24 Hour Survival Guide for Small Business Revision 6

8/14/2019 24 Hour Survival Guide for Small Business Revision 6

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24 HOUR SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR SMALL

BUSINESSBY GAVIN TONKS

MENTORSHIP IS YOUR POLICEMAN COACHING IS GETTING YOU OVERTHE FINISH LINE GAVIN TONKS ON ENTREPRENURSHIP


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AUTHOR: GAVIN TONKSDATE: 03/03/2009

DEDICATION: This book is dedicated to those who have chosen the high road and aretaking control of their destiny by being an Entrepreneur.The Entrepreneurial road is truly a hard one as you need to develop skills and attitudescoupled with experience to tread where angels fear to go.

Some people are blessed with opportunity and an easy road and others like me have not.I have not only seen the weeds on the edge of the road but have detours which took meinto oncoming traffic lanes.

Life is a lesson so learn it, suffer what life brings and enjoy every moment that nature givesDo not go gently into that good night and get up everyday to be what you want to be - Do

not take prisoners and let us become the greatest nation in the world with our creativity anddetermination embracing integrity, humility and creativity as our icons like Nelson Mandelahas done.

To make this book more interesting and explain concepts in more depth we have linked theinformation to Enterprise Support at www.entererprisesa.com where you will find articlesand information including a business plan creator to assist you in developing the array oftools you require that will assist you in being successful.

CURRENTLY CONDITIONS ARE TOUGH AND GETTING TOUGHER AND

ONLY THE TOUGH WILL SURVIVE!

If electricity, interest rates, rising costs, petrol and all the other negatives are driving you todespair in your business then you need this quick survival guide

24 Hour Survival Guide for Small Business; ISBN number: Barcode: 6009691421372

Author: Gavin Tonks: 2/23/2010 -

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24 HOUR SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESS

ISBN Number:

Barcode: 6009691421396

Self Published Edition

Copyright 2009 Gavin Tonks

www.tradesecretsrsa.co.za

Author: Gavin Tonks

Date: 03/03/2009Words approx 8 976

Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another

person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If youre

reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only,then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of

this author.



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24 HOUR SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSIs your business currently a Headache? Take two of these steps daily and repeat until theybecome a habit, here is a list of topics you need to consider for the survival game:

CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION AND ATTITUDEABOVE AND BEFORE ALL ELSE YOU NEED ATTITUDE:

CHAPTER TWO PERSERVERANCE: GOING THE DISTNACETHE POWER THAT COMES FROM BELIEVING IN YOUR BUSINESS

CHAPTER THREE - OPPORTUNITYCAST YOUR NET AROUND

CHAPTER FOUR WEIGH YOUR OPTIONSTAKING LONG HARD LOOKS

CHAPTER FIVE USE YOUR NETWORK

YOU ARE ONE PERSON AWAY FROM ONE PERSON YOU WANT OR NEED TOKNOW

CHAPTER SIX DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR BUSINESS

* YOUR BUSINESS IS GIVING YOU A DOSE OF MIGRANE IT IS REALLYPAINFULL BUT NOT YET LIFE THREATENEING

CHAPTER SEVEN NEGOTIATING WITH CREDITORS

CHAPTER EIGHT NEGOTIATING WITH DEBTORS

CHAPTER NINE CUTTING COSTS

CHAPTER TEN SHARING THE BURDEN BY MAKING PEOPLERESPONSIBLECHAPTER ELEVEN BUY IN FROM STAFF

READING FROM THE SAME PAGE

PROZAC TIME THIS IS THE STAGE WHEN YOU NEED THE POWER OFEUPHORIA TO MOVE TO A SUCCESFUL BUSINESS POSITION, TAKINGCHARGE OF THE SITUATION AND RISING ABOVE THE PROBLEMS,

CREATING SOLUTIONS AND SUTAINABLE REVENUE PLUS ENHANCINGTHE FEEL GOOD REASONS YOU WENT INTO BUSINESS IN THE FIRSTPLACE.

CHAPTER TWELVE DO YOUR HOMEWORK - BETTER THAN EVERBEFORE

TAKE AN EVEN HARDER LOOK AT THE PLAYING FIELD



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CHAPTER THIRTEEN DO NOT TAKE UNNECESSARY RISKS AND THINKOF BEING INVOLVED IN ANY GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES AS THEANSWER TO ANY OF YOUR PROBLEMS.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN MORE THAN EVER STICK TO SIMPLE SOLUTIONSAND MUD BEFORE MARBLE DO NOT BUY MARBLE IF ALL YOU CANAFFORD IS MUD.

STICK TO KNITTING

PLAN YOUR BUSINESS BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE AND KEEP EVERYONEINFORMED, ESPECIALLY YOUR BANKER

CHAPTER FIFETEEN DOWNGRADE WHEREVER POSSIBLEANYTHING THAT IS NOT DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO YOUR BUSINESS OR LIFESTLYEGET RID OF THESE THINGS AS THEY COST YOU MONEY YOU DO NOT HAVEIMAGE IS NOT IMPORTANT - SURVIVAL ISTHE STRONG DO NOT ALWAYS SURVIVE CONFLICT BUT THOSE THAT PLANWELL THAT USUALLY DO DESPITE HOW STRONG OR WEAK THEY AREIMAGE IS NOT IMPORTANT - SURVIVAL IS

FINAL CONCLUSION



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CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION AND ATTITUDEINTRODUCTIONThe following steps are created to assist you in surviving any tough times.These attributes and statements have not only given me strength in really dark hours buthave proved to be reliable tools in assisting many small businesses I have mentored overthe last twenty five years.

