How to PLAN to FAIL so you wont ever fail

How many of us SME owners have been forced into running a business? It could have been retrenchment, being made redundant or due to some larger economic issues (inept government etc).

So what started you off on your own? A drive to succeed? Tired of seeing your boss every day? Whatever it was, here you are - on your own and in business. A good mate of mine has a phrase for this. PMOC. It stands for Paddle My Own Canoe. It's exciting, this doing my own thing. I am sure you think that almost every day.

How are your month-ends? Ever get really stressed about covering your outgoings? Worried about having enough cash-flow to start again from scratch next month? One reason I am so passionate about this subject, apart from the BTDT factor, is the rush I get from seeing people making a success of the simple systems I teach them to implement. Take Leads Analysis. that is such a simple tool to implement, ok, that picture I have lower down in my blog is from OpenOffice. I know most us mortals will be using MS Office.

You will be amazed at the powerful effect this tool can have on your income! in a small business, we have to sweat the details. Don't let the month end go by without you measuring what you have accomplished in the month.

You only need 5 steps to make some life changing alterations to the way your business is being run.

If your business is running you, don't delay! Get started on step one - analyze your leads!

Step two is a real no-brainer. all you have to do is look at your marketing spend in conjunction with your sales. The LINK between them is your Leads Analysis!

In my next blog, I will show you how to LINK your Leads Analysis and your Marketing Spend.

None of us will likely admit that we are failing when we know too well that the fat lady has already sung her part. Parallel to implementing these simple to use methods to increase your profits, there is some structural work you need to do on the framework of your business.

There are costs associated to this yes. But first lets compare two people. Guy, runs things by the seat of his pants. he should have webbed feet really, for he is always stamping out fires. he is about to meet and Elephant. then we have Cindy. Savvy young business woman. She focused a LOT on putting structure and systems into her little cake shop enterprise. Guy on the other hand was too busy for this waste of time, Admin (adbin as he calls it).

On a client's site one day, Guy got a phone call. His biggest client was canceling all further work. they had found a bigger supplier with 24/7 service, better than his day time only operation. He felt as if a huge concrete block had been parked on him, a tremendous weight was now on his shoulders. He had recently bought a new van for work. He was not going to be able to afford it! The van was bough tin his own name too, to add insult to injury this would wreck his credit record! Having operated in his own name for so many years may have been cheaper for tax and loans, but Guy was about to have everything wiped out as his creditors lined up to fetch money he owed them.

Cindy on the other hand had made sure her business had diverse clients. No single client made up more than 20% of her turnover. Her company was a Limited Liability entity. It sure was expensive, all of £30 to buy off the shelf. Cindy's Dad had shown her how to use a Trust to own the assets, shares and trading profit in her company. Cindy is bullet proof! While her company can be liquidated by some event in the future, she has been careful to keep all the assets it needs to operate, in a trust. Insulated from any action against her so long as she behaves according to the law.

Guy wasn't as fortunate as Cindy. He lost his shirt. His TV, Couch and family too.

This is a simplified version of what we each need to put in place to protect our couch and our TV. Well, ok, not just the couch and the TV. Everything we ever bought should be protected by this Trust and LLC structure.