I follow a couple of forums that are frequented by different technology business owners. Engineers, IT people, general computer services people etc.
What I find alarming is the amount of talk concerning doling out discounts that these business usually don't give out. Actually it's not the discounts as much as it is the fact that they are planning on giving them out when nobody has asked for them.
Not a good idea.
If they ask for a discount that you normally would not give, then by all means figure out a way to accommodate them. You should consider also taking away a bit of value from your services with the discounts though or you may be putting your business in jeopardy.
Helping clients to survive while they kill your company is not the answer. Believe me when I tell you that a deep discount that amounts to your technology business doing the same amount of work for much less money is just as bad as losing that customer all together. Actually, it's often worse.
I know it's difficult to see that, but it only takes 1 month too many with discounted service at normal value to put you in a hole you may very well never get out of.
Here's the real problem if you're running into a lot of clients needing a break... You have too many bad clients for your business. If they can't handle a reduction in service for a discount you can't afford to give them, they are not your ideal client to begin with.
Too many people want something for nothing. Eventually, you get exactly what you pay for. They don't give their services away for free, why should you?
Giving some things away as part of a package adds value. Giving away the farm will de-value you, your employees and your business.
A couple of clients like this here and there is OK. But if your entire client list is composed of very needy businesses, you're not positioning yourself as a valuable asset to potential clients and therefore are not attracting the good ones you want.
Know your value and live up to it. You and your business deserve it.
To Your Business Success
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Presidential Race & Your Technology Business
You know, I don't like talking politics... until someone corners me and brings it up. Then I'm like a trapped pit bull. But I don't want to lay my political views on you today. I would never do that and I despise when people preach to me thinking they are right.
Actually, the beauty of politics is that usually it's not about right or wrong. It's about who is promising what, is it even possible to deliver it (versus pie in the sky wishes) and if they can, will they actually do it.
Some may think that's not fun or funny but I think scoping out politicians and putting on my BS meter is exciting and it tells me a lot about that person.
The long and short of it is that nobody in particular sitting in the Oval Office will ever completely ruin this country since we have too many fail-safes. But with that said, putting on your BS meter and using it see who will attempt to help or hinder your technology business is a must for any entrepreneur.
Again, listening to what they say they want to do and if it can really happen as well as the impact of it actually happening is important. As a citizen of this country it's your right to decide who you want representing you. As someone with the right to vote, especially as a business owner, I really think it's your duty as a both a citizen and entrepreneur to cast your vote. This election is no different.
You have a few weeks left to read up on each candidate, then put on the BS meter and decide who to vote for. No opinions from me here. I'm still doing my homework as well.
But keep this in mind as well; whether the person you vote for wins or not, they only have as big of an impact on your business as you let them. The one thing that makes this country great is capitalism and the freedom to (legally) make as much money as you want, deliver your value as you wish and operate your business as it best suits you personally.
You make your own destiny, not the President.
To Your Business Building Success-
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
Actually, the beauty of politics is that usually it's not about right or wrong. It's about who is promising what, is it even possible to deliver it (versus pie in the sky wishes) and if they can, will they actually do it.
Some may think that's not fun or funny but I think scoping out politicians and putting on my BS meter is exciting and it tells me a lot about that person.
The long and short of it is that nobody in particular sitting in the Oval Office will ever completely ruin this country since we have too many fail-safes. But with that said, putting on your BS meter and using it see who will attempt to help or hinder your technology business is a must for any entrepreneur.
Again, listening to what they say they want to do and if it can really happen as well as the impact of it actually happening is important. As a citizen of this country it's your right to decide who you want representing you. As someone with the right to vote, especially as a business owner, I really think it's your duty as a both a citizen and entrepreneur to cast your vote. This election is no different.
You have a few weeks left to read up on each candidate, then put on the BS meter and decide who to vote for. No opinions from me here. I'm still doing my homework as well.
But keep this in mind as well; whether the person you vote for wins or not, they only have as big of an impact on your business as you let them. The one thing that makes this country great is capitalism and the freedom to (legally) make as much money as you want, deliver your value as you wish and operate your business as it best suits you personally.
