For instance, has a vendor salesperson ever come and asked you for a favor; to order additional product to help him or her make a sales goal or contest? It is a great idea if it benefits your business and cash flow is not an issue, however it is a really bad idea if it doesn’t. In that moment, when this friend asked you, as the owner/buyer, for a favor it might have felt good to say “sure, why not.” This short-term feel-good moment is replaced by dread when the invoice arrives. It is then that we realize that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions.

Do you have employees that have been with you for years but seem to hurt your company more than help it? Do you have a client that is always running over 90 days late in their payments but you let them slide for one reason or another? How about a vendor that has outlived their usefulness or a bank that tacks on charges a little at a time but going down and fighting them seems like too much work?

You can come up with valid reasons for any of these situations, but what about your business? How does that additional product that you don’t need in this moment affect your purchase budget and your cash flow? How much better off would sales be if you got rid of the non-performing members of your team and replaced them with motivated professionals? Could you drop some precious points to your bottom line by negotiating or changing banks and suppliers? These decisions are a critical component of any businesses success. Unfortunately many entrepreneurs have turned complacent and have abdicated the critical responsibility to be the guardian of their company to someone other than themselves or they ignore it altogether.

How can we let that happen? The problem has a lot to do with a blurring of lines between the company and the founder. When an owner feels like they can make any decision they want, there is a lack of boundary between the personality of the entrepreneur and the needs of the enterprise. This can create a dangerous gap in continuity for the business, putting everything at risk. So what is the solution and how should one interact with their creation? The answer is BY PLAN. If you don’t have a purchase budget make one, if you do have a purchase budget, use it. If employees, lenders or vendors have outlived their usefulness then get them back on a positive track or remove them from the equation. Set up monthly, quarterly and yearly reviews of sales and marketing, operations, financials and employees that surround and affect your company. Then take a close look at yourself. Have you allowed your emotional, physical or financial needs to negatively impact the organization? If so, stop it.

Your business is not you! Always do what is best for its growth and well being even if these tough decisions hurt. Remember never kill the goose that lays the golden eggs!

It all begins to feel a little bit like speed dating; almost as if they are picking the right relationship for a one night stand. What happened to meaningful relationships? Are ideals like romance, courtship, seduction and commitment a thing of the past? Is it really just all about price? Where is the loyalty in that? Has cheap become a deity to be worshipped?

Think about this: Imagine you show up at a speed dating event and proceed to take too long at each table, demand that things slow down and insist on long deep conversations—what would happen? You would be asked to leave because you’re gumming up the works. The same holds true for your business, make sure you’re giving your customer what THEY want and expect at this very moment. After their immediate need is understood and met, only then can you begin the process of relationship building, not before.

The conundrum is that cheap has its place, but odds are your business was never designed to withstand long periods of price cutting. You may still believe in value added and concepts like quality work and long term relationships. You might be old school and refuse to be sucked into the black hole of the price wars. After all, who can’t name a competitor that rose like the sun based on price only to burn out like a super nova when the sales slowed? Having said that, something feels out of whack—the old methods and beliefs are failing to deliver during this tough economic cycle and you are losing sales or worse yet, customers. What should you do?

The answer may lie in a hybrid of the two opposing points of view. In other words, if a product or service you offer becomes commoditized you only have one real option—sell that product or service based on price and adjust costs accordingly while seeking out new, more profitable products and/or service opportunities. You see, if you are a complete slave to either model, right or wrong, you are losing.

Make adjustments to cater to the speed daters, they have little time and want instant gratification. Also, don’t forget the relationship work; which takes time, effort, loyalty and sincere concern for the other party. The important point to remember is that a speed dating encounter could end up as a long term caring relationship! What you need is a speed dating plan that works its way into a relationship plan.

The answer is not simple; you need two sets of plans. The first step is to identify speed dating trends in your industry and adapt to that model quickly. At the same time you need to look for relationship opportunities and train your staff in the art of becoming a Professional Services Firm. Remember the old retailers’ adage—the profit is in the corners. In this case, the profit comes from identifying relationship opportunities and guiding your client away from the false god of cheap and into the power of working and trusting in you.

Step back for a moment and ask yourself, “Does this look and sound familiar?” The Dot-Com Bubble, the Stock Market Bubble and the Housing Bubble have all started this way. Fortunes were made, but many more fortunes were lost as these fads shifted and became the black holes that consumed our resources, both time and money. Sometimes, the fad is so overwhelming that people cannot hear the whole message even when an expert tries to warn them. I am reminded of the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It not only taught the common investor about the benefits of buying the right Real Estate, but it also contained pretty straight forward words of caution and warning. Unfortunately, many of us did not listen. The lure of fast money is a powerful drug.

Now we have a ton of new gurus telling us how important this new media is to our business and our lives. So called experts are sprouting up all around us and just like every other “Bubble”, we pour money over them in the hope that we can gain some strategic advantage. The point of this article is to be your voice of reason. Social media is a tool, not the magic secret to success. I am suggesting a realistic and balanced approach to this medium.

