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Business Development, Marketing & Management Consultants
Specializing In Start Up, Small And Mid Size Business Consulting
A Smith Entrepreneurship Group Company
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Smith Business Consulting Group
Mission And Purpose
Smith Business Consulting Group is dedicated to creating substantial and long-term relationships with our clients to consistently achieve desired business goals and objectives. We earn this through our commitment to finding the best solution(s) that will fit and fortify our client's business and bottom line. Our business consulting services are designed to identify the specifics: the strengths, weaknesses and untapped opportunities of each business. We will then propose a plan that will address those specific needs/opportunities to advance the business towards its goals.
Through our creative and innovative solutions, we help businesses maximize overall efficiency, drive sales and reduce cost. We make businesses more profitable. Our approach is to analyze a business on all phases of its existence (present, past and projected future) and create a plan that will result in the increasingly efficient and optimal use of business resources.
Smith Business Consulting Group provides our clients with an external and objective view of their business regarding: products and or services, finance, operations, client relations, marketing and sales.
Our consulting solutions are designed to maximize our clients' return on investment, create a solid operational foundation for the future and to facilitate desired business growth/expansion.
Development Consulting
A business development consultant helps newly established business owners create a functioning business and a business identity. In addition to creating the brand and the business plan, the consultant may also help the business with day-to-day operations when the company is young and in the process of expansion. Business development consultants are experienced in a wide range of different core areas of business. They are experts in marketing strategy development, brand development, brand marketing, writing marketing messages, editing press releases, and creating and managing start-up budgets. As well as experts in business operational efficiency, workflow optimization, employee screening, hiring and retention.
Marketing Consulting
Marketing consultants, also referred to as marketing analysts, spend a great deal of time studying local, regional and national consumer markets. The primary goal of a consultant working in the marketing niche is to help companies determine the products and services consumers demand, and the price customers are willing to pay for them. Marketing consultants come to these conclusions by analyzing competitors and market conditions, studying customer buying trends, monitoring and forecasting sales and determining the effectiveness of an organization’s marketing campaign. As companies depend more on statistical data to develop business strategies, an increase is expected for employment in the marketing consultant niche.
Management Consulting
The primary goal of a management consulting is to develop and suggest techniques and procedures to improve an organization’s profitability and efficiency. The duties of a management consultant can focus on improving a single process, such as understanding how a company manages its inventory and developing new strategies. In contrast, some management consultants’ goals are broadly defined, and may include developing alternative practices and new solutions to implement throughout the organization. Other duties of a management consultant may include analyzing financial data and reports, interviewing employees to determine current procedures, writing reports and collaborating with managers to make recommendations.
Through our creative and innovative solutions, we help businesses maximize overall efficiency, drive sales and reduce cost. We make businesses more profitable. Our approach is to analyze a business on all phases of its existence (present, past and projected future) and create a plan that will result in the increasingly efficient and optimal use of business resources.
Smith Business Consulting Group provides our clients with an external and objective view of their business regarding: products and or services, finance, operations, client relations, marketing and sales.
Our consulting solutions are designed to maximize our clients' return on investment, create a solid operational foundation for the future and to facilitate desired business growth/expansion.
Development Consulting
A business development consultant helps newly established business owners create a functioning business and a business identity. In addition to creating the brand and the business plan, the consultant may also help the business with day-to-day operations when the company is young and in the process of expansion. Business development consultants are experienced in a wide range of different core areas of business. They are experts in marketing strategy development, brand development, brand marketing, writing marketing messages, editing press releases, and creating and managing start-up budgets. As well as experts in business operational efficiency, workflow optimization, employee screening, hiring and retention.
Marketing Consulting
Marketing consultants, also referred to as marketing analysts, spend a great deal of time studying local, regional and national consumer markets. The primary goal of a consultant working in the marketing niche is to help companies determine the products and services consumers demand, and the price customers are willing to pay for them. Marketing consultants come to these conclusions by analyzing competitors and market conditions, studying customer buying trends, monitoring and forecasting sales and determining the effectiveness of an organization’s marketing campaign. As companies depend more on statistical data to develop business strategies, an increase is expected for employment in the marketing consultant niche.
Management Consulting
The primary goal of a management consulting is to develop and suggest techniques and procedures to improve an organization’s profitability and efficiency. The duties of a management consultant can focus on improving a single process, such as understanding how a company manages its inventory and developing new strategies. In contrast, some management consultants’ goals are broadly defined, and may include developing alternative practices and new solutions to implement throughout the organization. Other duties of a management consultant may include analyzing financial data and reports, interviewing employees to determine current procedures, writing reports and collaborating with managers to make recommendations.
Smith Business Consulting Group
Helps Business To Achieve Goals By Optimizing Key Success Factors
Integral To Each Business
Company culture Culture is defined as the "integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations." For successful companies, culture is about attracting and hiring the people who would be most successful in that specific organization. And it's about driving the behavior that makes the company successful.
Customer service Simply defined, customer service means taking care of your customers. Many companies integrate customer service into their business culture through training and the design (and frequent redesign) of relevant business processes. In most cases, the business plan dictates how they will provide quality customer service.
Attitude As the owner of the company, you must have a positive attitude and accept 100 percent of the responsibility for the results of your business. When you accept responsibility, you can act to make the necessary changes to accomplish the desired results. Then, when success is achieved, you're generous in giving credit to others within the organization. Without exception, the most successful business owners understand that it's all about people: hiring and retaining the right people, eliminating ineffective people and providing the necessary resources for employees to master their tasks.