You make your own destiny, not the President.
To Your Business Building Success-
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
Friday, October 17, 2008
Warren Buffet (you know, Bill Gates' main mentor) on the Economy
Warren Buffet recently came out with a interesting take on the economy and what to do about it on a personal level.
I thought you would like to read about it if you already haven't:
The New York Times
October 17, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Buy American. I Am.
By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Omaha
The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
So ... I've been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions.
But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation's many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear on one point: I can't predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven't the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month - or a year - from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't.
They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky's advice: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."
I don't like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I'll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: "Put your mouth where your money was."
Today my money and my mouth both say equities.
- Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.
I thought you would like to read about it if you already haven't:
The New York Times
October 17, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Buy American. I Am.
By WARREN E. BUFFETT
Omaha
The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.
So ... I've been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I'm talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.
Why?
A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions.
But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation's many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.
Let me be clear on one point: I can't predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven't the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month - or a year - from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.
A little history here: During the Depression, the Dow hit its low, 41, on July 8, 1932. Economic conditions, though, kept deteriorating until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in March 1933. By that time, the market had already advanced 30 percent. Or think back to the early days of World War II, when things were going badly for the United States in Europe and the Pacific. The market hit bottom in April 1942, well before Allied fortunes turned. Again, in the early 1980s, the time to buy stocks was when inflation raged and the economy was in the tank. In short, bad news is an investor's best friend. It lets you buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price.
Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
You might think it would have been impossible for an investor to lose money during a century marked by such an extraordinary gain. But some investors did. The hapless ones bought stocks only when they felt comfort in doing so and then proceeded to sell when the headlines made them queasy.
Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't.
They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and is certain to depreciate in value. Indeed, the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts.
Equities will almost certainly outperform cash over the next decade, probably by a substantial degree. Those investors who cling now to cash are betting they can efficiently time their move away from it later. In waiting for the comfort of good news, they are ignoring Wayne Gretzky's advice: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."
I don't like to opine on the stock market, and again I emphasize that I have no idea what the market will do in the short term. Nevertheless, I'll follow the lead of a restaurant that opened in an empty bank building and then advertised: "Put your mouth where your money was."
Today my money and my mouth both say equities.
- Warren E. Buffett is the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, a diversified holding company.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Technology Businesses Dominate Inc 500
Let's get right to it since I meant to blog about this subject in September.
If you read Inc Magazine you would have seen the latest Inc 500 list in September. If you don't read Inc Magazine, you probably should, by the way.
Either way, they put out their annual list exposing the fastest growing privately held companies in the US. They are all 5+ years old with the last 3 years having growth rates of 500%+. Many in the 1000% range. Now that's growth.
The reason I wanted to make sure you knew about this list is because we dominate it. We meaning those in the technology world.
As a matter of fact, almost half of the 500 businesses profiled were technology based businesses. And that's not including those that are purely in the manufacturing or construction world which I still consider to be technology based businesses for the most part.
IT, software and generally computer based businesses made up over 100 of these businesses. Wow! That's very good news for the techie business owner.
But I also wanted to break some things down to get you some goals to reach. Some are my own observations from being in your shoes before and some are extrapolated from the statistics given on the companies in the Inc 500 list.
Now don't get discouraged with the numbers I am throwing out here. You can be as big or small as you wish but these are averages. Most of these tech companies have about $8 million in revenues and 60 to 75 employees. It really does vary on what they provide so this is a very rough estimate without breaking down each business.
The way I always ran my show, and how I coach others, is to have about 30% admin/exec/sales/marketing people to 70% revenue producing staff (engineers, technicians, programmers etc). If you are a one person show, this obviously doesn't apply, but the next part will.
It seems the magic number for revenue producing staff is about $160,000 generated per person with said staff costing 50%-60% of that revenue. If you are on your own, you are doing well at this number and should (and probably will need) at least a part time admin. I could go deeper into these numbers but it would do no justice on an individual business basis. Feel free to contact me through the consultantscoach.com site to discuss your business directly.
