• More money to give your people.
• More money to buy more stuff (or upgrade the stuff you have).
• More money at the end of the year to reward you for your efforts.

Oh, the glory of gross profit!

Yet many of our clients do not understand or grasp the wonder that is gross profit. They spend their time chasing revenue, believing sales will cure all of their ills. So they sell sell sell and find out that all they are is just busier.

What happened? Where is the promised pot of gold at the end of the revenue rainbow?

Clients often pay far too much attention to squeezing the back-end (personnel, expenses) and ignore the front end (“good” sales that produce desirable gross profit).  If the pie is not very big to begin with, there’s only so much squeezing you can do. The “squeezed” feel pressure from not having the resources they need, customers may feel negative effects from understaffing, and the downward spiral continues. But what if we had a bigger pie to start with?

Every time a business owner tells me his or her business is unique, especially as it pertains to financials, I pull out my scrap paper and write their financials in five simple line items –

Revenue (sales)

- Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) or cost of providing services

= Gross Profit (Gross Margin)

- Expenses

= Net Profit (or loss)

 While I know it’s a gross oversimplification of what is really going on, it is still a wake-up call to the simplicity of how things work. If there is no gross profit, there’s no money to pay expenses or to be left over as profit. No amount of cost cutting and belt-tightening “below the line” can make the gross profit any bigger or go any farther. So what is the answer?

Pay more attention to your gross margin. If your costs are out of whack and that’s causing your cost of goods sold to creep up, start belt-tightening and cost cutting in the COGS area.  If you’re COGS are being tightly controlled but your sales force is giving things away, help them understand the implications of their actions. If your couponing or “We are having a sale” tactics are bringing your selling price down below an acceptable level, step back and take a hard look to see whether this additional revenue is helping you meet your goal of having money at the end of the year.  Often times, it’s not. Plus, it may be killing your cash flow, which is the low gross margin “double whammy”.

The better you understand your business, the better you can turn the knobs and flip the levers to make it give you what you want.  You can take control of your “busy versus balance” continuum. Higher revenue numbers do not guarantee higher profits. You can’t lose money on every sale and make up for it in volume.

It’s time to get a handle on your financials! The ISBDC can help and would love to do so.

P.S. Your banker will love you for it.

Scott Underwood is a Business Advisor with the East Central ISBDC. Scott can be reached at sunderwood@isbdc.org.

Monty Henderson

“Shotgun Marketing” occurs when a business really has no idea of who they are targeting when they spend their advertising budget. They just pick up a tool and use it hoping they hit a potential customer. Usually they miss because they don’t know who they are targeting and the effort is a failure.

“No Marketing” happens after a series of volleys of shotgun marketing occurs. The owner realizes he has wasted his money and just stops marketing, thus handicapping the future of his business.

“Cheap Pricing” happens because an entrepreneur knows that their customers like good deals and this will bring them in. The error in this case is the fact these entrepreneurs often don’t know their costs and so there are no profits forthcoming from the discounted sales.

“Stuck in a Rut Syndrome” is observed primarily in established businesses that get comfortable running their business the same way over a long period of time. Eventually their sales decline because their customers and the marketplace have changed while the business has not. Meanwhile the competition has adjusted and is attractive to the consumers in the marketplace.

“Multiple Owners” often translate into “Multiple Decision Makers” which leads to “Poor Decision Making.” Partnerships without defined roles and salary parameters are on a path to failure. This I have witnessed many times. Suffice it to say that there can be only One CEO and this One must be foremost capable of leading the business. These roles must be agreed to in advance and their authority must be recognized by the other partners.

“No Web Presence” is an error that amazes me, yet we learn that a huge number of businesses do nothing to participate in one of the most exciting, cutting edge, and affordable marketing opportunities ever known in the business world. There are hordes of prospective customers searching on the web for solutions to their problems and yet these businesses choose not to engage them.

“It’s MY Business” owners sometimes berate, scold, and / or expose their customers to negative connotations about their business. They may also overlook that their customers are looking for an experience that the entrepreneur should provide – but doesn’t.