ABOVE AND BEFORE ALL ELSE YOU NEED ATTITUDE:

FIRST ATTITUDE: Your business is giving you a headache and a fever and you reallyare fast approaching your wits end. You need to take a step back, take a breather andplunge right back in, but ensure you are armed with information and the necessary strengthto carry things through.

You need to really develop positive attitudes and characteristics that will create strengthfor you - strength to handle situations and make people believe in your ability to deliver andtrust in you as a partner and desired business associate.

QUOTATION:A wolf is not a selfless beast but an animal that has a focus on survival.The wolf can be alone or part of a pack and when it howls you know its distinctive voice

and cannot mistake it for anything other than a hunting predator - Gavin Tonks on takingcontrol of your business.

There are only sheep and wolves in business.When times are tough wolves are always hungry so do not become a victim of your ownattitude - Sheep are food or a resource.Not everyone is born a wolf but you can learn to be a wolf, sort of sheep in wolfs clothinguntil your transformation to wolf is complete.

Please understand the wolf and sheep allegories are attributes and people are comfortablein these roles or not we are dealing with the transition of the not happy people who want

more, who because of their current attitude are not succeeding.

TRANSLATED:Business is all about a sale and transfer of money. There are thosepeople in business that give business and those people that take business. Find out whatyour business is and do not be ashamed for taking or asking for the business you plan tohave. That is the nature of business.

Learn to be focused on what you need to get and what is honestly required for yourbusiness ultimately money in the bank after everyone is paid and all parties are satisfiedand eventually a cash resource that belongs to you for your passion, commitment and hardwork.

Taking business is for wolves and giving for sheep.Everyone cannot be wolves and there are very successful sheep companies like Microsoftas an example. You need to confirm your role in the business and the business landscapeand the attitude that fits your business in order to create a sound enterprise that will grow.



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NEGATIVES YOU NEED TO MANAGE IN A WOLF TRANSITION.

Do not get that haunted, hunted look as you try and do business

Be positive and know what you want and how much you want it for

Now is the best time to really look into your business goals and dreams and plot apath to success and attack these decisions with passion, commitment and energythat comes with attitude

In business we all face pressures when times are tough so you look for relationships withpeople who can assist your business and save you money as well as bring in greater andmore profitable sales

People have their hands full with their own problems and naturally are drawn to otherbusiness people who can bring relief to their business or relief from management pressureby being fast, efficient and cost effective.

Success is exactly a 50/50 chance - by not being a victim and planning, your odds can bestacked a percentage or two in your favor, damn good odds for any entrepreneur.

SOLUTIONS TO EMBRACING A WOLF MENTALITY AND ATTITUDE:

Further web site learning, tutorials and explanations of business terms and concepts areavailable at www.enterprisesa.com.Other topics to research in your path to becoming a peak performing businessentrepreneur: WELLNESS AT WORKwww.wellness-atwork.co.za

Entrepreneurship is a complicated mix of emotion, ability and desire. It is like saying I wantto be in the Olympics, but we cannot all be 100m athletes and out of 6 billion people on thisplanet there really are only a handful of athletes capable of running the distance under aminute and only one is the fastest.

But the Jamaicans proved they could compete, made a plan, didnt give up and achieved

their goal, and even made a movie out of it.

A requirement for the growth of sustainable business is a sound small business layer.In India and China this layer is usually family owned business handed down from Parent tosibling, there are unfortunately so few such business in South African, that we can say welack this layer all together, having 3% of businesses controlling 97% of the current businessturnover.

The small business networks in countries like China and India are stable, generate millionsof US dollars and effectively market their networks and achieve yearly stability for theirbusiness.

Some have traded for over 120 years as family business, and then in South Africa we wantto compete with them in 7 days, from finance, without understanding the principles handeddown by generations of entrepreneurs and the stable financial asset bases they have.

IF YOU DO NOT SEE LONG TERM FUTURES IN WORKING FOR YOURSELFGET OUT OF THE KITCHEN NOW!



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CHAPTER TWO PERSERVERANCE: GOING THE DISTANCETHE POWER THAT COMES FROM BELIEVING IN YOUR BUSINESSAn entrepreneur once told me that they really battled in their business and that they hadsold everything and were still battling and always seemed in the tunnel in the darkness,never thinking they will ever see the light of day again.

They decided the going was just too tough and planned a cut off day or exit strategy.However the new focus on doing things differently and resolving to go the final distance

was the catalyst that took them to where they wanted to be. They never looked back.They had stopped chasing rainbows, resigned themselves to their business changed theirattitude from desperation to compliance and everyone supported them.

The moral is that you never know when the next step forward is the one that changes yourroad to a path of success. If they had turned back at that point that they had decided tochange, they would have lost everything and would not have had the successful businessthey had developed together.

As you plot the way forward you will eventually see that success is a planned excursionand even those that appear to have fallen into it head first, have planned it for a long or

short time, but there was always planning and thought behind the intention to succeed.