Think of it this way – New Biz and Old Biz. New Biz is the Internet and everything it involves; from web sites to Social Media. Old Biz is what your company was built on; it is how you deliver your product or service every day. Old Biz pays the bills but it is routine and a little less exciting. New Biz is pure potential and fun, but before you know it, it will also become routine and a little less exciting. So what do you do?

You must decide on a balanced plan. Decide on the level of impact the Internet can have on your business and divide your resources and time accordingly. New Biz should be a sub-project for your company and not the sole focus of your attention. Although New Biz is indeed important and needs to be analyzed and implemented, it cannot and should not take a front seat to Old Biz. Not now, not ever!

Every business owner, either consciously or subconsciously, has had a relationship with Cash Mountain. We all believed, at some point, that if we went into business and worked very hard, climbing the business mountain every day, that eventually we would reach the summit of our efforts and look down over the top to see our final destination – a vast ocean of cash! Isn’t that the truth? Didn’t we all set out the day we started our business believing that we held in our hands the answer to financial success?

We held tight to the notion that once we climbed over Cash Mountain we would be swimming in money, finally free to acquire everything and anything we desire. All of our efforts will eventually be rewarded, right? Well, that is what the legend implies. Everyone knows or has heard of someone that has become fabulously wealthy in their business, yet in my experience in working with hundreds of small business owners I see a completely different scenario.

The entrepreneur in you starts the journey up Cash Mountain full of energy and purpose, but somewhere along the way you lose direction. You stop. Maybe it is just to rest, but in that moment, the day to day work of the climb overwhelms you and you begin to do what I have come to call sleepwalking. As each day passes, you are busy with the ascent, but nothing seems to change. Eventually, the never ending onslaught of frustrations and issues begin to erode the passion that once pushed you up the mountain so effortlessly. It is at this point that the majority of Small Business Owners start waving a white flag of surrender.

What happened to the dream? It has become a real life myth in your world, something you talk about with your partner or spouse, but deep in your heart you are starting to believe you have lost the energy, clarity and focus needed to achieve what you envisioned. You can blame the economy, employees, competition, banks, etc, but the truth is you are tired and disillusioned. Your dream and life’s goal has become nothing more than a wish.

So, why does this happen to the majority of business owners in the world? It is not because you do not work hard because you actually work harder than probably anyone you know. It’s not because of a lack of education, money, opportunity, family or any of the other go to reasons we all fall back on. The cause is that we never clearly defined how and when we were going to get to the ocean of cash and then got sucked into the vastness of the mountain.

When I see a truly successful company I always look to see what traits or attributes the owner had that propelled them over the top of that mountain. It has been my experience that these entrepreneurs do not get there by following the path that everyone else follows. Their ultimate goal is always larger and the successful business is just a part of that plan, freedom from fear is the goal. Let me explain. Even great businesses can have great failures. Take a look at General Motors or Lehman Brothers. Thousands more perish or change hands every day. In fact, for small business, it is worse; most small companies never reach their tenth anniversary. There are boulders tumbling down the mountain that can take out a small business in an instant.

Boulders come in many forms, such as the Internet, new competition, price wars, cash flow catastrophes, employee issues, etc. The attack is relentless and that is why we are all so tired and seek safety by learning to hide within the mountain. While we are busy protecting what we have built, all progress to make it over the mountain has stopped.

In order to make it over Cash Mountain we have to begin again with a different perspective. Your goal is not to build a “great” business, your goal is to quickly and effectively create a profitable business and reinvest those profits into passive, income producing opportunities. You see, Cash Mountain is not a place, it is a condition. It occurs when the income from passive investments (investments outside of your business) are greater than your cost of living. Once you recognize the difference you will be in a much better place to construct a solid plan, put systems in place to achieve results and find an accountability partner that will truthfully tell you where you are and remind you of where you are supposed to be going.

People who make it over the mountain are totally focused on the financial results, not the day-to-day work. They know where they are going and why. If they fail to hit a financial target they feel it internally, not as anger but as a reminder to focus. Cash Mountain is there for all to climb, but don’t go it alone. The greatest climbers in the world have a guide and a solid team behind them and you should too.

Let me tell you, right here and now, there are NO simple secrets. There are principles and values; there is hard work and trial and error, but simple secrets – no. As you read this you may say to yourself, “Wait a minute, I heard of this or that idea that changed the world, after all, wasn’t Google or Coke just an idea?” That is correct, but it isn’t just the idea that counts; it is the implementation of that idea and that takes hard work, time and a plan.

The people that can really make an idea work are so rare that everyone takes notice and talks about their amazing accomplishments. The trap for you and me lies in the claims of self-proclaimed gurus looking to make a quick buck. They use these examples to get you believing that it was easy.

There is no secret with individuals that make it happen, only commitment. There is but one law that drives life and business; the law of sowing and reaping. You can only reap what you work so hard to build. Success in business takes a plan, an accountability partner when times get rough and a clear vision of the result you are here to achieve. From there, it is trial and error and lifelong commitment to learning. Yes, read the great books, study with masters when possible, but please avoid the temptation of something for nothing. Life just doesn’t work that way!

