(Growing Your Business Series: Part 3)
As I wrote in my last blog, one of the big advantages a CPA has working with small business owners is that we get to learn what makes them profitable and what makes them fail.
In my last blog (The Top 25 causes of small business failure. http://bit.ly/xkoyMF ) I gave you the reasons small business fail. But, while avoiding these reasons for failure is important, it is just as important to understand how to succeed.
Moya K. Mason released a paper this month on What Causes Small Businesses to Prosper? (http://www.moyak.com/papers/small-business-success.html). In it, she writes, “What does matter, it turns out, is having a strong grasp of the business basics. Without exception, companies that outperformed their industry peers excelled at what we call the four primary management practices – strategy, execution, culture and structure.” My observation of small business owners who prosper agrees with her findings. To this I would add the following reasons that small business owners prosper:
- They have or acquire a strong, working knowledge of business basics.
- They have a strategic profit plan.
- They build their strategic profit plan around a clear value propositions for the customer.
- They are committed to marketing and selling their product.
- They concentrate their sales efforts to a niche rather than trying to sell to every possible customer.
- They develop a way to make their product something their customer “must-have” rather than something that would be a “nice-to-have”.
- They continuously turn out innovative products and services rather than reacting for events.
- They deliver products and services that consistently meet and exceed customers’ expectations.
- They hold themselves and their people to a high level of performance.
- They empower their employees and managers to make independent decisions and to find ways to improve operations.
- They make it easy for their employees and customers to work with their organizations.
- They hold on to talented employees and actively work to develop more.
- They get a mentor on board.
- They practice the “Golden Rule” in all of their business and personal dealings.
- They develop a good accounting system that provides them with strong management reports.
We will be launching a series of free and low cost webinars to help the business owner acquire the business knowledge they need to prosper. Keep a look out for future emails from me introducing these webinars.
Thank you for your continued support and let’s make this year our most profitable year ever!
