Wyospace.com

Does your appearance say "I'm a professional?"

  By Anya Petersen-Frey, SBDC Director

Take a look in the mirror…

Books are judged by their covers, houses are assessed by their curb appeal, and people are initially appraised on how they choose to dress and act. First impressions count. In a perfect world this is not fair or right. What’s inside should count a great deal more, and usually it does, but not always immediately. In the meantime, many opportunities may be lost.

Many decisions about our appearance have been made for us.  Gender, skin color, height, etc. are beyond our control. We can, however, control how we portray ourselves to the outer world. The idea is to start at a place most visible, allowing for immediate, recognizable results. Wardrobe, grooming, and nonverbal communication are aspects apparent on the outside - to the outside world. Combined, these factors allow us to present ourselves as competent, knowledgeable, elegant, kind, powerful, or anything else we choose to convey.

We have approximately thirty seconds to communicate a strong message - good or bad. This has been determined as the average length of time it takes for someone meeting us to form a list of impressions about our character and abilities; including competence, personality, levels of success and sophistication, trustworthiness, humor, social heritage, and education.

In thirty seconds people form different impressions, based almost entirely on what they see—clothes, hairstyle, posture, smile, and other nonverbal communications. Thirty seconds doesn’t give you a lot of time to present a complete resume. It doesn’t give you time to explain all your training and abilities.

In the business world, appearance can make or break a deal. For example, a college career planning and placement center surveyed 150 employers; they discovered the number-one reason for rejecting an applicant, after the first interview, was poor personal appearance. Interestingly, those employers ranked poor appearance as more significant than being a “hostile, overbearing know-it-all” (reason no. 9) or “late for the interview without good reason” (reason no. 28).

What’s the bottom line? Like it or not, appearances count. As the speed of the business world accelerates the importance of a positive first impression matters as well.

Need Growth? Free Eureka! Winning Ways Seminar in Casper

 
Free Session - Thursday June 26, 2008

The Eureka! Winning Ways program is a scientific method to accelerate reliable growth in your business. The program is founded around the disciplined principles of Powell native Dr. Deming. The Eureka program helps businesses to develop their growth leadership skills, and to develop a real growth pipeline. The Eureka program will provide a systematic process that can help companies learn:

“Customer pull selling” – using the 3 laws of marketing physics
How to engage your entire team in growth
How to get products to market much faster
A system for continuous growth
Manufacturing-Works will provide a free growth assessment for any company that attends. This assessment will indicate how ready the company is to grow, and what obstacles that they may encounter. This program is not just for manufacturing companies. Eureka is for any company that is serious about growth.

The Results...
"The Eureka program is a key contributing factor to dramatically growing our sales in 2008. This disciplined program helped us to strengthen our marketing message. As a result we have launched a successful new analytical service and we will be introducing a new product soon. The Eureka program helped us to accomplish all this in five short months."
– Cory Fabrizius of Precision Analysis (Riverton, WY)

“The disciplined Eureka approach is improving our ability to step outside of our comfort zone during the new product development process. This allows us to increase the speed that products are introduced to market. Our growth coach has definitely helped us to remain focused and assisted with removing internal barriers by challenging our historical methods of product introduction.”
– Steve Watkins of Pertech Resources, Inc. (Riverton, WY)

Eureka Seminar Schedule

Morning – 7:30 to 9 a.m.
Afternoon – 12 to 1:30 p.m.
Evening – 5:30 to 7 p.m.

All seminars are held at McMurry Training Center facility 2220 N. Bryan Stock Trail Casper, WY

To Register
call Steve Elledge at 307.577.6012
or e-mail steve.elledge@wybusiness.org

Your mission, should you decide to accept it…

  By Anya Petersen-Frey, SBDC Director, Wyoming Entrepreneur.biz

Every business should have a mission statement and should also consider a vision and a values statement. The exercise of “visioning” and its complementary topics have often been overdone, but these are business elements often discussed then forgotten. A strong, clear mission can guide your company and help keep you focused, while a vision provides an overall framework presenting long term goals.

