EVERY DECEMBER, Marshall Cobb huddles with his board of directors to review Cobb Retirement Solutions LLC’s previous year’s performance—and future path.
OK, so the annual meeting is required of all chartered retirement consultants in Texas. And because Cobb is the only director, the huddle is a one-man brainstorming session. But he makes time each year to break out a folder of business tips and strategies he clips throughout the year and see how they apply to his Brenham, Texas, outfit.
From technology to work-life balance, from hiring new people to successful marketing techniques, Cobb lists a half-dozen promises to help guide his coming year—and hopefully boost his business.
“When you put those promises in writing, that’s the only way to be honest about it,” says Cobb, a Costco member who bounces all of his ideas off his wife before implementing them. “I want my promises to be proactive, as opposed to reactive.”
It’s a curse felt by many entrepreneurs. They get so caught up in the business and process that they rarely stop, step back, review the year just past and see if they’re where they want to be.
Make yourself a promise: Consider these ways to refocus your business for the coming year—and beyond.
< Seek new markets and products. In 2004, Bob Bloom opened Ink & Toner USA as a one-store ink refill shop in West Palm Beach, Florida. During a brainstorming session, he and his wife, Jane, envisioned a franchise-like licensing program to expand the model. Today, a handful of independent operators have signed on, were trained by the Blooms and give the company a presence—and an income from—elsewhere in the U.S.
< Watch the numbers. Neel Roberts of Personal Tax Consultants Canada in Vulcan, Alberta, watches his clients’ numbers as closely as his own. They meet at year-end—and year-round—to review the figures, pore over every (and he means every) receipt and plan for the coming year. Says Roberts, “How can I maintain or improve my market position and how do I keep the bottom line profitable in the next fiscal year?
< Know the hard numbers. How were
sales, employee turnover, cus-
tomer retention, accounts
receivable aging and net profits
this year? Some entrepreneurs
don’t know to ask—or where to
find the answers, says Tom
Tworoger, director of entrepre-
neurship with Nova South-
eastern University in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida. “Sit with
your key people and ask
them what is really impor-
tant to your company.”
< Know your trends. Automakers
steer new-car buyers to dealer shops for all
warranty work. Auto leasing means fewer peo-
ple will own cars beyond the factory warranty
period. Alan Gelman knows these trends will
affect GlennAlan Motors in Toronto. So when
It’s a curse felt by
many entrepreneurs.
They get so caught up
in the business … that
they rarely stop,
step back, review the
year just past.
the auto shop’s fiscal year ends in May each
year, they adjust staffing, marketing and train-
ing, says Gelman, who’s attended business
classes to stay atop business operations at the
10-person shop (which was named “Most
Honest Garage” by a local publication three
years running). “You really have to keep your
finger on it.”
< Know your market. Knowing that retire-
ment planning is best sold by word of mouth,
not pricey ads, Cobb last year promised him-
self that he would boost marketing. He talked
to clients and competitors—yes, his rivals
shared their insights. He hired a publicist,
revamped his Web site and implemented
search-engine marketing efforts.
< Become “the expert.” White papers
and articles generate human and search-
engine attention. Cobb this year began writ-
ARTVILLE
ing articles for industry journals, turning the
clips into stuffers for his marketing kit and
links on his new Web site.
< Tap tech, go virtual. Cobb and his
employees live up to 1,400 miles apart from
one another. They all can access the $100-a-
month Web-based data management system
the company subscribes to. Ditto for contact
management, financial planning and other
online applications.
< Grow your space. After five years of
working from home, JustPaperRoses.com
founder Jeff Block needed some space. He
moved to Milledgeville in central Georgia to
find a lower cost of living, a bucolic setting—
and office lease rates one-third the price of
those in south Florida.
< Think people power. Think labor’s
costly? Block found that paying a part-timer
freed up his schedule—and mind. “For [$800]
a month,” he says, “I’d rather hire someone.”
< Make time for you. In 2006, after run-
ning recruiting firm Hues Consulting &
Management Inc. in Atlanta alone for years,
Costco member Adrienne Graham resolved
to hire her sister, Andrea—giving Adrienne a
new sounding board and the chance to cross
off some to-dos: professional and personal
development, and branching into interna-
tional recruiting. She’s earning a certification,
and networks in associations and trade
groups. “I’ve crossed some off my list,”
she admits. “The rest can be accomplished
next year.” C
Jeff Zbar ( jeff@goinsoho.com) is a writer and author who works from his home in Florida.
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