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Converting Your Business Plan to a Business Growth Plan; Good to Great: Are You a Hedgehog or a Fox?; Low- and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business; Do You Need a Coach?

Converting Your Business Plan to a Business Growth Plan
Good to Great: Are You a Hedgehog or a Fox?
Low - and No - Cost Ways to Grow Your Business
Do You Need a Coach?
Bundle Up for Your Business
Be Where the Buyers Are
Profile: Travelers Haven LLC: Meeting a Need for Speed

Converting Your Business Plan to a Business Growth Plan

Most small and medium-size businesses start out with a business plan in hand, primarily as a tool to help raise start-up capital. But once a business is up and running, it’s rare that the real-world operating conditions and challenges it faces line up exactly with the business plan’s projections. To keep moving forward, an SMB must convert its business plan to a business growth plan. Here are some tips on how to do that.

• Deliver on your promises. “To fulfill promises to customers and vendors, you must understand and account for how your operations will change as the company grows,” John Belken, president of a successful engineering firm and a faculty member at the University of Phoenix Madison Campus School of Business, stresses. Growth plans should cover costs related to facilities, equipment, supplies, and staffing resources that will be needed to meet increased demand for your products or services.
• Know your market. You need ongoing marketplace research to best understand how to leverage your products/services to the appropriate audience at the most profitable price point. You also need to know who your competitors are and what their market share is. “Explore possible markets that you might now be equipped to compete in, and take the time to consider new opportunities for growth, such as the possibility of one or more of your competitors dropping out of the market,” Belken suggests.
• Define the uncommon offering that your business will own, and leverage it. Every enterprise has at least one underutilized strength, says Robert Bloom, former U.S. chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide and author of The New Experts, a new book about empowered consumers. “The larger issue is discovering what it is,” he says. Steps to follow after defining the uncommon offering your business will own and leverage include: identifying the core customer most likely to buy your product or service, creating the persuasive strategy that will convince that customer to choose your offering over competitive offerings, and implementing a series of imaginative acts that celebrate your uncommon offering and make it well known to your core customer.
• Focus, focus, focus. It’s tempting to spread resources around, but the resulting dilution dooms many growth plans to early failure. “Companies that are really good at maintaining growth simplify down to a few critical initiatives and capabilities, and put all their muscle behind them,” says Ken Calhoon, managing partner of Calhoon Consulting. “This prioritization starts from the top,” he adds. “Good leaders need to be able to make the tough decisions about which areas to focus on.”
• Image matters. That pertains not just to the image projected to the general public, but especially to the image a business owner or other individual closely associated with the business projects to key audiences. Given the expanding roles of social media and online marketing, personal branding is essential to turning a business plan into a business growth plan, insists Bill Corbett, Jr., president of Corbett Public Relations. “The goal is to market, create a buzz, and make it clear that you are a leader or expert—and, hopefully, that will lead to you becoming an influencer,” he says.

Inc. Resource: How to Develop a Business Growth Strategy

Most businesses start small and stay there. But if that’s not good enough for you—or if you recognize that staying small doesn’t necessarily guarantee your business’s survival— there are examples of companies out there that have successfully made the transition from start-up to small business to fully-thriving large business. Here’s a round-up of the strategies they’ve used to successfully implement—and sustain—ongoing growth.

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Good to Great: Are You a Hedgehog or a Fox?

In his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don’t, author Jim Collins discusses the “Hedgehog Concept.” He says that it’s “not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. The distinction is absolutely critical.” In the article below, Collins describes how the Hedgehog Concept works in developing a foundation for good-to-great companies.

In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”

What does all this talk about hedgehogs and foxes have to do with good to great? Everything. Those who built the good-to-great companies were, to one degree or another, hedgehogs. They used their hedgehog nature to drive toward what we came to call a Hedgehog Concept for their companies. Those who led the comparison companies tended to be foxes, never gaining the clarifying advantage of a Hedgehog Concept—being instead scattered, diffused and inconsistent.

The essential strategic difference between the good-to-great and comparison companies lay in two fundamental distinctions. First, the good-to-great companies founded their strategies on deep understanding along three key dimensions—what we came to call the three circles. Second, the good-to-great companies translated that understanding into a simple, crystalline concept that guided all their efforts—hence the term Hedgehog Concept.

More precisely, the Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles:

• What you can be the best in the world at (and, equally important, what you cannot be the best in the world at). This discerning standard goes far beyond core competence. Just because you possess a core competence doesn’t necessarily mean you can be the best in the world at it. Conversely, what you can be the best at might not even be something in which you are currently engaged.
• What drives your economic engine. All the good-to-great companies attained piercing insight into how to most effectively generate sustained and robust cash flow and profitability. In particular, they discovered the single denominator—profit per x—that had the greatest impact on their economics. (It would be cash flow per x in the social sector.)
• What you are deeply passionate about. The good-to-great companies focused on those activities that ignited their passion. The idea here is not to stimulate passion but to discover what makes you passionate.

