Aepiphanni!! Small Business HEADS UP!!

What Forest? Charge Your Vision, Change Your Business!

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:35:00 PDT

As a Business Strategist, all of my clients inevitably hear the question, ?and what do we hope to accomplish by this?? Many of the business leaders I initially work with tend to work in terms of what is immediately in front of them rather than looking at the big picture. Many people have labeled this ?working in the business, rather than on the business.? Others might say that many business owners ?can?t see the forest because of all of the trees.?

You might ask why that is, but the answer is often obvious ? the things that are right in front of us tend to be those things that require our immediate attention. For example, your company may have orders coming in, going out, clients that are paying late, need immediate decisions, sales calls to take, products to develop and the shiny new thing that came across your desk that you must take advantage of in the next 36 hours or you will miss the chance of a lifetime.

If you think about it, it is like watching a mouse in one of those spinning wheels. You watch the little guy working really hard to make that thing spin as quickly as possible, but you know that he really isn?t going anywhere, no matter how hard he tries. While the mouse probably doesn?t have the aspirations you have to get anywhere, your business will quickly get left behind if you continue operating this way.

Enter strategic planning.

Strategic planning is a method of driving your company toward its vision. This isn?t a passive activity, or something that you do when you get the opportunity. This isn?t something that is simply a logical progression of activities. It is something that is driven.

The opposite of it is continuing on inertia. This is like a wheel that starts rolling down a hill. Sure, it will gather speed without much outside force. No one has to run along next to it to make it keep going. What happens, though, when the hill starts to smooth out? What happens when the decline becomes an incline? Of course, the wheel will slow down and eventually start rolling backwards. What happens if the wheel bumps into a tree on the way down the hill? What if it gets hit and changes course?

Being strategic and acting on purpose with your business will help you steer the business through some of the obstacles the business might run up against, and give it power to keep going up and over those hills that it will inevitably encounter.

A strategic plan starts out with a vision. Your vision should tell you where you are going, or what you expect to find at the other end of the forest. For example, being a web design company won?t get you very far. There are thousands of different directions you can go with that. However, being the best interactive web application company focused on midsized hospitals is much more tangible. Strategy begs to answer how you will get your company there, but it does so, specifically.

How do you determine that you are the best? Well, that will have to be based on popular opinion, versus a gut feeling or a few peoples? comments. You?ll have to present your company in such a way that you are open for criticism. You?ve got to compete for awards. You?ve got to have systems, process and standards so that you have deliver the same quality product and/or service repeatedly. You?ve got to listen to your clients and your markets to determine what they are looking for and to anticipate their needs that they don?t know exist.

Each aspect of your vision needs to be to be approached like this, in a way that will allow you to measure your results. If 10 hospitals say you are the best, that is great. If 50 hospitals say you are the best, you are probably on your way. If 500 hospitals say you are the best, depending on your target market size, you are probably the best. If you tell a client that 500 hospitals across the US say you are the best, do you think you might win the next client?

Now, this is a broad stroke when we talk about strategy ? it would be easy to dig down into the details, put time, dates, costs, build financial models, etc., but you have to start somewhere. The most important thing is to be able to see the forest. Once you can begin to see the forest, you can begin to see the path through the trees.

Aepiphanni Business Solutions is a Strategy Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of business leaders and executives. We specialize in helping people get into business, and stay there. We welcome clients in the personal and professional services industries, including restaurants, catering and event planning. As always, we welcome your comments, thoughts, questions and suggestions. If you are seeking a business assessment, or have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Business Growth Strategies,Business Path,Business Strategy,Extraordinary,Management and Leadership,Vision

Buckshot Marketing: What's REALLY Working?

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:38:44 PDT

Is your marketing really working? How do you know? Are those pens you are handing out really making an impression? Is the time you spend on Twitter and other social medias paying off? Are your endless networking meetings paying off?

How do you know?

This has been one of the challenges put before business owners and marketers, given that there are so many factors that contribute to marketing, and so many different effects different types of contacts have on different audiences. This is another reason why, in order to get the most out of your marketing dollars, it is difficult to justify taking a broad stroke approach to marketing, thinking that everyone in your target market is going to accept the same sort of input.

What?s been interesting was a quick study I did with a number of marketers that I have associations with. I created an elevator pitch that I thought provoked imagery, thought, questions and provided solutions. For the sake of the article, I am including it here:

We help business leaders create extraordinary futures for their businesses.

Aepiphanni provides strategic planning, business architecture and a wealth of resources to help businesses reaching critical growth phases cut costs, work more efficiently and reach aggressive revenue goals. We specialize in small and medium-sized privately owned companies focused on professional & creative services, Software & IT, Restaurants & Catering and Design Services.

We?ve helped clients increase their billing by up to 3000%. One of our clients in the film production industry was able to triple his billing rates, scoring a Public Service Announcement for $16,000, where he originally intended to bill for no more than $5,000. Another client of ours repositioned their company to move from selling individual services to creating long term paid relationships with their clients. Her highest billing for any client had been $2,000, where their last proposal was for $50,000. Additionally, they have needed to increase staff and create systems and processes, which allowed them to increase the company?s workload and thus increase revenues by 25%, despite the economy.

It?s not complicated; it?s about doing what makes sense. We equip business leaders with the tools to build extraordinary futures for their businesses. Trust our knowledge. Trust our Experience. Trust our Results.

Aepiphanni Business Consulting. The Business Strategy People.

To me, this is appealing. In my mind, this was flawless. True to the nature of different types of people, every marketing expert I shared this with had different thoughts on it ? as will you. One thought the first sentence was too intangible, where another one thought it was great. In my mind, it opened up to the question, ?how do you do that?? which was answered in the second question. Others thought that it should stop after the third paragraph, where others, still, thought the fourth paragraph was the hook. The elevator speech I created is, essentially, the laundry list of answers to the questions people ask me about what I do.

In the same manner, broad stroke marketing probably won?t be as effective as finding a way to measure the effectiveness of your marketing. How do you determine that? By determining what you would like to accomplish, first, then creating a strategy to get there.

You begin, of course, by defining what you hope to accomplish, as you would if you are thinking of doing anything. Let?s take fishing as an example.

Define the goal: We are going fishing. If you don?t know or state that you would like to go fishing, what are you going to prepare for? Are you just going to walk around doing stuff, never finding the satisfaction you are seeking?

Now that you?ve decided you want to go fishing, you might want to decide why you are going fishing ? is it for fun, for sport, competition, or whatever. If you are just seeking to get out of the house, drop a pole in the water and not actually catch anything (objective ? a bit a peace and quiet!), well, you?ll prepare differently then you would if you were seeking to go fishing for salmon.

So, say we are going fishing for a particular type of wild salmon. What do we need to know? Where are they, when are they there and what do you need to have in order to catch them? How many do you need to catch? Putting things in this perspective helps you not just look in terms of success (I caught a fish THIS BIG) but also have the tools in place to determine if you are successful.

