A strategic plan requires a strong commitment from management and employees to be successful. This is great for companies who have a solid plan to drive them but unfortunately the ones that don't could lose everything they have. As an owner, you bet your company's future on a strategic plan. If you haven't gotten the details right or shaped it from the proper perspective, you could be directing your business towards trouble. This article has good examples of small business strategies that are leading to success.
Ticket City, an Austin based ticket broker,was just laying off workers and cutting managers pay three years ago. Then the founder, Randy Cohen realized that he was playing too much defense. He decided to change his approach and be more aggressive by hiring 10 more employees and increasing his investment in marketing. The outcome? He boosted revenue by 33% in 2010 to $40 million. Ticket City even sponsors a nationally televised college bowl game. Sometimes leaders just need to be confident and try to be bold to establish a brand image.
Another suggestion is to listen to customers when thinking about redeveloping a strategic plan. Ask yourself what customers are missing in their experience, what value can you add? Coastal Contacts sells contanct-lens online and is doing well for themselves but the CEO was looking to rev up growth. He was having trouble coming up with ideas so he decided to turn to customers for ideas. Customer Service reps called customers and asked for feedback and management found a trend in their responses; many wanted their lenses the next day. So the organization began shipping everything overnight and the result has been phenomenal, sales in the U.S have jumped up over 40%. Customer responsiveness was the key to their boost in business but this should be done with caution. Sometimes customers can also steer you into making bad decisions. This company also developed a program based off of customer suggestions for their eye-glass business. Coastal Contacts sent four frames to their customers to give them a choice and then return the testers after making a decision. Soon after implementing this strategy the company realized that customers were just as likely to return purchases as before. Furthermore, the costs of this service weren't offset by the additional sales.
The article provided other suggestions that I generalize as tips. What I took out of this article was that big decisions require proper analysis to reduce the risk of failure. It's a good idea to look at problems from different perspectives. If you can't look at a situation from different angles, get input and communicate with others. The important thing is that the leader of an organization is capable of noticing trouble and can adapt. When strategies aren't working, they need to be the ones to not only recognize it but to step up and recognize the need for change.
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/05/smallbusiness/small_business_strategy.fortune/index.htm
Team Three
Sunny Shah
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Communication is the key. We learned this in the textbook, classroom discussions, and through our every day life. This same phrase applies to the business world. As a small business owner, it is easy to get caught up on the thousands of tasks that you feel you have to do simultaneously. Sometimes it can become hard to actually stop, take a breath, and notice the things that are going on around you. Small business owners frequently get caught up with looking ahead that they don't take the time to look around.It is important to see how your business is running and be there for your customers, as well as your employees. Happy employees leads to greater productivity and happier customers.
The article I found on businessweek.com discusses this topic. Although the business may be small and you frequently see each and every employee, it is still important to set time aside for each person and speak with them for about 15-30 minutes. This will allow you to stay informed and let your employees know that they are valued. This can also increase motivation and increase quality of work. These meeting times are not only beneficial for employees to express their feelings and concerns but also beneficial for the owner to go over goals for the upcoming term.
"Offering people a voice and an ear is the most motivating, nonfinancial incentive you can give. And it helps you build a stronger team, one person at a time" I think this quote tells it all. Humans by nature want to know that people care; that people are listening to them and value their work. Something as simple as setting time aside will not cost you nearly as much as you will gain in the outcome.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/04/spend_time_with_your_staff.html
Danielle Trasatti
The article I found on businessweek.com discusses this topic. Although the business may be small and you frequently see each and every employee, it is still important to set time aside for each person and speak with them for about 15-30 minutes. This will allow you to stay informed and let your employees know that they are valued. This can also increase motivation and increase quality of work. These meeting times are not only beneficial for employees to express their feelings and concerns but also beneficial for the owner to go over goals for the upcoming term.
"Offering people a voice and an ear is the most motivating, nonfinancial incentive you can give. And it helps you build a stronger team, one person at a time" I think this quote tells it all. Humans by nature want to know that people care; that people are listening to them and value their work. Something as simple as setting time aside will not cost you nearly as much as you will gain in the outcome.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/04/spend_time_with_your_staff.html
Danielle Trasatti
Scary Questions?
What are the right questions to ask your customers? Scott Messer says it is key for small businesses to ask the hard questions to their customers. Most people tend to avoid asking hard questions, but it is a must to really know what the customers are thinking. Messer says that asking the scary questions helps entrepreneurs develop lasting, personal relationships with their customers that ultimately improve sales. Sometimes people are nervous to ask questions, because of the chance that they will not get the answer they want. Some questions that Messer says needs to be asked are “If you were giving us a report card, what grade would we get?”, “If we lose your business in 2010, why would that happen, other than price?” Also, a problem with asking hard questions is getting people to be completely honest with you. The business owner needs to say that even if I may not like your answer I want you to be completely honest with me. Both parties in conversation need to realize that being completely honest well help out each other in the long run.
Communication is how businesses coordinate actions and achieve goals. Our textbook stats that communication is vital to an organizations success, which I agree 100 percent. Just like the article stats, if business owners are not able to get the right and honest information then they will be in trouble. Poor communication costs money and wastes time. A study from the textbook found that 14 percent of each workweek is wasted on poor communication. To me I think this problem is not too hard to fix. The more people talk and discuss ideas the more success a business will have. Also, it is just not enough just to communicate, but need to communicate effectively. This means asking the right questions and getting the right answers.
Have you ever avoided asking a hard or scary question, because you were scared of what the answer maybe? Also, why do you think businesses have so many problems with the communication process?
Article:http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/dec2009/sb20091210_589383.htm
Team 3
Jeff Blankenship
Communication is how businesses coordinate actions and achieve goals. Our textbook stats that communication is vital to an organizations success, which I agree 100 percent. Just like the article stats, if business owners are not able to get the right and honest information then they will be in trouble. Poor communication costs money and wastes time. A study from the textbook found that 14 percent of each workweek is wasted on poor communication. To me I think this problem is not too hard to fix. The more people talk and discuss ideas the more success a business will have. Also, it is just not enough just to communicate, but need to communicate effectively. This means asking the right questions and getting the right answers.
Have you ever avoided asking a hard or scary question, because you were scared of what the answer maybe? Also, why do you think businesses have so many problems with the communication process?
Article:http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/dec2009/sb20091210_589383.htm
Team 3
Jeff Blankenship
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Training to Quit
Who would have ever thought of such a thing as training your employees to quit? On first read, this seemed like a crazy idea to me; why would a small business owner want to invest even more money into an employee that is just going to leave them for another company? As I read this article though, the whole idea seemed much more logical.
Derek Christian, the owner of a small business called My Maid Service, determined that although their company was making a respectable profit, the only factor keeping the company from reaching the next level was the staff turnover. As we have learned throughout the semester, staff turnover leads to a considerable amount of job dissatisfaction resulting in poor customer service. Let’s face it, most people don’t aspire to be maids and therefore it is hard to keep employees and even harder to keep them happy enough to please customers.
Christian, through the help of a consultant, determined that it would serve the company best to train his employees to move onto a better career after working for him. The only stipulation was that they had to stay at My Maid Service for at least two years. He will then pay for any training necessary to get his employees where they want to be in their career. This change resulted in zero staff turnovers in 2009. This concept ties directly to two very important concepts that we have continued to learn about throughout the semester: motivation and job satisfaction.
I believe that Christian is attempting to motivate his employees through empowerment. As chapter 6 in the textbook describes, there are two types of empowerment, structural and felt. Structural empowerment can be achieved through decision authority, leadership style, organizational structure, access to information, and organizational climate. In this case, the owner is achieving structural empowerment mainly through organizational structure and climate. He formed organizational structure by employing centralized management while still allowing employees to do their job without being micromanaged. This structure also included a policy that required an employee to work the full two years before completing their “training to quit” program, so in that regard My Maid Service was a fairly formal organization. The biggest part of structural empowerment displayed at this company though was organizational climate. The owner motivated the entire work force by offering the training free of charge to the employees. Therefore, employees were more motivated to work hard and go after the opportunities that were placed in front of them, instead of being stuck in the same job for years or quitting after a few weeks. The owner really inspired a belief in his employees that they could be anything they wanted to be after they did good work for him.
