It was hard to imagine how my parents used to run our family owned business without computers 20 years ago. I can remember coming into to the office, to visit my father, and seeing the back office stacked with papers. I can remember how, if the staff were not careful, orders would go missing. Read More
November and December are generally filled with reflection on the year–and planning for the coming year. So, in the spirit of this annual ritual by many business owners we’ve collected our top five blog postings thus far.
If you missed any of these goodies, take a short break from your work to catch up. Here’s our countdown:
5. Ever wonder how to compensate top employees in the long-term? They may give more than other employees–or have invested many years in the business. Either way, its time to get creative. Read the 10 Creative Ideas to Compensate Long-Term Employees.
4. The economy. It’s on the minds of most business owners, which is easy given the media attention surrounding it for the past couple months. Where’s the first place most small businesses look in a down economy? Sales. Read what our small business coaches have to say about sales.
3. As the business owner you may get pulled into the daily operations more than you’d like. But, your time is best spent working on the business–not in it. Getting a written, strategic plan is key. Get started with a few of our tips on strategic planning sessions for the whole company.
2. The vast majority of small business owners don’t have a company vision before they join TAB. Your statement tells your prospects, customers and employees where you want your company to be. It drives decisions and actions for all involved. Start to create your company vision statement.
1. There is no easy way to do this, which is probably why this article was one of your most viewed over the past few months. It’s by far one of the hardest things a business owner will ever do. Read more on how to right-size your company.
As always, we hope our blog gives you a few ideas that you can implement into your business.
If there are challenges or topics you’d like to see us address in the future, post a comment to let us know. Or, if you have something to add to the above articles, let us know those also.
SALES. It regularly ranks as the number one concern for small businesses. Without sales, our revenues suffer and the effects trickle down to other areas of the business. In today’s economy, it can be tempting to let fear overtake our will to seize the opportunities before us. But, our small business coaches agree, it doesn’t have to be that way.
One of our coaches gives you some great steps to begin to get your sales back on track.
From the CEO Success Blog:
“As daily stories of economic doom and gloom continue to dominate headlines, most companies have their own version of the current economy and its affect on them. Some of your salespeople may be returning from calls with objections like:
There are many more that we don’t need to list here.
If the doom-sayers are correct, excuse making, chronic mediocrity, under achievement, complacency and a selling skill set adequate only for wonderful times may collide head-on with a recession or possible depression. What could be worse? Lots could be worse. You cannot control the global economy, but you do control the strength of your sales force. Tremendous opportunity exists in today’s economy. “
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