To quickly grasp the three circles, consider the following personal analogy. Suppose you were able to construct a work life that meets the following three tests. First, you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent, and perhaps you could become one of the best in the world in applying that talent. (“I feel I was just born to be doing this.”) Second, you are well paid for what you do. (“I get paid to do this? Am I dreaming?”) Third, you are doing work you are passionate about and absolutely love to do, enjoying the actual process for its own sake. (“I look forward to getting up and throwing myself into my daily work, and I really believe in what I’m doing.”)

If you could drive toward the intersection of these three circles and translate that intersection into a simple, crystalline concept that guided your life choices, then you’d have a Hedgehog Concept for yourself.

To have a fully developed Hedgehog Concept, you need all three circles. If you make a lot of money doing things at which you could never be the best, you’ll only build a successful company, not a great one. If you become the best at something, you’ll never remain on top if you don’t have intrinsic passion for what you are doing. Finally, you can be passionate all you want, but if you can’t be the best at it or it doesn’t make economic sense, then you might have a lot of fun, but you won’t produce great results.

Inc. Resource: How Great Business Leaders Leave Their Mark

Big personalities are often at the core of what makes a business special. Would Virgin be Virgin without Richard Branson’s antics? Would Amazon be the same without Jeff Bezos and his signature cackle? Would an Apple product launch be as buzz-worthy without Steve Jobs on stage sporting his signature black turtleneck? No doubt an entrepreneur’s character can be an asset in building a company, but when you’re ready to sell your business, having a big personality may be a liability—that is, unless you can find a way to inject your persona into your business when you’re ready to leave.

Learn more

Low - and No - Cost Ways to Grow Your Business

Everybody likes to get something for nothing, and business owners are no exception. When making decisions that could affect your business, of course, it’s good to keep in mind the old caveat about getting what you pay for. That said, there is quite a variety of free and very-low-cost assistance available from government, nonprofit, and even private sources to help SMBs grow their business.

One of the best is SCORE, a nonprofit association with more than 13,000 volunteers—most of them successful entrepreneurs and business executives—and 364 chapters throughout the U.S. and its territories. SCORE provides free online and face-to-face counseling, mentoring, training, and advice for SMBs just starting out or hoping to grow. It offers free workshops, newsletters, and other types of assistance, and it helps some 20,000 businesses a year—more than 9 million to date.

Denise Dorman, president of WriteBrain Media, an integrated marketing communications firm, and her husband are entrepreneurs and small business owners, and both have benefited from SCORE’s free assistance, she says. Other strategies that have worked for them include seeking advice from online groups dedicated to their particular businesses and joining and becoming active in LinkedIn groups specific to their niche and geographic location.

James Sinclair says that growing his nationwide hospitality consulting company, OnSite Consulting, while eliminating or minimizing related costs requires “greater exposure, greater references and greater conversions of sales opportunities.” A valuable resource he taps is the collection of databases maintained by many municipalities or their Chambers of Commerce. “These programs provide access to the people you need to know to help you grow or to sell to,” he says. However, the key to using this resource successfully is following up by going out to knock on doors. “There is no cheaper way to build growth than networking and getting out there,” he says.

Other free or low-cost strategies to help raise awareness of your business and drive growth include blogging, starting a Facebook fan page, and opening a Twitter account. All must be maintained and updated regularly in order to be effective, but the investment of your time or a staff member’s time can be minimal, while the impact on growth can be substantial.

Inc. Resource: 7 Ways to Prepare for Growth Spurts

This slide show can help you gear up as your business rapidly expands. From tips for finding external help and mentoring resources, to getting rid of bad customers and more, this presentation can help you meet the challenges of speedy expansion.

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Do You Need a Coach?

It’s common for those at the helm of any business, big or small, to insist they don’t want to be surrounded by “yes” men and women. The reality, however, is that they often are. In big companies, most of those close to the CEO have an agenda of one sort or another, but the company might have the resources to buy objective advice from an Accenture or a Deloitte or some other big-name consulting firm. Leaders of smaller firms face a different set of challenges. Often, they work alone or with just one or two key employees. Their need for honest feedback is great, but those closest to them may be understandably reluctant to provide it—especially if it entails bad news. For them, a coach might be just the answer.

Robert Hewes, senior partner at Camden Consulting Group, says a coach can do many things for small business owners:

• help them get honest and direct feedback, since virtually all coaching engagements involve getting, understanding, and addressing feedback;
• help them understand the feedback and provide strategies, methods, and techniques to address the issues and opportunities it raises;
• provide ideas on how leaders can increase the feedback they are receiving; and
• help with a range of management and leadership needs and challenges, providing an outsider’s perspective and being someone the leader can rely on.

“At a higher level, a coach can turn into a trusted advisor,” Hewes says. “We all need trusted advisors in our business lives, someone with whom we can discuss important business and strategic issues and then get ideas and advice.”