The bottom line is that these technology companies on the Inc 500 list are doing it and most are still considered small businesses, with a few reaching the medium business level. Whether you are on your own, growing, or looking to grow it can be done following the benchmarks and footsteps of the businesses on this list.
You are in the right industry no matter what the economy looks like.
Technology is growing but also ever changing. As an owner of a smaller business and a true entrepreneur, you have the ability, and should have the desire, to keep up with or ahead of this curve. The key is to not just educate yourself and invent better ways to use technology to help your clients, but to also put forth the effort to have your business follow the where you go with the technology.
To Your Business Success
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
If you read Inc Magazine you would have seen the latest Inc 500 list in September. If you don't read Inc Magazine, you probably should, by the way.
Either way, they put out their annual list exposing the fastest growing privately held companies in the US. They are all 5+ years old with the last 3 years having growth rates of 500%+. Many in the 1000% range. Now that's growth.
The reason I wanted to make sure you knew about this list is because we dominate it. We meaning those in the technology world.
As a matter of fact, almost half of the 500 businesses profiled were technology based businesses. And that's not including those that are purely in the manufacturing or construction world which I still consider to be technology based businesses for the most part.
IT, software and generally computer based businesses made up over 100 of these businesses. Wow! That's very good news for the techie business owner.
But I also wanted to break some things down to get you some goals to reach. Some are my own observations from being in your shoes before and some are extrapolated from the statistics given on the companies in the Inc 500 list.
Now don't get discouraged with the numbers I am throwing out here. You can be as big or small as you wish but these are averages. Most of these tech companies have about $8 million in revenues and 60 to 75 employees. It really does vary on what they provide so this is a very rough estimate without breaking down each business.
The way I always ran my show, and how I coach others, is to have about 30% admin/exec/sales/marketing people to 70% revenue producing staff (engineers, technicians, programmers etc). If you are a one person show, this obviously doesn't apply, but the next part will.
It seems the magic number for revenue producing staff is about $160,000 generated per person with said staff costing 50%-60% of that revenue. If you are on your own, you are doing well at this number and should (and probably will need) at least a part time admin. I could go deeper into these numbers but it would do no justice on an individual business basis. Feel free to contact me through the consultantscoach.com site to discuss your business directly.
The bottom line is that these technology companies on the Inc 500 list are doing it and most are still considered small businesses, with a few reaching the medium business level. Whether you are on your own, growing, or looking to grow it can be done following the benchmarks and footsteps of the businesses on this list.
You are in the right industry no matter what the economy looks like.
Technology is growing but also ever changing. As an owner of a smaller business and a true entrepreneur, you have the ability, and should have the desire, to keep up with or ahead of this curve. The key is to not just educate yourself and invent better ways to use technology to help your clients, but to also put forth the effort to have your business follow the where you go with the technology.
To Your Business Success
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
SMB Nation Seattle Rocked
For all of you IT guys & girls that made it to SMB Nation in Seattle hosted by Harry Brelsford this past weekend, I hope you had as good of a time as I did and learned a lot as well.
I am proud to say that I had the chance to speak and be surrounded with lots of great speakers to choose from in both the business and technical presentations. They included Robin Robbins, Dona and Charles Keating, Matt Makowicz, Stuart Selbst, Frank Coker, Tom Poole, Stephen Schramke, Ramon Ray, and Jeff Middleton to name just a few.
The vendors rocked as well including my buddy Karl Palachuk from SMBbooks.com (seen with me in the picture below after the first 3 days of the event, so yes I know I look bad).
Other cool vendors included the guys at LabTech, the CMIT crew, Naseem from Results, the Secure My Company guys, Calyptix, the ASCII group, and of course my friends from the ICCA.
I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on the business track entitled "Own Your Business, Don't Let It Own You" which I had a blast doing and I think it was pretty well received. If you were there and missed it or you want to catch a piece of the finer points from some of my slides (good for all tech business entrepreneurs), I'd be happy to put something together for you. For those that were at SMB Nation, I'm pretty sure they will be making it available as well in the near future.
