers couldn’t do the job.  I also often promote other peoples services or events out to members of my network purely because I think they would benefit... not because I get any benefit from doing so.

One of the side-effects of this style of netweaving is you will increase your visibility in your networks.  This means, when someone does need your product or service, you’re more likely to me remembered.  It’s not about netweaving to get this result.... but genuine netweaving produces this result.

So, party on.... and enjoy the social aspect of the next few weeks.

The Wonder Woman Myth

As I sit here typing with baby Sam on my lap (4 months old), I am reminded of many a conversation about the myth that we modern women unintentionally perpetuate about how we can 'have it all'.

We can't. 

Not all at once anyway.

I am yet to meet a real person woman who is running a successful business AND giving as much time as she wants to her kids and partner AND keeping the house in the way she would like AND doing the business development activities she wants AND getting to the gym regularly AND seeing her friends as much as she'd like AND entertaining clients/suppliers/associates she wants to AND nurturing herself.

Something has to give.

That something is different for all of us and is based on our values - there is no right or wrong about it - it's just how it is.

The challenge lies in making our peace with those values and resultant decisions.

So ease up on yourself and be more realistic.  There is a season for everything...

Cat