After spending a good part of your life establishing and eventually growing your business into a profitable entity, could you honestly say that everything was worth your while? Do all your efforts even make a sense? Is your business even sellable?

I had a pep talk with someone who ran his own agency for two decades and our conversation steered to retirement; he said he was already planning to call it off. So I asked him what his options on his business are, whether he has some plans made. His response really caught me off guard. He said he probably will just literally call it off, close his business for good and refer his loyal clients to other professionals of his field. I know that selling a business is not as easy as selling pancakes, but if you have ran the business for a score of years then you must at least have a fighting chance of being able to sell it somehow. I can’t quite figure out the waste of the amount of effort and time making up your business only to close it for good after some time.

The scenario prompted me to muse about my own business. I run a successful copywriting business for 7 fruitful years, and this really got me thinking about its future. I haven’t had contemplated of ever selling my business if ever it comes to that, not before, not now. I think it does not stand a chance of a sale as of today, it does not have the form and I have not the slightest inclination.  Had I only thought of selling my business, I would have done things differently in preparation for a future sale. For those contemplating of selling your business, you should groom it from the start.

If you wish to make some money on your business you could rent it out to someone and secure for yourself regular revenue while you are out there enjoying your freedom days. Or you could make your business formidable, make its finances sound and healthy, making huge profits along the way, and then sell it for a hefty price by the time you want to call it off already.

Most of the business owners are more short business term oriented because most are also into servicing in nature. But in any way, anyone could still sell a business when it is called for.

You ever think of selling your business? Does it have what it takes to entice potential buyers?

When a crisis pops up, do you readily craft solutions and contingencies, or you eagerly list down all available excuses?

Your credibility goes through a testing by fire when you are made accountable for your actions. Your business’ success primarily depends on your ability on being accountable of all the things under your care. Your credibility is only as great as your accountability. Clients judge you by your character.

When you do business alone, there’s no way to share the work, nor the blame. You shoulder everything, so the temptation to make excuses is great. The true test of your credibility is in handling unforeseen glitches or delays. Do you face and meet it head on with your arsenals of solutions or you fall back and find anyone and anything to throw the blame. For you to truly succeed in business, you must not seek the easy way out in every crisis. The following are the common lines from people who care not to stand on their accountability:

• I missed the meeting because the heavy traffic held me off
• We missed the deadline because of the power interruptions
• My computer is not in great shape, so there’s no way I could submit the reports on time

Compare these lines to people who own up to their responsibility; people who are ready for the inevitabilities:

• I know that there could be a heavy traffic, so I left early and rode the public transport to catch the meeting on time
• We’re calling you to let you know that we are experiencing power interruptions, but rest assured that we will try our very best to stay true to our original commitment of delivering it on time.
• My computer is not in great shape so I better head to the nearest computer shop to do my report there

You establish and you strengthen your credibility when you begin being accountable for everything you do. You get to convey to your clients, both current and potential, that they could securely do business with you because they know that you hold yourself true to your words. Your credibility climbs as your accountability grows. They always come together. That is why it is imperative to groom yourself to being a responsible and accountable businessman because it is want clients need. People want to work with people they know they could trust. And without accountability, there is no way to build trust. Therefore, be true to your responsibilities, own it up. Do not make excuses, rather, look for solutions. And make your way to success.

I will love to hear any idea or feedback from you.

If you wish you track about the progress of your business and to test whether your employed techniques have anything to do with the noticeable improvements, measure it!

Every other detail in our life needs to be measured. If we have set for ourselves a defined goal, whether in business or personal, we have to measure our development, otherwise, there is no way of telling whether the improvements we notice are relevant. Most businessmen neglect to include measuring in their business procedures and they pay for it dearly. To know whether you are practicing business performance measuring, read the following questions and evaluate your answers.

1. Are you keeping updated accounts?

You have to account your activities, time and again. Do not put it down in bulk or just twice a year. It is more productive if you could do it prompt and consistent.

2. Are you measuring your results?

Every after accounting your results on time, you have to make sure that you measure it for what it is. You need to gauge whatever there is to gauge.