You will realize there are no shortcuts, if there were you would already be successful.You really have to work hard on developing work ethics that support your strong businesscharacteristics and developing relationships. Learning never stops and you need to teachyourself strong attributes to overshadow your weak areas or non existent ones likeunderstanding finance. You cannot ultimately be a successful business person withoutunderstanding finance.

A successful entrepreneur has all the attributes required for success. All successfulbusiness people have all the successful attributes learned, stored or bought but they are all

there always.

Not everyone can produce rabbits out of hats. Many very successful people do it throughdogged determination. Find the bone you want and bite down hard - do not let anyone takeit away from you. Protect it with everything you have, other people want it too so go theextra mile and give the person you are doing business with confidence that you are thebest person for the job.

Many people will be offering services cheaper, match offers, business in hand can alwaysbe grown, but once, lost, is almost impossible to get back and usually costs more to get itback than when you had it in the first place. Make sure you do not come up on the

company radar with any negatives and are seen in a positive light that you are a companyto do the business with.

MORE THAN EVER BE PROFFESIONAL, PASSIONATE COMMITTED ANDDELIVER AGAINST ALL ODDS.



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A friend grew a very successful grass business many years ago when no one thought ofbuying instant lawn. His success, he loved grass. He got up everyday to do what he lovedbest and made a serious amount of money. It took a while, but no one realized what abusiness he had built for himself, by just being around and doing his thing everyday of hislife.

Once you decide you are in it for the long haul, you will need to make decisions.Expansion is a logical step but may not always be practical or you cannot reach the

intended step on your own. Ensure a proper business expansion plan or an absoluteunderstanding of the profit ratios and investment to turnover your business can achieve.

Many really good businesses failed because they just did not plan or decided to moveforward without even a bad plan. You need to arm yourself with all the attributes of successand ensure they are deployed in your business. My best working environment was a shoedesigner for Edworks Border Footwear. The company used to do a R10 million [US$1million] per annum turnover and manufactured up to 10 000 pairs of shoes a day.

They are no longer in existence as they tried to change systems that had developed forhundreds of years as craft, with systems created for manufacturing cars, the company lost

millions, had to reinstall everything the way it was and retrenched all the experts andstarted a huge downward decline that eventually saw them close for ever.

The second reason is management had no idea the profitable area of the business was thevulcanized slipper plant that ran profitably for years with no interference. In cost cutting thiswas the first unit they shut down selling the plant to the MD who is still successfully runningthe business today.

Many businesses would still be trading today if the person who began it actually decided tostudy what a successful business requires and the attributes needed by the person whoruns it.

FOR THOSE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL THERE ARE MANY STEPS YOUNEED TO IMPLEMENT TO ACHIEVE BIG DREAMS, ENTREPREURS ARENOT SUCCESFUL SALESPEOPLE SO DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO, ASENTREPREURS ARE ON THE RADAR AS PEOPLE WHO DEVELOPBUSINESS OF VALUE.

However, entrepreneurship requires careful planning in order to maintain the good shapethat the business should be in, for it to move, say into the expansion phase which may beone of the headaches you are experiencing.

An expansion plan will outline how you intend to expand the current infrastructure optimallyand to evaluate the options and opportunities of which you can take advantage, especiallyincreased and more profitable turnover to both fund the expansion and ensure greatersustainability of the business.

Any business can stagnate fail, or lose out on opportunities if continuous improvement isneglected or ignored. Never accept mediocrity and never believe you are doing it the best



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way without being really sure it is the best way. No business is perfect and each businessneeds to strive for improvement and a better reputation.

Various plans and reports need to be developed by you in order to improve the reporting ofyour business situation. There is only one person who will change the business and that isyou. If you think that putting a highly paid person into the position then you are going to failas you have no control of your business.

The buck starts and stops with you and the quicker you realize this and work toward beingan efficient entrepreneur the quicker your business will succeed and people around you willnotice the difference and realize you are the type of person that feels comfortable in chargeand that you are the preferred business partner with whom to do business.

A Business Improvement Plan is a plan you create that evaluates aspects of your businessto ensure maximum viability and best practice. The plan sets out those activities necessaryto bring about continual improvements in your business like reducing costs, effectivelymanaging the working capital, improving productivity and measuring performance.

If one wants a business to grow, then a growth plan is the way to map the improvement

required for the growth anticipated. An entrepreneur may wish to grow his business and tomake optimal use of its current infrastructure and resources.

Most trading businesses have some form of financial problems sooner or later. A businesscan be carefully guided back to economic viability with quick action stabilizing the cashflow, outlining courses of action; getting the support of suppliers, lenders, employees,shareholders and possibly other entrepreneurs.

If your business is having problems get to the core issues quickly. The report may highlightthe need to grow, so in order to implement an effective growth strategy, one mustrealistically assess the present status of the business based on the four factors sales,

turnover, market share and profits.

This will give you a starting point against which to measure the anticipated growth. Firstlymake sure that the business is running efficiently. Then ensure that there is sufficientunderstanding of the changes that the growth will create and know what must be done toput these controls and systems in place as the growth strategy is implemented.