A company’s mission should be clear and meaningful. It should derive from values important to your company. Don’t worry about the wording; use terms appropriate to you. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose of my business”? How do I want to reflect my business values? What business am I in? Write notes as you brainstorm and later form into sentences. A mission statement should be a short statement constructed to (1) suggest an action, (2) identify this action only vaguely, and (3) include a social categorization. The second criteria allows for changes in specific goals as the company grows, without the need to rewrite the mission statement and to include all company interests. Mission or purpose is a precise description of what an organization does. It should describe the business the organization operates within. It is a definition of “why” the organization exists. Each member of an organization should be able to verbally express this mission.
Once you have defined what your business does, elevate the mission to a long term vision statement. Think about your business in five, ten or even fifteen years from now. Identify something real addressing your goals. Avoid vague statements. An artist might have a vision to “have my jewelry worn at the Oscars, or a similar entertainment event”; the mission might state something about the high quality unique styles to bring class to any outfit. The mission should be the day-to-day supports to help the business reach its larger vision.

A vision is a statement about what your organization wants to become. It should resonate with all members of the organization and help them feel proud, excited, and part of something much bigger than themselves. A vision should stretch the organization’s capabilities and image of itself. It gives shape and direction to the organization’s future. Vision statements can range in length from a couple of words to several pages; using just a few precise sentences is best.

A mission statement, and an accompanying vision statement, can be part of a great foundation for future success.  For additional insight into developing your mission and vision contact your Wyoming Small Business Development Center.

Name games…get a grip! Start from the start – with an end in mind.

By Jill Kline, WSBDC Regional Director
WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, Wyoming Small Business Development Center

There are a varying opinions and strategies on how to select an appropriate name; I’ll provide some resources for you to consider. Choosing a name should not be taken lightly.  The right name is your first step in developing a brand for your business, which is how your customers see you and what they will come to expect and value as far as your product or service is concerned.

The Entrepreneur.com web site has a vast list of resource articles outlining strategies to help you name your business. Steve Nubie, author of a May 2000 article titled “Why A Good Business Plan Can Help You Name Your Company” offered a concise approach that should help you get started.

Nubie suggests that your written business plan can be the blueprint for determining your name. A good plan clearly defines your product or service, your customers, your competition and your industry. Your plan outlines your goals and strategies to achieve those goals. Your plan forms a framework for your brand strategy and leads you to critical issues to think about when determining your name.

Nubie provides four considerations: First, visualize your customers. What do they look like? What are their ages, genders, lifestyles and locations? If you target a specific demographic or type of customer, your business name should be customer-driven. A good example of this is the high-end clothing store, La Petite Femme, which specializes in smaller women’s sizes.

Next, think about what makes your company distinctive. What is your company's emphasis? This uniqueness or competitive edge describes the primary nature of your business. Identify the words that define the nature of your business and highlight that attribute in your name.

Third, understand your business category. Are you highly specialized or are you selling a commodity? For instance, Meals-on-Wheels, the catering company, has a specialized product and market; Melissa's Catering, has a broader market yet it clearly identifies the business and adds an element covered in the next consideration.

Finally, are you or another individual essential to the company's day-to-day activities and functions? This is often the case for service type businesses and best exemplified when you see a name or a list of last names for lawyers, doctors or insurance agents. 

According to Dave Batt, president of Everest Communications Inc. in Genea, Illinois, "In time, the name will be less important than what you make of it through hard work, dedication and customer satisfaction. It's at that point that you’ll know you've not only successfully named your company, but also given birth to a brand.”

See other topic related articles on the Entrepreneur.com web site.

Improving your chances for getting money!!

By Brett Housholder, Researcher, Wyoming Market Research Center

So you want to start a small business?  How about some insight to improve your chances for getting the money to actually open your doors?

