A project manager compliments a colleague for good work on a project. A manager leader puts an employee in a leadership role for a project. The team takes a day away from work to do volunteer work for a nonprofit organization. The company holds a picnic at a park on a beautiful day.
All these have employees holding their heads higher, smiling and empowering them to achieve more. Not a single one involved money. An engaged workforce will worker harder to navigate bumpy roads and reach goals.
This post’s title sounds like a quote from one of those inspiring posters with a stunning photo and an inspirational quote. It’s true that it’s better to flop than to avoid something or play it safe in fear of failure. Do this, and it’ll be tough to grow your business.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
I bought a product at a store that I visit about once a year. The store is pricey, but has unique products that I can’t find anywhere else. It’s not far, but it’s not as close as its competitors. While there, I always pick up pop snacks. They’re tasty and you get a big bang for the munch in a single pop.
On this visit, I brought home a few flavors. All of them were their tasty, crunchy selves except one. Every bite lacked crunch as if it was past its sell-by date. (It wasn’t.) And both bags of the same flavor had the problem. Considering all the other flavors were good and it was the first time I had experienced this, I emailed the store.
Some clients pay within days of submitting an invoice. Others pay near the end of the 30 days. Both types have been in business for years and continue going strong. Still, those who put off payment until right before the standard 30-day deadline have a slight edge. They keep the money longer.
Occasionally, a client or two would pay late. Fortunately, some businesses have enough cushion that they aren’t affected but not everyone is in the same boat. It hurts the business when they get paid late.
Remember VHS? For those of you who don’t, it recorded TV shows before DVDs and DVRs came along. Did you know that it had a competitor known as Betamax? Many considered Beta’s technology superior to VHS’s. Yet Beta flopped and VHS soared until DVDs caught on. Beta failed because customers wanted an affordable option. VHS cost several hundred dollars less than Betamax.
It takes more than a great product or service to win over the market. Marketing plays a role. Customer needs play a role. A well-written business plan plays a role.
Business-to-business companies typically give clients 30 days to pay for their products or services. These B2B companies also need to pay their vendors within the same timeframe. And it’s standard business practice to wait until the end of the 30 days before making a payment.
It’s like having an interest-free loan for 30 days as you keep cash longer in your bank account. However, late payments can cause the company’s cash flow to snowball out of control jeopardizing other areas of the business and its relationships with vendors. (There’s a difference between being nice by paying quickly and having the needed cash flow to stay in business.)
Buying a competitor or another company gives you the opportunity to merge the two company’s strengths and reducing or eliminating weaknesses. Another option is to buy a business that has products or services that complement yours can boon business in a big way. However, the challenge lies in combining the companies’ employees, resources and cultures to turn them into a single company that operates seamlessly. No matter the scenario, owners and executives still need to think about other things before buying the company.
Here are four keys to buy a company successfully:
Unless you’re a one-person operation, you need to consider one thing that many CEOs don’t think about nearly often enough that can make or break your business. Continue reading
If you are not absolutely delighted with our service within the first 30 days of funding, you can leave and get 100% of your fees refunded to you. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!