An old adage goes, “Rules are meant to be broken.” In many ways, this is absolutely correct. Simply following the rules, doing the same thing over and over, won’t get you anywhere. Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” Every truly great, major innovation in history has come about as a result of new thinking.

 So let’s say you’ve set up your business, and are doing fairly well. You have a steady stream of revenue, a good customer base, efficient systems in place, and everything is going great. What do you do next? Often, businesses will plateau. They will improve up to a certain point, but things won’t get better from there. Once a plateau is reached, new thinking is required if you want your business to grow-which you should. Now, you should not throw your old playbook out the window, however, change is needed, and in many cases this change is rather unconventional. You need something that sets you apart.

• What could you be doing that none of your competitors are?
• What markets are you not tapping into?

Find that niche, and utilize it. Do something new, something different, and blow everyone away with your creativity and innovation. 
(Picture credit:Freeditigalphoto.com)

Family owned and operated businesses have been part of the American fabric and are certainly a tradition alive and well in many parts of the world.  Knowledge of merchandise or the skills associated with a particular craft are passed from one generation to the next as the elder generation fosters the younger to ensure continuity and success. While all businesses face obstacles, the family-run business is associated with some unique challenges.  According to the Family Firm Institute, in fact, only about a third of family businesses will thrive under the management of the second generation.  The challenges outlined here are among some of the major reasons why many family businesses have failed and may fail yet if such issues are not effectively addressed.

The Unshared Dream

So often the main issue that a family business faces is that the business is not the family's dream at all but, instead, belongs to just one family member.  For that one member, the business is a dream, a lifelong pursuit, and even a passion.  Yet to other family members, the business may merely be a job--and one they may not especially like.  When the founder relies upon others to share a vision and work ethic they do not have, this tends to erupt into problems.  Sometimes this dilemma can be warded off when the main owner allows other family members authentic ownership of their roles.  People tend to care more about their jobs when they feel safe to emotionally invest in their work.  A tendency to micromanage is almost always a surefire way to alienate other family members, to prevent them from feeling like true stakeholders.

Next week: Lack of Grooming, Lack of Succession

1. Mastery: Of time, money, delivery, and destination
2. Niche: Mitigating price discounting pressure
3. Leverage: Systemizing the business
4. Team: Getting the right people on the bus
5. Synergy: Able to grow a strong stable enterprise
6. Massive Results: Multiple streams of income

Each of the six steps builds upon the previous. Here is a high level jet tour of three of the first six steps.  The last 3 steps will be covered in the next issue.

Mastery: from chaos to order

Time is our most valuable asset. We can regain lost income, but can never regain lost time. There are four activity categories into which we can invest or waste our time:

1. Not urgent, not important (time wasters used for escape)
2. Urgent, not important (day stealers that scream for our attention)
3. Urgent, important (must be handled right away)
4. Not urgent, important (strategic issues that will determine our success)

1 and 2 are time wasters for the business owner. 3 and 4 are the difference between working in your business and working on your business. 4 is working in what I call the Zone and should represent 80% of your time. Working in the Zone will prevent many of the urgent/important from occurring.

Do you know where your business is financially? What is your breakeven? How about your cash flow – can you predict it? What is your profit position – how accurate and real-time is your information? Is your most valuable tangible asset (your business) increasing or decreasing in value? Is your business consistently delivering your value proposition to the marketplace in such a way as to not just satisfy your customers, but create many raving fans? This is called the WOW factor. And finally, are your business goals aligned with your personal goals so that when your business is working harder than you, you are living your desired lifestyle?

Niche: effectively marketing your USP = predictable cash flow

Discounting your prices in the face of competition is devastating to your bottom line. Let’s, for example, assume that your gross profit margin is 40%. If you discount your prices by 10%, your sales must increase by 33% to maintain the same gross profit dollars! How does one avoid such damaging action? By creatively crafting your marketing around your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)! Done correctly, this will carve a niche in the marketplace that you alone occupy, thus insulating your business from the discounting frenzy produced by a market crowded with competitors.

Look for Part 2 and the balance of the six steps coming in the next issue.