Salary is called a burden as it usually is the most expensive part of the business and toincrease these expenses must be done only when there is sufficient turnover to cover themI have too many experiences where business employed everyone and paid them out ofstart up capital to find out that not only were the staff unable to perform their tasks but that

the business collapsed as the salary really became a burden.

A business man must first ensure the business is running and turning over profit and thenreplace his input with a cheaper resource in staff giving him more time to focus on thebusiness of turnover and profit.

Discuss your growth plan in detail with your accountant and anyone else who will listenincluding those it will affect. Consider carefully all advice offered. Growth is a double edged



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sword and the increased turnover can be a serious burden to your cash flow and cashresources.

My first very successful business created more problems as the growth was so large itabsorbed all my cash and capital making it difficult to serve the business needs and thenhaving to expand overdraft facilities and cash flow demands from projects. The profit had tobe immediately invested in the next round of business leaving no cash resources for the vatand tax demands

It became an ever increasing spiral which the eventual solution was equity, but back thenthere was little chance of equity investment for small business. All growth options haverisks and rewards, and should be considered on their merits and on their suitability to yourbusiness.

When considering diversification, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, dont betempted to move into a field of which you have little knowledge and or experience.Remember how you started in business in the first place, you started somewhere withattributes that made it able for you to be employed or begin a business where you hadknowledge, skills and experience. This rule still applies. Business activity that is in some

way related to your current activities is easier to understand than trying something youhave no experience without suitable mentors or advisors as in a franchise.

For example, the telecommunications industry is embracing media as they are direct formsof communication. Companies you currently service may require other things in order tostreamline their ordering, that is why Waltons [a stationary company] sells instant coffee aswell, growing into business that plugs into an existing business where you are alreadytrading.

Answer the following questions in order to help implement your growth strategy:

What additional staff requirements if any will be needed?

Will it be necessary to train staff? Are your current premises sufficient?

Is the location of your business suitable for the growth?

Are your suppliers able to service your increased demand?

Do you have the necessary IT systems?

Are your staff motivated?

Are you able to finance any growth plans?

Will there be a definite return on investment (ROI)?

Do you have the management skills to manage a larger business?

CONCLUSIONWe have mentioned many factors and reports and things that you need to do to evaluateyour business. Do not be lazy at this stage and really do the work. If you think it is hard orfor someone else you are not a wolf and I suggest you look for a job that requires yourspecific set of attributes.



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While you may also be happy with the current performance of your business, neverunderestimate your competitors and the power they may have to take away from youmarket share.

Prevention is a cure so have a policy and reports detailing planning and updating all thetime for the continual growth of your business. In conclusion there is a lot of work to do andif you feel you cannot cope, or need help there are professional people who sell theirknowledge in mentoring and coaching.

A professional auditing firm in Australia has permanent mentors and coaches who spendtime with every employee in the company ensuring the employee exercises hisentrepreneurship muscle to the maximum to ensure maximum efficiency and profitability forthe company.

MENTORSHIP IS YOUR POLICEMAN.COACHING IS GETTING YOU OVER THE FINISH LINE.



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CHAPTER THREE - OPPORTUNITYCAST YOUR NET AROUNDEvery person is one person away from the person you need to know, so by engaging inpeople around you, you can fish for opportunity. As players tighten their belts theysometimes throw away smaller business they cannot profitably handle.

Look at relationship building to assist you to actually begin your type of business.Forget about profit and look at survival, what will bring you through intact and pay the bills.

Profit is only good for governments when times are tough as most of it goes to tax in anycase. How much money do you really need to get through the tough months?

Hire instead of buy, or get other businesses to do the work for you so you do not duplicateor pay for expensive infrastructure and re-invent the wheel.Borrow where you can service and support from people who also need a bit of extrabusiness instead of setting it all up yourself.You will be surprised at how creative you can be with outsourcing.

In a business I looked after for the bank we were faced with an expenditure of R45 000.00[US$4 500.00] for three new scales. We came to a deal with a supplier who had three

machines with no spare parts so he charged us R450.00 [US$45.00] per month for thethree machines and if they broke, we all agreed to throw them away. Win/win all around.

FURTHER RESOURCES NEEDED? THEN DEVELOP A MARKET PLAN.Any product or service offered is useless unless it is sold and to sell we need to let peopleknow where, how and for how much they can buy it. People already are buying the thingsthey need and are not waiting for you with bated breath to rush out and spend on it.

The marketing plan has to incorporate all aspects of the product or service benefits,features and pricing, your competitors markets and strategies including pricingcomparisons.

Marketing incorporates distribution and whether you have sufficient product to meetdemand and product life. Does the cost justify the return? Many questions require manyanswers to do it right. Juta has some well authored books as extra reference.

CONCLUSIONPeople are the key to the success of the business so find out who makes decisions, whodecides if you get paid, or not, and when and how. Find people that are as positive as youare and build business relationships - not tea parties or drinking sessions but measure yoursuccess with banked business. Business cannot be concluded without people People buyfrom People not web sites electronics or some faceless program somewhere.

YOUR BUSINESS NETWORK IS THE GREATEST RESOURCE IN ASSISTINGYOU TO TRADE.



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CHAPTER FOUR WEIGH YOUR OPTIONSTAKING LONG HARD LOOKSYou need income and you need it now. What can you put on the scales of your business tobalance the extreme shortage of cash or business that will immediately adjust the balanceand put the business back in harmony? Look for things you can do to bring in incomenow, today, this moment - do not wait.

