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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Small Business 101 Deadly Ignorance

Small Business 101: Deadly Ignorance

American small business is again in transition. Many employees, now working from home, are no longer tied to a geographic office and the woes of commuting. This is a relatively new phenomenon with hints of explosive sector growth in the days ahead. As this turbulent economy has forced downsizing, offshore restructuring and closures in large companies, many new entrepreneurs have been born. These are people, who instead of tirelessly attempting to find new employment and possibly enduring the same fate as previously experienced, are now starting small businesses and enjoying the benefits and perils of self-employment.

There's an old story telling of an Admiral's decision to fight a battle against overwhelming odds. It seems that he was approaching the coast of an enemy land, with a larger naval force closing in from behind and a great army approaching from the land ahead. He prayed and then addressed his men. He announced that their battle weary forces would land on the beach ahead, dig in and prepare for the upcoming battle. There was no turning back and no other alternative. He ordered their ships burned after they landed. Their only choice was to fight to win or perish. They defeated their enemy because he eliminated any other escape route. They were fixed on the goal of survival and none other.

That is the same attitude we as entrepreneurs must take. We can not afford to be denied. We must grow and prosper or our business will surely perish. We must constantly be looking for ways to cost-effectively market our business and increase sales. We must control costs and have sufficient cash flow for daily operations. Each of us must be persistent, relentless and vigilant. As CEO, we are the manufacturer, the sales team, the marketing department, legal office, accounting office, human resources manager, IT manager, the webmaster and so on. We can't afford to be all these positions. Our job is to sell! We must locate cost effective resources to help us grow and protect our investment in our business.

The growth of the internet has changed our marketplace as well. Years ago, a small business owner decided upon a geographic chunk of the market and set up shop. Today, that shop is typically located in an office at the entrepreneur's home. The marketplace is now the world. The costs of marketing products and communicating worldwide are so low that almost anyone can take part in this revolution. Sophisticated voice mail, cell phones, email and effective ecommerce web sites now provide the illusion of size and grandeur for even the smallest home-based business. The end customer typically has no idea whether their supplier is local or across the world. He may be dressed in a shirt and tie or in his pajamas! All that typically matters is that the exchange of product and services is successfully made for a profit.

It is critically important for the small, home-based entrepreneur to be aware of resources available to her as she makes this great leap. Too many people leap prematurely into business only to fail because of poor planning and insufficient financial resources. Do not get caught in this trap. Don't quit your day job until you have enough cash on hand to pay the bills for at least a year into your new venture. Become aware of and develop the resources available to you. You want everything possible going for you as you make this leap of faith into the entrepreneurial world.

Here in South Carolina, we have the outstanding Women's Business Center (http://www.scwbc.org), a division of the SCMEP, South Carolina Manufacturers Extension Partnership (http://www.scmep.org), one of the best kept secrets available to businesses at all levels in our State. Other States have similar programs modeled after ours. These are incredible resources, partially funded by the State and private resources, available at little to no cost to entrepreneurs, with the purpose of aiding the successful growth of small business. Some additional national resources are:

There are also numerous magazines devoted to small business, home-based business, marketing, sales, accounting, etc... Get tuned in to these and other resources available to you. Read your industry publications to stay abreast of competition and other facets of your business interests.

A single legal issue, FACTA problem, accounting error or marketing miscue can put you out of business. In the case of FACTA, insufficient security or poor record-keeping these days could find you legally responsible for a single employee's identity fraud issue, which may end up being very costly. A single lawsuit or vendor dispute can shut you down. Many entrepreneurs are ignorant, ill-prepared and under-schooled with regard to these and other issues. Do not get caught in the deadly ignorance trap.

There is more opportunity available today than ever before for the wise entrepreneur. Get all you ducks in a row before you make the fateful leap into the new world marketplace. Be smart, learn all you can as quickly as possible and take action on your ideas. Like the Admiral, be determined to win in the face of what may appear to be overwhelming adversity.

Copyright 2005 Daniel Sitter

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How to Get More Business Without Even Trying

Why are you in business? Hopefully you enjoy what you do, however is it because you want to make money so that you can have, be and do more in your life?

Who pays you? Your clients do and never forget that. Unfortunately many people do. They take your money and then vanish off the face of the earth. And if you do hear from them you know they are only trying to sell something or business is not going well. The silly thing is, if you look after the hand that feeds you, they will look after you.

Keep in regular contact with your clients, particularly the top 20% (both current and past) who have provided you with the most income.

Still keep in touch with the others via newsletters etc. However the top 20% of very special clients need extra attention.

A monthly "how's things?" call. Find out how life is treating them, without expecting to sell anything.

Send the occasional gift ...a book, tape, movie tickets. Thank them for their business. When special times of the year occur send them a Christmas Hamper, New Year's Calendar, Easter eggs at Easter. Little things which show you care.

When you get referrals, reward the referee with a thank you card or gift.

Do what most people in business don't do. You will be amazed that if you consistently (that is the key word here) make the extra effort, you will continue to get repeat business or more referrals.

My Story

For the past two years, I had engaged the services of two separate property managers to look after our investment properties. The property manager of company no. 1 was never pro-active. The only time he spoke with me was when I initiated contact because I had a query or was unhappy about their services. Company no. 2 was exactly the same except that they kept in touch via a newsletter which really was of no use to me as it didn't mention anything about property management. Mostly the information was about properties being sold.

It was very interesting that both property managers contacted me only when they had been notified by my new property management company that their services were no longer required. In fact, both of them were very upset. They were upset? I'm the one who was paying them, not the other way around. They both wanted to know why I was changing and I certainly told them.

When the new property manager did an inspection on one of the properties, the tenants were home. They told my new property manager that the old company provided very poor service and they were very slow following up any problems they had. I told that to the old company and the manager replied "tenants always say that".

Anyhow the point of this story is to spell out that because people don't say anything, doesn't mean they are happy with your services. Also as a business person you need to be on the ball. Be pro-active, not re-active.

And to do all of this you need to learn how to get organised, manage your time and yourself as effectively as possible. These are not skills most people are born with. They need to be learned.

The Final Word

There is plenty of business around, however most people spend heaps of time chasing it, take the money and run off to the next person. Yet it would be so much easier to look after what you already have. (And the same applies to your personal life.)