I've met quite a few people who didn't really start on a career in the world of work until they were in their mid-20s. They had fun in their teens; didn't do much at school; had a family early on; and started working when their children started school. Now, they are great employees, or qualified professionals, or running their own small businesses - fantastic.
Sage qualified bookkeeper
"I took a part-time job as a receptionist and when the bookkeeper was about to go on holiday the MD asked me if I could maintain the ledger while they were away. The bookkeeper was very kind and showed me what to do, and actually I found it quite easy.
Up to that point I had no idea that I would be capable of doing the books. The company encouraged me and gave me some training, and I am now working in the accounts department in quite a well-paid job."
Start-up home-based business
"After my kids went to school, as I had no qualifications to speak of and was interested in cooking, I decided to train as a chef. This was good for me as not only did they teach me to cook, they also taught me how to plan a menu, and how to plan and carry out the work in the kitchen to produce good quality food, on time.
My mum loves my food, and is always telling me how capable I am. It was her faith in me that encouraged me to start up on my own, and after working for a while in a job that didn't really fire me up, I decided to start up my own business, working from home. My business is growing and I really happy to have taken the plunge."
It is never too late
These are great examples of people who made a second start in their mid-20s. You have to admire them for realising that they could make a success of their working lives even though they had virtually nothing to show from school. All it needed was for someone to give them a chance and the encouragement to just go for it.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Discover hidden talents: get to know your staff
You want to make a change to your business and you need someone in a particular role. Take a look at your own staff first as you may find the capability there.
They would be delighted if you offered them the chance to develop their career in a new direction, and you could be up and running faster as they already know your business.
Talk to your staff about their interests
As well as building a good team spirit in your company, talking to your staff about themselves can spring surprises. Outside work they could be doing something as a hobby or in a charitable service organization that bears no relation to the sort of work they do for you.
And it could be that they have always wanted to build this into their career but haven't found a way to do it - early on they took a particular direction and got qualifications in an area that they are OK with but it doesn't really fire them up.
They get their real kicks out of what they do outside.
Don't waste that talent
So what are we talking about? Here are some ideas. You employee might be:
What does this say about them? The are showing skills and above all an interest in marketing, project management, administration, bookkeeping, management, networking, and in the last example, a real desire to put something back into their community.
They could possibly do any of this for you also. Give them the chance and even offer them some training.
They would be delighted if you offered them the chance to develop their career in a new direction, and you could be up and running faster as they already know your business.
Talk to your staff about their interests
As well as building a good team spirit in your company, talking to your staff about themselves can spring surprises. Outside work they could be doing something as a hobby or in a charitable service organization that bears no relation to the sort of work they do for you.
And it could be that they have always wanted to build this into their career but haven't found a way to do it - early on they took a particular direction and got qualifications in an area that they are OK with but it doesn't really fire them up.
They get their real kicks out of what they do outside.
Don't waste that talent
So what are we talking about? Here are some ideas. You employee might be:
- chief fundraiser for a small charity,
- organizing fit-ups outside - staging, lighting, sound, seating, dealing with acts and property owners - for amateur stage shows,
- secretary, treasurer or even chairman of a 200-member club or service organization, or
- a member of Round Table or a Rotary Club, or a Mason.
What does this say about them? The are showing skills and above all an interest in marketing, project management, administration, bookkeeping, management, networking, and in the last example, a real desire to put something back into their community.
They could possibly do any of this for you also. Give them the chance and even offer them some training.
A perfect example
Some years ago before I escaped into the world of business, I worked on clean nuclear power - nuclear fusion - in a government lab. We were looking for someone to head up a new £10 million experimental facility and we offered the post to a theoretician - someone who knew the physics inside-out and could do the maths and computing.
But what about his engineering skills? Well - I knew that this person, outside work, rebuilt cars as a hobby. He knew a bit about mechanical work and electronics, and how to put it all together to make it work - to pass its MOT and run on the road.
He was a great choice, and, supported by professional engineers and physicists, what a great career move that was for him.
This could work for you and your business in junior positions as well as senior roles up to board level. Give it a try.
Monday, 16 May 2011
You could save money by outsourcing
Imagine how you would feel if you discovered you could save £18,000 per year by outsourcing 80% of the work done by an employee to specialist.
