Recently Dan Boudreau one of the authors we feature on www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com held a book promotion for his book Business Plan or Bust! As I happen to own a copy of his wonderful book I thought it was about time I told everyone my thoughts on it. For starters I have to say that this is a book every entrepreneur should keep on their desk. And I really can’t stress this enough. The reason being is not only the fact that the book is very down to earth in its writing but also shows aspiring entrepreneurs what owning a business can really be like. Next the book doesn’t just tell you how to write a business plan it shows you in a step by step manner. In fact there are 99 steps that this book will walk you through to complete your plan. He does this by providing worksheets and asking the questions that you need to answer so that you can put your plan together in a well organized manner. All the while using his own business experience to relate to what the planner is going through. I really can’t say enough about how much you need this book if you have aspirations of starting your own business enterprise. To learn more about this great book just check out Dan Boudreau’s website www.RiskBuster.com for more information.
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10Apr
Tags: Business Planning, Business Plans, Entrepreneurship, Planning Your Business, Writing a Business Plan
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10Apr
I am a very avid reader of books. I’ve got literally hundreds of books that I’ve read either in boxes or on my bookshelves. But recently I found myself in need of a new business book to read. So I gathered up my wife and son and we made our way down to the local Borders book store. And while browsing the business section I ran across the recently released book “Profits Aren’t Everything They’re the Only Thing” by American Management Services CEO George Cloutier. What a great book to read this is! I can’t say enough about how highly I recommend reading this book.
George Cloutier is a small business consultant who is great when it comes to telling the absolute truth about what you should do to run your business and make profits with it. Even when it’s not what you really want to hear. This is a no nonsense hardnosed book about how small businesses need to be run if they want to be successful. Basically George has his 15 profit rules and each chapter of the book breaks down one of these rules. for example George strongly advocates giving up your golf game. Which we all know is really nothing more than a distraction and waste of time. He also believes that small businesses need to be run like dictatorships because there can be only one leader. And he’s a strong advocate of pay for performance for employees.
Needless to say this is a book that I highly recommend every small business owner and entrepreneur read. It’s an eye openening wake up call that many people really need today.
Cash Miller
Tags: Business Books, Business Coaches, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Ownership
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10Apr
The beautiful thing about being an entrepreneur is the wealth of opportunity that exists for someone willing to go out and seize those opportunities. They’re there wthout a doubt. But there is a real difference in the individual person that is willing to take the bull by the horns and someone that would rather sit in the stands and watch the show. Most people are content to talk about what it is they would do if they had the opportunity. But entrepreneurs seize the opportunities they see and create opportunities when none are readily apparent.
Look around you and you’ll see that there are endless possibilities and ideas in which businesses can be built upon. They may be existing ideas and businesses that can be improved upon, they may also be totally new ideas that come about because of an existing business. And an opportunity may exist because of the next great invention. Again the key is to look around you with your eyes wide open and your mind open to new possibilities. The phrase “Thinking outside the box” is one that has without a doubt become fairly worn out and cliche but it still does and always will apply to what a successful entrepreneur has the ability to do. If you are looking for your next great idea be open and “Think outside the box.” More than likely you’ll find what you are seeking.
Tags: Business Ideas, Business Opportunities, Business Ownership, Entrepreneurship
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10Apr
This week myself and co-host Steve Smith will be talking about Seasonal Businesses. Specifically what constitutes a seasonal business, why people start them, the benefits of ownership, the drawbacks to ownership, and what it takes to run such a business. The show will be broadcast this Thursday night December 3rd, 2009 at 7pm pacific standard time. The listen in to the show live just follow this link http://www.blogtalkradio.com/small-biz-delivered/2009/12/04/pumpkins-fireworks-and-snow-skis-what-do-they-all-have-in-common. In addition you can listen to all of our previous shows at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/small-biz-delivered. I do hope you’ll join in. If you do you’ll have the chance to call in and ask us questions while we are live on the air. I hope you can tune in.
Tags: Business Ideas, Business Opportunities, Holiday Businesses, New Businesses, Seasonal Businesses
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10Apr
Ok well to talk about BHAG’s I guess it’s best if you first know what one is. BHAG is an acronym that stands for BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS. It’s a term that Jerry Porras and Jim Collins use in their book “Built to Last.” This is the book I am currently reading. A BHAG is something that many companies fail to set. It’s a goal that most people would think impossible to accomplish but as a company they go for it anyway. Sometimes to the extent that they are willing to bet the company to reach it. The book talks about visionary companies versus ordinary companies. And one of the difference makers is that visionary companies are willing to establish a BHAG and then give it everything they’ve got to achieve that goal.
I mention BHAG’s because they are not just for big businesses. Small companies can establish BHAG’s as well. There is no rule saying that shooting for the moon is just for the big boys. Establishing an audacious goal for a small company can give it a sense of purpose and drive that can become an unbelievable competative advantage. If you run a small business maybe you should consider what large and audacious goals are out there that you would like to achieve. You might be surprised at the reaction of your employees when you show to them what you think they can accomplish.
