small business

My Business Is… Failing

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As well as taking inspiration from our clients and business, I look in various other places for ideas on what to write about in our blogs. I want our content to be relevant and useful, and topical. So, I also use Google. I like to play a little game, where I start to type something and see what Google suggests as the search topic (Wreck-It Ralph 2 has a great scene depicting this!!). The top suggestions shown are usually those that are most often searched, so you get a good idea of what the general population have been researching. 

Today, I was really surprised when I typed ‘my business is’ and the top prediction was ‘…failing’. I’m not sure why I was surprised, as I know this is extremely common with new and start-up businesses. But it just hadn’t occurred to me that ‘fail’ might be in the results. So, I brushed past it and carried on. I tried ‘my business has’ and the search returned ‘…failed’. Interesting; I tried some others. I typed ‘my business was’, ‘my business will’, ‘my business should’, they all returned the same top results … FAILING. I was a little frustrated and about to start down a whole different route, when it occurred to me, this is obviously topical! Why not share some thoughts and advice on how to avoid business failure? And so, here we are… 

5 Thoughts To Help Avoid Business Failure 

Is your business model profitable? 

If your prices are too low, or your overheads too high, your business model will become unprofitable. Similarly, if you’ve not accounted for ‘hidden costs’ (7 ‘Hidden’ Costs of Running a Small Business), your business may make a loss based on things you didn’t necessarily anticipate having to pay out for. Ensure you’re monitoring and considering all income and expenditure, if you let anything slip, it could have a real impact on your profit margins. As you grow, you should continue to review your business model to ensure its ongoing profitability. As things develop, your overheads (staff, premises, assets etc.) are likely to increase and what was once generating a profit margin of (e.g.) 35% may now only be generating 17%. You should continue to review your business model, plans and structure to ensure ongoing viability.   

What are your business goals? 

I think it’s Stephen Covey’s 2nd habit that states, ‘start with the end in mind’. To understand what you need to do to get to where you want to be, you need to know where you want to be in the first place! If you want your business to last, having clear direction and goals will help you to structure and monitor your progress. Decide where you want your business to be in 5 or 10 years, then, working backwards, you can start to understand what you need to achieve each year and then each month, each week etc. to work towards your ultimate goals. Keeping your goals fresh is important too, as over time they will likely evolve. Reviewing them every 6-12 months will also help to keep you focussed.   

Do you really know what your customers want? 

The key to the ongoing success of any product or service is keeping up to date with the needs and wants of your customers, and these may change frequently. What you know to be true when you first start your business could vary each year, as consumer habits change, and the ‘market’ evolves. Regularly talking to your customers and prospects and doing surveys or other proactive research will help to ensure you’re providing a product or service that your customers’ actually want, not something you think they want. Keeping in touch is also a great approach to customer care and will let your customers know you value them and what they want.  

How do you manage your cashflow? 

It’s easy to get caught up in chasing new customers and providing your services every day – after all, it’s how you grow your business, right?! Unfortunately, if that’s your sole focus, it can lead to background admin piling up, including invoicing and credit control. Which in turn can have a nasty effect on your cashflow. Cashflow is key to the longevity of any business and it’s vital to make time to produce your invoices, as well as keep track of which ones have been paid and which ones you need to follow up on. Don’t be afraid to speak with your customers about payment. You have upheld your end of the deal, so they won’t be surprised to know they must uphold theirs!  

Are you getting help? 

You’re an expert in the products or services that you provide, and that’s why you went into business. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an expert in all other areas it takes to run a business. It can be lonely and a false economy trying to do everything alone. Utilise your networks, get out and meet new likeminded business owners, get a mentor, outsource the jobs you’re not skilled in or don’t have time to do. If you invest time and money wisely in all these areas, your business is more likely to flourish – two heads are always better than one… 

If you’d like to know more about how we can help or want more information on our ideas for avoiding business failure, please get in touch:  makeithappen@mbsmih.com  :  01903 688789. 

7 Free Ways To Promote Your Small Business

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We’re often asked about the cheapest and easiest ways to promote small businesses, so here’s 7 quick-fire ideas to help you promote yours:

Create a Google listing

It’s easy and it’s free. Just search ‘Google business listing’ and get your business (literally) on the map.

