| As the US economy continues to restructure itself, | | | | from you, the first step is to break your business |
| many skilled, middle management people are finding | | | | operation down into each operational element such as |
| themselves looking for new employment in jobs that | | | | office management, shop management, design and |
| have faded out of existence forever. Hardest hit is the | | | | engineering, sales and marketing, customer service, |
| so-called baby boomer generation, the age group that | | | | and human resources. Identify a few key metrics from |
| is 50-65 years old, educated, mature, and highly skilled. | | | | each of these areas that are critical to your |
| During the first part of 2008, various parts of Michigan | | | | organization's success. For example, it's one thing to |
| in particular were struggling with unemployment levels | | | | actually sell your products and services and generate |
| reaching 9.5%. However, small business startups in the | | | | the 'appearance' of revenue, but its an entirely different |
| state during the previous year jumped 17%. Some | | | | matter to ensure you are actually getting paid by your |
| people in this 'outplaced' category were fortunate | | | | clients and putting money into your checking account. |
| enough to receive a significant severance payment | | | | Once you've identified those key metrics for success, |
| and it's occurring to them, that the only way they may | | | | set up a system to track those numbers frequently, |
| find new employment, is if they 'buy' themselves a job | | | | accurately and easily. |
| - start a business based on a skill they might have. | | | | The second step is to take a comprehensive |
| However, people who are highly skilled at designing a | | | | approach to managing or being aware of every |
| world class fuel injection system or even the next | | | | aspect of your business operations. It's highly unlikely |
| generation of 'widgets', typically don't have the | | | | that your personal skill set qualifies you to tightly control |
| comprehensive skills needed to start and/or run a | | | | every aspect of your business operation. So, actively |
| business. So how does a potential entrepreneur | | | | compensate for those weaker areas by bringing in |
| overcome that lack of inexperience, and minimize risk? | | | | qualified people who do have those skills. Monitor those |
| Perhaps the single biggest factor for minimizing your | | | | operational components more tightly by increasing the |
| risk of being in business is ensuring the flow of | | | | flow of relevant information that you are personally |
| relevant, accurate information from every corner of | | | | reviewing. |
| your enterprise back to you. As a business owner, you | | | | Finally, once you know how every component of your |
| need to decide, in a bottom-line sort of way, 'What do I | | | | enterprise is performing, and you've compensated for |
| need to know about?' and 'Why is it important to me?' | | | | the strengths and weaknesses you've identified in your |
| Finally, you need to comprehend, 'Here's what I need to | | | | business, the next natural questions you want to ask |
| do about it.' This is actually a common dilemma; | | | | are, 'what are my competitor's doing?' 'What are their |
| Fortune 500 companies find themselves drowning in | | | | weaknesses?' And, perhaps most importantly, 'How do |
| oceans of information, to the extent that much of it | | | | I leverage that knowledge to help me achieve a |
| becomes useless, overlooked, and certainly | | | | competitive advantage?' Place yourself into situations |
| underutilized. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are | | | | where you can have 'your ear to the ground' such as |
| making critical life changing decisions on a daily basis, | | | | networking groups, chambers of commerce. Industry |
| and typically suffer from an absence of any relevant | | | | associations are great resources for competitive |
| information. | | | | information. Also, search the internet for tools that can |
| Regardless of whether you're CEO of a one horse | | | | provide business analysis and business performance |
| ranch, or you have an entire org chart descending | | | | data both for you and for your competition. |