Small business owners, picture this scenario: it’s a Friday afternoon and you’re all ready to unwind. Suddenly, a client calls you up wanting this and that. Or maybe, an “urgent” e-mail comes in. The office is closed. You’re done for the day – for the week, for that matter. What do you do?

This is not an uncommon scenario, really. A lot of small business owners have to face this on a regular basis. On the one hand, you probably would want to ignore everything, and deal with it on Monday. On the other hand, you don’t feel right ignoring the call/e-mail.

Here’s the tip: from the outset, make your expectations and rules clear to your clients. In spite of the fact that you may be offering web-based services or that you are running a small personalized business, you do have a life. Make it clear that you have working hours and that they are to be respected. This way, there will be no issues (hopefully) if you leave things to sit over the weekend.

You should also arm yourself with tools to take care of requests after work hours. Make sure you have voicemail. Turn it on to deal with the after hours calls. Turn on your e-mail autoreply. Last, but most important, make sure you have separate numbers for your business and for your personal use.

Don’t let your business run your life! Set boundaries.

But how do you react when you make a mistake? What is your instinct? How do you deal with the situation?

For many people, making a mistake is not an option, and when it does happen, they somehow cannot believe it. As a result, they act like the proverbial ostrich with his head buried in the sand. They justify the mistake and never acknowledge the fact that they have indeed made a slip.

Here is rule number 1 about dealing with your own mistakes: own up to them!

Just because you own your business and you are THE boss, it does not mean that you are above making a mistake. It does not mean that you cannot, even for just one moment, admit that you are not perfect. Running away from your mistake and not stepping up to the plate will only make things worse, especially in the eyes of your subordinates. A boss who admits his shortcomings and takes responsibility for them will only be admired more by his employees.

If you have been shying away from showing your human side, so to speak, why don’t you try honesty and openness? You just might be surprised at how much easier it can be to solve the complications that arise from your occasional mistake.

Be bold. Go where no one else dares to go. Just because something is not tried tested or is not deemed “normal,” you should not shy away from the idea. Take a moment to think about the potential of your idea and GO FOR IT.

Don’t go overboard. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is my “equal and opposite reaction” to the first tip above. Innovative ideas and stunts are great for attracting people to your business, but do make sure that you don’t do something just for the heck of it. Analyze. Think. Research.

Don’t carry the burden all by yourself. You may think you’re a super businessman but that does not mean that some members of your staff can’t do a decent job. Share the workload. Give some key responsibilities to trusted and skilled staff members. Not only will you be giving them a boost, but you’ll also free yourself up for more creative possibilities that will benefit your business.

See yourself as your customers’ problem solver. One of the keys to success in business is to provide exactly what your target market needs. Placing yourself in the shoes of the problem solver will help you come up with new products/services and/or innovations to your existing ones. At the end of the day, you get to offer something of value and that in itself will attract more customers.

Do not cut costs radically.
This might go against your better sense, but cutting costs left and right might do your business more harm than good. The idea here is to cut costs cautiously and not without considering the long term effects. Just make sure that whatever you cut back on will not have negative effects in the long run.

Consider work-at-home options.
Not everyone is open to this idea but you might be able to keep your budget healthy and keep your business running at the same time. If it is possible to close the office down (cut back on overhead costs) and have your employees work from home, then by all means consider doing it! With technology the way it is today, you will not have problems running the business even with people based in different physical locations.

Advertise!
Again, this might not seem to make sense. Times are tough, why spend precious resources (time and money!) on advertising? Well, in times of economic problems, the first instinct of most people is to cut back and definitely NOT advertise. If you grab this opportunity and advertise when your competitors are lying low, you will certainly reap the benefits.

Perhaps of the biggest fears of business owners is the fact that they might have to close down shop for a while if the virus hits their area. After all, one cannot simply continue running a business if employees are infected. It does not have to happen, though.

The bottom line is that you have to be prepared. First of all, you have to ensure the hygiene of your staff and the cleanliness of the office. In my company, we have stepped up the maintenance schedule. Needless to say, the maintenance people are kept very busy. They now clean the wash rooms more than twice a day. You can smell the disinfectant more often now. Door knobs, telephones, computer terminals, and other devices are cleaned at least twice a day. Reminders are posted everywhere, especially in the washroom – wash your hands with soap every time you use the loo, and so on.

If a person gets sick – even if you are not sure it is the swine flu, do not force him to go to work. Instead, force him to go to the hospital to be checked and enforce a quarantine for that person.

The idea is to make sure that you have a clear plan on how to deal with the virus in case you do find a case in your office. Being prepared will help you get through the ordeal with minimal damage.

The Orlando Sentinel recently ran a feature on this issue:

The parts of the federal government’s stimulus program aimed at small-business owners aren’t working as they should, say local owners and small-business experts who are trying to figure out what to do about the problem.

Claudia Menezes said there’s a barrier between the government aid allotted for small businesses and companies like hers, Pegasus Transportation, which runs tours for international travelers. And she isn’t alone in that opinion.

“We can’t get a loan out of anybody to help these people,” said Rich Jaeckle, chairman of the Orlando chapter of Score, a business-counseling group. Entrepreneurs approach the nonprofit organization for help, he said, but it can’t provide it. “They’re good ideas and they can’t go anywhere.”

What is happening? According to experts, there are certain regulations in place that are preventing the release of money. As a result, the involved authorities are getting together to see what can be done. In the meantime, small business owners have to be content with what they can get. Not very encouraging news right now, I know.

For your web site that is and this can be caused by one of many reasons. Many businesses who rely on the internet normally have firms providing hosting services for their web sites. This being the case, having low traffic on your site may be a rising concern so if the web site itself is designed so good, then what the hell could be causing you money? Well, if you’d take the time to review your hosting company and needs, you might just find out that the type of service you’re paying for isn’t cut out for the increasing demand on your web, causing them to bog down and thus losing customers in the process. There are basically two types, managed and unmanaged hosting services and they each have their distinct pros and cons.

Managed hosting has the hosting company working with you, taking care of the server management, application updates and many other technicalities you might not to bother yourself with. This type of hosting is more costly yet it allows you to focus your energy to money making goals leaving the technical stuff to the technical guys. Unmanaged hosting is the best option for people and businesses who have their own web development people and wish to save a lot in terms of the service. They handle all aspects of the technical stuff except for owning the servers and machines themselves. It is cheaper and more cost effective yet as mentioned, you do need knowledgeable people on the area of web development to manage the whole shebang. Now you can see the distinct differences of managed vs. unmanaged hosting services to analyze and see which works for you and if you are getting enough from your investment for the service. Hopefully, you pinpoint the problem and resolve the issue enough to resolve your traffic problem, getting your web site back on the map of the ever-changing internet.

Weaknesses can be identified as the things that are inherent to your business that makes it susceptible or vulnerable in the face of threats. Threats on the other hand is an external source of danger.

At first glance weaknesses may seem easier to identify and address since they are internal factors, hence easier to control, right? Wrong! The funny thing about weaknesses is that they are not always that obvious since one of the major weaknesses of any business is that we can all be oblivious about something. What this means is that even if you have successfully done risk management planning there must be continous search for weaknesses in your business system. Of course the same is true for potential threats, it can be easy to overlook potential threats, especially if some seem farfetched. However, there must be a reason why the saying “Better safe than sorry” is so popular.

To help you differentiate the weaknesses and potential threats in your business I will give an example. For a simple online crafts shop some weaknesses may include lack of knowledge in web design, search engine optimisation and internet marketing methods, as well as more traditional weaknesses like production limit and storage capacity. On the other hand potential threats include fire and theft (on the place of production and theft even during the delivery process), hackers, computer virus, etc.

As you can see it is becoming more and more obvious that risk management is not that simple.

To be continued…

Do you still remember what happened when the Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy? The news traveled like wild fire from the US to Europe to Asia – all in a matter of minutes, I suppose. A lot of people were running around like headless chickens, trying to make sure that they will not go down with the giants.

It seems that with the economic problems that prevail, one common result is that ordinarily bright and adventurous entrepreneurs suddenly halt in their tracks and take time to reconsider their activities. While this course of action does make sense and is actually prudent, becoming “paralyzed” with fear about taking risk is the total opposite.

Sramana Mitra recently wrote something about this topic over at Forbes.com. Here is the gist:

The most worrisome implication of these successive events is that the world will tailspin into a fear psychosis and all the drivers of progress and prosperity–innovation, entrepreneurship, consumer confidence and reform–will get paralyzed.

The article mainly wants to point this out – the media is also responsible for NOT fostering an atmosphere of fear. I want to take it one step further and lay some of the responsibility at OUR feet – we should not believe everything that we read and hear about. The facts are there. Some of it may result in fear but at the end of the day, we are responsible as to whether or not we will let that fear get in the way of business, don’t you think?