Business strategy A complex strategy or business plan isn't necessary to achieve success. A simple one-page document will do, but it should be well thought out and well executed. A poorly crafted business plan that's well executed is far superior to the well-crafted business plan that sits on the shelf collecting dust. A good business plan defines and drives the activities and behaviors of the entire organization. Without it, the business becomes a ship without a rudder; it simply can't be steered and ends up going around in circles. A sound strategy should include a financial plan, marketing differentiators, and product strategy as well as a plan for employee retention.
Discipline Discipline is all about executing the strategies and then staying the course. It's about staying focused on your core markets and measuring success as defined by your business strategy. It's not about overreacting to market changes and adjusting your core strategy to keep up.
Risk Successful business owners aren't afraid to take calculated risks with clear outcomes in mind. Most owners who take risks do so because they recognize the need to change as the economic climates changes, and they understand it's disastrous not to embrace change. Successful business leaders understand that being in business is about managing and responding to change. Companies that succeed embrace change and respond to challenges presented by the market, the competition or changes in general business conditions.
Financial road map An important attribute is the creation of a financial road map and budget--and then having the discipline to follow it. A financial plan reminds owners where and how to spend money, and it provides ways to measure progress or shortfalls. A sound financial plan is the cornerstone of a great business plan.
Business processes Another frequently credited attribute of success is the streamlining of business processes. We call this "creating predictability." Unfortunately, this is probably the least understood task a small-business owner can take accomplish. Business processes are how things are done within a business. Every company has some processes; some are clearly defined, others are implicit. The intention here is to increase productivity and reduce costs while generating the same (or better) outcomes. Successful businesses understand the need to continuously improve their business processes: to become more efficient and productive, and to respond to market changes faster while providing better service to customers.
Information technology While technology is important, it doesn't have to be complex or costly to be effective. Effective technology is probably the most important enabler for change that a company can introduce.
Marketing Effective marketing efforts perform different functions around unique selling environments. For example, business-to-consumer enterprises have completely different marketing needs than business-to-business companies. Having a good understanding of the pains your clients are experiencing and how your product and services stop that pain can help you understand just how to market to your customers--and that's critical to business success.
Sales Every company's approach to sales is different. Some depend on building referral partnerships and strategic alliances, and this is the extent of their sales process. Others aggressively attack the market with direct-mail campaigns, cold calling and other forms of direct customer contact. The specific selling approach a company uses is usually defined by its marketing plan. Successful owners know that the concept of selling is a process that can be measured and improved, like all business processes. They talk about the importance of having a consistent, measurable and repeatable sales process, and they engage professional sales trainers (with flexibility to customize training to their selling environment) to help create consistency within their selling process.
Training Because we live in a world of continuous change, it's more important than ever to implement a culture of continuous learning. For many successful owners, continual investment in training is a major contributor to success. For training to be successful, however, there must a direct link back to the business plan and an understanding of how training supports the successful implementation of the business strategy.
Team of advisors Without exception, every successful business owner I've worked with has talked to about how having trusted advisors is necessary for success. They know they can't know everything and they searched out advisors they could trust. They usually preferred to pay for this advice because they were looking for someone who would challenge them, hold them accountable, ask them important questions and introduce them to others who could help them when necessary.
Work/life balance Successful business owners understand that every person has just 1,440 minutes in any given day and how they spend this time directly impacts how effective they'll be in growing their businesses. Smart entrepreneurs successfully integrate their social lives into their business lives: The client who purchases a product today gets invited to the lakeside cabin the next weekend. Clients become friends, and co-workers become like family. These entrepreneurs build their lives around their business, and it's almost impossible to distinguish between their social lives and their business lives.
Customer service Simply defined, customer service means taking care of your customers. Many companies integrate customer service into their business culture through training and the design (and frequent redesign) of relevant business processes. In most cases, the business plan dictates how they will provide quality customer service.
Attitude As the owner of the company, you must have a positive attitude and accept 100 percent of the responsibility for the results of your business. When you accept responsibility, you can act to make the necessary changes to accomplish the desired results. Then, when success is achieved, you're generous in giving credit to others within the organization. Without exception, the most successful business owners understand that it's all about people: hiring and retaining the right people, eliminating ineffective people and providing the necessary resources for employees to master their tasks.
Business strategy A complex strategy or business plan isn't necessary to achieve success. A simple one-page document will do, but it should be well thought out and well executed. A poorly crafted business plan that's well executed is far superior to the well-crafted business plan that sits on the shelf collecting dust. A good business plan defines and drives the activities and behaviors of the entire organization. Without it, the business becomes a ship without a rudder; it simply can't be steered and ends up going around in circles. A sound strategy should include a financial plan, marketing differentiators, and product strategy as well as a plan for employee retention.
Discipline Discipline is all about executing the strategies and then staying the course. It's about staying focused on your core markets and measuring success as defined by your business strategy. It's not about overreacting to market changes and adjusting your core strategy to keep up.
Risk Successful business owners aren't afraid to take calculated risks with clear outcomes in mind. Most owners who take risks do so because they recognize the need to change as the economic climates changes, and they understand it's disastrous not to embrace change. Successful business leaders understand that being in business is about managing and responding to change. Companies that succeed embrace change and respond to challenges presented by the market, the competition or changes in general business conditions.
