Recently, I had a meeting with one of my mentors. I consider him, not only a mentor, but a close business friend and enjoy talking about a lot of different things.
At the moment, I have a challenge on my hand and although I had found solutions to the challenge, I could not seem to get the right solution "over the line" and it was frustrating me no end.
But, my principles will get me through as they always do.
Want to know them?
Click here to read on.
I called my mentor and arranged a meeting, spilt my frustration on him and told him about all the ideas, processes and steps I was planning. He liked what I was doing, until he asked me to show him the entire plan in writing. (He knew my weakness!) Well, its firmly entrenched in my mind, but bugger! Always one thing I forget. My mentor quickly pointed out to me the virtues of having things in writing so you can walk away, come back and look at what you have written and make a valued judgement on it.
So I got to thinking. I had just done my review of my business and marketing plans, so why not get back to basics and have a good look at my 10 Success Principles. No matter how big, dynamic or time consuming your business or job is, these principle can be adapted, very quickly, into any situation. The steps allow you to evaluate where you are at or where you are about to go and if you write them down, they will help you evaluate if you are on the right track or need to change and re-think where you are heading.
I have kept them brief, as I do not believe in lengthy plans, but I am happy to expand or talk to anyone who has any questions.
So here we go!
Determine what you want. - What excites you about the business or job? This helps give you the focus to continually maintain your enthusiasm. Does the purpose, core value and objectives of the business or job lead you towards achieving the success you want and will you be able to fulfil your goals? If not, then you need to re-think what you are doing or about to embark on.
Understand the Influences that will Affect You - Have a look at what is happening in the macro and micro markets around your business or the industry you are in. What is/are the latest trends and what effect will they have on you or your business. This then allows you to identify the threats and if you are able to turn this into an opportunity or if you should look for an alternative.
Create a Plan - I love this one! There are two main steps to this section. The first leads on from the information you have collated in the last step. DO A SWAT ANALYSIS. This is the basis for your next plan. THE BUSINESS PLAN. This plan is the heart of what you are doing. It is a living document and I am not going to list every section you should contain. I'm happy to do this another time. But, while most of us have been taught to make it very concise, I disagree. If the plan is too long, you will never really refer back to it. So keep it short, sweet and to the point. Remember, it is only a plan and plans do often get changed. (We often say this in flying since weather, clients and Air Traffic Control, will change your plans). If you keep it to a readable length, you will refer back to it on a regular basis. I try to do this at least twice a year. My first business plan started out at 12 pages, but now sits at 4. This way I have the time to actually read it and actually take in what is written. The longer it is, the more areas you will tend to skip or skim read.
Select Staff - Now this step may be "jumping the gun" in some people's minds, but stay with me. How are you going to achieve your goal by yourself? You need good people around you. It maybe people who are going to work in the business or it may be people who are going to assist you; such as you're accountant, lawyer, mentor, IT person or book keeper. By planning and selecting who you will use, it will give you clear guidance and assistance to achieving your goal. If it is staff you need, create a job description and the qualities that the person will need. This gives you a clear picture and makes advertising, interviewing and selecting the right candidate easier.
Set KPI'S - The likely hood is that you have included some indicators in your business plan, but select a few simple ones that are SMART ones. (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely). This way, you can reward yourself for doing well, instead of never achieving!
Create a Marketing Plan - Again. keep it simple. Think about how, you or your business, will differentiate itself against your competitors. How will you reach the target market, potential clients, managers or bosses, or those that will help you reach your goals. Remember, marketing is not just for a business, it is for YOU as well. Like the business plan, keep it short and don't just focus on those traditional mediums. Differentiate, Differentiate, Differentiate and keep it short.
Sales Strategy - No sales mean no business or employment future. It is a simple philosophy, but if you don't create a plan of how you will sell your product, (or yourself), you will not move forward. Your plan will lead on from your marketing plan, but detail how you will attack your target market. The plan should also relate to how you will handle your Customer Relationship Management. Always look for opportunity and remember, it's not just selling a product, it's also selling yourself.
Personal Development - This is one of the most critical steps that most people forget about, after having such a great start. You have done a great job, but it ain't over yet! We never stop learning (remember my NSL theory? Never Stop learning). So, to keep up with the pace and continually strive to be a leader with your thinking and the latest developments. Set a plan and always be on the look out for courses, books, events and speakers who will help you learn.
Set a Budget - It's the dreaded "B" word. How much do we hate budgets? I always get my bookkeeper to do them, but, while you are not doing them, you need to monitor them. Now this does not mean knowing every little detail inside and out, but you need to have a rough idea of what is going on and what to expect. This will develop over time, but just get a few rules of thumb. I always work on having a rough idea of the monthly out-goings, so I can match the in-comings, to get a gauge on how the business is performing. By having this sort of information at your finger tips, will help make those "on the spot" decisions a little easier.
