Category Archives: Business Planning

Is It An Interruption?

When I teach one of my Time Block Management classes, I ask participants what they view as the biggest time wasters in their lives. Phone calls invariably tops the list of things they see as wasting their time at work. They are in a productive frame of mind, working on an assignment, and their phone rings. They have to stop what they’re doing and respond to the phone call without any knowledge of who’s calling and why or how long the interruption is going to keep them from their task. The call is a source of irritation.

Until we take the time to determine who is calling and why. When I ask participants about the calls and we dig deeper, more often than ever it is a customer calling to discuss some aspect of the company’s products or services that they’re concerned about. Think about this in terms of your own business, however large it might be and however many employees you might have. Who’s calling? Usually, it’s a customer who believes in you and your company and wants to re-order, expand services, or get questions answered.

So, is it an interruption? Or is it what most business owners consider customer service to take care of your customer’s needs?

When participants realize the true nature of the “interruption,” the call is less of a distraction than a function of their responsibilities in business.

Far too often, we have seen this problem crop up in customer service situations across the board … beyond the annoying phone call. Your business is about your customers, and customers should be the primary focus of what everyone (including you if you’re the owner) in the company does. What do you have without customers?

Wait staff should be focused on the customer and avoid any time spent chatting with friends (via text, phone call, or face-to-face) when customers are expecting to be served. Customers are more patient with servers if they realize they’re taking care of other customers than standing around waiting for orders. Customer service representatives should be calling clients if there’s a lull and they are waiting for clients to call them. Sales representatives should be taking care of customers, offering suggestions on how to improve their business and get a greater return on their investment instead of bitching about the economy or poor business conditions. How many sales people have you seen griping about a customer’s phone call when they’re trying to generate their weekly sales report? Interruption?

Can you count how many times you’ve been at a retail cashier’s station waiting to pay for your purchase while they’re talking to someone on the phone? Management needs to help those cashiers understand that cash in the register is more important than trying to offer directions to an impatient caller … or consoling a friend who’s had a bad date. And how often have you gotten the evil eye or a disgruntled look from the cashier who believes your request to be taken care of is interrupting their life? How could you be so rude?

Etiquette is still important in business!

What about when you’re meeting with a prospective client, or existing customer, and you receive a text message or a phone call? Do you glance at the text to decide if you need to respond? Do you take the phone call and interrupt your meeting, at the possible expense of losing the client or prospect you’re meeting with for being rude? Those are choices you have to make with the understanding of the potential impact on the relationship.

An easy solution is to leave your smart phone in your vehicle or office when you’re in a meeting, even if you use it to schedule appointments. Your memory should be good enough to enter the information after the meeting. Think, too, about the perception people have of you when you take a phone call or text during a meeting or conference. You may believe it’s an important call, but it’s an interruption to those around you and they will think you must feel important because you took the call when, in reality, they wonder why you even came to the meeting or conference if the phone call or text was that important to you.

What interruptions also do is tell the third party observer tons about your business and the brand you exhibit. Ignoring your phone and concentrating on your customer or your prospect’s needs instead of interrupting the moment speaks volumes about your concern for your customers. Having someone who can answer phones in person instead of shifting a caller into an automated system where they may become even more disgruntled or, even worse, look elsewhere for products and/or services makes a lot of sense. Think about how you and your employees manage your time and take care of your customers.

If you’re interested in a brief introduction to Time Block Management or how Brand Irons can help resolve these potential problems, contact us for an initial consultation.

Does Your Message Get Through?

The ability to communicate your message clearly and to have it understood by those who receive it comprise the foundation of your marketing efforts. What value is there in your message if it fails to get through to the people you want to “get it”?

Companies that advertise on TV or radio or any other medium and that claim it doesn’t work have, invariably, failed to communicate their message properly. What do we mean?

First, it is critical to know what your message is, or should be. If you’re in the insurance business, for instance, you may believe you’re selling policies to protect people and their assets. In reality, you’re offering those clients peace of mind or the ability to sleep well at night, knowing their assets are protected and their family is safe.