Do you have underutilized resources you can or share with someone else who can trade

them for things you can sell or cash? How can you scale down to survive on lower salesand cash income? Smaller inventory, just in time sales, purchases on orders and depositpaid? Shorter account terms? Ask and make a list of questions.

WHAT DO WE DO WELL?AT WHAT COST?HOW CAN WE SAVE?

Do not venture into things you need to invest in for new business. Use what you have topiggy back new business instead. You need to keep your money in the bank - and notspend on anything that does not immediately bring money back in.

Pay accounts early so you relieve stress and create a positive business image for yourcompany. If a new direction does not realize a payable invoice or payment within threedays do not do it. Everyone looks for a savior in your business, someone you can put allthe problems you have in their lap and wave a magic wand and throw some stones -someone has blown on and it all goes away.

The biggest gift I can give you today is to convince you to do it yourself as this is the onlyway you will learn. Most of the time getting more money will never resolve the issue of yourbusiness as the fundamental understanding of the business and how to trade does notexist. Money is never a solution to business problems - paid orders and gross profit in the

bank is. Trade instead of borrowing is the greatest advice you will ever get

Many new companies get cash flow management wrong and fail. Managing cash flow day-by-day and month-by-month can be likened to the blood in ones body going from oneorgan to another to keep it alive. In the same way, a business has to continually be fed withcash flow.

This way, it keeps the business alive and well and its bankers, vendors and creditorshappy! Managing cash flow is one of the biggest challenges small business has.This intervention will help a business in this regard.

UNDERSTAND THAT SOLUTIONS ARE IN TRADING WITH PEOPLE ANDCONTINUED BORROWING IS NEVER AN ANSWER.

IF YOU CANNOT GENERATE CASH ON YOUR OWN, IT IS VERY SELDOMYOU WILL ACHIEVE IT BY BORROWING.



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CHAPTER FIVE USE YOUR NETWORKYOU ARE ONE PERSON AWAY FROM ONE PERSON YOU WANT OR NEEDTO KNOWThis is different to casting your net around as casting is a chance that in throwing the net,you hope that you will find something of value, which does sometimes happen, as opposedto throwing the net in a direction you know will deliver a harvest.

We all have networks. Phone them and ask for business. You will be surprised what

business you can drum up within a friend or business relationship. Make a plan, have ameeting with a couple at a time, explain honestly the problems you are experiencing andmake a plan to implement the suggestions and proposals you come up with in yourbrainstorming sessions.

Many success stories are related to maturity in your network. As people have moreconfidence in delivery and your ability to perform they will trust you with more business.

CONCLUSIONYou need to be able to sit in one place and by phoning generate some successful businessbecause you have assembled the right people around you, who are able to assist you in

achieving the driving of your business through successful traded orders



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CHAPTER SIX DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR BUSINESSAsking people for help is not frowned on and the worst that can happen is they say no, theymay even refer you to someone who has business for you. Failure is the next step tosuccess and then you lose the fear of failure and with your back against the wall pull out allstops and be the most amazing business person you can be.

Never be shy - business people are not shy to ask for business - it is what makes ussuccessful. The need and drive for business is a fundamental trait in doing good business.

Even drug addicts go to the bottom before they turn the corner. Only your fears, which arereally dumb, stop you from succeeding and asking for help when you need it most.

Learning to ask for business is in your strategic plan knowing where, when and who to ask.Ensuring the information is at hand, not going back for quotes, doing the business then andthere and asking for an order. Having a strategic plan will not guarantee success, butwithout one, your business has a far greater chance of failure. Your strategic plan willprovide a framework on which you will hang all the companys policies and according towhich you will make key decisions that determine the direction and performance of thebusiness.

The strategic plan acts as a point of focus for every activity in the business and can serveas a concise explanation of the business and its objectives and activities. If something doesnot form part of the strategic plan, it should not be undertaken.

It is therefore important that the strategic plan is well thought out and developed inconsultation with other key players in the business such as all the owners, managers andeven certain staff members. They do not have to all participate in the same forum, butshould be included in the strategic planning process in order that they all take ownership ofthe final plan. Everyone in the business will be expected to help fulfill the strategic plan. Ifthey dont agree with it or dont feel they had an opportunity to contribute to the plan, theymight not be committed to it.

Your strategic plan is not intended to help you run the business. Thats the function of anOperational Plan. The strategic plan is a high level, conceptual document which providesthe overall vision for the direction you want the business to take. A Strategic Plan, even if itis just carried in your head, helps to keep you focused on the intentions to trade and dobusiness and is one of the most important tools in the attitude arsenal.

Once all have participated in developing the strategic plan, ensure that it is discussed withand communicated to all stakeholders on an on-going basis. When you are running abusiness many people will come to you with offers. I was offered a Vodacom shop free in1990 when cell phones first came out people did not see the future they would be. I turned

down the offer even though today it would be worth millions and I have zero regrets.

I could never see myself explaining cell phones to computer illiterate people everyday ofmy life. I have stayed focused on the way I want to achieve multi million rand successthrough my innovation and vision and I will eventually have my success as I stick to myprinciples and position to achieve it in my own way. Business needs your business too.