Get blogging

The more you give, the more you get. Use your expertise to write about topics your customers and prospects will find valuable and interesting. Share your blogs in as many places as possible and tell everyone about them.

Tap into social media

Everyone else is doing it, so get out there and get heard. Share company updates and offers, impart knowledge and information, and directly interact with your target market.

Go networking

People buy from people. One of the best ways to promote your business is to get out there and share your passion and enthusiasm.

Collaborate with other businesses

Think of businesses whose target market is the same as yours. For example, an accountant will have a similar customer base to an HR consultant. Build relationships with them and help each other out with promotion and referrals.

Ask for referrals

Don’t be afraid to ask your current customers for referrals. You can also ask friends, family, your business network and anyone else you know.

Enter awards

Take part in local awards and national awards relevant to your industry. At the very least the judging panel will learn about your business, but much more will likely come if you’re shortlisted – and even more if you win!

If you’re unsure about any of these ideas, or would like help getting them in place, please get in touch: 01903 688789  |  makeithappen@mbsmih.com

Small Business Planning Tips for 2019

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With 2018 coming to a close, it’s time to start reflecting and thinking about the new year ahead. The (generally) quieter period between Christmas and New Year is a great time to take a couple of hours to re-motivate yourself and plan for 2019 success. Here’s my top tips to help you along the way:

Reflect

Before you can work out how to move forward, you need to take the time to think about the last 12 months. Consider the best bits and the worst bits. Ask yourself;

  • What has worked really well, what are the key successes?
  • What hasn’t worked or needs to change?

Simple questions, but they should generate quite a list of answers. Think of your: staff; customers; product or service; marketing; time management; environmental impact; social responsibility etc. etc. You can then use these answers to start focussing on what you need to do to develop your business in 2019.

Focus

 When you first started your company, you had a plan, an inspirational moment where you knew what you wanted to create. Go back to that point and ask yourself;

  • What was my original plan?
  • What were my main goals?

Thinking about your life and circumstances now, consider;

  • Have your original business plans or goals changed?
  • Are you on track to achieve what you set out to?

The answers here might be completely different, or the same or similar to your ‘reflect’ questions. You’re going to use all of this thought-provoking information to start working on your plan for next year.

Plan

Using the answers to the above ‘reflect’ and ‘focus’ questions, you can start to develop a plan for the year ahead. You can identify what you need to change for the better and what can stay the same, and as a result create new goals.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, I really like using post-it notes! Use one post-it for each answer to each question. Then, on a large table, floor, spare wall or other big space, start to arrange them into collections;

  • Areas you’re happy with – can stay the same
  • Things that need to change or that you want to develop
  • Points that need to be improved
  • Things you don’t like or that just don’t or work!

Once you’ve done that, you can visualise where you need to spend your time and start to get a plan in place for doing so…

Numbers

You can’t make a real plan without sorting the numbers. Once you’ve identified what elements of your business you need and want to work on in the new year, you need to ask yourself some key questions for each idea/ goal (and be realistic with the answers!).

  • How much time will it take?
  • How much will it cost and what budget do I (actually) have?
  • When do I want to or need to have it done by?

It might not look like it, but your plan is really starting to come together now. Make sure you are capturing it in the best way for you. Write it down, use an online document, spreadsheet or project planning software, anything – just make sure you’ve captured it all and have notes to remind and tell you what you’re doing and the key ‘numbers’ associated with each goal or task.

Engage

Now you have your up to date and new goals defined and you know how much time and money you need to complete them, you can start to think about who you need to engage with to really make your plan a success. If you have staff, the best way to get them engaged is to get them involved. Share your company vision and ideas and include them. Share tasks and work together towards your objectives.

Any changes or improvements will impact your customers. Some more significantly than others, so it’s worth considering a bit of customer research or insight, where relevant. It will be useful for you and they will appreciate being a valued influence in anything new.

The key to any success is communication! Seek help and advice, share your ideas, research, network and keep learning.

make it happen..

Finally, once you’ve pulled it all together, you can prioritise the goals and tasks in your annual plan and get started!

Remember to hold yourself accountable and review your plan regularly – at least every 3 months. Consider getting an ‘accountability buddy’ or mentor who can help you stay on track.