Now, what are you going to do if you are unsuccessful? You will probably do something different ? maybe change your bait, change your location, get a quieter motor, or whatever you think you need to do to get closer to the fish that are biting. You might even do some homework and read up on how other people are doing it successfully. You?ll separate the quacks (a little dynamite helps) from the experts (Use a .345 swish flip tied fly) to the practical (if you wait until spring, the Colorado River will be teaming with jumping salmon. You can catch them at Great Bear rock) and put together a strategy that will help YOU accomplish the goal YOU have.

Developing your marketing strategy will be nearly the same. While you might hope to throw out a net and see what you get, a targeted approach to your marketing is going to allow you to put more resources and efforts into a small niche audience. Where do they gather or get their information? How do they receive the information ? is it in print, audio or video? What are their problems, or what are they looking for solutions to? Why would they respect your company? Does your company have the right appearance, appear in the right circles and demonstrate the right expertise?

From my observations, there is no one-size-fits-all-guaranteed-90-days-to-long-term success solution that works for everyone. Marketing needs to be authentic, transparent and appealing to those you are targeting. Of course, that is a no-brainer. What is REALLY working will take your company some time to develop. It will require some tweaking and some self assessment, but once you?ve got it down, you will see your work pay off.

Remember ? if it was quick and easy, everyone would be doing it.

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Business Development Strategies,Business Strategy,Internet Marketing,Recession Buster,Small Business Consulting,Marketing Strategy

SBA Extends Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program through September 2010

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:03:37 PDT

***********************************************
U.S. Small Business Administration

-- News Release --

***********************************************

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Contact: David J. Hall (202) 205-6697
Release Number: 09-66
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

SBA Extends Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program through September 2010

Measure to benefit businesses affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita
WASHINGTON- The U.S. Small Business Administration is extending its Gulf Opportunity Pilot Loan Program (GO Loans) through Sept. 30, 2010, Administrator Karen Mills announced today.

SBA launched the GO Loan Pilot in November 2005 to provide expedited financial assistance to small businesses severely impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Under the program, SBA provides 85 percent guarantees (90 percent under Recovery Act provisions) and streamlined, centralized processing to all eligible lenders that make expedited 7(a) loans to small businesses located in, moving to or relocating within parishes and counties included in disaster declarations related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The demand for GO loans has increased significantly in FY 2009 in response to the continued need to rebuild the Gulf Coast areas. In 2008, SBA approved
301 GO loans for $25.2 million. Through April 2009, SBA had already approved
518 GO loans for $32.7 million.

The notice announcing the extension was published in the Federal Register today. For more information on the GO Loan Pilot Program, visit the SBA Web site at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/elending/GOLOAN.html.

A list of all eligible parishes/counties is available at http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/serv_goloan_3.pdf.

Aepiphanni Business Consulting is a Strategy Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of business leaders and executives. We specialize in helping people get into business, and stay there. We welcome clients in the personal and professional services industries, including restaurants, catering and event planning. As always, we welcome your comments, thoughts, questions and suggestions. If you are seeking a business assessment, or have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Technorati Tags: SBA,Loan,Gulf Opportunity Pilot

Leading the Organization That Survives: Prioritizing Business Needs

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:01:13 PDT

Every business has needs that must be met in order for the organization to survive. However, identifying those needs is not enough; we, as business leaders, need to understand the business's priorities. The items that tend to be urgent are not always the ones that are important, and many important tasks are not perceived as urgent, and get overlooked. Prioritizing the needs of the business will help you, the business leader, address the right need at the right time.

The first thing we must understand is where the business is in its lifecycle. Understanding where your business is in its lifecycle is critical to defining the needs of the business as any time, just like people have different needs at different times of their lives. For example, while my four year old would probably consider jumping off of anything at any height, and needs me there to keep him safe, my 16 year old needs to be reminded that he needs to cut the grass, and management to ensure that he does a good job.

As we discussed in the last article - "The Business as a System." once we begin looking at the business like a system, it becomes relatively easy to identify what needs to be done next, whether that means reviewing some lower-level priorities for the business, or stepping up to the next level of existence for the organization. We call the hierarchy the 6S Model.

The first level is the Existence stage. The business is a baby, just starting to crawl or walk, and completely dependent on your for its survival and safety.

Survival level needs will include defining a belief system for the business, and an identity- mission, vision and values, leadership, understanding of the markets the business will serve, and the products or services the business will offer. If we were thinking about this like taking a vacation, just saying that you want to take a vacation isn't enough. You have to decide where you are going to go, how you are going to get there, who you are going to go with, and who is responsible for making sure that everyone gets where they need to be. Intuitively, this is built into your personal belief system. If you are a Christian, for example, your belief system will dictate that there are certain kinds of activities you want to participate in, and others that don't fit into that system. Survival-level needs for the business are just as foundational.
Safety level needs are those that serve to protect the business from internal and external problems. Examples of this might include awareness of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, competitor standards, financial position, compliances, having the right advisors and understanding what the businesses capacities and capabilities. There is nothing like getting up and running, delivering your product to shops throughout the area, and finding out that there was some type of compliance issue that you overlooked, or, as what happens with a lot of businesses, you took on high risk that could have been avoided with better understanding of the business's position.

The second stage in the business lifecycle is the evolutionary stage. This is that period between childhood, where the business needs someone to wipe its mouth and hold its hand, and adulthood, when the business is walking around, proclaiming its existence to the world. These might be the teen years, and like teens, this period is not always predictable, and is where the business will learn a lot.

Sustainability is the appropriate name for this level of Existence. This is the level where the business leader will put measures in place to ensure that the business can be in business tomorrow. You can start to see what the business is going to look like and what it is going to do when it grows up, but it needs further guidance and growth. Sustainability-level needs include management, Process, systems, required resources, understanding of the sales medium, product or service standards, vendors and a cohesive team. If we return to the trip, we've come over the hurdles of planning the trip and making sure that the trip will be safe, this is the part where we have understanding of the vehicle that is going to get us to the destination. Have we ensure that the engine is tuned up? Have we filled it up with gas? Do we have windshield wiper fluid? Who is going to monitor all of these things? While we can plan the trip and get on the road, without some understanding of how to sustain, we won't get very far.
Stakeholder relationships are not just friends and family. It takes a village to raise a child. Relationships with customer, vendors, creditors, investors, etc., is critical to the continued growth of your business. They can help mold and strengthen the business by making you aware of any opportunities of threats that could impact your business. If you keep them informed about what is going on in your business, they will be more likely to share this type of information with you.

The third stage we'll look at is the Emergence stage. This is not when your business is all grown up, settle in its ways and stubborn. This is when your business is seeking to make its way in the world. There will be lots of choices and lots of opportunity. What the business needs at this point, you might liken to a career path and a continuous growth plan.

Solid Branding is likened to your career path. It is what envelops your company when you walk into the room and announce your presence. It is what speaks for your company when you are not around. It can influence where or not someone will do business with you. When we talk about branding, we look at everything that could impact the way a company or client looks at you, from the atmosphere of your office, to your commitment, involvement, communication style, customer service, expertise, etc. What do you want your company to be known for?
Sustained Innovation & Growth is the capstone of the 6S model. This, again, is not where we kick up our feet and say "we've arrived! We are at the top of the heap!" How many companies have we seen topple to the bottom that once made those claims? How many companies that currently lead the market continue to develop new products and technologies? How many of these companies have created needs that we didn't even know we had? How can your company tap into that mindset? Needs at this level include vision, an innovation process, an idea platform, strategic planning and strategic forecasting. When built into the company culture, these are drivers to push the company toward emergence from the industry and to stand out in the marketplace.