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CHAPTER SEVEN NEGOTIATING WITH CREDITORSTalk to people, they are part of your business. A recent mentee who was really battling nowhas R1 million [US$100 000, 00] per month business because he sat down with supplierand entrepreneur at a table and worked out an agreement that was good for everyone

I told him his business was not financing stock but reworking it into the products his clientswanted. So now the entrepreneurs buy the raw materials which are delivered to him toprocess and he does what he does best and is paid for it, without having to finance tons of

products he does not use. Know what your business is really and do not try and dabble infunding business that has nothing to do with you. I am often contracting, and people expectme to take a percentage of their business as part of the deal and are surprised when Irefuse.

I charge the client what my fee is for my hours as that is my business, not percentages ofother peoples work. When there are complications and issues that require resolving I canbe impartial and distance myself from the problem to find the best solution as there is noemotional or other ties to the deal.

I do not feel guilty that this other business fee is depriving the client of much needed value

It however requires great knowledge of my business to ensure I charge the correct feesand that people understand the value of those fees to their project. The profit to mybusiness and sustainability is allowing people to see the value and substance I bring to thetable, and the clear savings of costs to the project.



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CHAPTER EIGHT NEGOTIATING WITH DEBTORSAsk your debtors to settle a bit early. They all know its tough. Ask them for 50% of theinvoice in the middle of the month and let them hold back 10% for 2 months. You need tosurvive and do not need profit if your business is properly structured. Work out cash dealsfor up front specials that no one can say no to.

Plan to get in enough money to cover costs and survive until you can generate profit beforethe 25th of the month. This way you can focus on driving much needed business while

everyones purse strings are open and you are not wasting energy collecting money forpast business when you need to be focused on present business.

There are only three people who want your profits, your accountant because he was taughtto, your bank manger because he knows then he does not need to lend you money if youhave your own, and the Receiver of Revenue because he needs it. Profit you just pay halfto the Receiver in any case so concentrate on keeping your business alive.

Flat lining business models help you to understand the monthly costs that you need to keepthe doors closed yes, closed without trading. When the doors are open and you trade thatis a separate costing and must be linked directly to your service or product.

Cost per month or year - absolutely bare essential payments and divide these between howmuch service or product you can supply. Charge raw materials required to make theproduct [give this to your entrepreneur at cost, you are not in that business] Add theworking costs as a Rand / Dollar value and then packaging and delivery separately.

This way you can make decision with suppliers to buy the volumes you require surviving asyour products and services will be lean and cost competitive. Never work on percentageswhen times are tough as they are misleading in understanding your business.

The butchery point of sale was telling us it was putting on a 25% markup and we were

making between 18% gp [should be 20% if things were running smoothly]On costing the business the reality was very different - there was moisture loss, cut lossand bones with no sale value that cost us the same as the rest of the quarter.

So in reality we never made more than 10 to 11 % when everything is cut and sold right - afar cry from the wonderful gp% the system showed. Our solution is to sell more - we aredropping prices and increasing supply. People are buying from the cheapest and weworked on a model to be the cheapest and implemented it the business held its own andgrew the business as well.

A supply chain agreement was negotiated for product and the business traded more

products in three days of one weekend then the total for two weeks previously. Business isabout getting it right.



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CHAPTER NINE CUTTING COSTSOutsource parts of your business to other business that can do the functions cheaper ormore efficiently for you, especially if they can do it better. Look around for suppliers withbetter pricing and ask your suppliers to meet this price. Negotiate with suppliers forminimum basic supply at rates and pay them up front for the products, only putting monthlypurchases on accounts.

Convert all business to cash and use cash as the leverage to cheaper prices. Cash is king

[or acb debits on time and as promised] Cutting costs is a number of factors. I haveincreased salaries so all the staff are happy and can cope with increases in their lives fromtransport to food; they in turn are protecting their jobs and have volunteered to work longerweekend hours at peak before and after month end trading periods. This was unsolicitedand brought about by them as they saw the need to improve turnover cash flow and gp.

They ensure property compliance to delivery invoices, are much happier at work which iscreating a pleasant working environment. Staff take time off in low trading times and ensureeveryone is at work for major trading times. We have increased turnover and have reachedpreviously unheard of daily sales. The place has never been cleaner, machines are workingoptimally and everyone is being their own responsible person. So by giving people what

they need to survive we are achieving all the targets the business needs to cut costs.Business costs have dropped by R200 000.00 [US$20 000.00] per month by staffnegotiating with suppliers for better deals, consolidating purchases, ensuring minimumwastage and maximum utilization of resources. Quite an achievement brought about byincreasing wages which are usually the first to be cut. The increase in the wages is 10% ofthe current savings.



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CHAPTER TEN SHARING THE BURDEN BY MAKING PEOPLERESPONISBLEEveryone in your business chain is responsible for your success. Negotiate with them andspeak to them about your challenges. Be honest and upfront. Only work with people whoread from the same page as you and ensure your team understands the need for success.

Make each person responsible - you cannot manage more than 3 people at a time sodelegate and make people take charge. It will relieve the stress and help you to focus on

real issues of management and sales.

