Why Say No

Some small business entrepreneurs want to own their own business in order to say Yes—Yes, I want to buy that desk. Yes, I’m going to hire you. Yes, I’ll take the assignment. Yes, I’m going to take today off. But the real power is in knowing when to say No. It is often said you shouldn’t go shopping when you are hungry because you’ll buy out the store and pick everything that is not good for you. The same rule applies when you are growing your business. The short-term advantages of a Yes today could be far outweighed by the long-term disadvantages tomorrow.

The trap many small businesses fall into is when they assume that being busy and being successful are one and the same. Or they take assignments/orders based on the need to pay the rent or salaries. While these are very real reasons to accept an order, they may be costly and destructive to your future. Many businesses handle fewer orders but are more profitable than competitors. Some businesses enjoy tremendous profit margins from small ticket orders. They just happen to write many small but profitable orders each day, having learned to process small orders efficiently. Success is not always based on gross sales. But staying in business is based on being profitable.

If you learn to say no to the wrong opportunities, you will create a vacuum to be filled by the right opportunities. Have you ever been forced to turn down an order because you were too busy processing other less profitable orders? If only you had turned down that last-minute request for a special order needed right away, you could have had the time for the good order. Picking and choosing opportunities may seem like a luxury, but it’s a necessity for survival and growth. There is a caution, however; don’t be arrogant or too picky without thinking the opportunity through.

The key is to have a formal business plan and marketing strategy in place to use as a basis for these decisions. I have found much comfort and relief in turning down an opportunity that was not on strategy for my company, since I had already determined which clients I do want to service. When I am approached by a prospect or when I go out proactively searching for new business, my internal radar directs me to the most appropriate situations and away from the undesirable ones. Through experience, I have learned to distinguish the good from the bad.

Saying No To Customers Or Prospects

Not every assignment or sale is right for your company or the best use of your time. Every small business owner has at least a few customers they refer to as the “one day customers,” those with potential. One day, I’ll make money on this customer. They look good on our client list and one day, they will be profitable for us. This is just a learning experience until we get to know each other better and one day, we’ll see some profit. Sometimes that day never comes. You have invested hours or days into a relationship and it can be difficult to let go. “If I hold on just a little longer I’m sure the big order will come.” Sound familiar? It is important to be realistic about opportunities. I’m not suggesting that you walk away from an opportunity just because it isn’t the big order right off the bat; I am saying, take a good hard look at each situation honestly and with a view to the future. You have the power to say No and it might save you from future anxiety.

Saying No To Employees

You don’t want to diminish the enthusiasm of your staff or associated companies. Their ideas may be good, but not appropriate for your company at this time. Try building on their idea instead of killing it. The way it was presented may not fit with your current plans for the future of your company. Perhaps the suggestion will be better suited later on. Be open to new ideas as the next concept may be the one that takes your business to a new level. Write it down and place it in a ‘bring forward’ file. You never know where the next great idea or insight will come from. Sometimes an outside source can see things a little more objectively or clearly. An internal staff member may have more direct customer interaction and therefore be better suited to recognize real customer needs.

How To Say No

1. Quickly — You want to say no quickly but not without giving the situation a reasonable amount of thought. In some cases, the person who came to you needs to make alternative arrangements and your decision will impact their next steps.

2. With An Explanation — An explanation for saying no may be required so they understand your reasoning and do not ask for the same thing again. Due to circumstances beyond your control, you may not be able to provide the caliber of service this time, but would appreciate an opportunity next time.

3. Politely — Arrogance will always jump out and bite you, usually at the most inappropriate time.

4. In Writing — Some situations require a more formal approach and in the process of writing out your reasons, you will give yourself the opportunity to thoroughly examine the situation.

And that’s According 2 Eric

Eric Gilboord is a specialist in making marketing easy for business owner/operators and any staff with sales or marketing responsibility. He demystifies marketing so they can use it to generate sales today and grow their businesses faster. Eric believes in blending traditional marketing with new media/social media. ROI is a must.
Eric is a popular speaker, coach, columnist and author of many articles and books on moving a business up to the next level. The Expert Business Calls for Marketing Advice… That’s Easy to Understand.
For more information call 416-686-2466. To sign up for his marketing tips newsletter and to read his blog please visit: www.EricGilboord.com. Follow Eric on Twitter (ericgilboord). Find Eric on LinkedIn. Eric’s ‘Get It Done’ Treasure Map Marketing Plan Workshop Show Me the Way.

As the famous year-end anthem goes…

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?”

It’s also a good opportunity to re-evaluate your 2010 business strategy and review what worked and what didn’t, in order to improve upon your 2011 business plan.

The Government of Canada has some helpful templates you can use.

As another business year comes to a close, all of us at Staples wish you prosperity, health and happiness in 2011.

(Please note that some Staples stores will operate on shortened store hours and will be closed in most provinces and territories on New Year’s Day. Check with your local store for more information.)

Rachel Swiednicki is a professional communicator, with ten years of experience in the communications industry. Eight of those years were spent as a journalist before moving into a career in public relations/corporate communications.

The shortest plan – the executive summary – is sometimes all that investors use to evaluate whether they’re interested in your company. Sometimes it’s a stand-alone document, but more often than not, it’s a short introduction or synopsis to a larger business plan. Don’t let its position at the front or its length fool you. An executive summary has been likened to a movie trailer: it may not give your audience the whole story, but it better have enough to catch their attention and get them to pay for the full-length feature.

