Professionals Talk Entrepreneurship--What Makes A Small Business Work
Professionals Talk Entrepreneurship--What Makes A Small Business Work
CNN recently brought an old favorite to the surface in an article titled "Want to Start a Biz? Here’s What Matters" by writer Ian Mount. Mount takes a relatively brief space to ask two business-leader-turned-writers (Ken Blanchard and Scott Shane) what, in their professional opinions, are the most important factors to small business success. The perspectives of these two businessmen pose some interesting ideas to help paint a fuller picture of what a small business franchise needs in order to thrive.
Staying Power and Passion
Some people are under the impression that increasing the number of business opportunities in America is a key step toward strengthening our economy. When asked how small business impacts the national economy, Shane agreed in part but went a little deeper. He says, "for job creation you should be less concerned with how many new businesses there are than with how many good ones are being started."
In the course of the same discussion point, Ken Blanchard, who calls himself "much more in the dream-making business" than the pragmatic Shane, agreed with his colleague and added that "the great competitive edge of America is free enterprise and the opportunity to be your best and to seek a living that excites you." And the average business leader would probably agree with him: passion matters in business as much as a successful model.
Together, the two ideas that these two men bring work well together. It’s important for a Right at Home home business owner to be a good businessman who can stand the test of time, but if he has no excitement for offering in-home aid to elderly clients, his business will only be a lifeless shell. Likewise, a Flicko’s franchisee with a heavy passion for video production will be able to work from home for long hours, but if he can’t manage a business well, there will be no work for him to do and the business will fail. Success, and thus economic stimulus, relies heavily upon having a heart and mind for the franchise business.
An Inadequate Reason for Business
The two also briefly discussed reasons for starting businesses: both the good reasons and the bad. "Starting a business for the reason most people do - because they don't want to have a boss - is a bad reason," Says Shane. "Often people don't want a boss because they don't want to be told what to do. But your customers often tell you what to do, and if you don't want to listen to anyone, you probably won't listen to your customers."
He’s right. A completely independent (aka rebellious) spirit is a problem in business. The One Hour Parties franchisee who refuses to accept client requests when planning short corporate parties is not likely to keep his home based business in operation for long.
Were Shane specifically speaking to the world of franchise business on this issue, he could have easily added that taking "being your own boss" to mean not having to listen to your franchisor is also disastrous. Though owning a franchised small business does involve some business freedom, it is not complete autonomy, and anyone who doesn’t want to play by proven franchisor rules is not cut out for the business.
How do You Set a Small Business Apart?
When trying to set their businesses apart from the crowd, some small business owners make the mistake of trying to offer the cheapest prices. Scott Shane says that "pricing competition is not the most successful way to compete. In fact it's one of the worst ways. You can't compete on price if you can't compete on cost. And if you're starting small, you're rarely going to have a cost advantage."
In agreement with Shane, Blanchard went on to reference the words of entrepreneur Jan Carlzon of Scandinavian Airlines, who said, "We're not going to beat the competition on price, because we don't want to get into a price war with bigger competitors. Instead we're going to beat them on 'moments of truth,' which happen anytime a customer comes into contact with an employee."
The point that both of these business wizards make is simple and true: it takes size to have the best prices, and size is something that smaller franchises simply don’t have. The only way to make a little Computer Troubleshooters IT support and repair business stand out is by providing the best service every time, because that can be accomplished without size or huge financial resources. And ultimately, good service is what clients want the most.
How Much Do Start-up Funds Matter?
Toward the end of the interview, the men were asked how important outside financing was to a business’ success. Blanchard responded by recounting a time in business when he and his associates had done things rightly: "We were self-financed, but we brought five prominent entrepreneurs onto our advisory board who said they would get us work. We didn't ask them for money. Instead they sent us customers, who were money."
It’s often tempting to believe that throwing money at a problem will make it go away, but as Blanchard clearly points out, the success of a business opportunity rides not on how much money it begins with, but how much cash flow it has. Money is a constant need, and even if a well built home inspection business for sale like Pillar to Post doesn’t have a continuous financial influx, no amount of initial capital will be able to make up for it.
Continuing Discussion
These two men are not just business leaders, but authors of books addressing the very same issues they discussed with CNN. After over two centuries of free market business in the US, the discussion on the best small business practices continues, and it’s not likely to end soon.
Professionals Talk EntrepreneurshipWhat Makes A Small Business Work - To learn more about this author, visit Candice Clem's Website.
