Category avoid growing pain

Entries 34 Total

Not Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining

Apr 16, ’11 7:22 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Cloud Computing, Disaster Plan, Office - IT, Software as a Service, avoid growing pain, use online IT

Much is being said about so called APIs, software bridges, mashable technology an other little innocent sounding descriptions like – “our software plays nicely with this software”!

IMO – truth is – there is nothing “nice” about it! Let’s back up a little, what does it all mean?

What it means is this, the software vendors are asking you, the client, to connect their online software to another vendors software, in order to enhance your software functionality – this is a fragmented solution – where you data ends up in multiple places.

There are many reasons why this is being asked of you, some are:

  • They do not have the necessary resources, financially or otherwise, to produce a software application that provides a complete “integrated” solution for all the customer’s needs.
  • They lack the know how to produce an “integrated solution” and by offering fragmented solutions to the client they try to overcome their short comings.
  • They lack the understanding of the dangers to the clients data by following this fragmented approach!

Don’t get me wrong, APIs have their place, we use them to complement our clients experience with our software, but we never share our clients information with third parties or ask them to do so. This, in my view, leaves customers not only at the mercy of the old “It’s not us, it’s their problem!” excuse when things go wrong, but also puts clients data in many different places with often unclear legal and technical implications.

But, worst of all, when these APIs fail, and believe me they do, it can take days to get them fixed and back up running again – during which time the small business suffers financially, time wise because of duplicated work load and performance wise, because everyone is focused on the problem and not on the business.

The only way to go is with “integrated cloud computing“!

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Over 50% IT Cost Reduction In The Cloud

Apr 15, ’11 3:12 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Cloud Computing, avoid growing pain, bootstrap

Servers. Hardware. Software. Installation. Support. Upgrade. Hardware Drivers…..

I guess I don’t need to go on, these are all nightmarish terms of a long bygone time in IT history, or are they?

It isn’t if you still have your server under your desk. You probably think “Cloud Computing” is something geeks do. Nothing to do with you and your small business!

Well – think again – cloud computing is something your competitors do right now, to

  1. Save over 50% of IT related costs.
  2. Gain a competitive advantage over you.
  3. Focus on their business and not on IT.

Isn’t it time you had a look and spoke to someone about IT?

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Small Business Lists – 10 Reasons to Sell Via Catalogue

Jul 7, ’08 4:52 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Business Checklists, Home Business, avoid growing pain, grow your business, start-up in business

If you are undecided about the benefits of selling your product via a catalogue then this list may help.  

  1. Raising Awareness - Although it is not as spectacular or has as far a reach as traditional advertising methods, catalogues are a good way of letting the public know that your product exists
  2. Low Risk – You have very little to lose from being in a catalogue and many firms do not even charge you to list your product
  3. Less Packaging – There is no need to have attractive expensive packaging to compete on shop shelves. Simple plastic bags and plain boxes are sufficient
  4. Credibility – If your product appears in a catalogue alongside other successful products it raises credibility. Strong catalogue sales can also open doors to being featured on television home shopping networks
  5. Manageable Growth – A catalogue will only take a small quantity of your product to begin with and will order increasingly larger amounts once it has been shown to be successful
  6. Product Line Not Required – You are not at a disadvantage for only having one product to sell, whereas large stores prefer to stock a line of products from the same manufacturer
  7. Easier to Compete – The catalogue market is a level playing field where both small startups and large corporations sell their products
  8. Market Testing – You can experiment with placing your product in niche catalogues in order to fine tune your marketing strategy
  9. National Exposure – You are not limited by geographical barriers and your product could potentially be viewed by millions
  10. Lucrative Returns – The catalogue market is still extremely successful and if your product is a hit you could generate a lot of revenue for your start-up. Use this money to expand your business and to eventually get your product sold commercially in stores

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Do you have concern for your business or only for yourself?

Apr 25, ’08 4:12 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Employment, Entrepreneur, Failure, Green/Eco-Friendly, Outsourcing, avoid growing pain, be eco-friendly, be successful, bootstrap, do a reality check, find funding, outsource effectively, plan cash-flow

I had an interesting conversation about my view that management control over employees is a myth. I have believed for some time now that an office is often a total waste of money and completely unnecessary. Most of the time I’m told it’s OK when you work by yourself, but not if you have employees, as they need to be supervised and somehow “controlled”.

I have now been working for almost ten years from home, and most of my staff works from home too. Apart from being an eco-friendly way to work, it saves people time and frustration to travel in and around London to come to an office, where we all sit in cubicles or offices. In the days of broadband internet, Skype and OnlineOffice, there is no need for an office, even to have meetings.

Offices, like cars are are often nothing else but status symbols – what other reason can there be for a small business to have an office? If that is true then how is the office helping with your business, it’s a big expense. Seriously, if you do not have clients coming thru your office doors several times every day, why have the office. Even if you have, do really all your people need to be in the office every day? I guess not!

