Category: Planning & Management

Article Contributed by Dennis Hung

Running a business is one of the most difficult things that anyone can do. There are many people who try and fail to scale a business successfully over time. Anyone who is looking to have long term success in this area needs to make sure they are spending their time wisely. There are many people who waste time every day on their business by spending time on things that are not important. Here are several tips for business owners on spending their time more wisely on the things that matter most to the business.

Think Long Term

One of the most essential aspects of running a business is the ability to think long term. Many business owners simply want to go from crisis to crisis putting out fires. Although this is a great strategy for staying busy, this is not a great strategy for formulating a solid business strategy. There are many people who are interested in building up a sound business model over the long term. This requires a level of strategic thinking that will take some time to get to. Anyone who wants to take their business to the next level needs to think on a strategic and not a tactical level. If you are someone who wants to think at a higher level, having a long term mindset is a great way to do so.

Get Your Priorities Straight

There are many business owners who do not have a firm set of priorities that they go by. Over the long term, this can really cause business owners to drift away from what matters most. If you are someone who wants to start cutting time with your business strategy, learning to get your priorities straight is essential. There are many people who have trouble in this area. As a business owner, learning how to say no to opportunities is just as important as learning to say yes to the good ones. Be very careful with how you spend your time and energy in a business. Using workflow software can be a great way to improve your workflow and other aspects of the business.

Use Technology to Scale

Another important factor in developing your business strategy is using technology to scale. Although this may be expensive in the short term, over the long term this will reduce both the amount of money and the time it takes to run a business. Smart business owners should use technology to the best of their ability to really scale the business. Anyone who wants to make a long term impact within the business should do this as well. There are many people who have made investments in this area and have been able to reap the long term benefits. Technology is a powerful tool when used properly. Always make sure to keep the long term in mind when investing in your business.

Eliminate Non Essential Activities

There are many non essential activities that people do every day in business. In order to truly scale your business quickly, it is vital to eliminate the non essential aspects of your business. Make it a point every year to stop doing business with your worst customer. Other companies decide to fire their worst workers every year. Whatever decision you make, it is important to eliminate things that are not adding long term value in terms of time or money.

Running a business is something that takes a lot of hard work and strategic thinking. However, there are few people who have the ability to do both at the same time. Learning how to cut time out of your day is essential to developing a business strategy. As a business owner, it is essential to search out ways to improve your business model over the long term. People who do this have a much higher chance of success.

Think of the relief you’d get each day when you sat down at your desk, knowing exactly what you had to do that day.

Better yet, think of the relief you’d feel knowing what to do not only each day, but each week, each month and each quarter.

Suddenly becoming a business owner is a lot more fun!

• No more overwhelm.
• No more frustration.
• No more stress.

Well, that’s exactly what you can do when you create a Marketing Action Plan (MAP).

Your strategic Marketing Action Plan (MAP) is a document that is used to plan your day-to-day marketing activities/strategies for running your online solo service business.

In other words it’s your MAP to online business management success.

And just like a real map, your MAP tells you exactly how to get from point A to point B and the exact route you need to take in order to get there.

When you have your MAP in place it eliminates the guess work — you always know what you’re doing, when you’re doing it, and how you’re going to implement the strategies.

Creating a Marketing Action Plan can seem very daunting if you’ve not done this kind of planning before; it can be difficult to know where to start.

My favorite tool for creating my strategic MAP is a spreadsheet because of the row/column formatting that spreadsheets use.

So, today I’d like to make that process easy for you and share with you my insider secrets so that you can create your own MAP.

1. Heart of your business – your MAP is not a document that you create, look at once, and then set aside to review in a year’s time.  Like a real map you continually refer to (typically on a weekly basis) so that you know you’re going in the right direction. And if you do sway off course a little, maybe for a pit stop along the way, you can easily update it as necessary.

Your MAP will provide you with your ‘Big Picture’ route for the year.  You’ll want to keep it handy so that you can refer to it often, whether you print it out and keep it on your desk, or have easy access to it on your PC.

2. Chunk it down – the easiest and simplest way for you to manage your MAP is to break it down into doable action steps, so that you don’t feel overwhelmed by feeling you have to plan out your entire route in one go. You’re going on a journey and as such there might be detours along the way. I highly advise you to chunk down your MAP, first into quarters, then into months, and then into weeks.

3. See any overlaps/conflicts – as you’ve been planning out your marketing activities for the upcoming year, having it all together in one place will allow you to see any overlaps or conflicts in your plan.  Similarly it will also allow you to see any gaps too.

4. Automatically creates your weekly/monthly To Do list – this is one of my favorite aspects of creating my MAP because when I chunk everything down into quarters/months/weeks I find that I create my weekly action list.  And it’s so much easier to be able to just focus on that week’s action steps and so implement them.