As a small business owner you would be kicking yourself for wasting thousands of pounds and for recruiting someone who turned out not to have all of the required skills.
You would question your own judgement for not realising the full-time job you filled was not a full-time job after all - you looked for a full-time employee before your business was ready, and you should have explored outsourcing from the outset.
And sheepishly, you would confess to your business advisor who had been trying to get you to make this change for many months. Your business consultant would be trying hard not to gloat - we try not to gloat, it's unprofessional!
Four days to do 6 hours work
This happened recently to a client. When he started up he took on a full-time finance manager but, competent at certain aspects of the job, this person struggled with the bookkeeping even after further training.
Exasperated, the MD outsourced the bookkeeping to a specialist and it turned out that the employee was taking 4 days to do what the outsourced bookkeeper was able to do in 6 hours per week.
And furthermore the MD was surprised and delighted that the bookkeeper produced exactly the management information he needed, and on time - a great improvement over his own employee. Clearly the employee was not going to master bookkeeping and was in the wrong job.
When to recruit?
As an early-stage small business, you are ill advised to take on full time staff, especially in back office functions such as bookkeeping, personnel, IT support and QA, until you know can save time and money by doing so.
Except where your business genuinely requires close-up support, consider outsourcing the work to specialists with the required skills:
As a small business owner you would be kicking yourself for wasting thousands of pounds and for recruiting someone who turned out not to have all of the required skills.
You would question your own judgement for not realising the full-time job you filled was not a full-time job after all - you looked for a full-time employee before your business was ready, and you should have explored outsourcing from the outset.
And sheepishly, you would confess to your business advisor who had been trying to get you to make this change for many months. Your business consultant would be trying hard not to gloat - we try not to gloat, it's unprofessional!
Four days to do 6 hours work
This happened recently to a client. When he started up he took on a full-time finance manager but, competent at certain aspects of the job, this person struggled with the bookkeeping even after further training.
Exasperated, the MD outsourced the bookkeeping to a specialist and it turned out that the employee was taking 4 days to do what the outsourced bookkeeper was able to do in 6 hours per week.
And furthermore the MD was surprised and delighted that the bookkeeper produced exactly the management information he needed, and on time - a great improvement over his own employee. Clearly the employee was not going to master bookkeeping and was in the wrong job.
When to recruit?
As an early-stage small business, you are ill advised to take on full time staff, especially in back office functions such as bookkeeping, personnel, IT support and QA, until you know can save time and money by doing so.
Except where your business genuinely requires close-up support, consider outsourcing the work to specialists with the required skills:
- Seek advice and scope the job properly: work out how many hours per week the job should take - write a proper Job Description;
- Ask someone with relevant experience to help you find the right company or person, and place a proper contract with them;
- Leave the decision to take on a full time employee until you can see that the total time spend on that function by your own staff and the contractor is at least 40 hours per week; and
- Always think about the potential negative impact on your business of using people who are not trained, or are not competent, in specialist roles.
Monday, 9 May 2011
More for less
I used to work with an MD who, every year in the budgeting round to set the annual plan, would ask for growth in sales with reduced overall expenses. We were in a large global manufacturing business, and of course his objective, even in a difficult market, was to achieve growth in operating profit to provide funds for investment in growth and returns to shareholders.
I didn't like this!
Now, while I was happy to grow my business unit's sales, I felt that having already delivered cost reductions in previous years I was not happy to keep on finding more and more savings. The staff were fully loaded and I couldn't afford to lose anyone; and we'd reduced material costs and pared overheads to the bone.
But what do you do? You just get on with it. You realise that it is important for a business that all of the senior staff are aligned with the company's goals. In fact the MD's 'more for less' challenge was just a reminder that in a difficult market you have to grab what net margin you can, and in our heart of hearts we realised that.
My staff didn't like it either!
They also felt they were working as hard as they could and had delivered all the savings they could. But there is always more to be found if you know where to look. Working together you have to be creative and imaginative, and work it out.
A maxim for a small business
So, I think 'more for less' is not a bad maxim to work by whatever the size of your business. Even if you run a small business, cost reduction should be part of your continual improvement strategy: get it right and it can increase the funds you have available to pay yourself as well as re-invest in the business.
And if you need to borrow, you'll definitely be more convincing if - alongside your passion for your business and your vision for a brighter future - you can show you are determined to keep a continual downwards pressure on costs. Engage your staff and get them to help you deliver it.
