What is your dashboard telling you?

As the first quarter of the year comes to a close, it is time for you to check your numbers. What were your goals and how are you doing? Are you right on track, or are you a little behind? In order to reach your goals you first must plan and then track your progress against your plan. Think about it like your car. They plan for a certain lifespan for an automobile and this is similar to your business and personal goals. If you are a little overweight and your goal is to lose five pounds this year eventually this goal’s lifespan will pass. A new goal such as maintaining a certain weight may replace it.

In this sense your business is like an automobile. You have a fuel gauge, a speedometer, an odometer, a heat sensor, and other gauges. In order for your automobile to reach its lifespan these gauges must be checked because it reads what is happening under the hood. The fuel tank is your cash. The speed limit is the rules and regulations that you must abide by in order to keep your business. The odometer is your equipment and skills. The heat sensor is the stress level that one is under when they open a business. There are good days and there are bad days, sometimes we overheat and we need to cool down. Each of these gauges can be measured and have a direct correlation with success in goal achievement.

When we look at cars and your business goals, we need to look at this through three primary vehicles. First there is the entry level of starter car. We have all had these, they teach us what to do, what not to do, where and how to drive, and for some of us we even learn about the law. Second we will look at the midsize economy cars. These are the cars we need when our responsibility increases such as having a baby, or a long commute. The last car that we will explore is the sports car. This car is the one that we all dream of having and often times when we get it we do not know what to do with it. These cars can be viewed through the small business prism. Let me explain.

Entry level

An entry level car is comparable to an entrepreneur opening their first business. These businesses are lean, like having the fuel gauge read a 1/4 tank. They are the place that the entrepreneur spends all their time just like we all did when we got our first car. They are also were we learn about the intricacies of car ownership.  We learn about maintenance, and for some of us we learn how to deal with a flat tire. As small businesses when you take that first step to open and sell your product or service to the outside world there is so much to learn. Your fuel gauge is typically under a half of a tank, usually a quarter or below. The speed in this car can go from fast to slow, similar to when a young person is learning to drive. Small business owners must get a feel for the speed at which they are comfortable with. As the odometer are skills and equipment, sometimes accelerated learning is required (speeding) and other times costly equipment can really set a business back (speeding ticket).  The heat sensor is unique in this car, because small businesses are learning their heat tolerance.  There are several other cars that one purchases after they drive an entry level one, let’s look at the midsize.

The Midsize

The midsize car is one that people purchase when they have a level of responsibility. This is after the initial phase of starting up a business. Your goals are different. When you had an entry level car, your goal was to drive. With this car you actually have a certain level of priority to your life. You want to remain safe, and the car must be reliable. In the business realm, your business has had some clients and they expect a level of customer services, they also expect professionalism.  In this car, your fuel tank is never below a quarter of a tank because you have an established cash flow system. The speed is steady; you are now looking at regulations before you act, because of the new responsibilities. Driving a midsize with your family is similar to this action. Your odometer is the busiest gauge here, because you are reinvesting your earnings in new skills, new equipment and employees.  Your heat gauge has been established in your previous years and you now drive an automobile that does not overheat.

The Sports Car

When we look at a sports car, they have gauges that are not needed on the previous two cars. This is because they have been so fine tuned that they are about one thing: speed. The odometer is not as important because the skills have been developed. The heat sensor within the small business owner has been replaced by employees who take all the heat; we call them sales and HR people. At this point fuel is not a problem either because the company has now hired out people to ensure that cash is flowing.  Speed in this car is growth. The other gauges are the legal, logistical, and other aspects that hinder growth.  When a small business starts out these task are all on one person, now they are delegated and the business is ready to take off.

Where are you?

Each car represents a different aspect of small businesses. If you try to speed like a sports car in an entry level, you will get burned. You will either run out of fuel, get pulled over, or overheat. Sometimes a midsize may go the same speed as a sports car, however if they keep it up they will have troubles too. A sports car may be cautions in some activities; similar to a midsize, but this will reduce the efficiency of the organization.  Each car has a place on the road and in the lifecycle of businesses. For the small business owners, you must make sure that your goals are aligned with your current car. If you are a midsize, what skills are you learning to meet your goals? If you are an entry level remember that you cannot drive like a sports car for long periods of time. Track your experiences in this car so that when you move up the transition is smooth. For the firms that are driving the sports cars, keep an eye on the other gauges that allow for the car to travel at such great speeds.

What car is your business driving? What steps are you taking to improve your car, and how will you move up?  In order to achieve your goals for 1013 you need to check your gauges and see if you are on track. Have you checked your gauges lately?

How March Madness is like the Business world

The current NCAA basketball championship game is a few weeks away, yet there are a few things that small businesses can learn from the games that are being played today. As of this writing I have witnessed Harvard and Florida Gulf Coast beat teams with better players and I have also seen Liberty (my School) persevere against all odds to play in the tournament. The lesson here is that when it comes to competition the bigger, more talented teams do not always win. Similarly, in the business arena larger industry leaders can be defeated. March Madness teaches small business the two keys to surviving and advancing; compete, and never give up.

