We’ve done the right thing and become Bizfix

When we began piloting a brand new way for local businesses to get top quality business advice and support for an affordable fixed fee we knew we were doing the right thing.

We talked with some fantastic business leaders. They made it easy for us to know what local businesses want. They said give us proper advice and support that is:

1. easy to access
2. easy to understand
3. easy to use
4. based on the most important business issues
5. realistically priced.

So, while we piloted and did a tonne of research on our products and services, we didn’t research far enough about our brand and our website. Clients found our old website unappealing, and people were confused by our former name Do the Right Thing. Ouch!

So today we are delighted to launch a clear and easy to access website, which is packed with serious content for local businesses. We also fixed our name so it is easier to understand how we help businesses grow. Welcome to Bizfix, fine-tuning for business.

There are lots of new tools and tips to help local businesses grow so please take a look at www.bizfix.co.uk and let us know what you thing.

You can also sign up to our updated blog there!

If you can answer this small business question, you can dominate

Image via Wikipedia

Predicting business performance

There is one question I typically ask all our business clients. Whether they are a small local Cambridge business, or a multi-national looking for business advice, their ability to answer this one question is an excellent predictor of their business success.     

Customers, profits or innovation

No matter whether we are working with them on bringing in more customers, developing higher profit margins or developing new products and services, those businesses that can answer this one question, consistently outperform their business competitors. And the question is ….   

“What do you want to do with your business?”    

I know, radical isn’t it? You might think it is too simple for words but just try it. Ask a friend what the top management of their company is trying to achieve and you will get lots of hums and aahs but you will not get a succinct, direct phrase that makes it crystal clear where that company is heading.    

Think it is easy? Well try this exercise for yourself.    

1. Take a pen
2. Get a piece of paper
3. Write down:

Over the next 5 years I want my business to be known for ….    

The trick is you are only allowed one thing. And you will note that it stops you saying “I just want to make a mountain of money.” You have to have something that is more meaningful than that, then the money flows. If you find your plan talks about excellent customer service and valuing staff, and blah, blah, blah, you have missed the point. Rip it up and start again.   

Need some small business inspiration

Here are a few examples from big business that could work as inspiration for your business. They date back to the 1950’s but are still cracking today.    

• Boeing: Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age.
• Sony: Become the Company most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products
• Stanford University: Become the Harvard of the West

What is the best business statement you have heard? Is it your own? Let us know by commenting below.

Related Articles

• Improve small business customer service with a personal touch (customerthink.com)

    

Will your business survive?

Photographer: Ian Britton FreeFoto.com

The BBC website has been tracking 10 smaller-scale firms over the past 2 years. They are finding out how they cope with our turbulent business times. So what’s the verdict?

How small businesses can survive in a tough economy

Well not as much doom and gloom as you might imagine. Only 1 of the 10 businesses went under, but even that managed to resurface and is now “turning over double the amount that we were six months ago.” How have they survived? Here are the strategies they are using today.

Five survival tips for Cambridge’s small businesses

1. Build local business contacts to help keep your business going through associations like the local Chamber of Commerce
2. Renegotiate a new premises lease to lower a key fixed cost: rent
3. When a vital stream of revenue dries up you have to get more creative. So when a legal firm specialising in conveyancing was hit by the housing market decline, they added internet-based sales and boosted their activity
4. With fear that the future VAT rise to 20% in January 2011 will harm sales, one firm is pushing even harder to make sales before the end of this year
5. When customers started driving ever-harder bargains because of the economic climate, rather than suffer these cuts, this technology firm made internal savings and increased online coverage through new admin systems

Small business finance

But what of the things that they can’t control? One firm says they have been hit hard by suppliers going under leaving them with bad debts and by larger companies unilaterally extending their payment terms.

Have you faced these or similar problems, get advice from others on how they have handled them or tell us how you are coping by commenting below.

Solving an “unsolvable” business problem

Genius

 

What do you do if there is something about your business setup that is not ideal but can’t easily be changed? Here is how one Cambridge business gets around a difficult issue of their location. It is a stroke of genius, and you are free to copy it. 

Click on the photo to see our 58 second video of how they solved their “unsolvable” business problem

How have you solved a difficult business problem brilliantly?  Leave a comment to tell us.

Small business grants – show me the money

 

Actually it is more show me the viability of your business idea. The East of England Development Agency today launched their final round of Proof of Market grants. You can use the grant (up to £20,000) to evaluate products, processes or services. Head over to their website for details.

Here’s what they say it is all about.

“The Proof of Market grant is part of the Grant for Research and Development (GRaD) programme and is designed to help entrepreneurs and businesses undertake market assessment and test the commercial viability of their innovative business ideas for new technology development. Innovative business ideas may be products, processes or services, but must have been developed through scientific or technical research to a degree that the idea’s market potential can be properly assessed.”

