This Ends Larry on Business. Tuesday We Begin Larry on Scholarships

I will stop posting Larry on Business with this post. I appreciate you following this blog.

I began this blog in July 2011 to help business owners grow their businesses. I’ve helped thousands of owners in the past two decades. I’ve worked with business owners in 30+ countries. I’ve helped them develop business plans, marketing plans, operational plans, and human resource plans. My client businesses improved revenues, sales, and profits. I am grateful for those who read this blog over the past 18 months. I also wish to announce that this will be my last post for Larry on Business.

Decide What to Do and What to Stop Doing

Business owners should focus their businesses on what they do extremely well. Authors proclaim “Stick to the knitting”. Jim Collins researched that great companies develop and adhere to hedgehog. To find that one thing your business does better than anyone else, and do it over and over and over.

He also encouraged businesses to stop doing things they may do well. They needed to avoid things that distract distract them from their core skills and business. Eliminating efforts on good things allows business owners to focus on better things.

For that reason, I will no longer post about business growth. Others enjoy better competence and thoughts.

Join Me to Learn How to Get Scholarship Money for College

I will replace Larry on Business with a new blog www.LarryonScholarships.blogspot.com. I will post the new blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

LarryonScholarships will focus on five steps to help youth, their parents, and other adults who want to get money to pay for college—money they don’t have to pay back (though we will also deal with loans a little bit):

• Set a goal for how much you want and believe they want to reward you
• Find sources of scholarships, grants, and other financial aid
• Prepare master applications so you can complete applications in less than 60 minutes
• Write reusable essays to submit with applications
• Obtain impressive letters of recommendation that verify your accomplishments

Tuesday, January 1, we begin our new blog www.LarryonScholarships.blogspot.com

Set Goals that Will Grow Your Business Next Year

Each year people, including business owners, set resolutions (I prefer goals) to grow

People set New Year’s Resolutions. Businesses set projections, targets, objectives, or goals. Unfortunately, resolutions frequently become the but of jokes because few last until March. Stock prices rise and fall based on large corporations meeting their projections or not. The consequences for smaller companies fall short of stock fluctuations. It impacts revenues and profits. It reduces money the business owner get to take home to provide for their family.

Typical Goals Businesses Set

Each business and each industry set unique goals. However, several goals remain common to almost all businesses and industries. These common goals include:

• Increase profits to $XX
• Increase revenues by $XX
• Increase sales by XX%
• Improve productivity by XX%
• Improve your current product or service
• Research and develop a new product or service
• Improve efficiency in production by XX%
• Increase accounting accuracy and efficiency by XX%
• Reduce overhead by $XX
• Add or reduce the number of employees
• and others

I realize that many of these goals seem obvious as you read them. However, I’ve talked to thousands of business owners that failed to consider, let alone set, many of these goals. Goals inspire us to grow and to improve.

Set SMART Goals

People generally subscribe to two thoughts on setting goals:

• Set aggressive goals that you may not achieve, but will cause you to do more than you might have done
• Set goals you know you can achieve because the consequences of failure overshadows improvements short of the projections

I promote the first option if failure to achieve goals will not affect your psyche or stock price. I find I achieve more when I set a goal that will stretch my efforts. I accomplish more by trying. The old saying “Aim for the stars and hit the moon” represents the first thought.

On the other hand, publically traded companies and others must use the second option. Plummeting stock prices devalue the company when you don’t meet projected earnings.

Saturday we will announce the end of the Larry on Business blog posts

Merry Christmas! Look Beyond the Season’s Shopping and Business

Merry Christmas to business owners, employees, and clients. May Christ’s peace be yours

Today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Magi came from the East to honor the King of Kings they saw in the stars. Following a new, bright star, they came to the City of David to see the child. They bestowed gifts upon the new king of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their generosity affiliated gift giving with Christmas to this day. Unfortunately, the commerce of gift giving has overtaken the original intent of the Magi’s presents to the King of Kings.

