The Greener Side To Strategic Planning

There is much to be said about the way that companies operate today. Going green is a must for many and a good way to take your business for the better. Especially in a recession going green is the way to go for improvements that lead to success down the road.

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When clients look for a company to meet new & emerging needs, they need ways to distinguish your company from the others. If you are best at meeting their needs, its all in your strategic planning.

It’s about the way that you present your products & services. Making your greener initiatives clearly visible to the customer can work best. Set your greener strategic plans into action & make them more visible through advertising, public relations, certifications, alliances etc….

Prospective customers need trustworthy ways to distinguish your company from the crowd when determining if you are the best at meeting their new need.

But how can it all come together without an improved

strategic plan & implementation?

When your company determines the new customer needs that you will serve, there is no substitute for good, structured strategic planning. The winning companies will succeed because they made good choices in their strategic planning.

In the process of your strategic planning, try to focus on more greener initiatives. Going green can be a very useful strategy in today’s markets. Developing more greener strategic planning ahead of time can put you ahead of the competition. Your company’s response to new customer needs/ preferences can tell a lot about how your strategy works.

Your company and those involved, should do your best at improving your green initiatives in your strategic planning. It can improve your chances of leading in your industry.

Companies Find Alternatives To Layoffs & Closing Business

During a recession, many companies may find it difficult to maintain a large portion of their staff during tough economic times. Many of them don’t want to let go of current employees that they have but at the same time they need extra hands and competent minds to help get the job done. Some managers don’t want to add to the current unemployment crisis by increasing layoffs. Many business owners want to avoid closing business all together.
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So they are seeking alternatives to save money and keep business going in tough economic times. These companies have employed innovative techniques to keep business healthy without shrinking it. Instead of seeking ways to layoff employees, they’ve found alternatives to maintain their staff without additional employee expenses.

Many of them have found an alternative through outsourcing & utilizing Virtual Assistant Services. With Virtual Assistant (VA) services you gain a partner in business or projects not another employee.

Instead of taking the time to search for and train new employees you can take advantage of extra hands & a competent, business minded Virtual Assistant (VA). You & your staff can offload, outsource & maintain business with additional help and resources through VA services.

Onshore outsourcing with VA services can benefit your company as a whole and many business owners have found this to be true. Utilizing VA services helps you to reduce excess overtime work across the board, provides you with extra hands & additional resources, helps to lighten your workload, provides help when you need it, provides you with a resource that you can lean on in the good times and bad times of business.

This reduces the pressure to have full-time employees with idle days. Many Virtual Assistants have a portfolio of skills not just only clerical. Most Virtual Assistants’ strengths, backgrounds and expertise can provide beneficial input through which you can see ways to improve or benefit your business as a whole.

Outsourcing with VA services helps you & your workers communicate better & work together. You can leverage the resources of your alternative, The Virtual Assistant today!

A Need For Knowledge Management Can’t Be Denied

The specific knowledge of a company should be considered critical and should be reflected in policy, strategy, practices and overall functioning of any organization, profit or non-profit. That’s when you get into the area of knowledge management.

Defining knowledge management can be complex. It involves the process of acquiring, storing, distributing, and using information within a company. The information is generally held on a powerful database and distributed via a communications network. It’s also the coordination and exploitation of an organization’s knowledge resources, in order to create benefit and competitive advantage. The goal of knowledge management is sustained individual and business performance through ongoing learning, unlearning, and adaptation.

There are various types of knowledge management software out there. You just have to decide which is best for your company. It has emerged as a map or guide for all business strategy and it’s considered as a revolution in re-engineering of business processes. It helps in organization learning, competence management, innovation & quality management.

Knowledge management is imperative for your company. When you seek to justify your investment into knowledge management, ensure that it’s tied directly to your business objectives. It can help to drive achievement of those objectives. It can lead to reduced costs, increased revenue, increased profitability and the achievement of your other business objectives.

It requires a culture to facilitate it with significant investment to see results.

• Does your company have a culture of knowledge sharing or knowledge hoarding?
• How much time is lost within your organization when searching for information that’s in your company’s database but not available to others or when needed?

Knowledge management seeks to capture what the firm knows and makes that knowledge accessible throughout the organization. The need for managing knowledge cannot be denied, but every organization needs to act upon this need. Once it becomes better understood and more widely used, it’ll become more effective.