I didn't like this!
Now, while I was happy to grow my business unit's sales, I felt that having already delivered cost reductions in previous years I was not happy to keep on finding more and more savings. The staff were fully loaded and I couldn't afford to lose anyone; and we'd reduced material costs and pared overheads to the bone.
But what do you do? You just get on with it. You realise that it is important for a business that all of the senior staff are aligned with the company's goals. In fact the MD's 'more for less' challenge was just a reminder that in a difficult market you have to grab what net margin you can, and in our heart of hearts we realised that.
My staff didn't like it either!
They also felt they were working as hard as they could and had delivered all the savings they could. But there is always more to be found if you know where to look. Working together you have to be creative and imaginative, and work it out.
A maxim for a small business
So, I think 'more for less' is not a bad maxim to work by whatever the size of your business. Even if you run a small business, cost reduction should be part of your continual improvement strategy: get it right and it can increase the funds you have available to pay yourself as well as re-invest in the business.
And if you need to borrow, you'll definitely be more convincing if - alongside your passion for your business and your vision for a brighter future - you can show you are determined to keep a continual downwards pressure on costs. Engage your staff and get them to help you deliver it.
Monday, 2 May 2011
All brand and no sales
I'm reminded of the old saying 'all mouth and no trousers'. I'll explain.
There is a lot of sentiment around on using social media to help you build your brand. But, of course, having a great presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and elsewhere will not necessarily bring you additional sales on the time-scale you need.
The same can be said about having a great website. Why?
Who are your customers?
With social media, you have to ask yourself the question: what percentage of the clients I am going after (or people who could refer me to these clients) use these platforms? And then the second question: do I expect this percentage to increase with time and how fast?
Your answers to these two questions should set your social media strategy for your business. If, in all honesty, most of your your clients are not on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc., you can't justify social media being the main thrust of your current marketing effort - they should be just part of your overall marketing mix.
The same is true for your website. If most of your clients don't search the web for their suppliers, you have the same issue.
This is what I mean by 'all mouth and no trousers'. You can be as vocal as you like on these web platforms, but if it does not bring in new sales.....
Slow burn
That said, having a well-honed social media presence and website is a must. The number of people using them is increasing, and as time goes on you can expect to see more and more of your own clients beginning to make use of them also.
So even if the short term returns are low, in the long run the benefits begin will flow to those who have taken the time to develop their web-presence.
It makes you think
And, embarking on a social media campaign certainly does make you think. It makes you think about your brand and how to put it over to your target audience.
Even if you spend just a few minutes on it every day and look at the response, you can begin to see the impact you are having on your stakeholders. You can then think about it and adjust your approach to see if it increases the impact - and you can even feed your best ideas back into your website copy.
A benefit worth having, I'd say!
There is a lot of sentiment around on using social media to help you build your brand. But, of course, having a great presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and elsewhere will not necessarily bring you additional sales on the time-scale you need.
The same can be said about having a great website. Why?
Who are your customers?
With social media, you have to ask yourself the question: what percentage of the clients I am going after (or people who could refer me to these clients) use these platforms? And then the second question: do I expect this percentage to increase with time and how fast?
Your answers to these two questions should set your social media strategy for your business. If, in all honesty, most of your your clients are not on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc., you can't justify social media being the main thrust of your current marketing effort - they should be just part of your overall marketing mix.
The same is true for your website. If most of your clients don't search the web for their suppliers, you have the same issue.
This is what I mean by 'all mouth and no trousers'. You can be as vocal as you like on these web platforms, but if it does not bring in new sales.....
Slow burn
That said, having a well-honed social media presence and website is a must. The number of people using them is increasing, and as time goes on you can expect to see more and more of your own clients beginning to make use of them also.
So even if the short term returns are low, in the long run the benefits begin will flow to those who have taken the time to develop their web-presence.
It makes you think
And, embarking on a social media campaign certainly does make you think. It makes you think about your brand and how to put it over to your target audience.
Even if you spend just a few minutes on it every day and look at the response, you can begin to see the impact you are having on your stakeholders. You can then think about it and adjust your approach to see if it increases the impact - and you can even feed your best ideas back into your website copy.
A benefit worth having, I'd say!
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