3. Are you measuring the right data?

You have to know to identify which data that needs measuring. Otherwise you might end up wasting time and resources. You have to know which one goes where.

4. Are your measuring procedures extensive and comprehensive?

When you measure, make sure to include not only the internal but also the external factors that have contributing influence over the data that you are trying to measure.

5. Are you practising benchmarking?

When measuring is employed, it is practical that the data you have will be used for comparison for reasons of benchmarking. You may benchmark all the major consideration points so as to come up with a sound conclusion.

6. Are you using ratios for easy presentations?

Get into the habit of using ratios when you wish to present the results of your measuring procedure. When you use ratios, it is easy to interpret. A data expressed in ratio explains extensively without having to get into many intricate details.

7. Are you capable of interpreting the results?

Every item discussed above should be able to tell you much more about the anatomy of measuring and its results. More than anyone else, you should be able to understand the implications of the results so that you can fully utilize its uses.

8. Are you actively responding on the results?

The core reason why you need to measure your business performance is so that you could actively make relevant response to its implications. If the results are positive, your response should be to devise methods to maintain your operation in its current state. If the result is negative, you should be able to come up with ideas in how to rectify your current procedures so as to make the business way better.

Extend an effort to gauge your business performance. Take time to measure as to how you are fairing. Your business needs measuring from time to time.

Have you ever considered that every success you achieve, you pay the price in one way or another? Success alone is glorious; it’s the price that could get us to muse long and hard.

Most of the times we only view success as it already is. What we see are just the products and what we do not realize is the sacrifices and all the other things we need to give up in our pursuit of this elusive prize. Success always happens for a fee, for most of the time, it is costly.

When I was still a 13 year old kid I used to play foot ball. My Dad seldom comes to watch me play because his schedules are always full chasing after his lofty dreams and ambitions. So when one day he showed up, it really made a difference. I was playing the best game of my life at that time. I have a friend named Patrick who has a dad like my own. A businessman and successful and have as much reasons as my Dad for not coming to watch us play football. But his Dad always makes it a point to come every game and cheers loudly for his son. He would always shout at the top of his voice for bill. As children, we would make fun of this kind of gestures but it is only when I was already a grown up that I view this in an entirely new and higher perspective. I have grown so much respect for Patrick’s Dad by the time I realize his commitment to support his son. Both my dad and Patrick’s were highly successful in their ventures and I would say it was my dad who paid a higher price for his success. And I wish to emulate Patrick’s Dad’s fatherhood style when I already have my own children.

You have to draw a line between your priorities. And you have to identify which comes first in your priority list. I would say that you need to learn to balance things out so as not to make any unnecessary cost along the way as you tread towards your ladder of success. Make your family be your greatest motivation, and do not neglect them on the process of achieving your dreams. Value them much more than you value your business clients.

I have had my down times I admit. There are times that I had my difficulties along the learning curve. But in the end, I realize I want to be the father that my children will remember as someone who is always there for them, for love and support. Do not miss important family dates for the sake of business meetings. You don’t get to hold the years, sooner or later, your children will grow faster than you could ever notice and you will realize that you have missed their golden years of growing up.

As a businessman, you have to take good care of your business with utmost passion without compromising your quality time with your family. Every time you are faced with a decision to choose between work and family, choose family, all the time, every time.

You need to change your gloomy outlook in life if you wish to succeed and make a great impact. You could be surrounded by various reasons to be down, but you can always tap on your inner self to rise above the circumstance. Here are 5 steps to help you out change your gloomy outlook.

1. Keep a distance from gloomy people

Your company is a big influence on your mood, perspective and actions. If you want to have a positive outlook in life, what better way to do it than to associate with positive people? Keep your distance from people who make storms out of a simple breeze.  It will do you no good to keep their company. If you cannot beat them, then walk away from them. Stay away as possible. Allow your ears not to hear their senseless talks.

