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March 18 is SBDC Day You will read below how our guests for the March Small Business Conversations program will be Tee Rowe, the president of America's SBDC and Lisa Shimkat, the state director for Iowa's SBDC will be joining us. We think this is a pretty big catch for us to have them as our guests. We also think the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) can be a pretty big catch for your business. And, all you have to do is contact them. With over 900 centers across the US, they are pretty easy to find. They have offices in each of the fifty states with Texas and California each having multiple locations. Their counselors, and each center has many counselors, are experts in many fields. I have met those who are Certified Public Accountants; those who have expertise in QuickBooks; and many other areas of concern to a small business. You apply to be a client; they interview you and work to match you with the individual on their team that is most qualified to help you. If they don't have that person, they work to find the right person for you. They have webinars and workshops you can participate in. (Disclaimer: some of these have a very small cost to participate) Be willing to recognize and accept your shortcomings in your business. Be willing to ask for someone to help turn these shortcomings into strengths. Be ready to grow your business profitably. Their services are available to all kinds of small businesses - whether you provide services, products or a combination of the two. You do not have to wait until March 18 to contact them. Nor do you have to wait for the visit by these two distinguished guests on our Small Business Conversations program this month. You can do it tomorrow - Monday, March 2.
Article of the Month - Changing Rules of Retail I won't say the title of the article is misleading, but it is not inclusive of all the article is about; for the lesson it shares extends far beyond retail. Tt is for all of small business whether you sell products or provide services. And as you read the article you will easily see I wrote it many years ago as witnessed by the example of the cassette tapes. However, the lesson being shared is clear. Our world has, and continues to change. As I visit with people at trade shows and conferences I engage in conversations where we speak of vendors that small businesses did a lot to help those vendors build their business. We educated the customer as to which of their products to buy and why the customer should buy their brand. Today those vendors sell through any channel they can move merchandise. How often do you say to someone that you have made changes because of products and services that used to be unique to your business that are now available online? While it is not our book of the month, spend some time looking at, "The Distribution Trap" and how these examples have changed the scenery. The bottom line is you have to be proactive and take care of your business; no vendor is going to do it for you. It reminds me of a saying my father would tell me; the greatest lie is, "I am from the government and am here to help you". Take out the word "government" and insert vendor. The concept applies very strongly.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? The SBDC Shares their expertise We strongly like the SBDC - Small Business Development Center. This is a service created by the Small Business Administration to encourage and help small businesses across the US. Why? Because as much as we are hearing about the death of business, particularly retail, they know it is small business that is actually growing. Small business is doing a lot to create sales as well as inject life into communities. It makes sense for the SBDC to invest. They do so by having 63 centers across the country in every state with some 900 service locations. You can ask for help with your accounting, business planning, staffing and most every skill a small business owner could possibly need. The big plus is the overwhelming majority of their services are free. My experience has been they do have some webinars and classes that are extremely inexpensive and helpful. The March Small Business Conversations program will feature Lisa Shimkat, the state director for Iowa and Tee Rowe, the president of America's SBDC. This could be a very wise investment of your time to join us and hear how your local SBDC can be of help to your business. We hope you will join us.
Book of the Month - The Advantage Patrick Lencioni wrote a book, The Advantage, that is based on a premise that you will want to consider for yourself and your business. Is what makes your business good as well as have an opportunity to be competitive and have room for improvement, the "health of your organization"? Do your employees work well together? Are there internal politics that cause your employees to battle each other? Are your employees "playing on the same team"? I like the concept and am personally always open to ideas that can help give your small business another advantage against your competition.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Debt to Equity Ratio The "debt to equity" ratio is one of the most important measurements of your business. This is especially true if your business has borrowed money. We find this ratio is one that greatly controls how much money you can borrow as well as controlling the terms (interest rate and length of loan). Just as the name implies, it looks at two pieces of information. How much does your business already owe? Note that in owing money, if money is owed to you as the owner, this is considered a loan just as much as other money you may have borrowed from any lender. The second factor is the equity, or how much of the business do you really own? What the lender is wanting to determine is just how much do you have invested in the business. The more you have invested, as a percentage, the easier it will be for you to get the funds you want at the rate that you want to pay. Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - Recognition Sometimes we use a page from A Carrot A Day as our staff incentive article; sometimes the page gives us an idea. This month it is the latter. While the book gives an example of a FTD commercial (Take the time today to send flowers and a card to someone you love), it reminded us of a story we shared with audiences. Professor Margaret was one of those customers you would remember; a bit crusty and challenging to get along with. No one wanted to have to deal with her. However, as a part of an experiment we sent a handwritten note to her and other customers with a short message that said we had not seen her in a while in our business; we missed her. A couple of weeks later as I was walking across a parking lot, I spotted her car driving toward me. She stopped and initiated a conversation. "Hello, Tom. Good to see you. Thanks for the note. That was so kind of you to write. No one seems to appreciate customers anymore and I appreciate what you did for me." From then on, Margaret was a more frequent customer. She was more outgoing and engaging with everyone in our business. It seems a little bit of recognition and appreciation can do a lot to enhance a relationship. We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
What's coming up that you can promote? - It is more than May flowers We think there is a place in everyone's small business to celebrate. The idea for this column started with observing a posting in Facebook that indicated it was National Chocolate Cake Day. That same night we went to dinner with friends at one of our favorite local diners. We mentioned to the wait staff this was National Chocolate Cake Day. They knew nothing of the event. As this diner had a rewards program we knew they had the contact information of all four of us. Wouldn't we have been more likely to eat at that restaurant if they had sent an email, posted on social media or sent a postcard with an invitation to celebrate with them? Perhaps they could add a bit to the event by offering a special chocolate cake for just that evening. That is how the idea of the monthly promotion section of Small Business News got its start. And here are ideas for May (because you need some time to prepare for the event). Examples of May events include: May 1 is May Day May 3-9 is Teacher Appreciation Week
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DECEMBER 2024
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
Small Business
Whose job is this, anyway? Have you heard that before? The December Small Business Article of the Month offers ideas from those who have found solutions.
Small Business
Past our announcement that the December newsletter starts our 26th year, we are discussing what is and what is not a problem.
Starting with, all these announced closings of retail operations is not a problem indicative of retail. It is an indicator of chain stores trying to correct the problems they previously made.
We came across a solution of tasks not getting done as well as tasks not done correctly. We created an owner's manual for our business. Details in the Article of the Month.
Atomic Habits by James Clear. Have you ever caught yourself saying that you had gotten out of the habit of doing something? Perhaps it is something you need to continue to do? This book can be applicable to personal and business life.
