Defying the Economic Downturn

Throughout the last year or so, volumes have been written about the global recession. Every economist has an opinion and every analyst has a theory. Of course, one cannot ignore the politicians who have opinions, theories, and rhetoric as well.
 

     The fact is that most of us have been affected by the recession in one way or another. For some, it may mean that their favourite neighbourhood store closed its doors. For others, the effect may have been more severe, either through unemployment or a reduction of savings.
 

     Whatever one's situation may be, the question is what the best reaction is. That is not to say that there are immediate solutions to all problems. For many, it may take quite a while to bounce back from the recession. But, is it enough to be passive and wait for the economic climate to improve or can one use this period of time to one's advantage?
 

     Some leaders in the business community, despite having suffered financial losses, feel that this period of economic slowdown is an ideal time to promote leadership growth, to gain a tighter focus on business, and to implement new business-model improvements. Use this time to tighten the reins and strengthen one's business in order to emerge stronger and more cohesive when the slump ends.
 

     One way to tighten the reins is to focus on your business and set several clear and simple goals. Do those small things consistently and do them well. By re-establishing your methods through redefined goals, you will foster improvement. And, believe it or not, improvement is contagious. Create a positive future outlook and your employees will get the spirit. The re-energized team will be in place when the economy turns around.

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Is the Competitor Your Enemy?

Running your own business comes complete with its own set of headaches and worries. Virtually every business owner has had a few sleepless nights. However, the question must be asked if perhaps we sometimes imagine problems that aren't really there. Perhaps our minds and imaginations create threats that do not materialize.
 

     A popular misconception in the world of business is that the competition is our chief enemy. While it is true that both of us are targeting the same market, it may also be true that there is enough business for both if us. Moreover, it may also be true that, perhaps, neither of us can effectively service the entire market. Furthermore, each of us may have a slightly different approach for promoting our business and both approaches are effective.
 

     The bottom line is that sometimes we expend a tremendous amount of energy in attempting to thwart the competition. But, if we were to view the competition as an ally in the business world, we could invest that energy in promoting our business.
 

     The truth is that some business leaders have learned that developing a relationship with their chief competitors can be most beneficial. After all, if the competitor wants information about your business, he will obtain it. Why not sit together and share ideas? We all can learn from others. Who is better to learn from than someone who has the same problems that you do? The old saying that "two heads are better than one" does not necessarily only mean you and your assistant. By working together with the competition – sharing ideas, establishing territories, setting standards – you can help each other conquer the world.
 
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Happiness is the Key to a Successful Business

More than 40 years ago, a classic episode of The Flintstones featured a segment that was ahead of its time. Fred's wife, Wilma, stars on a television program and sings the Rockenspiel jingle. Those who remember this episode will recall that the song instructs wives to make their hubby happy.
 

     Even the creators of those stone-age characters realized that happiness is crucial to business growth. Entrepreneurs across the business spectrum share common goals in their desire to secure their profitable share of the market. That which divides business leaders in their quest is the method of how to constantly reach those goals. Believe it or not, some of the greatest business success stories have discovered that happiness is the key factor to continued growth.
 

     Of course, one might argue that happiness is an intangible factor that cannot be measured.  The truth, though, is that happiness can be measured. More than 30 years ago, a consultant named Fred Reichheld created a measuring system called the Net Promoter Score (NPS). The method is quite simple. After completing a sale or service, the customer is asked to rate the likelihood of their recommending the company to a friend or colleague. Low scores (detractors) are subtracted from the high scores (promoters) and passives (mid-range scores) are left out of the equation. The result is the Net Promoter Score.
 

     According to Mr. Reichheld's studies, world class companies scored an NPS of 20 – 50. Some score much higher. The more aggressive companies measure their NPS daily and analyze results to look for patterns of what makes their customers happy. By repeating those patterns, they can keep customer happiness high and continue their success. Conversely, they can also track the issues that bother customers and try to eliminate those unhappiness factors.
 

     Remember, a happy customer is a loyal customer, and a loyal customer is repeat business and recommendations.
 

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How a Virtual Phone System can give your company a competitive edge – without having to spend big bucks

As the Internet brings the world closer and closer together, it’s impossible for a small business to see its competition purely at a local level.  Instead, competition has now grown to be national or international in scope, and your small business needs to have infrastructure in place to maintain a competitive edge over the competition.
 
One great tool in retaining that edge is by using a Virtual Phone System.  The basic concept of a Virtual Phone System is simple: instead of having your customers contact you and your employees at different phone numbers (sometimes in different area codes, depending on the nature of your business), a Virtual Phone System brings your whole network together, under one phone number.
 
