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Fail to Plan... Or Plan to FAIL?Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar company or an online part time home business, they share many similar traits. One of the biggest obstacles I have endeavored to translate to many, many small business / home business people, is a very simple phrase...... 'Treat It Like a REAL business, Because It IS a REAL Business'. The fundamental reasoning behind so many failures in small business, is the clear lack of willingness to act like a real business. Many people may ' have a go ', they could ' give it a try ', or ' let's see what happens ' - all with the.. ' what have I got to lose? ' attitude. THAT, my friends, is one of the biggest secrets to FAILURE. OK - so let's assume that your small business / home business / BizOp etc., is NOT you main source of income. It is NOT responsible for putting food in you family's stomachs, it is NOT what keeps a roof over your head..... it is NOT the sole form of income that you, your family and your Bank Manager rely upon. So look at it like this. If it WAS, would you put as much effort into it as you do now? I can pretty much guarantee that your efforts would be substantially more, because everything relies on the success of your business, vis-Ã -vis the money your business generates. Well, now we have ascertained that you should be running it like a real business.......Are you?
If you want to run your BUSINESS 'willy-nilly', or 'Gun Ho' - then expect eventual failure. However, with some applied thought, planning and foresight, you can develop your little, part-time home business into something which definitely has increased chances for success. Apply time-management techniques, stick to time-tables and deadlines. Look out for 'Time Thieves'........ These are people or events which steal time from you, time which could be more effectively used elsewhere. Example: Someone calls and asks when you can deliver a certain item, you reply "within two days", they are happy with your response BUT instead of the conversation finishing, they go on to talk about weather, sports, families etc... .....before you know it, a one-minute call has turned into a 30 minute episode of everything except business. Not Good. This is time you could have efficiently used elsewhere.........they have stolen your time from you. Look out for the 'Time Thieves' - they are everywhere. Spot them - deal with them. Time Management is KEY to business planning. If your plan has a tight schedule to work to, then your management of ever-so valuable time will be very important. Plan your time carefully, effectively and efficiently......but do allow for some overspill and overlap.......it happens in any business! One KEY fundamental of business planning is the ability to be flexible and adaptable. Never assume that once you create your plan, that you must stick to it rigidly, but flexible when necessary, but not to the detriment of the your success. Remember, overspill and overlap work both sides of the same coin. PLAN. Plan carefully, plan honestly, plan realistically. But you must plan. Final thought. Think long and hard about the 'company / business objective' and the 'Customer Mission Statement'. Put together a short (two - three sentences) paragraph for each, which clearly defines..... A). What your business is all about. B). What your customers can expect from your business. Chose the words carefully, put into 2-3 sentences everything that encapsulates both statements totally and work to these statements closely. Plan for success, because without planning, you will fail. © Copyright 2005 - All Rights Reserved worldwide. Other articles by this author »
About Gary Durkin
Gary Durkin Gary has more than a decade of offline international business success behind him, and has been doing business online for 6 years. If you would like to join thousands of subscribers to his newsletter 'Delivering Success' - send a blank email to deliveringsuccess@kioskcities.ws Related
And here is another random article you might be interested in... The Single Most Important Thing you Must Know if you Own a HomeDon't ever, ever lose your job! That's right, it's not your credit score or your assets or your equity or even Location, Location, Location that matter the most, it is whether or not you have an income stream capable of supporting your mortgage. Most people think of their home as the safest of investments that they have. It can be but only if you manage it correctly. If you have equity in your home, you are subject to the risk of loss of that equity at any time you can no longer afford to make your payments. It doesn't matter how many years you have paid perfectly, if you for some reason can't, the bank will not let you slide for a few months to be nice. As a matter of fact, the more equity you have the more attractive it is to them to foreclose on you. That to me is the exact opposite of a safe investment! I counsel my clients to understand that the most important thing they want to maintain is liquidity. They want to have the access to enough cash or near cash reserves that they are in charge or their financial choices. This may not seem like a revolutionary idea but I would argue it is something that a great many people do very poorly. My clients are above average as far as wealth in their socio-economic groups. They tend to have more wealth per average income or job position than their peers. And most if not all of them have less than 5% equity in their homes! There are many factors that contribute to wealth and putting your home equity to work isn't the magic criterion that assures you will be wealthy. But consider why these people are positioned this way and maybe the connection will become clear. In addition to liquidity, other benefits include increased safety, rate of return, tax savings, elimination of non preferred debt and establishing an emergency side or reserve fund. How does all of this relate to income? Consider that if you lose your income you lose the ability to get access to the equity in your home. And guess when most people need access to that money the most? You guessed it, when something unexpectedly affects their income stream, like a job loss. Lenders will make loans to someone with bad credit, with no assets or reserves and with limited time in a certain field of work but if you don't have the ability to pay them back when you lose your job, they generally don't want to lend you money! I would be willing to wager that most of you have either been affected by corporate restructuring or know someone who has. There are also a substantial number of people who lose jobs either because they or someone in their family becomes ill or are injured. In those situations would you be better off with $50,000 in an emergency fund to help you get back on your feet, pay doctor or home care bills, and allow you a cushion to find a good job instead of the first one you could find or have $50,000 in equity in your house that you couldn't access? Now to finish up on the wealth equation as it relates to home equity. One thing that most people don't understand is their home equity is earning them a 0% rate of return. There are 2 components to your home value: what it cost to purchase it (basis) and appreciation. In 5 years your house will be worth the same whether you have a mortgage or don't. Any money you choose to put into the house is simply a return of your investment. If you are willing to rethink the wealth equation and put your home to work for you it can be a great source for turbo charging your wealth. If you coordinate that with an integrated financial plan involving your planner, accountant and insurance agent then the results can truly be outstanding! Jeff Blovits Other articles by this author »
About Jeff Blovits
Jeff Blovits is the owner of the Westerville based Prospera Mortgage Group, a mortgage franchise location of the publically traded ssb out of Texas. Jeff has been in the financial services industry for 12 years as bank manager, underwriter, and mortgage lender. His innovative mortgage planning concepts are paving the way for countless clients to improve their financial lives. Related
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