Some points to remember as you’re putting together your marketing plan:

• Seeding in ezine/networks – as soon as you’re clear on what programs/products/services you’re going to be offering and when, start mentioning them in your newsletter and to your social networks.  You don’t need to give a whole lot of detail – simply say that you’re working on something new, or an exciting project etc.  and this will start to create interest in your offerings.
• Marketing – plan out when you’re going to be opening registrations and when you’re going to be running promotions.  This is important so that you don’t have any overlaps in your promotions/activities.
• Delivering – also plan out when you’re going to be delivering your programs too, again to avoid any overlaps/conflicts in your promotions and activities.
• Team Members – know which team members you’re going to need support from to help you implement your goals, i.e. virtual assistant, graphic designer, web designer etc.  You may need to contact them several weeks in advance so plan this in too.
• Dates – and finally it’s important to include all dates in your Marketing Action Plan so that nothing gets missed out.

As my financial adviser reminded me just last week, you’re running a marathon not a sprint, and the same is true for your business also. Follow these simple steps for creating your strategic Marketing Action Plan and you’ll soon find yourself on track for achieving your business goals.

Many people have demanding jobs. Your job may require you to work long hours and juggle many responsibilities. However, you may find your demanding job very rewarding. For others, job demands can create too much stress. It’s in the best interests of both the company and the worker to address issues that cause an unreasonable level of stress. If your company won’t address these issues, you can find another job and a better work situation.

Technology now makes it much easier for job candidates to look for employment. StartJobs.net points out that candidates can search online for job postings using keywords, job titles or by zip code.  Before you decide to look elsewhere, consider whether or not management will consider any changes to your job situation.

How great companies manage people

Some companies are able to keep employees satisfied, in spite of the demanding work. A key indicator of good company management is the level of employee turnover. Turnover refers to the percentage of employees that voluntarily leave your firm each year.

Every industry has a rate of employee turnover. Great companies keep their turnover levels below the industry average. Here are some things these companies do to reduce turnover:

• These firms communicate clearly with their workers. Good companies communicate well with their workforce, even if they need to report bad news.
• Good companies follow up on employee questions and concerns. A great example is each employee’s annual review. An effective manager will give each employee a review on a timely basis.
• Effective managers help workers advance in their careers. If a manager has your best interests at heart, that person should help you get promoted. Helping people advance in their careers is a key trait of a good employer.

Asking for change

You may face a situation in which your job is simply too stressful. If you experience too much stress, it can take a physical and mental toll on you. If you’re in this situation, try to work with your employer to make the job manageable.

Your employer’s response to your concern is critical. An effective manager should respond to your concerns right away. That person should attempt to change things and report back to you.

People leave jobs for two basic reasons. In some cases, they ask the employer for a change and the company can’t fix the problem. Individuals also leave companies if they ask for change and the firm doesn’t respond within a reasonable period of time.

Finding a new position

If you need to find a new position, assess whether or not the job you’re unhappy about fits your personality and preferences. Take a personality assessment to determine your traits. If you’re an introvert, for example, you will not be happy in a sales position that requires you to meet new people constantly.

Talk with people who work in your field. Find out what makes them happy in their jobs. Why do they enjoy the company they work for? You can talk to people in your network and ask them for referrals.

If you’re considering a high level position, think about using a recruiting or placement firm. These people are paid to find out exactly what an employer is looking for in a specific job candidate. You may find that working with recruiter is more effective than looking for a high-level position on your own.

Perform a Google search for positions, based on some key words. For example, you could search for “mechanical engineering manager midwest” to find a particular type of job listing.

Working in a stressful job can be exhausting. If you’re in a stressful job, ask your employer if they’re willing to make some changes in your work. If not, take some time to assess your preferences. Use these tools to find a job that is a good fit with less stress. You’ll be happier in the long run.

It’s not long before 2015 comes to a close and although there is still much work to be done it’s in your interest to begin planning for success in 2016.

Business is volatile so even with the best intentions you may be caught by surprise on some of the hurdles and challenges you’ll face in the coming year. Equally so, you may be surprised and absolutely thrilled at the accomplishments and barriers that are overcome once the new year takes shape.

Here are some of the things you, the business owner, should begin considering, in 2015, so that your business will have breakout success in 2016.

A) Dig into the Analytics

Crunch the numbers you’ve collected throughout the year such as conversion rate, traffic generation, social sharing, marketing expenses, promotional costs, feedback, and any other data points that give you a scientific look at how well your business performed in 2015.

Analytics will reveal all you need to know in order to grow in the new year.

The big data points, in the easiest of sense of doing this task, should be the number of customers you’ve brought in (and retained), how much you earn on each sale, how much you’re spending to operate, and what you can do to cut costs while keeping quality and satisfaction.

