In this, my first post, entry I want to provide some comfort to those of you "in the trenches". You are not alone. No, I don't mean aliens could invade the planet at any time (although this is plausible), I mean that there are literally thousands of small businesses in Australia who are all struggling to come to grips with running a small-to-medium-sized enterprise who are just like you.
That's what an SME is by the way; a Small-to-Medium-sized Enterprise. Why the term "small business" lost favour with the World, I'll never know, but it does make me feel special being able to refer to myself in the third person as "an SME". Try it. Don't say it as a word, spell it out, or your new found lingo might backfire before you even get going! I tend to alternate between referring to my company as "a small business" or "an SME" depending on the environment. I highly recommend you do the same whenever the actual purpose of your business is not important, or you want to keep it confidential ie. you don't always have to say "I'm a fence builder" when you meet a stranger for the first time.
I'm not saying that you're not unique (you are!), these other SMEs I'm referring to are probably not in the same business as you, making and selling timber clocks at the local markets for example, but they all have many things in common with you. Honestly, I could, and often, ask other small business owners what they are struggling with and the answers of "cash-flow" and "finding new customers" are almost always in the top 5. Book-keeping is also another pain-point. Unfortunately the research points to other problem areas of our businesses that we are often not aware of until its too late and we find ourselves closing down (as so many of our colleagues have done before us). No matter the researcher, they almost always include poor business planning, poor marketing and poor sales. Far from buzz words, "business planning", "marketing" and "sales" are but a handful of fundamental elements (of which there are many) of a successful and sustainable business.
What I'm trying to introduce here is my commitment, as a fellow SME, to helping you. There are thousands of other SMEs out there, but a lot of them are too busy trying to keep their own businesses afloat; let alone spend time providing advice or guidance to others. At present, I've been blessed with time... time to reflect on my own business, future business prospects and to consider what advice I'd have given to myself over the past 3 years since establishing my first company (assuming I'd been humble enough to listen at the time).
I hope that the advice I give is useful and practical. If it isn't I'm sure you'll let me know! However, if it is, it would be great for you to comment accordingly - showing others that you agree and support what I've said. This will hopefully provide validation to what I've written and ensure that new readers of my blog will know that I'm not just a crazy man.
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