Juggling it all…
Entrepreneurs, whether solo or managing a fleet of employees, never seem to have enough hours in the day. If I had a penny for every time I heard the phrase “I’m so busy” from an entrepreneur I would be worth gazillions in pennies! However, the reality is that you could be busy but not maximizing your potential. Every business owner needs to balance focusing between what we call the Macro and Micro aspects of the business.
The Micro aspects are where most business owners spend the majority of their time. This is the devil in the details, execution of daily services or production as well as managing orders, new business, client service, human resources and the rest. On top of this always longer than you like list of things to do are the almost daily “emergencies”. From production delays to increases in pricing from suppliers to customer demands, on a regular basis we face items not on our “to do” list and must address them for the health of our business.
So how do you get control? How do you look up and plan for the bigger picture? If you do not look at the Macro view, it is all too likely you will stay mired in the Micro.
Focus on the vision…
The first place to begin when addressing the Macro area is to ask yourself where you want to go with your business. What is your goal? Is it a sale of the business in “x” years? Or perhaps you wish to pass it on to your children or nieces, nephews or other family members? Or maybe you want to work until it is not fun anymore and then sell the business outright or pass it on? Do you have a clear path for success? Do you currently measure your rate of increase and successes or challenges from the past?
If you do not know where you are coming from it is hard to see where you can go. The next exercise is to look back over the past three years. Assuming you have not radically changed your business model, this process should provide data for a solid understanding of what is driving your business.
The factors you want to really pay attention to is the growth of the business, how different sectors or product lines may have played a part and what types of profitability each area is providing. Then review specifically how new business originated.
Once you have data, you can then start to craft a plan of action to actively and consciously build on your past success (or learn from your mistakes). Easier said than done and one more thing to put on that long to do list but taking the time to focus on the macro can yield big results.
Planning out both cash flow as well as attention to marketing, possibly hiring additional key staff members, adding product lines or service areas to your business can help increase your bottom line. Depending on your past growth rate and your future goals, your macro picture will vary.
If you have been growing at a moderate to slow pace but plan on a sale of the business in 10-years, you need to ramp it up. You need to deliberately implement new marketing and sales techniques and be ready to measure their effectiveness. You may need to allocate money to hire coaches and outside consultants. Marketing campaigns may not yield immediate success so you must be ready to tweak those campaigns and continually try new things to drive future growth rates. You must also build a business that can run without you and have an attractive acquisition value to a potential acquirer if you plan to sell it. Potential acquirers look for what we call “barrier to entry” that is something unique, effective and not easy for someone else to replicate. That attribute of your business adds significant value so take some time to put thought into your unique offering.
Carving out time to focus on the macro area and implement strategies to execute that long range plan can and typically do yield big results. There will always be hiccups on the road to success but without a plan to execute the macro you will remain mired in the macro. People do not plan to fail they simply fail to plan. Stand out from the crowd and plan for success!
