Don’t market your business, if you cannot handle it!

Sometimes we just get too busy trying to get a business up and running to “waste” time on the marketing.   The biggest waste of time is not marketing!  I have so many businesses that I find it hard to get anything done, anymore.  Hence, the lack of new material on this blog.  I hope everyone will forgive me for the oversight.

Businesses can grow without you really trying to market them, just by word of mouth from satisfied customers.  Just imagine for a minute how much faster you could grow if you took the time to do the marketing or had someone do it for you.

One of our current businesses is growing at 6% a month…not bad really.  I haven’t even marketed it yet!  One problem you might experience is that sometimes, with marketing, your business grows too fast.  Everyone seems to think that this is a good thing, but is it?  Let’s see.

With the quick expansion of a business, you have to be prepared.  How will you handle the extra customers?  There is no use in spending money and time to get more customers, if you cannot properly handle them.  They will only tell everyone how badly you do your job.  Customer service is everything.  Remember that.

I find that living in Europe, customer service is not the same as in the US.  When I grew up  in the U.S., we were taught that the customer is KING and you needed to treat them so.  I used to have a sign over my desk that said, ” If you don’t take care of your customer, someone else will!”  A truer statement never existed.  I always get remarks from people here that visit the States about how well they were looked after, compared to here.  The moral is that more does not equal better.  Make sure that you are set up to adequately look after any extra customers that you get by your marketing efforts, or grow slowly.

The biggest issue that most people starting a business forget about is cash flow.  When the cash stops flowing, so does your business.  Even people that actually make a business plan, underestimate how much money they actually need to keep the business going until it makes a profit.

The next thing that people tend to forget is that you cannot actually spend the money you make in a new business, if you want the business to grow.  The money needs to be re-invested in the company, in order for growth to occur.  Do not expect to be able to actually use the money you make, for at least a year.  That means that you need to keep you present job and start the business on the side.  At least then you still have an income you can rely on, while the business is in the growth stage.

Finally, let’s look at the other expenses.  Rent, electricity, water, sewer, taxes, employees, vehicles, fuel, repairs, consumables (paper, envelopes, office supplies), advertising, stock ( if running a business with stock), premise fitout (desks, cash register, shelving, computers, printers, etc.)