Tips for Small Business Owners - Common Interests | Financial Advisor | Financial planning

So, how’s business going? It’s a tough time! Especially if your customer base is stuck at home working remotely and ‘self-quarantining.’ For some 50 years now I have been in a business where, traditionally, I went out to the client; they did not come to me! Talk about a Paradigm Shift!

However, there is an old saying that Crisis and Opportunity are two sides of the same coin. The opportunity right now is to assess where you are, how you WANT to work, and put the building blocks in place to assure future success!

Let’s face some facts. Many small business owners started their business with NO BUSINESS EXPERIENCE! They started the business because they had the skills and the knowledge to do what the business demanded. In my case that is helping people get their Financial House In Order! Furthermore, if you are good at what you do, your business will grow quickly and thrive. Then what do you do? There is an actual limit to the amount of business that can be generated and when you hit that limit you will find that every day is the same as the last and you are in the middle of a whirlwind! Your success at this point can actually Bankrupt Your Future!

Michael Gerber in his book The E Myth helps with this process of assessment. He coined the phrase, “Owners must work ON their business, as well as IN their business! This is the ‘secret sauce; that makes all of the difference. Working IN the business means doing all of little daily jobs: answering the phone, writing quotes or invoices, selling the product, packaging the product, keeping the books….you get it I’m sure. Working ON the business means doing the short, mid and long term thinking that will make the business succeed and flourish in the future. This means things like: Branding, Good Will, Promotion, Advertising, Technology and Efficiency, Staffing. This is the Strategic part of the business plan, NOT the Tactical part of the plan. Look at the Blue Ocean, Red Ocean materials, they will help!

The solution to this dilemma is to get organized! You’ve heard this before, I know, it comes out as PLAN YOUR WORK, AND WORK YOUR PLAN! You get to the point where you are too busy to not plan! To forget a major tactic or strategy means you will crash and burn, when you could have captured the field!

Here’s an outline of the planning process I have used for years to keep my business under control.

1st Hour of the day: Package the work of the day Do Not Do It!: What MUST be done today? = List
2nd Hour of the day: Staff meeting, Prioritize everyone’s work = List
Check off work items as accomplished, try NOT to add new work.
New work gets prioritized and placed in the proper day and time. Do Not do the work now!
Capture all work onto lists: White Board or Planner Pad (https://plannerpads.com/)
Monday Morning: Prioritize and add work items to proper day’s list
Wednesday Morning, or whole day; This is my strategic/tactical planning day- few interruptions
Friday Afternoon: Look back at week, capture and place items undone for next week. Build beginning of Next Week’s Plan = List in appropriate place