According to the textbook, felt empowerment includes: the need for work to be meaningful, employees to feel confident that they can perform the job, employees having discretion and autonomy at work, and for employees’ abilities to be allowed to influence how the company operates. At My Maid Service, Derek Christian is trying to instill felt empowerment in his employees because it will cause them to do a better job while they still work there. In this way, he makes maid service work meaningful; employees are not just cleaning houses, they are cleaning houses while taking classes at a community college or getting training in a different field. There is constantly a deeper reason as to why they are performing at their best, which is an incredibly motivating ideal.
All of the aforementioned components of working for My Maid Service lead to job satisfaction. Through this model of business, the employees will feel valued and will have a sense of responsibility for the work that they do. Also, through Christian’s way of hiring, he is more likely to find those with a strong person-organization fit; in other words, they are the employees that want to work for a business run in this fashion.
So what do you think, is it really an owner’s responsibility to get their workers trained to discover better futures? Or is this really just senseless in terms of costs to the business?
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/01/smallbusiness/staff_training/index.htm
Posted By:
Brittany Meredith
Derek Christian, the owner of a small business called My Maid Service, determined that although their company was making a respectable profit, the only factor keeping the company from reaching the next level was the staff turnover. As we have learned throughout the semester, staff turnover leads to a considerable amount of job dissatisfaction resulting in poor customer service. Let’s face it, most people don’t aspire to be maids and therefore it is hard to keep employees and even harder to keep them happy enough to please customers.
Christian, through the help of a consultant, determined that it would serve the company best to train his employees to move onto a better career after working for him. The only stipulation was that they had to stay at My Maid Service for at least two years. He will then pay for any training necessary to get his employees where they want to be in their career. This change resulted in zero staff turnovers in 2009. This concept ties directly to two very important concepts that we have continued to learn about throughout the semester: motivation and job satisfaction.
I believe that Christian is attempting to motivate his employees through empowerment. As chapter 6 in the textbook describes, there are two types of empowerment, structural and felt. Structural empowerment can be achieved through decision authority, leadership style, organizational structure, access to information, and organizational climate. In this case, the owner is achieving structural empowerment mainly through organizational structure and climate. He formed organizational structure by employing centralized management while still allowing employees to do their job without being micromanaged. This structure also included a policy that required an employee to work the full two years before completing their “training to quit” program, so in that regard My Maid Service was a fairly formal organization. The biggest part of structural empowerment displayed at this company though was organizational climate. The owner motivated the entire work force by offering the training free of charge to the employees. Therefore, employees were more motivated to work hard and go after the opportunities that were placed in front of them, instead of being stuck in the same job for years or quitting after a few weeks. The owner really inspired a belief in his employees that they could be anything they wanted to be after they did good work for him.
According to the textbook, felt empowerment includes: the need for work to be meaningful, employees to feel confident that they can perform the job, employees having discretion and autonomy at work, and for employees’ abilities to be allowed to influence how the company operates. At My Maid Service, Derek Christian is trying to instill felt empowerment in his employees because it will cause them to do a better job while they still work there. In this way, he makes maid service work meaningful; employees are not just cleaning houses, they are cleaning houses while taking classes at a community college or getting training in a different field. There is constantly a deeper reason as to why they are performing at their best, which is an incredibly motivating ideal.
All of the aforementioned components of working for My Maid Service lead to job satisfaction. Through this model of business, the employees will feel valued and will have a sense of responsibility for the work that they do. Also, through Christian’s way of hiring, he is more likely to find those with a strong person-organization fit; in other words, they are the employees that want to work for a business run in this fashion.
So what do you think, is it really an owner’s responsibility to get their workers trained to discover better futures? Or is this really just senseless in terms of costs to the business?
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/01/smallbusiness/staff_training/index.htm
Posted By:
Brittany Meredith
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Marketing to the right crowd
One large problem that small businesses face is getting the word out about their company. Who care about it, right? If it is not a top name commonly known, what is its significance to me? That is the thought of many consumers. One woman from Phoenix expressed her hardships with getting her name out there via the internet. She had trouble advertising on various search engines and was not able to be successful on any avenue she pursued.
Small businesses should concentrate on defining their market and knowing who it is they need to advertise to. Larger corporations are able to extend their market over a larger region. It is important for small businesses to use their recourses wisely and ensure that they are directing their products or services to the right market. Small businesses can not afford to make the mistake of advertising to the wrong market. This would lead to a loss in expenses and thus a loss in profits with no customers wanting their product. Building demand for your small business is essential.
Chapter 11 in the textbook describes the different levels of decision making that individuals, companies, etc. must go through. They can be strategical in deciding if their product or service is the best option for them,tactical in deciding who the target market should be, and operational in deciding how to maintain their relationship with their consumers. Making the right decisions is extremely important for a small business's longevity.
article :http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2011/sb2011045_253677.htm
by: Danielle Trasatti
Small businesses should concentrate on defining their market and knowing who it is they need to advertise to. Larger corporations are able to extend their market over a larger region. It is important for small businesses to use their recourses wisely and ensure that they are directing their products or services to the right market. Small businesses can not afford to make the mistake of advertising to the wrong market. This would lead to a loss in expenses and thus a loss in profits with no customers wanting their product. Building demand for your small business is essential.
Chapter 11 in the textbook describes the different levels of decision making that individuals, companies, etc. must go through. They can be strategical in deciding if their product or service is the best option for them,tactical in deciding who the target market should be, and operational in deciding how to maintain their relationship with their consumers. Making the right decisions is extremely important for a small business's longevity.
article :http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2011/sb2011045_253677.htm
by: Danielle Trasatti
Friday, April 15, 2011
Seven Ways to Retain Top Employees
I found an article that discusses the challenges small business faces in retaining high level employees. It is easy for large corporations to offer incentives to employees whereas there is much more of a challenge for a small business. The prime example of a corporation that offers amazing incentives is Google, they have beyond belief things for their employees doing on the job and perks offered to them.
The article offers seven pieces ways to help retain the top performers:
1) Revisit old promises
2) Take Action
3) Have Fun
4) Keep Talking
5) Be Transparent
6) Address inequities
7) Be realistic
This article closely relates to chapter four: individual attitudes and behaviors.
First, an individual needs to have a high organizational commitment otherwise it would not be in the interest of a company to retain them. An employer and employee are going to have a psychological contract with each other and it's important that each of their needs are met, otherwise a psychological contract breach takes place. A breach is going to lead to low job satisfaction and commitment as stated by our textbook.
Some of the suggestions provided by the text that cause a positive work environment include a person's personality, person-environment fit, job characteristics, organizational justice, relationships at work, stress, and work-life balance. If a small business addresses these factors, it should provide a positive environment for employees. If a company decides to ignore some or all of these factors it will result in turnover, which is an employee leaving an organization. The text also states employee turnover has potentially harmful consequences, such as poor customer service and poor company-wide performance. Then the company needs to invest time and money into finding a replacement, both of which are scarce resources and cannot be afforded to be wasted. It's going to cost more money to find a replacement, when in the long-run it's in the best interest in the company to look after employees' well-being. Other problem that can occur is employee absenteeism, which is an unscheduled absence from work. Absenteeism can be very costly as well, just like employee turnover. According to our text absenteeism costs organizations $74 billion or about 15% of payroll is related to absenteeism.
If a company is unsure if they are meeting the needs of their employees they should consider conducting attitude surveys, which is defined as surveys that are given to employees periodically to track their work attitudes.
Have you ever worked for a company where it seems they are more interested in the bottom-line than they are in the well-being and satisfaction of their employees? I know I have unfortunately.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217482
Zachary Long
The article offers seven pieces ways to help retain the top performers:
1) Revisit old promises
2) Take Action
3) Have Fun
4) Keep Talking
5) Be Transparent
6) Address inequities
7) Be realistic
This article closely relates to chapter four: individual attitudes and behaviors.