If you’d like any support or just want someone to chat through your thoughts with, please get in touch, I’d be happy to help.

– Mikki

Juggling It All As A Small Business

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It’s so easy to say yes to everything and everyone, but this can add a lot of stress to anyone who is self-employed or managing a small business, particularly with a household to run or a family to consider. So we’ve pulled together a few of our tips and tricks to help you manage.

Keep your calendar updated

Sounds simple, but if it slips your mind to add things into your calendar it can quickly snowball into overstretching yourself and can cause the added pressure of trying to fit too much in.

Top tip: Colour coding commitments is a great way to keep on top of everything and focus on the task in hand.

Plan your week

Planning is a big part of making sure your week runs as smoothly as possible. At the beginning of each week, ask yourself what you want to achieve realistically each day. Make a weekly (and then daily) plan, setting it all out.

Top tip: Make a list of what you would like to get done and work your way through it.

This will help you reach your end goal and keep a clear mind resulting in a better work/life balance.

Set realistic time frames

Set realistic time frames on everything from business priorities to family time. It’s never a good idea to squeeze anyone or anything in as it will take away from the quality of your work or time with those you care about.

Top tip: In your calendar, set approximate time frames on how long each task/activity should take you.

Spend time with family

Take time out to be present with family and focus on their needs and building / maintaining strong relationships with them. It’s easy to get caught up in constantly thinking about work and what needs to be done but it’s best to keep a clear line between business and family.

Top tip: Try keeping this time varied and interesting and you should find it helps keep energy levels up, resulting in a positive impact on work too.

Although there are many ways to juggle running a business with family time, sometimes you can still feel stretched and overwhelmed. At MOMENTUM we understand how valuable your time is, so should you find yourself in this position we’d love to help with our Admin and PA services. Get in touch by emailing makeithappen@mbsmih.com or by giving us a call on 01903 688789.

This article was featured in Issue 8 of Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce’s Connect Magazine

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Business Directories

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It’s not enough to set up a business and hope the right clients or customers will find you. You know it takes work and a whole lot of promoting! Which is why you’ve probably been out networking all hours, getting active on social media and paying for ads in local or national publications. But, have you also thought about getting your company listed in the UK’s top online business directories?

An online business directory is a website listing information about businesses by industry, niche, product or other category. The amount of information detailed about a business can vary from directory to directory, but will often include the basics (name, telephone, address, location, etc.) plus additional information such as: description; opening hours; services or products; offers; images; testimonials; reviews; and so on. Users can then search these directories and find relevant companies providing a particular product or service.

There are plenty of reasons to list your business in an online directory, but here are our top five:

It’s Free!

Before we even get started with all the real benefits, it’s good to note that many of these listings are either completely free, or at least have a freemium (free with a premium choice available) option. So the only investment you need to make is time.

Lead Generation

Most of the directories have a search function and many have a specific option that allows users to request quotes or further information from company’s they are looking to work with. It hasn’t cost you a penny to be listed but could very well send some leads your way – it’s a no-brainer, surely!?

SEO

With competition for webspace in every industry high, it’s all about Search Engine Optimisation. SEO is all about increasing your website’s traffic in an organic way. When someone searches the web for the services or products you provide, you want your website to be one of the first results returned to that user. With that in mind, legitimising your business across the internet is extremely important, and business listings are an excellent way to help do that.

Exposure

Following on from SEO, a happy additional outcome of increasing your visibility in searches is that it will increase your exposure, and who doesn’t want that when trying to grow their business…

Validation

With so many businesses out there trying to sell their wares, everyone turns to the internet to try to validate and verify. They’re looking for reviews, trading history, a good web presence, they want and need to know you’re the right fit for them, that they’re not going to be let down. Improving, refreshing and updating your online existence regularly and via as many mediums as possible will help do just that.

So what are you waiting for? Make it happen..

It’s worth noting that each listing can take up to 60 minutes to complete. To get the best out of all the benefits above you need to make sure all of your descriptions are unique to that website. No copying and pasting! So make sure you set aside some specific time to get them done.

Alternatively, feel free to give us a shout, we’d be more than happy to take on the task for you.

T: 01903 688789 E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com

Thanks for reading!