Not just a word. "NO" is an effective business strategy

The humble "No" is not just a word, expression, exclamation or symbol of denial. "No" in itself is a very effective business strategy.

Just like in life, in business too, we often fail to say "No".

The failure on our part to say "No" could have a huge impact on the overall business outcome.

It is very important to have absolute clarity regarding:

• The category of clients you should work for
• The service boundaries for each client
• Strict service level agreements for all stakeholders including the client

Image by Claudio Scott from Pixabay

A few scenarios when we need to say "No"

• No to a new business opportunity when the scope and brief does not fit the ideal client profile. For example, Preeti is the owner of a small website development firm. High quality design, well written original content and an easy to use user interface are the key promises they make and deliver. Low Price is not a promise they make.

The Monster HR Challenge

Managing employees and inspiring them to give their best has always been a challenge for businesses. Most businesses would score just about average points, a few just mess it up while a very very few find the secret sauce.

Why is managing employees such a challenge? What makes it so difficult?

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

The Mismatch: Skills vs Expectations

Most employer and employee conflicts at work are a result of employee skills and employer expectations mismatch. Honestly, there is no clear formula to fix expectations and hence it is often difficult to locate the sweet spot. Both the employers and the employees, need to be more liberal and accommodating to each others' expectations.

We should refrain from trying to find a direct correlation between employment benefits and outcomes. The more you pay does not impact the outcome or results in the same proportion. Variance between human resources doing the same job is very unpredictable compared to variance between non-human resources doing the same job. There are processes and tools to standardise the work process and hence have a better control on the outcome, however the human factor is still at play and hence will produce variations.

How Important is Business Strategy?

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Before we answer the question "how important is business strategy?", let us look at the definition of business strategy:

• "Business strategy can be understood as the course of action or set of decisions which assist the entrepreneurs in achieving specific business objectives." - Business Jargons
• "A business strategy is the means by which an organization sets out to achieve its desired objectives. It can simply be described as long-term business planning. Typically a business strategy will cover a period of about 3-5 years (sometimes even longer)." - CIO Wiki

So what is business strategy?

It is a plan on how to achieve your business goals and objectives. The strategy could be short term or long term. 

How Does a Small Business Contribute to the Economy?

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Small Businesses are credited as the engines of job creation. Creating jobs positively impacts families, the community and the overall economy.

Let us look at some research numbers to validate the tag of "engines of job creation":

• As per a research by Entrepreneur magazine, small businesses in the United States account to more than 60% of all US jobs
• A study published by Google and KPMG, "India has 51 million small and medium businesses and they employ about 120 million people. SMBs account for 37 percent of India's $2 trillion GDP

How Can a Small Business Survive Competition?

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The competition is getting tougher. The barriers to entry for a lot of businesses are being either eliminated or reduced by a large extent. Technological advancement is to blame for the fierce competition and disruption in every industry. How can a small business survive competition? Competition from bigger companies. Competition from existing competitors. Competition from new entrants.

It is needless to say that continuous improvement, innovation and adoption of technology is essential for sustainability. Businesses are not just competing with other similar businesses. Players from different sectors and industries are disrupting existing business models. Think Uber, AirBnB and Netflix. These are primarily tech companies disrupting existing business models.

Small Business Growth Strategy - "Keep it simple"

"Business Strategy" is being discussed everywhere - conferences, social media, professional networks, business management books, blogs, networking and coaching sessions. Everyone, everywhere is talking about business strategy.

Do you need to be a cost leader? Do you need to add more value? How to identify a niche segment?

There are questions and then there are answers. However, quite often, especially small and medium businesses lose their focus as they spend a lot of time planning a strategy. The complete plan often does not see the light of the day.

At an early growth stage, at times the mantra is to "Keep it Simple". Keeping it simple could be the best small business growth strategy.

Speed and flexibility are the major advantages every small business has when they enter a new market or compete with larger players. A lot of time, effort and resources spent in strategic planning tends to slow them down. This neutralises their advantage.

At an early growth stage, spend most of your time, energy and resources in execution. Talking to clients, visiting them, ensuring follow-ups and deadlines are not missed add more value and fuel a company's growth.

todo.vu - CRM for Small Business, Consultants and Freelancers

Small business owners, independent consultants and freelancers often look for FREE or budget friendly options for their business requirements. Software and tools meant for larger companies tend to be too complex and costly. Here, we give you an overview of todo.vu - an integrated CRM, task management, project management, time tracking and billing software.

todo.vu claims to bring all your customer management and project management into one place, with built in time tracking and billing. Check out the todo.vu intro video:

todo.vu packs in all the necessary features required by freelancers, consultants and small teams. Along with the features, it also meets the budget needs.