Be Adaptable
I love to share my lessons learned through this venue. Regardless of who else sees it, it has helped me to understand where I am in my career by thinking about situations and what lessons I can learn from them.
A great lesson–which always seems like deja vu–of this quarter has been that when things don’t seem to be going the way they were expected to go, change. For instance, at the beginning of the year, I wrote of wanting to open a drop-in center. Since I do not own a bank, I decided to launch small, then grow. When that idea didn’t work, I changed the concept to provide the same service but in a different way, like having a drop-in center on location for special events. This concept catches the attention of anyone I have mentioned it to, but it’s still in startup mode. I have never been so excited about something in my career as I am with this. The vision I have for it is will create such an impact on my family and community… I’m so excited!
The moral of the story is – having to make a left turn when you really want to make a right isn’t the worst thing in the world. Adapting to the situation but retaining the essence of and goals for what you want to do can still be a freeing experience.
What are some situations in your business where you had to adapt and it changed your life?
The Chain of Revenue
Over the last few weeks, I have been reviewing the services my company offers and where the greatest potential sources of revenue are. Determining my company’s value chain and its place in it will allow me to better explore where I can capture a higher profit margin or even determine a new service/product offering, to enhance the service I provide for my clients (and capture more revenue).
The value chain can best be defined as the link of activities involved in creating, distributing, and maintaining an end product or service. These activities range from the acquisition of raw materials to providing after-market service. This business framework was made popular by Harvard professor Michael E. Porter in his book Competitive Advantage.
Understanding your value chain helps you understand your competitive advantage and can enhance the way you do business. You may want to add to your offerings by adding a couple of services that you could easily do but your customers currently go elsewhere for. Maybe there is a firm that you usually refer business to but never receive a return from – could you service that business yourself and capture the entire transaction? Subcontract the other firm to still provide the service but include the service as a part of your package, adding a little on top to make sure it is profitable for your firm. Doing this would relieve your customer of having to deal with another company and portray you as more of a lifesaver than you were before – WIN!
Leave a comment to let us know the results of your value chain review and how it will affect your business.
Hello 2010!
Today represents the first day of posting to Cardinal Rules in 2010. After a short break, I bring to you a continuation of my last post – my initiatives for 2010. Listed below are a few of my goals with limited detail. I am excited (and nervous) about each and the prospective results that will come of them.
1. Buy Local Program – I am exploring the creation of this program for my home city. There does not seem to be one here but it seems that one would do well here. Also, having a business directory like this would support our population much more beyond sourcing needs. I will have this proposal completed in first quarter 2010.
2. New Business Concept – I am developing a new concept for a drop-in child care facility. Again, there are not very many facilities dedicated to this service located in my home city. My parents used this concept when I was young and I thought it was really fun. In the last few years that I have been here, I have encountered many moms who desperately needed this type of service but had to find alternative means to care for their children (including bringing them to work). The closest center to my area of town is 20 minutes away.
I am very excited and committed to the drop-in child care center concept – it is finally my opportunity to utilize the learnings and advice I have provided for the last several years. I have such high hopes for the concept, I believe it is the beginning of the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for my family.
3. Grow as an Entrepreneurship Expert – I have assessed my activities of 2009 and realized lessons learned to take into 2010. I commit to do more networking, consistent blog posting, and promotion of my expertise in additional venues. For instance, I have been accepted as the Durham Small Business Examiner on Examiner.com – a great, paying opportunity. If you have an area of expertise and would like to apply to write for this news source, please go to http://www.examiner.com/refer and use my name Yolanda Brown and Examiner ID #34800 as your referral source.
4. Employment Opportunities – I have loved delving myself into everything entrepreneurship over the last several months. For personal reasons though, I have to seek an employment opportunity ASAP. Opportunities I am seeking would continue my experience in working with small businesses and/or provide an intrapreneurial experience like a program management role. If you know of anything, please contact me. View my LinkedIn profile for more details.
As I stated before, let me know what you think about the goals above. What is one of your goals for 2010?
