Women business owners are the largest growing group of employers today.  There are 9.1 Women Owned Businesses in the United States alone.  This represents a 108% annual increase since 1992.  These businesses generate a staggering $4 Trillion in sales revenues!  They represent a whopping 38% of all businesses in the United States and employ 23.8 million employees. [1]

This is indeed a formidable pool of talent and provides a great opportunity for networking, strategic partnering and global relationships for women.  These stats notwithstanding, the majority of these are small businesses and SoHos.  [Small office Home office].  Typically these entrepreneurs wear many hats.  At any given moment they may be the marketing department, sales department, implementation specialist or consultant.  Add the dimension of parenting to this mix of roles and you have a very busy group of people indeed.

With so many day-to-day responsibilities it is easy for some things to slip through the cracks.  While you focus on your priorities such as getting new clients and generating revenue some things may unintentionally be pushed aside as lower priority.  This article endeavors to raise your level of awareness of five things to keep in mind as a small business owner, as they have a direct impact on your success. 

1. Keep an eye on the books regardless of how busy you are

 In “confessions of an Embezzler” a small business owner hired Mary, a quiet and hard-working woman who seemed like the perfect employee.  That is, until her boss found out that she had stolen almost $250,000 from the company.  She was one of the few employees who was [not] a family member.  They treated her like their own daughter and took an interest in her life outside of work.  They saw her get married, have kids and grow up and were very good to her. 

Money was a constant balancing act and soon Mary fell behind in her credit card payments.  Since Mary spent her days at work writing company checks, one day she decided to write a check to pay off her credit card.  She told herself it would only be this one time.  Terrified about what she had done, she made herself sick but soon the check cleared and nothing happened. 

You see, Mary was viewed by the business owner as a trusted employee and the amount was small enough to not be noticed.  Mary never wrote large checks after that, just enough to get the bills paid and get a few nice toys at Christmas time.  Almost without her knowing, the amount reached $250,000. 

While on vacation for a week, one of her checks surfaced and upon her return she was confronted by her boss.  The business owner almost had to file bankruptcy as the business was in the process of expanding when the fraud was discovered. [2]

So far the company has been able to keep the doors open but with a few more checks and balances in place they might have prevented this fraud.  Are your checks and balances in place? 

2. Form strategic partnerships/alliances to expand your products and services

Look around you today and you will see many large companies executing mergers and acquisitions or forming strategic partnerships.  Even Microsoft has partnered with other companies in order to expand their offerings.  These large companies realize that in order to remain competitive, they must move at such a rapid rate that new product creation can take too long.  It is much easier to partner with a company that already offers the needed product than to invest the time and money required for new product development and deployment.

Small businesses often have trouble competing with big firms for new business.  By taking a page out of the big company playbook women owned businesses can compete by teaming up with other small businesses. One method that works quite well is rather than hiring permanent employees to meet all of your clients' needs, you can set up a collective with a group of consultants that you can hire as subcontractors. 

When responding to proposals, do so as a group.  This allows you to offer more diverse services while allowing each company or subcontractor free to work independently on other projects.  This best of both world approach allows everyone to be more successful in getting projects and contracts and to compete with larger competitors.

Today’s best practices include collaborating with other companies for success.  I encourage small businesses to follow this practice to expand their business offerings.  

3. Use technology to extend your global reach

 If you do not have a website then I suggest you acquire one as soon as possible. 

Today more than ever before, the customer is king.  With so many options and choices vying for customers money, it is important to keep your company’s products and services at the customer’s fingertips facilitating easy purchase of your latest products and services.

A good website gives the customer valuable information and notifies them when your new products and services become available.  In addition, the cost savings provided through a website are tremendous.  Think of the costs associated with marketing your products and services.   How much does it cost to do a mass mailing or create marketing brochures for a new product? 