Financial road map An important attribute is the creation of a financial road map and budget--and then having the discipline to follow it. A financial plan reminds owners where and how to spend money, and it provides ways to measure progress or shortfalls. A sound financial plan is the cornerstone of a great business plan.
Business processes Another frequently credited attribute of success is the streamlining of business processes. We call this "creating predictability." Unfortunately, this is probably the least understood task a small-business owner can take accomplish. Business processes are how things are done within a business. Every company has some processes; some are clearly defined, others are implicit. The intention here is to increase productivity and reduce costs while generating the same (or better) outcomes. Successful businesses understand the need to continuously improve their business processes: to become more efficient and productive, and to respond to market changes faster while providing better service to customers.
Information technology While technology is important, it doesn't have to be complex or costly to be effective. Effective technology is probably the most important enabler for change that a company can introduce.
Marketing Effective marketing efforts perform different functions around unique selling environments. For example, business-to-consumer enterprises have completely different marketing needs than business-to-business companies. Having a good understanding of the pains your clients are experiencing and how your product and services stop that pain can help you understand just how to market to your customers--and that's critical to business success.
Sales Every company's approach to sales is different. Some depend on building referral partnerships and strategic alliances, and this is the extent of their sales process. Others aggressively attack the market with direct-mail campaigns, cold calling and other forms of direct customer contact. The specific selling approach a company uses is usually defined by its marketing plan. Successful owners know that the concept of selling is a process that can be measured and improved, like all business processes. They talk about the importance of having a consistent, measurable and repeatable sales process, and they engage professional sales trainers (with flexibility to customize training to their selling environment) to help create consistency within their selling process.
Training Because we live in a world of continuous change, it's more important than ever to implement a culture of continuous learning. For many successful owners, continual investment in training is a major contributor to success. For training to be successful, however, there must a direct link back to the business plan and an understanding of how training supports the successful implementation of the business strategy.
Team of advisors Without exception, every successful business owner I've worked with has talked to about how having trusted advisors is necessary for success. They know they can't know everything and they searched out advisors they could trust. They usually preferred to pay for this advice because they were looking for someone who would challenge them, hold them accountable, ask them important questions and introduce them to others who could help them when necessary.
Work/life balance Successful business owners understand that every person has just 1,440 minutes in any given day and how they spend this time directly impacts how effective they'll be in growing their businesses. Smart entrepreneurs successfully integrate their social lives into their business lives: The client who purchases a product today gets invited to the lakeside cabin the next weekend. Clients become friends, and co-workers become like family. These entrepreneurs build their lives around their business, and it's almost impossible to distinguish between their social lives and their business lives.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
Smith Business Consulting Group
Business Methodology
To effectively prosper in today's business environment, companies need a competitive edge to win. Smith Business Consulting Group gives our clients that edge by consistently providing insightful advice, innovative strategies, and best-in-class processes that optimize business performance and deliver high-impact results.
The way we accomplish this is unique among consultants. We don't waste your precious time, we're not into business fads, we don't use confusing buzzwords, we don't charge outlandish fees, and we don't offer strategic advice that's practically impossible to execute.
By any measure, we are pretty successful at it. We may not have all the answers, but we're exceptionally good at helping our clients find them. Here's how we do it:
The way we accomplish this is unique among consultants. We don't waste your precious time, we're not into business fads, we don't use confusing buzzwords, we don't charge outlandish fees, and we don't offer strategic advice that's practically impossible to execute.
By any measure, we are pretty successful at it. We may not have all the answers, but we're exceptionally good at helping our clients find them. Here's how we do it:
- We rapidly digest information, analyze situations, and formulate unique insights and breakthrough strategies that deliver high-impact results. If we fail to deliver that last part, we failed.
- We don't just throw ideas over the fence and say good luck. For ideas to be successful, it's all about execution. These days, it's more like flawless execution. If the devil's in the details, we're all over the details.
- We question the status quo and challenge conventional wisdom. We don't sugar-coat, manage expectations or cover our behinds. We just give it to you straight, the way we'd want to hear it ourselves.
- We're experienced. This isn't our first time out of the gate. We're survivors who have won more than our share of races. We're quick studies, fast on our feet, and we cut to the chase.
- We care about your success as we would our own. And we hate to lose. Maybe that sounds cliche', but that's our work ethic. Our primary motivation is to help our customers win.
- We share a unique relationship with our customers that's built on trust and common objectives. By combining our broad experience with your intimate knowledge of your business, we can resolve even the most complex and challenging issues.
- We thrive in competitive entrepreneurial environments by: 1) Competence. We use a broad base of experience to analyze problems and provide insightful solutions. Our processes and methods have been refined over years of business experience. 2) Perspective. We bring entrepreneurial energy and fresh perspective to bear on complex issues. Our viewpoints are not tinted or tainted, which makes them invaluable. 3) Objectivity. We provide a distinct level of objectivity that's not always achievable by those close to the situation who, in spite of all efforts, can become somewhat biased and myopic.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
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Smith Business Consulting Group
Helps Businesses To Determine And Refine The Ever Important"Value Proposition"Question
Central To All Companies Today
How You Will Create Value Companies are hired to perform jobs. Whatever business you’re in, you have to solve somebody’s problem. Nobody needs a quarter inch drill, they need a quarter inch hole. Figuring out how to create value is the core of any firm’s strategic intent. The value you create does not have to be unique (even if it is, imitators will spring up soon enough), but it has to be real.