As a business leader, you are responsible for understanding where your business is in its lifecycle, and what needs you will be addressing at each level. Understand, however, that lower level needs always need to be addressed before upper level needs. What I mean by that is that if you are in the emergence level, and accounting standards change, which would be an existence level need, you must still address it before implementing the next generation product your company is working to bring to market.

Be passionate about understanding and addressing the business's needs through the use of 6S. You'll go further, longer.

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Business Development Strategies,Business Groiwth Strategies,Business Strategy,Extraordinary,Management and Leadership,Business Leaders,Recession Buster

Leading the Organization that Survives: The Business as a System

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:10:51 PDT

It seems like, when running a business, there are a million things that need to be done at any moment: employees need to get paid, vendors are dropping off new products, there is a leak in the bathroom and oh, yeah, you have to take care of your customers. Often times, when managing the fires, leaders tend to focus on what is right in front of them at the moment ? those things that are urgent. Makes sense, right?

But how many of those ?urgent? things are actually important? Which of the important things are most important? Which of the important things actually are urgent?

Businesses are like systems ? kind of like a human body. A system is always looking to be complete, or operate at its maximum. In the case of a human, if you don?t have any food to eat, you?re probably not going to be interested in buying a big fancy car ? or any car for that matter. If you don?t have any place to live, getting additional education or taking a vacation will probably fall by the wayside. In other words, your needs, as a human are prioritized, whether you think about it or not.

In the same way, businesses have needs that can also be prioritized. Where we as business leaders fail, at times, is when we put too much emphasis on high level priorities, such as dumping tons of money or resources into brand development or product innovation and miss the low level ones such as SWOT awareness or financial controls.

Part of understanding the needs of your organization also lies in knowing where your business lies on the growth cycle. Again, we can compare the business growth cycle to that of a human. When we discuss the growth cycle, we look at three distinct areas ? Existence, Evolution and Emergence, beyond which, include experienced level and expiration stages ? which are the antithesis of growth?so we won?t focus on them.

The Existence stage is when your business is a baby?the business is completely dependent on you ? seeking direction, stability, predictable resources and safety

The Evolution stage is when the business is becoming a teenager ? somewhat stable in its ways, though tempted to get into everything that is thrown at it. It is beginning to seek its own identity, walking on its own, but still requiring a great deal of guidance, and beginning to develop strong relationships ? and figuring out how to keep them.

The Emergence stage is those early adult years where identity seems to be everything. The business is up, walking around, talking about where it has been, what it is going to do, always trying to create something new and unique to accentuate its individuality.

If you?ll notice, in each stage, there is a different set of needs that is focused on. Now, that doesn?t say that once the business reaches the evolutionary stage, that the existence-level needs are already met. The perspective is actually the opposite ? at the existence level, meeting the base level needs are going to be the business?s focus.

Once looking at the business like a system, it becomes relatively easy to identify what needs to be done, ?next,? whether that means reviewing some lower-level priorities for the business, or stepping up to the next level of existence for the organization. This allows business leaders to determine what fires truly need to be addressed by them ? remember urgency versus importance ? where the business is in its growth cycle and how to steer the business clear of Expiration.

In the next segment, we?ll discuss what priorities exist at each level. Knowing each level?s priorities, and being committed to managing that way is the second key to Leading the Organization that survives.

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Business Growth Strategies,Extraordinary,Management and Leadership,Small Business Consulting

Leading the Organization that Survives: A Passion for Possibilities

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:34:32 PDT

Anyone can get into business.or so they say. Staying in business, however, is the challenge. The Small Business Administration provides figures that suggest that roughly 20% of business last more than 10 years. Of course, some of these businesses merge with or acquired by other firms. Others, still, might be franchises that are assumed by other companies. Natural, economic and personal events impact even more. None the less, most businesses that start never thrive as functional profitable businesses.

Now, of those that seem to avoid natural, economic and personal events, what makes some businesses survive and others fail? Leadership, by its very definition, should be those that are driving the organization toward its vision. Therefore, decisions made by leaders need to be good ones that have a good basis.

Four factors we've discussed that impact the leaders ability to make good decisions include:

A passion for what is possible
A commitment to managing priorities
Reliable information or a reliable information source
Courage to assume risk

Today, we'll talk about a passion for what is possible.

When we talk about what is possible, we are talking about what could actually happen. The opposite of this is what is impossible, or what could not happen. Capturing larger market share is something that is possible. Desalinating the entire ocean is highly unlikely, if not impossible. A more practical example of something that is possible is changing an employee's perspectives. Something that is likely impossible would be change employee's personality.

As a business leader, when you begin considering what is possible, looking at what everyone else is doing and copying shouldn't be the limit of your possibility search. If that should be your constant approach to doing things, and you don't find ways to do things differently, you might find yourself chasing the same dollar that everyone else in your industry is chasing. What happens, as a result, is that you end up having to charge as little as possible, just to stay in business. There doesn't seem to be much sense in that.

An example is of a very well known company that had been the market leader in its services throughout the country. It embraced its comfort for many, many years, with limited commitment to changes in the marketplace. At some point, technology changed, drastically, which changed the distribution method of the product that it sold. Other entrants came into the marketplace, embracing the new technologies and gobbled up market share. Because of the drastic change and loss of market share, the company considered going into bankruptcy. They closed a number of their stores and pursued investments in the new technology. Then, another distribution channel opened up, further consuming the company's market share to the point where the company is currently closing thousands of stores and considering filing for bankruptcy.again. While they could have been forward thinking, always considering possibilities, they chose to be very good at what they were doing.

Within your industry, what types of things do you need to consider? What could be a possibility for your company? As a business leader, it is your responsibility to uncover those possibilities. As the recession ends and the economy turns around, what possibilities should you consider for the direction of your business?

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Extraordinary,Management and Leadership,Recession buster,Small Business Consulting

Had an Aepiphanni, Lately? September 2009

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:42:15 PDT

From the Desk of Rick Meekins

Hello!! We are approaching the fourth Quarter of 2009! Question for you: What obstacles are keeping you from getting where you want to be?

Here's a great story: The Obstacle in Our Path...In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it...[click here for the rest of the story]

Had an Aepiphanni, Lately? September 2009 for the remainder of the story and a discussion on Obstacles in September's "Had an Aepiphanni, Lately?"

Technorati Tags: Had an Aepiphanni,Lately,? leadership and management,Extraordinary

Business Leaders? Insider Articles

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:02:46 PDT

Running your business often means you don?t have time to skim through thousands of articles around the web. That?s understandable. As a business leader, however, information is invaluable so that you can make good decisions and drive your company to be all that it can be. We?ve captured some of these articles for your viewing pleasure. Please credit the authors independently.