Quick, what’s the name of the insurance company that insists “You’re in good hands”? The tag line communicates the message that the company is going to take good care of its customers.

What we see, far too often, is a commercial touting the company and how long it’s been in business rather than the value it offers to the consumers who work with its products and/or services. What message are you sending?

Let’s step back a minute. If your message is unclear, go back to your business or strategic plan and revisit what it is you are selling. Clearly define your products or services, and then try to see them from the viewpoint of the consumer. What is the potential purchaser of your product or service looking for? What is their motivation for buying what you offer? Change your perspective and you will be astonished how the appearance of even the simplest item can be changed.

On a recent drive following a passing thunderstorm, the sunset to the west was a beautiful golden globe offset by white clouds against an azure sky with sunbeams radiating through the breaking cloud cover. It was a gorgeous, captivating scene. When you looked to the east, the perspective was markedly different, yet strikingly beautiful with a full-bodied, bright rainbow bursting through the darkened storm clouds over the lake.

Let’s take a minute or two for a brief exercise in the power of clear communication. After you read the following description, close your eyes and imagine the scene if you haven’t created it as you read. Then visit the real description at the end of this blog.

Imagine a kitchen table with a vase of flowers on it. A cat jumps up on the table and knocks over the vase of flowers.

Read about the real description later on.

When you have a clear picture of what you offer to the consumer, think of it in terms of how you can convey the message of your offering in the most favorable way. What is your call to action? What do you want the consumer to do? Usually, it’s that you want them to call and schedule an appointment, stop by your place of business, or go online to order.

How you communicate the message is critical to driving business. This, however, is where we also need to take the time to determine who it is we most want to receive our message. Your target audience. Diapers are for babies, but it’s their parents who make the purchase. Who are the best prospects for consuming your product or purchasing your services?

Mostly men or primarily female? Under age 18 or older than 65? Do they fit any of the in-between adult age demographics – 19-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, or 55 and older? Are they physically active? Do they drive a car? Where do they live? What level of education do they have? Do they read newspapers? Watch TV? Text? Feel free to add categories to your demographic profile, because the more distinctly you can define your audience, the more targeted your message can be communicated to that specific group of people.

Now you’ve done all this and put your message out there. Does it get through? Monitor your results. Ask people how they found out about you. Ask what intrigued them about your message. Talk to your customers and get their feedback. Those are steps that will help you verify your message did, indeed, get through to the right people.

Remember, too, that there are independent, third party professionals such as those of us here at Brand Irons who can assist you in evaluating if your message is getting through. We can also help you derive strategies for making sure it does.

Back to the cat on the table scenario. What shape was the table? What kind of flowers were in the vase? Was there a table cloth on the table? What color was the cat?

Virtually every one of you reading the original sketch came up with different answers for each of these questions. While it seemed the scene was clear, the communication left room for you to enhance it with your personal experience.

Try this version for clarity: Imagine a rectangular kitchen table with a butcher block top and white legs. There are four white ladder back chairs positioned on each side of the table with seats that match the table top but have blue-and-white checked cushions tied on. There’s a clear glass vase on the table with three red roses that are just starting to open up on it. A white, domestic short-hair cat named Snow White jumps up on the table. She goes over to the vase and, instead of knocking it over, reaches into the vase with her right front paw, dips it in the water, pulls it out and licks the water off her paw and jumps down.

While this may seem extreme, communication is important to make sure your customers get your message the way you want them to receive it.

Making Choices & Getting Business Advice

New to owning a business?

You may find the following information valuable, and certainly of interest, even if you’ve already been in business for a number of years.

Every business owner needs advice on occasion. The key is knowing when to ask for it.

It is said you are never alone if you have a deck of cards. Start playing solitaire and someone is bound to tell you what to play where.