“No Money” is why businesses close. Usually it is a result of poor planning, budgeting and funding and shows its head when it’s already an established virus running rampant through the business. This is often the summary result of the other named errors listed above.

These classic errors are a sure way to put a business into the back of the pack and they may even cause it to crash and burn!

Monty Henderson is in his sixth year as a Hoosier Heartland ISBDC business advisor, and in his thirty-second year as an independent businessman. Working from the Kokomo office, Monty has assisted hundreds of entrepreneurs.  ISBDC Business Advisors have tools and resources specifically supplied to them to aid business growth. All counseling is by appointment without fee. You may contact him at mhenderson@isbdc.org and follow him on Twitter @montysmemos.

Kathy Davis

Most of the time, the owner in question says something along the lines of “No, its just me. I don’t need that.”

The other common scenario I hear, over and over again, is “I just downloaded my contracts from the internet when I started. Do you think it covers __________?”

With the availability of many online legal services, prepaid legal plans and a number of self-help sites, it’s easy to think that you can do it all yourself. But what if you need a more customized approach? How do you know?

Here are five things a lawyer can tell you, that you might or might not find the right answer to on the Internet:

1. If your corporation or LLC has all of the paperwork and agreements in place to protect you from personal liability for actions of the business
2. If your corporation or LLC is the recommended structure for your business
3. Are your contracts binding in your state?
4. Do your contracts protect or even enhance your cash flow?
5. Are your ideas properly protected?  Or can a competitor sweep in a steal your catchy slogan, graphics, process or technology?

Finding the right person to help you can be daunting. Ask for referrals – from the ISBDC, from your banker, from your real estate agent or leasing agent, from your professional association, from a trusted colleague or mentor.

Decide if you want to work with the lawyer. These are some good questions to ask:

1. How are you going to take care of my case?  

You aren’t looking for a guarantee of an outcome. What you are looking for is a definitive understanding of what your questions and needs are and what the attorney’s plan is to address it.

2. What is the best way to reach you?

Phone? Cell Phone? Email?

3.  Who returns your calls?  How long does it usually take?

This lets you know if you will mainly be talking to an assistant, junior associate or paralegal, or the attorney personally. The time question lets you know if you should expect a call the same business day, or the next, or just within the same week.

4. How do you charge?

You need to know up front on this one: hourly? flat fee? contingency? Is there a retainer? The attorney needs to address the details of payment with you in the first meeting. The last thing you want is to form a relationship with a $500/hour attorney — and then realize there is no way on this earth you will ever be able to afford him.

5. Why did you decide to become a lawyer?

This one will tell you a lot about the person you are hiring to help you in your business. The lawyer’s reasons don’t need to resonate with you as the client. But they do give you insight in to the motivations of your attorney, why they do what they do, and possibly even some of the best ways to communicate with them.

Kathy Davis is an attorney, and owner of KJD Legal LLC in Brownsburg.  Kathy focuses her practice in the areas of business and real estate.  She operates a virtual law office, which is accessible through her website, kjdlegal.com.  Kathy can be reached at 317-721-5290 or at kathy@kjdlegal.com.

Common excuses for not delegating:

• You are too busy to take the time to delegate
• You don’t have the time to explain tasks or projects – it’s easier and quicker to do it yourself
• No one else has the time or is responsible enough
• If you delegate tasks and responsibilities, you’ll lose control
• You are the “best” and “only” person who can do the job right

And what’s the result? Projects and tasks get backed up, and you are too busy to fulfill other important responsibilities. It is important for business owners to be able to work on their business rather than in their business, transitioning from “doing” to “leading.” If you effectively delegate, you free up a great deal of your own time, help your employees cultivate new skills and expertise, and develop your own leadership skills – skills that are critical for problem solving, learning, and goal attainment.

Delegate the Day-to-Day

What many business owners overlook when trying to determine what to delegate are the items to share or reassign in part. Items related to day-to-day operations, which some managers tend to hold onto, are where your greatest potential exists to delegate wholly or in part to your employees.

