We recently made the decision to revamp the look of our magazine. The updated look and content was much needed and has certainly given a boost to our company and bottom line. A friend asked me last month is the design process took 10-12 months. I laughed.
I think it took about a month from start to finish. One month to transform our product, which makes up 70% of our yearly revenues.
Could that have happened at a large, corporate magazine? No way. It would have taken them a month to plan the first meeting. While we usually can't match our larger competitors with pricey technology and the latest gizmos, we can beat them with our flexibility. And so can every other small firm in business today.
Small firms have always been compared to gazelles, the fastest animal on the planet. Gazelles move at a lightning pace and have the agility to switch directions the instant they spot a new opportunity.
As a small business, this agility is our secret weapon. Look for opportunities and trends where you can use that agility to grow your business and keep competitors at a distance.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Perseverance: The Key To Entrepreneurial Success
Do you want to succeed as a business owner? Can you persevere in difficult times?
Hopefully you answered yes because that's what it takes.
Take, for example, Jennifer Raeker. When her father Bob Raeker, also the founder of Bob Raeker Plumbing, died unexpectedly on a Saturday night, Jennifer had to step up to the plate. Despite being just 27, she was now in charge. "I had no idea how to run the business," says Raeker. "I never got into the finances. I had no idea what was in our savings, if $5,000 or $50,000 was a lot to have, or how to pay the bills."
To make matters worse, when suppliers found out what happened, they assumed the business would close and demanded payment in full, putting even more of a burden on the company.
Unlike many things in life, you can't teach perseverance. It's an innate, instinctive trait that is usually passed along from generations. If you have the ability to persevere (find silver linings when others only see gloom and doom), you'll succeed in any business and industry.
Raeker certainly has the ability to overcome challenges. She's built the 54-year-old company into a multimillion dollar firm.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Hopefully you answered yes because that's what it takes.
Take, for example, Jennifer Raeker. When her father Bob Raeker, also the founder of Bob Raeker Plumbing, died unexpectedly on a Saturday night, Jennifer had to step up to the plate. Despite being just 27, she was now in charge. "I had no idea how to run the business," says Raeker. "I never got into the finances. I had no idea what was in our savings, if $5,000 or $50,000 was a lot to have, or how to pay the bills."
To make matters worse, when suppliers found out what happened, they assumed the business would close and demanded payment in full, putting even more of a burden on the company.
Unlike many things in life, you can't teach perseverance. It's an innate, instinctive trait that is usually passed along from generations. If you have the ability to persevere (find silver linings when others only see gloom and doom), you'll succeed in any business and industry.
Raeker certainly has the ability to overcome challenges. She's built the 54-year-old company into a multimillion dollar firm.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Monday, February 22, 2010
Little Things Can Equal Big Savings
Little things can equal big savings in a hurry. The trick is having enough savvy to spot the potential savings. Here in St. Louis, an owner of a day spa discovered that technicians were using three pumps on a shampoo container when washing a client's hair. While only one pump of shampoo was needed, the extra two pumps per client didn't seem like a lot at first.
Until the owner calculated one year's worth. She soon discovered she could save more than $5,000 from just asking technician's to use one pump worth of shampoo.
For businesses of all sizes trying to cut expenses, these savings are all around us. The trick is to really focus on controlling these costs.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Until the owner calculated one year's worth. She soon discovered she could save more than $5,000 from just asking technician's to use one pump worth of shampoo.
For businesses of all sizes trying to cut expenses, these savings are all around us. The trick is to really focus on controlling these costs.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Friday, February 5, 2010
Old Communication Tools Still Work
When it comes to investing, Warren Buffet has a legendary quote: "Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well."
That's a great quote when it comes to investing, but it also applies to business as well. Keep this quote in mind as you begin your journey with social media. With everyone jumping on the social media bandwagon, don't forget things like letters and the telephone.
Ironically, in this age of social media and texting, one of our strongest sales tool is the hand-written letter. Yes, a scribbled, personal hand-written letter. Not one we ordered through a website, but a letter we actually wrote (with an ink pen and our own hands). Think about it. Who gets hand-written letters these days? It is a great way to stand out.
I'm not saying social media isn't a great way to go, or it doesn't have a future. I'm simply saying, Don't turn your back on the tools that helped you become successful in the first place. They still work. We're great examples of how these tools can work.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
That's a great quote when it comes to investing, but it also applies to business as well. Keep this quote in mind as you begin your journey with social media. With everyone jumping on the social media bandwagon, don't forget things like letters and the telephone.
Ironically, in this age of social media and texting, one of our strongest sales tool is the hand-written letter. Yes, a scribbled, personal hand-written letter. Not one we ordered through a website, but a letter we actually wrote (with an ink pen and our own hands). Think about it. Who gets hand-written letters these days? It is a great way to stand out.
I'm not saying social media isn't a great way to go, or it doesn't have a future. I'm simply saying, Don't turn your back on the tools that helped you become successful in the first place. They still work. We're great examples of how these tools can work.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Are Your Activities Helping You Reach Your Goals?
One of the great things about being a business owner is you call your own shots. Every morning you dictate your activities and energy level. It is certainly a blessing many employees around the country would like to try for just one day. It is a blessing but also a curse.
Many business owners get so unfocused that they end up chasing one opportunity after the other, never really focusing on their long-term goals.
The solution: A plan.
Business owners are the worst when it comes to planning. Most spend more time planning their vacations than the future of their businesses. If you fall into that group, complete the following exercise:
Jot down where you want your business to be in 3 years. Be specific with sales figures, number of clients and employees.
Take a look at your information. Start to break it down. For example, if you want 300 clients in 3 years, you'll need 100 by the end of year 1. After you find out what you need in year 1, start jotting down what it will take to make those numbers.