Starting a business can be a daunting task, even for the most knowledgeable and energetic entrepreneur. The first concern of a startup business is usually funding. Before lenders part with money entrusted to them, they’re going to want to see a business plan. There isn’t a bank on the planet that gives out loans for good ideas – they want to see evidence of preparation and research into the business and industry. The good news, however, is that you can arm your business plan with market research.

“Market research” isn’t just some fancy buzzword used by multimillion dollar corporations to convince shareholders their latest product rollout is going to be successful. It comes in many forms, all of which are relevant and useful to large and small businesses alike. Market research can answer simple questions like, “Who are my competitors?” It can also answer more complex industry-specific questions such as, “Who are the top fencing supply wholesalers in the Rocky Mountain region?
The extent to which market research can help small businesses isn’t limited to identifying competitors, customers, or suppliers; for example:
• If you’re opening a bookstore, wouldn’t it be helpful to know which genres are currently hot?
• If you’re going to sell high-end apparel, wouldn’t it be helpful to know how many customers in your market have the annual income to afford your products?
• If you’re going to provide care services for the elderly, wouldn’t it be helpful to know how many senior citizens live in your market area?

Knowing the trends within your industry and the demographics in your area are two more tools at your disposal to further reinforce your business plan.

Another decision facing today’s small businesses, in this age of e-commerce, is whether to sell online. If you’re planning on operating a website for your business the single largest key to success is visibility. If the major search engines can’t “see” your website you are limiting yourself to only customers who know your specific web address. Avoiding this pitfall is known as web optimization and since the majority of your online customers will use a web search to find your products or services, it is not something to overlook. For detailed information on web optimization check out this month’s Wyoming Business Tips article specifically addressing the topic.

If you want to start a small business, take advantage of the benefits of doing some homework. From simple tasks, like determining your competition, to specific details about your industry, market research can help you cover all the bases in your business plan to greatly increase your chances of getting the money to cut the ribbon of your new business.

If you would like more information on market research for your small business, on the services of WYOMING ENTREPRENUER.BIZ or the Market Research Center, contact Brett Housholder at lazarus@uwyo.edu or 307-766-5389.

Prevent your dreams from becoming a nightmare!

By Leonard Holler, WSBDC Region 3 Director

For many, owning a business is part of the American Dream, right behind owning a home. Buying a business is a complicated and emotional process. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when purchasing a business.

Do not pay too much for the business. You should take care to know the real value of the business before you sign on the dotted line. The results of paying too much may mean higher loan payments, lower profits, tighter cash flow and potential failure.

Do not pay for undeveloped potential. You should only pay for the current operating condition of the business. You, not the seller, should reap the benefits (profits) of time, effort and money it takes to develop the potential of an existing business. If the seller did not choose to invest their resources in developing the business, you should not compensate them.

Do not rely on bad information. Make sure the information you get from a business seller is verifiable. Have professionals check the financial information, documents, leases and contracts.  Use a team of experts to guide you in legal, accounting and tax matters related to the purchase of the business. Analyze the competition, the industry and potential market for yourself.  Carefully investigate the terms of the potential business purchase and get a valuation of the business. 

Do not decide to buy a business without evaluating your own abilities. Can you run this type of business? Can you perform necessary duties that can not be hired? What are your strengths and weaknesses in areas of managing the business? If you contract others to do things like payroll or bookkeeping, have you considered the cost of those services in your budgets? Running a business includes managing people, selling your goods or services, ordering products, doing paperwork and making numerous decisions on a daily basis. You need to understand your capabilities.

Do not buy a business based on your emotions. If you get caught up in the emotions of fulfilling your dream of owning a business, without taking time to do your homework and investigating the business potential, you may make a costly mistake.

Do not change too much too fast. Once you own the business, do not be tempted to make large sweeping changes over a short period of time. You may risk losing customers and employees who do not agree with the changes you make. Unless something needs immediate attention take some time to understand the business and your existing customers’ needs prior to making any changes. Consider soliciting suggestions from your customers and employees before changing anything.

If you’re thinking about buying an existing business prepare to know and avoid the pitfalls; help your dream become a reality.