First, an individual needs to have a high organizational commitment otherwise it would not be in the interest of a company to retain them. An employer and employee are going to have a psychological contract with each other and it's important that each of their needs are met, otherwise a psychological contract breach takes place. A breach is going to lead to low job satisfaction and commitment as stated by our textbook.
Some of the suggestions provided by the text that cause a positive work environment include a person's personality, person-environment fit, job characteristics, organizational justice, relationships at work, stress, and work-life balance. If a small business addresses these factors, it should provide a positive environment for employees. If a company decides to ignore some or all of these factors it will result in turnover, which is an employee leaving an organization. The text also states employee turnover has potentially harmful consequences, such as poor customer service and poor company-wide performance. Then the company needs to invest time and money into finding a replacement, both of which are scarce resources and cannot be afforded to be wasted. It's going to cost more money to find a replacement, when in the long-run it's in the best interest in the company to look after employees' well-being. Other problem that can occur is employee absenteeism, which is an unscheduled absence from work. Absenteeism can be very costly as well, just like employee turnover. According to our text absenteeism costs organizations $74 billion or about 15% of payroll is related to absenteeism.
If a company is unsure if they are meeting the needs of their employees they should consider conducting attitude surveys, which is defined as surveys that are given to employees periodically to track their work attitudes.
Have you ever worked for a company where it seems they are more interested in the bottom-line than they are in the well-being and satisfaction of their employees? I know I have unfortunately.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217482
Zachary Long
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Innovation and Creativity in Small Business
Small businesses rely largely on the “next big thing” in order for their business to grow a customer base. Therefore, the small businesses must be innovative in their thinking in order to come up with new ideas. The article, “How to innovate: A step-by-step guide,” starts out by talking about a funeral home director who started up his business by finding out from the customers how their loved ones would like to be honored. In response to this, the funeral home specializes services with anything from transporting the dearly departed person’s Harley Davidson motorcycle to the funeral home or entirely moving the services to places such as golf courses. The article addresses five steps for innovation which I believe go hand-in-hand with the creative decision-making model which I will discuss later. The first step is to “look behind you” meaning that small business owners should take into consideration what those that came before them did to become successful and what the company has done to be successful in the past. The second step is to “lose the routine,” meaning that management and their employees need to live life and have experiences that will open their minds up to new ideas. The third step is to “use the brains you hired”; employees are a huge part of coming up with the ideas for the company and they should be encouraged to do so. The fourth step is to “get cozy with your customers” which means that a small business’ management and employees should develop close relationships with their customers in order to really understand what their needs and wants are. The last two steps include possibly finding a partner to gain ideas and investments from and also learning how to fail quickly. Those two steps allow small businesses to try out more of their ideas without taking on all of the financial pressure that could come with such decisions.
In order for companies to come up with new and exciting ideas that will aid in continued growth, they must use a creative decision-making model. As displayed in Chapter 11 of our textbook, the creative decision-making process has five steps: problem recognition, immersion, incubation, illumination, and verification (and application). The steps of innovation discussed previously come into play with the immersion, incubation, and illumination steps of the creative decision-making process. During immersion, the small business must step out of their normal routine of doing things, look at the history of their company, and gain an understanding of their customers. This process will allow the small business to gain the information they need to solve the problem of dwindling business or the need for a new idea. During illumination, when the problem’s solution comes to light, a small business could use a partner or other outsiders to bounce their ideas off of. The end stage, when verification and application occurs, companies need to be sure to speed up the process in order to “fail quickly.” Spending too much time on an idea that just will not work is a waste of time and extra resources. The small business should quickly move onto starting the process over again.
As far as “using the brains you hired,” employee creativity can be used and improved by methods such as brainstorming, idea quotas, and wildstorming. Most people know what brainstorming is but wildstorming is an interesting method because it allows employees to take the ideas that seem next to impossible and think of ways to make them possible. I also think idea quotas are a good idea because they encourage employees and groups of employees to come up with a large number of ideas before ending the brainstorming process.
I thought all of these ideas for innovation were very interesting and should definitely be taken into consideration when delving into the creative decision-making process. Would you agree? What might you add to make the creative process even better?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
In order for companies to come up with new and exciting ideas that will aid in continued growth, they must use a creative decision-making model. As displayed in Chapter 11 of our textbook, the creative decision-making process has five steps: problem recognition, immersion, incubation, illumination, and verification (and application). The steps of innovation discussed previously come into play with the immersion, incubation, and illumination steps of the creative decision-making process. During immersion, the small business must step out of their normal routine of doing things, look at the history of their company, and gain an understanding of their customers. This process will allow the small business to gain the information they need to solve the problem of dwindling business or the need for a new idea. During illumination, when the problem’s solution comes to light, a small business could use a partner or other outsiders to bounce their ideas off of. The end stage, when verification and application occurs, companies need to be sure to speed up the process in order to “fail quickly.” Spending too much time on an idea that just will not work is a waste of time and extra resources. The small business should quickly move onto starting the process over again.
As far as “using the brains you hired,” employee creativity can be used and improved by methods such as brainstorming, idea quotas, and wildstorming. Most people know what brainstorming is but wildstorming is an interesting method because it allows employees to take the ideas that seem next to impossible and think of ways to make them possible. I also think idea quotas are a good idea because they encourage employees and groups of employees to come up with a large number of ideas before ending the brainstorming process.
I thought all of these ideas for innovation were very interesting and should definitely be taken into consideration when delving into the creative decision-making process. Would you agree? What might you add to make the creative process even better?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Old-Fashion
Could you go without your cell phone or the internet for one whole day? Try running a business with never using them, in fact trying running a farm with no car or electricity. Amos Miller is able to do this with great profitability. If you have not guessed yet Amos is Amish. Mr. Miller was able to turn his dad’s Pennsylvania farm into a 1.8 million dollar national food retailer. The farm is part of the up and growing food industry of nutrient-dense foods. Organic food use to be fad and now nutrient-dense food has taking over the market share. Amos is the main person that is running the show, but needs help from his brother who grows the produce that they ferment and process at the farm. Amos runs this farm with one landline telephone to take orders and relies on FedEx to ship the orders to customers. Miller does not do advertising, but does attend one conference near Chicago, which he hires a non Amish man to drive him there. Amos said that the farm receives regular orders from food cooperatives as far away as Florida and California.
I started to really think about how Amos is able to run such a successful business with very little modern technology. There are plenty farmers around this area that make good money, but not many are able to make 1.8 million dollars. One of the main reasons is that Amos was able to see that nutrient-dense foods were going to take over the market share. He took a big risk and joined the industry. Another reason that I feel Amos was able to become so successful was the ability to self-motivate. With Amos being a big majority of the work force, because he has no luxury items asset him, he must find ways to get motivated every day. He never gets a day off he works 24/7 365 days a year. In most business’s money is get motivator to work hard, which Amos makes a great deal of, but being part of the Amish society and religion their beliefs and values are different. They work hard because that’s the way of life. The article states that Miller said elders in the church worry about the growth of the farm. They discourage him from getting to big because they do not want Amish farmer to be tempted by the marvels of modern technology. I find this to be very different with want is normal in the business society of make as much money as possible. The question that I ask myself is what actually drives Amos to work so hard day in and day out. The main reason I came to find was Amos is motivated by his family well-being and to serve the beliefs of his religion.
I also wanted to talk about all stress that Mr. Miller must be under. I could not imagine trying to run a million dollar business with no technology. I find this almost impossible to do so in the world today. Think of all the orders his must take a day and must use the old fashion way of doing things. Most people look at stress at a bad thing, but Amos is able to use all the stress he is under and use it to make himself a better business owner. He is able to thrive under it and make great decisions.