ENTREPRENEUR CARE CHECK LIST

Lead by example. Be the champion of entrepreneur care for your clients, yourbusiness and yourself. Never avoid anyone when times are tough. Set the standardsfor how you want your staff and clients to be treated and then exceed them.

Be very responsive to your clients needs and wants and motivate your staff to followsuit. Train your staff to apply the Three Ring Rule - answering the phone within thefirst three rings. Reply to e-mails promptly or if unable to, apologize for the lateresponse and offer a brief explanation (not excuse) for the late response.

Continually emphasize to your staff, that everyone is responsible for client care andorders. Encourage staff to be courteous and friendly, yet professional. Friendlinesson its own is not enough. No-one likes phoning a company where everyone is veryfriendly but no-one knows whats going on.

Under-promise and over-deliver. Avoid making unrealistic promises just to impressclients and then fail to carry out your promises. This is worse than never havingmade the promises in the first place. Make realistic promises and then work hard toexceed them.

Always attempt to build long-term relationships with customers. It is so expensive toget one client, for heavens sakes keep them and then improve your relationship todo more business with them. I have clients who have provided millions in business incycles for over twelve years.

Empower your staff to be able to act on behalf of the business in order to solve aclients problem. So long as you have hired the right people and managed andtrained them correctly, there is probably no need for them to refer every complaint toyou before taking action. It makes them look good when they are able to tell theclient, that they can sort out the problem, and then do so. Managing a wrongdecision is easier than chasing indecisions.

If orders take time to be processed, always keep your client in the loop with theprogress of the order. In the case of a delay, let the client know as soon as youbecome aware of the delay. If you are able to, offer the client options to get aroundthe delay.

Make sure you know who your profitable clients are and who your least profitableclients are and treat them all the same but go the extra mile for people who give youmore profitable business.



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CHAPTER ELEVEN BUY IN FROM STAFFREADING FROM THE SAME PAGEExplain to your staff the challenges of the business and ask for their buy in.Let them help move product. Let them help streamline the business they sometimes knowmore than you do. Ask them to go the extra mile after all they all feed from the same table,and need to contribute to the overall success of the business.

Everyone in the business needs to be a salesperson and I mean everyone

There is no space for people who do not see their role as pivotal to success within theorganization. I have found that management so fears sharing that it impacts negatively onthe business. People are the reason you are in business. Look after these people and theywill look after your business.

If they do not then they are the wrong people you have employed. Respect employees andpay them to go the extra mile. It is hard for everyone, set standards in your business andinvest in your staff.

If you believe in them they will believe in you, and if you invest in them and they do notperform it is easier to remove them without conscience. So many seemingly successful

businesses have staff doing work on the side that if all is consolidated the business wouldboom.

By not sharing this created a need for employees to seek income elsewhere to survive.No one is working because they want to. They work because they need to and by making iteasier for them to live relieves negative pressures ensuring a more focused work force.If it does not, trust me, you either have the wrong people, you are employing your mother inlaw or you really should not be in business as you have no clue on how to manage people.



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CHAPTER TWELVE DO YOUR HOMEWORK BETTER THAN EVER BEFORETAKE AN EVEN HARDER LOOK AT THE PLAYING FIELDTake your business apart paper by paper to see what your core business actually is.Ensure that non profitable business is outsourced or give it to someone as a trade off.

Make sure you understand the workings of your business and what you are selling.People in the butchery think we are selling meat when in actual fact we are selling weight inkilos. We get weight in and we sell weight out. The success is to sell 1 million kilos at R1.00

[US$0.10] net profit. Entrepreneurship is hard work and is not some easy get rich quickscheme. All the quick rich schemes are focused on good sales people who can generatesales.

Entrepreneurship is being a well rounded and grounded person who has dreams of beingrich through his intuitive understanding of business. Many people succeed and fail and thenbounce back as they are true entrepreneurs. They are prepared to give everything as theyknow the laws of attraction will bring success again.They work hard at ENTREPRENURSHIP and people recognize these attribute and will givethem successful business as it becomes profitable for everyone to do so. They understand

these people deliver with passion and commitment beyond the normal business, they arethere for the long haul, are passionate about delivering standards and they are proud of,and always go the extra mile for you, and all they ask in return is pay them by the 25 th andbe as loyal to them as they are to you.

Grow them as they will remember you on the way up and more often as not, will offer ahand when they have achieved success because you helped them then when they neededthe help.



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CHAPTER THIRTEEN DO NOT TAKE UNNECESSARY RISKS AND THINKOF BEING INVOLVED IN ANY GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES AS THEANSWER TO ANY OF YOUR PROBLEMS.Keep the money in the bank for work that you know brings in turnover.Do not go for quick rich quick ventures - They do not work. Go around and look for peoplewho have done it this way, they all started with big fortunes to make small fortunes.

Do not look for specials you can make a quick buck on. Usually it was someone like you

who went to China and bought last seasons Fila shoes. They are called steals as youhave parted with good money for product that the only way you can get rid of it profitably isif it is stolen and insurance pays out.

CONCLUSIONDo not do it no matter how good it looks, without proper planning and making sense of thebusiness or without having a business deal that can move the product on.

Anything that looks that easy just means it will cost you a lot of money to make it easy.Repeat after me QUICK RICH means it will cost me my hard earned cash I do not have,to gamble with.