Christmas Not Commercialism

During the Great Depression families bereft of cash and money made their own Christmas gifts. Since that time consumerism combined with commercialism changed the tradition of gift giving. Today, we concentrate on finding the best, most unique gift. Black Friday and Cyber Monday replaced Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as the most important days of the year.

“City sidewalks [are still] busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style.” However, I doubt that “above all the bustle, [we] hear Silver Bells.” Too many people fail to even try to listen to them. They focus on the deal or discount they can find. They forget that giving honored the King of Kings.

True Purpose of Gift Giving

Gift giving honors those we love. We honor our children, our parents, our extended families, and our neighbors. The Magi loved the King. They gave very expensive gifts. The costs of the gift were not relevant. The depth of their love and adoration mattered more. The gifts we give matter little. The depth of our love and charity (the pure of love of Christ) matter most.

Christmas is a time to receive the greatest gift—the atonement of Jesus Christ. “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.”

Thursday we discuss specific goals you set to grow your business during the new year

Successful Business Operations 3: Client Relationships Grow Business

This continues our series on successful business operations and how the grew the business

Jared and Sarah Stewart teach “People do business with people they know, like, and trust.” They also share that “Every opportunity has its root in a relationship.” Their counsel resonates with me. I believe it resonates with you. I know thousands of business people who accept and act to build relationships. Let me share another example.

Built the Business on Relationships

Lance Black and Jarid Love founded Eli Kirk to help clients connect more effectively with their targeted market. Their services include strategy, design, and development. They develop mobile apps, software development, media, branding, web, and other services.

Their web site proclaims “We Love Better. Loving better means loving strategy. Our purpose in every engagement is to help clients communicate as effectively as possible while achieving maximum ROI—but that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through well planned, thoughtfully conceived strategy. An oft-quoted New York department store executive once said, “I know I waste half the money I spend on advertising. The problem is, I don’t know which half. Our response? Hogwash.”

Notice they speak in relationship terms like loving and engagement. Their clients includes Mitt Romney, Donny Osmond, Landesk, and Novell.

Give Back to Your Clients and Friends

Eli Kirk believes that giving back to clients, friends, and others is good business. They provide volunteer work to civic, non-profit, and other worthy causes. Lance, Jarid, and many of their staff serve on community boards of directors. They contribute financially and in-kind to the community.

Another example of giving back to the community includes their annual Slash Bash. For the past five years they host more than 500 people and their families to the Slash Bash the day after Halloween. They provide free doughnuts, apple juice, and gifts. They offer activities like paint gunning pumpkins, slashing pumpkins with samurai swords and machetes, and dropping pumpkins 80 feet from a crane box.

Every opportunity has its root in a relationship.

Tuesday we discuss how Randy & Kelli built their carpet cleaning business by great service

Successful Business Operations 2: She Grew a Successful Craft Business

This continues our series on people who grew small family businesses into thriving ones

Many people start businesses because they have a good idea. Others start businesses out of desperation. Some start their business with grand ideas of amazing profits. Many people, however, start a business to add a small income to support their families. For a few, their business grows unexpectedly into a fantastic revenue generating machine.

Creative, Organized, and Active

I will call this owner Mandy, since she has not chosen to make her name public. Mandy grew up in a very creative family. Her father, who died recently, loved music, creative farming, and fixing things. Her mother enjoyed creating things with her daughters. Mandy carried on the tradition. She decorated her home with stenciled wall coverings, hand painted clocks, toll painting, and more.

Soon, she and another sister blogged Simply Home and Family. They shared recipes for sugar cookies, ideas for cute hair ribbons and braids, and place’s to take the family. They showed beautiful pictures on their site. While Mandy and her sister intended to show people how to do it themselves, many people wanted to buy the crafts she displayed.

Web Tools Extend Everyone’s Reach

On June 15, 2009 Mandy joined Etsy as Abbie’s House. She described her purpose on her about page “At Abbie's House, we are working to create great products that will help organize your home and family life. We offer high quality, durable, and helpful products to busy families. We would love to hear your questions. comments and ideas. Thanks for stopping by.”

