Buzz On Biz

Doing work or delivering product for which you do not get paid is just working for free. Many new business owners make the mistake of doing work or delivering product without a clear understanding of how they are going to get paid. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you this is an expensive way to learn. You are really better off having no work than doing work for which you will not get paid.

There are several things a business owner can do to help insure payment for the work they do. First, have clear terms of engagement. This may be done with an invoice, an engagement letter, or a term sheet. Frequently new business owners are uncomfortable discussing price and terms, especially in a service business. However, in my experience, you are much more likely to collect your fees if the customer knows up front what the work costs. This is one reason I try to put a flat fee on most of the work in my office. Second, the work should be documented in writing. This does not necessarily mean a formal contract with signatures of both parties. A confirmation letter or term sheet may be more appropriate for your business. However if you can get a signed contract, then you can control the terms and put in language that is advantageous to your ultimate collections. These may include things such as a choice of where suit can be filed, whether interest will be charged on overdue balances, warranty terms and payment terms.

If the customer will not pay then you have to decide whether to pursue collections. Collections can be a long and costly process. One alternative is to turn the collection over to an agency who works on a contingency or who may purchase your outstanding accounts. If you choose to turn over collections to an attorney be sure to negotiate the terms in advance (i.e. contingency basis or hourly or some other fee arrangement).

In most cases you cannot force someone to pay without filing suit and receiving a court judgment. This can take months to complete and a judgment does not mean you automatically get paid. Collection on a judgment requires further action. These actions can include garnishment, seizure of assets by the sheriff, and liens on property.  All of these processes are time-consuming.

So am I saying to ignore outstanding accounts? No, significant bad debt needs to be collected. But if you have trouble collecting accounts, make corrections at the beginning of the client relationship to avoid these problems.

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E-Myth author Michael Gerber hit the nail on the head when he explained that most entrepreneurs are not entrepreneurs at all. More often than not, they are simply accomplished professionals in their chosen field who leave a job where they have a “real” boss to start a business that becomes their master, thereby secretly enslaving them forever.

As a rule, a great painter makes a lousy art gallery owner.

The same fiercely independent creativity and individualism that gave the world Picasso and Van Gogh is the thing that dooms the artist’s entrepreneurial enterprise from before the beginning.  Being a great auto mechanic seldom leads to owning and operating a successful automobile dealership.

Why?

Because if you’re the very best at what you do for a living—and both you and everyone else know it—then the temptation to do it all yourself will almost invariably cripple your enterprise.

Why?

Because when you’re working IN your business, it is physically impossible for you to be working ON your business.  If you’re repairing a transmission yourself, you cannot be working on your operational systems, building a marketing campaign, or managing and training your employees.  Your own “IF I want a job done right, I’ll have to do it myself” mentality—which is extremely rooted in your own ego—is a fatal flaw that automatically limits both your business’s growth and its profitability.

So what do I do about it?

1. Hire a competent, experienced manager to run the business so you can keep on “doin’ it, doin’ it, doin’ it” just as you did in your old job.
2. Become the leader/manager your business needs to grow into an entity that has worth whether or not you are still in the trenches every day.
3. Go back to work for someone else.

Veteran marketing consultant and creative guru Bert Dean is president and founder of The Clarion Company, a regional integrated marketing communications firm. He is also Executive Director of the CSRA Home Connections Local Alliance Co-op Marketing Program. You can reach Bert by phone at (706) 796-7795 or via e-mail: bertdean@clarionsouth.com. (www.clarioncompany.com)

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Are you PERFECTLY HAPPY with your career and personal life? Would you like some CHANGES/IMPROVEMENTS in your career, life, or maybe golf game?

No one is PERFECTLY happy and almost EVERYONE would like SOME changes, at least in theory. But change is often elusive; here are four key reasons:

• “The Nitty Gritty”: The devil’s in the details. Although you may like some changes, it’s unlikely you REALLY know what specific changes would be appropriate, practical and that you would actually follow through on. It takes some work to really figure this out.
• “Change is Hard”: You have probably heard this before; sadly, this is often reason enough for people NOT to pursue even simple changes. Many of us choose to focus on things we like and put blinders on concerning things that aren’t working that well.
• “Man’s worst fear” is uncertainty. Some people are afraid to make change for fear that the change may make things worse.
• “Economics”: Change always requires that we first stop what we’re doing and rethink things; this takes time, energy and money (don’t forget “Time IS Money”). Many of us think we can’t afford to do this, but normally we really can.