A coach has no vested interest in the business and is only focused on helping the client meet his or her goals as a business owner and leader, says Mary Coussons-Read, founding principal of Powerful Mind Coaching. “Not having a dog in the fight, so to speak, means that the coach can act as a true partner in decision-making and discussion rather than being a ‘yes’ man who’s afraid of losing his job for contradicting the boss,” she says.

For help finding a coach, check out the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches and the International Coach Federation.

Inc. Resource: Do You Need an Executive Coach?

Being a small business owner or executive requires many qualities. Fortunately, infallibility is not one of them. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for small business leaders to find a trusted advisor who has the knowledge, confidence, and authority to offer the outside perspective, insight, and advice necessary to keep any company moving toward its goals. Choosing an executive coach to assume this role has the advantage of bringing into your organization a professional who has seen successful practices put into play in a variety of organizations.

Learn more

Bundle Up for Your Business

With Comcast Business, you can create a customized bundle of services specific to your company’s needs. In just three, easy steps, you can create a free, no-obligation estimate of your monthly charges based on the exact package of services you need.

Discounts for bundles of multiple services are automatically calculated for you, and taxes and fees are estimated to avoid surprises on your first month’s bill. You’ll be able to choose from a range of customized options to build the bundle that meets your needs and saves you money over standalone options.

Learn more about Comcast Business options and how they can work for your business.

Be Where the Buyers Are

Even if you’re not selling products online, having a website will impact potential customers’ decision to do business with you. If you need proof regarding consumer preferences, consider the following:

• According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 78 percent of Americans conduct product research online before purchasing, and 32 percent post product reviews or comments online about their purchases.
• Research by eMarketer reveals that websites influence purchase decisions, including an estimated $471 billion in in-store sales.
• Forrester data shows that, by 2014, 53 percent of total retail sales (online and offline) will be affected by the web, as consumers increasingly use the Internet to research products before purchasing.

Consumers now research online before they decide which law firm to use, which gas grill to buy, or even which doctor to entrust their medical care to.

What about the other side of the coin? What are your competitors doing? In a word: ecommerce. U.S. Commerce Department figures state that ecommerce sales were up to $165 billion in 2010, up nearly 15 percent over 2009. Even with all the data supporting consumer reliance and business presence on the web, small business research firm Warrillow & Co., notes that only 41 percent of small business owners have a website.

You may have put off developing a website because you think it’s too complicated, time-consuming, and expensive. You might worry about your ability to refresh and update content and find the complexities of coding it too challenging. And you might think that you can’t afford to pay the big bucks for a third-party service provider to handle all the design, hosting, and content management.

That’s where the Comcast Business SiteBuilder tool comes in. SiteBuilder can help you design a professional website in a matter of clicks without knowing HTML. It offers you plenty of template choices and a quick, step-by-step design process that anyone can follow.

The Comcast Business SiteBuilder tool includes:

• An extensive image gallery to give your site personality.
• A huge variety of custom color and font schemes to get your creative juices flowing.
• Wizards and editors to assist even the most novice user develop all aspects of a website.
• Innovative site management tool to better organize your site and its attributes.
• A media album to store, showcase and organize your pictures and videos.
• A Flash editor with a range of preformatted Flash movies to add interactivity to your site.
• One-click publishing to launch your site instantly.

To learn more about SiteBuilder, check out this demo.

Getting started is easy. The three-page website and SiteBuilder tool are included free of charge with your Comcast Business Internet subscription. To get started, click here to activate your account.

Profile: Travelers Haven LLC: Meeting a Need for Speed

You might forgive a young company that’s racked up three consecutive years of triple-digit growth in the midst of a severe recession if it succumbed to a certain degree of self-satisfaction, maybe even complacency. But Elia Wallen, president and CEO of Travelers Haven LLC, a Denver-based business providing customized corporate and temporary housing solutions to clients nationwide, will have none of that, thank you very much.

When Travelers Haven was selected as one of the winners of last year’s Productivity@Work contest, Wallen was crystal clear about what he hoped the prize—a custom technology audit and a suite of Comcast Business services, equipment upgrades, software training, and consulting services—would provide his company: speed. And that’s just what he got.

“No doubt about it, speed is what we were after, speed is what we got, and it’s helped us tremendously,” Wallen says. Travelers Haven’s primary business focus is online, involving a great deal of research and the downloading and uploading of photos and other large files. “The greater speed we now have when doing those activities has made us more efficient and given us a significant boost in productivity,” he says. “SharePoint has increased our collaborative capabilities, and that’s also helping productivity.”

The company has been able to convert its old content management system (CMS) into a highly transparent database that allows clients to log in and check things out more easily. The technology upgrade has also made it possible for Travelers Haven to launch two new websites using internal resources, an undertaking for which it would have had to rely on outsourced providers in the past. Short Term Housing.com, in beta as of February, is a consumer-based site designed as a marketplace for landlords and potential tenants to come together. Wallen describes it as “a nice complement to our current business.” A second site, Denver Short Term Housing, was also built internally.

Learn more about how Comcast Business Internet, featuring online speeds that go up to 33 times faster than DSL, can speed up your business.

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