Where are your Priorities

To SME Owners

Always good to refresh what should be your PRIORITIES, gives you focus if you list them down.
I have a client that I met with every Wednesday, on this desk he has his "P" list, that we go through.

Have you listed these priorities,

-each day review sales numbers,
-check how many new clients your business has taken on,
- relook your pricing strategy, you can have more than one pricing approach,
-review any expense over R5k,
-are you delegating,
-have you been to visit clients, what is the market feedback,
-what equipment needs up grading.

The TRICK is to have a list and work it day in day out 365 days a year.

Till next time may the Force be with you. Blog by Kyle Daines

Your Business Model

To SME Owners.

Here is a fancy few words , been used in business for about the last 8 years.

What does your BUSINESS MODEL look like.

Here are some guide lines.

- Your model should show you HOW you are going to make money.
- What people, financial, and equipment you need to invest in.
- Your Target market.

Too name a few blocks that make up your model, after that you develop and implement your strategy, and then put in place action plans.

Till next time may the Force be with you. Blog by Kyle Daines

Your Business EXPANSION

TO SME Owners

Yes we all want to expand our businesses, locally or per region, or into the GLOBAL JUNGLE.

Here are some key essentials.

- Commitment--- you know what this means
- Knowledge------very very important
- Adaptability
- Financial strength
- The RIGHT PEOPLE, yep people make it work or mess it up
- Effective communication
- Capacity of the business and the Management
- Time and Patience
PLUS INNOVATION,

All simple stuff, nothing new, nope, this info is from my library a book I bought in 1995, by P S Orsino
the point keep it simple, do not get too fancy with the latest buz words.

Till next time may the Force be with You.

You are running a FAMILY business

To SME Owners,

Firstly let me say to you, well done, it takes big -------, to have family to rely on.

Watch out for these common mistakes,

-Blood and business usually do not mix( yes there are always exceptions!)
-Make family members ACCOUNTABLE, by getting them to do weekly reports to you, brings structure to them,
-Hard to FIRE a family member.
- Family members need to work 8 to 5, not when they feel like it, OH but I worked till 2pm
went to collect the kids and worked at home till 8pm????

Business is Business family members must be treated like any other staff member, WHY, you Know
why.

Till next time may the Force be with YOU. Blog by Kyle Daines

Beware of introducing new Products or Services.

To SME Owners,

Yes we hear at every turn, innovate, and we must to be in the business game, BUT,
be very careful about experimenting with new P or S, ensure that your core business is very sound, otherwise you could lose FOCUS.

I knew of a business that within 3years added TWO new businesses, with supposed complementing Services, only 2owners, who now had to run three businesses, their core business was not doing well, so they ending up shooting themselves in the foot.

Keep your business emotions in check, go back and ask yourself, "why did to start this particular business"

Emotional IQ is the killer of most sme businesses.

Till next time may the Force be with You. Blog by Kyle Daines

Work does not stop on a FRIDAY afternoon

TO SME Owners

For most of us we eat, sleep,and dream about our businesses 24/7 this is half the way in being successful, those sme owners who stop work on Friday afternoons, will come to face harsh realities.

Use your time effectively, thinking about your business over a weekend and making notes will give you focus for the new week. I  know of many successful owners who always have a pen and paper handy, or a Tablet for notes.

This is working on your business.

When you started your business, you signed up for hardwork, even harder work than you had in the corporate world when you had a boss.

So take action, move with speed.

Till next time may the Force be with you. Blog by Kyle Daines

Managing in todays business enviroment

To SME Owners

YES you may have heard it all before, business is always moving, changing, up, down, side ways.

It is quite simple DONOT repeat what you did last year, just repeating, doing the same old stuff, will keep you behind the pack,(yep there are always exceptions to the rule)

-Do you have the following SKILLS,
-Conceptual skills to see your business through different eyes, be able to analyse and diagnose complex situations, and to keep it SIMPLE.
-The ability to handle stress and pressure.
- Knowing the external and internal RISKS to the business, go list them now you will be amazed at how many there are, what's your plan to minimize, reduce such risks, do your staff understand your plan.

So simple stuff, cool, go implement.

Till next time may the Force be with you. BLOG by Kyle Daines

Beyond YOUR COMFORT ZONE

To SME OWNERS

Ask yourself all the time, am I comfortably, if you are, incorrect mindset to be in.

When your business starts to grow you will get the feeling that you are losing CONTROL

This is good in many ways, it takes you out of your comfort zone, it forces you to get creative to innovate, to look at new ways of IMPROVING your controls, yep strange, but you learn a new way, you have to, if you want your business to keep on GROWING.

So revisit your systems, and procedures in your business, make sure they are helping you work on your business and not in it.

Cool, tell next time may the FORCE be with you.

SME Do Not Give up

To SME Owners

Times can and will get TOUGH, so here are a few guidelines to keep you FOCUSED.

- relook at the simple things to change in your business and can you do it quickly, move with speed.
- relook at your market, is it growing, relook closely at your key clients, are they at the right level of profitability and are they good payers.
- who are your top two key staff members, why are they good at what they do, chat to them about their views, it is good to listen?
- are you carrying to much stock, check how quickly your " slow moving stock" is moving.
- look closely at your Habits, do they need reviewing, are you setting the example.
- are you still having fun in your business, a key issue if you want to give up.

NEXT, go take a few days off, go and think about your business in quite time, in a new setting.

NEXT, when you get back to your office go visit some of your clients.

Till next time may the FORCE be with you.

Staff Excuses

To the SME Owner

There are THREE types of Staff,
-Those who wonder what happened,
-Those that watch what's happening,
-Those that MAKE IT HAPPEN.

Staff excuses then should be irrelevant, HOW many excuses did you hear this week, painful, all bullsh-t.( cool, ok , there are some exceptions to the rule)

Lack of Consistent, great LEADERSHIP, is a big opportunity in SME businesses, it is so underrated,
you know why, it is hard work, it is every hour of the day, not just now and then.

When you implement a new, policy, system,etc, there are those MAVERICKS, "kick butt Joe".
it is your business, you are on the line.

Till next time may the Force be with You.