The 5 Stages for Achieving Innovation Through Sustainability

By Jim Witkin | September 8th, 2009

?There?s no alternative to sustainable development? begins the recent Harvard Business Review article, ?Why Sustainability Is Now the Key Driver of Innovation.? Sustainability and green initiatives are no longer optional contend the article?s authors ? Ram Nidumolu, C.K. Prahalad and M.R. Rangaswami. Not only is the business case getting stronger, but embracing a sustainability agenda can stimulate innovation, pushing companies to rethink their operations, products and business models. [more?]

Why Do Some Leaders Succeed In Tough Economic Times And Others Fail?

Posted: September 08, 2009, 6:44 PM by Ray Williams

Tough economic times seems to bring out the best and worst of leaders. Why the difference? The answer may lie in the style of leadership. Powerful leaders distinguish themselves by their capacity to inspire people to action and enroll them as change agents in organizations. [more?]

Is Social Media A Trojan Horse?

Posted: September 08, 2009, 9:40 PM by Ray Williams

The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) reported that, according to their survey, 7!% of companies plan to invest in social media such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. This presents an immediate pressing need for organizations to develop social media policies for employees and the company. [more?]

Networking for Business a 21st Century Survival Guide

By Jonathan Fitchew of Pareto Law

As a result people now like to form their own opinion based on word of mouth, face to face meetings, and, increasingly, online reputations before they will do business with you. There has never been a time when attention to the company you keep has been so important in business and career success. [more?]

'Senate Six' Could Sink Small Business

Dean Zerbe, 09.08.09, 08:05 PM EDT

Interest groups in Washington, D.C., and on the Internet are racing to patch together an outline of the Senate Finance Committee's latest, yet-to-be-released plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. Here's an early-bird review of what is being proposed, with a specific focus on the implications for small businesses and their owners.

What Is the Boss?s Job Description?

By Jennifer Walzer

?If you were fired as C.E.O. and a new C.E.O. were brought in to take over your position, what would they do that you aren?t doing? What are you doing that they would stop doing? And why aren?t you doing things that way?? [more...]

The "Encore Effect"

How to Achieve Remarkable Performance
in Anything You Do

By Mark Sanborn

Remarkable performance isn't just about what we do; it's also about how we do it. Passion is the fuel that lets us "set ourselves on fire." If you are going to get the marketplace excited about your brand?about you?you have to get people excited about who you are and what you do. Remember, no one will be more passionate about your performance than you are yourself. The good news is passion can be created and stoked. It's up to you to do so. [more?]

Should I Expand My Business?

Assess your risk and reward by asking yourself these questions.

By Domenic Rinaldi | September 08, 2009

Despite today?s market, countless business owners are finding ways to weather the economic storm and keep their businesses profitable. The gut instinct for many is to look for ways to cut costs internally by trimming headcount, salary or employee hours, or seeking ways to reduce production costs or improve efficiency. Some business owners, though, could benefit from considering business expansion.[more...]

Say it, mean it and then do it

Author Alan Deutschman illustrates the importance of assuring that deeds match words.

By Richard Pachter

Each of us may be the star of our own movie, but that doesn't guarantee an intriguing plot. In a similar fashion, most war stories recounted by business leaders are dull cautionary tales rather than inspiring works offering useful examples and actionable instructions. [more...]

Personal ways that help enhance organizational performance

By Evelio G. Echavez

There is stiff competition everywhere for businesses today, making survival and profitability a constant challenge. Many management scholars, such as Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University, say that the effective management of people has become more important in increasing organizational performance than the traditional sources of success, such as process technology and protected markets.[more...]

Technorati Tags: Business News,Articles,Information,Management & Leadership

Leading the Organization That Survives: Don't be a STIFFNECK

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:02:40 PDT

How do you know you're a leader? "Well, if you look behind you, you will find people following you!" says author and Dean at Regent University, Bruce Winston, PhD in his CD "Tabletalk". He goes on to say, " if nobody is following you, then you aren't a leader. It's as simple as that."

If you want people to follow you, they need to know that you can make GREAT DECISIONS! Does that mean that all of them will be right? No! Must they all make sense? Yes! Does this apply to every leader? Yes! Running a business, no matter the size, requires a great number of decisions to be made, every day, such as:

Do we start a new marketing campaign
Has this product reached the end of its lifecycle?
Should we consider offering this customer a discount?
Should we spin off this business unit?

As a business leader, you are the one who must make those decisions. To be successful as a leader, you need to be able to make a lot of decision, effectively - which means that while every single decision may not be the right one, you've got plausible tools to be able to make that decision. In our line of work, we've discovered four ingredients leaders must have in order to make a good decision for the business:

A passion for what is possible
A commitment to managing priorities
Reliable information or a reliable information source
Courage to assume risk

The alternative, of course, to having the ammo to make the best decisions is to be a STIFFNECK. Let me explain:

Stiffnecks - def.: 1) Leaders that try to make decisions without considering the overall business - the business as a system, and thus, the rippling consequence3s of said decision or decisions on all areas of the business. 2) Leaders who have every opportunity and all of the resources to make good decisions, but allow themselves to get sidetracked before addressing issues that have greater priority for the business.

For example:

If you are trying to expand your business, but don't have clear understanding off what you are selling or who your target market is, you're probably a stiffneck.

If you get a shiny new Hummer for the company, but aren't making the basic operating expenses for your company, you're probably a stiffneck.

If you jump at every opportunity - every shiny new thing - and never take the time to focus on and fully develop one, you're probably a stiffneck.

If you do the same things over and over again, but never bother to establish a process for it, you're probably a stiffneck.

The simplest and most straight-forward remedy for this is - don't be a stiffneck!!

While this seems straightforward, new candidates for the stiffneck category enter the business world every day, often with catastrophic results. Simply taking the time to go through the decision-making process could often put business leaders in a much better position with their company, and allow them to lead their companies to new heights.

Over the next few blogs, we'll go through each tool necessary in the decision-making process in order to equip you with the strategy to manage the decisions for your company. We'll talk about the difference between pipe-dreams and possibilities, what priorities for your business are, how to manage information valuable for your company, how to determine what acceptable risk looks like for you, and the necessity of follow-through.

Technorati Tags: decision making,leadership and management,excellence

Podcast: Leading the Organization that Survives

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:33:49 PDT

Presented to ACIBN

August 12, 2009

When making decisions for your company, you need to have four things:

1. A Passion for Possibilities

2. A Commitment to Priorities

3. Relevant Information

4. The Courage to Assume Risk

In part two of ?Leading the Organization that Survives,? I?ll talk about the need for gathering good information and how to do it, and risk: assessing it, determining how to manage it and making your decision.

Enjoy! Any comments or feedback are welcome!

Download this MP3 - (Right Click)

Technorati Tags: Business Decisions,Business Growth Strategies,Management and Leadership,Podcast,Recession Buster

Surviving, Sustaining or Succeeding?

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:33:00 PDT

As business leaders, one?s posture ? surviving, sustaining or succeeding ? impacts that way one makes decisions about their business and activities surrounding the business. Decisions you make every day can affect the way that your business operates, interacts with clients, vendors, investors and your community. If they get the impression that you are operating from survival mode, meaning that you are doing whatever you can just to survive, they may seek to do business with a company that appears more stable. If you seem to be sustaining, they may stick with you for a while, but will be suspicious. If you are succeeding, you may as well have built a better mousetrap.

