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Issue 10
| Plan to succeed |
Plan to succeed
Very few people consciously plan to fail - most however, fail to plan and when you are the proud new owner of your newsagency the last thing you want to do is fail. The way to overcome this is to firstly have a Business Plan that tells you what you are going to achieve and how you are going to do it. Secondly, constantly refer to the Business Plan and change it as it is a dynamic document.
Many buyers complete a Business Plan under sufferance and never look at it again, surely this is a recipe for failure – because they didn’t understand or appreciate the value such a document has and consequently will pay the price.
Now the Business Plan does NOT have to be a 100 page bound book – we have seen an excellent one done on 1 page! So it shouldn’t be too hard for you to prepare one – we even supply the template for buyers dealing with us as part of our service – all you have to do is fill in a few things that relate to your newsagency.
Having got a working Business Plan you really need to concentrate on working ON the business not working IN it. What’s the difference? When you work on the business you delegate. When you work in the business you do it all yourself.
Newsagents can and should delegate for success by using their staff more effectively – most times they don’t because “by the time I tell them how to do it – I could have done it myself” – “if you want a job done well you have to do it yourself” – “I don’t trust them to be able to do it” the excuses go on and on and on. That’s what they are: excuses for your bad management or lack of delegation.
How do you overcome this?
Stop worrying about mistakes – good managers have a good work environment and are supportive of their staff and the mistakes they make. Very little is achieved in business without some risk and newsagents are no exception. Risk taking shows initiative
Stop worrying about perfection – whilst tasks should be completed well – perfectionism can be a huge time waster. Learn to accept reasonable and adequate work when it is all that is required.
Lack of confidence in staff – certainly if you are delegating a task for the first time to a new employee it can be an understandable feeling. But if you don’t overcome this lack of confidence you will find yourself doing all the work and the staff you employed to do it will stand by and watch you struggle. Coach your staff – provide them with simple step by step plan of how to do each task.
False sense of efficiency – as stated before many owners do not delegate because “I can do the job quicker and better than showing someone else”. This statement may be true, but it does not give your staff the chance to develop and improve their worth to your business, Also, if you are doing all the work, who is concentrating on running the business?
If, at the end of the business day, you still have hours of paperwork to do you are not working ON your business – you are working IN it. Delegate! Even a one person newsagency can get someone to come in for a few hours to mind the store or get a book keeper in to do your accounts.
After all it’s your life and your business – what do you really want out of them both?
Contact us and we will happily answer all your questions.
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