Therefore, we avoid change for a combination of factual reasons (not gathering the details) as well as EMOTIONAL REASONS (such as fears, procrastination, etc.)

To succeed in change, we must accurately address BOTH of these core issues.

TWO REASONS WE CHANGE

• We HAVE to – sometimes things have gotten so bad that others require us to change, or the environment we’re used to changes and we must adapt.
• We WANT to – we realize that life could be so much better and the amount of effort it would take to change will be well worth doing.

MY PROCESS FOR CHANGE

It’s like a planned out journey; it can be enjoyable, educational, and pay dividends for the rest of your life! Key elements:

• Figure out where and who you are today
• Figure out where you want to go, change and become
• Figure out paths to get from here to there
• Looks at both physical facts AND emotional factors

This “reality based” process is a combination of thinking, planning, “soul searching” and action. It also requires one other person, to help you through the steps. Remember: Although it’s great to dream about making changes and how you want to evolve, your goals must be realistic and achievable over time.

THE FIRST STEPS FOR CHANGE

The starting point for change is called the Executive Assessment, which includes “TEN QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE”.  These questions help figure out the specifics of your strengths, challenges, goals and more.

Summary: Taking action to make positive changes is something you may want to consider. As always, change is in your control. Given the right attitude, interest and opportunity, it actually can be easy, pleasant, and quite cost-effective. And remember, Tiger Woods has a coach; you may want to consider on, too!

Publisher’s Note: Larry Rudwick and Business Tune-Ups have provided invaluable help in growing the “Buzz on Biz” brand and strategizing on pricing and cost efficiencies.

If you are interested in finding out the details, you may go to my website and click on the Executive Assessment button; in addition, you may also download the “TEN QUESTIONS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE”. You may also sign up for a complimentary call with me. For more information, go to http://www.BusinessTune-Ups.com or call Larry Rudwick at 571-331-6102 • © 2010 McWick Inc.

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You may not have a 3D TV but is your PC ready for 3D?

Comcast earlier this week said it will stream live 3D footage over the Internet from The Masters Golf Tournament at least two hours per day for each round plus the Wednesday Par Three Tournament. When I heard the headline the first time I thought it was a little unusual for something as innovative as 3D coverage to be associated with The Masters. I thought for sure a famous 3D feature film or maybe the Super Bowl would be the first place I would see 3D on TV. But as I thought about it, I remembered that The Masters was one of, if not the first sporting event I had heard of covered in HD TV a few years ago. Going further back, as a teenager the hole by hole coverage in the 1970s was groundbreaking as well. They have temperature controlled greens and gardens at Augusta National, which they are pioneers of as well, so yeah, despite the commonly misplaced image of a stodgy traditionalist club, The Masters has a history of innovation.

So, back to 3D TV: The streams can be played back on 3D HDTVs with Internet connectivity, but is it possible to watch 3D playback on your PC? Well, few monitors today are 3D-capable and most PCs today can’t handle 3D playback because of poor graphics capabilities. The typical out-of-the box video graphics are usually minimal because price has forced cutbacks including video capabilities in typical PC builds unless you paid particular attention to the model you bought and insisted on upgraded graphics capabilities.

Content providers are increasingly streaming 3D video over the Internet, but analysts have concluded that users may not be all that interested in 3D viewing on their PCs. Besides enthusiast buyers like gamers, 3D displays are in low demand and 3D is of little interest to business users. Last year worldwide 3D PC display shipments including laptop displays were less than 1% of the total purchased and analysts believe this trend will continue.

The stars have to align correctly to view 3D content on your PC. One might ask: What needs to be done to support 3d viewing on PCs? As previously mentioned, you must have upgraded graphics compared to most PCs. A 3D display is a must as well. Content – There is limited 3D content available at the present time, and finally there is no real standard for 3D glasses which are a requirement today, although research is progressing to eventually deliver autoscopic technology which will not require 3D glasses. Laptops you ask? Graphics cards or chipsets need to shrink to a point where laptops can playback 3D content, because today they generate too much heat, demand a lot of power which impacts battery life, and they are just too big to fit in notebooks.

So like it or not 3D TVs are where the growth lies in the near future. Its not just the technology dictating this either – usability aspects such as the fact that multiple users can watch TV, and the size of TVs often exceed 40 inches – much larger than PC displays.

Bottom line – if you are one of the few that have TVs that have Internet connectivity, 3D capabilities, and have purchased 3D glasses needed for your particular TV, then you are in for a treat! The rest of us may be knocking on your door the first full week in April to take a peek as well.

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