Surviving: When operating in survival mode, anything that looks like it might be helpful grabs your attention. You?ve abandoned any strategies and plans you?ve made for the company. You?re even willing to work outside of the company?s beliefs or brand, thinking that you are doing whatever it takes, just to survive. People can see that. People might be impressed with the fact that you work hard, but they won?t respect your company or its brand for long. Focus and integrity are most important.

Sustaining: Sustaining means that you are existing, and are focused on doing the things it takes to keep moving. You might call it proceeding on inertia. The problem with proceeding on inertia, by definition, is that ?things in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Outside forces meaning changes in economies, business models, purchasing patterns, technologies, etc. If you are moving forward on inertia, your customers and clients are going to move on without you. Your clients are looking for the best value at the best price. If you are lucky, you will keep the ones that stick with you because it?s what they?ve always done. The question is, therefore: Do you feel lucky?

Succeeding: Succeeding, by definition, means to achieve or accomplish. This means that despite what is going on in the economy or technology or within your business, you are completely committed to and focused on achieving or accomplishing your business?s objectives. That means that you aren?t doing things to minimize that effort. That means that you aren?t doing things that are dividing your time and causing you to split your focus. Succeeding is more than the end zone; it is a mentality or belief. It is an attractor, or something that draws other people and businesses to you. It is a motivator for you and those around you. It can even be a pass key. If people see that you believe in yourself and what you are selling, they will help you get where you are going, whether they realize it or not.

The great thing about having a succeeding mentality is that no one can define what it means, but you. No one can tell you that you are successful or unsuccessful. It has everything to do with your attitude. Success truly starts with a clear mission statement ? why you are here and what you do, and a vision statement ? where you intend to go or how you will impact the world. Succeeding is not a destination, but rather a state of being. Wealth and material items are symbols, of sorts, but they never provide a feeling of long-term satisfaction.

So?where are you? Are you surviving? Sustaining? Succeeding? Ask your stakeholders what they think you are doing. Then do something about it. Succeed!

Technorati Tags: Decision making,management & Leadership,succeeding,intertial

Time Saved...Is Time Earned!

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:07:10 PDT

Think, for a moment-what did you have planned for this week? What about for today? What about before lunch? Tell me - do you dictate your schedule, or does your schedule dictate you. I tell you what, if your schedule is the one that is making the rules, you are leading yourself to a life of stress and ineffectiveness.

Time is a constant. It is something that either works for you or works against you, depending on your ability to utilize it. If you are able to effectively block out times to get things done, and are actually working on those things at that time, you are well on your way. If you have decided that you are going to do things liaises-faire, you, too, have at least addressed time. If you find that you are constantly running out of time, running, late and not accomplishing what you'd planned to accomplish, you guess it - you are not using your time more effectively.

How you get things done is going to be based on your personality. Your personality is something that you have to truly own in order to be the most effective you that you can be. Nicole Greer, The Vibrant Coach, is a consultant in that area, and breaks personalities into four basic elements: Wind, Earth, Fire and Water.

If you are a blustery (windy) person that has to have a million balls in the air at one time, creating more of stir than anything else, you won't do well with a very rigid schedule...you need more of a liaises-faire scheduling - which means that you've got a number of things that you must do in a given time - schedule yourself some flexibility so that when it is time to focus, you can do so.

If you, on the other hand, are a person that has a LOT to do, and is always sparking up something new (Fire), how do you slow down to focus on those things that are Important but not Urgent? I suggest you begin to schedule time, every week, to do this. For me, this is blogging, scanning papers, business development. I have several hours during the week that I put into each area to ensure that they are not getting overlooked or pushed to the side.

Of course, there are many extremes to personalities, and many different needs of different people. However, it all goes back to, "how can I use my time most effectively to focus on what I need to be done?" The first thing, I submit, is to know yourself.

Technorati Tags: Time Management,Management & Leadership,planning,personality

Measuring Possibilities: Innovation and Strategic Planning

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 07:49:13 PDT

In the first in the series, we talked about possibilities, and the route to being able to determine if some possibility you are considering could truly be fruitful in the organization. In the last installation of Measuring Possibilities, we talked about

measuring the strength of an idea by making sure that it is aligned with organizational beliefs
determining what resources we will need to have in place in order to pursue and attain the possibility

Now, let us proceed and discuss other areas that will impact the likelihood of success in our possibilities:

How many times have you been to a store that carried a wide range of products, from dog food to light bulbs to office supplies to paint. On and on the list goes. Now, to be certain, you could visit some where you go to the cookware section and ask about the warranty on the motor of the Kitchen Aide mixer, and the sales person could tell you about it, and probably tell you stories about the fact that one of the oldest Kitchen Aide mixers still in use is over 100 years old, and on and on and on.

However, there are the stores wherein you could probably ask a sales person about the same Kitchen Aide Mixer, wherein you will get a response indicating that they have no idea what the warranty might be, if they knew what it was at all, and that, if you look closely, you could find the answer on the box, or, better yet, you could call the manufacturer, directly. Needless to say, this is NOT the type of service that keeps most consumers as loyal consumers!

Capability, or the knowledge and skills to do whatever it is that we are thinking of adding to the company. In the case of our sales person, capability includes the ability to train our employees about the product or services that we are offering before they are confronted with an interested customer.

Another consideration for measuring the likelihood of a possibility is capacity. Have you ever gone to an ice cream shop that simply ran out of ice cream? If it happened repeatedly, would you continue to patronize it? I?ll bet that if you do, it will be less frequently then you would if they had the capacity to keep up with the demand on their products.

Finally, you need a plan.

While my wife and I were driving out of state, while I never get lost, I decided to try it out, just to see what it was like. :) During the adventure, I asked my wife to pick up the map and guide us to our destination. Well, being a good sport, she picked up the map, frowned a bit, scratched her head and sighed. I asked her what the problem was. Her response was that map reading was kind of like interpreting hieroglyphs for her. The map simply wouldn?t work for her.

Just like the map, the plan you need has to work for you. It does you no good to hire the best consulting firm in the world to help you develop a business plan to produce this product or service at some ungodly fee that exceeds the GDP of some small countries if the plan does not fit your organization. If your organization needs to test the market, first, plan for that. Know your criteria for success. Know your criteria for failure. Be clear on it. If a detailed business model with market studies, competitive analysis and business models is what is going to make the difference for you, then go that direction, but use a plan that will work for you.

While you may have other considerations when you measure the strength of your possibility, include the five key areas to increase the likelihood of long-term success with your possibility:

Alignment with company beliefs
Determining what resources are available
Have the capability
Have the capacity
Have a plan

Technorati Tags: Possibilities,Business Planning,Business Decisions,Leadership,Vision

Value Added: Did you get What you Came For?

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:03:01 PDT

Can you define, specifically, what value your activities bring to yourself and to others? Can you answer the question of why you do certain things, who it will benefit and what you expect the results to be? Are you conscious enough to walk away from a time investment or project that detracts from the value you bring?

