In business you have to be prepared for everything and anything; you must accept that things change and you must be prepared for change.
When consulting with clients we cover a variety of things, namely about the business and the management, how it’s structured, the customers and services, etc. Sometimes after initial discussion, a client may tell us that they want us to provide a service but after much in depth consultation, it may turn out the business needs a different type of service and as such we must change our approach accordingly.

value

When talking with clients we always emphasise value. How valuable is your product or service? What value are you bringing to your clients? How can you increase your service/product value to your clients? This is because there are so many products and services on the market that unless your own is completely different from the rest, your business will not survive.

Even if you have a similar business to someone else in the same town or the same street you have to find a way to differentiate it from your competitors in order for the business to not only survive but thrive. This may be done by packaging your product/service in such a way that it provides value to a different type of customer.

A good example of this is mobile phones; there are a number of different mobile phones from various manufacturers out in the market, they all have the same basic functions which are make/receive calls and send texts. Most, if not all now allow people access to their emails and the internet. After these functions, there are then other phones that have a variety of add-ons to attract different customers, sometimes a specific customer. For example, a particular type of customer will buy an iPhone and another will buy a Blackberry. Now it is possible that the same customer will have both phones but it will nearly always be for different reasons; the Blackberry is seen as a ‘work’ mobile phone – most corporate companies give this phone to their management. It’s an extension of the office where people can quickly and easily access their emails from the phone, whilst the iPhone is still seen as an entertainment phone that provides a lot of different applications, and it’s even marketed as such.

Of course, with the mobile phone market currently being very competitive, there is an element of cross-over across a number of phones, however, each manufacturer is targeting a particular type of customer and bringing out products that they believe will be of value to that type of customer, whether it’s for their work, play or both.

competition

As a business owner you will always have competitors, at Ashcroft Templeton we believe that having competition helps a business because it makes you think of more creative and inventive ways to bring value to your clients. You must always be thinking – what would my clients want or need? What would make their lives easier, less stressful, and more fun? What would make them smile? If you want your business to thrive, you must always be on the ball and be alert to current trends, no matter how swapped you may be. Customers don’t care how swapped you are, they want their wants and needs to be met.

room for improvement

Irrespective of your business and the type of products/services you provide, there will always be a way to improve and provide something that a customer will want. I read a story in the Evening Standard newspaper last week about an entrepreneur, Emma Wood, who owns a ceramic business.
In the article, Ms Wood talked about how she put jokes and banter by family and friends on the crockery, mugs, teapots, etc, that she made and then sold them at Greenwich Market and also how the Royal Wedding has helped increase her business sales. Now this business isn’t one that you would say provides a product that people need; after all, you can buy crockery from anywhere and possibly even cheaper in a Pound shop.

However, I can imagine myself buying one of her Royal Wedding edition mugs – ‘If only I had gone to St. Andrew’s’ or ‘Harry’s Hotter’ mug; because its fun and it will put a smile on my face. For a customer like me the value of that product is that it will make me smile or even laugh every time I see it and I use it.
This is what I mean by being prepared for change, being on trend and offering something of value to your customers, whatever that value is. Ms Wood may have made other mugs that hadn’t sold but took a risk to make additional mugs and put ‘Royal Wedding jokes’ on them that she thought people will appreciate.

Each of these things carries an element of risk; it will costly either in the time or money that needs to be invested, but in the end the results will pay because you will be providing the customer something of value to them and they will buy your product/service.

‘Don’t care how, I want it NOW!’