Make a list of all the tasks you currently perform, making sure to include those tasks at which you are not particularly skilled or experienced. Delete from the list the tasks that you must do. The tasks that have not been deleted from the list are those that you potentially could delegate totally or partially. Here are some examples:

• Solving fairly routine customer problems
• Making decisions on situations that employees face in carrying out their responsibilities
• Completing functions you are less qualified for or not too good at doing
• Handling technical duties
• Compiling data
• Composing regular administrative reports
• Researching issues that come your way
• Training new employees or others in the group
• Answering questions you are frequently asked

Pick the Right Person

Among common reasons that lead to delegating failures are two that relate to employee selection:  The assignment you delegate is beyond the person’s capability (lack of skill), or it is beyond the person’s capacity (lack of time). How should you determine which person will be good for which assignment? Here are some important questions to ask before delegating a specific task or project:

• Where does the assignment best fit functionally within your group?
• Who has the capacity in terms of time and workload?
• Who has the interest?
• Who has the skill and experience best suited for the job?
• Whose capabilities do you need to expand to full coverage gaps in the group’s day-to-day operations?
• Who is in need of a new or different challenge?
• To whom do you want to give an opportunity for growth?

Communicate Clearly

Delegating requires a lot of thought by the person giving the assignment, in part because you always need to be more explicit than your gut instinct or common sense suggests. Make sure there is no room for error or misinterpretation. When you meet with the employee to delegate the work you should let them know “here’s  exactly what I want you to do, here are my expectations, here’s how we’re going to touch base with each other to make sure you’re comfortable doing it and that I’m comfortable with how you’re doing it.”

You also need to make yourself available for plenty of questions. If you give off the impression that you don’t want to be bothered, the person will pick up on that and potentially walk away with an incomplete understanding of the assignment.

Entrust and Empower

Entrust is a key word in delegating:  It means that you care about the results of what you delegate, and you are willing to provide the support needed to help the employee achieve those results. But you are going to let the employee do the assigned job. You don’t have to be hands-on for the right outcomes to occur, but neither are you uninvolved and unaware of what’s occurring.

To empower your employees is to do three actions:

• Give the employees the freedom to get the job done (no breathing down their necks)
• Provide employees with the right level of support to get the job done well, including information, training, resources, and so on
• Hold employees accountable to produce the outcomes needed

If you are not satisfied with the progress, do not do the task yourself. Continue to work with the person to ensure that he/she perceives that the task is his/her responsibility. Look for the cause of your dissatisfaction – for example, is it lack of communication, training, resources or commitment of the person.

It is quite liberating once you really do let go and put your trust in other people. So don’t ruin it by being a control freak! Remember, before delegating the job, you decided that this was not something that you yourself must do.

Richard Pittelkow is a Business Advisor with the West Central ISBDC. Richard can be reached at rpittelkow@isbdc.org.

Wes Shie

There are risks associated with any type of financing. Whether a potential business owner finances the startup of a new business with a conventional business loan or with a personal loan, that business owner needs to understand the risk of the situation. Once these risk factors are taken into account, there are several reasons why an entrepreneur may want to fund startup costs with personal debt versus a conventional business loan. A personal loan may benefit the entrepreneur from the standpoint of availability, cost, and timing.

Availability:  Many banks are reluctant to lend to startup companies. Even potential business owners with a thorough business plan might have difficulty receiving startup cash. Many times, a small unsecured personal loan can be easier for an entrepreneur to secure than a conventional business loan. A quality credit score can lead to better lending terms and potentially give a person enough money to buy basic equipment for small business.

Cost:  A personal loan can many times be less expensive than a conventional business loan. We all currently live in a world of historically low interest rates. An individual with a good credit score can probably get a lower rate on a home equity loan, for example, than any type of business financing. Personal credit cards bring a whole different amount of risk to what is described above. While personal credit cards still provide the availability that a conventional business loan might not, credit cards might not provide cost savings as detailed above as some credit card rates may be higher than personal loan rates (likewise, loans against 401(k) dollars and retirement funds also can provide a different set of risk).