If you believe you can make your own decisions without counsel, go right ahead. Even if you do receive a professional’s expert opinion, you can always choose to ignore it and make your own choices. You own the business, so every decision you have to make is ultimately your responsibility. You reap the rewards or bear the blame.

One of our clients was looking to raise more capital. The company was solvent and generating close to $1 million in annual sales. More funds were needed to complete some upgrades, so the owner was curious about options. We discussed the ins and outs of venture capital, issuing stock, private equity investors, and traditional financing options for the investment the company was seeking. We had experience as licensed investment representatives, so we had a grasp of the basics. We continued the discussions as time moved forward and, eventually, the client was able to get some of his better clients to invest in the company and accomplish their shared objectives.

Was it our professional counsel that turned the tide? All the client needed was information to make an intelligent decision, and the right choice for the company’s survival. The client got advice from other sources as well, and used the accumulation of information to choose wisely.

In many cases, the advice is free because of the relationships business owners have with the resources available to them, whether vendors, friends, or business associates. In other cases, the counsel is part of the overall service the business owner is contracted to receive. Is one better than the other? Only the person receiving it and using it to make their business decision can determine that. There are occasions where the more expensive advice is better than that offered without cost, and the reverse can be true, too.

Back to the issue of knowing when to ask for advice. Your accountant should be consulted before you ask your banker to extend you a line of credit, so you know what your cash flow looks like for repaying the loan and other reasons. Your legal counsel should be asked to review legal documents before you sign them, just to protect your assets, if nothing else. There are other professionals and business associates out there that you can ask for opinions about a variety of topics, from buying company vehicles to advertising campaign strategies and from charitable contributions to lobbying legislators.

If you take the time to get the information you need, you are far more likely to make a better, wiser, and more profitable decision for your business. The secret: Knowing where to get the information and being able to interpret that knowledge to gain wisdom.

The Mantra of 7 T’s

How often have you made a decision and later realized you made a mistake? It happens more often than you think, especially in this era of Instant Gratification (IG). While the term is used less often, the desire for speedy results remains a staple in the lifestyle of younger generations, many of whom are successful business owners.

Decisions are made with incomplete information. Choices are made without thought of consequences. Stress is elevated with the likelihood of errors being made. Speed is the driver, and the end result is … often … a waste of time.

Enter the mantra of the 7 T’s: Take The Time To Think Things Through!

There was a familiar saying when I was doing production work that is appropriate: “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” Quality is often the casualty when speed is preferred. Bob Guest, a good friend and co-worker at the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, ran the organization’s printing operations. He was often quoted as telling staff members you could have your choice of three options: Quality, Speed, or Cost … but not all three.

To explain further, if you wanted something printed quickly, you either paid more to have a high quality piece produced fast or got a piece of inferior quality because the price was your main consideration for getting it done quickly. If quality was most important, you paid more to have it produced quickly or had to be patient if the cost needed to be controlled. And if the cost was your primary concern, you sacrificed quality to get your piece done quickly or got superior quality with a longer lead time from start to finish of your printing project.

Now, you could have all three if you took the time to think things through and planned to get the highest quality within your budget provided you gave the printer enough time to get it done in time to meet your deadline.

Weigh the variables. How essential is it that you make a decision now? Can you take an extra five minutes, or an hour or two to get more input or gather more information and make a better decision? Have you taken the time to think that choice all the way through? Is there a better alternative?

Something else to think about: How much time (and money) will it cost you to overcome the wrong decision?

If you’ve narrowed your choices for a new vice president of finance to three candidates but you believe there may be a better person to fill the slot, do you choose one of the three or put off the decision and look for other options?

Keep in mind that at some point you need to make the decision. Taking time without deciding can, on occasion, result in a decision being made on its own, and that’s okay. Procrastination is a choice. You need to realize, however, that if the ultimate choice falls in your lap, you must decide at some point. The time you allocate to making the choice depends on the importance of the decision.