I feel that small business owners must be able to be great self-motivates and also not fold under stressful situations. There are other key attributes of being a business owner, but I feel these are close to the top or at the top of being successful. If you disagree or have any other import please feel free to give me your opinion about it.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2010/sb2010014_284280_page_2.htm
Team 3
Jeffrey Blankenship
I started to really think about how Amos is able to run such a successful business with very little modern technology. There are plenty farmers around this area that make good money, but not many are able to make 1.8 million dollars. One of the main reasons is that Amos was able to see that nutrient-dense foods were going to take over the market share. He took a big risk and joined the industry. Another reason that I feel Amos was able to become so successful was the ability to self-motivate. With Amos being a big majority of the work force, because he has no luxury items asset him, he must find ways to get motivated every day. He never gets a day off he works 24/7 365 days a year. In most business’s money is get motivator to work hard, which Amos makes a great deal of, but being part of the Amish society and religion their beliefs and values are different. They work hard because that’s the way of life. The article states that Miller said elders in the church worry about the growth of the farm. They discourage him from getting to big because they do not want Amish farmer to be tempted by the marvels of modern technology. I find this to be very different with want is normal in the business society of make as much money as possible. The question that I ask myself is what actually drives Amos to work so hard day in and day out. The main reason I came to find was Amos is motivated by his family well-being and to serve the beliefs of his religion.
I also wanted to talk about all stress that Mr. Miller must be under. I could not imagine trying to run a million dollar business with no technology. I find this almost impossible to do so in the world today. Think of all the orders his must take a day and must use the old fashion way of doing things. Most people look at stress at a bad thing, but Amos is able to use all the stress he is under and use it to make himself a better business owner. He is able to thrive under it and make great decisions.
I feel that small business owners must be able to be great self-motivates and also not fold under stressful situations. There are other key attributes of being a business owner, but I feel these are close to the top or at the top of being successful. If you disagree or have any other import please feel free to give me your opinion about it.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2010/sb2010014_284280_page_2.htm
Team 3
Jeffrey Blankenship
Small Business in a David Vs. Goliath Type Battle
I read a CNN Money article that had three short stories of current small businesses that were putting up a legitimate fight against some bigger, more familiar faces in the industry. One business went from making socks for L.L Bean and Brooks Brothers creating their own brand of tough athletic wear socks that rivaled TIMBERLAND's current athletic socks. Another offered natural and healthier baby food that competed against Gerber. The one I decided to focus on was SimpliSafe and its threat to ADT, the most poplar name in the security industry.
Chad Laurens is the CEO and engineer of the product. The company sells security systems and provides service in the event of an emergency. Chad's system is currently manufactured in-house and is designed to run solely off a wireless network, who uses land lines these days anyway?designed to operate off of wireless networks. The only marketing source Laurens uses is the internet. It's not even really marketed, just operated through their website.
Their are three major differences between the two companies and it's all about the use of their resources. ADT is a much more complex system than SimpliSafe which requires a professional installation service. SimpliSafe uses wireless sensors and the entire system is said to take less than 5 minutes to install. This allows the company to avoid installation charges therefor charging customers half as much as ADT to get started. The company also charges a 1/3rd of ADT's monthly service charge. That adds up to a significant annual saving while without effecting the quality and sense of security. Lastly, the design of the system provides alerts to your mobile phone for no additional charge. Currently, they are working on an app to go with the system that would allow someone to monitor the activity within their house. One of the things that I found surprising was how big this market is. SimpliSafe has doubled, maybe even tripled their sales from the last year to $15 million!
That's just one story of an entrepreneur who took advantage of a fairly apparent opportunity. It wasn't rocket science, making the business model and doing the planning may have been, but the idea wasn't. Chad distinctly differentiated his product while being comparable in quality. In most cases entry barriers would make it hard for the little guys to compete on price but in this case SimpliSafe not only competes but STOMPS on its competitors prices. What this article didn't try to understand was how the company operates in comparison to brand-name counterparts. SimpliSafe likely has a strong commitment to teamwork and the organization from it's employees. It would have been nice if the article focused on how Laurens treated the employees and if they were rewarded for their efforts. It's hard to startup a business as it is, but it has to be that much harder to maintain after the ball starts really rolling. The demand for their product is rising and that brings on a whole new set of responsibilities for the organization. I would be shocked if Chad has gotten as far as he has without having a positive organizational culture. I would assume his employees are motivated and inspired by Chad's current track record. Because who can confidently say that they established an organization from the ground (remember he actually designed the system and currently manufactures it in-house) all the way up to a multi-million dollar success story that competes with some of the industry's biggest names.
Team Three
Sunny Shah
Chad Laurens is the CEO and engineer of the product. The company sells security systems and provides service in the event of an emergency. Chad's system is currently manufactured in-house and is designed to run solely off a wireless network, who uses land lines these days anyway?designed to operate off of wireless networks. The only marketing source Laurens uses is the internet. It's not even really marketed, just operated through their website.
Their are three major differences between the two companies and it's all about the use of their resources. ADT is a much more complex system than SimpliSafe which requires a professional installation service. SimpliSafe uses wireless sensors and the entire system is said to take less than 5 minutes to install. This allows the company to avoid installation charges therefor charging customers half as much as ADT to get started. The company also charges a 1/3rd of ADT's monthly service charge. That adds up to a significant annual saving while without effecting the quality and sense of security. Lastly, the design of the system provides alerts to your mobile phone for no additional charge. Currently, they are working on an app to go with the system that would allow someone to monitor the activity within their house. One of the things that I found surprising was how big this market is. SimpliSafe has doubled, maybe even tripled their sales from the last year to $15 million!
That's just one story of an entrepreneur who took advantage of a fairly apparent opportunity. It wasn't rocket science, making the business model and doing the planning may have been, but the idea wasn't. Chad distinctly differentiated his product while being comparable in quality. In most cases entry barriers would make it hard for the little guys to compete on price but in this case SimpliSafe not only competes but STOMPS on its competitors prices. What this article didn't try to understand was how the company operates in comparison to brand-name counterparts. SimpliSafe likely has a strong commitment to teamwork and the organization from it's employees. It would have been nice if the article focused on how Laurens treated the employees and if they were rewarded for their efforts. It's hard to startup a business as it is, but it has to be that much harder to maintain after the ball starts really rolling. The demand for their product is rising and that brings on a whole new set of responsibilities for the organization. I would be shocked if Chad has gotten as far as he has without having a positive organizational culture. I would assume his employees are motivated and inspired by Chad's current track record. Because who can confidently say that they established an organization from the ground (remember he actually designed the system and currently manufactures it in-house) all the way up to a multi-million dollar success story that competes with some of the industry's biggest names.
Team Three
Sunny Shah
Monday, March 21, 2011
Are you addicted to chaos?
Are you addicted to chaos?
Many small business owners seem to be attached to their computers, cell phones, and always seem to be running around frantically, carrying the weight of their business heavily upon their shoulders. In the article “Three Signs You are Addicted to Chaos”, it addresses just that. It describes three stereotypes of a chaotic business entrepreneur that may prove true for many. These include: their business live revolves around the in-box, they can’t step away from the business, and they are strangely proud they have so little free time.
First, their business revolves around the inbox. Their day is run by the next move they need to make pending on the need from responses in their inbox, PDA, or other communication devices. They are constantly on high alert and have a tendency to have increased levels of stress due to the emphasis they place on the urgency to react to the next message. Stress is a common occurrence in our everyday life and hard to avoid. It is important, however, to recognize this stressor and find a way to manage it. Some ways to manage the stress that comes along with running a small business can be taking your work to a remote area outside of the office. If you find peace at a local coffee shop, take your computer there and work for a portion of the day. Time management can also reduce the stress of having so many demands thrust upon you at once. Paid time off, also known as sabbaticals, can also help. Having such an active lifestyle in the business field can take its toll. It is important that individuals recharge their batteries so they don’t experience job burnout.
Second, many small business leaders feel that if they step away from their office, their business will fall apart. To subside this fear, good communication should be established so that business leaders can leave the office and feel comfortable that those left in charge know the goals to be accomplished. The communication should include coordination from both managers and employees, a transmission of the information or tasks to be completed, and both sides should share their feelings about the topic. Having a set communication process will make communication more open, the organization run more smoothly while managers are away, and business leaders can finally take the time off from work that they need.