Timing:  Most of the time a personal loan is not only the cheapest but also the quickest way for an entrepreneur to access cash. Whereas some conventional business loan decisions can include a lengthy approval process or a tedious underwriting process, many personal loan decisions are made the same day and sometimes within hours. An individual can get an answer on a home equity loan or line of credit, for example, in afternoon. Additionally, there are times when a financial institution will require personal assets (such as a home) as additional collateral to back up a conventional business loan. If a conventional business loan (or an enhancement like utilizing a SBA program) requires a personal residence as collateral, why not just use the equity in the residence to take out a personal loan (which as stated be above will probably be at a lower cost and completed in a shorter amount of time)?

If you are starting a business with any kind of financing, you need to be aware of the risks involved.  Once you weigh the risks and have completed your proper due diligence, you may realize that personal availability to credit is your best option in gaining the funds to start that business.

Wes Shie is a Business Advisor who works with the Northeast ISBDC. Wes can be reached at wshie@isbdc.org.

Earlier this year, while preparing to facilitate a “Launching Your Own Business” workshop, I thought I would do some exploration of the word entrepreneur. I googled “entrepreneur”…and got more than 14 million results. No, I’m not still reading them all, but I did decide to limit my search, perhaps, by searching the words “successful entrepreneur.” More than 15 million results this time.  I noticed lots of lists:

• “8 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs – Do You Have What It Takes?”
• “9 Qualities of Remarkable Entrepreneurs.”
• “7 Traits of the Most Successful Entrepreneurs.”
• “12 Characteristics of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs.”
• “10 Secrets of Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur.”
• “25 Common Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs.
• “5 Signs that you’re an Entrepreneur at Heart.”

Realizing that our workshop had its own list of characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, I decided to read through some of the googled lists and find out what others thought as well. Blog borrowing shamelessly from many, here are some qualities/traits/characteristics that appeared most often.

Passionate appears at the top of our list, and it is the most consistent quality or trait I found in all the lists. Here’s how some describe this important quality:

• A successful entrepreneur loves what she does. Whether she loves what her business does or just the idea of business itself does not matter, but a good entrepreneur must enjoy and be fulfilled by her work.

• You must be passionate about what you are trying to achieve. This means you’re willing to sacrifice a large part of your waking hours to the idea you’ve come up with. Passion will ignite the same intensity in others who join you as you build a team to succeed…and with passion, both your team and your customers are more likely to truly believe in what you are trying to do.

• Whatever they immerse themselves in, entrepreneurs typically invest fully & passionately. This extends beyond business building into many aspects of life outside the workplace.

• Line your business up with your passions.

Ryan Holmes, CEO of HootSuite calls it True Grit. He says, “You need to have passion. There is no specific DNA that makes up a specific role in a startup or to be an entrepreneur. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, there shouldn’t be anything that can get in your way.”

Hard worker shows up on most lists, often accompanied by such traits as dedication, persistence, action orientation, overcoming obstacles:

• Success comes only from hard work. ..Behind every overnight success lies years of hard work and sweat. People with luck will tell you there’s no easy way to achieve success – and that luck comes to those who work hard.

• Entrepreneurs with a quitter mentality give up easily when they encounter resistance or setbacks. They lack the tenacity to keep going in the face of hardship. This is a primary characteristic that separates those who fail from those who succeed.

• Regardless of what the effort might involve, an entrepreneur brings a single-minded dedication to the task by being committed to a positive outcome and ready and willing to do the needful. No matter what that might mean in terms of rising to meet a challenge or acting above and beyond the call of duty, the entrepreneur shows steadfast dedication.

• Remarkable entrepreneurs simply work harder. That’s the real secret of their success.

• Entrepreneurs are action oriented. They are always working on version 1 point something.  They also know if they do not do anything, nothing will happen.

• Two abilities of entrepreneurs – dedication and doggedness.