Another thing that we’ve noticed when consulting with clients is that they want everything NOW. They want to see big and immediate results from being prepared for constant change, from being on trend and from offering a valuable service. In as much as we seem to live in a microwave society of instant gratification, instant results don’t always happen in business. I won’t say it’s rare but I will definitely say it’s uncommon.
You have to resolve within yourself to keep at it no matter what. If your business isn’t going the way you want it to go, take a time out and move away from being the centre of your business. Ask yourself questions like, ‘What do I want my business to be?’ ‘What value do I want to bring to my customers?’ ‘What does my business need to have to offer value to its customers?’ Take the time to investigate all of these things; don’t be in such a hurry to get customers and profits that your business is built on an unsteady foundation which can fall at any hurdle.
If you don’t know have the time to ask yourself these questions and to get the answers your business needs, I would also suggest that you ask for a relative or friend’s absolutely honest opinion, or even better go to a business consultant.

keep it simple

If you’ve taken the courageous step to start your own business then you can’t afford not to regularly set aside time to find out how your business can continually be better, can continually provide value to customers.
Most of the suggestions I offer may seem obvious but working with clients has shown us that people tend to complicate things. Business owners try to think of everything their business needs and most are probably doing everything themselves, they are so time-starved and stressed that they feel the solution to their problems is hard and difficult, as such they overlook the simple solutions. Our work with small businesses has shown that because their budget is limited they appreciate when we suggest simple solutions that won’t break the bank.

As for me, I’m off to buy my ‘Harry’s Hotter’ mug.

About the Author: Shisha Dublin-Green is a Director at Ashcroft Templeton Consulting, www.ashcrofttempleton.com, a Business Support and Lifestyle Management Consultancy.

To get your hands on your very own mug, visit http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/sweetwilliamdesigns

If you are an entrepreneur you inevitably find that you your workload is unrelenting.  Typically what most people do is work even longer hours to see if they can break the back of the load.  British entrepreneurs tend to work in excess of the European directive of a 48 hour working week.  If this becomes a habit, it will have a knock on effect; if you regularly work very long hours you will become over tired, over tiredness leads to poor performance, poor performance will start to noticeably affect your enterprise, which can lead to a decrease in sales or traffic to your business.  All these factors also have a negative impact on family life and will lead to stress, illness or both.

The cost of neglecting your well-being and that of your work colleagues can be high. The unexpected absence of just one member of staff can greatly affect productivity and efforts to secure cover can be costly and time-consuming. “It is estimated that absence currently costs over £600 per employee per year in direct costs. For a small business with 30 employees this means an average cost of more than £18,000 per year, which is a significant outgoing,” explains Fiona Robson, human resources expert at Newcastle Business School.

But what is the remedy?  The reality is that if you are a small business or just starting out, your work force is small. That means fewer people to share the load which must be dealt with in order for you to generate much needed business.

I’m sure that by now, you have heard about time management, prioritising your workload, etc. But for some, depending on what field you are in and the size of your company, it still makes little difference in that the volume of work doesn’t decrease and still needs to get done.

So what practical changes can be implemented within your company that will make a tangible difference?

1. Appoint a second in command. Sounds obvious, but many entrepreneurs don’t think about doing this until a few years into their business, long after the wear and tear has started to set in.  In order to have a sound work-life balance in your life, as early on as you possibly can try and have someone or some people working by your side who have the same passion and vision you have for your company.  This will ensure that you can take holidays when you need them secure in the knowledge that your company won’t unravel at the seams.

2. Take stock of all the jobs that are outstanding. Make two piles; one of the work that only you can do, and another pile of the work that can be delegated.  Have someone stand over you with a whip if need be to ensure that you don’t keep pinching things from the delegate pile and putting it back onto yours.  Entrepreneurs have extraordinary difficulty delegating!

3. Of the work that can be delegated, outsource it to interns. This is a great way of the intern getting valuable hands on experience in the field of their choice, it takes a lot of pressure off yourself and your team and ensures that everything keeps ticking over and the ball doesn’t get dropped on anything.   This is a great investment as the intern could end up becoming a permanent member of staff when your business starts taking off.

4. Ensure that you go home early or on time at least once a week. Work hard at making this a habit; your spouse and children will appreciate it!

