5 Tips For Smart Business Success by Brian S. Smith

If you run a business then chances is you are concerned about its success. The challenge then becomes how you go about making your business a success. There are certain things that you will need to consider in an effort to have business success. Here are 5 tips for smart business success.

The first tip is that the product or service must satisfy the immediate needs of the consumer. The consumers must like a particular product launched by the company and in case the liking is established the product launch is completely successful. The aim of the product being launched should be very specific so that the consumers know how the company aims to satisfy their needs. The product diversity and nature of services provided are very important and should be aimed at improving the quality of life of the consumers.

The second tip that needs to be kept under consideration is that the product or service must be fairly priced and the consumers should not think that they are being overcharged by the company. It should be clear to the customers, the products nature and exact price. If the product is being marketed in a competitive market then it should have certain features in it such that selling it is easy and more consumers will be attracted to it because they will find certain characteristics which are unique from the rest. The safe businessman's approach would be to start off with a particular project that has already made a mark in the market. Then capitalizing on the market will not be very tough because a market is already available. If the product can be made better than the other products in the market then the newly launched product will be a success.

The third tip is keeping your finances under proper control so that unnecessary expenditures are curbed and budgeting is done properly so that the money is in a proper direction. Money management is important for any business and money management determines the success of many companies and the successful companies all have a proper financial policy.

The fourth point is that the inflow of cash into a business is very important because it will determine smooth running. Every entrepreneur has to pay attention to the cash flow so that there is a smooth running of the business. Budgeting and review of the monthly or weekly expenditure is very important.

The last and a very important point is maximization of the markets through a proper marketing strategy. This means that the product has to reach out to many people so that they can be aware of and use it. This will require some thought and in some cases expert help.

Business Succession is the ONLY Success For Successful Businesses by Wayne Messick

Decades of statistics illustrate that most successful businesses ultimately fail. In fact only 35% of successful family businesses (and virtually all small businesses are family owned) survive through the second generation, and of those only 20% survive through the third.

The reasons are typically straightforward and the excuses have been the same, from my personal experience, for over a quarter of a century. How do I define failure when taking about these successful businesses? Why do I say these business fail? Well what are the options available to a successful business owner when the founder or senior generation of owners come to the end of their careers?

The business can be sold, or can it, as a going concern - but that rarely works out since the owners have to trust in the buyer's ability to run the place successfully enough to pay their own salaries and still have enough left over to pay the note. Ask your accountant to illustrate this for you.

Or the company can be broken up and sold for the value of its assets. That's unlikely to be satisfactory, certainly not to the employees who lose their jobs - and the depreciated value of the businesses assets are unlikely be to large enough to provide the stream of income required for the retiring generation let alone having anything left for their heirs. That's pretty pitiful results for a lifetime of work, huh?

That leaves the only real possibility - the continuous operation of the company in the hands of the next generation through a process of succession that does not require a sale or other taxable event that diminishes the assets and the resulting income stream from the business.

Business owners who have put in twenty or more years building their companies know that succession is their only hope. They have all seen folks try the clever strategies to do otherwise and then ended up with very little to show for their life's work. So why do these otherwise successful business owners fail to take the steps necessary to insure that succession happens? Business advisors know that a seamless succession process is the only way their client can exit the company satisfactorily but can't seem to get their message across to them.

This article is for both of you.

Everybody knows that business succession planning is the systematic process of ownership transition, and it is no simple task. Maybe that's the problem, it's too complicated for business owners to understand? By now, if you have been around a while, you know that business succession planning is not a one-shot event, but requires everyone's commitment to review and revise. What, did you get bored thinking you could sign a paper and keep on with business as usual?

Needless to say, business succession planning can bring about peace of mind and it also protects unprepared family members from decisions connected with owning, selling and managing the family business - so what's the problem, why don't you do anything about it before the good options are taken away from you?

I have learned over the last thirty years helping successful family owned companies re-design themselves for the future beyond the current generation, that business owners already know 80-90% of what they need to know in order to have a successful transition to the next generation.

Advisors often fail to serve them either because they refuse to acknowledge the most productive role they can play, providing the tools and tactics available to help make the business owner's dreams come true, or they assume the "not invented here" position and refuse to listen to the other members of their client's advisory team.

Too often, estate and business succession planning is done with an eye toward the tax and financial aspects only, ignoring the very important impact of family dynamics - maybe because nobody asked the business owner specifically what he or she wanted to happen. This invariably leads to plans that collapse since the unspoken desires of family members will serve to undermine not only the tax and financial objectives but also may destroy the family harmony. Why don't advisors address the emotional issues that are keys to moving forward with transition planning instead of simply concentrating on the legal issues, tax issues, insurance issues, and management issues.

What's holding these business owners back? Isn't it because nobody has asked them to describe what they want the business to look like? They have not asked them who is going to run the place and what plans they would like to see in force for their spouses and those offspring who are not involved in the business - where their entire net worth is tied up?

Does anyone ask the business owner their opinion, what's possible given the abilities of the members of the next generation? Maybe if their advisors would ask and then listen to the dreams and goals of the business owners and their families they could create plans that everyone will buy into?

If the business owner knows 80% of what he or she needs to know in order to create a successful succession strategy - who are they gonna call to help them uncover them? Who's going to ask them "what's important" over and over again across a range of issues to help them surface for themselves their desired results? As a business owner don't you think that if someone could help you articulate your desires - that you could take them to your advisors so they can set it up?

If you are an lawyer, accountant, or life insurance professional doing business with business owners wouldn't you welcome the insights of a professional business coach who has helped your client convert their deeply held feelings into words on paper you can use to create the documents? Or are you afraid that the coach is going to encroach on your propriety turf? What's more important to you - being in charge of the process and keeping all others at bay, or taking all the help you can get to insure that the resulting business succession plan achieves the desires of the business owner?

And finally, if you are a business owner you are the one with the power, the authority, and the responsibility to yourself, your employees, and your family for the ultimate success or failure of your succession plan and the financial future of your family. If your advisors won't actively seek help of others, if they are determined to do "it" their way and you don't fire them, the possible tragedies to follow are your responsibility.

You can blame whoever you want but that won't change the fact that it is your responsibility. Will the future be the time you'll be happy with the decisions you make today, or not? Who's in charge of your business succession process? Who is going to have to live with the outcome? You know the answer, now it's time for you to do something about it.

Just like you, Wayne Messick is concerned about the continuous refinement of his strategies for effectiveness in these challenging times. Today's article will be included in his forthcoming book for business owners who want to realize their organization's full potential.