What’s Wrong with My Business?

How to Get Your Business Profitable Again!

Business was good for many small businesses, however, many of these once great businesses have fallen on very tough times. The economy is not at fault, most often the problem is that the business has become worn, tired and stale not only the customers and employees but more importantly to the owners themselves. Why has this happened and why is this important to fix?

First let’s explore why this is important to the owners to fix. The good news is when owners take a fresh look at their business and fix the areas that are worn, tired or stale, the business starts to flourish once again. As the business flourishes the owner creates more… More what? More money, more time, more interest from customers and employees and more freedom to do what they want regarding hobbies, family, community and spiritually. Conversely, if the business is allowed to continue to age and stagnate, the customers quit coming back, employees will leave starting with the best ones first and then the next tier and finally only the ones who can not leave go down with your sinking business ship.

What do business owners need to know about this topic? First and foremost, your employees are your business. As the owner, you need to re-activate the employees to take a concerted interest in growing your business for you. You have a long way to go here depending on how far your business has slipped. Most employees are used to the “do as I say, not as I do” example of owners and will need to be shown consistent and measurable changes in the business. Clients and customers will take even longer to prove the “new you” to. Stick with it though, change is hard work and it must start with your attitude. Try to remember what your attitude was when you first started the business. Next is the fact that there’s a physical and emotional side to your business. I visited a business not long ago where all the plants outside the building were dead, no leaves, no green, nothing. Only 2 cars were in the huge parking lot. As I walked up to the two double doors at the entrance there were cob webs hanging all over the entire entrance. When I walked in the door the person behind the desk was totally astonished that someone had actually walked through the door. Her attitude and demeanor was obviously influenced by the physical environment and added to my emotional unrest regarding the entire business. The carpets were worn and dirty, the paint was dirty and dingy, and there were stacks of paper all over the back of a huge room that once held many sales reps in their cubicles. These stacks were 6 to 8 feet tall, not the normal 6 to 8 inches tall. The funny part was, the owner was blaming the past employees, the suppliers, and the clients for not understanding what THEY were doing. The thing that escaped this owner, is that clients and employees can get most any product or service from anyone, what they are looking for is an “EXPERIENCE” while getting that product or service.

So how do you actually bring the life back into your company? First, recognize that you must re-examine your own feelings. Can you and will you commit to making changes in your business? If not, stop now, sell and move on with something else. Don’t become the walking dead in your business. Second, Don’t allow yourself to get mired down into the everyday work of the business. You must plan your work and plan the changes you want to make. Third, take a new look at your business both physically and emotionally from your customer’s point of view as well as your employee’s. You may want to consider hiring a temp from a temp agency to be a “secret shopper” of your business. Make sure they engage your business in all the same ways your typical customer does, telephone, walk-in, Online, catalogue, etc. Don’t forget to have them shop your competitors the same way also. This will give you a guideline as to what the standard is. You wouldn’t want to make a change just to discover you are still not meeting customer expectations. Fourth, set out a plan and road-map to make the changes necessary in the business to make measurable and consistent change. Last, take action on the list. Make sure that you start with some easy quick changes that are obvious to employees and customers. Get some traction before investing lots of money on the big ideas that may not catch the eye of customers who need to fund future changes.

So what’s next? Don’t be complacent. Take action, as the leader you need to set (or reset) the standard for your business. Don’t let anyone compromise your standards including clients and employees. Be committed to the changes and give them time to take effect. You didn’t lose your business overnight and you definitely won’t get it back over night either. Customers have to re-discover your business and why they should do business with you.

Next week, we’ll discuss the balance between Sales, Operations and Finance so stay tuned to Hawk’s Eye radio and watch for the update here. Past Shows on Business topics can be heard on http://HawksEyeOnBusiness.com/radio-show

By Attending Our Next Massive Action Growth (MAG) Day You’ll walk away with…

• Energy Focus and Vision for your business over the next 90 Days
• A ready to implement Plan-Of-Action for your business
• New Business Contacts
• Power Confidence, Leadership, and decision Making Skills to take you and your business farther than you ever thought possible

The next MAG Day will be held at Studio 53 in Meridian and will be from 8 AM to 3 PM. During the approximately 7 hour day, you will receive all the above education and are GUARANTEED to walk out with a well-documented 90-day plan to work ON your business during 2011. This will be well worth your time and investment. Future dates, well worth planning ahead to get these dates on your calendar, are Jun 24 2011.

