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FEATURE STORY

LEARNING FROM THE BIG BOYS  

There are volumes of books available on building and growing a small business but the most valuable secrets to success may be right under your nose. That’s right, just like when you were a kid on the playground trying to figure out how to scramble across the monkey bars like the older kids, that corporate executive you recently interviewed may be the perfect individual to help set your business into the fast track. But you’re concerned that this big gun might not mesh with the hectic, think-on-your-feet environment of your small business. Well, stop and think again. What you can learn from your executive new hire may become the best mutually beneficial business relationship you’ve ever had.

Strategy before all else

Unlike small business, in the corporate environment nothing happens without a plan and a detailed strategy. This tool may become infinitely useful to you as you transition from crazed start-up into day-to-day operations. Take the time to strategize, research and plan for future growth even when you’re entrepreneurial instincts are screaming, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ By listening and learning from your executive new hire, you can adequately plan for growth and put procedures in place to better handle the increased sales volume when it occurs.

While small business is lean, nimble and encourages quick decision making, corporate life requires patience, team work and bureaucracy. Sometimes, especially as a business expands from start-up to mid-size, it’s necessary to add a little bureaucracy into one’s operation to maintain order and fairness. Policy and procedure manuals, human resource and employee handbooks and other such processes all lend themselves to maintaining a calm, efficient workforce.

If your current operations don’t include policies, start thinking about areas of the business where expansion may spark some undesired behaviors and plan prevention steps now. For example, if you’ll be running a second shift during high production periods, develop a policy to handle issues that may arise during an off-shift such as overtime pay, maximum hours to be worked, compensation time versus salary, and even emergency off-hours contacts or an on-call schedule.

Back to basics

Small business owners often feel that they don’t have the experience in running a business, managing staff or a firm grasp of financial operations to effectively grow the business. By hiring someone with corporate experience, you can ask questions and learn valuable life lessons from business leaders who have already been where you are headed.

These seasoned executives have managed million dollar budgets, spearheaded critical projects, and most importantly, made mistakes in the process. Heed their warnings carefully and you’ll avoid many of the same painful mistakes that they have made, giving your business a leg up on the competition.

Solid marketing sense

Corporations are traditionally well-armed in the advertising and marketing arena. They have large deep marketing pockets and some of the best advertising agencies in the business at their disposal. While small business could never afford those niceties, you can watch and learn. Corporate marketing executives have tried and tested strategies for target marketing, broad consumer marketing, and even innovative tactics such as Web and Podcasting. Take advantage of the experiences your new hire has and learn what their previous employer did to better communicate with their target audiences.

Smile and say ‘cheese’

Corporate executives have grown through the ranks of junior executive and middle management and have learned (most of the time) how to speak in public, what questions to answer and what not to say at all. They can show you how to interact better with your target markets and the public and how to get better community support for a new product or initiative. From trade shows, conferences and business events, they can bring their name, reputation, and talents to your business and help raise awareness and credibility.

Many executives have participated in large-scale non profit organizations as board members and volunteers. When times are difficult, they have even pitched in and done their part to lend a helping hand by grabbing a hammer and rolling up their sleeves. International retail giants like Sears and Lowe’s have underwritten the cost of producing EHMO to help elevate the feel-good factor of their brand. Leaders from these companies have appeared on the show to donate products and services and even paint a wall or hang windows.

But the underlying message here is if you can make a difference while building your business and your brand, do it. More and more organizations are beginning to see the impact of charitable marketing efforts and the corporate executive sitting down the hall from you may have the perfect concept to energize your brand. Still, don’t go into charitable marketing with the sole purpose of selling your product. Remember that your primary motivation needs to be helping others. The good will and marketing boost that you may receive will be repaid to you in ways you cannot even imagine.

Watching the bottom line

Corporate execs are vigilant about budgets, profits, and loss. Accustomed to not only managing large budgets and staff, they are also responsible for meeting financial expectations and (more often than not) cutting those funds when circumstances change.

Consultants advise that you should assume a failure is not an option mentality and strategy. Corporate executives don’t have the luxury or option of failure because too much is at stake should their project not succeed. If small business owners more keenly focused on that mind set, versus procrastination and inaction when finances start to head south, they’d be in a much better position to make the critical decisions and keep their business from being another casualty.

If finances and accounting aren’t your business strengths then face reality and utilize your new hire’s talents to set things right. Financial officers and accountants oversee the investment of funds and manage associated risks, supervise cash management activities, execute capital-raising strategies to support a firm’s expansion and deal with mergers and acquisitions. Having someone in-house with the expertise to keep a watchful eye on the numbers and the experience to capitalize on financial opportunities can help free up your time to concentrate on growing the business.

Manage less

Believe it or not, a company executive can teach even the most controlling entrepreneur how to manage less. That’s right, the key to growing your business lies in the secret of knowing when to manage your people and when to let them make decisions and do their job solo. This move is fundamental to the success you will see in your business’ growth.

Employees need to feel empowered to make the right choices and that takes a great deal of training and faith on the part of the owner. By learning from the best companies you can create an environment of learning, enthusiasm and energy that will far surpass anything you could have micromanaged. Prepare your team, train them well and then be ready to let them take the reigns and run their projects.

Is smaller better?

Remember that above all else, smaller can be better in many ways. Small business is lean, quick, informal and responsive. Yet, small business doesn’t need to be small minded. Take what lessons apply from the big boys and toss out what absolutely won’t work in your smaller environment, but be open to new ideas and possibilities.

Embrace change and look at it as a new opportunity that may take your small business to a level you never thought possible. You’ve brought a talented, seasoned individual into your organization because you felt she had the right stuff. Try to remain accessible to new ideas and allow her to bring her strongest assets and attributes to the table.

It’s a two-way street

What you learn from your new corporate employee is equally as beneficial as what you can provide for them. As a small business you have a tremendous offering to bring to the negotiation table. Benefits such as a flexible schedule, creative freedom, personal growth, hands-on work environment and watching something take shape from the ground up can be powerful negotiating tools when sitting across the table from a potential candidate.

There are also the intangible benefits of living and working in a smaller community and the security that small business works harder to avoid layoffs than the big blue chip companies. After experiencing down-sizing, right-sizing, and re-organizing, executives are fleeing the corporate world for the stability and growth potential found in the small business sector.

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, bringing on an experienced corporate executive may be the ticket. These professionals can bring a new perspective to a business that’s struggling with growth, marketing or financing and help to reenergize the organization. To learn more creative ways to spark your business, talk with a Fiducial advisor today by calling 866-FIDUCIAL or visit the web site at www.fiducial.com.