Entrepreneurs Circle comes to Lampeter!

Black Lion
High Street
Lampeter
This Tuesday July 5th @ 6pm

The content delivered in this session has received great responses from new and established business owners alike. With people going away buzzing with ideas that will improve their business and help profits.
Come along to this free session to see how the Entrepreneurs Circle could work for you!

A local session at a convenient time that could really be the start of things getting better for your business. However you feel about the business climate things can be better but we  have to make it happen!

Customer Service

When I ask businesses what their strengths are customer service gets mentioned in a huge majority of replies. As small businesses it is something we can do so much better than the big boys, How many people think that the MacDonald’s “enjoy your meal” is heartfelt?

But I think we are all in danger of forgetting is that customer satisfaction is a moving target, what was exceptional yesterday will be taken for granted today. Look at how the John Lewis – never knowingly undersold has been overtaken by people offering to refund the difference, and then the difference plus, and so on.

If we stand still then our large competitors find ways of competing with our customer service and neutralise it as a competitive advantage. So we have to keep innovating to stay ahead! But it is worth it because good customer service directly feeds into our bottom line because customers come back to us, they are likely to spend more, they recommend and talk about us, and they are less concerned about getting the cheapest deal. So if you are being completely honest do you give customer service the attention it deserves?

In this tough market place suppose you could get an extra 3% on all sales, what would that do for your profits?

At the Entrepreneurs Circle in Carmarthen on Tuesday 14th 6.00pm we will be exploring ways of improving customer service. Let me know if you would like to come along.

In the meantime – have a nice day! Chris

01550 760141 or reply to this email to claim your place

Important v. Urgent

Way back in my youth- along with steam trains and Listen with Mother- somebody explained to me the difference between important and urgent!

Something that has to be done by a certain time is urgent – like buying a lottery ticket or drinking your lager before it warms up – but neither of these is really important. Important things are just that and whether or not you do them can have a serious effect on your life.

This distinction comes to mind whenever I talk to people about marketing and developing their business because no matter how important you think working on your business is, I am willing to bet that the Urgency of the ringing phone will always take you away from it!

If you want to improve your business you have to find time away from it – now I would suggest the Entrepreneurs Circle at this point -  please come to my event on June 2^nd - CLICK
HERE for details or copy this into your browser http://www.smebusinessevents.co.uk/south-west-wales

But whatever you do take some time out to spend on your business – it is so important to you and your family but is never urgent. How many of us have been meaning to get something done for years without it ever getting to the top of the to do list!

Of course some things are important and urgent like remembering your wedding anniversary before your wife reminds you!!!!

Know your numbers

If you are somebody who got into running your own business because you like whatever it is you do, you may be one of thousands who hate keeping the books. Quite simple some people love figures and some do not, life would be boring if we were all the same.

I am not saying you should keep up to date for the tax or vat man, but I do think that knowing which products make you the most money, and whether or not you made money last week or last month are truly important – because you can try and sell  more of the things that are the most profitable, and you can see what a discount does to your bottom line.

I think we both know how easy it is not to make a profit but having a handle on your numbers makes it less difficult!

If you know how much money you are making as you go along you can do more of the good things and less of the not so good things.

For these reasons finding out from your accountant 3 months after the year-end is never going to work!

It is obvious really but we get so hung up on sales that it is easy to lose sight of the numbers.

Whether you do them yourself or you outsource the work is not important, but knowing your numbers is –because it will help you make better business decisions – it is even more important if your finances are tight.

Knowing your numbers is a prime example of being important but not urgent – More of that next time. But for now not knowing your numbers is like getting on a plane and not knowing how much fuel is in the tank or how far you are going?

I hope you can make June 2^nd this will be an evening that can really change your future!  Bookings line will be open soon but if you would like more information email or call 01550 739 016

Not making a profit means we are engaged in a hobby not a business!

But getting paid is sometimes harder than it should be!
There are 3 reasons people do not pay

• They had no intention of paying
• They are dissatisfied or have a genuinely felt
  grievance
• They are opportunists

Though I suppose there can also be a combination of all or some of these motives!

Those with no intention to pay are the hardest to deal with,
they are generally better at playing the game than you, but I would say look out for new accounts or customers who have made a couple of small successful transactions and then place a large order.

Be aware of buying patterns – a customer who buys every 3 or
4 months could be sharing his business around suppliers and only paying when he needs to use them the next time.

Make sure your paperwork is in order – Terms &
Conditions need to be agreed before the invoice stage.

How many of us have not made somebody wait for payment because they did not do the job as promised?

If the truth be told probably all of us at some point! A particular hobby horse of mine is not leaving quality and customer service to the end, when it is too late and often too difficult to put things right – check with the client throughout the delivery of your
product or service to make sure they are happy and understand what is happening and why – when airports are closed at Christmas because of the weather or some natural disaster what is the complaint we hear most – lack of information!

Opportunists will just take advantage of our slackness in
not invoicing promptly or following up properly.

All of a sudden they owe 3 or 4 months and stand no chance
of paying it so they go somewhere else.

All of these non payment types need  good credit control, if you say they have 7 days to pay then make sure something happens in 7 days.   Suggest in the first instance you make a telephone call to make sure they are happy and ask when you expect to receive payment.  Do not send the final, final, now completely final, absolutely final warning demand!

Until it is paid for it is a gift!  A few more thoughts from Chris on this video http://youtu.be/gS8wQarWcR0 (Think there might be marginal improvement on my video skills especially since the first take!! – you decide)

Now have a Business Growth Advisor Fan P

Now have a Business Growth Advisor Fan Page – there will be daily updates with hints and tips so feel free to have a look http://ow.ly/4M165

Is now the time to be positive?

Even the tough business times we find ourselves in are opportunities for us. I can hear the disbelief as I type – but let me tell you why I think this is true.

Yes there may be fewer opportunities, but most of us have such a small percentage share of our market that even if the market halved we still only require a small percentage – say from 1 -2 percent?

In a market place where customers are looking for value and flexibility as small businesses we are best placed to offer this, we are quicker on our feet, have shorter command chains, are more flexible and are more in touch with our clients’ needs.  We tend not to be so good at selling ourselves, but we can learn that! ( so be honest how much time do you spend working ON  your business?)

The other reason to be positive is this – people trade down in this climate- and that can be really good news for us – the examples are endless, Car sales are down, well that means more service work for garages, Houses are not being built, but how many tradesmen do you know who are not busy with smaller jobs and The UK holiday industry is likely to have another great year.

VW got a great plug at the Royal Wedding when the extended Royal Family used a clutch of mini- coaches rather than a serious of limousines.

So I say let’s stop bowing to the prophets of doom & gloom – business is out there let’s go and get it!

If you are not sure what to do next then book onto the June 2^nd event while tickets are still cheap, the future starts today – Act Now For details about the Get Welsh Businesses Buzzin’ Event click here