Business Management

Make Better Business Decisions

Every business owner has to make tough decisions with uncertain outcomes. That is the nature of the job. Making a decision is one of the most powerful acts for inspiring confidence in leaders and managers. Yet many bosses are sometimes squeamish about it. Some decide not to decide, while others simply procrastinate. Either way, it's a cop-out -- and doesn't exactly encourage inspiration in the ranks.

Learn how to make better decisions. You'll be viewed as a better leader and get better results overall. Here are some tips for making quicker, more calculated decisions:

1. Stop seeking perfection. 
Many great leaders would prefer a project or report be delivered only 80% complete a few hours early than 100% complete five minutes late. Moral of the story: Don't wait for everything to be perfect. Instead of seeking the impossible, efficient decision makers tend to act without all the answers.

2. Create a constructive environment. 
For successful decision making, make sure you establish an objective, involve  stakeholders, hear others opinions, and ask the right questions.

3. Expect the Unexpected
No matter how much analysis and planning you do, you cannot predict the future. Things happen so your plans should be flexible enough that you can adapt to the unexpected, without throwing everything off course.

4. Seek out help when you get in over your head.
If you think you know everything, you are doomed to fail. If you don’t have the time or resources to delve into a particular issue, or don’t have the technical background, or just want a second opinion, then by all means bring in outside experts to help you.

5. Don't problem solve, decide. 
A decision can solve a problem, but not every problem can be solved by making a decision. Instead, decision making often relies more on intuition than analysis. