Sustainable Business/Evaluating your business

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This should not just be an exercise in ticking boxes but is a principles and methods based report where preset monitoring points are addressed in sentences. The HC would be done with the SBN co-ordinator.

Consider the output measures that should be included in each Methods booklet.

Sanford TBL reporting

The end of a financial year brings with it the opportunity to look back at what happened. One of the very difficult things for the small business person to do is to extricate themselves from their day-to-day role and review their business. Some term this working on the business not working in the busienss.

In the world of bigger business this is the role played by directors at monthly or bimonthly board meetings.

When managers are involved in this process it is not uncommon that they go away somewhere where there are no phones and place themselves in a different environment. For the small businessperson this role has been filled by there accountant or by a business coach. One of the challenges for the small entrepreneur of future will be finding somebody able to help them work on their business in a holistic way. The traditional training of accountants and business coaches does not encompass the wider issues we have been dealing with.

review business performance

as already mentioned review sales weekly and have a more thorough review each month.

what would we do differently

could we do better?

How does the business fit with my personal life?

Reviewing The Value Proposition

Alternative TBL approach

Customer targets

have you met your customer service targets
number of liaison calls

repairs done on time

have you met your product or service targets

Life style targets

income
hours

Financial targets

profitability
leverage
is wealth being accrued?

by repaying term loans(that are secured)
by increasing the value of the firm

Community targets

Hours spent helping
advertising placed

Environmental targets

waste recycled
electricity consumption (as related to activity)

Money

Business

Are surpluses maintainable

For next year

For the next 3 years (forecasted)

Assumptions

Are the assumptions related to income fair? Are any cost savings over optimistic? Contingency fund

The Owner

Will the businesses surpluses be sufficient for personal spending and investment in the nest 12 months. What needs to change

better returns from the business
revised personal goals of the entrepreneur

Community

Internal

Staff

Staff morale
Staff training
Staffing issues
Staff turnover
Encouraging staff innovation
Family
Friends
Business enhancement (innovation)
Your ideas
Staff ideas
Implemented
Fraud prevention

External

Relations with local businesses
Relations with industry groups
Participation in Chamber of Commerce
Participation other networking groups
Relations with customers
Relations with suppliers (days to settlement of invoices)
Financiers/bankers
Community engagement through charity support
Contacts ideas

Environment

Internal

Power usage
Managed waste
Un-recycled waste
Material use efficiency

External

Customer carbon footprint
Our pollution

Visual
Noise
Physical
E waste
Improvements during the year

Our image to the outside world

Positive
Negative
Improvements during the year

How we interpret the results

Change method

Change the ethics (Change value proposition) CGY reminder note

Rules of thumb on when to change.

Is this business working for me

Are you feeling stressed? Is the business encroaching on other areas of your life?

time with family
time with your local community (friends?)
leisure activities

If yes are you prepared to tolerate this for another 12 months? 2 years? how many years?

If the business(s) is/are unreasonably encroaching on your life then: how can you lessen your involvement. go back to.......