The two things you need above knowledge for success today
A lot of “know-it-alls” are unsuccessful. What’s worse, many know-it-alls do have an excellent command of a lot of information, yet they accomplish little. I’m making this point to stress the truth that knowledge alone won’t make you successful in business. I truly value and encourage your ongoing education, but two other elements are required to be successful in business: A management plan, and The discipline to execute it. Combine those two elements with good knowledge and you’re well on your way to creating a business that has potential for long-term success. And let me tell you a little secret: You can always acquire the knowledge you need, by either training yourself or hiring someone who has the knowledge you want. However, if you lack a plan or lack discipline, you might find yourself in a situation where it’s too late to acquire those elements – and you can’t buy discipline at any cost! Where are you in the evolution of your business? If you’re in the planning stages, you need to focus your efforts on your initial business plan. But once you get a launch date within reach, you need to be formulating your management plan. It’s important to remember that the tone and culture you create as you launch your business will, in great part, determine the trajectory of your business. If you launch in an unorganized, haphazard fashion, that will be difficult to overcome as you move forward. Further, your team will sense that “anything goes” as long as it gets you through the business day. Processes and people need to be in place to handle production, personnel, quality assurance, scheduling, marketing, and accounting. If you’re just a single, self-employed individual when you launch, those are a lot of bases to cover. Apps, cloud services, and contact workers can cover some of those; don’t delay finding the right assistance – that’s where discipline starts to kick in. You probably know the right way to get something done, but when you’re under the pressure of launching or growing a small business, cutting corners can be tempting. I’m reminded of an old saying, “A stitch in time, saves nine.” When you have the discipline to do things right the first time and put systems in place to assure they are done right every time, you save yourself countless problems later on that could kill your business. I have one little “homework” assignment for you. Honestly look at your strengths and see where discipline ranks. If it’s at the top of the list, that’s great. However, if you’re more of an “idea” person who bristles at being confined within a disciplined system and your reject imposing discipline on others, you probably need to bring in a partner or board that will inject some discipline into your management. ...
read moreNationwide study reveals troubling small business statistics
Looks like a disaster waiting to happen… We all know that common expression and it perfectly reflects my thoughts when I was recently reviewing the results of Nationwide’s 2017 Business Owners Attitudes and Usage Study. Here are the key findings that I found rather scary: Only 20 percent of business owners have built a disaster preparedness kit for their business, Two out of three business owners do not have a succession plan in place, and 45 percent of business owners have been a victim of a cyberattack without knowing it was an attack, yet 75 percent of business owners think a cyberattack is unlikely to affect their business. “(Business owners) can often believe the myth that ‘it could never happen to me,’” observed Mark Berven, president of property and casualty for Nationwide. “That’s why it’s crucial business owners remain prepared. Whether it’s planning for leadership succession or enduring an unexpected event like a cyberattack, the viability of businesses across the country is a requirement for a healthy economy that we can’t ignore,” Berven added. If a natural disaster hits your community or a cyberattack or death hits your small business, it won’t take down the national economy. However, the local impact on you, your family, and your neighbors can be overwhelming and extremely difficult to recover from. Going back to what Berven said, let me state a fact and ask you a question. First the fact: These disasters are going to happen to business owners this year. Now the question: Why not you? The only good answer to the question “Why not you?” is to say that you are prepared. When you are sufficiently prepared, occurrences that create disasters for others create a manageable problem for you. Sadly, few business owners can give a positive answer to that questions because: Only half have cybersecurity measures in place to protect sensitive information, Just 23 percent have a natural disaster preparedness program, and 37 percent have a succession plan in place. Nationwide’s survey of 1,069 small business owners also found a couple of interesting and I believe generally unexpected results. While Millennials are often the object of criticism in the business and career world, the survey found that they are more likely to appreciate the importance of planning for these threatening events than older demographics. Similarly, African-American business owners are more likely to have plans in place to deal with these issues than their Hispanic of Caucasian counterparts. Don’t be caught on the wrong side of these statistics – the price is too steep. We know that many small businesses that are hit by natural disasters never reopen. Further, you’re the victim of a cyberattack and customer or employee information gets stolen, it is very difficult to recover from the loss of trust. And succession planning is extremely critical. Many small business owners depend on selling their businesses to fund retirement and when the time comes to retire there aren’t any “do-overs”! Of course, sometimes circumstances force owners to retire early; that makes early planning even more important. One final note: I’m sure that most of you know that Nationwide is one of the country’s top small business insurers, but have you discovered its Business Solutions Center? It offers a lot of advice and information on a wide range of topics...
read moreSmall business owner: Are you up for the $10,000 UPS 2017 X-Port Challenge?
