So much has been written and spoken in the press, radio and TV about the current situation with the banks and stock markets. Even the talk in the offices I visit is all about this gloomy subject. I for one am sick and tired of hearing about what is happening to our world and our lives.
Of course all these things do impinge on on us, and no doubt we will be feeling that backlash for weeks, months and years to come. It does seem that the talk just makes the situation worse. It appears that the more the crisis is discussed the more gloom there is … all just making the situation even worse.
Now some of us will predict that this is just a blip and all will be well again soon – after all this sort of thing has happened before (hasn’t it?) and some of us will believe that the situation will get just worse and worse and the world will come tumbling down around our ears, never to be the same again!
The fact is that we can do very little about the situation. It is here, it is happening and it is mostly out of our control. Yes, some people will be poorer for what has happened, some will find that their pensions are dramatically reduced, other that their homes have dropped in value, many are likely to loose their jobs … all these things are unfortunate … but they are beyond our control.
The truth is that the outcome is not really known. Yes, governments have taken action, but is it the right action? We, in our own way have stopped buying shares and property, we have put off getting that new car, we are thinking twice about how much to spend on our next holiday. All this has an ongoing affect on most of us who work in these or similar industries. Sadly thousands of small businesses around the world will disappear as a result.
Perhaps what we need to do is get on with our lives. Have confidence that by doing so, the markets will recover, recession will be pushed back and that we, each and every one of us, can get on with our new lives. There are many lessons to be learned from the events of the past month – let them be learnt but in the meanwhile let us all be positive and upbeat and make the very best of all that we are fortunate to have.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Getting Small Businesses the Help they NEED!
In my previous blog I spoke about the need for people who operate one or two man businesses to find the resources they need to develop their businesses without having to incur huge costs that they can ill afford.
Talking about cost, I guess we need to quantify what we mean. Let suppose that you are operating a one man business where YOU do everything, from making the product, to delivering it, invoicing it, collecting the money, buying the stock, advertising, marketing, planning not to mention keeping the accounts or cleaning the loo’s!
It is no wonder that nothing ever gets done very well. It is no wonder that your product is not perhaps quite as good as that of your bigger competition! It is no wonder that you sometimes deliver late, after all you have to have a holiday, or your wife or child is sick, or the car breaks down, or the VAT inspector calls! These are all valid reasons, but what does your customer or clients really think?
If you use a book keeper to do your weekly invoices then you will probably be paying around £10 to £15 per hours for a reasonably competent person. If you are using an accountant for your quarterly accounts (you do produce them don’t you?) then you’re probably talking about £20 to £30 per hour depending upon the quality of service being offered. If you use a marketing consultant, then you’ll be paying many hundreds of pounds each month, and graphic designers don’t come cheap either.
Now it has been said that in the UK if a ‘small’ business is to succeed then it needs to make at least £3,000 per month profit after costs and before the owners take their share. That’s not a lot by any means. But whatever it is you need to ensure you have enough funds to grow and improve your business month on month.
How many people do you know who started out a new business when they left their previous employment and were reasonably successful for the first year or two? Perhaps they picked up their main client from their previous employer? Then things start to get tough and eventually the business falters and may be even fails.
Every business needs to grow. It costs money to grow a business. Many small business owners today rely on networking to achieve that growth. They spend time each week attending local networking events and meeting people, always hopeful that they will find a new customer or client. As many of you know, when that happens that person disappears for weeks or even months as they work with their new client. Eventually they return, looking for work again.
Of course, as most of us know, nearly everyone attending those meetings is looking for work because times are thin for them. They are not out to buy anything, rather they are focussed on finding more business. Sadly the truth is even worse than that. A large number of these people are networking because they believe that is a cheap way to market their services. They have little hope of finding any business but keep kidding themselves they are investing in marketing.
We have all heard about the success of the local golf club. That is where lots of business is conducted. But that is just another networking meeting you might argue.
No it is not!
You see the local golf club is the place that successful business owners go to relax and enjoy themselves with a relaxing game of golf. They can afford to do that because their businesses are not reliant on them and they are making a reasonable profit. Put a couple of dozen successful business owners together and they will enjoy their golf and also do business together. They need outside resources and they can afford them.
For the rest of those small businesses, the owners do not have time for golf and probably could not afford the fees anyway. Sadly that is true of the vast majority of small business owners.
So what could they do to improve their situation? Is there something that they are missing? How can they find the resources they need? How can they fund them? And how can they find new clients and business?
Well there are ways … and there are new ways becoming available soon.