 2. Pick your clients

You need not accommodate every client that comes your way. You have to gauge what kind of people you are dealing with. Politely decline business dealing that will reinforce gloomy outlook. Choose your associates that provide a positive vibe; ones that assures a regular flow of work and at the same time who allows a friendly environment. If you think the work deal you are offered is not worth your while and will compromise your perspective, then say “NO”.

3. Get yourself involved

Get involved in helping people sort out their dilemma. In therapy, people who are depressed are encouraged to go out of their self-made cages and associate with people and offer to help. When you help, you release an aura of kindness that automatically influences you to be proactive and positive in your outlook and ways. Take time to give your best ideas in every way possible. There a number of social sites that offer vast opportunities for you to showcase your skills of helping people out.

4. Encourage your customers

Never be short on making encouraging remarks. You have to give your customers the needed reassurance that they will do just fine. You do not need to flatter them; it’s no good to do that. You uplift their spirit in a way that is sensible and sincere.

5. Make things exciting, all the time

Have fun. Excite all your loyal customers. It does not need to be fancy all the time, but just enough to make things lively and happy.

Share your thoughts.

It is imperative that you employ testing process with any of your procedures especially in business. This is so you could legitimately tell the actual results of your employed methods, which is definitely impossible to do with just mere guessing. The following are the few advantages of split testing:

It helps to learn about your average conversion rate from time to time, but it is way better to know exactly which of the particular methods or techniques led the most of your conversions. I had been devising several ways of measuring my conversion for a time already and the most I could do is to track my sign up rate. I automatically thought it’s the best way of doing things. However, on the course of doing this, I discovered one particular method to double my productivity within a short amount of time. I was sent an invitation for a free webcast. And I noticed that the company who sent me the mail was using an entirely different format and structure with the one I had been sending with my webcast sign up. Their structure follows an order and they chose not to personalise their mails. Mine was the complete opposite of what they practise. I thought I was doing it the right way because it was supposed to be the standard and the best, but this time I really want to find it for sure if indeed it is true.

I employed the technique called split testing, which entails and prompts me to split my subscribers roll into two select teams. I sent my original email structure to the first team, and to the second team the new structure. And all I needed to do is just wait for the number of sign up for each of the 2 groups. The result shocked me, the new structure got more sign up than the old one and what really shocked me is that it got more than double the number of sign up. The effect was really convincing that I readily switched my strategy. I’m not saying that you pattern your email after a generic style, nor would I say that my new style now will work with your own business. Everything else is still heavily dependent upon the involved factors such your type of business and your target audience. Whenever you have any new ideas, you do split testing and find out for yourself if that certain idea works. And then do not cease from collecting new methods and keep testing them until you acquire your most desired results.

You may start now by thinking of your own business and its particular details, which one you want to see some improvements and which one needed change. Then apply split testing method to help you track which of the ideas work for your benefit.

There may be no clear standards in how to gauge business success, but there are simple ways to track tangible measure of progress within a business. The following are my 5 ways of measuring the success of micro business.

It’s not easy to come up with criteria to define business success. We all know too well that success is fairly dependent on the level of happiness the owner feels regarding the performance of his business, and happiness does not necessarily mean huge income. Therefore I carefully outlined the criteria so as to include contentment as well as the financial performance of a business.

Continuous lead generation

Some business owners gauge their success not simply by the amount of volume of people patronizing their business but by the number of new leads they are about to generate every single day. By keeping your vision to generating more leads no matter how many are already patronizing your business, you will keep your focus on the continuing improvement of the quality of the services you offer.

Conversion rate of leads to customers

The very reason why we make extended efforts of generating leads is for us to ensure that a continuous stream of customers will be realized. It takes a very good management and marketing approach to achieve a high conversion rate from a mere prospect into a loyal customer. By measuring your conversion rate, you should be able to understand the trend and will aid you in crafting and improving your methods for the benefit of your business.

Productivity

The next gauge for success is productivity. It talks not on how many tasks you were able to perform but it is more on the number of tasks done that really matter. In business you do not necessarily have to do everything to succeed. You only have to define the things that are important or are instrumental to your core values and then perform those tasks with utmost quality. Identify the 20% of the most important to you and then focus your energy and resources on those 20% and then slash out the rest.