How You Will Deliver Value Knowing how you want to create value is not enough, you also have to be able to deliver it. The point is that ideas mean little without the capabilities needed to deliver them. Further, capabilities built up over time can often offer opportunities to create new value.
How You Will Capture Value While creating and delivering value are essential, it will all come to naught if you are unable to profit from it. In some businesses, such as retail, this is clear and straightforward, but in others such as the media business the waters are considerably more murky.
How Long Will The Current Structure Of Your Business Last It used to be that an entrepreneur could maintain the same basic formula for creating, delivering and capturing value during the life span of a business. Now, it’s unlikely to last a decade. What’s more, the cycles are shrinking and returns are diminishing. Clearly, business models all have an expiration date.
How You Will Deliver Value Knowing how you want to create value is not enough, you also have to be able to deliver it. The point is that ideas mean little without the capabilities needed to deliver them. Further, capabilities built up over time can often offer opportunities to create new value.
How You Will Capture Value While creating and delivering value are essential, it will all come to naught if you are unable to profit from it. In some businesses, such as retail, this is clear and straightforward, but in others such as the media business the waters are considerably more murky.
How Long Will The Current Structure Of Your Business Last It used to be that an entrepreneur could maintain the same basic formula for creating, delivering and capturing value during the life span of a business. Now, it’s unlikely to last a decade. What’s more, the cycles are shrinking and returns are diminishing. Clearly, business models all have an expiration date.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
Smith Business Consulting Group Will Help Determine If Franchising
As An Expansion Strategy Is Right For Your Business
Is franchising the right expansion strategy for you? We'll help you ask the right questions and find the answers.
Do you think your business is unique? Are your friends, family--and, more important, your customers--telling you every day that you should franchise your business? They may be right.
But are you sure you really know what franchising is all about? Is your concept really "franchiseable"? How does one go about franchising? What does it cost? And do you have the skills necessary to become a successful franchisor? Smith Business Consulting Group will help answer these questions so that you will have a better understanding of franchising as an expansion strategy. And while it's not the right strategy for everyone, for some companies the explosive potential that franchising affords is unparalleled in the world of business growth.
Generally speaking, franchising means opening additional outlets through the sale of franchise rights to independent investors who will use your name and operating system. A franchisee pays a franchisor an initial franchise fee in return for the rights to open and operate a business under the franchise trademark and for training in how to operate the business. In some cases, the fee may also cover additional services such as assistance with site selection. In most systems, after the startup period, franchisees also pay an ongoing periodic royalty fee--4 percent to 10 percent of sales on average--for continued support and training in advertising, marketing, sales, operational guidance, financial and human resources consulting, and other services.
Perhaps most important from your perspective, a franchisee furnishes all of the capital required to start the business and assumes all risk for success or failure.
Why Franchise?
Franchising has many attractive features, particularly when compared with more traditional methods of expansion such as opening more outlets on your own. Typically referred to as company stores, you own and operate these locations yourself. You provide the entire investment for the startup, and while you keep all the profits the company store generates, you are also responsible for all the losses. This is great if you are passionate about preserving the values you built into your original operation and believe you are the only one who can do that. But if you want to expand more quickly and get ahead of a competitive curve, it may not be the best way to expand. Opening company locations takes capital and time--sometimes a lot of both--plus you retain all the risk if a unit doesn't do well. And how will you manage operations that may be far from your home base?
Let's look at the issue of capital first. If you have only one or two units operating, or your concept is new or unusual, bankers may not be willing to lend you money for aggressive expansion. Lenders need collateral or a history of demonstrated success over time and in different markets to make taking a chance on you sensible. For a young or unproven business, this may be an obstacle that's impossible to overcome.
And what about running company stores? Does your current organization have sufficient depth to handle the hiring, training and supervision of a number of employees who will be handling your money and your reputation--especially if they will be operating at a distance? Plus, opening company stores can be a slow proposition as it takes time to get each unit open and successfully operational; you can't be everywhere at once. And all too often a business owner spends months looking for and training a new unit manager only to see that manager leave or, worse yet, get hired by the competition.
For all of these reasons, more and more entrepreneurs are finding that franchising is the best way to expand a great business quickly with minimal capital and risk. And franchising offers a number of advantages worth considering:
Is Your Business "Franchisable"?
Before making the decision to franchise, you must first determine whether franchising is a viable strategy for your particular business. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Is there a wide market for your concept?
Does the market for your particular product or service transcend your current neighborhood or region? You may need professional advice to see the bigger picture objectively. Many entrepreneurs "just know" they have a hot, new concept and they act on their convictions. But unless you have opened several prototypes in a variety of markets to test those convictions, it is important to ask yourself candidly whether or not your concept will work in other locations under other owners.
Do you have a point of differentiation?
What makes your business special? It doesn't have to be something no one has ever seen before, but it must have something about it that is unique and that will attract the public and investors. Maybe it's gourmet hot dogs, or quick made-to-order sushi or fast furniture repair. Whatever it is, it has to offer something that the public sees as unique and desirable.
Can the concept be duplicated?
How difficult or easy will it be to train inexperienced franchisees to run an operation like yours? Have you streamlined processes to make them easy to teach? Or has your success been the result of years of perseverance and relationship-building that is not readily transferable to a new owner? Will your concept flourish in a wide variety of locations?
Is your concept saleable?
