For Women Ready to Start Their Business@Home!

Small Business Speed Bumps

Ever been in a hurry to get some where or grab that parking spot right next to entrance to the mall only to have to slam on the brakes to slow down for a speed bump? There are times in my small business activities when I'm rushing ahead and, out of nowhere, hit obstacles that slow me down.

My first reaction is to be irritated and lose my focus on where I'm actually headed. Most of us just don't like being "slowed down" as we drive to our destination. Worst of all, someone else may beat us to the ideal parking slot we spotted. But, there are other spots in the lot that will get us safely parked and into the mall.

What you learn over time is to be prepared for speed bumps. They exist for a reason. They don't prevent you from continuing down the road. They do ask you to slow down and pay more attention to what's going on around you and in the near distance.

If you haven't encountered any small business speed bumps yet, you will. Keep your focus on the big picture on the horizon line. You'll get there despite the obstacles you'll encounter along the way as long as you keep driving in the right direction and slowing down for the occasional speed bump!

Small Business Projects: Stuck or Done?

I've got a ton of ideas, I'm a huge process thinker and a poor finisher. As a result many of my small business projects never get done or remain stuck in the mud. They are not getting done!

How about you?

My friend Kim DeYoung (Metromom) is leading the Get It Done Challenge that'll provide you with real specific steps on how to get your ideas out of your head and into the market so you can make the money you want and also serve the customer you're meant to serve.

The timing for this challenge may not be a good fit for you right now, but the five small business project steps covered in the Challenge Overview are well worth your reading time. In fact, just reading more about these steps maybe helpful enough to get you unstuck and done right now!

Is Your Small Business on the Level?

Today is cement day for me. One of my personal projects is some landscaping in our backyard. As I get ready to pour some cement walls and pathways, I'm digging, aligning and leveling my form boards. I want the cement work to be level and positioned to properly hold back some dirt and support a lot of foot traffic.

How is this related to your small business at home success and profit?

Every function in small businesses is inter-connected. One function that is out of level is likely connected to another function. If a function is not "on the level", it's inter-connected functions are weakened and may give way, run up or down hill too quickly or slowly or be crooked.

I know this analogy is a bit far fetched, but I believe it makes sense to check level before mixing and pouring a lot of concrete. Once it sets its very difficult to correct.

8 Tweets for Small Business Success

This set of small business @home tips focused on one Tweet for each of the small business basics. Can you identify the "Basic" for each tweet?

1. "A clear set of business objectives can free up your time and explode your small business profits."
2. "Quick reports are a mandatory small business management tool if you want to boost your profits."
3. "Do you know how much it will cost to finance the small business project you just started?"
4. "Don't take your small business personnel issues too personally - it won't get the job done."
5. "Small business Marketing Match Game : Problem + Customer + Product = Purchase."
6. "Equipment with the right ROI can save your small business operations time and money."
7. "Are your true production costs built into your small business pricing?"
8. "Are your products and services valuable resources used by other small business owners?"

A "Take Action" sheet is available to help you explore each Business Basic Piece and act on those small business pieces you need to work on to optimize your success and profit.

Plan to Start Up Your Small Business Idea

Small business start up ideas are exciting to talk about. Sharing them with trusted friends and family adds to the excitement. Sometimes sharing your start up idea gets in the way of actually putting together a basic business plan you can use to launch your small business start up idea.

Small business success depends on good management of your start up idea. This includes having a plan to reach your business objectives, a system to report your key numbers and events, a method to evaluate your progress and the capacity to develop new plans to meet changing conditions and results.

Don't be all talk and leave a business plan to manage your start up success out of your small business idea conversations.

Manage Your Start Up for Best Results

Some small business start up owners bring corporate management experience to their start up business idea. Others bring a lifetime of employee activities with little management responsibilities. Both types often let the excitement of their new small business idea get in the way of properly managing their business.

It may actually be more important to manage a start up than a business in it's more mature stages because of the role management plays. The management function puts to the test the plans you need to develop for your small business start up to survive.

Excitement is critical, but the willingness to make sure you have a plan for achieving your business objectives, a reporting system to monitor your results, a method to evaluate those results and a process to develop improved and new plans is how you manage a small business start up for best results.

Start Up Plans Move Goals Forward

Many small business start up owners have big goals. Big goals are what inspire you to turn your ideas into a business. But without plans, simple steps to move you into action, your big goals will not move forward. In business it's not the idea that is most important, it's the plans you make and take.

A set of plans put to action makes the difference between success and failure. A goal without a plan is static. As has been said, "You can't steer a parked car". To move that parked car forward you've got to start it up, release the park and head in some direction. Such is the case with your small business start up idea.

The Profit Puzzle Piece (For Assistance Use the Comment Feature)

Goals are important because they determine the end result you're inspired to achieve. Goals stand still in the absence of plans and the action steps you must take to move your small business start up forward.

Daily Start Up Stats

Every day of a small business start up is critical. In most cases, there's not enough time or money to let anything slip through the cracks. That's why knowing and tracking your stats on a daily basis is so important.

As a start up business owner manager you'll want to develop action plans with numbers you can track and report. These management stats need to become part of our daily routine. Make sure you have a reporting system for your stats that only takes a few minutes to access and review.

Daily start up stats aren't an option if you want to make the best use of your resources. Every day you fail to review your numbers and make the necessary changes you've dramatically decreased your chances of success and profitability.

TIPS Action Plan : Daily Start Up Stats

Paying attention to daily start up stats is a small price to pay for keeping your start up on track. No start up from day one is too small to wait to get big enough to manage by the numbers.

Small Business Start Up Breakdown

As a start up business owner one of your many functions is to manage the goals you've set for your small business. The best way is to breakdown each goal into a series of doable steps. Action plans are useful tools for breaking down start up goals.

Start up action plans help you determine exactly what start up steps to take. They also move conversations and ideas into writing. Written start up plans are always more effective.  Another start up breakdown activity is to make sure each step has a start date and a completion date. Also, for many start up business steps you should quantify what results you want to achieve. Numbers make the steps measurable and create greater business accountability.

TIPS Action Plan : Small Business Start Up Breakdown

Small business start up success is difficult enough. Make it easier by having a written breakdown of each major goal in the form of a written start up action plan with dates and numbers.

Where's Your Plan?

This is the time of year when the lack of a plan for our business becomes most evident. If you're among the group of small business owners who worked their business with a plan this year, great. If not, don't despair. The year's not done.

The starting point for your last minute business plan could be the launching point for 2008. I found an article buried in my archives, Business Plan Basics, you might want to start with as you end this year.