Sonia E. Thompson's Blog

There are very little shortcuts

As you have been working on your business, have you ever had to ask yourself "do I really have to do all that?". More times than not, the answer will be yes.  As you go down the path to building a successful business, you will find that there is a lot more to do than you ever imagined.  I don't think most business owners start their business thinking it's going to be easy, but I do think that people underestimate all that is required to make it great over the long term.  Whether it is doing the up front planning to set yourself up for success, putting the work in to execute a sound marketing plan, or doing whatever it takes to delight your customers every time, there are many things that will be necessary for you to thrive.  So the next time you find yourself saying "do I really have to do all that?," hopefully once you realize that the answer is yes, you won't mind finding a way to get it done.

Closing the Theory and Practice Gap

I find that in both big businesses and small business, there is often quite a large gap between the theory of how to run a business, and the way in which business really gets run.  This often results in varying degrees of success.  In your business, there’s a theory behind what you practice, whether it is formal theory that is taught in schools about the proper way to complete tasks, or whether it is a theory you come up with on your own from your experience.   No matter where you fall on this spectrum, the two most important things to remember in determining how to be successful in your business are as follows:

• Your customer is king (or queen) - once you discover what their need is, your sole purpose is to figure out how to consistently meet that need better than anyone else.

• Surround yourself with good people - and then treat them well by inspiring, training, empowering, and rewarding them.

If you have figured out how to do these two things really well, the only thing that matters is that you continue to practice them.  If you haven’t quite figured out how to accomplish these two things, it might be time to learn about (and embrace) the theories behind how to do it, so you can start practicing it.  

Running the Business of Your Business #3: Getting An Abundance of Insights

Getting insight into your customers is of critical importance to your ability to be able to meet your their needs.  Often, the way many larger companies gain this customer insight is through conducting formal market research.  Whether via surveys, in depth interviews, or conducting focus groups, learning more about your customer by hearing from them firsthand is invaluable.

One of the drawbacks of conducting formal market research is that it can be expensive.  Don’t have the money to embark on a research study for your business?  Don’t fret.  There are many opportunities for you to capture the insights you need from your customers without having to blow your budget.  Here are just a few ways:

• Have a conversation with them (not an interview, a conversation).  Learn about who they are and what makes them tick.
• Listen to what they say, don’t say, complain about and even gush about (what they’re talking about doesn’t have to be related to your business).
• Pay attention to what they buy, when they buy, and how they buy.  There’s is a ton of information in just their actions.

And as you get great info from your customers, don’t just store it all in your head.  Write it down.  The more people you talk to and engage with, the more information you will be able to gather.  As you review what they’ve told you, eventually you will be able to spot trends.  The more trends you spot, the better you understand what’s behind them, and the better position you will be in to turn it into useful ways to delight your customers.

Running the Business of Your Business - #2

Know your business.  The industry you are in.  The way it works.  Your customers.  Your suppliers.  Your competitors.  They way they work.  What makes you different.  Why your business does or does not work.  Know the business you are in.  That’s how you will be able to stay in the business you are in.

 

Stay Close

Stay close to your customers.  Interact with them.  Get to know them.  Find out what they need.  See the impact of what your business provides for them (hopefully its good).  Then when the going gets tough, remember the specific stories of how your business was able to make a difference.  Those memories will drive you to do more and to plow through those tougher times when you feel like giving up.

 

Running the Business of Your Business - What I Learned #1

As an entrepreneur, you need to know at least a little about a lot.  There is a ton of information and tools out there that can help you be successful (such as social media, websites, marketing, quality control, and customer service to name a few).  While you certainly don’t need to be an expert on everything, if you don’t know anything about any of them, you’re not likely to get any benefit from them.  The more you know, the better informed you will be to have conversations with the “experts” about how those tools can be put to work in your business.  

Help Is Your Friend

You don’t have to be an expert on everything in your business.  Don’t be afraid to get help for those things that are not a core competency for your company, but are still essential for your business to be successful.  Hiring an expert to do that job for you while you focus on the things that you do really well will reap many dividends for your company (and save you from many headaches). 

Maintenance Plan

As hard as getting started can be at times, it’s the maintenance part that is where we can often fall short.  How many times have you started something only to stop a few weeks, or even months later?  Things are going great, and then something comes up.  And then another.  Pretty soon your momentum isn’t what it was, and you have gotton off course toward moving forwared toward your goals for your business.   

Put a maintenance plan in place.  Find ways to stay energized along the way.  Enlist others to help keep you accountable.  Add in some milestones that help you track progress.  Celebrate small victories.  Set new goals and targets to achieve to keep you interested.  And of course, continue to tear down any barriers that may stand in your way.  

Getting started is only part of the battle.  Being and staying consistenly great over the long haul is absolutely doable, but often requires some real effort.   You can do it,  you just need a maintenance plan.

Backorder = Bad

In your business, there are a few words that your customers should never have to hear from you.  Backorder is one of them.  In the mind of the customer, it never means anything good.

I recently ordered some materials for a project that I have been working on.  When I initially placed the order for the materials, I didn’t order enough, so I had to go back to get more.  That’s when I found out there were no more in stock.  As a result of the product that I need being on backorder, completion of my project is now delayed 2 months.  As you can imagine, I am not a happy camper.  As a customer, backorder means: 

• You don’t care about the inconvenience that this causes me
• You don’t manage your business well - I want to buy something that you sell, and you don’t have any to sell me.  It seems counterintuitive.  

I know.   It’s important for companies to closely manage inventories to keep costs low.  Business owners don’t want to keep too much inventory for fear of getting stuck with excess product they can’t sell, risk of damage while storing it, or inventory carrying costs on the books.  I get that.  But your customers should not have to suffer because of any issues you have with managing your business.  Effective inventory management requires the following: 

• A good understanding of the usage rates of the products that you offer
• The lead time that your suppliers need to get you more product
• Additional product on hand (also known as safety stock) to allow for large orders that deplete your stock or other unexpected events that impact your current inventory levels

Managing your inventory levels is a task that requires careful planning and a solid knowledge of your business.  When done effectively, you should be able to avoid having to ever utter that dreaded bad word to your customer.  Backorder is not your friend.

Cross It Off

Last night I sat down and wrote out some things that I wanted to accomplish for the year.  Then I put down the timing by when I wanted to have the goals completed.  When I finished I realized that I have a lot of stuff to do and if I want to get them done in the time frame I wrote down, I have to get busy.  And quick!  I knew I had a lot to do, but seeing it down on paper really made it real for me, and increased my sense of urgency.

Write down your goals, what you need to do, what you want to do, and by when.  It does wonders for your productivity, and certainly increases the likelihood that you will accomplish the goal.  As long as it stays in your head, it’s just an idea.  Once its on paper, its out there, just waiting to be crossed off the list.  

So go ahead.  Write down your goals.  And if they seem really far away for you, write down some of the key milestones along the way.  After all, if you don’t write it down, you won’t be able to experience the satisfaction that comes with crossing a completed task off of your to-do-list (it’s such a great feeling!).