Guidelines on how to identify and avoid unrealistic management practices.

Every business wants to succeed. This has left managers struggling with every piece of information that could at least guarantee their success in business. There are a lot of journals, newspapers, magazines and other reading materials that contain much information on business management. I appreciate the fact that managers are able to access a wealth of knowledge from different websites that if well implemented will enable them to take their businesses to the next level. However, be careful about some management tips normally given by unqualified and inexperienced writers who not only give us wrong ideas but also unworkable and unpractical styles. This has made many organizations to fail simply because tried something that does not apply to them.

Not all principles are unrealistic. Some are just not applicable to your organization. Therefore while reading these articles; you need to ask yourself if what you are putting in your mind can be correctly applied in your organization without bringing unnecessary complications and hence resulting into success. Some of the things that you are sometimes advised to put in your business may actually cause the business to have a downward trend.

You must identify who to follow. Make sure you have reliable and experienced managers who share their experiences in writing. In short, know your writer. But every manager must have the ability to judge responsibly and take what works for him. Some writers also put things in such a complicated manner that sounds so friendly to the ears but proves very hard to implement. Avoid the ones that are so complex

Simple Guidelines on writing a workable business plan

Have you ever considered putting down a business plan? Many people have considered it a hard task and left it in the hands of experts. What you do not understand is that there is nobody who can correctly put down the plan as you can for yourself. Everyone who intends to engage him/herself or is already in business must learn how to write a workable business plan.

The author of this article therefore intends to demystify the issues of planning for your business. To begin, you must ask yourself what kind of business you want to engage in. I simple terms, a business plan is what you are visualizing to be your business, the way it will be run and the expected results.

This clearly suggests that you must begin by putting down your vision, mission and the objectives of your business. The vision is how far you want you business to go while the mission means the strategies that will be put in place to achieve your vision.

Next your must think about the financial aspects of your business. This is simply known as the financial plan. Here, one considers how the business will be funded and the ways in which such funds will be used.

The operations plan comes next. This is where you clearly state how you will run your business. Others call it the organizational structure. Organize your company in a way that it will work best.

The marketing aspects of the company cannot be ignored. This calls for a marketing plan. Here, think on the ways of marketing the products you produce.

Managing business change

Companies spend many resources in designing new ideas and ways of doing things. Unfortunately, much can be structured in meetings and change seminars but as soon they end, minutes are filed and no one may take the initiative of following up such deliberations. Such outstanding plans may later attract skeptics, insecurity and mistrust among top managers, especially those who are likely to lose as a result of the proposed changes.

The truth is that annually, many organizations develop many positive convictions but hardly go into details of developing a realizable implementation plan. Change requires a lot of practical tactics to avoid the resistances that come from various stakeholders. However, to successfully initiate change in any business, you need to involve all the stakeholders and win their confidence that whatever will be implemented will benefit the whole organization. Remember that the results of the intended change matter than the methods.

Every successful change must follow a certain implementation sequence. You will eventually fail if you implement a proposed change at once. To facilitate a smooth way of implementation, you need to learn the business culture so that you can know what stage of business growth is ripe for change. Change should be implemented so tactfully that many will not feel its effects. Have in mind that people will be curious to see the results.

Anyway, patience must be developed when a new way of doing things come into being. A sudden positive result may not be achieved but eventually, the desired goal will be a reality for a well structured change.

Supplies management

If you get cheap products from your suppliers, you are likely to make more profit. This does not mean that you sacrifice quality for cheap products. What you must understand is that you can continue providing quality services to your customers while at the same time acquiring them at a better price from your suppliers.

The key in cutting down costs from supplies, is knowing where you can get them in more quantities at the same price you get them at. A good businessman/woman should know all the suppliers in the neighborhood and strive to develop a relationship with them. From this group of suppliers, you can now identify the best one for a long term relationship.

However, the best places for bargains are from the manufacturers themselves. Even the suppliers in our neighborhoods get their goods from such manufacturers, after which they charge a fee as their profits. This goes without saying that if you get direct supplies from the manufacturers, you have more income as profits.

It is important that as you stock your business, avoiding going overboard by buying in very large quantities. Some people do this thinking that they will save a lot on the costs that go with reordering. Make sure that what you stock will be sold within the expiry period. This means that you must take time to do a quick inventory of what you business needs; do not be in a haste to order even what may be unnecessary at the moment.

Stimuli for business growth

One of the unbelievable imaginations is that your business could have a rapid growth especially at the current world economic crisis. Of course, your concern should be, how can your business grow fast? The second, how fast will it be? The truth is that even during bad economic times; your business can still experience growth.

First, you must establish what your customers’ attitude towards your products is. Remember that your business exists for your customer. Whether you like it or not, your business will only go as far as your customers’ perceptions are. You may have the best product in the market but your business has a bad public image. Customers may never know how good your products are. This means that public image comes before quality. This is why marketing should be the first option in your business. s you market your products, you must emphasis that your business cares about the needs its customers, stress on the products’ convenience and affordability. Remember that quality is left for the customer to decide. The truth is that what one consumer considers being quality, may have a bad taste on another.

The path of continuous business growth only begins with an improved public image and customer perceptions. This can only be possible by providing positive information through marketing. Without proper marketing, your customers tend to form their own attitudes towards your products. This of course may differ from what you may want them to know. Never wait for a product to market itself.

Customer attraction

For a long time, people have thought that the best way to keep your business running and to open new markets is by just advertisement. But it turns out that they are a set of tools and skills especially during tough financial situations. There are many customer attracting tools that are often overlooked and underestimated, and presumed to be nothing. If you have spend a lot of time and resources wondering what will help you stand out as a successful businessman/woman, the secret is diversifying your marketing strategies.

It has been noticed for years that the best performers are the ones who have quick thinkers in their marketing team. This means that your marketing team should not only be thinking of spending money in the local media but coming up with updated customer attraction strategies. Remember that customers are also attracted to new ideas and not what they are used to.

The truth is that if you can survive the bad economic times for you business, you can survive anything, especially the world economic crisis. Every single way of marketing should start by developing a relationship with the prospective customers. Unfortunately, many businesses fear this because it will bring out the best and the worst in them. Anyway, be ready for the fact that your customers may realize your mistakes. But do not worry, this will not continue for ever.

Bad economic times should not be your discouraging points. The business world is characterized by shifting goal posts. You just need to know which side to score this time round.

Employee search: common oversights

If you are thinking of looking for employees for your organization, then you must look for performers. Research is now showing that the best performers are not necessarily the people with the best academic qualifications. Most business managers go for the people with certificates but lack the necessary skills to keep your business running. This means that you must seek for skills and willingness to learn in every person that you will recruit for your business.

It is almost impossible for newly recruited employees to immediately perform well, regardless of how much experience they may have. This is why every organization has orientation programs for such employees. Remember that such kinds of orientations are full trainings on duties and the organization’s culture with the intention of equipping the staff.

In your search for an employee, you therefore need to identify potential and in born ability. Many organizations stress on work experience which to me is not important. I want you to know that every employee will follow the laid down structures in your business. Even the best managers will not be successful if you have bad structures and working environments.

On the other hand, interviews are a great way to identify potential but sometimes are not used effectively. I have heard of interviewing panels which frustrates its candidates. One is left wondering whether the panel is looking for an employee or are out to frustrate others. By this they compromise their sole objective of looking for a suitable candidate. Also have in mind that they are people who may not be able to fully express themselves in front of a panel but may have great potential, so be on the look for such.