Talking about cost, I guess we need to quantify what we mean. Let suppose that you are operating a one man business where YOU do everything, from making the product, to delivering it, invoicing it, collecting the money, buying the stock, advertising, marketing, planning not to mention keeping the accounts or cleaning the loo’s!
It is no wonder that nothing ever gets done very well. It is no wonder that your product is not perhaps quite as good as that of your bigger competition! It is no wonder that you sometimes deliver late, after all you have to have a holiday, or your wife or child is sick, or the car breaks down, or the VAT inspector calls! These are all valid reasons, but what does your customer or clients really think?
If you use a book keeper to do your weekly invoices then you will probably be paying around £10 to £15 per hours for a reasonably competent person. If you are using an accountant for your quarterly accounts (you do produce them don’t you?) then you’re probably talking about £20 to £30 per hour depending upon the quality of service being offered. If you use a marketing consultant, then you’ll be paying many hundreds of pounds each month, and graphic designers don’t come cheap either.
Now it has been said that in the UK if a ‘small’ business is to succeed then it needs to make at least £3,000 per month profit after costs and before the owners take their share. That’s not a lot by any means. But whatever it is you need to ensure you have enough funds to grow and improve your business month on month.
How many people do you know who started out a new business when they left their previous employment and were reasonably successful for the first year or two? Perhaps they picked up their main client from their previous employer? Then things start to get tough and eventually the business falters and may be even fails.
Every business needs to grow. It costs money to grow a business. Many small business owners today rely on networking to achieve that growth. They spend time each week attending local networking events and meeting people, always hopeful that they will find a new customer or client. As many of you know, when that happens that person disappears for weeks or even months as they work with their new client. Eventually they return, looking for work again.
Of course, as most of us know, nearly everyone attending those meetings is looking for work because times are thin for them. They are not out to buy anything, rather they are focussed on finding more business. Sadly the truth is even worse than that. A large number of these people are networking because they believe that is a cheap way to market their services. They have little hope of finding any business but keep kidding themselves they are investing in marketing.
We have all heard about the success of the local golf club. That is where lots of business is conducted. But that is just another networking meeting you might argue.
No it is not!
You see the local golf club is the place that successful business owners go to relax and enjoy themselves with a relaxing game of golf. They can afford to do that because their businesses are not reliant on them and they are making a reasonable profit. Put a couple of dozen successful business owners together and they will enjoy their golf and also do business together. They need outside resources and they can afford them.
For the rest of those small businesses, the owners do not have time for golf and probably could not afford the fees anyway. Sadly that is true of the vast majority of small business owners.
So what could they do to improve their situation? Is there something that they are missing? How can they find the resources they need? How can they fund them? And how can they find new clients and business?
Well there are ways … and there are new ways becoming available soon.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
What DO Small Businesses Really Need?
There is a good chance that if you are reading this that you own or run a small business employing just yourself, maybe your life partner and perhaps one or two other people. That is a typical profile of the vast majority of businesses in the UK. Even more so in many other countries.
In my experience, as I have networked around hundreds of business meetings and groups over the last five years or so, most small businesses suffer from one major problem. And that is being small! They do not have the resources to maximise what they do.
If we look at a larger business, say one employing 500 members of staff. The business will be run by the CEO, supported by a team of directors and under them a team of managers. They will also spend a proportion of their income in bring in outside resources to provide them with the knowledge and skills that they do not have.
Few companies will have their own lawyer or specialist management consultants. Most will bring in the expertise they require for Health & Safety, Employment Law, Legal activities, IP protection, Insurance requirements etc. If a large company cannot justify employing the expertise it requires it will outsource that requirement. Of course all this has a cost, often quite high but absolutely essential for the business.
At no stage does the CEO know everything! He or she will have a good understanding of most business principles but then rely on a specialist to interpret those principles for the benefit of the business. If that was not so, why ever have a board of directors? Why ever have a management team?
When we look at a small business all the expertise will usually come from the business owner. Because investing in specialist help is so expensive they will probably not venture down that route, perhaps instead taking free advice, reading articles or books on the subject or even worse, pretending they have the answer and blindly going forward.
The logical conclusion is that the smaller the business, the more the owner needs to know or the more they need to spend on getting their answers.
As the majority of ‘small’ businesses only employ one or two people, the cost of bringing in that outside expertise is proportionally very high. Many of these companies barely earn enough to pay the salary bill let alone spend out thousands on specialist help.
Of course the irony of this situation is that those ‘small’ businesses will remain small and have little or no chance of ever growing very much. The large competition is so great today that the proverbial ‘rat race’ ensures that the big boys remain in the lead and the rest follow behind.
Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” tells us that one of the main reasons why small businesses fail is that the owner who is normally an expert in their own field, fails to understand that running a business requires all the other expertises as well. You may be a talented engineer, software developer, graphic artist, chemist or chef but that does not mean that you can ignore finance, marketing, sales, HR, health & safety or indeed ignore such things as business insurance, taxation, accounts or product delivery. Indeed the smaller business carries a higher level of risk. If the owner of a one or two man business is ill, who looks after the shop? Who cooks the pies? Who delivers the goods?
Now over the years, governments have realised these problem and have created many centrally backed organisations such as Business Link and other development agencies who offer help and assistance in these areas. Sadly, in many cases the level of expertise is limited, and the willingness of such organisations to help is restricted because their skills and time are spread across such a large number of businesses.
So the conclusion must be that nearly all small businesses need to find the expertise they require if they are to grow successful into large and more mature companies. The predicament is simply how to find that expertise at a cost that can be afforded.
Well there is an answer … but can it be made to work?
More about Mentor Power (http://www.mentor-power.org) in my next posting!
In my experience, as I have networked around hundreds of business meetings and groups over the last five years or so, most small businesses suffer from one major problem. And that is being small! They do not have the resources to maximise what they do.
If we look at a larger business, say one employing 500 members of staff. The business will be run by the CEO, supported by a team of directors and under them a team of managers. They will also spend a proportion of their income in bring in outside resources to provide them with the knowledge and skills that they do not have.
Few companies will have their own lawyer or specialist management consultants. Most will bring in the expertise they require for Health & Safety, Employment Law, Legal activities, IP protection, Insurance requirements etc. If a large company cannot justify employing the expertise it requires it will outsource that requirement. Of course all this has a cost, often quite high but absolutely essential for the business.
At no stage does the CEO know everything! He or she will have a good understanding of most business principles but then rely on a specialist to interpret those principles for the benefit of the business. If that was not so, why ever have a board of directors? Why ever have a management team?
When we look at a small business all the expertise will usually come from the business owner. Because investing in specialist help is so expensive they will probably not venture down that route, perhaps instead taking free advice, reading articles or books on the subject or even worse, pretending they have the answer and blindly going forward.
The logical conclusion is that the smaller the business, the more the owner needs to know or the more they need to spend on getting their answers.
As the majority of ‘small’ businesses only employ one or two people, the cost of bringing in that outside expertise is proportionally very high. Many of these companies barely earn enough to pay the salary bill let alone spend out thousands on specialist help.
Of course the irony of this situation is that those ‘small’ businesses will remain small and have little or no chance of ever growing very much. The large competition is so great today that the proverbial ‘rat race’ ensures that the big boys remain in the lead and the rest follow behind.
Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” tells us that one of the main reasons why small businesses fail is that the owner who is normally an expert in their own field, fails to understand that running a business requires all the other expertises as well. You may be a talented engineer, software developer, graphic artist, chemist or chef but that does not mean that you can ignore finance, marketing, sales, HR, health & safety or indeed ignore such things as business insurance, taxation, accounts or product delivery. Indeed the smaller business carries a higher level of risk. If the owner of a one or two man business is ill, who looks after the shop? Who cooks the pies? Who delivers the goods?
Now over the years, governments have realised these problem and have created many centrally backed organisations such as Business Link and other development agencies who offer help and assistance in these areas. Sadly, in many cases the level of expertise is limited, and the willingness of such organisations to help is restricted because their skills and time are spread across such a large number of businesses.
So the conclusion must be that nearly all small businesses need to find the expertise they require if they are to grow successful into large and more mature companies. The predicament is simply how to find that expertise at a cost that can be afforded.
Well there is an answer … but can it be made to work?
More about Mentor Power (http://www.mentor-power.org) in my next posting!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Past has Gone - Roll on the FUTURE
The last few months have seen me go from being a confident business person, struggling with a new project to a bankrupt - losing everything that I had. Fortunately, that was not a lot more than a huge pile of bank debt! No one can take away my spirit, passion, motivation desire or my experiences.
If I'm honest the only real thing that has gone - is the debt! OK so my credit rating has taken a bashing, but already I have been offered a credit card and a new bank account. Yes the interest rate is a little higher ... who cares ... I'm not in the market for credit or a bank account at this time anyway.
One of the huge benefits is that the stress and worry of having a growing debt around ones neck, suddenly disappears. Yes, I had to go to court, but the judge did not even see me - he just signed the application. Yes, I had to speak with the Official Receiver, but we did that on the phone, and the person I spoke with was most understanding and made me feel as relaxed as he could under the circumstances.