Your client’s calls are answered by a virtual receptionist, who then routes the customer to the correct extension.  Besides the obvious streamlining for your customer, this method provides a number of additional benefits to make your company competitive on a national level:

• Always in contact, no matter where you are: With a Virtual Phone System, you can change the phone number your extension routes to instantly.  That means you can always be in contact with your customers, no matter if you’re in the office, or on your mobile. 

• Give a big company feel: Having all of your employees under one joint number gives your customers a “big company” feel – no matter if your employees are in the same office as you, or half way around the world.

Q&A extensions to free you up from unnecessary phone calls: If you have common questions you receive 

• a number of calls about, a Virtual Phone System can help eliminate the human time required to answer them, with automated Q&A extensions. Your customer can get the answers they need, without ever having to contact you directly.

Ready to gain the competitive edge you need to take your company to the next level?  Then sign up with Virtual Call System today.

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Small Business Leadership Skills: Keep Focused

There is a condition that is common to many entrepreneurs. Many suffer from it in varying degrees. The condition is commonly known as Multiple Idea Syndrome (MIS).
 

     MIS manifests itself by creating a temporary inability to effectively focus on one's business ventures due to an abundance of new business ideas that crop up daily in the mind of the entrepreneur. The result may be impaired management techniques, lack of leadership, and reduced attention to business development.
 

     Such is the mind of the entrepreneur. One good idea leads to another and opportunity is always just around the corner, waiting to be found. However, danger also lurks around the corner. New ideas are wonderful.  But, a business has to be continually nurtured and properly cared for. If you are the spearhead behind a business, it’s up to you to provide the leadership and spirit to keep it moving.  There is a time and a place for everything. Pitching continual new ideas may not be the best management technique for your business.
 

     You have a vision of where you would like your business to go. Keep to it! Don't allow yourself to veer from the path you planned by constantly trying new ventures at the expense of the ongoing one. You are the backbone of your business and must provide the leadership for others. Inspire through hands-on management. If you are perceived as being "all over the place'" your business will suffer. Set a course of action and lead your team to follow that course.
 

     And what of new ideas? Abandon them? Of course not. Just be sure that you don't lose focus of plan one before you set plan two into motion.
 

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Some Interesting Facts About Canadian Small Business

They may be called "small" but small business is a major player in the Canadian economy.

Take, for example, job creation. Over a ten year period, beginning in 1997, over 37 percent of all new private sector jobs were created by small businesses. In fact, almost half the Canadian private sector workforce – 48 percent - is employed by small businesses. If we dig a little further, over two thirds of the employment of five major industries are in small business: non-institutional health care, construction, accommodation and food, forestry, and general services.

Although economic figures vary from source to source, it is estimated that small business in Canada generates from one third to half the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. From a human standpoint, small business accounts for more than 5.5 million jobs from coast to coast. Taking a closer look at the human aspect of the figures, 95 percent of all Canadian service-producing enterprises are considered to be small businesses.

It seems that many Canadians prefer to keep their businesses small. Statistics Canada reports that 75 percent of all businesses employ fewer than 5 employees. Furthermore, the Canadian desire to keep their businesses relatively small far exceeds their American counterparts. Canadian business owners continue to work at more advanced ages in order to maintain operating the business that they built. More than a quarter of self-employed Canadians are over the age of 55. According to studies, older Canadians enjoy the freedom of lifestyle that comes with being self-employed and prefer to work longer in years in order to maintain that freedom.
 
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Half the Canadian Labour Force Employed by Small Business

Thinking of opening your own small business? Many Canadians do. Nearly half the Canadian labour force is employed by small business. The question, though, is what the best business choice is. With a veritable plethora of options, choosing the right business is difficult. Also, the shaky economy gives cause for caution. Consumer spending has been reduced to must-haves. This, though, still leaves many business opportunities. Recent studies have listed some of the best business options for 2009.

Repair businesses still have a place in the economy as people prefer to fix something rather than buy new. Clothing, appliances, and automobiles are but a few of the repair businesses that continue to thrive.

Fast food is a major part of the national diet and is most likely to remain a lucrative business for years to come. Believe it or not, chocolate is also big business, despite the difficult times. Chocolate calls to people like no other confection. Find the right niche in the gourmet or specialized chocolate industry and you're on your way.

The ever-growing demand for senior care provides tremendous opportunities. Businesses range from opening a care facility to providing home services. A related industry that is growing is medical supplies, both for personal and commercial use.

Times are tough but dirt is dirt. Businesses still need to be cleaned and the demand for quality commercial cleaning services is high.

Sports are still important, despite the recession. Sales figures show that sales of sports equipment remain strong and Canadians are willing to shell out good money for sports equipment, even if they have to work a little harder to earn it.