Beat Goliath

Small businesses enter the business arena similar to small schools that play in the tournament. They have wide eyes and are often intimidated by the more popular, cash rich programs.  How can small businesses compete? The answer is in the way that lower seeded teams compete and beat the higher, more favored teams; with the right moxie.  Each small business has a unique background that led them to start and believe in their business. Is it an exclusive business model, high quality customer service, or just plain availability? When we think of large corporations we do not usually think of these qualities. We usually think of multileveled management where no one can make decisions in a timely manner.  This advantage is similar to the stresses on the student athlete from the power schools.

No…no…no…YES!

Think of the multilevel management as people that must be pleased with a decision at a corporate level. If you work in a corporation and have a unique idea, how quickly can you put that idea in play? If you fail, there is another hotshot middle manager AKA highly recruited player that will step in if your plan does not work.  As a small business you have the flexibility to change, fail, and change again.  You can take risks unlike many in the corporate arena.  Don’t think that you cannot compete and beat the industry leaders because you do not have the pedigree or the history. Make your own history, take some risks.

I run a small business that specializes in social media marketing such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others. I have been looking in the corporate want ads for the positions that they have listed for this type of vocation and realized they are sticking to their old style thinking. They are looking for someone who has several years of experience and who can do this and that, but they are too busy creating the position that they are letting their opportunity slip away. As small businesses we have the chance to shift on a dime and make changes. This is why we succeed. I keep thinking of the railroad executive when I read the social media job descriptions. The railroad executives kept saying that they were in the railroad business. As we all know they were in the transportation business and automobiles soon surpassed them.  I build customer relationships by speaking the language that your customers speak, a digital language. I do not have to wait for my supervisor to give me the okay to post anything.  If I make an error, I can correct it immediately. When I make several in a small time-frame  like an underdog giving up several baskets in a row, I need to take a time out.

Never Give Up

When a coach takes a time out after their team has given up several baskets it is to calm the team down and allow them to re-frame the situation. The coach will explain to the team that it was only a few baskets and that there is time to run plays in order to take higher percentage shots. The key to these timeouts is to get the players in the mindset to keep going forward, to not give up. The famous coach Jim Valvano once delivered a speech in which he said “don’t give up, don’t ever give up!” every college basketball player alive has heard this speech, because every coach uses it or some variation of it to encourage players. As small businesses we need to keep playing this out in our heads; don’t give up, don’t give up, don’t give up.

In the tournament the team that can play to their strength more frequently usually wins. There are some games that go right down to the last second, however in the business arena the buzzer never goes off. What has worked for the industry leaders yesterday may not work today and definitely will not work tomorrow.  Find your strength and play to it every day and don’t ever give up and you will succeed.  

What your business can learn from Little League

  In Arizona we have dry rivers called washes. I often run a path by a particular wash and it goes right by a set of baseball fields. I saw some children today and I realized something that could help your small business. As I was running, one Little Leaguer roped a single up the middle of the diamond. The center fielder retrieved the ball and threw it towards the second basemen who threw it to home plate. The center-fielder used what is known as his cutoff man, or just cutoff. A cutoff is there so that the outfielders can throw the ball to the infield instead of attempting to throw out the runner from a great distance.

The Little Leaguer here cannot accurately hit his cutoff man at this stage in their life. The children are learning the basics of the game to build on later. Maybe you cannot accurately hit targets that you have set in your business plan. Look for a cutoff. Seeking help is a foundational business practice. Think of the franchise system, it is built on this basic premise. Think of the base runner as a customer who is walking out the door or who is on the verge of a purchase. Who can be your cutoff to close the deal? In baseball there are different cutoffs for different areas on the field. In business there are different cutoffs for different areas in your business field. Do not lose customers because you think that you have to throw the customer out all by yourself, because if you do they may be out the door and you will only be sore.  Seek help when you need it, a basic principle

One area that many small businesses are in need of a cutoff is in online marketing.  In my daily job as I preview webpages, Facebook pages, and YouTube videos. I see small businesses throwing out content as accurately as the children that I saw on the baseball diamond.  Because of companies like YouSocial, there are options for small businesses out there. One point about the cutoff should be addressed here. Without any effort from the center-fielder  the cutoff can switch strategies and throw in a different direction.  The cutoff can even decide not to throw if it is too risky. Similarly, a social media marketing company can give the small business owner a different direction without any effort. The owner may think that Twitter or LinkedIn are going to be effective forms of social media marketing. An experienced marketer may feel that Google+ or Facebook would work better.

Marketing can be a tricky thing and if you try to do it all yourself you will end up overworked and stressed out. Leverage your cutoff people in your business arena, lean on them to make great decisions in areas that you may not have expertise. Learn to use these people to assist you in closing the sales, or making the out.  Children are learning this lesson every day; shouldn't business people do it too?  In Little League these lessons form a basis for children to build on. Where I live in Tucson, there was once a high school team that had five players who reached the pinnacle of baseball - the major leagues. Imagine five players from one high school team in the pros. They all started in Little League, learning to use their cutoff.  If you want to take the next step in your business, take a lesson from these kids; build from basics, do not try to do it all yourself, and use your cutoff.