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When AI is and isn't IT It was a big deal on November 30, 2022 when ChatGPT was first announced; the concept of a computer doing more than performing the actions a user set out. Instead, with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), these new applications were "thinking". With ChatGPT, easily downloaded to your phone or desktop, you can tell it what you want it to do - in plain English - and it begins to write. Tell it to "shorten what you just wrote", and it will do so. We read a report this week of how Neiman Marcus was using it with their stores to do predictive work in merchandising. For those of us in small business, we can easily look at this and say that AI is meant for big business. Well, such is not the case. We are finding many applications of AI that can be used in your small business. We are studying these applications and would be glad to share them with you. Here's our offer; send a note and tell us the challenge you would like to resolve. We will send you a response of what we have found that might be something of value to you. While our experience with ChatGPT has been that there is no fee to use it, that has not been the case for the majority of others we have found. They can write product descriptions and copy for social media; clean up videos; do analysis with information; do work like Adobe on steroids; and even create a theme song for your business. Article of the Month - No Plan B Van Morrison had an album with the title of, "Born to Sing". There was a subtitle of, "No Plan B". The title song speaks of there not being a plan to do anything else but be a singer. I can identify with that as a fourth-generation small business owner. While I did twice consider something else, I quickly turned back to what I loved the most. The article for this month talks about exiting the business. The idea came to me as I have walked the aisles of trade shows and seen the many companies that help you close your business. And then I have recently met a couple whose focus is to buy your business as their company specializes in acquisition in several specific trades. The focus of the article is to ask about the reader's plans for later in life. How are you planning to leave the business? For the overwhelming majority, selling a business is going to bring you more money than shutting down your business and selling off the assets. Book of the month - Escape from Cubicle Nation We took a count recently of the number of books on our book referral page; it is now 291 titles that we share as suggested reading for small business. This month's book suggestion has an engaging title and subtitle. Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. While the book is geared for a person who wants to leave their corporate job and become an entrepreneur, we see an additional perspective. You are already a small business owner. When you made the decision to become an owner we suspect your "gut feeling" came into play. For many however, once that decision was made, the gut feeling has been put away and never again utilized. Perhaps this book can be stimulating and help you utilize it again. Internet Tool for Your Business - Just a couple of weeks ago, the break even analysis calculator came into a discussion we were leading with a group of small business owners in a service industry. While the focus was not retaining price integrity, we considered the period of year when many small service businesses experience less business. What if the business were to consider a price lowering in that time period so that they could produce enough revenue to cover expenses? That is how the break even analysis calculator works for a service oriented business. This scenario could also be said for the many small businesses that shut down for several months each year. An example is a garden center. Our example business closes late in the fall and reopens in mid-March. The owner mistakenly says they are immediately making money. That is not true. Their business had ongoing expenses during the time they were closed. So for a period of time, the profit they thought they were making is actually covering the losses for the time they were closed. What if the business were to find something to sell; even just enough to break even. And that is where the break even analysis calculator comes to usage with a product oriented business. 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. Internet Tool for your Business Staff Incentive for Your Business - Eating at a Cracker Barrel recently we asked a server to tell us about the stars on their brown apron. There was a significant achievement that allows the server to earn each of the four stars they proudly wear. It is however, a recognition that Cracker Barrel has created; not by some food industry or government agency making sure the person knows how to safely serve food. What if you were to create certifications for what they do? Some service industries have certifications that have been created by their governing associations. While I have not seen something like, "certified sales person", in brick and mortar businesses, you could start with something as simple as knowing how to handle a point of sale. My thought is if Cracker Barrel can create their own version of certification and recognition, your small business could also do it. 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.
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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.