Small Business Insurance: Pay Now Or Pay Later

There are many things to think about in managing and starting a business. In your rush to stay on top of business, some important things can be overlooked or neglected, such a business insurance. No matter the size of your business, you need some form of insurance protection.

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Don’t let your coverage lapse/ terminate ’cause you never know when an emergency will come. Insurance is important for everything in your life, from your home, to your life and your car. Knowing that you have that security blanket there at all times, gives you peace of mind.

Check out my post called “In Business, Expect The Unexpected”

Even if you have a home-based business you might want to consider getting insurance for your business. Sometimes your house or apartment insurance may not cover your business equipment or losses.

You could get an add-on to your basic homeowners insurance policy such as a homeowners policy endorsement or an in-home business policy.

There are many things that insurance policies won’t cover so check with your insurance agent to see what you will & won’t get. Some insurance policies can be tailored to fit your needs.

Sometimes the amount of & type of business that you do can influence your eligibility for various types of insurance. Some policies are more expensive than others. Some include everything and others don’t.

There are many things that lead to the success and longevity of your small business. sometimes you just have to lay out the extra cash to benefit your business down the road. It’s best to make small payments now than to make HUGE payments later.

So which would you rather do: Pay Now Or Pay Later?

No matter what type of policy you choose to use for your business, the important thing is that you evaluate your business practices and needs, and take steps to protect them.

Bankruptcy: Learning Lessons From The Big Boys

There are many things that can cause a business to go bankrupt. If you care about the longevity of your business try to find ways to avoid bankruptcy all together. As a small business, sometimes you can learn lessons from the the big boys: major corporations.

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Many times it may seem like they have it all together but behind the scenes things are not so good. Then come to find out the companies that you thought were doing good are now going into bankruptcy. In conjunction with a bad economy & to no avail, many people are being forced into bankruptcy which causes problems in their business.

In 2008 many big companies filed for bankruptcy like Circuit City, Bally Total Fitness, Linens n’ Things etc… For 2009 many may be looking to file such as Hertz Rent-A-Car, Sprint, Macy’s, Textron, Goodyear, Chrysler etc…

Take a look at the Chrysler corporation, after trying many options to negotiate it’s debts, they have filed for bankruptcy in 2009 in an effort to reorganize & become more viable. According to the Reuters Report, Chrysler’s Chapter 11 filing is the first bankruptcy by a major U.S. automaker.

Will you be the next to file?

Sometimes bankruptcy can be caused by bad financial management or circumstances beyond the owners control. To help avoid this problem try to seek out wise financial counseling for yourself and your business.

Business bankruptcy is serious business & at some point in time in your small business you may run into financial problems. But with a little creativity and strategic planning, you can stop a small financial problem from turning into an outrageous financial crisis.

Sometimes bankruptcy serves as a relief to business owners who are financially stressed & they’re unable to find a way out or as a way to reorganize their operations in attempts to become viable after tough times.

Would reorganization or relief through bankruptcy

benefit a small business?

It is imperative for a business owner to find ways to overcome the financial problems that occur due to poor planning and lack of finance.  Then find ways to continue to run your business until it turns profitable.

At the end of the day when you take a look at it all, regardless of how good your product, how established your brand name, how valuable your plant and machinery or how dedicated and competent your staff; a negative cash flow could cause your business to crash & burn.

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Your Business Culture Makes A Difference

Your business culture says a lot about your business. It governs the behaviors of those within the business. Having strong leadership and cooperation during the trying times in business can determine the overall success of an organization. Some organization cultures have leaders that will fail the organization because of an attitude of arrogance.

Everyone within the organization should live the culture. Many times the culture within your organization may need some changes, adjustments, constant monitoring & evaluation in order to determine if you and/ or those working with you are achieving company goals.

Many times your organization’s culture can determine any disadvantages or failures that your company may suffer. Strong & effective business cultures outlast the influence of even the strongest leader.

You expect your business to be successful. Then the structure of your business culture should encourage and promote innovative ideas and improvements from everyone, employees to management.

The culture of an organization can determine the future of your business success. Invest in developing an effective and efficient internal culture. The norms & values of an organization aren’t formed from speeches but through actions & team learning.

Sometimes you can even give recognition to those within your organization who exemplify company values behaviors & standards. There should be constant reinforcement. Many times the culture of your organization determines the overall morale of those within the organization. Reap the benefits of customer & employee loyalty by having a clearly defined culture with implementation, evaluation & reinforcement.