Will investors--potential franchisees--see the value of your offering and be willing to commit to it? Will you be able to offer a program with real advantages for the potential franchise owner?
Do you think your business is unique? Are your friends, family--and, more important, your customers--telling you every day that you should franchise your business? They may be right.
But are you sure you really know what franchising is all about? Is your concept really "franchiseable"? How does one go about franchising? What does it cost? And do you have the skills necessary to become a successful franchisor? Smith Business Consulting Group will help answer these questions so that you will have a better understanding of franchising as an expansion strategy. And while it's not the right strategy for everyone, for some companies the explosive potential that franchising affords is unparalleled in the world of business growth.
Generally speaking, franchising means opening additional outlets through the sale of franchise rights to independent investors who will use your name and operating system. A franchisee pays a franchisor an initial franchise fee in return for the rights to open and operate a business under the franchise trademark and for training in how to operate the business. In some cases, the fee may also cover additional services such as assistance with site selection. In most systems, after the startup period, franchisees also pay an ongoing periodic royalty fee--4 percent to 10 percent of sales on average--for continued support and training in advertising, marketing, sales, operational guidance, financial and human resources consulting, and other services.
Perhaps most important from your perspective, a franchisee furnishes all of the capital required to start the business and assumes all risk for success or failure.
Why Franchise?
Franchising has many attractive features, particularly when compared with more traditional methods of expansion such as opening more outlets on your own. Typically referred to as company stores, you own and operate these locations yourself. You provide the entire investment for the startup, and while you keep all the profits the company store generates, you are also responsible for all the losses. This is great if you are passionate about preserving the values you built into your original operation and believe you are the only one who can do that. But if you want to expand more quickly and get ahead of a competitive curve, it may not be the best way to expand. Opening company locations takes capital and time--sometimes a lot of both--plus you retain all the risk if a unit doesn't do well. And how will you manage operations that may be far from your home base?
Let's look at the issue of capital first. If you have only one or two units operating, or your concept is new or unusual, bankers may not be willing to lend you money for aggressive expansion. Lenders need collateral or a history of demonstrated success over time and in different markets to make taking a chance on you sensible. For a young or unproven business, this may be an obstacle that's impossible to overcome.
And what about running company stores? Does your current organization have sufficient depth to handle the hiring, training and supervision of a number of employees who will be handling your money and your reputation--especially if they will be operating at a distance? Plus, opening company stores can be a slow proposition as it takes time to get each unit open and successfully operational; you can't be everywhere at once. And all too often a business owner spends months looking for and training a new unit manager only to see that manager leave or, worse yet, get hired by the competition.
For all of these reasons, more and more entrepreneurs are finding that franchising is the best way to expand a great business quickly with minimal capital and risk. And franchising offers a number of advantages worth considering:
- You expand using someone else's money.
- Franchisees are responsible for all hiring, leases, and unit-opening expenses, reducing your risk.
- Franchises can open quickly, often getting a new concept out ahead of the competition.
- A franchisee assumes the risk of succeeding or failing.
- Franchise owners are highly motivated operators.
Is Your Business "Franchisable"?
Before making the decision to franchise, you must first determine whether franchising is a viable strategy for your particular business. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Is there a wide market for your concept?
Does the market for your particular product or service transcend your current neighborhood or region? You may need professional advice to see the bigger picture objectively. Many entrepreneurs "just know" they have a hot, new concept and they act on their convictions. But unless you have opened several prototypes in a variety of markets to test those convictions, it is important to ask yourself candidly whether or not your concept will work in other locations under other owners.
Do you have a point of differentiation?
What makes your business special? It doesn't have to be something no one has ever seen before, but it must have something about it that is unique and that will attract the public and investors. Maybe it's gourmet hot dogs, or quick made-to-order sushi or fast furniture repair. Whatever it is, it has to offer something that the public sees as unique and desirable.
Can the concept be duplicated?
How difficult or easy will it be to train inexperienced franchisees to run an operation like yours? Have you streamlined processes to make them easy to teach? Or has your success been the result of years of perseverance and relationship-building that is not readily transferable to a new owner? Will your concept flourish in a wide variety of locations?
Is your concept saleable?
Will investors--potential franchisees--see the value of your offering and be willing to commit to it? Will you be able to offer a program with real advantages for the potential franchise owner?
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
Why A Small Business Owner Hires A Business Consultant
To Assist Their Company
These days more and more companies are relying on consultants to run their business. There are lots of reasons for this the biggest being that it allows them to get people with the skills that they need without having to hire a full time employee. A business consultant can also help out your company by providing an objective opinion on how your business is being run. With all the reasons to hire a business consultant for your company it is likely that more and more businesses will start to rely on them.
The main reason that you are going to want to hire a business consultant is to bring skills that your company otherwise wouldn't have. In order to run a business there are a lot of skills that you need to have and many companies are lacking in certain areas. When large companies need somebody with a particular skill they just go and hire them. This usually isn't an option for small businesses who can't really afford to hire the many different people. A consultant is a way to get access to the skills and knowledge that you need to run your business without having to actually go and hire a full time employee.
The other big reason that you are going to want to hire a business consultant is that they can bring a different perspective to your company. Most companies tend to have their own culture and their own way of doing things. This tends to lead to a situation where they keep doing things because it is how they have always done it rather than because it is the best way to do something. Many times it takes an outside observer to be able to recognize when things aren't being run as efficiently as they could be. This is especially the case for small businesses that are run by their founders. It can be easy to think that your way of doing things is the best when it may in fact not be. A business consultant is often a good way of making sure that you are doing things correctly.