Health cash flow

A healthy cash flow is a determinant of a healthy business, and a healthy business is an image of success. Your business is basically ran by cash, so you need to pay a detailed attention to your cash flow and make sure it is in its right order otherwise your business is headed to its demise. So to avoid complications, prioritize your cash flow

Return on time invested

Best of all, for a business to be truly successful, you should be able to tell that you are getting more from it than your original investment. For having a business, you should also have time to reward yourself and the people you love with the blessings that you got from running the business successfully. I believe these sums up the entire measurement of running a successful micro business.

Improvise and never cease searching what works for you and your business, in the long run you might just find out the true measure of success.

Financial benchmarks can have a dramatic impact on the performance of your business. You may use it to broaden your competitive edge, thus, giving you better opportunities. Let me help you by giving you a few pointers about financial benchmarking.

Definition of benchmarking

If you have a business, and you are actively employing strategic methods and techniques for its improvement, you will really find it helpful to track how things are fairing against the business trends in the community. You may need to evaluate your business performance having other businesses as a backdrop for comparison from time to time. Financial benchmarking will do exactly just that.

 Advantages

It helps you craft better strategies to make your business come out as better equipped and prepared to meet the challenges ahead. It will aid you in enhancing your methods of placing your business in a position poised for greater opportunities. Moreover, it is also a big help in budget preparation.

 Resources

Nowadays, information is readily available for the benefit of the researchers. In fact, benchmarking data most of the time is available for free in all the major government and private institutions. Moreover you could ask for any more additional information from your accountant to help you out.  But you need to remember that financial benchmarking only works out on businesses that are considered equal in capacities and size. Otherwise, there might be distortions in its data results.

 Data measurement

You have to know and identify the specific data that you wish to make comparisons with; this is so that you could easily extract the measured data available. Without the proper identification, there is no way of ensuring the accuracy for benchmarking. To do this, you must also be able to name the data that are essential in your business to aid you which particular data to be measured.

 Practical uses

• If your benchmark data says you are renting way higher than the average rent within your community, then you might have to address it by resorting to certain methods that are called for in this kind of situation.
• If the data provides that your shipment cost is considerably higher than the rest, then you might ask the forwarder company for a discount or look for a forwarder that costs cheaper.
• Or if you find out that you are lagging in sales, you might just need to reinvent your marketing efforts to augment your revenues generated by your sales.

Too often, we look at some people, by their appearance, make general assumptions of success. But no matter how things may be at superficial level, there is no way to correctly gauge the measure of true success.

I am about to turn 35 and I was musing on the many details about how my life and career are fairing, wanting to know and evaluate where am I in the success gauge. In a book Life: A guide, Andrew Fuller said that people within the age range of 29 to 35 muses and evaluates their respective lives. It is the first point in someone’s life when things about careers are seriously evaluated. Many would even think that 35 is the age when success is supposed to have been reached already, any later than that will make it all the more harder for success to be achieved.

I myself have my moments when I look at people thinking they are having the time of their lives, basking in the glory of their success, and making the most of the fruits of their success. I was actually hoping that many people are thinking the same things I do.

There are no clear standards of gauging success; there are no tangible parameters upon which to base the conclusions. Many seem to have already achieved a considerable amount of success yet are still considerably empty and would go to the ends of the earth to search for another quest. How exactly to measure success, how come that there is an insatiable hunger to chase after it in an endless loop?  

I have an ambiguous feeling about success, there are times that I am immaculately contented, and there are days when I feel like I am fired up to chase my loftiest goals. Nowhere have I ever felt a moment of “I have made it “. And that really bothered me. According to Fuller when we reach the age of 36, there are no more excuses left as to why success evades us time and again. We cannot anymore point out inexperience as an excuse either. To some, success seems like just a myth; an endless pursuit to happiness and contentment. It is an illusion of an elusive dream. However, to a great few, success is a daily occurrence; they are people who have reached a level of contentment no matter their station in life. Thus, life is a state of mind not of circumstances.