Small Business – Big Business.What’s the Diff?
Small Business, Big Business – What’s the Diff?
Well a lot actually!
I become frustrated and angry at the government’s paying lip service to assisting small business. It appears as though all governments, bureaucrats and many accounting advisers do not know what a real small business is.
In Australia the government’s definition for a small business is one which has less than 100 employees. Who are they kidding? In my consultancy that’s a big business.
They believe that ‘small business’ is the same as ‘big business’ on a smaller scale, that ‘big business’ is ‘small business’ with more of the same.
Wrong! About 99% of small business employs less than 10 employees and what is beneficial to the 100-employee firm may be downright dangerous for the 10-employee firm. Governments must know that. They can’t be so stupid not too… can they?
We Aussies are ready to believe anything about our politicians. We have met so many of them and none of them seem any brighter than the fellow next door. (In fact, none of them seem to know as much as I do).
When I decided to go global I was certain that the situation would be different in the USA. I was wrong.
The USA Small Business Authority has set a size standard for most ‘small business’ enterprises. In the full Table of Small Business Size Standards Matched to SIC Codes published by the Small Business Authority it is annual turnover that limits the size of small business firms.
In my consultancy of restaurants, coffee shops, florists, hairdressers, electrical retailers etc. the turnover limit is $5 million. In Australia there are NO single shop establishments achieving that sort of turnover.
In Australia a hairdressing salon working a 7-day week at an average price of $70 per client would need 30 clients each and every hour on ever day of the year. Impossible in Australia and probably in the USA too.
This does clear up an anomaly I had noticed in the different approach business plans took in Australia as opposed to that taken in America.
When Australian business began to use the Internet almost all the business plan software was from the States. The plans, although meant for small business, were not appropriate for Australian firms because they focused entirely on obtaining venture capital.
There were very few venture capital providers in Australia and of those that were few were interested in providing capital to the majority of our small ‘small business’. Business Plans languished in the filing cabinet and were hardly ever seen again.
The Australian consultants began to oversee business plans that focused on their being used as management tools. The planning itself was a vital element in the success of the business…and the plans were used to chart the course of the firm.
Each month the actual results were compared to what had been expected in the business plan. Tactics were formulated to overcome shortcomings or build upon favorable results.
Are you a small business owner who has studied all the books and web information that you can get hold of, and it is still not happening for you?
Perhaps it is because the information was directed to firms much larger than yours – firms with 100 employees or $5 million in sales. You need information more suited to your own business size.
Various organisations publish benchmarks for your industry. Compare your own results with the industry average. This will show where you should be concentrating your efforts for improvement.
You should seek out advisers and information that applies to ‘mini’ business – firms that are your size whatever it is. Perhaps you own accountant can help you find it.
But never be so foolish as to believe that what the government says is good for small business will be necessarily good for you.
Kelvyn Peters CPA and Associates knows profitable business strategies that really work.
And he’s only an e-mail away.
Small Business – Ten Traits All Small Business Owners Must Have To Be Successful
Winning in Small Business is as hard as running a race in the Olympics, actually I think harder, but the interesting fact is that the traits to succeed in small business are the same ones athletes use to succeed in any sport. Essentially the ten traits small business owners must have to succeed are the same ones we all must have if we ever think that we will achieve something in our lives.
Trait 1: Know Your Purpose
The first trait all small business owners must have is to know their purpose. First and foremost what is it that you want? What is it that youu want to achieve? Once you know what your purpose is then this will be the force and motive behind you taking this journey.
Trait 2: Have a Desire to Succeed
How many people do you know want to win Lotto? Probably a lot … Did you know that most people who win the lotto actually spend every cent of it in the first 12 months? Why, because they have not got a desire to use this money to succeed. To be truly successful you must have the desire to want it so bad that you will do anything to achieve your objectives
Trait 3: Have Faith That You Can Achieve What You Want
Just like an athlete, you must have faith that you can and will achieve your objective. If you do not have faith that you can achieve success in your business, then you will simply give up when the things get tough and let me assure you as a 10 year veteran in small business, things at some point will get tough and you will skate along the edges of losing everything. You may even fall over the cliff, but you have to have faith to climb up the cliff and continue on your journey.
Trait 4: Have a Clear Plan
Without a plan, you will simply be like a lost animal in the wilderness. Let me ask you this,do you go on holidays without a plan of what you want to do and where you want to go? Absolutely not, because you would simply be lost and would probably see and do nothing. It amazes me though how many small business owners plan their holidays more rigorously than they plan their small business. Remember the old clich
Small Business – Cutting Costs
How is the small business owner supposed to cope in today’s tough economy? Entrepreneurs and small business owners talk about this topic frequently. The gist of discussion is that the companies that need assistance are unable to get it, while large companies that are more secure to begin with are able to get the financial and practical assistance easily.
The number of firms with and without employees is a telling measure. In 2006, according to the Office of Advocacy, there were 6 million firms with employees on payroll. By 2007, the number of firms without employees had climbed to more than 21 million.
How, then, is there not a solution for the small business owner? When small businesses make up the majority of employers, why is there not a better way to ensure that their businesses survive, and thrive in a changing and difficult economy?
Consider that the average small business has a host of administrative and paperwork tasks that can fill an eight-hour workday easily. A business owner could do nothing but bookkeeping, paperwork, email, correspondence, customer service, data entry and so on, and not have any time left over for expanding the business.
But expanding the business is the critical task of the business owner. Unless the business owner is able to pursue opportunities to grow their client base and increase revenue, the business will not thrive.
The easy answer is ‘hire help.’ But hiring help is very expensive. In addition to salaries, an employer must provide training, equipment, and office space, if they are to hire additional personnel.
Instead, outsourcing work with the use of virtual assistants can be a viable alternative. To save money and maximize value, outsource administrative tasks through a virtual outsourcing firm.
By using a virtual assistant, you can have help with administrative tasks that can be done via telephone or Internet. Most of the tasks that take up so much of a workday can be outsourced virtually in this manner, leaving the business owner needed time to improve the business.
Don’t suffer another day with juggling business chores and struggling to increase revenue. Hire a virtual assistant, and free up your valuable time!