I?ve interviewed numerous business owners and business leaders about their activities: how they spend their time, how much time they spend doing this or that, and what they expect to gain from it. I was expecting to hear answers such as, ?I spend about 3 hours per day doing business development, which might include activities such as calls, working on my internet strategy, blogging or micro-blogging.?

Instead, the answers received were quite vague, with responses such as ?oh, some time in the evening? or ?it varies? or ?well, I don?t really know??

While this might be a common thread for some businesses or business owners, operating this way limits your ability to measure the value of the activity. Examples of measureable activities include:

Miles per gallon ? how far you can go on a single gallon of gas
Price per pound ? allows you to comparison shop, often at a grocery store
Call ratio ? number of calls versus number of connections made

These ratios allow you to determine the value of your purchases.

Your time is no less valuable. Some may say that it is more valuable; you can always make more money, but you can never make more time. There will be things you do in order to receive something so that you can accomplish your goals. There are things that you will do that are totally altruistically ? you NEED to do those types of things as well. As with anything, understand WHY you are participating and attempt to achieve maximum value for your invested time. That means have a plan and have a goal.

Think Value Added.

Technorati Tags: Value,Management & Leadership,Startegic Thinking,Business Development

Podcast: Leading the Organization that Survives: Part 1

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:15:10 PDT

Presented at ACIBN Luncheon: Atlanta, GA July 8, 2009

Leading the organization that survives requires leaders with a passion for possibilities, an understanding of priorities, information and the courage to take on risk. Please listen as Rick Meekins, Principal Strategist at Aepiphanni describes the first two components of Leadership decision making before an audience at the Atlanta Christians in Business Network luncheon.: Possibilities and an overview of the 6s Priorities Model.

Mr.. Meekins welcomes opportunity to speak at your next event. You may contact his office, directly, at info@aepiphanni.com or at 678-265-3908. For more podcasts, please visit www.aepiphanni.com/podcasts.

Technorati Tags: Leadership,Management,Decision making,Planning,Vision,Priority,6s Model

It's Time to Fire the Chief Bottle Washer!!!

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:17:15 PDT

I come from years and years in the small business end of the restaurant industry, where owners tout the title:

"Chef,Owner and Chief Bottle Washer."

I decided after very little thought and planning, that I would follow in the tradition as a restaurateur and serial entrepreneur, and don the illustrious title when I opened, in succession, a private catering company, then a larger, full-service catering company, and finally, a full.-service casual fine-dining restaurant. I am sure I schmoozed (Pennsylvania Dutch for mashed, smashed, crammed, etc) 20 years of work hours into about eight years. 80 hour work weeks were not uncommon (at least at work!) but a social life was VERY uncommon (outside of work!)

Sure, I have a notch in my hat, memories and a following and being a local celebrity, a bunch of newspaper clippings and a legacy, but not much else to show from it. There is nothing to brag about. There are no additional revenues coming by direction from it. While the sign for the restaurant is still in place, another restaurant is doing just fine in the location. But for all of the hard work, I have to ask myself: was it worth it?

I actually took away a great deal of knowledge and experience, some of which I have included in my (not) five or so things you'll want to avoid as a business owner:

I went into the business by myself. Even Frank Sinatra - "Old Blue Eyes" as they called him, had the Rat Pack. While partnership is like a marriage, going at it alone is quite like riding a tandem bike from the back seat by yourself. You just can't make out too well doing it by yourself - and there is only so far you can go.

("Frank Sinatra's "I did it my Way.")

I wanted to have the best food at the lowest price! Yeah!! I wanted to be the Wal-Mart or Target of the Restaurant Industry. While it seems to make some sense: if I offer a great product or service at an extremely low price, everyone will want to buy it. I promise you, in most cases, this doesn't work. Instead, focus on offering a good or great product at an APPROPRIATE price. Everyone cannot be the cost leader!

I didn't know myself! What? Even though I had a great skill as a chef (per my clientele!), that knowledge and experience did not make me a great restaurant owner! Even as a good restaurant owner, and could not run the restaurant and prepare all the meals. I couldn't even do a great job running the kitchen and preparing all of the meals! I hadn't considered that! I hadn't planned for that! I thought I could run a 300 seat restaurant with off site catering and two banquet rooms with one restaurant manager! I am a strategist: I come up with innovative systems, strategies and processes. That doesn't make me an ADMINISTRAIVE PROFESSIONAL!! Go ask my friend, Walter Akana, at Threshold Consulting, where he talks about identifying strengths in one of his blog posts!
I didn't identify the resources around me that would have helped to fill some of the holes in the business, such as an ACCOUNTANT!! While I had bankers, lawyers and insurance people, I didn't leverage their great skill and experience. I didn't take the time to identify potential investors and start the organization with more cash in the bank. I didn't connect with a great marketer or have a marketing plan for that matter. I thought that my product was so unique that everybody would just come!! Nine times out of ten, it will never happen.
I decided to save some money and be the "Chef, Owner and Chief Bottle Washer!" It ended up costing me a lot more this way; I couldn't adequately monitor the restaurant, I worked long, long hours, I micro-managed the managers that I did hire and frankly, at times I got so tired that I could not produce, and had no backup plan. What would have happened if I'd gotten sick for a couple of weeks??

It all comes down to this. Think about it: when you are planning your business, you want to plan it for success. This means that you need to put the time into the planning stages and get a good understanding, not only of who YOU are and what YOU bring to the table, but what DEFICITS you bring to the table and how to address them. One of the biggest challenges I see for the serial entrepreneur is bookkeeping and payroll. Another challenge I've seen with those really smart consultants is the inability to sell their product! If you are a public speaker, you may need to hire an admin person to keep you organized.

My friend and strategic partner, Nicole Greer, gave me a great deal of insight on understanding not only myself, but also, other people. She uses a PEP analysis, which takes about 15 minutes to do, and comes with a brief coaching on individual strengths and weaknesses. From there, you can begin to apply your new knowledge, and find out where you fit into your organization. Don't you think it's about time to "FIRE THE CHIEF BOTTLE WASHER?!?!"

Technorati Tags: Leadership,direction,startups,restaurants,management,decision-making,planning

Measuring Possibilities: Innovation and Strategic Planning

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:06:08 PDT

When we talk about strategic planning or innovation in an organization, we are essentially talking about possibilities, or something that can happen. Some people might suggest that these are dreams and passing fantasies to mulled and others might suggest that one should pursue every possibility with vigor, regardless of the risk and consequences.

Either route could prove to be distasteful; on one hand, doing nothing is safe, but unfulfilling for most people. On the other hand, chasing every possibility tends to end badly. So, as an entrepreneur, what does one do? It seems that there should be some method of weighing and measuring possibilities to try to determine what makes sense. In other words, how do we determine what is truly possible versus what might be impossible?

Every possibility begins with an idea. How do we measure the strength of an idea?

The answer is often in the way that we look at the organization. If we have an understanding of the organization ? why it exists and what it hopes to accomplish, we can evaluate a possibility from the onset: does this possibility serve the company?s mission and will it help to reach the vision? If yes, then it?s got a leg to stand on. If not, you might consider weighing out some other ideas.