The Risk of Failure
The risk of failure has probably been one of my biggest hurdles throughout my career. I have created successful programs and received recognition for them, but there is much more happening in my little brain than I let on. I have so many ideas all within the premise of my personal mission:
To leave a legacy which will enrich the lives of others in my community, to bring my community closer to prosperity, using my God-given talents and spiritual gifts – all to magnify the glory of God and edify his kingdom.
I wrote this mission in 2002 and still believe in it today. The “how” is what I have struggled with since that writing. I have put in time and learned so much since then… I know my calling is in entrepreneurship…
So back to my original topic – I have many ideas for what to do with my time in 2010, I just have to get out
and share them. There are many concerns that come with that though – will it succeed? what will make it different from other similar attempts? etc etc.
Since Christmas, I have been watching my youngest son attempt to crawl. He is 5 months old now (it flew by!), he has the position right, it’s just when he tries to move, he falls. It has been a lesson to me about dusting yourself off and trying again. He falls, then gets back up and attempts again… then falls, and keeps trying… it’s a great cycle. If he can make attempts like that for his livelihood, I know I can for mine (and his, and his brother’s, and their father’s, and now a new puppy)!
In a few days, I will share with you the ideas I am looking forward to in 2010. I would love your thoughts on them. In the meantime, consider sharing with me what you would like to accomplish in 2010… I would love to help you get there!
Review and Renew in 2010
Any current business owner should have gone through the goal-making process for your next fiscal year by now, especially if that begins in January. If you’re a procrastinator like I can be, maybe you have not done this yet. Honestly going through a process of assessing the current state of your business, identifying any issues and needs, then planning for the next year is a vital process for company growth. I plan to have a solo company retreat on Sunday to really assess YB Consulting and all the other pieces of my career path to understand what I really want to do in 2010. If I do not do this, it will hurt my business and future plans which ultimately hurts my family -not an option.
If you think your company does not have goals, you are mistaken. There are a few basic goals that all businesses will choose from in their next fiscal year:
- Grow Revenue. Revenue growth can be accomplished through increasing current sales and/or adding a new product or service. It may require the addition of new resources but this could be a good thing.
- Reduce Expenses. Expense reduction can be a difficult task. It may involve reducing the products or services you offer, changing suppliers or even the quality of supplies, relocating your place of business to a cheaper venue, maybe even reducing your staff.
- Improve Customer Service. No one can go wrong by improving customer service. It definitely helps in retaining current customers and may even entice them to refer new customers – always a plus for business! It may involve hiring more staff (or outsourcing), purchasing new software programs, or just adopting a new system to interact with your customers complete with new policies, new branding, or new marketing tactics.
- Maintain status quo. Maybe business is going really well and you are content with where things are. If you add more business it may overwhelm your firm, or there really is nothing left to reduce. Maybe your goals are prioritized with your personal life and strengthening those relationships since so much time was put into your business this year. If this is you, congratulations for this revelation.
- Exit. Sometimes it is just time to cash out. Try something new. Retire. Reaching this point in a business can be exciting because it allows you to focus on a true end goal that will bring you to a new start. I remember meeting with the owner of a very successful software company. She and her husband built the company to great success but at this time, she wanted to concentrate on her personal interests and real passion (she was not the software type). At the time of our meeting, they were in the middle of executing a plan to position their company to be bought by whoever was interested. They were already planning out their next phase of life but had to be released from this major responsibility. It takes a plan to do it right.
Yes, at least one of the goals above will fit your company. I will be pursuing two – grow revenue and improve customer service. On Sunday, I will block off time away from my family and buckle down to write an action plan towards this. I consider an “action plan” a list of goals with measurable actions to accomplish specific results, like S.M.A.R.T goals for business. Also, I have thought of new ideas and been presented with additional opportunities that need serious consideration and planning (if they will be pursued). I have reached the point of sink or swim – I’m striving to be like Michael Phelps in my space!
I’m excited about 2010 and hope that all other business owners are as well!
Which of the goals above best fit with your business plans for next year?