Set Procedures - Once again, don't get too carried away. Create a simple list of the steps you will take to achieve your goal. It will increase your ability to monitor if you are on track. Remember, it is a plan, so it may need to be varied at times, but it is a general map for the direction you want to take.
There is one final one I do not add in, but that I keep at the back of my mind and it does not really come under any of the headings. It is "Get to Know and Collaborate with your Peers and Competitors". Now I don't mean "collaborate" in the sense of doing anything illegal, but get to know them, their ideas and plans, or their business. "Know your friends well; know your enemies better."
I like to get a close relationship with my direct competitors, feed them small amounts of information, get them to open up and tell me a whole lot more. I generally try to know their business, or personal profile, better than they know mine. This way, I can monitor the market place, set my direction and have an idea of what to do and when. I recently had a competitor, undercut me on a tender and did an average job of it in the meantime. This is a competitor who continually complains about other companies doing it to them, (not including me). This was hard to take, but instead of treating them with dislike, I continued to stay close, not mention anything about the job, and it is amazing how much information they keep on telling me. Generally they try to "big note" themselves, but I don't mind. It helps me know what is going on. I have also found it a great way to gain information on different marketing techniques that are working, or not, within the industry.
So there you have it. My 10, (11 really, but 10 sounds so much better), principles of success. they have worked for me and hopefully can help you as well.
Life is about education. Wether it is personal or business, we should never stop learning. (Dave's NSL principle). I have just finished watching the Jim Stynes documentary, still sore in the eyes after crying through most of it. Now there are many people in this world who are touched by the same or another similar illness, and Jim should not be singled out, but after hearing some back ground information about Jim, since getting ill, he has gained a determination to learn everything he can about the illness he has. This principle is the same as business. Never stop trying to learn about the things that go on around you and what you can do to better yourself or to achieve a goal. Jim's goal is to beat the illness; what is your personal or business goal?
Now, we have several events coming up over the next 2 months. The first is an opportunity to learn from a networking expert. Julia Palmer. Check your emails for the details, but if you do miss this event, you will be sorry and will have missed a great opportunity to LEARN about the latest skills in networking and relationship building.
Then we have:
29th October - Women in Business Lunch - "Integrity - the Essence of Success."
9th November - Blokes' Health - with Dr Bernie Crimmins. If you have not read his book, you should do. It is the best men's health book I have ever seen and we all know we should look after our selves, but how and why is the exact thing this book will tell you. It is an educating read! (Never Stop Learning and it is not just applicable to business!!!!!!)
15th November - MBN Golf day - Love golf? Well this is your day. What a great opportunity to play a game we love, while doing some networking and helping support a great charity; the Breast Cancer Network. Remember, a bad days golf, is still better than a good day's work!!!
30th November - MBN Supper Club. Celebrating Leadership. If you have not been to one of the Supper Club events, well it is a great evening. It is not very often you get to interact with guest speakers on this level, some come along for a new and innovative networking event.
December 3 & 4- 32 Hour Challenge. Are you good at performing under pressure and being a leader? If the answer is YES, then this course will help you become even better. If the answer is NO, well then you better come along and learn too be one. This is one of the greatest events in developing your leadership and team working (networking) skills. It is not to be missed.
Check out the web site for all the details, but also check your Inbox for the email links.
You will only get out of your personal or business life, what you put in, so make time to educate yourself, get to these events, and LEARN! Only you are in control of it and if you don't put yourself out there and give it a go, well then you can only blame yourself, when you miss out or are left behind!
All of our events are an education. They are not about someone trying to tell you what to do, but usually derived from people who have made the mistakes and want to educate you on how not too make them.
You can not learn if you do not participate.
I hope you get something out of me sharing these principles with you and I am happy to sit down and talk about them with anyone that wants more information. I truly believe that if we can all share a bit of information between each other, we can all achieve our goals.
Wednesday September 29th Networking Workshop with Julia Palmer, Business Networking Academy Workshop Commences at: 8.30am and concludes at: 5.30pm
Venue: Karstens at CQ, 123 Queens St Melbourne Click here for more details
Friday October 29th
Women in Business Luncheon - Zinc, Federation Square "Integrity - the Essence of Success"
Bernie Crimmins' Guide for Blokes on What to Get Done and When
launched by Governor Professor David de Kretser
more information to come....
Bring your wife, partner or friends!
Monday November 15th MBN Golf Day - Kew Green Acres Golf Course
Tuesday November 30th - 6pm to 8pm MBN SUPPER CLUB & CHRISTMAS NETWORKING EVENING Celebrate Women in Business 2010 - "Celebrating Leadership' LIMITED BY VENUE
Friday 3 & Saturday 4 December
32 Hour Challenge - The Ultimate Non-Stop Team Development and Networking Event
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