Going forward

So you have completed Phases I -  IV and now the real work begins!

Starting a business can be one of the most exciting and exhilarating experiences. But if not carefully managed, it can very easily turn into one of your worst nightmares and take your home and family with it!

So to help you navigate going forward, we have provided you with the following things to consider:

Ask for help
Two common mistakes entrepreneurs make are:

1. They get too busy to stop and make sure they are on the right course,
2. They are not comfortable critically assessing their strengths and weaknesses.

Seek out one or two business “advisors” (or mentors or coaches) who have proven track records and whose opinion you value to have regular meetings to help you manage your business.

Regular review of your financial results
Surprisingly many business owners forget to actually review their financial operating results. They get caught up in the “busyness” of running their business.

Also and as mentioned in the previous Phases, Accounting is the one area where a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. This is one area you should think carefully about and ensure that you have the right person in place. (Read our Glossary of Business Terms for ideas on hiring a designated internal accountant, even part time).

Review the financial results of your business on monthly basis (at a minimum). You need to know about profit margins, overheads, gross margins, sales growth etc., and if this is not something you are either comfortable with or have a reasonable understanding of, you need to factor this into your hiring decisions.

Employees
Finding, training and retaining staff can be a full time job in itself. Many business owners do not recognize how time consuming, difficult and very costly this can be.

The time taken to find and train staff can be significant and then when they leave, you have to incur all these costs again. Consider these “hidden“ costs when you are looking at staff compensation issues such as bonuses and increases.

Consider using a part time HR service to complement your management team.

For general hiring, consider using sites like www.workopolis.ca to post resume s and locate candidates. For more specialized hiring such as accounting or sales positions, consider using the service of an agency.

When using agencies, include a term in the contract that if the recruit leaves within a certain time period, they either replace them at no charge or at a heavily discounted rate.

Managing Growth
When a business grows, you require more space, staff, equipment, inventory and many other items. With this growth comes the need for extra working capital or loans. Please refer to our Definition of Business Terms under Bank loans, Financing and Capital for some help and ideas in this area.

Many businesses do not factor this extra need for capital into their growth models and the lack of extra working capital to effect the growth can ultimately be the cause of a business failure.

Change in your marketplace
It is important to periodically review your market to keep abreast of changes. For instance, boomers are becoming more health conscious in their eating choices. If we were in the food business, catering to this market, we need to be aware of these shifts.

Or if we are in the new home construction business, we need to be aware of the cyclicality (boom/bust) of this market as well as the impact from factors like changes in mortgage rates or commodity prices.

Change the world around you
In addition to being aware of changes in your market place, you should also be aware of changes around you. For instance changes in technology.

The internet has revolutionized the way people communicate and conduct business. You need to consider changes in the world around you from the perspective of:

1. Ways to improve efficiencies in your business
2. The impact of changes in the world to your business.

These are both longer term strategic factors to be considered and discussed with your business advisor(s).

The last word – Enjoy the fruits of your labour!
All too often, starting and running a business can become an all consuming beast! Remember to pace yourself. It’s not a sprint, but rather a marathon.

A part of the reason for you doing this is to be your own boss, so remember to make time to smell the roses and enjoy the fruits of your labour!

Good luck!
Staff at StartupShop.ca