B) Personalization, Customization, and Employee Empowerment

Every year it’s important that you take a look at your competition and see what they are doing to attract their customers (because those customers could be yours).

Things you’ll notice if you deep research the competition (and even use social engineering to have them reveal their techniques) will allow your business to begin personalizing the marketing & sales message to reach your target audience and expand into theirs with ease. By taking this action you may also find ways to customize your products & services to give greater appeal and a modern look, feel, and value in the new year (all-the-while the competition continue to look dated).

Because of this drive to keep one step ahead of the competition you will also find the weak points of your business and the appropriate tools to empower your employees to deliver customer service exceptionally well. A combination of providing educational programs and new systems at work will give the employees an edge. This upgrade can be as simple as upgrading your office telephone systems to give employees modern VoIP capabilities and integration into CRM systems.

C) Audit your Social Media

Gone are the days when you could simply schedule a post to Facebook, sit back, and watch the community interact. Social media is in a constant state of evolution and this means your social media strategy needs to adapt and change for where it may be going in 2016.

The staples of social media will remain the same such as great content creation in the form of blog posts, podcasts, and videos, but the many messenger services have already shown they are major platforms in how your audience wants to interact with your brand – and it’s only going to become more commonplace as the younger audience gains additional purchasing power (along with older generations finally coming on board with the technology).

Take some time before the start of the new year to completely update any outdated information in your social media profiles. Also, take time to plan new content strategies, promotional ideas, email sequences, and other social campaigns you’d like to attempt in the new year by learning what has worked in the past and being playful with the platforms when it comes to the future.

There are big changes coming to how consumer and brands interact on social media.

D) Adapt

The last and shortest section says it all: you must be willing to adapt.

Each day new businesses are making their way into your industry; they are after your customers and fighting for dominance. These new businesses have fresh ideas and a lot of energy. It’s your duty to stay ahead of the curve, learn as much as you can from trends, take chances, and adapt to the way your industry changes whether that means small changes to the tools you use to big changes to the business culture. You must be willing else you’ll fade out like so many before.

Are you ready to take on 2016?

When starting your own business, there are a myriad of challenges to overcome. Today we’re looking at maximising a seasonal business cycle, and how you can apply strategies to make the most out of your products all year round – even if they’re peak popularity goes hand in hand with a particular season. We speak to Rebecca Wilson, Marketing Manager at Turtle Mat to get her insights into marketing a seasonal product throughout the year.

• What is the business cycle like for Turtle Mat and what other factors might affect sales and revenue?

The business cycle for Turtle Mat is, as you’d anticipate from a doormat specialist, quite seasonal with the focus on autumn and winter where the doormat comes into its own and there’s an increased need for it in UK homes. We also find rain, especially prolonged periods, at other times of the year leads to an uplift in sales.

• How would you describe your strategy for managing seasonality?

As our peak periods are clearly defined by seasonality, planning of resource and marketing campaigns for autumn/winter are prepared over the summer months. Crucially, we ensure everyone from the warehouse team through to the digital team and customer service are given forecasts of what we can expect over our peak period and specifically when these peaks will be – driven by our marketing campaigns.

• In what ways do you cope with the surge in demand during your peak season?

We plan for it and often the surge is driven by our marketing campaigns, whether on or offline, so we know exactly when to expect increases and increase resource accordingly. We let customers know of delivery dates for Christmas orders quite early in December before the pre-Christmas peak and will communicate this a few times in December to decrease the last minute surge just before Christmas.

• How do you stay in touch with customers during the low season?

We typically employ email over the summer months to keep in touch with customers and to stay in mind over a period where they are less likely to buy. We also meet customers face-to-face with events such as RHS Chelsea Flower Show which is a great opportunity to showcase and get feedback on new designs ahead of their full launch in autumn as well as sign people up to receive our catalogue.

• What is the biggest challenge you face as a business with a seasonal offering?

Sunshine! Managing and maintaining a consistent level of sales during the ‘off season’ is the biggest challenge we face as extended good weather really can make a difference and that’s something outside of our control. It’s also difficult during this period to get the message to resonate that Turtle Mats are still incredibly useful when the sun is shining and people are spending more time coming in and out of the garden, so we use this time to send out more supportive communications i.e. how to wash your mat etc. so that the communications are still useful.

• What advice would you give to others facing a similar challenge?

My advice would be to really leverage the seasonality and your peak periods rather than fight to have sales year round and throw budget at the low season when it’s not going to offer the same level of return. Find other related topics to communicate to customers over the low season to keep your business in mind, cultivating a resource that customers like to read and find useful whether that be gardening tips on the blog for a doormat company like us or a ‘guide to the best sunny winter get-aways’ for a suntan lotion company for example.