Over the years,
we’ve had the opportunity to work with and observe dozens of
businesses. The ingenuity of entrepreneurs and the variety of
businesses they create never cease to amaze and fascinate us.
Starting with just an idea, entrepreneurs add their specialized
knowledge, sales skill, drive, dedication and plain old-fashioned
elbow grease to building a company. With all of this going for them,
why aren’t they all wildly successful?
Well, consider
the elements of a successful business. I’ve already mentioned
several; namely, a great idea, sales skill, drive, dedication and
hard work. What’s missing? Excellent business operations! It may not
be as exciting as selling that fabulous idea, but without efficient
and effective operations, success can be elusive. We have seen
profitable business leave many dollars on the table, marginal
business barely survive, and even good businesses fail, all as the
result of business operations that aren’t up to snuff.
So, how does
one tackle an area as broad as “business operations”? Break the task
into manageable chunks, and then tackle them one by one. Our
experience has shown us that there are twelve facets of business
operations that need attention and action in order to build and
sustain a successful, growing business. The sequence may change for
each company, depending on their priorities, but the operational
steps remain, a 12- step program for business owners.
Here are the 12
steps, as we define them at Next Step Solutions:
- Business Structure & Governance
- Business Finance
- Business Processes
- Technology
- Physical Plant
- Legal
- Customer Service/Relationship Management
- Personnel
- Management
- Building Your Advisory Team
- Leadership & the Role of the CEO
- Planning
Working through
the steps and taking purposeful action in each one of these areas of
business operations can make a significant difference for a
business, moving it toward excellence. With this final element in
place, a company has a solid foundation for growth and greater
profitability. After all, profit is NOT a four-letter word, right?
During the next few months, we will delve into each step,
here in our e-newsletter and in a series of articles and
seminars.
We will begin
with a free teleseminar: 12 Steps to Business Operational
Excellence – An Overview. The teleseminar will run approximately
1 hour and will cover the entire 12-step process in brief. The
current schedule is as follows:
- Thursday, December 14th, 3:30 PM
- Thursday, January 4th, 3:30 PM
- Monday, February 5th, 3:30 PM
In addition, we
will have more detailed teleseminars on each of the 12 steps.
- Business Owners Anonymous – 12 Steps to Business
Operational Excellence. This complete package, including all
12 teleseminars and several consulting sessions, starts on January
9, 2007. Press
here for flyer.
- 12 Steps to Business Operational Excellence – One Step at a
Time. We will be offering individual teleseminars on each of
the 12 steps in 2007. We will announce the schedule soon!
For information and to enroll for any of the sessions,
please call 425.918.1910, email info@nextstepsolutions.com, or surf
over to www.nextstepsolutions.com.
Over the years,
we’ve had the opportunity to work with and observe dozens of
businesses. The ingenuity of entrepreneurs and the variety of
businesses they create never cease to amaze and fascinate us.
Starting with just an idea, entrepreneurs add their specialized
knowledge, sales skill, drive, dedication and plain old-fashioned
elbow grease to building a company. With all of this going for them,
why aren’t they all wildly successful?
As noted above,
Next Step Solutions, Inc. is offering a unique 90-day tele-seminar
and tele-consulting program for business leaders. We distilled the
best of our operations knowledge into a 12-step program we call
“Business Owners Anonymous: A 12 Step Program to Business
Operational Excellence”. We have packaged it to maximize value
in time and dollars for busy business owners.