We are in an economic downturn, what is more important – your ego or your business – ask yourself that every time you walk into your office. I’m sure there a good reasons for some micro businesses to have offices, even so I currently can’t think of any, but I’m convinced in most cases a healthy bootstrapping and outsourcing mentality would be more beneficial for your business.

Unless the first business goal is to feed your egomania, you need to have a good hard look at your cost structure to survive in these times. — ST.

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Value Co-Production For Small Business.

Jan 13, ’08 4:17 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories DIY Business, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Small Business / SOHO, avoid growing pain, grow your business

I talk a lot about outsourcing as a way to grow small business turnover and small business capability, but we should also talk about value co-production!

Outsourcing means several businesses working together, to service more customers than they could service by themselves. If you think only small business does this, think again. Almost all big car manufacturers, furniture manufacturers, and other big business do it always.

Value Co-production means that you, and your outsourcing partners, offer discounts to customers so they build their own product. You effectively sell a kit of whatever it is you manufacture. This is often done in the furniture industry, look at IKEA, Homebase, etc. When they talk about “flat-packs” they are talking value co-production, with benefits to the customer:

        1. Lower Price – in return for their own work input;
        2. Transport – the items often fit into in your own car;
        3. NOW factor – customers can take the good now, no waiting for delivery.

Some of the benefits for your small business are:

        1. Lower Cost – due to shortened manufacture cycle;
        2. Higher Manufacturing Output - due to shortened manufacture cycle;
        3. Higher Turnover – products become more competitive in price;
        4. Lower Transport Cost – due to smaller items being shipped.

This all will help to drive down overheads and help cutting costs. Is value co-production for you?

If you are a manufacturing business, it is certainly worth thinking about! ST.

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Are you a megalomaniac small business owner?

Jan 9, ’08 11:50 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories avoid growing pain, bootstrap, grow your business

I had many emails regarding my post “Is your competitor for sale?”, the responses show me that some of you certainly have a healthy megalomaniac instinct – good for you!

Here comes the BUT! You need to be careful, for bigger business does not always mean better business. While there is no limit to the size of a bootstrapping business – see Shawn Hessinger on “How big can a bootstrapper be?” – it never the less can be a risky strategy to grow through acquisitions. I put some basic pointer for your consideration below:

1. Businesses come with people and all the associated problems – so make sure the culture fits;
2. Target group should be identical to yours, i.e. serve the same customer base, so you get more turnover for both businesses;
3. Synergies – find them and make them work for you – by sharing resources you can lower the cost-structure in both businesses;
4. Distance – make sure you can easily be in both businesses, so keep it close;
5. Level of debt in the new business – make sure you can handle it easily, don’t risk your current business.

There are other points to consider, so good and trusted advice is absolutely essential. I guess here you will have to decide if you are a gambler (bad) or just a risk-taker (good). Since you made to this point I shall hope you are an entrepreneurial risk-taker.

So, if you are anything like me, you’ll be thinking “Screw it – let’s do it!” ST.

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Is your competitor for sale?

Jan 8, ’08 4:49 PM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories avoid growing pain, grow your business

One way to grow your small business is to buy another business and merge the two together. When the going gets though, i.e. a recession – many of the non-bootstrapping businesses will be for sale or in trouble. This is the time for you to sharpen your bootstrapping pencil and think about opportunities that present themselves.

If you do not know what to look for here are some pointers:

        1. Customers complain about your competitor;
        2. Employees from your competitor apply for a job with your business;
        3. Competitors loosing the plot, i.e. unrealistically low prices;
        4. Court judgements against your competitor or disgruntled suppliers;
        5. Partners and directors resigning or leaving the business.

Be aware of potential pitfalls, especially if you have never done this sort of thing before. Get your accountant to help you evaluate the competitor and then make a move.

Don’t loose your business focus, however tempting the opportunity. It is easy to damage your business with an uncontrollable acquisition. ST.

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Q & A: What should I do when my bank cancels my overdraft without warning?

Nov 11, ’07 11:55 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Accountants/CPAs, Entrepreneur, Finance, Home Business, How to ..., Outsourcing, Question & Answer, SOHO/SMB/SME/Micro, Self-employed, Small Business / SOHO, avoid growing pain, be successful, bootstrap, do cost cutting, do credit control, find funding, grow your business, handle problems, lower overheads, outsource effectively, plan cash-flow, plan your business

This question is hard to answer, because there are no simple answers here and the outcome of this situation could easily be fatal to the business and if you are personally guaranteeing this money – and you probably are – this could potentially be very serious for your personal life too.

The things that you need to do, in my opinion are:

  • Find out why? If the reason given are not satisfactory, you will need to get legal advice.
  • Try and extent the deadline? If that is possible reduce the overdraft as soon as you can, or negotiate a stepped reduction of the O/D limit, ie. by month or week.
  • Try and change bank, ASAP.