As a result of the bankruptcy I have relinquished all my directorships, closed both of my companies down, had a huge clear out of stuff accumulated over the last twenty years or so, shredded all those bank and credit card statements and now my office at home looks much tidier than before and I feel a lot more content and relaxed. The house is getting decorated. The garden is getting some attention. Even the environment is better off as I am not burning tankfuls of petrol each month!
Of course the important thing is to learn from the whole episode. What did I do wrong? How had I got myself into that mess? What must I do to avoid such a thing again? What shall I do next?
I have pondered over this for the last few months. Well my first problem was how to tell other people that I was a failure! What would they think of me? Would anyone listen to me ever again? Even one of my daughters suggested that I get a job and be thankful for the little house I live in (it has a low rent) and be grateful that I am in good health ... and STOP dreaming about being rich and successful again! Is she right?
Well all these things transverse through my head. I decided to look for a new job and found one quite quickly. More by luck than anything else. But I discovered that my new employer did not have an office for me - I would have to share with him. They had no computer for me to use, or a telephone, mobile or even a decent chair. Then I discovered that they had no money to invest in the project. To top it all, they were not willing to listen to me when I tried to highlight the issues that were standing in our way.
For the first time in my life, I politely (well that's my explanation) told them where they could stick their job ... and went home, never to return. Hey! I'd learnt something from going bankrupt ... how to identify when things are not right!
Since then I sat down and decided (whilst my mind was confused) that I just wanted a really simple job that I could leave behind at 5pm when I went home. Driving a delivery van, stacking shelves, even sweeping roads or cutting grass! That is what I wanted to do! After all, I'm 58 and in just seven years I will retire and someone else can look after me!
Then something happened! I logged onto my computer today to check my emails. I found an invitation to connect on Plaxo to an old friend Reg Athwal (http://www.regathwal.com/) who I had known for a number of years but had not spoken too for some time. I accepted his invitation and as an after though visited his website to see what he was up to these days. I clicked on a couple of links and eventually watched a long video recording of Reg presenting at the India Retail Forum 2007 in Mumbai.
His words immediately touched me. I started to get excited about what he was saying. My mind went back to the past and all the things I had heard, said and believed in! Suddenly I realised that I was not being fair to myself. I had been pushed into a corner and was accepting my lot as if I was a two year old. This was not me. I'm Jim Tuffin, I'm passionate about a whole host of things ... that passion has not gone away however much I'm trying to convince myself it has.
So here I am. Bankrupt! No money! Feeling bad about myself! Getting older by the day! Hopeless! Helpless!
BUT ... I'm alive and I have passions and dreams!
I contacted Reg Athwal to thank him for inspiring me again. He responded and gave me some great advice…
“Keep sharing your dream with people and your dream team will come together, but put the past in the past and let it go now, the present is all that matters!”
Sometimes it has to be spelt out to you. Sometimes you need to be taken and given a good shaking. Sometimes you’ll even get the message.
I’ve got the message Reg! The past is in the past. The lessons have been learnt and recorded. The present is what matters now … and that is what I am focusing on from this moment forward.
If you would like to work with me ... if you want to share your passion with me ... then why not contact me.
Regards
Jim Tuffin
If I'm honest the only real thing that has gone - is the debt! OK so my credit rating has taken a bashing, but already I have been offered a credit card and a new bank account. Yes the interest rate is a little higher ... who cares ... I'm not in the market for credit or a bank account at this time anyway.
One of the huge benefits is that the stress and worry of having a growing debt around ones neck, suddenly disappears. Yes, I had to go to court, but the judge did not even see me - he just signed the application. Yes, I had to speak with the Official Receiver, but we did that on the phone, and the person I spoke with was most understanding and made me feel as relaxed as he could under the circumstances.
As a result of the bankruptcy I have relinquished all my directorships, closed both of my companies down, had a huge clear out of stuff accumulated over the last twenty years or so, shredded all those bank and credit card statements and now my office at home looks much tidier than before and I feel a lot more content and relaxed. The house is getting decorated. The garden is getting some attention. Even the environment is better off as I am not burning tankfuls of petrol each month!
Of course the important thing is to learn from the whole episode. What did I do wrong? How had I got myself into that mess? What must I do to avoid such a thing again? What shall I do next?
I have pondered over this for the last few months. Well my first problem was how to tell other people that I was a failure! What would they think of me? Would anyone listen to me ever again? Even one of my daughters suggested that I get a job and be thankful for the little house I live in (it has a low rent) and be grateful that I am in good health ... and STOP dreaming about being rich and successful again! Is she right?