As important to the world economy as the United States is, most consumers don’t live within our borders, and their buying power is increasing all the time. However, less than 1 percent of U.S. companies export and of those who do, 58 percent export to just one country. Those figures come from UPS, a company that knows quite a lot about international shipping and commerce. And, UPS has a tantalizing challenge for any small business that would like to start exporting: The UPS X-Port Challenge where qualifying start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses will compete for $10,000 in international shipping credits with UPS. It’s an interesting competition because it’s very decentralized in its initial stages. Here’s the outline of how it works: Interested companies that qualify in participating markets submit an application online via the UPS website contest page listing their specialty, global appeal, and market challenges. A team of UPS employees will evaluate the applications based on criteria such as uniqueness, presentation, market demand and global readiness. Application deadlines vary by geographic market. The top 10 applicants from each participating market will pitch their businesses to a panel of judges from the local international business community. The judges will then select the top three finalists as prize winners. The second and third place winners will receive $2,500 and $1,000 in credits respectively in UPS export shipping. The winner of each market competition will be included in a virtual run-off where UPS employees will vote on which product is export worthy. The top three contestants with the most votes will be invited to a national competition held the first quarter of 2018 for an opportunity to win a cash grand prize of $25,000. Second place wins $15,000 and third place walks away with $10,000. In 2016, there were 33 different first through third place winners spread over 11 UPS regions – that fact should give you a good level of confidence that you have a decent chance to win at some level. Finally, if you’re in a competitive mood, check out the list we maintain of various small business and startup competitions around the country. You can’t win if you don’t enter! Image: By Flickr User qnr (Flickr: provenance url image url) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia...
read moreHow a good NAP will boost your search engine success
Watch a crime drama on television and you’ll see that the culprits never want to leave their fingerprints behind. For a small business owner, it’s exactly the opposite! You want to leave your “digital fingerprint” so Google and other search engines can find it on as many websites as possible – especially the higher quality websites. The question is: Exactly what is your digital fingerprint? Answer: It’s your NAP, or name, address, and phone number. (You could toss in your web address to that as well.) Sounds simple, right? But there’s a catch. What if your NAP is inconsistent all over the Internet? That adds an element of confusion to the process. Can Google be certain that Joe’s Widgets, Inc. is the same company as Joe’s Widgets? In crime fighting, if the fingerprints are different, they cops don’t have a match. In search engine optimization, if your NAP is all over the place, it won’t benefit your small business as much as when it’s rock solid consistent. Typically, your NAP is found in what are classified as “citations.” These are usually directory listings – local, state, country, industry, etc. Do you know how your business is being listed across the cybersphere? Do some searches – by your business name, telephone number, and address – and see what it reveals. You can also get some free reports from the services listed in this guest post Megan Totka wrote for us. There are really only three possibilities: You don’t have any citations, Your citations are consistent, or Your citations are inconsistent. As Megan’s guest post explains, there are both paid and free services that will help you establish your consistent citations. It is well worth the time to explore which is best for you. Not only will the effort help you rank better on the search engines, you might find major mistakes. I know businesses that have changed locations but have discovered that directories are still listing their old location. Here’s the bottom line: Establish a good, strong, and consistent NAP and then be sure you’re leaving your digital fingerprint in all the right places across the...
read moreHow a good NAP will boost your search engine success
Watch a crime drama on television and you’ll see that the culprits never want to leave their fingerprints behind. For a small business owner, it’s exactly the opposite! You want to leave your “digital fingerprint” so Google and other search engines can find it on as many websites as possible – especially the higher quality websites. The question is: Exactly what is your digital fingerprint? Answer: It’s your NAP, or name, address, and phone number. (You could toss in your web address to that as well.) Sounds simple, right? But there’s a catch. What if your NAP is inconsistent all over the Internet? That adds an element of confusion to the process. Can Google be certain that Joe’s Widgets, Inc. is the same company as Joe’s Widgets? In crime fighting, if the fingerprints are different, they cops don’t have a match. In search engine optimization, if your NAP is all over the place, it won’t benefit your small business as much as when it’s rock solid consistent. Typically, your NAP is found in what are classified as “citations.” These are usually directory listings – local, state, country, industry, etc. Do you know how your business is being listed across the cybersphere? Do some searches – by your business name, telephone number, and address – and see what it reveals. You can also get some free reports from the services listed in this guest post Megan Totka wrote for us. There are really only three possibilities: You don’t have any citations, Your citations are consistent, or Your citations are inconsistent. As Megan’s guest post explains, there are both paid and free services that will help you establish your consistent citations. It is well worth the time to explore which is best for you. Not only will the effort help you rank better on the search engines, you might find major mistakes. I know businesses that have changed locations but have discovered that directories are still listing their old location. Here’s the bottom line: Establish a good, strong, and consistent NAP and then be sure you’re leaving your digital fingerprint in all the right places across the...
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