May
12
2011
It’s well known that for a business to be successful (especially a small business), the director or management in charge should examine all fragments of the business including: finance, tactics, marketing, operations, personal, resources and sales – using this (or their own) fragments and arranging them by priority.
Your tactics - the way in which you go about getting your business; your five year plan for example. These are all strategically considerations and having a business plan in place will help to ensure you meet your objectives. Regular review of such a plan is recommended for maximizing your success.
Consider for a moment Finance – Your cash is the fluidity your business needs to proceed, the age old saying comes in here “cash is king”, in the business world finance is one of the most, if not the most important aspect and deserves attention. Focus should be spent on working out what money is coming in to the business and how much of this is profits – keep your business in check by utilizing a cash flow forecast.
Linking in to finance, cash flow is directly related to sales performance. Without customers you have no sales and therefore it is critically important to understand who your customer is and their relationship – What do you do for your customers? What issues do you help them overcome?
Marketing is so important, It is all to common in business to overshoot the ‘ideal customer’. We have probably all been guilty at one stage or another, of getting lots of new customers through the doors and this hasty approach could have been made easier and potentially more profitable if focus had been spent on the ‘ideal customer’.
With the strategy in place, money in the bank and customers it’s important to look now at efficiently servicing each and every one of your customers. This phase is operations, where you look to certify that the systems and procedures in place are there to sustain the business and now and in the future.
Resources are at pinnacle of importance, resources don’t just include your staff! Recruit when needed, take measures to reduce or recycle redundancy. All costs that are not needed to your business are potential burdens, where processes are inefficient or not worth the time and investment – look to outsource, outsourcing provides a way which your business can grow or contract when needed at different stages of the business.
You are at the very heart of the business and it is very important that you manage deadlines, meetings and other timely maters. Look to expand your business and grow profit margins, it is far to easy to get tied up in matters which could lead to lack of productivity and worse potential failure of the entire business.
Create your list, use this one if you like but look to expand it to your personal need and good luck with the future success of your business.
Isaac Bullen writes on behalf of several Cornwall based businesses including Winter Rule who are a Chartered Accountant, one of the South West's largest independent accountants, based in Truro, Cornwall. With Winter Rule you get a first class service and fresh ideas at an economical cost. For an accountant in Truro or Cornwall tax advice visit Winter Rule.