Well all these things transverse through my head. I decided to look for a new job and found one quite quickly. More by luck than anything else. But I discovered that my new employer did not have an office for me - I would have to share with him. They had no computer for me to use, or a telephone, mobile or even a decent chair. Then I discovered that they had no money to invest in the project. To top it all, they were not willing to listen to me when I tried to highlight the issues that were standing in our way.
For the first time in my life, I politely (well that's my explanation) told them where they could stick their job ... and went home, never to return. Hey! I'd learnt something from going bankrupt ... how to identify when things are not right!
Since then I sat down and decided (whilst my mind was confused) that I just wanted a really simple job that I could leave behind at 5pm when I went home. Driving a delivery van, stacking shelves, even sweeping roads or cutting grass! That is what I wanted to do! After all, I'm 58 and in just seven years I will retire and someone else can look after me!
Then something happened! I logged onto my computer today to check my emails. I found an invitation to connect on Plaxo to an old friend Reg Athwal (http://www.regathwal.com/) who I had known for a number of years but had not spoken too for some time. I accepted his invitation and as an after though visited his website to see what he was up to these days. I clicked on a couple of links and eventually watched a long video recording of Reg presenting at the India Retail Forum 2007 in Mumbai.
His words immediately touched me. I started to get excited about what he was saying. My mind went back to the past and all the things I had heard, said and believed in! Suddenly I realised that I was not being fair to myself. I had been pushed into a corner and was accepting my lot as if I was a two year old. This was not me. I'm Jim Tuffin, I'm passionate about a whole host of things ... that passion has not gone away however much I'm trying to convince myself it has.
So here I am. Bankrupt! No money! Feeling bad about myself! Getting older by the day! Hopeless! Helpless!
BUT ... I'm alive and I have passions and dreams!
I contacted Reg Athwal to thank him for inspiring me again. He responded and gave me some great advice…
“Keep sharing your dream with people and your dream team will come together, but put the past in the past and let it go now, the present is all that matters!”
Sometimes it has to be spelt out to you. Sometimes you need to be taken and given a good shaking. Sometimes you’ll even get the message.
I’ve got the message Reg! The past is in the past. The lessons have been learnt and recorded. The present is what matters now … and that is what I am focusing on from this moment forward.
If you would like to work with me ... if you want to share your passion with me ... then why not contact me.
Regards
Jim Tuffin
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Is networking as we know it really working?
We have been led to believe that if we network online we will meet lots of people who we should offer to help in any way we can. In return we will be blessed with lots of great introductions and business.
The truth really is that it does not really matter how much you network online or how much you help other people, the chance of you being rewarded is little better than zilch!
Why do I say that? Well because I asked hundreds of people who have been networking for at least two years! Yes some did get introductions but few admitted it turned into paid work. Of course the real truth is that the majority give up long before then and stop networking.
If you visit the off line clubs and events in your area you find the same people attending them all. They stay for a few months and then disappear because they are not getting any results. Why do they leave? Again I asked dozens of people and got the same answer – it takes too much time and produces no results!
Perhaps they give up to quickly? That may be so, but who is going to help them and guide them. Who is going to tell them how to be successful? The issue is that networking at the local level really does not work very well. Perhaps that explains why getting people to attend a networking event appears to be getting harder!
Well that might be a rather strong message, but if you ask anyone if it really does pay you’ll likely get a negative answer. It does beg the question as to why we still promote networking as the best way of finding business!
But is there a solution?
Is there a better way?
Are we missing something?
I wonder?
The truth really is that it does not really matter how much you network online or how much you help other people, the chance of you being rewarded is little better than zilch!
Why do I say that? Well because I asked hundreds of people who have been networking for at least two years! Yes some did get introductions but few admitted it turned into paid work. Of course the real truth is that the majority give up long before then and stop networking.
If you visit the off line clubs and events in your area you find the same people attending them all. They stay for a few months and then disappear because they are not getting any results. Why do they leave? Again I asked dozens of people and got the same answer – it takes too much time and produces no results!
Perhaps they give up to quickly? That may be so, but who is going to help them and guide them. Who is going to tell them how to be successful? The issue is that networking at the local level really does not work very well. Perhaps that explains why getting people to attend a networking event appears to be getting harder!
Well that might be a rather strong message, but if you ask anyone if it really does pay you’ll likely get a negative answer. It does beg the question as to why we still promote networking as the best way of finding business!
But is there a solution?
Is there a better way?
Are we missing something?
I wonder?
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