Dan Schawbel, founder of Millennial Branding, and Robert Sofia, Co-Founder & COO of Platinum Advisor Marketing Strategies, say dedication is the key. “Startup life is only for those with the right mixture of perseverance, initiative, resiliency, and vision. If you have a glamorized view that you’ll spend a few months building a website and then strike it rich, you’ll soon be handed a reality check. Be prepared for the fact that the hours are going to be long and your social life will be nonexistent for a while.  Be ready to commit 100 percent.”

Risk taking and being able to manage failure show up on most lists and are described in many ways:

• Be willing to live with fear, risk and occasional failure.

• Successful entrepreneurs are risk takers who have all gotten over one very significant hurdle: they are not afraid of failure. That’s not to say that they rush in with reckless abandon…entrepreneurs are often successful because they are calculating and able to make the best decisions even in the worst of cases.  There’s not one successful entrepreneur out there sitting on his couch asking, “what if?”

• Many people could be successful if they only took chances….Entrepreneurs are not immune to fear. But they prioritize their approach to life so that the fear of failure, frustration, boredom, drudgery, and dissatisfaction far outweighs the lingering fear of success.

• Entrepreneurs are able to differentiate between dumb mistakes and sensible mistakes. They value the lessons from mistakes.

• You must have the ability to absorb failure as a learning experience without getting discouraged.

• Take risks and make mistakes. Successful entrepreneurs know that a certain amount of risk in business is healthy because it provides growth opportunities and useful information for future decisions.

• Award winning founders are willing and able to take a risk. They understand the cost/benefits of engaging in what’s unknown.  They have a peculiar faith to try, no matter the odds.

Finally…my favorite! Colin Wright, CEO of Exile Lifestyle, says that “Love of Circus” is important. “A startup is like a travelling circus, where everyone has a specialty but everyone is also willing to do what needs to be done to get the show unloaded, running smoothly, and then packed up again at the end of the day. Being involved in a startup requires being equally willing to manage, code, consult or empty the trash cans. Be willing, and you’ll be golden.”

Bill Gregory is a Business Advisor for the Northwest ISBDC. Bill can be reached at bgregory@isbdc.org.

*Image via iStockphoto.com

“It’s my business.  I should know how to do everything and fix my own problems.”

I once read that only 12% of the adult population has the complete skill set required to own and operate an independent business. For those who have started their own business, you know that there is no test or exam required to start a business. Consequently, people can often get in over their head quickly. There is no shame in acknowledging that there are areas outside of an owner’s strengths. In our business advisor training, we are counseled to capitalize on our strengths, improve (where we can) on our weaknesses, and find work-arounds in the areas where we have too much ground to make up. While it’s reasonable to think that an owner should have some aptitude in many areas, it is unreasonable to think that he/she would be good at everything.

“My business (and therefore, my problem) is unique.”

Many companies tell us that their business, company or industry is unique – too unique to be understood by outsiders. While there are variations in companies, most have very similar challenges – understanding financials, managing people, managing cash flow. Whether you are a manufacturer, restaurant, service provider, high-tech company or small, one-person shop, we consistently help owners find the same problems in the same areas. The potential bad news is that you are not unique. The good news is that you are not alone.

“Who am I going to ask for help?  No one around here has experience in my industry.” 

In a couple of books I have been reading recently – one being Frank Partnoy’s Wait: The Art and Science of Delay – the authors have discussed the benefits of bringing diverse groups together to solve problems. Because the outsiders are not steeped in the problem, the culture and the history of the company, they can take a fresh look at the problem. They aren’t emotionally tied to the company (like most owners are); they can look at the situation through an unbiased, objective lens. Because they may have a diverse or, at least, a different, background, they can often bring lessons learned in other industries to the problems at hand. Sometimes squeezing the problem too hard by yourself just leaves you frustrated, worn out, and at a loss for a new solution. A fresh perspective can often come from the most unlikely of sources.

“What if someone finds out we are struggling?  I may lose my standing in . . .”