Cambridge businesses on the up

UK economic growth climbs by 1.1% and Cambridge, with the tourist appeal of one of the world’s greatest universities (not to mention beautiful scenery, thriving culture and easy access to London), could also benefit from a 60% growth in tourism by 2020. A new report from Deloitte says that tourism directly contributes £52 billion per year (4% of GDP) and £63 billion in indirect contributions.

New communications technology needed

But, claim Visit Britain who commissioned the report, say we need government intervention to help Cambridge’s small and medium-sized businesses cut their running costs particularly though using new technology. If by that they mean things like Twitter, Facebook and blogging for communications, e-commerce for handling sales and other cool tech stuff, some newer Cambridge companies are way ahead of the game. Here is one example of how a Cambridge business helps local businesses bat on a par with the big boys.

Business grants and business support

If the government really want to support Cambridge entrepreneurs with ideas for starting small businesses, then business grants and small business advice may be more profitable than exhortations to work smarter.

Do the Right Thing turns business advice into profit. For no-nonsense, no-jargon business advice you can turn into real value Do the Right Thing and book a free business advice session here

Cambridge University key to small business growth

 

Blog writing sorted

There are clearly 3 distinct aspects to getting blogging right

Blog content

The first is your blog content. If your blog content is rubbish who would bother to read it even if it is beautifully written. So write with style. This is so important I’ve drawn your attention by putting it in itialics and bold.

Search Engine Optimisation

The second is technical aspects. If people can’t find or access your blog easily, how will they know about your great content? The same applies to search engines, they may not have soul but they do have power to drive traffic to your site.

Great blog writing

Third is the appeal of your blog. If is not both visually appealling and beautifully crafted, again there’s plent of reason for a reader to move on and not come back.

As you can imagine we have suggestions to improve all three. Today start with some of the tech stuff and here’s a great guide to get you started.

Interview me!

Something to say?

We know that the best people to advise growing businesses are people who are growing their own. Is there something special about the way you run your business? Our readers would love to hear about it.

The process is simple. We agree a time, call you up and run an “in 7 questions or less” Do The Right Thing phone interview. You get the chance to describe your business and the use you make of online stuff (like Twitter, Facebook, blogging and e-commerce) and to share your views on what issues you think growing businesses face.

When we publish we include a short biog about you and your company as well as links to your web and other online stuff, and we ask that you link back to our posting so your clients and staff can see the coverage you are getting for your company. Ideally we also publish some or all of the audio from interview dependent on the technology functioning!

If you would like Do the Right Thing to interview you, get in touch letting us know what you think our readers would be most interested in hearing. You can send us a direct tweet through twitter, or email us all from our website http://www.rightthings.co.uk

How to build a team that knows what it is doing

Email grow@rightthings.co.uk for a practical guide to put these steps in place

 

If you want your team (company) to be clear about where your business is going – you need 7 key things. They sound incredibly simple, but wait till you try to agree them with your team. For a free practical guide on how to put these 7 steps in place email grow@righthings.co.uk 

1. Vision/mission  A statement defining why your organisation exists: a desirable, often difficult to achieve future aim, an aspiration
2. Core values  Deeply ingrained principles that guide an organisation. Cornerstones that are sacrosanct and immutable. These do not change over time even if your vision and mission do.
3. Strategic anchors  Core pillars on which an organisation is built. What differentiates your organisations from others from an internal perspective?
4. Thematic goal  A single, qualitative focus or rallying cry that is shared by the entire leadership team and ultimately, by the entire partnership-and that applies for only a specified period of time.
5. Defining objectives  The temporary, qualitative components that serve to clarify exactly what is meant by the Thematic Goal; shared by all members of the team.
6. Standard Operating  Objectives Other key objectives that an executive team must focus on and monitor. These objectives do not go away from period to period and often include topics such as: revenue, expenses, customer satisfaction, quality etc.
7. Metrics  The measures that sit below the defining objectives and standard operating objectives to assess progress
These terms are based on original ideas from the writing of Patrick Lencioni 

Do the Right Thing turns business advice into profit. For no-nonsense, no-jargon business advice you can turn into real value Do the Right Thing and call 01223 851 161 or email grow@rightthings.co.uk  BOOK A FREE BUSINESS ADVICE SESSION HERE

Business 365 – what matters most to you?

This post is part of our Business 365 project.

Which topics matter most to you? Find out more about the Business 365 Project and give us your suggestions for top business issues that matter to you on our dedicated post – you can also leave your comment below. We reward our top commentators with free content, links and Twitter promo. What do you want most?

We have just launched the UK’s broadest and most-up-to-date business issue spot. Though 2010 we are finding out what are you top 365 local and small business issues and we’ll be publishing our grow your business every single day book with an action you can do each day to grow your business (this usually means grow your profit). To suggest a business issue or topic, comment here or tweet us. Every person who suggests a business issue that gets included in the Business 365 Project gets a free copy of the 365 book. A free answer to your very own question – what could be fairer than that?

You can also sign up for our updates and business advice and support newsletter. Register up on the top right of this page.