Have you taken the time to really study the internal culture of your business to see if it is conducive for success?  Well… is it?

If not then there needs to be some changes made. If it is then reinforce the good behaviors. Making changes to your business culture requires leadership skills & strong effort. Your business culture will determine how an organization perceives, interprets, assesses, evaluates and responds to existing and possible threats or opportunities in business.

Your business’ culture is important and without one that is clearly defined it will be difficult to serve your customers well.

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Clerical Business Solutions www.clericalsolutionsinc.net

Entrepreneurs Find Success In Utilizing Virtual Assistant Services

There’s a lot that goes into being an entrepreneur and maintaining a successful business or project. Many entrepreneurs are just starting out or they are already in business. Many times in business it may be hard to find more free time for yourself or to pursue other business ventures.

Entrepreneurs are utilizing a beneficial & cost-effective resource to support their goals and plans for their future success. They have found this resourceful support through the use of Virtual Assistant Services ( also known as VA’s).

Maintaining a business or projects can be challenging, stressful & requires support. Business can take a toll on anyone when you are just relying on yourself to get everything done. You should have someone other than yourself that you can pass tasks onto to help you get the job done. This is where a Virtual Assistant comes in handy.

In today’s business environment & with the power of the internet, “virtual” is the way to go. It’s one of the many cost effective ways to manage & start a business.  As an entrepreneur, you can utilize a VA with your current staff.

There are many ways to succeed in a business & working with VA services is one of them.

Utilizing the services of a Virtual Assistant helps you to become more organized, create a leaner organization, reduce operation costs & maintain a growing business. Also you get help on an as need basis & not paying for in-house help when you don’t need it by reducing employee related expenses and more.

Utilizing the services of a VA helps you to be more creative by having someone to brainstorm with and share in your business ideas. You gain more free time for the things that you want to do & catch up on the things that you need to do. Virtual assistance can be your weapon in fighting through the recession, coming out on top and getting ahead of your competition. So don’t hesitate any longer, take advantage of this great resource, Virtual Assistant services today!

6 Tips For Better Business Planning

There is so much that goes into managing and developing a business. It’s all about the plans that you make. Your business plans don’t have to be set in stone. They need to be flexible and strategic. Business plans provide a foundation for success, growth and longevity. Developing strategic business plans are imperative for the success of your business. In addition to the implementation of those set plans. What are plans without the implementation?

You can maximize business growth and minimize risk through effective strategic and contingency business planning. Flexible business planning and goal setting is an essential part of business development and ongoing success.

1. Don’t Just Plan For Today.

Create plans in a long term view. You should make plans for at least 4-5 yrs from now. What are your plans for the future? Who do you plan to have in charge? Do you plan to grow then sell? Do you plan to utilize outsourcing? Revise your plans as your business grows. If your business doesn’t grow then you still need to revise your plans to improve growth efforts.

2. Make Clear & Precise Plans.

Make clear & precise plans for the daily management of your business. They  should be clear to everyone involved. Additions and subtractions to your plans should be made known to all that are involved.

3. DIY: Do It Yourself.

Many people take the time out to make business plans themselves. In this case, you can get to know your business better and discover things that you never thought about.

4. Don’t just stuff your plans in a box to forget about them.

Set aside some time to review them on a regular basis and make changes.

5. Don’t just keep your plan to yourself.

Show your plans to others that you can trust and get beneficial advice on what you’ve created so far.

6. Involve strategic planning.

A strategic plan can make for a better business plan. Strategic planning helps you to dig deeper and achieve desired results. It can help you to better determine your S.W.O.T: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Avoid costly mistakes such as worrying too much about how things will work out and waiting to the last minute. Just jump right in and plan. Set specific goals. Avoid overestimating or underestimating plans. Set targets and figures that you have the means to achieve now. They can be adjusted as you go along to do more or cut back. You can utilize a business plan template to look at but your business plan must be specific & tailored for your business.

Don’t Stifle Creativity

Creativity should be one of the many things at the heart of your organization. Running a business or starting one needs creativity. You can turn your creativity into a product, service or operation. You can use creativity to improve on your products, services, work or operations.