Deciding where to go for lunch can be made in seconds, depending on the factors of speed, quality, and price as well as what your taste buds are craving. Choosing a new member for the corporate board of directors requires time to interview, check backgrounds and references, and other vetting procedures such as potential contributions to the corporate culture before the selection is weighed.

The mantra of the 7 T’s also involves seeking outside professional counsel or market research when appropriate. The Brand Irons team is a good resource to help you and your business think things through because we can play devil’s advocate and we always look at your scenario from the perspective of the consumer.

Take some time and think about it.

Work On Your Business

A friend recently reminded me of a four-quadrant diagram that, I believe, traces back to Steven Covey and emphasizes where most business owners spend their time … versus where they should spend it. It ties in to the concept that you – as a business owner – need to spend more time working on your business than in your business.

Easier said than done.

Urgent Important Chart The words in one of the quadrants (non-colored) identify tasks that are Not Urgent and Not Important. These are busy work tasks; work you do to make yourself look busy or that are simple and easy to accomplish. They can give you a false sense that you’ve accomplished something that day, but when you look back you realize it was wasted time.

Another quadrant (bottom left in grey) identifies tasks that are Urgent and Not Important. These, in general, involve the priorities of others. They have come up against a deadline, for instance, and are scrambling to find solutions. It’s important to them, and urgent because they want your input to handle the urgency of the situation. When you delegate authority, you must also delegate responsibility for making decisions, meeting deadlines, and accepting the consequences of actions.

The third quadrant lists tasks that are Urgent and Important (top left in brown in my diagram). In my book, these tasks are symptoms of crises. It’s a publishing deadline or a situation requiring an executive decision or things will begin to fall apart, such as a public relations crisis. This is probably the most stressful aspect or area of operating your business, and it’s the area where proper prior planning can reduce the stress and the impact of crisis situations. It can be minimized with a plan you should develop in the Important but Not Urgent quadrant (top right in green).

The beautiful “Work On Your Business” quadrant outlines tasks that are Important and Not Urgent. This is where you need to spend the majority of your time, working on tasks that are important to growing your business and moving in the right direction toward long-term profitability … including your eventual retirement or sale of the business. The sense of these items not being urgent enables you to relax and focus on the important nature of your work without that sense of urgency. You can slide into other quadrants as needed, but the most value to your company comes from working in the Important but Not Urgent area.

Try to spend as much time in that quadrant as you can.

Minimize Your Mistakes

We all make mistakes. It’s in our human nature to be fallible. My line is that if I were perfect there’d be no reason for me to be here. In business, however, mistakes can be costly and may even be fatal for the company.

If you are familiar with the Tylenol case, there are some who believe the problem was perpetrated by an outside influence and the company made no mistake. There had to be a failure somewhere, however, that enabled the perpetrator to infiltrate the system and contaminate product. In either case, the incident could have proved fatal for Tylenol had they chosen a different way to respond or not responded at all. Yes, it was costly to pull all of their potentially-contaminated products from the shelves and re-tool production to include protective seals, but those costs were made back up with the brand regaining its market share because of making the right decision. The right choices were made … and steps were taken to correct the failure in the system.

You will make mistakes in business. You can minimize those mistakes, though, with some preventative measures such as this limited list:

1. Internal Communication. Your corporate mission and the vision you have for your company must be consistently conveyed to your management and employees frequently. Supervisors should be talking to production people and dealing with issues the line identifies. Sustaining a positive, supportive attitude within your team is far more productive than standing by and waiting for something to break. I’ve always believed a pat on the back goes further than a kick in the pants.

2. Quality Control. The image your company portrays – through employees and your product’s packaging – creates the perception of your business to consumers. By controlling that image you can minimize negative perceptions about your products and/or services. It can be something as innocent as printing direct mail pieces when your printer is running out of ink that conveys the wrong impression. Keep an eye on your image and encourage your entire team to do the same.