Dollars are scarce. Therefore, discount stores provide a strong retail option for consumers. On the other side of the coin, there are those who have defaulted on payments. Collection agencies are opening across the country to help collect debts.

Finally, perhaps motivational speaking is for you. These speakers appear daily, and are quite popular. More than anything, they offer hope to audiences and hope, these days, is in great demand.
 
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Statistics Canada: 56% of Canadian Small Businesses are in Quebec & Ontario

In July 2008, Statistics Canada released facts and figures about the Canadian business community. The figures released indicated that, as of the end of 2007, Canada had more than 2.3 million businesses. (This figure reflects a decline of 100,000 businesses over the course of the year). This number included small businesses that met at least one of three minimum criteria. To qualify as an official small business, the establishment must have at least one paid employee (with regular payroll deductions). The business must have annual revenues of at least $30,000. Finally, the business must be incorporated and have filed a federal tax return at least once in the previous three years.

In regards to self employed Canadians, the number rose at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent between 2000 and 2007.

More than half of all Canadian businesses, some 56 percent, are located in Quebec and Ontario. Roughly a third of the businesses – 36 percent - are located in the western provinces and a mere 7 percent are located on the Atlantic side of the country. Less than 1 percent of Canada's businesses are situated in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Nunavut.

However, when examining the business to population ratio, the numbers swing dramatically. The national average is 70.7 businesses per 1000 population. Ontario and Quebec fall below the national average while the Yukon has the highest ratio at 91.4 establishments per 1000.

Statistics revealed that entrepreneurs were more likely to reside in rural areas, rather than urban centres. The ratio of small businesses relative to population was 50% higher in rural regions of the country.

Finally, the survey concluded that 60 percent of small businesses are situated in areas that have large local populations, affording a strong employee base and good market opportunities.
 
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Starting a Small Business Survey: 12% to Establish Internet Enterprises

Starting and owning a small business appears to be the aspiration of many Canadians, according to the findings of a poll conducted for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

Over the next several years, some 3.3 million Canadians intend to start their own business. Moreover, the survey found that there appears to be a change in preferred industry focus of would-be entrepreneurs. The desire to open a retail business dropped by 2 per cent from previous surveys; personal services and arts also dropped by 2 percent; and business services/consultancies dropped by 3 percent. The top industries of choice appear to be Internet related businesses. Nearly 12 percent of those interviewed plan to establish an online enterprise.

The RBC survey also rated advice by veteran entrepreneurs for newcomers to the business world. The top piece of advice was to do thorough research before setting up shop. Know exactly what you're getting into. Learn about your competition and be realistic about what share of the market you can capture.

Other pieces of popular advice of what to do before opening a new business included preparing a detailed business plan, networking with others in the field, allocating time and resources for marketing, surveying potential customers, and selecting the best site for the new enterprise.

The survey revealed that 61 percent of Canadian business owners are satisfied with the way they opened their business and would not change a thing, if they had to start over. More than 60 percent felt that, looking back, they probably should have started at a younger age. 58 percent of those surveyed felt that it would have been beneficial to get more financial advice at the onset.
 
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Organizing Your Small Business Home Office

More and more people are operating businesses from home, or keep an office at home. One of the most commonly overlooked tasks is keeping the home office organized.

For those of us who spend many hours deep within the confines of our home office, the surrounding environment all too often takes on the look of a natural disaster. Why not take a few minutes and put some order in your home office? After all, there is nothing worse than talking to an important client on the phone, reaching for the client's file, and coming up with a stack of takeout food menus.

Start throwing things away! Be brutal with your castoffs. Do you really need a collection of telephone directories for the last several years? Chances are slim that there is a growing demand for chewed pencil stubs. Contrary to popular folklore, empty chewing gum boxes prefer not to live on desktops. Choose a few items to throw away each day. You'll feel good about it!

Let's admit it. Almost every bulletin board contains layers of long forgotten items. Try digging down several layers and leave only the current important items. You may even free up space for new memos and current pictures.

How about the junk drawer? That's the drawer with the broken tape dispensers, dried-up pens, broken scissors, etc. It never fails that the special marker that you need is buried under mounds of old junk (and a semi open jar of glue). Take some time to organize that drawer so that you can find what you need, when you need it.

It is not true that every document ever read must stay in the filing cabinet. Old ones can be shredded. Others can be stored in cardboard cartons and put away in a storage area.

Finally, take a good look at your desktop. Take pity on your current work material and allow it to sit in a clean, orderly environment. It will respond in kind by being readily available and easily located when you need it.

Business is all about organization. This should extend to your personal work environment as well.
 
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