Presto, you have a plan. Keep it posted above your computer. When you are bogged down in meetings or bouncing from project to project, take a loot at your plan. Ask yourself: "Is this activity helping me reach my goals?" If the answer is no, stop doing it.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Many business owners get so unfocused that they end up chasing one opportunity after the other, never really focusing on their long-term goals.
The solution: A plan.
Business owners are the worst when it comes to planning. Most spend more time planning their vacations than the future of their businesses. If you fall into that group, complete the following exercise:
Jot down where you want your business to be in 3 years. Be specific with sales figures, number of clients and employees.
Take a look at your information. Start to break it down. For example, if you want 300 clients in 3 years, you'll need 100 by the end of year 1. After you find out what you need in year 1, start jotting down what it will take to make those numbers.
Presto, you have a plan. Keep it posted above your computer. When you are bogged down in meetings or bouncing from project to project, take a loot at your plan. Ask yourself: "Is this activity helping me reach my goals?" If the answer is no, stop doing it.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Friday, January 15, 2010
Are You A Rock or Sponge?
Therapists have a saying and it goes something like this: "When people come to us with a problem, the real problem is never what our patients' think." In other words, alcohol isn't your real problem, it is something that is leading you to drink. A therapists job is to pull back the layers and locate the real problem, and then the patient can work on solving that problem.
I thought of this the other day when talking to a local entrepreneur. This entrepreneur has been in business for about 15 years and she attended a peer group to gain new insights into herself and her business. After attending, she came to the conclusion that "I've seen everything in 15 years and none of these people can help me."
Houston: we've found the real problem.
John Wooden, the great basketball coach, has a famous saying, "It's what you learn after you know everything that really matters."
Entrepreneurs are certainly independent. Many fled the corporate world because they didn't want to answer to THE MAN each day. Those traits are great for running a company, but can also hold these owners back.
Most of the successful business owners I know are sponges, soaking in everything they can. They don't put up a wall and convince themselves they "know it all." They use what they can and are always open to new ideas, no matter who might provide them.
One of the best ideas for Jack Stack, owner of SRC Holdings in Springfield, Mo., came from the janitor. That idea and many others helped Stack turn around the near-bankrupt firm around.
There's not much hope for this entrepreneur, but there is hope for you. The lesson: put your ego to the side for a minute. You don't have to take the janitors advice, but you should at least listen. Your future may depend on it.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
I thought of this the other day when talking to a local entrepreneur. This entrepreneur has been in business for about 15 years and she attended a peer group to gain new insights into herself and her business. After attending, she came to the conclusion that "I've seen everything in 15 years and none of these people can help me."
Houston: we've found the real problem.
John Wooden, the great basketball coach, has a famous saying, "It's what you learn after you know everything that really matters."
Entrepreneurs are certainly independent. Many fled the corporate world because they didn't want to answer to THE MAN each day. Those traits are great for running a company, but can also hold these owners back.
Most of the successful business owners I know are sponges, soaking in everything they can. They don't put up a wall and convince themselves they "know it all." They use what they can and are always open to new ideas, no matter who might provide them.
One of the best ideas for Jack Stack, owner of SRC Holdings in Springfield, Mo., came from the janitor. That idea and many others helped Stack turn around the near-bankrupt firm around.
There's not much hope for this entrepreneur, but there is hope for you. The lesson: put your ego to the side for a minute. You don't have to take the janitors advice, but you should at least listen. Your future may depend on it.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
Monday, January 4, 2010
Management By The Numbers
When I start talking about numbers with my entrepreneurial friends they all start rolling their eyes. "There he goes again, talking about numbers." I can certainly understand their objections. After all, these risk-taking business owners are leading companies because they have a passion for what they do, not because they have a passion for flow charts and spreadsheets.
I used to think that way as well. Until my business coach showed me how to use my numbers to solve the weaknesses in my business. The numbers always tell a story, and if you get to know your numbers, you can solve your deepest business issues.
This concept works in all phases of life and business. Take, for example, the St. Louis Blues hockey team. The underachieving team recently fired its head coach because of the team's poor performance. So, how does the new coach start to solve some of the team's problems? Well, a look at the numbers shows the team's two main weaknesses, a poor power play (one of the league's worst) and a poor home ice record (the worst in the league). If the new coach wants to get the Blues into the top 8 slots for a playoff birth in the next four months, he must improve on these two weaknesses. Really, nothing else matters. If the Blues were just .500 at home this year and average (compared to the rest of the league) on the power play, the team would be in the coveted top 8 already. Solve these problems and the team is in the playoffs.
The numbers tell the new coach where to look to solve the team's problems. The lesson: If you don't chart and measure your performance in a variety of ways, you won't know how to correct your weaknesses.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
I used to think that way as well. Until my business coach showed me how to use my numbers to solve the weaknesses in my business. The numbers always tell a story, and if you get to know your numbers, you can solve your deepest business issues.
This concept works in all phases of life and business. Take, for example, the St. Louis Blues hockey team. The underachieving team recently fired its head coach because of the team's poor performance. So, how does the new coach start to solve some of the team's problems? Well, a look at the numbers shows the team's two main weaknesses, a poor power play (one of the league's worst) and a poor home ice record (the worst in the league). If the new coach wants to get the Blues into the top 8 slots for a playoff birth in the next four months, he must improve on these two weaknesses. Really, nothing else matters. If the Blues were just .500 at home this year and average (compared to the rest of the league) on the power play, the team would be in the coveted top 8 already. Solve these problems and the team is in the playoffs.
The numbers tell the new coach where to look to solve the team's problems. The lesson: If you don't chart and measure your performance in a variety of ways, you won't know how to correct your weaknesses.
--Ron Ameln, SBM
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