3. Strategic Plan. Your corporate mission and the other aspects of having a plan for where you want your business to go serves as the guidebook to avoid mistakes. Take time to think things through. Evaluate where you are in accomplishing your strategies on a frequent basis. Spend time on the tasks that are important to the business for the long term and less time responding to urgent tasks. It’s the proverbial but true statement about spending more time on the business than in it.

4. Crisis Management. An often overlooked element in your business and marketing strategy is a response mechanism for when crises occur. Thinking through what might happen and devising methods for dealing with each of them can minimize risks, alleviate headaches, and keep your company in business when mistakes happen. Keep in mind that in certain situations, your best crisis response may be to let the crisis pass without a direct response. You must still be ready to act, however.

5. Learn. To keep from repeating errors that can prove costly, a great piece of advice is to learn from those mistakes you do make. You are doomed to failure if your company continues to make the same mistakes. Make sure your legal counsel knows the risks you face and does what he/she can to help you minimize them. Trust your non-staff team to help you gain from the lessons mistakes teach us. Stay positive and keep moving forward. Understand that this, too, will pass.

Detach yourself from the desire to make a rush (and often rash) decision. Distinguish the true from the false, the facts from the assumptions. Then choose the right path.

Game Plan

A good friend left one professional football team and ended up playing for a different one for a couple of years before he retired. The one he left had a consistent record of making the playoffs, winning championships, and having a waiting list for season tickets.

When he signed on with his new team, he found a locker room full of players more concerned about their paychecks than winning. The team rarely made the playoffs, usually had a losing record, and had a hard time filling the stands on game days. He had come from a totally different environment; a positive, winning environment he wanted to create with his new team, so he needed a game plan.

His approach involved helping his teammates understand that if they put forth the effort to be the best players they could be and concentrate on winning football games, they would fill the stands and generate the revenue necessary to more than compensate them for their efforts. He worked hard on conditioning, talked about the right fuel for the machine, and studied the playbook to perfection. His teammates started to understand, especially that with the right attitude they might even make the playoffs and win a championship, like he had done with his former team. He showed them his championship ring.

While his impact on the team was a small part of their success, they now contend for the division title every year and have made the playoffs consistently for four or five years. He had helped the players think things through, adjust their attitude, and play with a different winning mindset.

What’s the game plan for your business?

You can easily do the least possible and get by. That’s simple. You will own a business and take an occasional paycheck. Your company may be remembered one day for providing a product or service that people enjoyed while it lasted. You may even have an impact on some people’s lives. Is that your legacy and game strategy? Is that why you are in business? Is it enough for you to accomplish?

Or …

Do you want to create, develop, and sustain a comprehensive strategy that builds your brand to have top-of-mind awareness among consumers and own the market for your product or service? You can work your brand to the point where it has phenomenal impact on whatever plane you wish to dominate, including net profit, market share, employee relations, customer service, and public perception. It can be done.

Your strategy starts with your attitude. Answer the question: Why are you in business? Then build on that response by surrounding yourself with the right coaches (consultants such as Brand Irons) and players (employees and vendors). Understand what you’re selling and who your target audience is so they’re willing to buy tickets (purchase your products or services) and come to the games (become repeat customers).

You choose whether your business is mediocre or exceptional.

I go to a certain grocery store for a reason; it’s my favorite. I could buy food at a store where the prices are cheaper, but I go where I do because the owner/manager will stop and talk to me whenever and wherever I am in the store. He and his staff understand the relationship with the customer is more important than stocking the shelves. It makes a difference.

A game plan is a fun way to look at your company’s business plan and market strategy. Contact Brand Irons to get help putting yours together.

Team Resource – Your Banker Or Investor

Bank Cash Bag When we think of a bank, some business owners think of it as a necessary evil. That sentiment is likely due to the feeling that the bank uses the funds it has on deposit to make more money loaning it to others, that they are stingy on lending money back to business owners, and charge fees for virtually every transaction they make.

While there may be an element of truth to some of those concerns, remember that banks are a business and also need to make money to stay in business. What business owners often overlook are the positive outcomes of having a good business relationship with a banker.

