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Now... Build a Great Business by Brian Tracy and Mark Thompson says now is a great time to build a great business. Times have changed and new doors are open to great opportunities. Many of the best businesses we see today were birthed out of very difficult economic times. Timing is overrated. Opportunities are numerous in a crisis. Instead of gloating over past downturns, find the new opportunities they produce. Now is the time to build a great business.
The authors feature seven steps to maximize a business in any market.
Becoming a great leader is the first step. The three P's of leadership are purpose: why does what you do matter to others; passion: what turns you on and your passion ignites the interest of those you know; performance: create action, goals and keep score.
Develop a business plan. What will you focus on and keep your concentration on? Alexander the Great was extensively outnumbered 5 to 1 in facing his opponent in battle. He was a master strategist. He had skills in keen focus. He followed these seven key principles to out-maneuver his opponent in battle while being tremendously outnumbered.
1. Objective: he had a clear vision on exactly what he wanted to accomplish.
2. Offensive: he initiated attack while using his ability of strategic planning. He launched his plan like throwing a javelin into the heart of the market.
3. Concentration: he concentrated his forces and resources on one key objective.
4. Economy: using brain power, creativity and efficiency of timing and money to achieve his market goals.
5. Flexibility: be ready to quickly change when a new opportunity arises or circumstances change, to meet the changing demands of the market.
6. Surprise: Keep your competition off balance, on their heels with quick maneuvers of price, marketing methods, etc. that your competition isn't expecting. Stay ahead of them and be the one doing it first.
7. Momentum: seize the day and keep moving aggressively forward.
Make your plan practical, measure progress, and be honest in where you really are.
Strategic planning answers six key questions.
1. Where are you now? What is your current situation... sales, productivity, profits, cash available.
2. How did you get to where you are today? Be brutally honest as you reevaluate all your business.
3. Where do you want to go from here? Describe ideal outcomes, earnings, people you'll need, organization and flow of activity, customers, who, where, what are they like.
4. How do you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future?
5. What obstacles will you have to overcome? What problems will you have to solve?
6. What additional knowledge, skills, resources will you have to acquire to achieve your strategic objective?
Turn cost centers into profit centers. Outsource skills you have in your business to other businesses who can use them too. Peter Drucker suggests five questions to answer. What is your Mission? Who is your customer? What does your customer value? What results are you trying to accomplish? What is your plan?
The business plan process is
1. Your business vision
2. Values you believe in
3. Strategic objectives... activities to get results, sales, profitability, rate of growth.
4. Tactical objectives. Specific products/services, marketing, sales plan, finances, people needed.
5. Strategic variables. Policies for your product and services, customer, promoting, distribution, competitive analysis, pricing, financing, reinvestment.
6. Business plan summary. Executive summary(one page outline of all areas), the business concept, objectives, market analysis, production, marketing, organization/people, financial projections, ownership.
7. Carefully analyze all components, check assumptions. Remember, new things cost twice as much and take three times as long as you may think. Don't trust in luck, be deliberately strategic, proactive, finding your fatal flaws.
The next step is to surround yourself with great people. Find people who are team players, concerned with what's right, results oriented, accept responsibility for outcomes, and see the business as a great place to work with.
Offer a great product. Be obsessed with quality. Don't follow the leader, create exclusivity, keep in continuous contact with the customer, constantly test the product/service.
The fifth step is design a great marketing plan.
Is there really a market?
Is the market big enough?
Is it concentrated enough?
Who's your real competition?
Is your product easier to use, does it provide additional benefits with comparable pricing, cheaper than the competition product/service, does it inspire deeper trust than others, and how does it appeal to your customer's desires?
Who exactly is your customer?
Create a profile of what your customer looks like.
The Seven P's of a marketing mix are product/service (what it does), price, promotion (all the ways to advertise), place (where do you sell it), position (image others have of you), packaging (its visual appeal), people (who will carry out your strategies).
Stick within your core competencies. What are your core products/services, core markets, core advertising methods, selling methods, core people?
The marketing plan then should answer these questions.
What exactly do you sell?
What is your competitive advantage, core competencies?
Describe your ideal customer.
What are your most effective marketing methods?
How do you differentiate your product/service from your competition?
How do you create a community for your customers?
Of the seven P's what changes can you make to make the product more desirable?
Steps six and seven include the sales and customer services process. Perfect a great sales process and create a great customer, and build a great life.
For free resources on the seven steps go to Brian Tracy's website and look up Now... Build a Great Business.
http://www.briantracy.com/
Follow the Joshua Principle.
A daily discipline of fixing our minds on God's principles, renewing our minds, rebuilding our minds, and taking disciplined action every day with the Power principles of Spirit is our driving force.
The first chapter of Joshua and the Psalms emphasize the power behind constant meditation, sharply focused thinking to concentrate on the precepts, principles of the Bible. In Joshua, God guarantees success in efforts that follow this method:
"I promise you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1: 1-9, NLT)
"But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do." (Psalm 1:2,3, NLT)
The Lord told Joshua to check out the territory... get intelligence on what is going on where he was to take the land. " Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, "Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho. So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night." (Joshua 2:1, NLT)
And sometimes His methods are unorthodox, out of the ordinary, even a little bizarre. Think of it, God has His Servants stay in a prostitute's house. That definitely would raise a few eyebrows, but the cleverness here is the enemy most certainly wouldn't expect that as Children of God.
With this intelligence, He guarantees that we will be effective when we follow what he tells us strategically to do.
"So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 of his best warriors and sent them out at night with these orders:" (Joshua 8:3,4, NLT)
Whenever they followed the orders of the Lord, the Angel of God's Spirit went before them and they had overwhelming success. When they didn't, they had humiliating defeat. The only defeats came when they failed to follow His instructions to the finest detail. We can be assured He, the Spirit, will give us instructions to the finest detail if we seek his strategies first. And then follow them precisely.
The important thing is seeking His Strategies, first.
We then are assured overwhelming victory.
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