The show was great and the parties after each daily grind were even better. That's where the real action and networking took place. I had a great time with vendors, speakers and attendees alike. But I want to give a special shout out to a few attendees that helped to keep me in good spirits all weekend including Mike Alligood, Jay Leinart, and "The Aussie Delegate" Matt Drane.
Although I got back to the East Coast yesterday afternoon, I am still pretty beat up so I think I'll call it a night and put up some juicy business info in a few days. Stay tuned.
To Your Business Success-
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
I am proud to say that I had the chance to speak and be surrounded with lots of great speakers to choose from in both the business and technical presentations. They included Robin Robbins, Dona and Charles Keating, Matt Makowicz, Stuart Selbst, Frank Coker, Tom Poole, Stephen Schramke, Ramon Ray, and Jeff Middleton to name just a few.
The vendors rocked as well including my buddy Karl Palachuk from SMBbooks.com (seen with me in the picture below after the first 3 days of the event, so yes I know I look bad).
Other cool vendors included the guys at LabTech, the CMIT crew, Naseem from Results, the Secure My Company guys, Calyptix, the ASCII group, and of course my friends from the ICCA.
I had the pleasure of doing a presentation on the business track entitled "Own Your Business, Don't Let It Own You" which I had a blast doing and I think it was pretty well received. If you were there and missed it or you want to catch a piece of the finer points from some of my slides (good for all tech business entrepreneurs), I'd be happy to put something together for you. For those that were at SMB Nation, I'm pretty sure they will be making it available as well in the near future.
The show was great and the parties after each daily grind were even better. That's where the real action and networking took place. I had a great time with vendors, speakers and attendees alike. But I want to give a special shout out to a few attendees that helped to keep me in good spirits all weekend including Mike Alligood, Jay Leinart, and "The Aussie Delegate" Matt Drane.
Although I got back to the East Coast yesterday afternoon, I am still pretty beat up so I think I'll call it a night and put up some juicy business info in a few days. Stay tuned.
To Your Business Success-
George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach
Thursday, October 2, 2008
On My Way to SMB Nation
It's that time of year again. Time for the SMB nation big event in Seattle. if you're an IT business owner providing your clients with Microsoft solutions, this is the place to be.
There's something for everyone in this industry from tech stuff to how to's to business help.
I'll be there doing one of my signature speeches on growing your business the right way entitled "Own Your Business, Don't Let it Own You". It's a really helpful seminar made for the 1 man show to the 50 person company looking for business stability, infrastructure, growth, and/or preparing to sell for top dollar in the near or distant future.
If you're going, I'll see you there. I'll be there from Friday afternoon through Monday with my gig going on at 11:30am on Sunday.
This SMB Nation show is looking to be a great event. If you didn't sign up, let me know and we can talk about my presentation. I'll be putting up some other useful things taken from the various presenters that I think will help my audience of technology, engineers and IT industry people.
For more real time info on the event, check out the blog by Harry Brelsford (SMB Nation creator) located on the right side of this page. He will be blogging at blog.smbdude.com
See you at the show!
There's something for everyone in this industry from tech stuff to how to's to business help.
I'll be there doing one of my signature speeches on growing your business the right way entitled "Own Your Business, Don't Let it Own You". It's a really helpful seminar made for the 1 man show to the 50 person company looking for business stability, infrastructure, growth, and/or preparing to sell for top dollar in the near or distant future.
If you're going, I'll see you there. I'll be there from Friday afternoon through Monday with my gig going on at 11:30am on Sunday.
This SMB Nation show is looking to be a great event. If you didn't sign up, let me know and we can talk about my presentation. I'll be putting up some other useful things taken from the various presenters that I think will help my audience of technology, engineers and IT industry people.
For more real time info on the event, check out the blog by Harry Brelsford (SMB Nation creator) located on the right side of this page. He will be blogging at blog.smbdude.com
See you at the show!
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