*Register today! Only $195

For registration Click the Pay Now button below and our office will contact you within 72 business hours to instruct you on what to have done prior to arriving.

Here’s what others are saying about this massive action day workshop!

Write a brief paragraph that describes what you want your business to look like in three years. What will your business be famous for? What will be your major accomplishments? How many people will be working for you? What kinds of customers will you be serving? What will be your role in the business, and how will you spend your time? These are the types of questions your vision statement should answer.

 What are your specific financial goals over the next three years?

Your answer to this question is one of the most important in your plan. Everything you write after this point should directly tie back to helping you achieve your financial goals. Aspire to earn the income that you deserve. What do you want to earn over the next 12 months?  Three years from now?  Write it down, so that your plan will help you make it happen.

 What is your 2011 target market?

Your plan should define your target market and then answer three questions about the people/businesses in your market:

• First, is the target market large enough to allow you to achieve your financial goals?
• Second, what are the current and emerging needs of your market?
• Third, what attributes make up an ideal client and a “nightmare” client?

 What is your edge?

Don’t worry if you don’t actually have an edge in place. The purpose of your plan is to identify it first, then figure out how to make it real.

 What hurdles do you face in achieving any of the above?

Seem daunting and need some help … a FREE  two hour Business Planning Strategy Session will help you get started in the right direction. 

Alice came to the fork in the road.

“Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The next GrowthCLUB will be held at Studio 53 in Meridian and will be from 8 AM to 3 PM. During the approximately 7 hour day, you will receive all the above education and are GUARANTEED to walk out with a well-documented 90-day plan to work ON your business during 2011. This will be well worth your time and investment. Future dates, well worth planning ahead to get these dates on your calendar, are Mar 25 2011, Jun 24 2011.

*Register today! Only $195

For registration Click the Pay Now button below and our office will contact you within 72 business hours to instruct you on what to have done prior to arriving.

Here’s what others are saying about this massive action day workshop!

Sally Terry, Sally Terry LLC.

B. Wright, Meridian ID

For more information on the 5 Steps to Business Freedom, send Roger an email at roger@idahobusinesscoach.com

For private or teleseminar trainings, send an email to info@idahobusinesscoach.com

Schedule a 30 minute complimentary call with Roger to discuss your plans, visit this site and pick a time, slots are limited: https://my.timedriver.com/67LS1

Give your Business a Free Health Check here: Health Check
For Fun, pick your top 5 Business Challenges: Challenges

Copyright Roger Hawk and Hawk’s Eye on Business

Which Financials Matter in Your
Business & How Do You Read Them  

Number of Seats

1 Seat $25.00 2 Seats $50.00 3 Seats (1 free) $50.00 ActionCoach Client $1.00

For more information on Staffing Tools, send Roger and email at roger@idahobusinesscoach.com

For private or teleseminar trainings, send an email to info@idahobusinesscoach.com

Schedule a 30 minute complimentary call with Roger to discuss your plans, visit this site and pick a time, slots are limited: https://my.timedriver.com/67LS1

Give your Business a Free Health Check here: Health Check
For Fun, pick your top 5 Business Challenges: Challenges

Copyright Roger Hawk and Hawk’s Eye on Business

For more information on Government Contracting Tools, send Roger an email at roger@idahobusinesscoach.com

For private or teleseminar trainings, send an email to info@idahobusinesscoach.com

Schedule a 30 minute complimentary call with Roger to discuss your  plans, visit this site and pick a time, slots are limited:  https://my.timedriver.com/67LS1

Give your Business a Free Health Check here:  Health Check
For Fun, pick your top 5 Business Challenges:  Challenges

Copyright Roger Hawk and Hawk’s Eye on Business