Cash
Tags: BHAG, Big Hairy Audacious Goals, Business Planning, Company Goals, Entrepreneurship, goal setting, Leadership, Management, Motivational
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10Apr
I’ve got to say I know it’s been awhile. Keeping www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com on the path of improvement is a constant challenge. But I’m able to find the time to get writing again. Yesterday inspired me to do just that. You see I had a real good conversation with Author/Business Coach Steve Smith about the challenge of choosing and purchasing a franchise. For those of you that have not read Steve’s bio Steve Smith is a franchise owner himself. He owns a OneCoach Business Coaching franchise in California. And he’s been through the whole process of what it takes to choose and then become an actual franchise owner.
During our talk he asked me what it is our readers want to read about. Of course there are a number of good topics. But the one thing that he could offer was a look at the whole buying a franchise process. The thought process that goes into researching what you want to do. The franchise that is right for you and the actual process of purchasing a franchise. It can be a long tedious experience but if done right can be very rewarding. We talked about him putting his experiences down on paper. And possibly into a short ebook. I think he’s going to do so and I personally hope he does so that we can offer those experience to all of our readers but especially to those thinking of buying their own franchise.
Tags: Authors, Business Coaches, Business Franchises, Franchising
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10Apr
Hello Everyone,
Recently through the help of some of our www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com authors we’ve published some very good EBooks that we have been giving away.
Here are the titles of the EBooks we are giving away.
Leadership – It’s All About The People
Aggressive Recruiting And Retention
You Name It! The Complete Guide To Naming A New Business
How To Find The Perfect Domain Name For Your Internet Business
Becoming An Entrepreneur Starts With An Idea!
To learn more about how you can receive each of these EBooks absolutely free just visit this link www.smallbusinessdelivered.com/free-newsletter-signup-and-ebook-giveaway.html
Tags: Business Ideas, Business Naming, Domain Names, Free EBooks, Leadership, Recruiting and Retention
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10Apr
well I must say it has been awhile since I’ve gotten around to posting on my blog. In all honesty I always seem to have a lot on my plate. Which means typically something has to give. This is something many small business owners face each and every day. They take on too many tasks and cannot get everything done. This can cause an area of their business to suffer. Whether it is something like paperwork that doesn’t get done or a meeting that they’re late for. Business owners not only need to be able to delegate tasks but they need to prioritize their tasks as well. They need to keep detailed schedules but make time to fight the fires that inevitably come along during the day. Keep this in mind the next time you say yes to doing something.
Tags: Delegation, Scheduling, Small Business Ownership, Tasking, Time Management
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10Apr
This question came from one of our readers recently in response to my recent conversation with Steve Smith. But instead of answering this myself I asked Steve if he’d like to do it himself.
Here is what Steve had to say.
I’d say “be very clear about who you are and what you do. Understand what benefits your clients get from working with you. Deliver world-class value and always think from the POV of the customer and your business will grow to whatever size and shape you want it to be.” Too many businesses today get side-tracked thinking their product or service is needed by everyone. This dilutes the marketing message to the point of being invisible. They also spend all of their time inside the business as opposed to doing the activities that produce the most revenue- sales and marketing. Knowing what they do that separates them from their competition and driving that message to the people who value what they do is the quickest way to build new clients, more revenue and greater wealth.
For those of you that don’t know Steve Smith is a business coach with OneCoach and an author on www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com
Tags: Business Coach, Business Coaching, Entrepreneurship, OneCoach, Steve Smith
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10Apr
Recently I was browsing through my collection of as yet unread business books looking for something that would be able to stimulate my mind. While doing so I ran across my copy of the book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. A few years ago they came out with the book “Good to Great” which talks about how good companies can be turned into great companies. I read the book back when it was first released and found it to be truly excellent. And afterwards I searched for and found a copy of “Built to Last” which was actually written before “Good to Great”. Anyway I pulled out this book and took some time to start reading it. Neadless to say it really is an impressive piece of work.
So what is it about? Well in a nutshell it talks about the differences between truly visionary companies and companies that are mearly good at what they do. The book was actually put together over the course of 5 years and used an avalanche of material to prove its point. What the authors did was offered up a comparison set of companies. One example of a visionary company is Marriott to Howard Johnson. Both are companies with long histories but the authors go out and prove how Marriott can be considered a truly visionary company. How they are about more than just making money. The best way to explain it might be that Howard Johnson’s just exists to make money but Marriott exists to make people happy when they are away from home.
The authors also make a point of mentioning that even the smallest companies can be about more than just making money. And in fact they can be about more than a founders legacy as well. The company can create its own legacy if a set of core beliefs are developed and through time are actually adhered to. Size doesn’t matter for such a philosophy.
For entrepreneurs it really is something to consider as you go into the future.
Tags: Built to Last, Business Books, Business Planning, Core Beliefs, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Management, Motivational, Visionary Companies
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