5 Steps to Business Success
Follow the directions to your Business Success
The 5 Steps to Business Success:
1. Business Objective
- Having a clear objective for your Business?
- Being clear about what you want to achieve in and from your business?
- Having a sound differentiated Business idea?
- Ensuring you enjoy what you are doing in business, if you don’t enjoy it don’t do it, life is far too short!
- Having a clear vision for your business
- Ensuring you have a Business Plan setting goals and objectives.
2. Financial Management
- Understanding your Business Finances is crucial
- Producing & understanding management accounts so you can be clear about what you are achieving
- Ensuring your energies are focussed on generating income and profit
- Effective Management of Cash Flow ensuring funds are available
- Understanding whether you are making money
3. Marketing
- Learn all about it, ensure you can market yourself, if you cannot then you will not be able to market your product.
- Get out and promote you and your business, Networking is a great way to achieve this
- Provide information, samples and valuable service for free as a valuable marketing tool
- Understand your objective and your customers before you commit to marketing expenditure
4. Customer Service
- Getting customers and planning your sales from day 1 is critical
- Do not promise what you cannot deliver
- Do not overextend resources and get reputation for poor performance
- Do not tell customers what they want to hear. Tell them what they need to know. They will respect you for it
- Blog provide good solid information free of charge
5. Get Good Support
- There will be ups & downs, so get good people to support you
- Don’t think you can do it all yourself get expert support the investment will be worth it
- Network with other Business People
- Consider engaging the support of a Business Consultant or Business Mentor
- Join relevant Trade Associations
The 5 Steps to Business Success are key to helping you to be successful in business further information will shortly be available by download from my website www.smallbusinesseastmidlands.co.uk if you would like to subscribe for more information to help you with your business please email me at Steps@sbmids.co.ukI will then add you to my mailing list and send the information to you over the coming weeks.
Simon Winfield is the owner of Winfields Business Consulting, Small Business Consultants who work with Small & Medium sized Businesses, they have developed a strong reputation for hands-on straightforward business advice that really works in growing and developing businesses as well as increasing profits.
They have received numerous Testimonials and recommendations; these can be viewed on their website.
Simon has also built a reputation as an effective speaker and trainer, he is available for presentations to Groups, Organisations and Networking Organisations and can be contacted via the website www.smallbusinesseastmidlands.co.uk emailed on simon@sbmids.co.uk or by phone on 0116 3260017.
Minutes from Friday Meeting 2nd December 2011
Reports from Officers… very quick and easy this morning… “Not a lot”.. apart from apologies overnight from Dave and Lee.
Discussion on Xmas/New Year schedule.. we WILL meet as usual on Friday 23rd December and be back in the New Year on 6th January (although I will almost certainly be absent on 6th Jan… but who cares!)
Christmas lunch is on Friday 16th meeting at 2.00 at Zizzi’s.. although possibly meeting in a bar first… we will still have breakfast that morning! Steve to invite “Recently Departed” friends
Xmas gift to Janice.. £30 gift voucher agreed… guess that’s down to me then!!
Martyn Carey made a very welcome return and we discussed his “Friday morning Situation”.. all happy to have him on board… so WELCOME to Martyn… forms available on website to complete… can you come to the Xmas lunch as well?
TECHIE TIP
In the absence of Dave, Simon gave us some insight into the benefits of using an iPad.. how things are instant and graphics are excellent
ITS GOOD NEWS WEEK… is it??
Glen… 2 appointments from recent networking meeting .. and had 4 measures the other night
Simon… lots going on… including helping Lee get in with someone who has jobs nationally. Also looking at his processes.
Martyn… hopefully getting to write Newsletter for local Doctors
Paul… recently done a job in a pub which is different
Brian.. you never know where people get you from.. even months later… Portrait booked got us from next door neighbour whose Daughter had her Prom pics taken by us months ago.
Steve.. as busy as Simon can make him
SPOTLIGHT
This week, Glen didn’t bring his doors, but gave information on recent meetings he had with local universities and following that the fact that local councils will be upgrading numerous properties with a massive budget.
This lead nicely into how to get Tenders… see Source East Midlands… many now moving away from rules & regulations especially for amller jobs, so go to the various local government sites and see what work is available… if you don’t look, you wont see!
