Local Business

Local Business  » Has Your Business Had a Recent Check-up?

Has Your Business Had a Recent Check-up?

How is the health of your business? Take a quick pulse by

looking at the following areas:

1. Financials - key items to look at are your balance sheet,

income (or profit & loss) statement and cash flow statement. Is

your equity, profit margin and cash flow growing? If not, why

not? If so, what plans do you have with your growing cash flow?

Reinvestment? Expansion? Capital Investment? Acquisition? Do you

have any major expenditures coming up on the horizon? If so,

will you have sufficient cash or will you need to finance?

2. Market Analysis - start from scratch and see if you have a

targeted niche market. If not, how can you further define your

niche. Remember, oftentimes the more narrow your target, the

better off you will be. If your niche market is perfectly

defined, is everything you are doing geared toward that market?

Are you doing everything you can to reach that market? And only

that market. Are you wasting resources marketing outside of your

target?

3. Customer Data - Are you keeping a full, updated and accurate

data base of your customers, prospects and leads? Who are your

biggest customers( (top10, top 100)? Do they provide you with

enough repeat business? Are there other products or services

they don't use that you can offer them? Do you have any

opportunity to increase the size of their orders? Remember the

80/20 rule and make sure that this 20% of your client list is

generating 80% of your business. How about the rest of your

client list. Divide the list into five groups based on volume

sales. Then come up with a plan to move each client into the

next higher group.

4. Competitive Data - Who else is serving the market you are

serving? What are they doing? What competitive advantage do you

have, if anything? What weaknesses do you have? What are their

strengths? Are you keeping a profile on your competitors? You

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should be doing this and update the information regularly.

5. Employee Data - Are you performing regular reviews. Is

everyone performing to your satisfaction? If not, are they

salvageable? What's the downsize of cutting them loose and

replacing? Do you know each of your employees birthdays? Do you

know their families? Have you identified certain employees for

possible promotions should you expand or need to replace someone

who leaves?

Being intimate with your financials, market, customers,

competitors and employees can go a long way in the successful

operation of your business.

About the author:

Mike Shannon is the owner of Shamrock Business Coaching, a

professional coaching practice that helps owners of small and

medium sized businesses increase their profits. You can visit

Shamrock Business Coaching on the web at:

http://www.shamrockcoaching.com