Lastly, “free time” is becoming a foreign phrase to these chaotic entrepreneurs. I know I personally have worked for a small business where I have had a boss that seemed like he lived at work. I wondered if he ever had any time for himself or his family. Has anyone else worked for someone and felt the same way? To possibly gain more free time, entrepreneurs and small business owners can have strict criterion when hiring people onto their formal work group. Developing a cohesive work group that is knowledgeable of the goals of the organization will allow small business owners the peace of mind that while they are gone, their team is capable of temporarily running the business. I have had managers put myself in charge along with other select individuals if they had to leave for the day to attend meetings and such. Has anyone had similar experiences? Was everyone able to work together to keep things running smoothly?
article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/03/three_signs_you_are_addicted_to_chaos.html
Team Three
Danielle Trasatti
Many small business owners seem to be attached to their computers, cell phones, and always seem to be running around frantically, carrying the weight of their business heavily upon their shoulders. In the article “Three Signs You are Addicted to Chaos”, it addresses just that. It describes three stereotypes of a chaotic business entrepreneur that may prove true for many. These include: their business live revolves around the in-box, they can’t step away from the business, and they are strangely proud they have so little free time.
First, their business revolves around the inbox. Their day is run by the next move they need to make pending on the need from responses in their inbox, PDA, or other communication devices. They are constantly on high alert and have a tendency to have increased levels of stress due to the emphasis they place on the urgency to react to the next message. Stress is a common occurrence in our everyday life and hard to avoid. It is important, however, to recognize this stressor and find a way to manage it. Some ways to manage the stress that comes along with running a small business can be taking your work to a remote area outside of the office. If you find peace at a local coffee shop, take your computer there and work for a portion of the day. Time management can also reduce the stress of having so many demands thrust upon you at once. Paid time off, also known as sabbaticals, can also help. Having such an active lifestyle in the business field can take its toll. It is important that individuals recharge their batteries so they don’t experience job burnout.
Second, many small business leaders feel that if they step away from their office, their business will fall apart. To subside this fear, good communication should be established so that business leaders can leave the office and feel comfortable that those left in charge know the goals to be accomplished. The communication should include coordination from both managers and employees, a transmission of the information or tasks to be completed, and both sides should share their feelings about the topic. Having a set communication process will make communication more open, the organization run more smoothly while managers are away, and business leaders can finally take the time off from work that they need.
Lastly, “free time” is becoming a foreign phrase to these chaotic entrepreneurs. I know I personally have worked for a small business where I have had a boss that seemed like he lived at work. I wondered if he ever had any time for himself or his family. Has anyone else worked for someone and felt the same way? To possibly gain more free time, entrepreneurs and small business owners can have strict criterion when hiring people onto their formal work group. Developing a cohesive work group that is knowledgeable of the goals of the organization will allow small business owners the peace of mind that while they are gone, their team is capable of temporarily running the business. I have had managers put myself in charge along with other select individuals if they had to leave for the day to attend meetings and such. Has anyone had similar experiences? Was everyone able to work together to keep things running smoothly?
article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/tips/archives/2011/03/three_signs_you_are_addicted_to_chaos.html
Team Three
Danielle Trasatti
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Inspiring Ownership Among Employees in a Small Business
The article I read displayed how important the ability to inspire a sense of ownership among employees is, especially in small businesses. The idea is to get employees to buy into what the owner and management is striving for with the business and possess the drive to help achieve such goals. Instilling this passion often makes employees more willing to go beyond their job expectations and collaborate with management. The article identifies a few ways in which management can go about achieving this. First, employees must understand the bigger picture in what the company is hoping to accomplish. Small businesses can make this happen by educating their employees about every part of the business process, allowing them to understand how their role is so crucial to overall success. Second, management should provide incentives for employees that go beyond the norm in their work. The more an employee feels that their work is being recognized, the more likely they are to continue to push for more and better results. Third, management should allow the employees in a small business to know every reason behind company decisions. Employees will in turn be more likely to buy into the ideas even if they may not completely agree with such decisions. Lastly, small businesses must be willing to collaborate on company goals/decisions. If employees have a part in achieving company goals, they will inherently have a feeling of ownership towards the company successes.
I believe that these practices are best achieved with a transformational leader. As Chapter 12 explains, strong leadership is crucial to the success of a company and its employees. Although transformational leadership is a very contemporary approach to leadership, I believe it is especially fitting for small businesses. Several aspects of transformational leadership go hand in hand with the previously mentioned ideas. This type of leader must use inspirational motivation, making sure that the company’s vision is clear to employees and one that makes them willing to work towards such a vision. By using intellectual stimulation, they push employees to go above and beyond company norms. This freedom provides employees incentive to be creative in their ideas; small businesses largely rely on creativity. Individualized consideration, caring for employees’ well-being, also goes a long way in convincing them to work hard for the company. Most importantly, charismatic leaders that make employees believe in them have a very large part in instilling commitment to a small business’ organizational goals.
Transformational leaders have been proven to increase their employees’ feelings of ownership and commitment to their company. It is crucial that every employee in a small business buy into company goals and be willing to put in the hard work to achieve such goals so transformational leadership may be the exact solution to making that happen.
Do you agree with me in the belief that transformational leadership is the key to achieving what the article talks about? Or are there better, more attainable types of leadership that could be enacted?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
I believe that these practices are best achieved with a transformational leader. As Chapter 12 explains, strong leadership is crucial to the success of a company and its employees. Although transformational leadership is a very contemporary approach to leadership, I believe it is especially fitting for small businesses. Several aspects of transformational leadership go hand in hand with the previously mentioned ideas. This type of leader must use inspirational motivation, making sure that the company’s vision is clear to employees and one that makes them willing to work towards such a vision. By using intellectual stimulation, they push employees to go above and beyond company norms. This freedom provides employees incentive to be creative in their ideas; small businesses largely rely on creativity. Individualized consideration, caring for employees’ well-being, also goes a long way in convincing them to work hard for the company. Most importantly, charismatic leaders that make employees believe in them have a very large part in instilling commitment to a small business’ organizational goals.
Transformational leaders have been proven to increase their employees’ feelings of ownership and commitment to their company. It is crucial that every employee in a small business buy into company goals and be willing to put in the hard work to achieve such goals so transformational leadership may be the exact solution to making that happen.
Do you agree with me in the belief that transformational leadership is the key to achieving what the article talks about? Or are there better, more attainable types of leadership that could be enacted?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Friday, March 18, 2011
Telecommuting
The article I read, Telecommuting Is Good for Employees and Employers, claims that telecommuting is a particularly good option for small businesses to conduct day-to-day operations. Telecommuting occurs when employees do their work from home, often sharing their information through various forms of online information sharing technologies. There are several reasons that support telecommuting as a viable option for doing business including job satisfaction, high productivity, employee health, and cost savings for the company.
Job satisfaction is greatly enhanced by telecommuting because it allows for so much flexibility in an employee’s work environment. As described in Chapter 4 of our textbook, job satisfaction is considered to be the general feelings an employee has about their job. Telecommuting increases job satisfaction because it keeps the everyday office stresses such as employee relations and potential interruptions to a minimum. This can be increasingly important in small businesses because of the small work environment and the tendency of employees to know each other’s personal, and professional, business. Additionally, the more satisfied an employee is with their job, the better they will perform in their position.
Non-productive time is essentially eliminated by telecommuting meaning that employees waste less of their time and tend to finish their work quicker. Productivity within the time allotted for work is maximized so small businesses would get more out of their employees. Telecommuting also allows for a larger degree of autonomy at least for the structure in which an employee completes their work. This increases employee effectiveness, motivation to perform well, and overall productivity.
Telecommuting can greatly improve employee health because it keeps each employee secluded if someone becomes ill and therefore manages the spread of illness. Employee health is so important because it has a large effect on absenteeism, or unscheduled absences. Not only does absenteeism cost companies large amounts of money each year, it can have a large effect on work behavior. In a small business setting, each employee is just as crucial to the company’s success as the next. Therefore, by employing “telework” each employee can continue to be productive during their illness without infecting others. A work-life balance is also more easily achieved through telecommuting and decreases potential absenteeism.