Etsy allowed Mandy to expand and reach a much larger audience of millions. People loved her child’s measuring board, her personalized family money, and her magnetic chore charts. Sales increased exponentially. Mandy’s daughters helped her, around the kitchen table, manufacture each product, hand painting, gluing, and more.

Recently, sales expanded so much that Mandy and her family started a much larger home with a manufacturing workroom for the expanded business. She’s another success.

Saturday we will share how Lance and Jarid helped Donny Osmond, Mitt Romney, & others

Successful Business Operation 1: She Turned a Family Business into Success

This begins a short series on family business operations that led to successes

Women start a lot of businesses. Many start a business so they can stay home with their children while adding to the family income. Many create good companies because they possess entrepreneurial interests and inclinations. Women starting their own businesses avoid the glass ceiling that some of their sisters encounter in a more traditional workplace.

Start with Something You Love

Alison Chuntz started Alison’s Pantry in 1987. She loved fine food. She saw a business opportunity providing families with good restaurant quality food they could prepare themselves at affordable prices.

“Alison's Pantry is a wonderful, local company that truly cares about their customers.  Alison Chuntz works closely with her sons, Joshua and Jesse Kissee.  Their efforts are to offer you the finest tasting products on the market at the most affordable price.  This is a company that sincerely enjoys helping you save money.”

Established in 1987, Alison's Pantry™ began distributing food products from a small building in Pleasant Grove Utah, to many of the rural Southern Utah communities.  Our company grew rapidly and we soon expanded our service to rural farming towns in the Rocky Mountain states.  In 1994 we built a large warehouse just off State Street to house our growing business.  We began delivering from a pick up truck and trailer in the early years of our company; we graduated to two beautiful, modern semis in the mid 90's.  Our facility is 23,000 square feet and houses all our food products until shipped out fresh to your home.”

Recognized Similar Needs in Others

Alison recognized that other women also loved fine food and needed additional money. So, she decided to distribute her great food through a network of sales representatives in rural communities. They sold the product in a variety of methods from parties, door-to-door, referral and more. Alison resisted setting up down-lines like in multi-level marketing preferring to keep her sales representatives part of a family.

Alison successfully sells food in 6 states.

Thursday we will share another family business operation that grew exponentially

Business Failure 15: Solutions That May Help You Avoid Failure

This concludes our series on reasons for business failures

Businesses fail for a variety of reasons. In the pervious posts we discussed several reasons. While many of the causes for business failure rely on the economy or other causes out of your control, you can prevent most of the causes we discussed with a good (yet flexible) business plan, a mastermind team, and visits to public or private consultants. 

A Good Business Plan

Most business owners prepare a business plan for banks or investors to get money. One very successful owner prepared and operated from his business plan. He believed preparing everything on paper before he spent a dollar helped build his business. His plan was dirty, dog-eared, and marked up because he referred to it almost every day.

Preparing and using a business plan  forces you to consider and contemplate your:

• Business idea, uniqueness, management team, and other people assets
• Market analysis, competition, client profile, and product schematics
• Marketing plan including market research, marketing message, strategy, campaigns, methods, vehicles, sales, and client retention
• Financial plan including funding, financing, milestones, accounting, statement of accounts, general ledgers, accounts payables, and accounts receivables
• Purchasing plans, discounts, suppliers, vendors, and cost analysis

Mastermind Team

Mastermind teams work together to help one another achieve their goals:

• A mastermind team consists of 4-5 people who want to improve their lives.
• The team meets once a month for about 90 minutes
• Each team member
  • States their goal
  • Outlines the action they took with results
  • Asks for brainstorming ideas from the others with challenges or problems
  • Describes 2-4 actions they will take before the next meeting

 Public or Private Consultants

You can also avoid business failure through the advice of public or private consultants. You don’t have to pay a lot of money for public programs such as

• Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)
• Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
• Business Resource Centers (BRC)
• Centers for Entrepreneurship
• Manufacturing Enterprise Programs
• Business Incubators

Private business consulting firms also exist in your community or on-line. Find good ones for you.

Tuesday we begin a series containing stories about business operations