BUSINESS CHALLENGE
It was nice to see that our resident Business Consultant needed our thoughts on how to make better use of his time. Simon works with small business people usually for half a day twice a month, but with more and more appointments, he is finding difficulty getting the jobs done that he has set himself following the meetings.
Can get help by outsourcing or giving more realistic time frames or getting the customers to do more themselves. Maybe use the likes of Martyn.
NEXT WEEK
Paul will be in the Spotlight.
Other Issues.
There is a Networking event in Leicester next Wednesday.. see Simon for details
TO DO LIST
Steve invite recent members to Xmas lunch
Brian arrange gift voucher for Janice
Martyn complete and return membership forms
So, that’s about it for this week, apologies for 24 hour delay.. actual had rather a busy work day with no time to do minutes… but the bit you have been waiting for>>>
“We didn’t actually overspend our budget. The allocation simply fell short of our expenditure.”
See you all next week… apart from Glen
Cheers
Brian
Minutes of todays meeting Friday 18th November 2011
Chairman Steve welcomed a visitor Martyn Carey.. a copywriter from Billesdon, more from him later.
Officers Reports.. Simon press release in Harborough Mail
Steve… 276 visits to website in last month, but high bounce rate
Secretary Brian… 2 x apologies from Ikram and Paul. Matters o/s… Brian and John to come up with cost of Video/mugshots to other business people.
Techie Tip… not from Dave but Steve.. want to check the start up/shut down procedure on your laptop.. check Soluto.com
Visitor Intro… Martyn from Billesdon.. see www.martyncarey.co.uk Copywriter, can tell people in their language what you can’t (he cud have written that better!). In websites he will make it clearer to your customers in a language they can understand. Also does leaflets and newsletters. Very Competitive hourly rate currently £30 p.h for small business.
NEWSROUND/WHATS NEW
John has new internet access.. BT Infinity
Dave good start to Peterborough Jobs
Glen.. met Pru Leith (woopie doo)… New venture supplting painted doors
Simon.. Busy week.. obtained £6,000 in funding on Wednesday alone. Challenging times in retail and manufacturing
Brian… Could get photo on Front Page of Kettering “Whats on guide” and teaching Amateur Photographer.. 2 sessions so far with another one booked
Lee.. in conjunction with Dave’s wife Ann.. Peterborough Jobs going well
Steve.. is as busy as Simon gets him
Spotlight… Simons Business Tips
Having done research there are 5 areas to focus on:-
Be OBJECTIVE… Who is your customer, what do you want to achieve, be passionate about it
FINANCIALS.. understand how you are doing financially at all times … dont wait till 6 months through next year
MARKETING.. Know your market, understand it, speak their language
CUSTOMER.. Service is paramount.. dont promise what you cant deliver but exceed their expectations.
SUPPORT.. use all the help that is out there.. I.T or Copywriting, Hire the right people.
TRAINING/SOUNDING BOARD
Lee asked for advice re promoting Harborough Jobs.. how to get name known. Various ideas brought out in discussion… newsletters, use of Database, get names, have Open Evening.
We ran out of time at this point.. next week:-
Glen will do a psot if he gets sample doors sorted If not then
Simon will do a follow up.
Lee to show us His Sales Pitch
TO DO LIST:-
Brian and John.. come up with price for non-members Mugshots and Video
Simon.. follow up visit by Martyn
Simon.. go ahead with production of Business Cards
and finally….
Photo Parties for all ages
Photoshoot parties have become all the rage this past year especially with teenagers… it certainly appears to beat a trip to McDonalds or Ten Pin Bowling.. and MAD Photography of Desborough, see www.madphotography.co.uk who are specialist Social photographers situated midway between Kettering and Market Harborough have taken this new aspect on photography onboard.
Whilst in the past year these Photoshoot parties have been used by young teenagers there is nothing to stop any group of any age joining in the fun. Indeed this week MAD Photography have had an enquiry from a group about celebrating a 21st Birthday… but who says it si just for the young? So if a group of you are getting together and want to do something different… such as .. You are celebrating your 40th birthday and usually have “lunch with the girls”, why not do something different and join MAD Photography in Desborough for a party with a difference.. you can even bring your own drink.. and give you and your friends something to remember.