Another question to ask is whether you have the resources to support the idea. This might be a typical scenario:

Company ABC has a sales force automation tool that happens to be outstanding. However, there are a million of them on the market, and they recognize this. They feel that their real advantage in the marketplace is that their on-demand solution offers XXX, a cutting-edge technology. The problem with the technology is that it is so new to the marketplace that they have to educate people on how to use it, and what the benefits of it are. This will require extensive cold calling, event development, etc.. They are running out of money and time. What do they do? What is possible? Can they do whatever they do, and do it in a way that will continue developing their brand, rather than taking away from it?

We?ve seen the results of companies launch products or services prematurely, and the damage it causes a brand or organization. Ensure the resources at hand are appropriate for the task will most likely mean the difference between success and failure. This is more than just capital, this includes manpower, the ability to fully develop it, test it, package it, price it appropriately, market it, launch it and continue to develop and tweak it as different scenarios are uncovered. While doing something is better than doing nothing at all, doing it poorly can result in drastic consequences.

This is a first in a series on the topic of measuring possibilities. As always, we welcome your comments and questions

Technorati Tags: Possibilities,business,strategy,leadership,decision making,idea,measure

Keepin' it Movin'!: Motivation to Continue to Strive

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:07:32 PDT

I believe in always looking forward.

I believe in sharing goodwill.

I believe that community starts with me.

I believe that my company is here to serve.

I believe.

What do you believe? What are you doing about it?

Where ever we start out, we start out with an idea or a dream. We want to do something to serve some purpose.be it open a company or companies to make as much money as possible, or to reach the top of the jungle gym. It all starts with a dream.

Here's a video from a dreamer - a dreamer that failed again and again and again.until he became the best:

Technorati Tags: motivation,focus,vision,goals

Now.keep it movin'!

What?s the Process??

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:53:19 PDT

Do you ever find yourself completely overwhelmed with certain tasks?

Do you find yourself almost re-inventing the wheel every time a certain thing is due ? maybe getting your bookkeeping in order right before tax time or order office supplies for the company?

Have you gotten to the point in your business where you realize you need to start handing things off to other people, then realize that you?ve simply been operating on auto-pilot, making training much more complicated than it needs to be?

What?s missing in your business is process. Peggy Duncan, productivity expert, says that if you are going to do something more than once, you need to create a process. Additionally, if the process isn?t working, you need to adjust it!

When creating processes for your business, it?s often a case of working backwards from your goal. You look at what you want to have done, say, mailing an envelope to someone.

Write the letter
Fold it to fit into the envelope
Get an envelope
Put the letter in the envelope
Get a stamp
Get the address
Put the stamp on the envelope
Write the address and return address on the envelope
Get the envelope to the post office

Rather obvious set of steps.

But what if there are no stamps, or no envelopes? Where is the letter? What post office should I use, or is there a local mailbox?

Many times, when processes are created, certain basic steps are skipped ? simply because they are taken for granted.

So, reviewing the process, we might want to add some of the details

Write the letter a letter about a specific topic to a certain person that contains the following information. They font we use is Arial, font size is 12 points, color is black. Ensure that the letter is properly formatted using the template we?ve created
Have the letter edited by your supervisor. This is important since very communication we make in the company is part of our branding.
Make any necessary corrections from the supervisor
Print the letter out on a specific type of paper. If we are out of paper, please check the supply closet for extra paper. If you notice that the supply of paper is low, please let your supervisor know
Go to the mail room, where you will find envelopes, a postage scale with postage rate information and stamps, among a number of other items.
Get a standard letter envelope and the proper amount of postage out of the supply closet. If you are not sure what the amount is, you will find postage rates on the form next to the scale. If the scale is not in the post room, please alert your super.
Fold it to fit into the envelope in a c-fold format so all ends fit together ? (see diagram)
Put the letter in the envelope with the addressee?s information facing up, but still behind the fold (see diagram)
Write the address at the center of the envelope, the return address on the upper left corner of the envelope and the stamp on the upper right corner of the envelope(see diagram)
Place the letter in the mail bin on the table in the mail room.

?or something to that effect. Videos might work even better, if you?ve got the resources.

Building your processes DOES take time. However it gives you some basis to make improvements in your business. Seeing how things are done ? writing it out ? often makes you ask the questions, ?why do we do that?? or ?There?s got to be a better way.

Review your processes, periodically, to see what works and what makes sense. Maybe there is a way to reduce the cost of the process. Maybe certain parts of a process need to be handed off to other people who might be better or cost less. Maybe there are certain steps you need to add or omit, or maybe there is a way of redesigning your office to make it work better.

Processes are essential to efficiency in business. One precautionary thought ? don?t get so tied up in process that your business comes to a standstill. You?ve always, always, always got to keep moving forward.

At Aepiphanni Business Solutions, we are a Small Business Consulting Firm dedicated to serving the needs of small business owners. We specialize in helping business leaders and executives organize, plan and develop strategies for their organizations. We are committed to our clients' success.

If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Technorati Tags: Process Development,Efficiency,small business,strategy,planning,employees

Great Strategy Video from Tony Galliano

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:22:58 PDT

Tony Galliano ? the Sixty Second Strategist, posts this video on his website titled ?Strategic Planning Through Analysis & Forecasting. In it, he discusses the idea that strategic planning doesn?t just happen, and just because you?ve come up with some things you would like to do, there is a process for your strategic planning that has to make sense.

For more info on Tony and his work, check him and his book out at www.60secondstrategist.com. Take the quiz ? see what your Strategic Quotient is.

If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Technorati Tags: Strategic Planning,Strategic Thinking,Video,60 Second Strategist

A Penny Saved?: Recession Busting

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:20:33 PDT

My 16-year-old son said something interesting to me the other day that sort of stuck with me. He said, ?Dad, now that the drought is over, can we go back to longer showers??

I responded - ?Of course not. We don?t waste water just because we have it.? While without the results he had expected, he triggered a very wise thought.

A long gone saying I remember from my childhood was, ?a penny saved is a penny earned.? I suppose it took me about 35 years to figure out what it meant. But it embraced the concept of saving money, or in essence, preserving our resources, no matter how small or insignificant they seem to be.

The extension of that thought is with your business: as a result of the changes you?ve had to go through in order to operate your business, how many of the new habits or practices will you continue once the economy begins to prosper. Some recession busting practices that might make sense to carry forward include:

Having virtual meetings
Working virtually
Outsourcing non core activities
Holding webinars in lieu of short training sessions
Using the internet as an effective advertising medium
Building strong referral networks
Demonstrating value
Doing what you do - better

I suppose that if there are some good outcomes to a recession, ?cleaning out the junk? has got to be one thing on my list. What I mean by that is getting rid of all of the expenses ? reducing costs ? of things that weren?t core to the business, or part of your organization?s brand. That might mean selling extra equipment, getting rid of company cars and other non-essential benefits and going out and buying your own coffee.

Now, ask yourself ? that is, if you intend to keep your business thriving through the recession, ?where can I find my pennies?? What are the small things you can do that will add up over time? There are lots of them. Here are a few:

Use both sides of the paper (recycle)
Don?t print documents that you can read and save on your computer
Turn your non-essential computers off at night
Have a company like cBeyond do a free evaluation of your phone system ? they might be able to save you tons of money
Manage your employees? hours. If you let half of your team go and are paying the other half overtime most of the time, was that really the best option? Can you bring some back as contractors?
Use your team to help steer the company. You be the leader, have them provide the ?go!?