Many times small business owners may get the sense that things aren't going as smoothly as they should be which often means they're in need of quick cash. Usually there are signs, like manufacturing is costing more than it should, or sales are declining. Sometimes there are no obvious signs but you have the sense that something is wrong. Either way, if you get feeling that something isn't quite right it could be a good time to bring in a business consultant. A lot of times it takes an outsider to see a problem. The owner of the business is often too close to the situation to be objective about it and that makes it hard to identify the problem or the solution. A business consultant can come in and give you an objective second opinion and can help to solve your companies problems.
The main reason that you are going to want to hire a business consultant is to bring skills that your company otherwise wouldn't have. In order to run a business there are a lot of skills that you need to have and many companies are lacking in certain areas. When large companies need somebody with a particular skill they just go and hire them. This usually isn't an option for small businesses who can't really afford to hire the many different people. A consultant is a way to get access to the skills and knowledge that you need to run your business without having to actually go and hire a full time employee.
The other big reason that you are going to want to hire a business consultant is that they can bring a different perspective to your company. Most companies tend to have their own culture and their own way of doing things. This tends to lead to a situation where they keep doing things because it is how they have always done it rather than because it is the best way to do something. Many times it takes an outside observer to be able to recognize when things aren't being run as efficiently as they could be. This is especially the case for small businesses that are run by their founders. It can be easy to think that your way of doing things is the best when it may in fact not be. A business consultant is often a good way of making sure that you are doing things correctly.
Many times small business owners may get the sense that things aren't going as smoothly as they should be which often means they're in need of quick cash. Usually there are signs, like manufacturing is costing more than it should, or sales are declining. Sometimes there are no obvious signs but you have the sense that something is wrong. Either way, if you get feeling that something isn't quite right it could be a good time to bring in a business consultant. A lot of times it takes an outsider to see a problem. The owner of the business is often too close to the situation to be objective about it and that makes it hard to identify the problem or the solution. A business consultant can come in and give you an objective second opinion and can help to solve your companies problems.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
The Most Important Element for Business Success
If somebody asked you what is the most crucial aspect of business to focus on to ensure success, what would you say?
Some would choose Sales. Some would say Marketing. Many would claim it’s Leadership. Others believe it’s Systems. More than a few would be adamant that the most important element is financial acumen.
I don’t disagree that these areas are all vital to the creation of any outstanding commercial enterprise. But in my experience there’s one element rarely talked about that trumps all the others in importance.
That element? Urgency.
Think about it. What’s the number one gripe of executives and entrepreneurs today?
They can’t get enough done.
Sure they’ve got great ideas, plenty of them, but actually making those ideas happen is the hard part.
It’s not just a matter of spending more time working. The reason so many are not achieving enough is not actually a shortage of time (who isn’t working at least 50 to 60 hours a week?).
It’s that other people get in the way.
In so many different ways.
They take ages to decide. Or make it difficult to get your job done. Or sit in endless meetings pontificating on the pros and cons. Or put off allocating the right resources. Or just don’t make a decision. Or forget they agreed to do something. Or don’t follow up.
The plain truth is that getting anything done in the business world is damn hard, because the inertia, complexity and resistance to action is so strong.
The only way to cut through it all is to act with a real sense of urgency. To behave with an almost desperate urge to get the job done, no matter what and as soon as humanly possible.
Only when you have a spirit or urgency can you push your way through the admin and red tape. Only by acting with urgency can you get others to deliver on time. Only being truly urgent in your dealings can you achieve anything significant in a year.
The more you think about it, the more it rings true. Urgency is the one thing that drives projects forward quickly.
If you’re not urgent, people sense it and relax and move slowly. Things take ages to bear fruit. Mediocrity abounds.
The big question you may be asking is of course is, are you performing with enough urgency?
Are you demanding enough? On others, or indeed yourself?
Urgency is not an easy character trait to develop. The world doesn’t particularly like urgent people. They can seem rude. Pushy. Unreasonable. Yet being that way is often the only way to get stuff of consequence done.
As George Bernard Shaw so aptly put it, ” The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
There are several different types of urgency we should focus on if we want to achieve great things.
1. Urgency with strategic planning.
I know so many business owners who have taken over a year to make a decision. As a result of their strategic cowardice and complacency they often get left behind in their industry. (What have you been thinking about for too long? How about making a decision in the next 60 minutes on it?)
2. Urgency with other people.
Who owes you a report, product or idea? Why haven’t they sent it to you already? Do they really need that much time, or are they taking advantage of your leniency? When you ask for a result with genuine urgency you usually move straight to the front of the other person’s line of important tasks. That’s where you deserve to be, must be, to get things done quickly.
3. Urgency in your own mind.
To achieve greatly, we must cultivate great urgency in the way that we think. We need to see ourselves as highly time sensitive, fast achieving people. Only when we view ourselves this way are likely to muster the energy and drive to make things happen at warp speed. As the great American psychologist, William James, so often reminded us, we become what we consistently think about. If daily we have a self image as somebody who has a real spirit of urgency, then soon we are likely to become that type of person.
So in conclusion, if you are not happy with the speed at which you are achieving in business, don’t just look at tactics, like sales, marketing, systems and the like. Spend at least as much time focusing on the one mindset that makes all the other stuff happen.