In a small business, every penny must be well spent and telecommuting is continually becoming a great way to cut everyday office costs. Not only do companies often get more out of their employee’s time, they save on typical operation costs such as electricity use, heating and air conditioning, and the overall size of the office.
The only drawback that I could see happening if a majority of employees for a small business were to telecommute is a negative effect on company communication. As Chapter 8 identifies, eye contact, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice all have an impact on the relaying of information. Due to telecommuting commonly being conducted through online interaction, many of these important factors could be lost. A small business may want to encourage telephone conversation and videoconferencing in order to maintain the richness of company information being shared.
In conclusion, I view telecommuting as an affordable and impactful option for any small business as long as it is conducted in the correct way. What do you think? Is telecommuting always a positive experience or would it have too large of a negative effect on a small business’ organizational behavior?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Job satisfaction is greatly enhanced by telecommuting because it allows for so much flexibility in an employee’s work environment. As described in Chapter 4 of our textbook, job satisfaction is considered to be the general feelings an employee has about their job. Telecommuting increases job satisfaction because it keeps the everyday office stresses such as employee relations and potential interruptions to a minimum. This can be increasingly important in small businesses because of the small work environment and the tendency of employees to know each other’s personal, and professional, business. Additionally, the more satisfied an employee is with their job, the better they will perform in their position.
Non-productive time is essentially eliminated by telecommuting meaning that employees waste less of their time and tend to finish their work quicker. Productivity within the time allotted for work is maximized so small businesses would get more out of their employees. Telecommuting also allows for a larger degree of autonomy at least for the structure in which an employee completes their work. This increases employee effectiveness, motivation to perform well, and overall productivity.
Telecommuting can greatly improve employee health because it keeps each employee secluded if someone becomes ill and therefore manages the spread of illness. Employee health is so important because it has a large effect on absenteeism, or unscheduled absences. Not only does absenteeism cost companies large amounts of money each year, it can have a large effect on work behavior. In a small business setting, each employee is just as crucial to the company’s success as the next. Therefore, by employing “telework” each employee can continue to be productive during their illness without infecting others. A work-life balance is also more easily achieved through telecommuting and decreases potential absenteeism.
In a small business, every penny must be well spent and telecommuting is continually becoming a great way to cut everyday office costs. Not only do companies often get more out of their employee’s time, they save on typical operation costs such as electricity use, heating and air conditioning, and the overall size of the office.
The only drawback that I could see happening if a majority of employees for a small business were to telecommute is a negative effect on company communication. As Chapter 8 identifies, eye contact, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice all have an impact on the relaying of information. Due to telecommuting commonly being conducted through online interaction, many of these important factors could be lost. A small business may want to encourage telephone conversation and videoconferencing in order to maintain the richness of company information being shared.
In conclusion, I view telecommuting as an affordable and impactful option for any small business as long as it is conducted in the correct way. What do you think? Is telecommuting always a positive experience or would it have too large of a negative effect on a small business’ organizational behavior?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
How Can You Help Your Unhappy Employees – and Should You?
This article talks about how according to a recent Accenture survey more than half of employees who responded were dissatisfied with their jobs. The article continues on discussing why they are unhappy:
Why are employees dissatisfied? Top reasons were:
* Low pay (47 percent of women, 44 percent of men);
* Lack of opportunity (36 percent of women, 32 percent of men);
* No chance for career advancement (33 percent of women, 34 percent of men).
This section of the article ties in closely with Chapter 6 of our textbook entitled Designing a Motivating Work Environment. While many corporations will have measures in place to combat such problems stated above, a small business may not have the resources or know-how to defeat these problems.
First, to fight back against the problem involving employees feeling like they are under paid a company needs to look their performance incentive system. They have many options including piece rate systems, individual bonuses, merit pay, sales commissions, awards, team bonuses, gainsharing, profit sharing, and stock options. Many employees only seem to look their hourly wages, but in reality they may be receiving benefits other than actual paycheck. I think the most important thing a company needs to do is use a merit pay system, rewarding the high performing employees is an important factor companies need to take into account. While a company might not be able to afford using a merit pay system they can opt to use a one-time reward such as a bonus in the form a lump sum.
The second reason employees were dissatisfied is due to the lack of opportunity. I think there are three key things a company can do to fight this, such as using job rotation, rob enlargement, and job enrichment. Too often employees will become discouraged if they are stuck doing the same monotonous task day in and day out. Using job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment will benefit both the company and the employee at the same time. The employee will be less likely to get bored on the job and it will lead to a sense of empowerment. The company will benefit because if any employee can't make work on a given day, there will be others who will have the skills to cover for an absent coworker.
Lastly, lack of career advancement was the third factor in job dissatisfaction. Employees can be motivated through performance appraisals and this can lead to their understanding about their lack of promotion. It can help them understand they are adequately placed within the company based on their performance. Personally I worked at a retail store before, and they did not provide any formal feedback, but would often be quick to punish for things policy violations, but never as quick to praise or let you know how you are doing on the job. If a company does not let an employee know how they are performing they will assume they are doing well, but not receiving feedback and will believe they are not eligible for advancement. Another important factor companies need to recognize is setting goals for their employees. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Realistic, and Time-bound) goals will help motivate employees and help them advance within the company. Both the employee and company will be able to see how an employee progresses over time and is able to achieve important goal milestones according to whatever the goal is set towards.
It's always important to help keep your employees from becoming unhappy and failing to do so will result in high turnover and unproductive employees. Having unhappy employees will also result in unhappy customers because they are more likely to provide poor service.
Article: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/03/how-can-you-help-your-unhappy-employees-%E2%80%93-and-should-you.html
Zachary Long
Why are employees dissatisfied? Top reasons were:
* Low pay (47 percent of women, 44 percent of men);
* Lack of opportunity (36 percent of women, 32 percent of men);
* No chance for career advancement (33 percent of women, 34 percent of men).
This section of the article ties in closely with Chapter 6 of our textbook entitled Designing a Motivating Work Environment. While many corporations will have measures in place to combat such problems stated above, a small business may not have the resources or know-how to defeat these problems.
First, to fight back against the problem involving employees feeling like they are under paid a company needs to look their performance incentive system. They have many options including piece rate systems, individual bonuses, merit pay, sales commissions, awards, team bonuses, gainsharing, profit sharing, and stock options. Many employees only seem to look their hourly wages, but in reality they may be receiving benefits other than actual paycheck. I think the most important thing a company needs to do is use a merit pay system, rewarding the high performing employees is an important factor companies need to take into account. While a company might not be able to afford using a merit pay system they can opt to use a one-time reward such as a bonus in the form a lump sum.
The second reason employees were dissatisfied is due to the lack of opportunity. I think there are three key things a company can do to fight this, such as using job rotation, rob enlargement, and job enrichment. Too often employees will become discouraged if they are stuck doing the same monotonous task day in and day out. Using job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment will benefit both the company and the employee at the same time. The employee will be less likely to get bored on the job and it will lead to a sense of empowerment. The company will benefit because if any employee can't make work on a given day, there will be others who will have the skills to cover for an absent coworker.
Lastly, lack of career advancement was the third factor in job dissatisfaction. Employees can be motivated through performance appraisals and this can lead to their understanding about their lack of promotion. It can help them understand they are adequately placed within the company based on their performance. Personally I worked at a retail store before, and they did not provide any formal feedback, but would often be quick to punish for things policy violations, but never as quick to praise or let you know how you are doing on the job. If a company does not let an employee know how they are performing they will assume they are doing well, but not receiving feedback and will believe they are not eligible for advancement. Another important factor companies need to recognize is setting goals for their employees. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Realistic, and Time-bound) goals will help motivate employees and help them advance within the company. Both the employee and company will be able to see how an employee progresses over time and is able to achieve important goal milestones according to whatever the goal is set towards.
It's always important to help keep your employees from becoming unhappy and failing to do so will result in high turnover and unproductive employees. Having unhappy employees will also result in unhappy customers because they are more likely to provide poor service.