First on the list is reduced risk. Imagine a business where all the cash and payments are kept on site in a vault. Any guarantee against loss or theft is gone. Although it may seem like a viable way to conduct business and keep your cash close by, the scenario also means your business, by definition, relies on being conducted only through cash transactions. That also limits how your customers can pay for your goods or services.

Banks provide a means to process checks and credit card payments, although credit cards can be processed apart from a bank through a company such as Electronic Payments. These options for customers enable your business to accept more than cash. Even businesses (a few restaurants come to mind) that accept only cash have automated teller machines (ATMs) in the lobby or close by where customers can get the cash they need by swiping a debit or credit card.

The most important reason to have a banker or an investor as part of your non-staff management team, however, is to help you manage your business. A strong, professional relationship with a business-oriented banker enables you to control cash flow, keep abreast of banking regulations, and manage your financial assets.

Too often, business owners only approach or talk to their banker when they need money. People I know in the banking industry hate that as much as the business owner. Bankers want to help you but need to know how. If it’s merely depositing your revenue into a checking account and using that account to pay your invoices, just talk to your banker about the best options for that type of account.

To get more value from your relationship, however, you need to get your banker involved in your business. Obviously, the first step is to establish parameters regarding confidentiality and other concerns, especially if it involves sharing your financial statements on a regular basis. Next is to give them insight into your business, which can be done with a business plan, a tour of your facility, and perhaps even a spot on the board of directors. Then stay in touch with your banker on a regular basis. Keep them abreast of your situation so they can be prepared to extend a line of credit or help with a short term loan if finances are getting tight or cash flow becomes an issue.

Talk long-term strategies with your banker as well. Let them know what you have planned, when you anticipate any expansion efforts to take place, and besides what you expect the costs to be, when you plan on being able to pay off the capital improvement loan. The old saying that if you work with them, they’ll work with you is valid when it comes to your banker.

Keep in mind that since the economic crisis around 2007-2008, banks have come under much closer scrutiny from the federal government and all the regulatory agencies. That implies that banks are now required to be more careful in what loans they add to their portfolios, which may mean you need personal guarantees or stronger collateral to get the same kind of loan you used to get before that time … and they may turn you down.

The questions you need to ask your banker should cover interest rates, penalties, loan procedures and requirements, and how best to manage your relationship with them. Getting free business checks is less important than avoiding monthly account service fees, although both may be negotiable.

Your relationship is still what’s most important. You want a relationship with a banker who’s responsive and honest. You shouldn’t have to wait four weeks for an answer about a loan, and you want them to tell you up front what to expect, even if the loan possibilities look bleak. You want answers and want to know where you stand so you can make informed decisions.

Keep in mind, too, that if you face rejection for a loan from one or more banks, there are other options, such as private equity and angel investors. These may be long shots as well and require a higher rate of return, but they are options for your business to continue to flourish and serve your customers.

Ready For A Crisis?

This week shifts to a topic that may be timely for some of you – handling a crisis – and serve as a wake-up call for those who have yet to establish strategies for dealing with the unexpected.

Let’s start with this question: What’s the worst thing that could happen to your business? ship_sailing_off_edge_of_world

Would it be that your “trusted” bookkeeper embezzles a few hundred thousand dollars from your corporate treasury?

Would it be a significant manufacturing defect that causes customers to get hurt or sick because of your product?

Would it be a system malfunction that destroys your electronic customer database and financial records, including the back-up versions?

Those, to most of us, would be major catastrophes. A crisis of any size can catch you unprepared. You have no way of knowing when the unexpected will happen, but you can take the time now to think those eventualities through and develop a strategy for dealing with the unanticipated events that can have an impact on your business.

While there are people who insist you should only focus on the positive and ignore any negative impact on your business, that is a naïve approach. Stuff happens! If you are caught with your proverbial pants down, you are forced to scramble to come up with a way to brush off or embrace the embarrassment and get your pants back up again. If anyone has ever “pants’d” you in gym class, you know the feeling.