 Now, imagine being able to get that same information to your prospects and current customers instantly at the push of a button by publishing it on the web.  Powerful isn’t it.  Sending the same information through the mail would not only take days, there is the handling and mailing cost to consider.  A website eliminates this additional cost and saves on marketing fees.

A website is an inexpensive way to bring your message to millions instead of hundreds.  Your website message becomes global the moment it is published on the web.  Additionally, if you do not have a website, you lose the benefit of getting your message to the global village 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

From a professional standpoint, having a website helps to develop and expand your reputation in your industry and bring access to customers you might not even know exist. 

A content rich website promotes your business to this wider audience and brings your company added exposure by driving traffic to your website that potentially increases your customer base as the visitors contact you directly for more information or purchase your products online. 

Keep in mind that some major corporations won’t do business with your company unless you not only have a website but can also accept credit cards online.  Ask yourself “can I afford to miss out on this opportunity”?

4. Manage your knowledge or others will manage it for you

In my February 2001 newsletter I reference Mr. Raczynski who walked into an Office Depot store to find a computer lamp he had invented on sale for $40.  Subsequent litigation netted him a $2.1 million settlement. 

In another incident Fernando Falcon and Federico Gilligan were awarded $16.5 million in damages for a computer mouse they had invented that was stolen and manufactured by another company.  Unfortunately, the company that stole their intellectual capital had garnered a $160 million contract using their invention.

Those of you who own a PDA have probably seen the combination pen and stylus.  That little item was invented by a small business owner who demonstrated it to 3COM who said they were not interested.  Imagine the surprise six months later when their customers called to ask if they were selling the item through 3COM.  The Hazards were awarded an undisclosed amount for the intellectual capital infringement and now sell their PDA stylus/pen to several major global distributors.

Small business owners should manage their intellectual capital, patents, trademarks and copyrights to ensure that this never happens to them.  As a knowledge management expert I urge small business owners to understand the importance of substituting intellectual capital for ‘normal balance sheet alternatives’.   You should understand that you need to manage knowledge just as much as large companies do.  It only makes good sense in today’s knowledge driven society. 

Many small business owners don’t even know what their knowledge assets are or that it exists.  And the ones that do don’t feel they have the infrastructure to support managing it or to implement a knowledge management solution.  Managed well, your small business can use knowledge as a corporate asset to compete successfully in the marketplace

5. Have a grand vision!

As Richard McKenzie says, "The real causes of enduring market leadership are vision and will. Enduring market leaders have a revolutionary and inspiring vision of the mass market, and they exhibit an indomitable will to realize that vision. They persist under adversity, innovate relentlessly, commit financial resources and leverage assets to realize their vision."   I couldn’t agree more. 

As a small business owner you begin with a vision.  You have an idea you wish to bring to market and the guts to stake your claim on your ability to make it happen.  Having a vision means dreaming of a future that you envision and bring to fruition.  So go for it and remember that the best visions are grand visions. 

By taking advantage of these five strategies you will be able to offer more products and services to a wider audience and the global marketplace.

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TeleSeminars in 2003 Tuesdays 

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The need to push the limits of excellence has taken on a truly personal dimension in that it reflects a commitment  to success.  

These TeleSeminars can help you to achieve your goals and resolutions for 2003!

• How to use the Law of attraction to get what you want
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AUTHOR INFORMATION. Yvonne Frances Brown, The Jamaican American Dreamer™, is an internationally recognized speaker, author and personal motivation, inspiration, and human potential empowerment coach . Yvonne helps people to attain personal greatness by taking control of their own destiny and choosing a future they design. Primary services include coaching, public speaking, keynotes, workshops,  and seminars for corporations and associations

JAD Communications International publishes and distributes encouragement aimed specifically at aspiring people of all ages. Coaching and enlightened discussion is the cornerstone of the endeavor, whereby JAD enables the ever-changing and enlightened mind of people of diversity, without regard to age, race, or background. To learn more about JAD Communications International and how it can help to coach and motivate your employees, your association, or your company, send an email to The Jamaican American Dreamer

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