To professional services firms, large chain stores and commodity retailers, attempting to survive this onslaught has become perilous at best. With margins shrinking and costs rising, many small business owners see a perfect storm approaching. What should you do?

For some, the answer is unclear. Do you attempt to supply your customers and clients with much more perceived value than you did in 2008 for the same or less cost? Can you financially and, more important, emotionally handle this new reality? Is this unfamiliar situation making your business plan obsolete?

The answers to these questions need to be individually addressed but not ignored. Unfortunately, there is no longer a simple, golden-parachute time to rest or play. Instead, you must reconnect with your chosen profession, compete for the business of your past customers and fight – fight – fight. Welcome to 2012!

Engaging with a business coach is more important than ever. Such a consultant has the unique insight that comes from working with many different industries and businesses. These associations and insights will help you reformulate your plans, re-ignite passion and focus you and your company on results. Sleepwalking through your days in denial of these new changes is not viable option. In the unenviable event that the only solution is to close your company and start over, it is better to face the inevitable than to waste valuable time. Take action today!

Re-think the lay-offs. Think about it: If other companies are reducing their workforce; they are, in effect, backing out of the marketplace:

• They have reduced productivity
• Their customer service levels will begin to suffer
• They will not be able to react to a customer needs quite as quickly
• When things do turn around, they’ll be spending big bucks on hiring and training

This is the perfect time to push forward, not to pull back. Don’t follow the pack. Find creative business ideas to keep your employees busy, productive and employed.

The best time to promote your business is when everyone else has stopped promoting theirs. Marketing budgets at most small companies have been cut back severely, if not eliminated all together. That just increased the value of your marketing dollar ten-fold. Be one of the few out their promoting while the rest of your competition hides out, waiting for things to improve.

Here are some things you can do for little or no money that go a long way for your reputation in this environment. When appropriate, take pictures and tell the local press:

• Together, with your employees, do something that needs done in your neighborhood.
• Put on a food drive – get people into your business.
• Accept donated items for our troops. Pay for the packing materials and shipping.
• Adopt a family in need, provide the funds and ask the employees to do the shopping.
• Be a mentor to small business owners starting out or struggling.

Don’t take out the water cooler. Think through all of the possible ramifications of a decision. Take the water cooler for instance. Seems like an easy way to save a few bucks, right? Wrong.

• Employees are drinking less water. How does that affect their health?
• More individual 16 oz bottles of water will be consumed. How does that affect our environment?
• Employees are spending their disposable income on something the business previously provided. How does that affect their attitude? Company morale?

Think everything through. Before you jump on the bandwagon; you might want to ask yourself which direction it’s headed!

As business owners we can’t ignore popular trends, but I wonder if the constant learning, re-learning and worrying if we are doing the right thing at the right time is healthy for the growth and ultimate survival of our companies.

I’ve been giving this topic a great deal of thought and I’m slightly concerned that we, as entrepreneurs, may be abandoning the tried and true principles that truly do benefit a business by chasing the ever elusive next great idea.  Are the messages of some of the most brilliant minds in business; Peter Drucker and Michael Gerber for example, being overshadowed and drowned out by all of the social shouting going on around us?

I’ve come to the conclusion that sticking with what I know works and keeping my eye on emerging trends and ideas that may benefit our business is good for growth.  Ultimately, testing some of these ideas and then tweeking the principles that we know to be effective might just be the best solution.  In other words, I’m not getting sidetracked by whomever happens to be shouting the loudest and my business won’t be sidelined in the meantime.

There are many reasons for starting a company:

• Freedom
• Income Potential
• Security
• Be Your Own Boss
• Because You Can
• and the list goes on…

Why then does a small business take us down a path that seems to be the exact opposite of why we started the journey in the first place?The reason is simple; the business wasn’t started with a specific goal in mind. For instance; the business will generate $1,000 a month in profit that will be invested until it generates $10,000 a month in passive income. Rather, when we start a business we hope and pray to make enough money to replace our income and cover our health insurance premiums!

Without a specific means-to-an-end for the company, we’ve just bought ourselves a job. With a job comes never ending tasks. Finish one and ten more emerge and eventually the only thing you can see is a never ending stream of work ahead. Your vision, your passion and your energy are gone.

STOP: Think outside your box for a few minutes. Get clear on your goals, what you want your business to deliver and put a time limit to those accomplishments. Separate the technician day-to-day busywork from the necessary entrepreneurial goal work and watch as you and your business emerge from the mountain of tasks that are burying your potential.

The crux of the problem isn’t a lack of new customers.  It’s because your company has most likely reached capacity.  Trying to deal with an influx of new customers would throw your business out of whack because you wouldn’t have the operational strength to deal with them.  If you want to grow your company, all four areas of your company; Sales, Operations, Money and Employees, have to be properly organized, aligned and ready for more business.

Is it a lot of work?  Yes, but you have to grow your small business capacity before you can grow your sales.