ActionBites: Idea: A Quick & Dirty Business Review

Too Busy For A Proper Business Plan?

If you are like many business owners, you may be so rushed with filling orders, paying bills and getting through the day-to-day crises, that there is just no time to get organized, and put your thoughts down into a business plan, or even know quite where to start.

If this sounds like you, then a Fast Business Review might be the way to begin your process of getting control of your business, fix those things that have been left undone that will bring the business fast benefits, and cut through some of the clutter that can turn up in a business, and prevent better results than you could be getting now.

Getting Started

To get started on your review, take a few minutes and think about your business and how it operates every day. Think about what issues come up time and again and cause problems, and think about the improvements that you may have considered making in some parts of the business.

Now make a list of the things that you would like in the business to work better, stop irritating you or improve your financial position. Is cash-flow an issue for the business, or is something else holding you back?

Make your Wish List.

Things you’d like more of
Things you’d like less of

Look At Your Business Objectively

Your business has a need to operate efficiently across a range of areas in order to work as effectively (and profitably) as it may. Very often, business owners start out in a business because they have a skill in one area, and may be very adept at performing that technical skill. Of course there are more responsibilities that need to happen for the business to run smoothly.

A good business needs a Vision for what it is to become, so that everything that happens in the business can reflect that and move the business in the direction of fulfilling that ambition. Employees need to know what the owner has in mind, in order to buy-in and help deliver that end result.

It needs sound financial management and effective marketing so as to drive new business, and great customer service to ensure repeat business and referrals to drive that cash-flow which is the engine of any business.

A business needs good employees and good employees need good systems to follow, good management to inspire their loyalty, and good standards for delivery of product and services.

In each area of your business

Operations	Marketing
Financial Business Health	Sales
Customer Service	Service Delivery
Product & Service Standards	Information Technology
Employee Management	External Relationship Management
Procedures & Policies	Workplace Health & Safety

*Your business may have additional areas, EG Warehouse, Inventory management, Point of Sale, etc

Review

Write down the top 3 things in each section of the business you’d most like to change.

Be sure to include all areas of the business. Be sure to include any items that are particularly prone to producing stress in the workplace for yourself, or friction with employees.

Commit

Write down the actions for each change that has to happen.

Write down the deadline for this to be finished.

Write down who is responsible for making this change happen.

Commit to this undertaking, no excuses.

Look At Your Strengths Objectively

As the business owner, the success of your business depends entirely on the quality of the decisions that you make.

What are the strengths that you bring to the business? What are those things within the business that only you can do? What are the things that you do in the business that someone else could do ... possibly better?

As the CEO of your own business, you understand that the needs of the business are separate from your needs as the Owner. Some things that may be your preference may well be bad for the business. Understanding the clear boundaries here is critical.