What is a small business?  It is a business that isn’t large, that was simple enough.  But really what is it?  It is just like a large business, but with a smaller focus.  It still has the same goals, to make a profit, conserve resources, and don’t spend too much to get the job done.   However, the challenge is much harder when there is a limited staff.

It never ceases to amaze me when I come in contact with a small successful business.  It almost seems to me that if you distill it down you almost have the same recipe.   

·         Common Goal

·         Defined Process

·         Get Paid

·         Attract New Customers

Then they repeat the process over and over again as quickly as possible and make the most of their opportunity.  The purpose of this blog is to look at some of the issues that are common to all business enterprises, and then look at solving these common problems.

Let’s start off by observing a small operation like a Lawn care company.  While living in a large urban gated community, it was easy to see that there were a large number of companies providing lawn service, and it was interesting to watch the different companies that frequented the neighborhood.  Some companies stood out, they had trailers full of equipment.  The equipment was organized, put into specific places; bags for lawn cuttings, fuel, oil, and spare equipment in case of failures.  Each person in the crew would do a specific job, and from start to finish it would take some where close to half an hour and they would be gone to the next house.  The customer could pay cash, or set up a monthly account.    While they were in the neighborhood, they would ask other people if they needed their lawn cut, and would work them in as needed.

Their goal was to get the lawns mowed, follow a proven process, offer to provide additional services like tree trimming, get paid, ask other neighbors if they needed similar services, and move on.

Short and sweet business plan, hard work, but none the less, it is work that pays.  They had their phone number on their truck, and they also carried business cards that could be handed out.

·         Common Goal

·         Defined Process

·         Get Paid

·         Attract New Customers

Of course, pay taxes, keep the books, keep up with personnel, maintain the equipment, and all of the other things that come along with running a business. 

How can they improve, what problems can they avoid, and how could technology help a small lawn care company?  They could use email, a website, and scheduling software.  In the next post we will take a look at some of the problems and solutions that can be implemented to help our example company.