President Obama has proclaimed that small businesses should be at the forefront of the recovery.
I agree with this statement, but have to question why all the stimulus funds are going to business and banks that are "too big to fail"?
My small business is around five years old now, and it feels like its time for phase two. While things are still somewhat insecure, there is a sense of normalcy to the operations. We've established some general procedures and processes, discovered to some degree what works, what doesn't, and what our core competencies are.
Like many small businesses, we found our revenue streams in different locations from where we originally planned to find them. In this situation, I've found it best to "test" out the revenue streams, understand them better, and learn how, if at all, their inherent characteristics affect the corporate strategy. I'm not finished with that process, but I have started to write up a new business plan with these changes in mind. The result will likely be a blend of our original business plan combined with the new revenue streams we've discovered.
I've only started to sketch out the new business plan, and I'm planning to take the next six to nine months to complete it. It will be a financing plan as well as an operational plan.
BNI stands for Business Networking International and it is made up of local chapters all over the world. If you live in a business area, chances are there are several BNI groups right near by!
What makes BNI so popular? BNI has a saying - "givers gain", which in my opinion specifically means that the more referrals I give, the more I will get in return.
So many business transactions are based on referrals even without being a member of a group like BNI, so why bother joining? The nice thing about BNI, I found, was that each group can only have one member from each industry that is included in the group. That removes the competitive component that makes groups like chambers of commerce too much effort for what they are worth.
I've only been a BNI member for about a year, and its been several months since I have attended a meeting, but I plan to join again - soon!
To find a chapter near you, check out the BNI website.
Today I'm getting 100 8.5x11 pages printed and folded at what I used to call Kinkos. Kinkos was bought by Fedex a few years back, and they've been slowly changing the name to Fedex, and phasing out the word Kinkos altogether.
When I called to speak with someone about emailing the file over, they mentioned that their domain name is changing from fedexkinkos.com to just fedex.com.
When I emailed the file, I received an automated response saying that Fedex Kinkos is now referred to as Fedex Office.
Well OK then!
Haven't updated the Small Business Information site in quite awhile... why? Well my small business is keeping me busy, that's why!
I've been working on fine tuning the company's operations, so that eventually it can operate on its own. The company still needs my active input, but I hope that the systems and operations I setup will become semi-autonomous at some point. I can't think of any business that requires no human management, but it can be especially tough for a small business owner if their life becomes the business. If they aren't able to step away, then the business isn't as valuable as it could be, and just as bad, the owner has ignored other great aspects of life!
So like many things, its a balance. The first few years, running my small business was very taxing - long days, nights, and weekends. Whatever it took to keep my business going, I did. Nowadays, things are a lot more stable, but I still can't go on vacation for a month and let things ride, they'd quickly get off track.
As my small business approaches its fifth birthday next month, I'm looking forward to a much more stable 2009, with regular cash flow, fewer debts, and maybe even (hopefully) profitability. I still don't expect the business to be self sustainable, but I do hope to have the time to make a plan to make it so, aka "stage two" of the business plan. There will still be plenty of elbow grease required, but I expect that there will be many more significant improvements ahead. Wish me luck!
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