5. Have a company fun day at least once a month. This is great for team building, wonderful for morale and it’s just great to step out from the high pressured world of entrepreneurship and let your hair down!   You could have a masseuse come to your business and give massages to you and your employees; you could have a hair and beauty expert give your staff a makeover; a lifestyle expert can come and draw up individual plans for you and your staff, have a chef come in and prepare a meal (you can even go along the Jamie Oliver ‘great meals for a fiver’ route!), or simply crack open a few bottles of wine and have a laugh! Be as creative as you like – whatever you do it doesn’t need to be expensive.  Remember, the aim is to relax, unwind and put the ‘life’ into work/life balance.

How have you battled with your never diminishing workload? What worked for you? Add a comment and share your story.

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About the Author: Belinda is a feature writer for Women Unlimited and a freelance copywriter.  Email her if you are are looking for fresh content for your website or blog

There is an increasing push in the UK to direct young people the way of entrepreneurship.  While progress appears to be happening in fits and spurts, in the United States young enterprise has long been celebrated and supported nationwide, with incredible results.

Last week Nokia compiled a list of the young people to watch in the field of technology in the future. Such ingenuity should allay any doubts people may have about the abilities of young people to become entrepreneurs and encourage adequate funding in all disciplines of enterprise for them.

Jenny Liu and Kevin Modzelewski, 20, Eclectyk.
Jenny explains: “We want to replace a user’s wallet with a phone so they don’t have to deal with the hassle of taking out all their cards and looking for the right one.” The result of this ingenuity is Eclectyk; an application that allows users to consolidate and use all of their credit cards from their mobile phones. This would work by getting consumers to swipe their phones over an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) at a cash register. Much of Eclectyk’s future will depend on whether RFID takes off but it is slowly gaining wider acceptance at retail shops, such as McDonalds. For now, they don’t yet have any funding or revenues. Liu and Modzelewski are trying to build business relationships, as getting companies to use Eclectyk will determine the success or failure of the application.

Daniel Brusilovsky 16, Teens in Tech
Daniel started out as a 14 year old helping out his father’s work colleagues with their IT problems. Two years ago he realized there was no online community catering to teens – and Teens in Tech was born, a platform that allows users to create blogs, upload pictures, presentations audio and video files using SlideShare. Daniel has also expanded the brand to include an annual Teens in Tech conference, the first of which was staged last January on the Microsoft campus in San Francisco. He is now in talks with business angels to help take his business to the next level.

Ryan and Ashton Clark, 20, Dynamik Duo
At the ripe old age of 20, twins Ryan and Ashton Clark have an impressive portfolio of successful web enterprises to their names. Since the launch of their first site in 1999, they have created nearly a dozen web businesses that sell everything from consumer electronics to parking spaces.
Their first web site, Circuitbreakers.com, was created when they were 11 years old; they saw an opportunity to sell affordable electronic products online. They persuaded a Chicago-area electronics wholesaler to let them sell its merchandise via their site. They sold Circuitbreakers.com less than two years later and the proceeds helped finance their future web sites. Today, the twins preside over Dynamik Duo, their holding company, which operates a number of web operations.

Jessica Mah, 18, InternshipIN, Indinero
At 15 Jessica dropped out of school to attend college three years early. While at the University of California at Berkeley, she created InternshipIN with her classmate Andy Su, a web site that connects students to small, hip companies instead of big, impersonal conglomerates. They built the site over two weekends. The pressures of college kicked it, and they had to let go of the enterprise.
Their latest project is Indinero, a programme which helps small-business owners track and manage their money online. Indinero will compile their accounts, run analytics and project cash flow, a service for which a number of companies have already signed up.

Jake Jarvis, 17, Developer
This 17-year-old whizz-kid already has a number of successful applications to his credit. Among them Middio, a music video search and indexing engine for YouTube, and Meebo, an instant-messaging service that works across several partner sites.
Jake’s biggest success so far is the Facebook application, Courses. Courses allows college and high-school students to plug in all of their courses and connect them with other students taking the same courses. The students can have discussions, upload files and share information. Soon Courses became one of the most popular applications on Facebook with more than 200,000 people using it. In 2008, Jake sold it to the college study-guide publisher Cramster for an undisclosed sum. Today, Courses has more than 500,000 users.

