The Language Of BusinessWritten by Maria Marsala, Business Growth Specialist
There are certain concepts that successful business owners create, and then refine, over and over again. Does your business have a mission statement? Have you defined strategies and objectives of your business? What if a lender asks about your ROI?Successful business people talk to each other in these terms. (If you're curious, skip ahead to end of this article and read other concepts that you need to define to increase your chances for business success.) If you're not familiar with these concepts, brush up on "language" of business. Spending your energy defining and applying these concepts to your business can build a strong, solid foundation. Plan on spending some time crafting these terms as they relate to you and your business. The language of business provides a handy framework for review, but there is so much more to each of concepts than its dictionary definition. In order for concepts to be effective, it's necessary to internalize and use them daily. And keep in mind how not using these principles in your business may cause problems later on. Consider these events: --The dot.com, Enron, and WorldCom fiascos are excellent examples of what can happen when businesses forget about basics. Some folks decided they were smarter than more than a hundred years of proven-to-work business concepts. --Established business owners who are stuck. To date, I have not worked with an established business that is able to provide me with a basic business plan-vision, mission, objectives, strategies, etc. Some companies did create a plan for funding purposes but haven't looked at it for years and years. If you're running your business properly, you're looking at your business and marketing plan at least once a week.
| | Where is your business within the business cycle?Written by Maria Marsala, Business Growth Specialist
What's saying, something like... you can't get where you want to go if you don't know where you're going. Every business starts and ends somewhere. First it's an idea and it may stay at this place for a short time or many years. Then it develops into a start-up that takes where you build critical strong business foundation.If you are stuck or on a downward spiral then it's time to re-evaluating where you are and where you expect to be in 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. If you want to move ahead quicker, take a look at what it is you need to get "there". Use list below to help you realign yourself and get help you need to get you to next level and beyond. It's An Idea -- I'm ready to make commitment. -- Want to reduce "overwhelmed" into making an initial plan. -- Find an "ideal" business I'm passionate about. -- Develop a business vision. -- Ready to catapult your hobby into a business. -- Create a personal budget, reducing expenses, and start saving money for your business. -- Work on your personal side to make time necessary to start your business. Let's Get It Going - Start-up -- Making a plan to transition to "business owner". -- Learn how to accomplish what you want to accomplish. -- Read books that are known to help my clients. -- Get "buy-in" from your family. -- Start process of transitioning between executive and business owner. -- Hire a mentor coach. -- Who can you partner with?
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