Entrepreneur magazine suggests your executive summary be no longer than one page. If it’s longer:

“…nobody’s going to read it because it’ll be very clear … the principals are indecisive and don’t really know what they want.”

And the summary should clearly convey to the reader – in other words, the investor – exactly what you’re looking for:

“This is very important. All too often, what the business owner desires is buried on page eight. Clearly state what you’re asking for…”

The five key elements  to writing an executive summary are:

1. What’s the business concept? Describe exactly what will be sold, who your target is and why your business will have a competitive advantage.

2. What are the financial features? Highlight sales, profit, cash flow and ROI details.

3. What do you want? Outline the capital you’re looking for to start or expand your business and what equity you may be providing for funding.

4. Who’s in charge? Provide information about when your company started and who the owners and other team members are.

5. What have you done lately? Offer up any details about recent achievements like patents or prototypes, test-marketing results, as well as any contracts for product development that investors might want to know about.

Click here for examples of some useful executive summaries.

Unsure about what information to include in the summary? Send us your question!

For years, my dental hygienist nudged me about the importance of flossing. It was just like Groundhog Day every time I visited. For years I nodded, flossed for the next couple of days then forgot again until just before the next visit. (BTW, after years of embarrassment, I finally learned my lesson and floss every day.)

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly, you may have noticed a lot of nudging from us about putting together a business plan. The reason is, like flossing, even if it might seem like a bother, developing a plan is one of the most important things you can do for your enterprise’s long-term health – especially if you’re a startup.

Says Michael Eisenberg, an accountant who’s worked with small business owners for more than 30 years:

“When you’re building a business from the ground up, you’re taking a bigger risk than if you were buying an existing business or a franchise with some operating history… And if you’re trying to raise money from others, they’re going to want to see your business plan…”

But while everyone agrees about the importance of a plan, it turns out there are a lot of ways to write one. In fact, BusinessWeek’s David E Gumpert says there are five common ones to consider:

1. Executive summary: A cohesive and engaging two-page mini business plan that covers your business’s strategy, management team, market, product or service, sales plan and finances. (I’ll talk more in depth about an executive summary in an upcoming post.)

2. Synopsis: Gumpert calls this an executive summary on steroids – “the emphasis here is less on the particulars of the idea and more on why the idea is especially relevant to the investor.”

3. Summary business plan: 10 pages or less, it will include an executive summary plus a page each on components such as your product, market, competition, marketing and finances. Gumpert says this is the most common type of plan requested by prospective investors.

4. Full business plan: A traditional 25- to 35-page document with full marketing data, financial projects and more.

5. Operational business plan: The Godzilla of business plans, this type of plan can be 50 pages or more and is usually developed not just to raise money, but to plan how your business will operate.

Here is a fantastic resource on writing your business plan – you’ll want to check it out.

And, of course, speak to your accountant, possibly the best person to turn to before you get started.

Any questions about writing your startup’s business plan? We’d love to help if we can.

Scott Shane at Case Western has a few interesting theories, but I think he’s hit on something with what he calls the “Just Do It theory”:

“The Nike motto is very appealing to people eager to get their businesses started. Writing a business plan doesn’t have the action-oriented appeal of hiring employees or setting up shop and is skipped by those in a hurry to get their dreams under way. That action orientation, combined with a heavy dose of optimism, leads many entrepreneurs to skip the writing step.”

Which reminds me of an adorable TV commercial from Ally Bank, in which a smarmy banker gives a girl a bike then tells her she can only ride it within a tiny outlined area on the ground.

For many entrepreneurs who want to just hop on their bikes and share their big ideas with the world, a business plan can feel like that confining rectangle.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned previously and as most business professionals insist, drafting a business plan is a step to seriously consider. Even if your business is well under way, take a step back and write up a plan.

And what should go into your business plan? To start, BizLaunch suggests you should

1. Prepare a professional-looking Title Page and Table of Contents.
2. Prepare an Executive Summary. (Makes space for it, but fill it in last.) It highlights the “who, what, where and why” of  your small business.
3. Write a Business Description. Tell your readers about your product(s)/services(s), your industry, what makes your business unique and why you believe it will succeed. Write a Mission Statement and include yourBusiness Vision.
4. Draft a Marketing Plan. The most important section of your plan presents your sales objectives, strategies to achieve them and tactics to be engaged. It should also include your Market.

The vital steps to developing your business plan continue here.

You’ll find more great resources for writing your plan here and here.

If you’ve already written a plan, why not leave a comment and let other readers know why you believe it’s important.

Not that a plan is the be-all and end-all.

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight Eisenhower, US President, 1953-1961.

As General – and then President – Eisenhower understood, you want to write a business plan not because you expect everything to go according to plan, but because the process of planning helps you:

1.    Organize your thoughts and ideas
2.    Be realistic about the financial future of your business
3.    Understand the life/work implications of your choices
4.    Anticipate problems and develop proactive solutions
5.    Discover the real value of your offering
6.    Communicate better with your partners, staff and suppliers
7.    Focus your efforts

Whether you want to meet with potential investors or a property manager about leasing office space, a good business plan is a necessity. It shows that you’re serious about your business, and that you have a vision and roadmap to make it succeed.

In an upcoming post, I’ll offer more details about getting your business plan started. In the meantime, you can learn more by clicking “Your Small Business Plan” from our partners at BizLaunch.

What questions and concerns do you have about writing a business plan?