Article: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/03/how-can-you-help-your-unhappy-employees-%E2%80%93-and-should-you.html
Zachary Long
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Inexperienced Entrepenuers
Often people talk about the value of a college education over a high school diploma, this is even true for the small business owner. In the article it states "according to Hiscox Director Kevin Kerridge, new business owners often have energy and passion for their products and services, but tend to neglect basic business skills." I am very surprised how business owners seem to general business skills. “Cash flow, human resources, marketing and insurance issues can seem boring, but are hugely important,” Kerridge said in a statement accompanying the survey results. It's great that all of these topics have been included in my major. Believe it or not even I get bored in class (hard to believe), but it's actually going to be relevant material regardless of what path I decide to take after college.
Also contained was a list of ten common errors made by starting entrepreneurs:
1. Going it alone
2. Asking too many people for advice
3. Spending too much time on product development, not enough on sales
4. Targeting too small a market
5. Entering a market with no distribution partner
6. Overpaying for customers
7. Raising too little capital
8. Raising too much capital
9. Not having a business plan
10. Over-thinking your business plan
I think these are all great tips from this WSJ article. I do not understand how people can decide to go into business without having a plan, it seems like common sense, but I guess not. Using some of these tips should help an entrepreneur swim and not sink in this recovering economy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463460389523660.html
Zac Long
Also contained was a list of ten common errors made by starting entrepreneurs:
1. Going it alone
2. Asking too many people for advice
3. Spending too much time on product development, not enough on sales
4. Targeting too small a market
5. Entering a market with no distribution partner
6. Overpaying for customers
7. Raising too little capital
8. Raising too much capital
9. Not having a business plan
10. Over-thinking your business plan
I think these are all great tips from this WSJ article. I do not understand how people can decide to go into business without having a plan, it seems like common sense, but I guess not. Using some of these tips should help an entrepreneur swim and not sink in this recovering economy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467004575463460389523660.html
Zac Long
Father
This article was about how many great entrepreneurs have had great father that has backed them not only financially but also mentally. It talks about how the founder of the Samuel Adams beer was backed by his father. His father even backed him even after several years early he tried the same thing and failed. As we know now that Samuel Adams is doing quite well in market that is not easy to join. The article also states many other entrepreneurs that became successful because they had the backing of their father. When reading this article I began to think of how my father has done the same thing for me also. He was always pushing me to do whatever I wanted to do. He was always there for me not matter what I did even if it was the wrong thing. He knows how to put everything in perspective for me. If not for my father I would more than likely not be where I am today. It makes sense that entrepreneurs need a strong figure not necessarily a father that will be behind them no matter what. It takes a great deal of courage to start your own business. That’s why it is always good to have someone like your father there to be able to talk to. They will have your best interest at hand and will always help you in any situation. So to make my point entrepreneurs that have a good backing system I feel will have a better success rate.
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2008/sb20080612_884694.htm
Posted By: Jeff Blankenship
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jun2008/sb20080612_884694.htm
Posted By: Jeff Blankenship
Maintaining Morale While Delivering Bad News
This article was a response to a small business owner's question. Emily Maltby, a CNN Money writer, responded via blog about how to give bad news to your employees while trying to minimize any negative feelings. Richard Ryan owns a small restauraunt that was struggling to stay afloat during the heart of the recession. He only had six employees, but all six lived off of their job at Richard's southwestern grille. His problem was that he had to tell his employees that their hours had to be cut in half. Here's the advice that Emily had...
First, she says that no matter what bad news you are giving them, be sure to be confident when delivering the news. She states that employees aren't dumb. They probably already know that there is trouble brewing. They know the effects a recession has on a business. They also are likely to notice the decrease in customer traffic, so the chances are that they have put two and two together. So as an owner or manager you have to be open and honest.
You acknowledge what they already know and then tell them what changes have to be made in order to remain open. When delivering your message, it's a good idea to include a message of hope. Let them know that by taking these steps you don't anticipate having to close your doors. Most downturns in business that are caused by the economy are temporary. In the article Emily states, "You should try and spell out the expected duration, then paint them a clear picture of what this will ultimately mean for the business when it's over."
Finally, the key to keeping employees motivated is to emphasize to them that everyone within the organization is in it together. The employees should be involved in the planning phases of rebuilding/restructuring. Employees often times have the best ideas on how to contain costs and increase sales.
Delivering bad news is never fun, but as a leader you have to be confident and reassuring when delivering. It's hard to please everyone within an organization but if you effectively send the message your employees will understand the need to step up their game. Leaders just have to roll up their sleeves and assist employees and vise versa in helping the business recover.
Team Three
Sunny Shah
First, she says that no matter what bad news you are giving them, be sure to be confident when delivering the news. She states that employees aren't dumb. They probably already know that there is trouble brewing. They know the effects a recession has on a business. They also are likely to notice the decrease in customer traffic, so the chances are that they have put two and two together. So as an owner or manager you have to be open and honest.
You acknowledge what they already know and then tell them what changes have to be made in order to remain open. When delivering your message, it's a good idea to include a message of hope. Let them know that by taking these steps you don't anticipate having to close your doors. Most downturns in business that are caused by the economy are temporary. In the article Emily states, "You should try and spell out the expected duration, then paint them a clear picture of what this will ultimately mean for the business when it's over."
Finally, the key to keeping employees motivated is to emphasize to them that everyone within the organization is in it together. The employees should be involved in the planning phases of rebuilding/restructuring. Employees often times have the best ideas on how to contain costs and increase sales.
Delivering bad news is never fun, but as a leader you have to be confident and reassuring when delivering. It's hard to please everyone within an organization but if you effectively send the message your employees will understand the need to step up their game. Leaders just have to roll up their sleeves and assist employees and vise versa in helping the business recover.
Team Three
Sunny Shah
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Good To Know...
The article titled "Raising Seed Capital Now: 10 tips" is a helpful guide for small investors to make it big. It is geared toward entrepreneurs who are looking to turn their small dollar signs into the millions, even billions! One tip which I found humorous was to avoid approaching investors in July, August, and December because that is when they are vacationing and taking time off for holidays. Responses would be slow, and quite frankly, they simply just did not want to talk to you while they laid out in a hammock on a sunny beach in the tropics. Another one I enjoyed was skip the jargon. Get to the point. They do not want to listen to you rambling on and on with big words talking up your side. They are regular people, not a Webster Dictionary. For other helpful tips, see the attached link!
Post by: Danielle Trasatti
Article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2011/sb20110218_509239.htm
Post by: Danielle Trasatti
Article: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2011/sb20110218_509239.htm
Friday, February 18, 2011
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Respect. Such a rudimentary idea but often forgotten in the shuffle of the corporate world. I stumbled upon this video (check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW-Q_OctIs8) while browsing around YouTube for inspiration. The man interviewed talks about the importance of respect among owners, managers, employees, etc. in corporations and, more specifically, small businesses. This got me wondering, how much is a small business’ success based on respect and trust? It seems to me that respect is a two-way street. If management respects their employees as people and respects their ideas for business, the employee is likely to do the same in return. Management must respect their employees enough to where they can take constructive criticism and use it for the betterment of their business. Also, if employees feel that their opinions and beliefs are treated with respect, they are more likely to pass that respect onto customers and other businesses they may come into contact with. In my opinion, it is a continual process and will do nothing but help a small business thrive due to the relationship-based nature in which business is conducted. Along with enhancing business, respect can reach beyond business hours, encouraging management and other employees to act beyond their job description by partaking in organizational citizenship behaviors. The only problem that may come into play is determining whether someone is truthfully respectful or if it is all just a façade. All in all, I believe respect is a way of management and absolutely crucial to a small business’ ultimate success. So, do you think respect among management and employees in a small business is as important as I have made it out to be? Or is it all just a mask used in order to conduct business and nothing more?
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Is corporate culture a small business’ key to success?
