Employees and your personal goals

A small business is a blank canvas. We get to determine what we put on that canvas. We get to determine what type of company we own. This applies to every aspect of the business, from the clientele we target to the image we present. From the type of work we do to the types of painters we employee.

An artist does not simply throw paint on his canvas (not a true artist). He begins with a vision of what he will create. He plans his final product long before he begins to create. We must do the same with our business.

If we wish to hire good employees we must begin by identifying where we want to lead them. We must identify our vision for our company. We must picture what our company will look like in a year, five years, or ten years down the road. We must identify our Definite Chief Aim. Only then can we determine the path to take to get there and the type of people who will help us.

Our vision serves as our guiding light, as the goal toward which our efforts are directed. If that vision is unclear or undefined we essentially have no direction—we move aimlessly and inconsistently. We are shooting at an unknown target.

However, if that vision is clear our actions can become more consistent. Our actions can move consistently towards our goal. And we can communicate where we are going and how we will get there.

Collecting seed corn for your small business

I grew up in a rural area. Our nearest neighbor owned a working farm. The oldest boy was my age, so I frequented the farm to ride horses, feed the cows, and assorted other activities.

One day the farmer was taking the kernels off of a load of harvested corn. He had usually stored the corn without doing this, which he then fed to his animals. I asked about this activity. “This is my seed corn,” he said. I still didn’t understand. “Next spring I will need to plant another crop of corn. If I don’t save some of my harvest from this year, I won’t have anything to plant. These are the seeds for next year’s crop.”

So it is with a small business—if we don’t save some of today’s harvest, we won’t have any seed corn for next year. If we don’t save some of this year’s harvest, we cannot grow our business.

In the case of our business, cash is the seed corn. Cash allows us to advertise, to purchase and maintain equipment, to invest in training, to save for a rainy day. Cash allows us to invest in our business and provide benefits. Cash allows us to grow our business. Just as a farmer can’t grow a crop without his seed corn, a business can’t grow without cash.

The farmer gets his seed corn from today’s crop. The businessman gets his cash from today’s sales—but only if it is built into his price. If his price does not include seed corn the cash will not be available. If he does not anticipate tomorrow’s needs he will not be able to meet tomorrow’s expenses.

The farmer plants more corn than he needs today. The excess becomes his seed corn. The businessman must charge more than he needs for today’s expenses, and the excess becomes his seed corn.

I see many small business owners focus on their immediate income and expenses. This short-term approach denies them seed corn. For what will they do when equipment needs replacing? How will they advertise? How will they weather a temporary lull in business? Without seed corn, they can’t. As a result, they get locked into a vicious cycle of feast or famine.

Those who do not collect seed corn will have nothing with which to plant next year’s crop. And without a crop, there will be nothing to harvest come the fall.

Why do small businesses fail?

According to the Small Business Administration, more than 90% of the businesses starting today will not make it to their 5th anniversary. Of those that survive 5 years, another 90% will fail within another 5 years. After 10 years, less than 1 out of 100 small businesses remain open. Why do so many businesses start with high hopes and end up as another statistic?

The reason most businesses fail is because the owner does not develop business systems. He gets what Michael Gerber (author of The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It) calls “entrepreneurial seizure”. A skilled technician decides he is tired of working for someone else and hangs out his shingle–now he’ll make the big bucks. But there is much more to owning a business than having your name on the sign.

I know because I have been there and done that. For years my business wasn’t producing the results that I wanted. I suffered all the common complaints of small business owners: unmotivated employees, too few leads, low-priced competition. And then I changed my business and my life–I developed systems.

Business success is not always a matter of working harder. You must also work smarter. Working smarter means identifying the results you want, the specific actions that create those results, and then taking those actions consistently. Developing systems and procedures for your small business provides the structure and guidelines that will consistently produce the results you desire.

My e-book, Systems Development for Small Business, will help you identify the results that you want and how to take the necessary actions on a consistent basis.

A sample text widget

Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa.

Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna.