An important business management skill is the ability to make effective decisions. When it comes down to it, the most highly paid corporate executives and managers are financially rewarded by how effectively they make these decisions. These decisions are based on solving problems as well as expanding and developing the business.
Successful and effective managers use a well thought out process to make their decisions. These decision making processes enable managers to make the best decisions quickly. When it comes to a decision making process it can be broken down into three simple stages. These stages include the following:
? Information
? Analysis
? Taking action
The first part of the decision making process provides the trigger or the reason to take action based on the facts and information that is available at hand. The second stage is to analyse the situation to identify certain causes and then come up with potential solutions to the problem. At this stage it is important that the manager has a thorough understanding of the purpose of the decisions that are to be made. The next stage is the ability to make fast decisions based on the information available.
Making the right decision will be influenced greatly by how well you understand all the issues and factors involved. An effective manager will approach this by making a detailed list of the issues or criteria involved. For example, if you are ordering new machinery and you are deciding between which suppliers to choose then your decision criteria should include the companies reliability, training, installation and customer support.
Obviously an important criteria is cost as you have to keep within the budget. However, a decision should not be made solely on cost as the least expensive may not be best option. When making a decision list your criteria in order of importance. By weighting each criteria it will enable you to narrow down those key criteria that will have the most impact on making the final decision.
Archive
For October, 2010
Do you know the three reasons why a small business never gets off the ground? 1) Lack of funds, 2) Fear of failing, and 3) Limited ideas. But foremost, most new businesses just cannot keep going due to lacking the money to stay afloat during the start up phase.
With so many people out of work, many are seeking new start up business ideas. But with the excitement and anticipation of starting something new, there are also many concerns.
It is not just about working hard. One key ingredient is to ask yourself if you are passionate about the idea. It is proven that people who like their work, are more successful. Next, you must determine if there is really a demand for your new product or service. Doing research is critical. Take a look at your competition. Ask questions of others in this business, and do your homework and research, before you invest in the idea. Think about how much money you will really need to start up, then double that, or more. How will you market this new endeavor? How will it be different from others like it? How much money will you need to survive personally, and how much will be needed for the business to survive?
In reality, you need a business plan with a scope of operations, and a budget for how much it will cost. Short term planning is critical, but you may also want to think about three years out.
It can be challenging to pay all the bills on time. And you won’t always get the money in on time either!
Accounts receivable factoring can be a huge benefit to small businesses. Single invoice factoring is one of the newer solutions tat provides short-term working capital to growing businesses.
Here’s how it works. Because many businesses do not get paid right away for delivered products and or services, factoring will allow some wiggle room. Every business needs some cash on hand in order to sustain and grow. So what happens if you do not get paid for a few months by one client and you do not have time to seek alternative financing through banks or venture capitalists?
Factoring can be the answer to your troubles because it is an extremely fast way to turn your receivables into cash. In an ordinary scenario you might have to wait 30, 60, or sometimes even 90 days for invoices to be paid. But factoring companies look at your customers’ credit (not yours) and can pay you the majority of what’s owed to you fast. Sometimes even in under 24 hours.
Invoice factoring will allow your new company to do more business, keep up with supplies, manufacturing costs and payroll, and continue to do more business and stay afloat.
To find out more about how invoice factoring can help your new business, simply search online for invoice factoring.
- Marketing is a form of a self-expression. I think of it as an art, but you don’t have to be Picasso to make money off of it.
An example I can give is that I do prefer Apples to PCs, but part of the reason they are the only computers used in my office and were the ones originally purchased is that someone brilliantly made the once-clunky Apple logo into something sleek and artistic.
As a small business owner, it is nothing short of imperative that you are involved in the marketing process, because at that the end of the day, you have to feel comfortable about how you are represented on the web.
Like it or not, that’s the perception that clients will bring with them upon calling you.
It may sound odd to some, but our programmer put a picture on the corporate website of me with a big smile and for some reason, it bugged the heck out of me. Since a large number of people visit the site everyday, I immediately had it taken down.
The point is that at the end of the day, with regards to marketing your company, it’s not what the thirty other people say or what their opinion is, it’s what you are comfortable with and what you feel reflects you and your company.
- Don’t outsource a drop.
Aside from clothing and fashion, I’ve never been too impressed with the marketing work they do abroad. You’re going to hurt your business if you don’t buy American when it comes to marketing. The reason is that different countries have different styles. What looks good in India may not look good here.
- There is no ROI when it comes to status quo marketing
About 5 years ago when I started my site, I knew enough not to look at other staffing firms’ sites for ideas, because I didn’t want to emulate my competition. In every industry, about 95% of the websites look the same.
It took about two days of very random searches, but my firm’s website was originally based off of a mom and pop restaurant right outside of Washington D.C.
Over the years, the marketing style has evolved since then, but it is still different than other sites in the industry. Getting your marketing redone based off of the competition’s style is like winning a brand new sports car, contingent on the requirement that you never exceed the speed limit. It’s boring and is a waste.
Do something new. Stand out. When you think about it, what other choice do you have?
- Learn to love marketing. It’s a necessary evil.
You want all of your marketing done for you by either an employee or 3rd party, well “boo-hoo.” If you want an absolute visionary when it comes to marketing your company, you’re shelling out $250,000 at a minimum.
Nobody is going to do everything for you. Come to grips with the fact that you can hire Quicken to do almost everything, but you can’t expect a marketing employee to snap his or her fingers and change your company without your continuous input.