As I read this article from Gladys Edmunds in USA Today, I thought about my own observations about small businesses and how they can become more successful, and to think about well-funded businesses with great ideas and technology that never went anywhere.

In her article, Edmunds points to the need for a written business plan, and I agree. Anyone who has ever ridden a motorcycle will remember that when you were first learning, the biggest lesson taught is that you steer where you look. I learned this valuable lesson courtesy of a sand embankment on a canyon road heading to Mammoth one year, and I thank my lucky stars that it wasn’t the ravine that caught my eye instead. By writing out what your goals are, the direction that you are taking, you are charting a course.  It doesn’t have to be written in stone…in fact it absolutely shouldn’t be. But it should be well thought out and give you some clear goals and milestones on which to evaluate your performance.

A further point made by Edmunds is that businesses are built upon small successes. They should be celebrated, as well as evaluated, to see how those successes can be repeated. Having been a part of venture-backed, well-funded companies, one of the big differences I have noticed between success and failure is the ability to achieve milestones, however small, within a reasonable timeline. It shows progress and an ability to execute, which is what business owners and boards of directors should be looking for.

I think that for some period of time (let’s call it the 90s), entrepreneurs forgot just how businesses have grown for centuries. Organic, sequential growth based upon a proven product, service or delivery mechanism is how small businesses became large businesses. In today’s economy, it may become easier to grow into sales nationally and internationally with Internet sales and distribution channels, but that is still predicated on having a salable product and the support infrastructure to handle that growth. Test it small, work out the kinks, achieve some success and then build on it from there. It is a system that works.

When you put your plan together, it is important to not only include big-picture, long-term goals both personally and professionally (with real timelines attached), but to include more granular series of steps that you believe will be required to achieve those goals. Not only will this provide you with something to measure your success against and a road map on how to get there, it will force you to sit down and think about your business strategically and pull yourself out of the day-to-day operations for a bit. And we could all use more of that.

Ask an Expert: Top 10 Trends in Small Business for 2010

http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2009-12-28-top-10-trends-in-small-business_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

by Steve Strauss
USA Today
December 28, 2009

An insightful look by Strauss into some continuing trends, including the era of hyper-connectivity of all your content and status updates, a continuation of the frugality that began in 2008 and a look at the direction that employment relationships are taking in this new economy.

Why Public Speaking Is Good for Your Brand & How to Get Started
Public speaking, while one of man’s greatest fears, can be an exhilarating experience. It can also boost your reputation and your business.

http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/managing/article/why-public-speaking-is-good-for-your-brand-how-to-get-started-tony-bacigalupo

by Tony Bacigalupo
OPEN Forum
December 1, 2009

I think everyone has a little bit of fear of speaking.  But the more you know about the topic, the more confident you will be.  Go out there and prove to people why you are great at what you do!

Law and public relations firms drawing attacks

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20091118/bs_ibd_ibd/20091118trends

Investors Business Daily
November 18, 2009

A disturbing trend against those firms that we trust with our most precious information. Attorney-client privilege doesn’t do much if the information leaks out of the attorney’s office. Managing a network on your own in a small business is increasingly challenging and cost-prohibitive to do it correctly.

Colorado ranked 8th friendliest to small business

http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/11/30/daily24.html?ed=2009-12-02&ana=e_du_pap

Mark Harden
Denver Business Journal
December 1, 2009

Good to see our home state is doing some of the right things for small business. I agree that CO is a good place to be working with, and as, a small business, with the possible exception of anything having to do with Sales and Use Tax. I have never seen such a crazy, mixed up, lack-of-logic approach to something relatively straightforward, so much so that even the state employees often shrug their shoulders and wish you luck.

“What does it all mean and why in the world should I care?” Isn’t that what you really want to know?

Accounting, financial statements, internal controls, process, documentation, contracts. All tools of the dark forces in the universe that are doing everything they can to make sure that I don’t’ have any time to actually work on my business. Admit it, you had that thought once or twice in your life…or maybe every day. I get it. I’ve been on both sides and I’ve seen how it can happen.

So you fight it. “That stuff doesn’t have any place in my business. I pay my bills and file my taxes on time, so my goal is to simply keep the cost of doing that as low as I can so that I can spend more on marketing and sales.” And to be honest, if all your accountant does for you is pay the bills and make sure taxes are filed on time, then yes, minimize the cost and focus elsewhere. But the reality is that isn’t all that they should be doing for you. They should provide you with guidance, real information about trends and the current state of the business, profitability of product lines, projects and offices in your business. But that happens over time.