Did you ever think there could be such a thing as relaxation at work? Well, at the software company Daxko there is. When the current CEO, David Gray, took leadership of the company in 2003, he took the position that company culture is the key to a competitive advantage. In this small business, there is an intense amount of work required so he believed that his employees needed something to keep them productive. As the article states, no employee has their own office, video game breaks are encouraged, and vacation days are not hard to come by. By providing the aforementioned incentives, among others, Daxko’s employees have been proven to perform better. Who wouldn’t want to play the Wii on their break and not get fired? At the company website, they state their values as follows: integrity without compromise, sense of ownership, synergistic teamwork, and fun. This shows that the company is extremely dedicated to maintaining a company culture in which their employees and business can thrive. They even have a blog in which every employee contributes to (even the CEO), providing another outlet of communication for the company.
I personally would love to work for a company like this. There is certainly something to be said for a company that invests so much into the comfort and well-being of their employees. As a small business, and hopefully a strong group of employees, encouraging open communication is the key. This allows employees to build relations with their peers and be happier in their positions. Daxko’s flexibility keeps their employees stress levels in check and allows them to have a good work-life balance. Although some may view all of the perks as distractions or just a waste of money, if that is what helps employees develop a positive attitude towards their job, I think the sacrifices are well worth it in the long run.
Do you think these types of work incentives would help you do better work for a small business? Is this how you would run your small business?
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/smallbusiness/wii_at_work.fsb/index.htm
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
I personally would love to work for a company like this. There is certainly something to be said for a company that invests so much into the comfort and well-being of their employees. As a small business, and hopefully a strong group of employees, encouraging open communication is the key. This allows employees to build relations with their peers and be happier in their positions. Daxko’s flexibility keeps their employees stress levels in check and allows them to have a good work-life balance. Although some may view all of the perks as distractions or just a waste of money, if that is what helps employees develop a positive attitude towards their job, I think the sacrifices are well worth it in the long run.
Do you think these types of work incentives would help you do better work for a small business? Is this how you would run your small business?
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/smallbusiness/wii_at_work.fsb/index.htm
Posted By: Brittany Meredith
Monday, February 7, 2011
I'd Love to be a Badger
In class, we talked about the benefits of employees with a positive affective commitment to their organization. Badger Mining Corporation is based out of Wisconsin and specializes in industrial sand. Probably isn't the most interesting field to be in, but this company knows how to show their employees some love! In an article found on CNNMONEY talks about the company's commitment to "treating people right." Some benefits of being an employee of Badger include; 20% profit sharing, 100% health insurance premium coverage, and partly cover the costs of hiring a financial planner. The company also gives employees... or associates as the bosses (coaches) refer to them as, part ownership in the company. What's surprising to me is the fact that the company only has 170 employees.
Most small businesses can barely afford a healthcare package for their employees, yet alone sharing 1/5th of their profit. I guess it helps that the company is the 5th largest industrial sand company. But what I think really justifies the royal treatment is the flatter organizational structure. Associates work in more demanding, self-directed team with less interaction and feedback between them and their coaches. The article notes the need to allow new employees more time to adapt to this type of work environment. Some people simply prefer more structure, that poses as a weak person-environment fit @ Badger. According to the President, Tim Wuest, initially the benefits were a pretty big investment but it has paid-off in the past two decades. It'd be interesting to see what their turnover costs would be. I wonder what their turnover rate actually is, my guess would be <1%.
Makes you wonder if a small company like Badger can avoid to "spoil" their employees why can't the rest of them? It can be as simple as being flexible but I feel like all profiting businesses should attempt to share the wealth. If you ask me, I'd probably reward my employees with gift cards or tickets to sporting events. Why? Because it's more affordable, especially as a small business owner. And honestly, would you be upset if presented a mini shopping-spree to a (reasonable)place. Back to Badger, I like what they've done, you can't encourage and promote organizational citizenship behavior much better than they do.
-Sunny
Most small businesses can barely afford a healthcare package for their employees, yet alone sharing 1/5th of their profit. I guess it helps that the company is the 5th largest industrial sand company. But what I think really justifies the royal treatment is the flatter organizational structure. Associates work in more demanding, self-directed team with less interaction and feedback between them and their coaches. The article notes the need to allow new employees more time to adapt to this type of work environment. Some people simply prefer more structure, that poses as a weak person-environment fit @ Badger. According to the President, Tim Wuest, initially the benefits were a pretty big investment but it has paid-off in the past two decades. It'd be interesting to see what their turnover costs would be. I wonder what their turnover rate actually is, my guess would be <1%.
Makes you wonder if a small company like Badger can avoid to "spoil" their employees why can't the rest of them? It can be as simple as being flexible but I feel like all profiting businesses should attempt to share the wealth. If you ask me, I'd probably reward my employees with gift cards or tickets to sporting events. Why? Because it's more affordable, especially as a small business owner. And honestly, would you be upset if presented a mini shopping-spree to a (reasonable)place. Back to Badger, I like what they've done, you can't encourage and promote organizational citizenship behavior much better than they do.
-Sunny
10,000 Hours
I found this article to be very interesting and it makes a great point on how a small business owner needs to function. The article talks about three people who saw their dream and went at it with everything they had. It tells a person that they must not do anything besides what their mind is set on. The author states that a person with a goal must work on that goal until it comes true. I know this is accurate because with starting your own business it may take several years before your business starts to make a profit. The article says the key of becoming successful is planning it out and spending a long time on the plan. Being a small business owner one will have to continually spend hours on hours trying to make their business the best it can be. I found this article to make great sense to me. I know that it is not brain surgery to know that a good plan and time will make a good strategy, but this article really lets a person know that it will take many hours of hard work for a long period of time to become successful.
-Jeff Blankenship
Team 3
Link-http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/articles/inspiration/010414.html
-Jeff Blankenship
Team 3
Link-http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/articles/inspiration/010414.html
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Not Innovative? No Problem!
Not being the most the inventive person might not actually hurt your chances of survival in the small business world. Personally I can relate to this article as well, I am not creative myself either. I liked the example of the pet rock, it seems to be the worst possible product idea, but was actually very viable. There are many aspects that going to being successful in business, while having a great product is helpful, it’s not always necessary. Having a sound business plan, the financial means, and the resources are all important factors but I think the biggest key to success is an individual’s personal desire. If you have the desire to go into business yourself, don’t get stressed over the type of business or products you wish to sell.
The odds are not always going to be with small business owners, but if you don’t take the chance you may never know what could have been.
What products or businesses can you recall that seem like a really poor concept that turned out to be successful?
-Zachary Long
Article: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5012374.htm
Friday, February 4, 2011
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
Photo sharing has evolved immensely over the decades. It has gone from simply uploading pictures so you can print them off, to now having many different venues to share and edit pictures to share with friends. Flickr, Myspace, Facebook, Photobucket, etc. have turned the once simple photo avenue into a competitive field. A new, and popular, photo sharing service called Instagram has been started with the iPhone.This application allows people to take photos via their phone, add visual effects, and instantly upload them to their Instagram accounts, or other social networking sites. Something I found rather interesting about this company is that it manages to stay within the competition even though it is such a small company. "Four-month-old photo-sharing service Instagram has 1.75 million users, four employees, and zero revenue". I was shocked to hear that 4 employees were responsible for such a revolution. To make an account with Instagram is completely free of charge, which is the result of their zero revenue. I enjoyed reading this article and seeing that even though a company is small, it can still holds its own amongst its large competitors, such as Google.
-Danielle Trasatti
Team 3
link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_07/b4215043298221.htm
-Danielle Trasatti
Team 3
link: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_07/b4215043298221.htm
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Howdy!
Welcome to Three's Company's blog. We are Zac Long, Jeff Blankenship, Sunny Shah, Brittany Meredith, and Danielle Trasatti. We will be talking about how small organizations have to behave at a level that sets them apart from bigger corporations. Small businesses have to focus on establishing a positive image and creating a name for themselves to be successful and to survive. Small business principles force owners to think/behave at a higher micro and macro level to be sustainable. A lot of small businesses fail, often times because of the lack of key skills such as decision making and effective planning. Our blogs hope to learn from the good and the bad small business behaviors and provide valuable insight as to how to what makes a successful small business owner or entrepreneur. We hope you all tune in, contribute, and enjoy!
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