Coming up with strategies for dealing with crises in your business can be simple or a complicated process that takes time and, in many situations, suggests that you bring in a professional to help you strategize and then implement the plans should the occasion arise.

Here is an example: When I was going to take over management of a chamber of commerce, I received a call from a member of the board of directors. She wondered what they should do since the chairman had just been indicted on child pornography charges. Holy cow! The potential for a black eye for the chamber was significant. My advice was simple: Distance the organization from the individual and go low profile … immediately but temporarily.

The chairman wisely resigned from the board and by going low profile, the chamber was rarely mentioned in any media coverage about the allegations and subsequent trial. Low profile also meant the chamber had time to get its house in order and be prepared to come out stronger than ever when the wind blew over.

This type of incident may never happen to your business, but some other potentially disastrous event could cripple your business short, or long-term. There are steps you can take to deal with everything from active shooters to negative publicity from a competitor, but going through every scenario is only important if your business may be susceptible to the situation.

There are numerous solutions to the myriad scenarios that can occur – far too many to deal with in this limited space. Seek professional help to come up with the most viable and sensible strategies for addressing the highest potential threats to your operations, whether they seem insignificant or are potentially devastating.

You will rest easier knowing that, in the event disaster strikes, you have a plan to follow and steps to take in managing the crisis or, if nothing else, you know who you can call to help you out. Make sure your strategy is customer and employee friendly because people are what’s most important. Buildings and machines can be replaced.

It all starts by asking the basic question: What is the worst thing that could happen to your business?

If you initially answered fewer sales, there’s an answer for that crisis, too.

Brand Irons can help you create the solutions to sustain and protect your brand and your business.

Team Resource – Your Business Consultant

You may be thinking you know everything you need to know to operate your business, so you can get by without a business or marketing consultant. You probably could, if you truly do know everything you need to know about your business and feel an independent, third party perspective is unnecessary.

Let’s do a little test of your understanding up front:

What is your operating profit margin?
What systems are in place to avoid employee theft?
How many of your customers made repeat purchases in the last year?
What kind of impact will the federal health care system have on your business?
How current is your unemployment insurance coverage?

These are questions you should be able to answer without much thought, although the larger concern is how well you are able to stay on top of this information and the related implications … and keep all your other tasks under control, too.

Your profit margin is a bellwether of how well you are doing. Grocery stores operate on a much smaller margin than jewelry stores. Your accountant can help you figure out your margins if you’re unsure how to calculate cost of goods sold and other variables.

A five here or a twenty that fails to make it into the cash drawer may seem inconsequential in the big picture, but nickels and dimes add up over time. Tills should balance at the end of shifts, and since cash is a measure of your success, you need controls in place to monitor your capital, even if you trust your employees completely.

Knowing your customers and their buying habits is market research, and it’s customer relations. You and your staff should be able to greet returning customers by name when they come back to your store. Their return is an indication you’re doing things the right way … for them. Or else they’ve got complaints, which means you need to get on top of those and solve them promptly or they could have a negative impact.

The new federal health care regulations and your unemployment compensation insurance are difficult matters to monitor on a consistent basis. Your insurance agent is trained to stay abreast of changes in laws and can be an asset to your business, managing your risk, saving you money, and covering your assets.

You have employee issues, inventory concerns, sales numbers and projections, customer service situations, payroll, taxes, marketing, production, and whatever else you have to deal with every day. Oh, yes, how much time do you take for yourself every week?

Your business consultant is a resource that is valuable to your business in many ways, from helping you manage potential threats and viable risks to staying focused on your mission and key objectives and guiding you in growing the business. If you avoid using a consultant because of the cost factor, demolish that thought process and look at it, instead, in terms of how that expense should manifest itself in double, triple, or even larger growth for your business. Round out your team with strong, professional advice. Your consultant should also become an advocate for your business and hold you accountable for prioritizing the work you must do to make the right decisions.