What Superman Would Do If He Found Kryptonite in His Small Business

INTRODUCTION:

We all have weaknesses. Recently when I talked about business planning and performing a SWOT analysis, it's fine to list these all down but that's not much good if you don't know how to correct them, minimise your threats and take advantage of your strengths and opportunities.

Today let's look at problem solving your weaknesses which Wendy Evans outlines in her book "How To Get New Business In 90 Days". These are simple and yet very effective techniques.

Figure 1: Problem solving your weaknesses in your business plan will make you bullett-proof.

1. What Is The Problem?

• Write down your problem;
• Then list 3 possible solutions;
• Ask yourself which one do you prefer.

2. What Caused The Problem?

You need to understand what caused the problem before you can fix it. You need to get to the root of the problem. If you fix a problem without addressing the cause it's just going to keep coming back. For example, your business runs out of cash so you inject some more funds into it. Two years later you're out of cash again. You haven't addressed the cause!

Maybe you need to:

• do a three way budget with cash flow forecasts;
• get a good small business accountant;
• set some KPIs;
• have a marketing plan;
• train your sales team;
• change debtor management; or
• have a business growth plan.

3. How does this Limit You?

Figuring out how much better things could be if you fix it will give you motivation.

How can you use this obstacle to become more successful?

Figure 2: Accepting weakness but then not fixing them is pointless. Your small business accountants Sydney will assist you.

4. WHAT Happens If You Don't Fix Them?

What are the long term consequences if you let the weaknesses remain? Are they catastrophic? Again a good motivator. What happens if you keep:

• A poisonous employee?
• A customer who doesn't pay on time but takes up a lot of time?
• A supplier whose products are faulty?

5. Is This A Recurring PROBLEM?

If so, why has this been the case? How do you make sure that you limit the chances of things recurring?

CONCLUSION:

Sitting down and working out what your weaknesses are can be a good exercise. Make it a positive experience not a negative.

What are your weaknesses in business and what are you doing to eliminate them?