A real, deep, all encompassing, powerful sense of urgency.
Some would choose Sales. Some would say Marketing. Many would claim it’s Leadership. Others believe it’s Systems. More than a few would be adamant that the most important element is financial acumen.
I don’t disagree that these areas are all vital to the creation of any outstanding commercial enterprise. But in my experience there’s one element rarely talked about that trumps all the others in importance.
That element? Urgency.
Think about it. What’s the number one gripe of executives and entrepreneurs today?
They can’t get enough done.
Sure they’ve got great ideas, plenty of them, but actually making those ideas happen is the hard part.
It’s not just a matter of spending more time working. The reason so many are not achieving enough is not actually a shortage of time (who isn’t working at least 50 to 60 hours a week?).
It’s that other people get in the way.
In so many different ways.
They take ages to decide. Or make it difficult to get your job done. Or sit in endless meetings pontificating on the pros and cons. Or put off allocating the right resources. Or just don’t make a decision. Or forget they agreed to do something. Or don’t follow up.
The plain truth is that getting anything done in the business world is damn hard, because the inertia, complexity and resistance to action is so strong.
The only way to cut through it all is to act with a real sense of urgency. To behave with an almost desperate urge to get the job done, no matter what and as soon as humanly possible.
Only when you have a spirit or urgency can you push your way through the admin and red tape. Only by acting with urgency can you get others to deliver on time. Only being truly urgent in your dealings can you achieve anything significant in a year.
The more you think about it, the more it rings true. Urgency is the one thing that drives projects forward quickly.
If you’re not urgent, people sense it and relax and move slowly. Things take ages to bear fruit. Mediocrity abounds.
The big question you may be asking is of course is, are you performing with enough urgency?
Are you demanding enough? On others, or indeed yourself?
Urgency is not an easy character trait to develop. The world doesn’t particularly like urgent people. They can seem rude. Pushy. Unreasonable. Yet being that way is often the only way to get stuff of consequence done.
As George Bernard Shaw so aptly put it, ” The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
There are several different types of urgency we should focus on if we want to achieve great things.
1. Urgency with strategic planning.
I know so many business owners who have taken over a year to make a decision. As a result of their strategic cowardice and complacency they often get left behind in their industry. (What have you been thinking about for too long? How about making a decision in the next 60 minutes on it?)
2. Urgency with other people.
Who owes you a report, product or idea? Why haven’t they sent it to you already? Do they really need that much time, or are they taking advantage of your leniency? When you ask for a result with genuine urgency you usually move straight to the front of the other person’s line of important tasks. That’s where you deserve to be, must be, to get things done quickly.
3. Urgency in your own mind.
To achieve greatly, we must cultivate great urgency in the way that we think. We need to see ourselves as highly time sensitive, fast achieving people. Only when we view ourselves this way are likely to muster the energy and drive to make things happen at warp speed. As the great American psychologist, William James, so often reminded us, we become what we consistently think about. If daily we have a self image as somebody who has a real spirit of urgency, then soon we are likely to become that type of person.
So in conclusion, if you are not happy with the speed at which you are achieving in business, don’t just look at tactics, like sales, marketing, systems and the like. Spend at least as much time focusing on the one mindset that makes all the other stuff happen.
A real, deep, all encompassing, powerful sense of urgency.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
Technology-Based Strategies Designed To Supercharge
Your Small To Mid-Sized Business
Small and medium sized businesses across the United States are increasingly relying on new technology solutions to strengthen their product development, marketing, and customer engagement activities. Technology adoption is often the best way to drive relative advantage over competitors, even among small businesses. This is especially true with regard to computer and Internet technologies. Your business might be basically “technology enabled” but you may be missing out on new, fast-evolving technologies that could supercharge your business, regardless of its size.
Use the Internet to Finance Your Business
With the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 and the development of crowdfunding, selling small amounts of equity to many investors over the Internet has become a real option. The JOBS Act legislation allows for a wider pool of small investors with fewer restrictions than under previous security laws. While the JOBS Act awaits implementation, hybrid models, such as Mosaic Inc., are working within existing securities laws to enable the public to invest directly in clean energy projects. Recently, a high-end blended scotch company (SIA) was financed through Kickstarter.com.
Once regulations are issued, crowdfunding will evolve from a fad to an accepted method of funding companies, ventures, and product development. Companies that can inspire small investors with a vision of how their products or services are authentic game changers for consumers or society as a whole will be able to take advantage of this trend.
Embrace Social Media and Expand Your Sales
Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the most obvious social media vehicles for business. Adopting an effective social media strategy can rapidly enhance a company’s branding and visibility, helping you interact with your audience around a direct message or offer, and drive traffic to your website — as long as its content and design make it worth driving traffic to!
Companies need a social media strategy and focus, not just to supplement current sales efforts but as the primary vehicle for all sales activity. Print advertising is losing ground to the Internet and social media is an effective method of marketing over the Internet at a very low cost.
The first step is to identify the online platforms and communities where your potential customers spend time. The next step is to create a strategy to engage with their interests and offer them useful, compelling content and interaction they can’t get elsewhere.
Take Your Business into the Cloud
The “cloud” — delivering hardware and software services via a network — represents the most significant technology paradigm shift for private companies. The cloud offers incredibly cheap storage and a range of shrink-wrapped solutions that can reduce a small business’s capital investment in technology.