I can’t really help you with this one, except to say that admitting a problem early and fixing it is usually preferable to prolonging it to its sometimes inevitable end. It’s easier to bail out a boat while it’s still floating than it is to raise it from the bottom. If you don’t want people to know that you are struggling, think about how you will feel when you are closed, bankrupt, or in far worse shape.

Let us help.

At the ISBDC, I believe that one of our most under-utilized resources is our consulting. Whether we act as a sounding board, an idea generator, a subject matter expert, a connector to another mentor/expert, or just a support mechanism, our consulting services can be invaluable to a struggling owner who doesn’t have anyone to talk to about his/her business. Without being cliché, there is nothing new under the sun. We have seen it all before and can usually suggest possible solutions to turn your business in a new direction. Whether you use our services and implement the solutions we might discover together is up to you.

 Scott Underwood is a Business Advisor for the East Central ISBDC. Scott can be reached at sunderwood@isbdc.org.

*Image via iStockphoto.com

Everyone who wants to start their own business has a list of reasons why they want to do it. According to Inc. Magazine, these are the top ten reasons to run your own business:

1. You Control Your Own Destiny
2. You Can Find Your Own Work/Life Balance
3. You Choose the People You Work With
4. You Take on the Risk – And Reap the Rewards
5. You Can Challenge Yourself
6. You Can Follow Your Passion
7. You Can Get Things Done – Faster
8. You Can Connect With Your Clients
9. You Can Give Back to Your Community
10. You Feel Pride in Building Something of Your Own

Though these are great and noble reasons to start a business, this list and just about every other list on the internet does not mention the number one reason why anybody should start a business. In fact most of the articles about starting a business never mention the biggest reason to go into business.

Tom’s Secret Number 1

The first reason anybody should go into business is to make money.

It is OK to make money. A noble heart can have all the good intentions in the world. However, they cannot go very far if they don’t have the resources to keep their business going. Without money, you cannot make your own schedule, give back to the community, connect with your clients, etc. All the good intentions in the world will not replace money when it comes to running your business.

Job one is to make your business sustainable. Once you are sustainable, that is have a positive cash flow and a strong net income, then you can think about the altruistic reasons you started your business. Simply put, you need to make money and enough of it.

Tom’s Secret Number 2

85% of running a business is common sense. The rest should be in your business plan.

From the moment you decide to start a business to the grand opening to the hiring and firing of employees and beyond, you will be faced with having to make decisions. Making the right decision is often hard to do. You are often faced with having to make decisions on the fly or at the most inopportune time. Under the best of circumstances, some decisions about your business are hard to make. Making a rash decision can have an impact that could affect your business for a long time, especially if it damages your reputation, image, or your credit.

When it comes to making decisions about your business you should stop and think about the following questions:

• Is this good for my business?
• What impact will this decision have on my overall business?
• What are the short and long term effects?
• How much will it cost?
• If it costs money, where will it come from?
• If there is not money in the budget, what will I give up that is in the budget and how will that affect my business?
• Does this decision fit in with my plans?
• Why am I doing this?

There are a lot more questions you might want to ask yourself about the decision you have to make. Making choices under pressure can lead to disaster. Not following your plan or being pressured to make a decision can also lead to disaster.

As a business person, you will meet people everyday that will want you to make one decision or another. Some of these people will try to pressure you into making an immediate decision with out time to think things through. If this is the case, just ask yourself, do I want to do business with a person like this? Anyone that does not respect your need for time to make a decision about the well being of your business really doesn’t deserve your business.

Common sense may even dictate that you seek outside help in the way of your accountant, lawyer, or other trusted person, like your regional ISBDC counselor, to make the proper decision. Take advantage of the experts in your corner. That is why you hired them. I have always felt that a good lawyer and accountant that are well versed in the needs of a small business are worth their fees in gold.

Tom’s Secret Number 3

Think of money is a tool. Take care of it.

