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quite some time now I have been an entrepreneur and a Small Business
owner/operator. Working primarily on the Internet and utilizing many of the
services offered on the Net, I have seen a definite need for better
management practices among small business owners like myself who provide
their products and/or services via the Internet.
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It appears that many small businesses fail to address the 4 key elements
essential to overall business success. In any business, including small and
home-based businesses, there are 4 areas that remain constant when climbing
the ladder of success and eventually reaching the top.
1. Financial
2. Operations
3. Customer Service
4. Research/Knowledge/Education
When operating your business, you must address all of these elements
equally. The activities within each element can and do vary from business to
business, but the elements always remain the same. However, the individual
activities within each element sometimes need to be prioritized and
scheduled into a sequence. This is where it gets tough.
You must first realize the fact that the 4 elements individually, can and
will affect the overall success of your business.
- Financial burdens, shortcomings, overhead, costs and revenue are of
obvious concern and each will break a company's back.
- One unhappy customer can multiply into many, costing you profit and
lost sales.
- Not keeping up on the technology surrounding your business can place
you behind the rest of the pack causing sales to dwindle.
- Failing to maintain optimum efficiency can lead to lost profit as a
result of wasted efforts and materials.
You can now see the importance of controlling the 4 main elements of
business success, and define and control the activities within each of the 4
main elements. How do you do it?
You must first define and breakdown each of the 4 element in terms of how
they apply to your business. You must then determine what needs to be
measured and how you will measure it. This needs to be done for the overall
4 elements and the sub-activities or sub-goals within the elements.
Each of the activities within an element becomes a measurable factor of
the element. Each activity has a relevant importance factor or weight within
the main element that it resides. The resulting outputs or data collected
over time provides you with.
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1. Up to date facts based on results not assumptions.
2. Data that can be used to optimize each activity thus enhancing the
overall performance of the element itself.
3. A trail of how each activity is performing in relation to the
element.
4. The knowledge of knowing what is working and what is not working.
5. The ability to better prioritize the activities into a ranking that will
allow you to better focus your efforts.
When you operate your business based on analysis of the activities within
the 4 basic elements of business success, you address your business success
by assembling the overall picture which enables you see the picture much
clearer.
It is my sincere hope that all who read this article will consider the
importance of measuring their business, focusing equally on each element. In
doing this, all will benefit. The customers will be better served, your
efforts will be optimized, knowledge will be increased and overall success
will be sooner realized.
-- Article written by Douglas Lukas. For more information on Douglas
Lukas or information concerning this article visit his website at http://www.business-bytes.com
January 7, 2003
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