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Free Download - What Sets A Home Based Business Franchise Apart? By Candice Clem |
In small business, there is a small handful of core inquiries always in circulation, asked and answered again and again. The questions asked are so profound, so multifaceted, that they need to be constantly re-asked, re-analyzed, and re-answered.
CNN recently brought an old favorite to the surface in an article titled "Want to Start a Biz? Here’s What Matters" by writer Ian Mount. Mount takes a relatively brief space to ask two business-leader-turned-writers (Ken Blanchard and Scott Shane) what, in their professional opinions, are the most important factors to small business success. The perspectives of these two businessmen pose some interesting ideas to help paint a fuller picture of what a small business franchise needs in order to thrive.
Staying Power and Passion
Some people are under the impression that increasing the number of business opportunities in America is a key step toward strengthening our economy. When asked how small business impacts the national economy, Shane agreed in part but went a little deeper. He says, "for job creation you should be less concerned with how many new businesses there are than with how many good ones are being started."
In the course of the same discussion point, Ken Blanchard, who calls himself "much more in the dream-making business" than the pragmatic Shane, agreed with his colleague and added that "the great competitive edge of America is free enterprise and the opportunity to be your best and to seek a living that excites you." And the average business leader would probably agree with him: passion matters in business as much as a successful model.
Together, the two ideas that these two men bring work well together. It’s important for a Right at Home home business owner to be a good businessman who can stand the test of time, but if he has no excitement for offering in-home aid to elderly clients, his business will only be a lifeless shell. Likewise, a Flicko’s franchisee with a heavy passion for video production will be able to work from home for long hours, but if he can’t manage a business well, there will be no work for him to do and the business will fail. Success, and thus economic stimulus, relies heavily upon having a heart and mind for the franchise business.
An Inadequate Reason for Business
The two also briefly discussed reasons for starting businesses: both the good reasons and the bad. "Starting a business for the reason most people do - because they don't want to have a boss - is a bad reason," Says Shane. "Often people don't want a boss because they don't want to be told what to do. But your customers often tell you what to do, and if you don't want to listen to anyone, you probably won't listen to your customers."
He’s right. A completely independent (aka rebellious) spirit is a problem in business. The One Hour Parties franchisee who refuses to accept client requests when planning short corporate parties is not likely to keep his home based business in operation for long.
Were Shane specifically speaking to the world of franchise business on this issue, he could have easily added that taking "being your own boss" to mean not having to listen to your franchisor is also disastrous. Though owning a franchised small business does involve some business freedom, it is not complete autonomy, and anyone who doesn’t want to play by proven franchisor rules is not cut out for the business.
How do You Set a Small Business Apart?
When trying to set their businesses apart from the crowd, some small business owners make the mistake of trying to offer the cheapest prices. Scott Shane says that "pricing competition is not the most successful way to compete. In fact it's one of the worst ways. You can't compete on price if you can't compete on cost. And if you're starting small, you're rarely going to have a cost advantage."
In agreement with Shane, Blanchard went on to reference the words of entrepreneur Jan Carlzon of Scandinavian Airlines, who said, "We're not going to beat the competition on price, because we don't want to get into a price war with bigger competitors. Instead we're going to beat them on 'moments of truth,' which happen anytime a customer comes into contact with an employee."
The point that both of these business wizards make is simple and true: it takes size to have the best prices, and size is something that smaller franchises simply don’t have. The only way to make a little Computer Troubleshooters IT support and repair business stand out is by providing the best service every time, because that can be accomplished without size or huge financial resources. And ultimately, good service is what clients want the most.
How Much Do Start-up Funds Matter?
Toward the end of the interview, the men were asked how important outside financing was to a business’ success. Blanchard responded by recounting a time in business when he and his associates had done things rightly: "We were self-financed, but we brought five prominent entrepreneurs onto our advisory board who said they would get us work. We didn't ask them for money. Instead they sent us customers, who were money."
It’s often tempting to believe that throwing money at a problem will make it go away, but as Blanchard clearly points out, the success of a business opportunity rides not on how much money it begins with, but how much cash flow it has. Money is a constant need, and even if a well built home inspection business for sale like Pillar to Post doesn’t have a continuous financial influx, no amount of initial capital will be able to make up for it.
Continuing Discussion
These two men are not just business leaders, but authors of books addressing the very same issues they discussed with CNN. After over two centuries of free market business in the US, the discussion on the best small business practices continues, and it’s not likely to end soon.
Professionals Talk EntrepreneurshipWhat Makes A Small Business Work - To learn more about this author, visit Candice Clem's Website.
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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