Lucas Cruikshank, 15, FEE Entertainment
When Lucas received a video camera for his 12th birthday, he could never have predicted how it would change his life. He filmed and uploaded to You Tube a video starring a character named Fred Figglehorn, his impersonation of an out of control 6-year-old, which received mass acclaim. Fred videos—38 of them so far, have been viewed 285 million times and counting.
The huge playcounts on YouTube generate tens of thousands of dollars a month, and have made the young Nebraskan the highest-earning partner in YouTube’s ad-sharing program. With his eye on his future, he recently signed with Hollywood’s United Talent Agency and the powerful law firm Ziffren, Brittenham and Branca to handle his legal affairs.

Ben Gulak, 19, Uno
When Ben visited China he couldn’t help but notice that they had a serious air pollution problem exacerbated by the fact that a great number of the population rode around on motorcycles. After pondering the issue for a while, he came up with a solution – emission-free bikes.
The design earned Ben a spot at the International Science and Engineering Fair, it got him the cover of Popular Science magazine, which put Uno at the number one spot on its list of the year’s top inventions, and a slot on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
The huge publicity attracted a number of investors to fund a second prototype, for which Ben has hired a full team of engineers. They are aiming to get the first models out in November. “Everything that is happening right now is so exciting”, Ben enthused, “but I still have to focus on my education and getting my degree.”

Kayvon Beykpour, 20, MobilEdu
During his first year at university, Kayvon and his childhood friend set up Terribly Clever Design, a company that works with large corporations to give them a strong presence on the web.
During that period, Facebook was starting to take off, and recognising its potential, they started going to cutting edge companies and encouraging them to use Facebook for their brand campaigns. In just a few months, the pair was managing the Facebook presence for Sprint, Best Buy, Comcast, Doritos amongst others.

Kayvon and his friend also launched iStanford, a mobile application that would allow students and faculty to access all Standford university services, from a course catalog to the athletic department schedule, on their iPhones. This application launched successfully last autumn and Kayvon is rolling out the application to other universities. A venture source familiar with the company said that by the end of the year, mobilEdu will have brought in upwards of $1 million in revenue.

Ashley Quall, 18, Whateverlife.com
Little did a 14 year old Ashely Qualls know that experimenting with HTML code to create funky web pages would blossom into Whateverlife.com, a company worth more than a million dollars today. Her site is a favourite destination for young girls looking to “pimp” their MySpace page which a choice of 5,000 layout designs.

Within a year of Ashley designing customized MySpace pages, her site was generating 60 million pages views a month, which was generating more than $50,000 a month in sales. Qualls has since landed a couple of big marketing deals. Such is the popularity of Whateverlife.com that three years ago, Columbia records chose to promote the Jonas Brothers, barely known at the time, exclusively online, placing a three-part video on Ashely’s website. Within two months 60,000 fans of the boy band uploaded the video to their MySpace pages. Ashley dropped out of high school to run the business, which she manages today from the new four-bedroom house she bought near Detroit.

Female entrepreneurs are not being disproportionately affected by the recession, a survey has found.

The Impact of the Recession on Women’s Enterprise – the report commissioned by the Women’s Enterprise Task Force, found that when analysed by sector women were losing their jobs at a slower rate than their male counterparts.

Female entrepreneurs were found to have more positive attitudes towards the recession, and did not want to be seen as victims in the current climate regardless of what happened to their organisations, as they feared this would undermine the hard work they had put in to grow their enterprises in the first place.

The results of the study also appeared to show that women were not dispropotionately having difficulty accessing  finances in comparison to their male counterparts.  This finding broadly ties in with research conducted by Delta Economics and Professor Sarah Carter on Access to Finance, which indicated that there was no clear evidence of differential pricing by banks for women business owners compared to men.