MAKE IT HAPPEN – IN RECESSION!

Roy Robinson, a highly respected champion of the Self-Employed has allowed us to add this to our blog.

MAKE IT HAPPEN – IN RECESSION!

Over the years it has been asked at various times whether or not it can be a good idea to start a new business during difficult economic times. Apart from the inevitable “it all depends upon the type of business” reply, one definite advantage appears constant: if you start-up during a recession there is much less chance of self-delusion! There is always the danger that anyone who benefits from buoyant times and markets may begin to believe the success is according to their brilliance, rather than recognising that in those circumstances almost anyone could achieve some short-term success. As in the corporate world, it is hard-times and recessions which can test (and prove) the quality and qualities of their management.

General gloom and despondency can encourage a “wait and see” mentality – hang on in there and it may work out. This is the equivalent of the business that is sinking into trouble but ignoring the signs, taking no action, and hoping that it will all work out eventually. If things are quietening down – you have the time to do things!

So you’ve checked all the figures – you’ve addressed any fixed costs – you have reduced your expenses to a minimum. Forecasts have been re-worked, cash is being conserved. All essential – but what you really need are Sales – your only source of actual Income.

The trouble is that when times are good Marketing activity alone might be enough to bring in the customers – and many small businesses fail to recognise that that is very different from a pro-active (note active!) approach to Selling.

Do not abandon all Marketing (costs) without thought – but do appraise it carefully, and especially explore Promotion ideas which are cheaper or even free. A “good news” Press Release? (In the early 90’s we organised a very successful celebration of successful start-ups because all the media was reporting at that time were the failures!)

SO THE WEATHER’S BAD, THE CUSTOMERS ARE IN THEIR BUNKERS, AND THE TELEPHONE IS QUIET….IT DEPENDS UPON YOUR BUSINESS, BUT….

Call previous customers and suggest pre-booking work ahead – you’ll be busy later!

Better still, call in and see them - eyes open! - suggest things that may need doing…..

Targeted, “seasonal”, specific, one-off leaflet drops. (You’ve nothing else to do!)

Are there new ways of “packaging” what you do? New wrappers sell old chocolate!

Could your self-employed status be attractive to any businesses reducing staff?

Are there any markets you have not addressed which now are worth some effort?

Could you team up with other related/complementary enterprises and each promote the other? Enhances value of “slack time” used for these activities – and if you’re busy!

Go looking for potential new customers who may benefit from what you offer!

Carry business cards/ comp.slips everywhere. Turn “network” into a verb!

Is there anyone in your territory that does not know of you? Why?

Have a look at “Always Think Ahead” in this section. Have you been actively selling?

What exactly are you doing with your days when business is quiet?

In the same way that some people can charge higher prices than others in the same business – in the same way that some individuals can get very different results from otherwise identical businesses…..some people will trade successfully throughout any difficult times. But they will do different things and look at things a different way. What they will not do is refuse to change or question anything and decide to wait and see what happens!

SO WHAT ARE YOU PERSONALLY GOING TO DO ABOUT RECESSION?

How A Bank Manager Thinks!

When talking to your local business bank manager
(how a bank manager thinks)

Never say:
‘I have the greatest idea since sliced bread – and nobody else is doing it.’

Bank managers are by nature not risk takers. You are not talking to a venture capitalist. They went into banking as a secure career option ( i.e. they are not risk takers but cautious types! ) and in you trot asking for money against an idea that they will perceive as a risk - particularly nowadays!

Phrases like ‘no one else is doing this in this town’ or ‘it is completely unique’ will get them reaching for oxygen.

Stress that your idea is as old as time – but you have a new twist on it. And, your money is safe in my hands!

Not so cheerful - but, Why do Businesses Fail?

Why do Businesses Fail?

Many reasons… a mix of these:

Credit problems.
Poor location.
No, or too few, customers.
Red tape.
Under-capitalised.
Over-trading.
Health problems.
Family commitments.
Poor management skills.

But one of the biggest in my humble opinion:
Lack of experience.

Don’t assume that being your own boss makes you automatically a good boss.

My background is in sales and marketing management. When I went self-employed I thought I knew how to run a business. Well, I knew those aspects. But not finance, administration and all those other skills. When you were employed, others took care of their sections.

Remember – employment is nothing like self-employment. But also remember - when you get it right, it beats employment hands down!

Self-Employed Pitfalls to Avoid No:2

• Over-caution: learn to take risks and when to stick your neck out. The faint-hearted won’t progress. Can you accept that by starting your own business you are a risk-taker? Are you comfortable with risk-taking?