Creativity should be what you or your team rely on to be better than you ever were before. The creative process is an ongoing exercise. If you or your team are not creative enough, get training in this area. These skills can be learned, developed and practiced with the right training. But of all things don’t stifle creativity within your organization. That’s the worst thing for cohesiveness, collaboration & success in any company.

You can agree to disagree and you can discuss things. But don’t shoot an idea down until you or your team have had plenty of time to think things through and look at a particular idea from all angles. Then make a judgment call as in whether to go forward with it or not.

In being more creative improve your focus. Develop a laser focus on one idea or a select few at a time. A bad thing for creativity is being overwhelmed with too many ideas at once. Weigh your options, the pros & cons, organize, prioritize  and do a S.W.O.T analysis.

In S.W.O.T, figure out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. If you utilize this with with more creative thinking techniques it can help to keep you from feeling overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed with info can make anyone frustrated. So you have to calm down and take a different approach.

If your focus is weak then the results will be weak or useless. The ability to direct your focus is an art. Creative work is the result of clarity and the expansion of focused intent.

Sometimes looking at an idea from different angles can involve lateral thinking. Lateral thinking can spark creativity & improve other thinking skills. Lateral thinkers can change perceptions then come up with new concepts and ideas.

Lateral thinking involves the examination of a problem and its possible solutions from all angles. Many times you may get stuck and just feel like you’re not that creative. Sometimes that stems from being stuck in a habitual mode of thinking. Thinking in the same old way of doing things.Your same old thinking styles become automatic as the years go by. Sometimes you have to change old habits to develop new ideas.

As a CEO, co-worker or manager be open to new ideas and give credit where credit is due. That may seem like a hard task for many, but not acknowledging where the creative ideas or solutions come from can create problems.

Many times having an adequate solution to a problem may not be the best. With adequate ideas, figure out how to make them better. You need the best creative ideas. Many times the adequate stifles the best. When people have an “OK” solution or idea, they just stop right there and don’t go any further because of doubt. Sometimes you have to move past doubt to be more creative and move forward.

The Co-Ceo: Sharing Power From The Top

The co-CEO model has been around for some time now. Some companies have seemed to make it work and others ummm….. not so much. It seems to work in limited cases and it has failed miserably in others. The co-CEO arrangement involves 2 or more people sharing the decision-making duties from the top of the company. It’s been around for a long time but not so openly discussed.

Many times in sharing top management duties there can be power struggles. There are some well known companies who continue to use this model such as Bed, Bath N’ Beyond, Charles Schwab, Martha Stewart, Citigroup and others. Many professionals seem to disagree on power sharing for the head of a company. They feel that it’s not good for the company as a whole. Some feel that it has lead to the downfall of many good corporations.

Do you see this as becoming an option for your business?

Some companies have been known to have three, count ‘em three co-Chairmen and three CEOs. Many times it all depends on the size of the company, what’s involved and the industry. It’s quite different from a co-leadership model. In the co-leadership model, the leader works closely with another person or committee in the top management. On some occasions, if the co-CEO position comes about because of a merger, there can be a power struggle rising instead of power-sharing.

This model can be an effective way to run an organization if communication lines are clear and everyone understands who is doing what. If a co-CEO arrangement is made, then the executives should put their personal agendas & egos aside for the good of the company, check ‘em at the door. The only thing worse than an overly hierarchical organization is ambiguity. The CEO’s job should be more about getting the job done correctly, moving a company forward and less about titles. When the roles of each individual are clearly outlined with no room for guessing, then that helps in collaboration with employees and other management.

This type of relationship takes development of a healthy relationship where the top executives have confidence in each other, true commitment, teamwork, close alignment & effective  collaboration throughout the company as a whole. Effective collaboration can lead to better management, more creative thinking and a leaner organization. Many times some companies seek out the co-CEO model instead of the traditional CEO and president line up. Sometimes you’ll see the co-CEO model more in family-owned organizations.

The co-CEO management can lead to better decision-making, extra inspiration for others & lower chances of CEO burnout. Sometimes two heads are better than one. This can be an effective model for succession planning where the eventual successor to the CEO position acts as co-CEO for a while with the departing leader. 

Companies should not just leap head first into the co-CEO arrangement. It may not be the quick fix to business problems that you are facing. It should be taken into careful consideration by all those involved. It must be known that this type of business model can flop at anytime if managed poorly or put in place for the wrong reasons.

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Clerical Business Solutions www.clericalsolutionsinc.net