So for Photoshoot parties with a difference, no matter what the celebration call Brian on 01536 760382, email brian@madphotography.co.uk or visit www.madphotography.co.uk
Kettering Panto comes to town
Friday morning saw the press launch of this years Kettering Pantomime which will run at Ketterings Lighthouse theatre from Tuesday 13th December until Saturday 31st December… see www.lighthousetheatre.co.uk
MAD Photography from Desborough, see www.madphotography.co.uk attended the launch on behalf of the theatre and photographed the main characters both at the venue and then into town for a P.R. shoot with local dignatories before visiting a local school as a surprise for the children.
This years show stars Danny Young from Coronation Street and Dancing on Ice plus Christine and Neil Hamilton, plus the winner of Ketterings “Search for Cinders” competition… Millie Binks.
The official Press release is attached for reference purposes.
PRESS RELEASE
Grab your tickets
to the Prince’s ball!
It may only be Kettering’s second professional pantomime, but already
CINDERELLA is looking to break the venue’s box office records.
“This is a great achievement, and testament to what the Lighthouse Theatre and myself are doing, in
building on the great work laid down by my predecessor last year,” says Tom Morris, producer.
“We’ve learnt what the people of Kettering want from their pantomime, and learnt how we’re different
from the likes of Northampton and Wellingborough, and we’re celebrating those differences.
We are
Northamptonshire’s best value family pantomime; you won’t be needing a Fairy Godmother for the
whole family to go to the panto this Christmas!
We have some of the lowest ticket prices around this
year, yet we’re providing a spectacular production – no expense has been spared!”
CINDERELLA is headlined by Danny Young, famous for his time on the holy cobbles of CORONATION
STREET and more recently on the dangerous rinks of DANCING ON ICE. Assisting the TV hunk are
husband and wife combo NEIL AND CHRISTINE HAMILTON. Whilst Neil plays Baron Hardup, his
entertaining wife makes for a thrilling and enchanting FAIRY GODMOTHER. Best known for her time on
I’M A CELEBRITY…, Christine is looking forward to making all Kettering children’s wishes come true this
Christmas.
“We have a fantastic cast, ranging from TV favourites, to reality TV stars, to Eurovision idols, through to
local heroes. We have Northampton‐born Tony Howes, who now lives nearby to Kettering after a long
stint in London’ West End and beyond. In addition, we have two West End favourites as the Ugly Sisters,
which we’e cheekily re‐named Beatrice and Eugenie!”The show is written and directed by Gerry Tebbutt, who has spent the past two decades as Head of
Musical Theatre at prestigious drama school Guildford School of Acting –where producer Tom was once
one of his prized students. “ettering’ CINDERELLA will be Gerry’ 37
th pantomime; he really knows his
stuff, and can’t wait to bring a touch of magic to the Lighthouse. He’s also playing one of the Ugly sisters,
a role he last played two years ago in Guildford with Blue Peter’s Gethin Jones; and now we have the alldancing
Danny Young gracing the Lighthouse stage, we can promise you all a Ball to remember!”
So why Kettering? Why not venture to Northampton or Wellingborough? “We’ve put a lot of money and
effort into producing a top‐notch production, not only in terms of cast, but the production itself. We have
special effects by some of the UK’ top illusionists, amazing sets and costumes, live music, a fantastic
script –the list goes on. It really is a family production, one that you don’ need to pay big bucks for. So if
you want to treat the kids with a memorable panto, come and visit us at The Lighthouse!”
“Your carriage awaits!”
Help and support is at hand for all Businesses in and around Market Harborough.
If you are in business in and around Market Harborough then why not get help and support from business people in the same position as you?
With a tough economic climate you do not have to be on your own, in fact getting help and support from others is more crucial than ever.
We all face similar challenges in business and Ten Minds provides a great opportunity to share and discuss your business as well as networking with business contacts that could make the difference to your success.
See our press release below for more information or contact us on 07896626862 or complete the contact form on our website www.tenminds.co.uk
Help for Business in Market Harborough Press release