In my experience with start-up companies and small businesses, I have found that very often bright, inventive and intuitive business men and women who have been very successful do not have a firm grasp on how to evaluate the actual performance of their businesses. Whether they don’t receive good information or they don’t know what to make of it when they do, they often manage by gut and intuition alone and have one metric by which they evaluate success: “How much money do I have in the bank, and can I take some out to buy something for myself?” If you own your business and you are nodding your head, you are not alone. The very thing that makes entrepreneurs successful often makes them shy away from the “boredom” that is often attributed to financial accounting. Much has been written about that, but if you are running a business, who has time to read all of those books?

I’m a practical guy. Show me, and I’ll understand and embrace it. I think that most entrepreneurs are like me in that regard. But ask me to read a 300 page book on the glory of trend reporting (yawn) and I will surely find something, anything else that I can do that will save me from that particular hell (and I was trained in finance). The sad reality is that most businesses already have the tools available and the information at their finger tips, but have never been shown how to get at it, haven’t made the time to figure it out, just don’t know where to begin and are afraid to ask for help. And that drives me nuts. What I often tell my clients when I meet with them the first time is that the great thing is that they have already figured out how to run their business, tend to their customers and build their product or service offering. That is the hard part! All the business analysis and measuring performance and establishing metrics, that stuff is easy and it doesn’t have to be expensive or hugely time consuming or burdensome on a business. By simply doing things exactly how you have been doing them, but structuring the reporting a little differently and reviewing the results in a different way or more frequently, you can see dramatic indicators of where the business is doing well and where it can use a little adjustment.

As my friend and client Chris put it after I spent some time looking at his business… “It’s just a relief to know what is really going on, instead of wondering, guessing and worrying about it. If I know what is happening, I can figure out how to fix it.” Chris is a smart guy and a good businessman and I’m confident that he will figure it out. And more than anything, I’m glad that he called me and said “I just don’t get it, and I don’t have the time to figure it out. Please help me.”

As for the question “What is Gross Profit?”… it’s just another boring accounting term.  One that will tell you something very critical to you business, if you let it. Give me a call and we’ll work through it together.

What are the issues that you have come across in understanding your business’s financial condition? What do you use to keep your pulse on the business? Who handles all your accounting and reporting needs?

Rethinking Holiday Perks
Businesses Find Creative Ways to Cut Back on Gifts, Parties

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704498804574562130603929854.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

By Jonnelle Marte
The Wall Street Journal
December 1 , 2009

Some creative ideas for continuing to thank your employees and clients, without breaking the bank:  Everything from joint holiday parties with other companies to bartering with clients for holiday give-aways.  What are you going to do differently this year?

Small Business Tax Tips

by Shira Levine  November 24, 2009

One of the great things about running your own business is that with a little bit of organization before year-end, and probably a sit down with your tax accountant, you can substantially impact your personal tax picture with some fairly easy tax strategies.   If you are considering any fixed asset purchases, it might make sense to do them in 2009.

DENVER, CO (November 9, 2009) – Insight Professional Services announces the launch of its technology and service platform, upon which consultants and entrepreneurs can build successful businesses. As a one-stop shop for technology tools and professional services, Insight manages back office responsibilities, allowing consultants and small business owners to focus more time on generating revenue.

With increasing numbers of highly skilled individuals who are un- or under-employed, recent advancements in technology and reduced barriers to starting a new business, more and more people are branching out on their own. These new business owners face hundreds of daily tasks necessary to set-up and run their operations, while trying to grow their practice. “Many consultants and small business owners struggle under the responsibility of managing and growing their practice while trying to understand and handle all the back-office aspects of their businesses,” said Ron Olsen, President of Insight. “While there is information everywhere, it can feel overwhelming not knowing who to call or where to start. Insight can help,” continued Olsen.

Insight combines services and products that help businesses navigate the start-up phase and provide practical and affordable long-term solutions that provide owners with more of what they need most: time and peace of mind. From financial operations such as time and expense tracking, billing, collections and full-charge bookkeeping, to reliable virtual office solutions that minimize capital investment and offer greater accessibility, Insight takes the worry out of managing your back office.

About Insight Professional Services, LLC

Founded in April 2009, Insight Professional Services provides consultants and small business owners with a full suite of technology tools and professional services to streamline their back office operations, allowing owners to focus more time on generating revenue and growing their businesses. With over 50 years of professional experience helping businesses increase their effectiveness and reduce their overall costs, the Insight team assembled a robust set of virtual solutions for managing the IT and financial operations of their clients. By combining the best solutions available from proven leaders in the small business space, with a powerful and reliable IT infrastructure in a state-of-the-art data center and time-tested operational practices, Insight provides an affordable offering unmatched in the marketplace. Insight is privately owned and operated, with virtual offices in California, Colorado and Washington. For more information visit http://www.InsightProfessionalServices.com.

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