• Easy target-setting: while you need to be sensible, fear of failure may make you set your sights too low.

• Financial motivations: sounds bizarre, but if you think self-employment is a quick road to riches, you could be in for a rude awakening. Try the lottery or Pop Idol instead. Keep cash in sight, but let other reasons for self-employment be your prime motivators, at least to start with!

• Procrastination: or, put simply, over-indulging in thinking and planning and never getting on with it. Oh yes – time management for the self-employed is an important skill to master.

• Butterfly mind: in other words, one that flits from task to task. Self-employment can offer variety, just avoid all 57 of them!

• Cul-de-sacs: a polite way of saying keeping on course and not chasing too many other opportunities. Yes, keep an open mind to new ideas, but without losing focus.

• Poor delegation: seeing your business too much as ‘yours’ and precious to you. Others – and it could be your employees – can help you achieve your goals, so work with them.

• Not watching the opposition: it exists and it wants to take your customers away. Keep an eye out; remember that your customers always have a choice. Never, ever fall into the trap of believing that you have no competition. You are too sensible for that surely? Your competition may not be direct. Just remember that customers always have a choice how and where to spend their cash.

What A Good Idea 1

Founded by publisher, HarperCollins, www.Authonomy.com is a new site that invites unpublished or self-published authors to post at least 10,000 words for visitors to read online.

Visitors review and recommend books. Authonomy keeps track of the number of recommendations a book receives and ranks writers accordingly. To help authors make it from computer screen to printed book, once a month the top five books are delivered to the desks of HarperCollins commissioning editors.

The website is free to use both for readers and writers, and HarperCollins hopes the wisdom of the crowds will help them unsource potential hits that individual editors or agents might otherwise miss, or just don't have the time to read. Needless to say, the site could also prove to be a good marketing tool once manuscripts are actually published, since authors won't have to build a fan base from scratch.

Self-Employed Pitfalls to Avoid

• Your business takes over: learn to balance your ‘precious’ business with your family, friends and social life. Your friends will stop asking ‘How is the business?’ They’re fed up with you boring them rigid about it!

• Health: watch it, and keep fit. You will need the constitution of an elephant. Take out some health insurance.

• Survival income: check this and if the business idea does not provide it, then ask why are you bothering? You want to make money, don’t you?

• Income variations: the income graph for the self-employed can be, to put it mildly, volatile! That regular pay day vanishes and some customers will take as long as they like to pay. Will you be able to cope with this degree of uncertainty?

• Unemployable: the self-employed lifestyle can become addictive. But the more you do it, the less you may become employable by orthodox employers. In short, you will no longer fit the mould, be unable to do as others tell you, or confirm to the rules of the company ‘game’.

• Ostrich approach: burying your head in the sand and avoiding that nasty phone call, invoice or red tape. They don’t go away. Remember one of your motives for choosing self-employment was to be ‘in control of your own destiny’ – so deal with them!

• Ego: status sometimes plays a great role in choosing self-employment. You may seek a certain standing in the local business community and be tempted to buy ‘baubles’ like a fast car, posh office equipment, perhaps just to impress former work colleagues. Don’t – not until you can afford to!

• Playing at it: self-employment isn’t a game, though if you are going to be miserable doing it consider staying in the world of the employed, as the chances are that you will earn more by that route. So, have fun and get a buzz from it – but take it seriously.

Essential Skills for The Self-Employed

Essential Skills for The Self-Employed (well, some of them)

• Motivation: simply the ability to get up in the morning and get going without instructions from an employer or boss. ‘Lazy’ and ‘self-employed’ don’t go in the same sentence.

• Belief: in your product or service. If you have any doubts, customers will sense them and run a mile!

• Marketing: of you. No one else is going to do this for you. Sadly, this is an area the self-employed often neglect.

• Focus: (or is it vision?) and a clear sense of purpose about where you want to be and how you plan to get there.

• Resilience: bucket loads of this will be needed! The capacity not to give up when orders are lost and delays are faced will be essential.

• Organisation: deal with those piles of paper. Get your invoices out and be ready to chase when they are not paid. Remember you are not in business to be a money-lender – unless, of course, money-lending is your business!

• Loneliness: if you think this should be in the next section, then perhaps self-employment is not for you – or not yet! Linked closely to motivation, there is a different mind-set to grasp: emotional loneliness, which isn’t as bad as it sounds!

• Inspiration: sometimes just seeking it and looking forward to creating new opportunities.