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CHAPTER FOURTEEN MORE THAN EVER STICK WITH SIMPLESOLUTIONS AND MUD BEFORE MARBLE DO NOT BUY MARBLE IF ALLYOU CAN AFFORD IS MUD.STICK TO KNITTINGFind out what is the most profitable portion of your business is and grow it. Get rid ofeverything that ties up capital like slow moving business clients or stock. Converteverything to cash in the bank and stay lean and mean.

Get rid of any useless inventory at any cost - auction it, give it away as a promotional line.Holding stock is costly but R10.00 [US$1.00] in your hand is better than a million in anexpensive storeroom. No inventory is worth anything other than what it can be sold for.

Talk confidently of your business from a position of strength and ability.Learn when to stop selling and accept a deal, many people talk themselves into a deal andthen right out again as they do not know when to stop.

PLAN YOUR BUSINESS BETTER THAN EVER BEFORE AND KEEPEVERYONE INFORMED ESPECIALLY YOUR BANKERDo what you do best and do not try and start new ventures and product lines that you have

no experience with in these tough trading conditions as they always generate school feessomething you really cannot afford in a difficult trading environment.

Always start with research and make a good plan, gut feelings are good but planning iseven better.

Make a plan

Stick to it

Speak to people and get informed information

Is it doable? Who can help?

Now more than ever your business plan is critical to your business

Poor financial management is one of the main reasons why businesses fail. Therefore thisis not something that you should delegate to your banker, consultant or accountant. Youneed to have a grasp of the basic principles of your entities financial projections. Cash isthe lifeblood of any business. Cash inflows and outflows occur at different times. Managingthe timing of these inflows and outflows will determine whether the entity will survive or not.

Modeling different scenarios will assist you in ensuring that your enterprise can meet itscash flow requirements. Once you have completed your financial projection model, you willhave created a projected

CASH FLOW STATEMENT INCOME STATEMENT BALANCE SHEET

These are workable models for managing the finances of your small business and give youan understanding of how the financial decisions you take affect the activities of yourbusiness. Learn to generate and understand these terms - it is not as difficult as you think.



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CHAPTER FIFETEEN DOWNGRADE WHEREVER POSSIBLEANYTHING THAT IS NOT DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO YOUR BUSINESS ORLIFESTLYEGET RID OF THESE THINGS AS THEY COST YOU MONEY YOU DO NOTHAVE

Keep everything to a minimum - do not expand Downgrade where possible and utilizeexiting infrastructure to bursting point. Get people in who can share expenses, and developrelationships. We had a need to deliver to our biggest clients and the delivery vehiclesforever need repair and are not fuel efficient, so we found a private individual who collectspayments and charges clients directly for delivery, win/win all round.

We normally have clients trying to twist our arm for free delivery. It does not happen anymore. The person who does these deliveries is efficient; friendly has brought in morebusiness for which he gets a commission and helps us with post office and banking forwhich he charges us a flat for. To date we have saved thousands in repair and fuel bills.

IMAGE IS NOT IMPORTANT - SURVIVAL ISDream about the porche but buy a bicycle. The porche you buy when you have the moneyto do it - in the meantime get a poster of one as it does not need servicing, and you candream of owning it. Do not have a flutter on fancy products when basic ones can do the

job.

THE STRONG DO NOT ALWAYS SURVIVE CONFLICT BUT IT IS THOSETHAT PLAN WELL THAT USUALLY DO DESPITE HOW STRONG OR WEAKTHEY ARE.IMAGE IS NOT IMPORTANT SURVIVAL IS

Our deepfreeze broke and the repair bill is R50 000, 00 [US$5 000.00] When we checkedthe business the deepfreeze was just a lazy way of not selling. We shut it down and notonce in 3 months did we require it. Everyone ensures that nothing is left that neededfreezing.

Study these tips carefully and implement them in your business wherepossible, ask questions, as a question is never stupid, connectwherever you can and do not expect business if you cannot givebusiness in return.Do not always try and meet someone because he is a successful

business man.Look for people who can transact with you on mutually beneficialterms and make money together.

Politicians make the worst business contacts and other business menthe best.



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Be hungry for business and do it well and lastly get up everyday withthe idea of making some money honestly with integrity passion anddrive.

FINAL CONCLUSIONMake an entrepreneurial dream a reality today and make today your first step to success.There is no shame in sharing other peoples school fees through mentoring and coaching.Get up after failure and do not even think of staying down on the ground.

Become a good wolf and remember that people buy from people. The universe rewardsgood practice and you sleep better for it and God alone knows we really need to help good

entrepreneurs to change this economy, as currently 3% of business controls 97% ofbusiness income and turnover which is totally unacceptable for entrepreneurial success.

Hard work never killed anyone but also seldom makes people rich either. I know it is acontradiction to being an entrepreneur but hard workers seldom have dreams of successand this is where the secret lies Dream yourself successful but follow it with the passion,learning, focus, knowledge and commitment required and proved by every really successfulentrepreneur and once you know you have all the parts, never ever, ever give up, as youwill never be bound by other peoples limitations again.

24 Hour Survival Guide for Small Business; ISBN number: Barcode: 6009691421372 Page 26 of 26

24 Hour Survival Guide for Small Business Revision 6

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