Every industry has its set of tools. Every business has one tool in common, money. Taking care of your tools is an important part of running your business. A good example of this would be a carpenter. They use and rely on their tools being sharp, square, straight and properly set up. If their tools are not in good working order, it makes their job harder if not impossible. Using tools that are not in good working order, or using them improperly can cause damage, injury, and unprofessional results.

Neglecting the tools of the trade is probably one of the worse things that anyone can do. Imagine if the carpenter left his tools out in the rain and they rusted. How would he be able to effectively do his job with rusty tools? In your business you need to take care of one of your most important tools, money. If you don’t take care of it, no one else will.

So there you have it.

You need to make money to do the things you want to do and that is OK.

Common sense says that you should not rush into a decision and that you need to understand the ramifications of your decisions. Remember secret number 1 as one of the reasons for a decision.

Use your money wisely. Use secret number 2 to help you keep your tools in good shape and ready to work for you when you need it.

To bring it around full circle, common sense and using your money wisely will make the money you need so you can do the things you want to do.

Tom Steiner is a Business Advisor for the East Central ISBDC, an organization with the mission to create a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of Indiana’s small businesses by providing entrepreneurs expert guidance and a comprehensive network of resources. Tom can be reached at tsteiner@isbdc.org.

*Photo via iStockphoto.com

1)      Inability to Innovate

2)      Losing Your Competitive Advantage

3)      The High Cost of Reckless Hiring

4)      Poor Leadership & Communication

5)      Regulatory Nightmares

In a previous blog, we looked at the Inability to Innovate.  Another major threat is Losing Your Competitive Advantage. Unless your business has a first-mover advantage or you’ve managed to create a monopoly, then you undoubtedly will face competition.  Failing to engage your workforce to create and develop new products and services faster than the competitors means the business is losing its advantage. If you think about it, everything else in business can be replicated, except your most valuable asset – your employees. And in most cases, a truly engaged workforce is your biggest competitive advantage.

Workers who are fully invested and enthusiastic about their jobs are more likely to:

• Participate in strategy & big-pictures planning
• Play an active role in generating value for their company
• Remain with the company long-term or during difficult times

Watch out for sleepwalkers! The quit-and-stay phenomenon refers to those employees who show up to work every day, but have “checked out” mentally. Disengaged workers can be devastating to the bottom line and your future.

Did you know?

-67% of employees in most companies are not engaged in their work.

-Disengaged employees have lower productivity and more than 50% higher turnover rates than engaged employees.

-Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their companies than disengaged employees.

Think about your own business… 

In what areas does your company struggle to stay ahead of the competition?

What systems do you have in place to measure employee engagement?

How do you address engagement issues?

Scott Makinson is a local owner of Express Employment Professionals, an award-winning recruiting and staffing firm that is one of the largest privately-held staffing firms in North America. His mission is to recruit and place the “A players” at his client companies so that they may focus on their business and not on the challenges of hiring good people. Visit expressindyeast.com/ for more information or to refer top candidates for employment.  

*Photo via iStockphoto.com

Whether we like it or not, the use of Standard English grammar is important to the way customers, strategic partners,and lenders react to you and your business proposals. In a recent article titled I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why written by Kyle Wiens in the Harvard Business Review he comments that, “Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in e-mails, and on company websites, your words are all you have. They are a projection of you in your physical absence. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can’t tell the difference between their, there, and they’re.”

Yes, language is always changing and some simple abbreviations might be tolerable in short messages, but, in the business world, what you write is who you are to the reader, especially if they don’t know you. Not taking the time to carefully craft your messages, no matter the format, is a detrimental business practice and one that can hurt you without you even realizing it.

So, next time you type a text, email, blog or proposal, take your time and write it as well as you possibly can. If you know your grammar isn’t the best, have someone else read your message before you hit “send” or “print.” Remember that your emails and text messages say a lot about you!

Joe Ubben is a Business Advisor for the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center, an organization with the mission to create a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of Indiana’s small businesses by providing entrepreneurs expert guidance and a comprehensive network of resources. Joe can be reached at jubben@isbdc.org.

*Photo via iStockphoto.com