We’re already seeing the benefits, with tablet computers being used to take and fulfill orders, manage automated systems, and so forth.
Spend the Money to Create a Mobile App
It is not an overstatement to say that the world is going mobile. Mobile applications on smartphones do more than download music or provide maps and directions. Your customers are using their cell phones to do business all the time. Well-designed apps can get your name in front of your customer every time they use their cell phone.
Adopt New Technologies to Streamline Your Business
By now, most private businesses have adopted technology — they use financial systems from QuickBooks to Oracle and have created user-friendly websites, online catalogs, and call centers, and they have streamlined inventory management. But there are other evolving uses of technology that large businesses are adopting and which are adaptable to small businesses:
Use the Internet to Finance Your Business
With the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 and the development of crowdfunding, selling small amounts of equity to many investors over the Internet has become a real option. The JOBS Act legislation allows for a wider pool of small investors with fewer restrictions than under previous security laws. While the JOBS Act awaits implementation, hybrid models, such as Mosaic Inc., are working within existing securities laws to enable the public to invest directly in clean energy projects. Recently, a high-end blended scotch company (SIA) was financed through Kickstarter.com.
Once regulations are issued, crowdfunding will evolve from a fad to an accepted method of funding companies, ventures, and product development. Companies that can inspire small investors with a vision of how their products or services are authentic game changers for consumers or society as a whole will be able to take advantage of this trend.
Embrace Social Media and Expand Your Sales
Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the most obvious social media vehicles for business. Adopting an effective social media strategy can rapidly enhance a company’s branding and visibility, helping you interact with your audience around a direct message or offer, and drive traffic to your website — as long as its content and design make it worth driving traffic to!
Companies need a social media strategy and focus, not just to supplement current sales efforts but as the primary vehicle for all sales activity. Print advertising is losing ground to the Internet and social media is an effective method of marketing over the Internet at a very low cost.
The first step is to identify the online platforms and communities where your potential customers spend time. The next step is to create a strategy to engage with their interests and offer them useful, compelling content and interaction they can’t get elsewhere.
Take Your Business into the Cloud
The “cloud” — delivering hardware and software services via a network — represents the most significant technology paradigm shift for private companies. The cloud offers incredibly cheap storage and a range of shrink-wrapped solutions that can reduce a small business’s capital investment in technology.
We’re already seeing the benefits, with tablet computers being used to take and fulfill orders, manage automated systems, and so forth.
Spend the Money to Create a Mobile App
It is not an overstatement to say that the world is going mobile. Mobile applications on smartphones do more than download music or provide maps and directions. Your customers are using their cell phones to do business all the time. Well-designed apps can get your name in front of your customer every time they use their cell phone.
Adopt New Technologies to Streamline Your Business
By now, most private businesses have adopted technology — they use financial systems from QuickBooks to Oracle and have created user-friendly websites, online catalogs, and call centers, and they have streamlined inventory management. But there are other evolving uses of technology that large businesses are adopting and which are adaptable to small businesses:
- Real-time, on-demand video (especially on tablets) for marketing and product promotion.
- Online customer relationship management (CRM) and customer care to “re-personalize” their customers’ experience.
- Tablet-based systems for employees to provide instant, one-to-one responses to customers needs.
- Subscription-based software as a service (SaaS), which provides all kinds of services on a “pay by the drink” basis, which minimizes up-front investment.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
Effective Business Leadership
1) Hire Good People
Start with hiring. Small business owners tend to make a lot of mistakes in personnel when they're starting out, but wisdom and experience can sharpen these skills. Look for people who can problem-solve, who can communicate lucidly and who "get" your company's culture. Then give these people your time and resources to show you value what they bring.
2) Be Clear
It can be a rocky transition, moving from self-reliance to collaboration. One of the chief sources of confusion is clarity: Many first-time business owners are unaccustomed to having to explain what's in their head. Don't assume that because your staff is bright, they can read your mind. Work on communicating clear signposts, deadlines and goals for the projects you undertake. And check in frequently to confirm you're being heard.
3) Nurture the Gifted
There's nothing quite as exciting as nabbing a uniquely talented employee. But it can be all too easy to take that talent for granted over time. Don't forget to reward performance with greater responsibilities and compensation. Make a habit of reviewing your workforce to surface the exceptional performers. And put some thought into how your stars can add further value to the company—and how you can add value for them.
4) Think Ahead
Leaders don't just look inward at their workforce; they must also look outward at the landscape ahead. Set aside some time each week for a "periscope view" of the greater forces that may be disrupting your industry. Is a digital wave coming that could wipe out what you make? Might future computing frontiers help you reach a wider audience? Vision: It's a job.
5) Listen
The military uses the phrase "force multiplier" to refer to any tactic or technology that makes the power of its soldiers greater than their numbers. Listening to employees is a force multiplier for your business. Your employees can expand your mind with richer ideas, making you far more effective than you would be on your own. Seek out this feedback and don't be afraid to hear candid assessments.
Summing It All Up
Anyone can be a great business leader with some care, energy and curiosity. If you can keep your people enthused and empowered, and keep your company looking forward, you can survive just about anything the market throws at you.
We would like to invite you to discuss your business and find out more about all that Smith Business Consulting Group can do for you,
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
contact us or (248) 553-7000.
SMITH BUSINESS CONSULTING GROUP
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Specializing In Start Up, Small And Mid Size Business Consulting
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