People often believe it is somehow always their fault, if the bank changes their attitude towards them, that is not always the case. Banks will always try and make you believe it is, but in reality they my have new internal guidelines for handing out money – banks can get into “cash-flow” problems too. So – don’t automatically assume it is always your fault.

Banks may have the right to recall a loan or overdraft, but I’m not sure if they have the right to damage your business by doing so – especially if the reason for the recall is not your doing. So if it comes to the crunch, get legal advice. This is one of the reasons why I hate these, IMO, often legal but still unreasonable arrangements between banks and clients.

Many years ago someone made the the loan, O/D – umbrella analogy and it goes like this:

When the sun is shining your bank gives you an umbrella;
when it is raining, they need the umbrella themselves.

It is best if you do everything possible to not need banks in the first place, by bootstrapping, outsourcing, planning your business and keeping your fixed costs as low as possible.

Remember sometimes, attack is the best defense even with banks, they may need their money, but they do not need bad publicity either. ST.

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Time Management for Small Business: Cut to the Chase

Nov 2, ’07 8:19 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories How to ..., Relationships, avoid growing pain, be successful, manage your time

Earlier in the week I wrote a piece on the 10 minute power meeting and on the 10 second marketing speech. The issue here is clearly getting things done in as little time possible.

Time management is the current buzz-word for small and micro business. No matter what kind of small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer- or Personal business, like professional, contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants you run, time is a finite resource for all of us, and we need to learn to use our time as best we can.

You would be forgiven to believe, that time management is only the obsession of managers, but is that really the case? I believe time management to be an integral part of your work-life balance strategy. If you get your work done more efficiently it will help the overall business efficiency, but at the same time get you out of your office sooner, allowing you to enjoy the better things of life.

Efficiency is also a bootstrapper trait, getting things done reduces overheads and other costs, you will see the results in your monthly planning exercise, your income will increase while your costs don’t change.

Here are some basic rules on time management – or cutting to the chase – as I would call it:

  • Tell people how you want them to work with you, or how to use your time;
  • Return the favor, treat their time as you want your time treated;
  • No meetings without agenda;
  • No long documents without a short summery;
  • Make sure you know what is expected of you;
  • Ask – don’t wait for offers, go and get what you need to do your task.

I’ll be writing more one this later, but I guess you get what I’m getting at. Like so often it is just the case of “taking some time” to come up with more specific ways to save time during your work day.

“Taking time” to increase your time management efficiency is not “wasted time”! ST.

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Q & A: What questions should I ask my accountant before I start my business?

Nov 1, ’07 9:29 AM
Author Stefan Töpfer (Editor) Categories Accountants/CPAs, Outsourcing, Question & Answer, Red-Tape, Start-Up, avoid growing pain, do a SWOT plan, do a reality check, do bookkeeping., outsource effectively, plan cash-flow, plan your business, start-up in business

Choosing an accountant/CPA is probably one of the most important decisions to get right, because you are unlikely to have an accountant’s grasp of

  • taxation
  • company law
  • dealing with the tax authorities
  • wide range of knowledge about small business.

You need to make sure you find an accountant/CPA who concentrates on small business and start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer- or Personal business, like professional, contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants before you make any appointments.

Another aspect is size, make sure you are not “one among millions” sort of speak, smaller accountants practices are often more in tune with your small business needs, because they are a small business too.

Here are some questions I would be asking when starting out with a new business venture:

  • Should I start my business as a sole-trader, partnership or limited liability company?
  • Can you help me to find and raise finance? (Read about bootstrapping first!)
  • Will you help me with setting up my cash-flow forecast?
  • When do I need to register for VAT (UK), GST (Australia) or when do I need to charge sales tax (US)?
  • Am I ready to start trading, or should I wait?
  • Do I need to choose my financial year and trading year end date?
  • Are you going to do my bookkeeping and accounting work?
  • Will you work online with me, so we both can be up-to-date with my business progress?
  • Will you deal with my employment issues, pensions, annuities and insurances for me?
  • Will you help me to understand more and more of these issues myself, and will you be available for advice if and when I need it?

There are many more issues to consider and they depend on your business, that is where your accountant will help you too. If you find the accountant is dealing with other businesses like yours you are in good hands, they can give you better and more realistic planning guidelines about your business venture.

The most important question is the one you need to ask yourself, “do I trust this person and can I work with him/her long term?” If you feel intimidated, or misunderstood, get up and walk. An accountant should be your advisor, he/she should never be your boss, what I mean is you need to make the final decisions, not your accountant. No matter what advice you get anywhere, you are always responsible.

Most of all your accountant should be a trusted advisor, trust me you will need his/her advice on a regular basis! ST.

Disclaimer: As with any of my readers questions, I do not have all the answers and here on my blog I can only give you some ideas, since I know very little about your small business. If any of you can add anything here do so for the benefit of my reader, who asked the question and everybody else, leave a comment below – I’d be most grateful.

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