Welcome back! Over the last few weeks I have been looking deep into our business, the industry and what’s working and what’s not. The questions in My re-fore-flection Part 1 do not have simple yes or no answers. The answers I found require a plan of action and a commitment to that plan to be successful. I would like to share with you my plan and where I am in the action.
- The first area of concern was managing and maintaining an adequate cash flow.
Corey and I sat down and figured out what our weekly billable hours need to be in order to: make the salaries we desire, continually invest in our business, save for retirement etc. Once we found that number, we looked very closely at our weekly task lists and determined if that amount of time was do-able. (We love to work, but we love to play too. ; ) We looked at how much time the non-billable tasks take out of our day and then started looking for ways to streamline things. We invested in a really awesome yet affordable project management system. It is really helping us get closer to our billable goals. I know that the more comfortable and acquainted we become with it, the more billable time we will have available.
The second part of this plan included withholding 3% of our revenues and keeping that money in an interest bearing account. Once it gets to a sizable number, we will be looking to invest and diversify that money to make it grow faster!
- The second area of concern was improving our selling skills.
First, we revisited our marketing plan. When Face First Creative was born, our initial plan was to market to small and medium sized companies and give them the kinds of marketing materials that would allow them to compete with their competitors who pay large amounts of money for the upscale design/marketing products that win the attention of the buyers in their marketplace. What doesn’t work in that scenario is that the kind of work we are good at and love to do, high-end custom graphic and web design is time consuming. We just couldn’t charge a rate that the smaller businesses could afford, do what we love to do AND stay in business. This was a tough realization for us, because we really get a charge out of being in the corner of the underdog. We decided we needed to shift our target market to slightly larger companies with needs and budgets that match what we have to offer. That being said, we will always have love and respect for small businesses everywhere and we will always look for ways to work with them no matter what their budgets are.
So now we are marketing to bigger clients and need to change our way of thinking a little bit. Feeling somewhat lost, I enrolled in a really awesome, fun and exciting coaching program that was being offered by some really hot marketing chicks called Rich Happy and Hot. Class is in session and let me tell you…AWESOME!!! Check it out! You will thank me and baby, you are so welcome!
- Thirdly, we look at industry trends and changes in technology.
Social Media is the way of the world these days. The good news is it’s fun it’s free AND it’s exponential. I don’t care what your business is, if you’re not taking advantage of this tool you’re either dumb or crazy or both. Looking back, I think we must be a little of both, because we have not been taking full advantage. That’s about to change. No more excuses… I’m not too busy for free advertising.
I won’t bore you with the changes in coding languages and what we can do with that, but trust me we’re on that too.
- Lastly, employees-when to hire one/some.
We’re just not there yet. We’ve had the opportunity to speak to a few classrooms of aspiring web designers. I think our first step will be to bring in an intern. We can test drive our people management skills while giving some of these students a beginning to end experience in the real world of web-design not to mention filling a requirement they need to graduate. I do love a win-win situation.
If your business is contemplating some of the same issues well, leave a comment or question. Tell me about your experience, I want to know. Best of luck peeps! Until next time- Mua.