Happy collecting!

Technorati Tags: Resources,decision making,excellence,small business,saving,cBeyond,cutting costs,recession buster

As always, we welcome your thoughts and feedback.

If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Small Business can Apply for ARC Loans Beginning Today

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:22:14 PDT

***********************************************
U.S. Small Business Administration

-- News Release --

***********************************************

Release Date: June 15, 2009 Contact: David J. Hall (202) 205-6697
Release Number: 09-41 Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

Small Business can Apply for ARC Loans Beginning Today

WASHINGTON ? Starting today, June 15, SBA will begin accepting loans for a temporary new program called America?s Recovery Capital. ?ARC? loans of up to $35,000 are designed to provide a ?bridge? for viable small businesses with immediate financial hardship ? to keep their doors open until they get back on track.

?These ARC loans are another tool in the SBA toolkit which will provide critical support to small businesses struggling to make it through these tough economic times,? said Administrator Karen G. Mills.

ARC loans are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000, available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing and qualifying business debt. ARC loans are 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA and have no SBA fees associated with them.

ARC loans will be disbursed over a period of up to six months and will provide funds to be used for payments of principal and interest for existing, qualifying small business debt including mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit, capital leases, credit card obligations and notes payable to vendors, suppliers and utilities. SBA will pay the interest on ARC loans to the lenders at the
variable rate of Prime plus two percent.

Repayment will not begin until 12 months after the final disbursement. After the 12-month deferral period, borrowers will pay back the loan principal over a period of five years.

ARC loans will be made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly. For more information on ARC loans, visit www.sba.gov

For more information about all of the SBA?s programs for small businesses, call the SBA Answer Desk at 1-800 U ASK SBA or TDD 704-344-6640, or visit the SBA?s Web site at http://www.sba.gov.

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If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Trusted Partner

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:22:50 PDT

In our evolving, highly networked, interconnected world, it is easier to connect with people than ever before. Working with peer groups and mastermind groups from all over the world is not unheard of. Many of us have social network contacts that span the globe.

While there are a number of advantages to being highly networked, there are many disadvantages as well, such as id compromise, incredible amounts of spam, less privacy ? as a person and as a business and difficulty in verifying information about a product or service, just to name a few

One challenge I have seen, and have heard other businesses talk about is finding an employee, partner or alley that is ?exactly what we had in mind.? It seems like finding the right person to provide the right support is the exception to the rule.

Donald Trump once said something to the effect of, ?Be slow to hire and quick to fire,? which seems to be the opposite of the mindset that many of us have these days. We tend to hire people when we are in a crunch, and, if we like them, their qualifications are roughly what we are looking for, and they will accept our offer, we hire them, usually over the course of a few weeks without really understanding the person we are getting involved with.

If you are going to invest tons of money into one person, it would be wise to take your time.

Be in a position where you are always collecting resumes.
Instead of copying job descriptions from Monster.com, work with your team, peer group or advisor to identify deficits in the organization that need to be met.
Unless the job specifically requires the understanding of an advanced degree ? and be clear about that ? don?t throw out a candidate strictly on the basis of their education
Because a person moves around a lot, don?t assume that they are unstable ? they may simply have not found the right fit
Do the work ? check the references
Interview everyone that seems to be qualified. You may start with phone interviews or a group interview.
Find a personality study that works for you and use it on your top candidates. Having a team of fairly similar personalities might seem nice, but in most respects, it simply doesn?t work
Look them up on the internet. While I wouldn?t suggest that Facebook and all of the characters people ?befriend? is all-telling, a LinkedIn or Qalias profile might be more revealing.

When identifying a partner or alley for your organization, the ?due diligence? is just as important, if not more so. How a person presents him or herself is one thing. However, how they produce the products or services and with what consistency is something else, altogether. Remember ? you are in business to make money- first. A few things to keep in mind:

You need to have a clear understand of what the alley expects, and they need to clearly understand what you expect. This includes things such as timeliness, quality of work, payment, payment terms, arbitration, communication, who on your team they will be working with and responsible to, referrals, role, availability, etc.
Put it in writing. I cannot emphasize it enough. Not having expectations in writing will leave feelings of mistrust and could ultimately harm what could have been a good partnership
Keep in mind ? someone that does what they do part-time does whatever they do part time. While a lot of people do (and probably should!) start their business this way, you have to make sure that this is right for YOUR business and the number of hours you need fulfilled. If you settle, you and your clients will most likely end up unsatisfied
Develop some standard of regular communication, outside of the work that they are doing for your you are doing for each other. Keep each other ?in the loop? with respect to anything that would be appropriate
Don?t bring in a partner just because they are cheap. People that agree to come in low for a time that end up staying low won?t stay with you. Those that do stay with you may be worth what you are paying them. Find the right person or company for the job, then pay them what they are worth.
Don?t betray your partner?s trust. It is the beginning of the end. If you aren?t satisfied with something a partner is doing ? or not doing ? say it. Don?t simply go behind their back and do something different. Don?t burn the bridge

Finding and keeping a good partner will definitely take some work on your part, but the payoff will immeasurable. Take your time. Enjoy the process. Don?t wait until you are desperate. And treat them well.

If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.

Had an Aepiphanni, Lately? June 2009

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:39:35 PDT

YOU MESSED UP!! Now Keep it Movin?!

rmeekins@aepiphanni.com (Rick Meekins) — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:11:46 PDT

One of my favorite clients has a saying she is known for: "Keep it movin'! referring to the fact that once something is done, it's not like when we were kids playing kickball, and we could just shout, "do-over" and everything was good to go. British writer Victoria Holt echoes this sentiment in her statement,

"Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience."

In business, as in life, you will make mistakes. Some might suggest that if you haven't made any mistakes, you probably haven't done much! If you look at many of the people who have accomplished the most in life, you will probably find that they've made mistakes - lots of them. Some may even be bold enough to tell you that half of the decisions they made were WRONG. Dead WRONG.

Well, you have to ask yourself : what made them successful. The answer is quite simple - there nothing new here.

They accepted the mistake as being a mistake

They found out why it was a mistake

They learned from the mistake

They determined how to avoid the mistake, again

They kept their attitude in check

They tried again

What needs to be new or different is how we handle the inevitable mistakes, and, for that matter, the way that we approach each others' mistakes. We all make them, quite often, in an attempt to do something that is very right. Sometimes, there will be penalties for the mistakes that we make. Since mistakes come in all shapes and sizes, from buying the wrong paper, to opening the wrong business at the wrong time, it seems that the major factor, is how we handle it, and how we treat others who have made those mistakes.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - Luke 6:31, NIV

Assuming you would rather not be drawn and quartered for every mistake you make, this might be a very simple rule by which you respond to others' mistakes. Just imagine if everyone took that attitude. Just imagine if everyone would simply "KEEP IT MOVIN'!"

If you have further questions about creating your strategy or developing your vision, please give me, Rick Meekins, a call at 678-265-3908, or email us at info@aepiphanni.com.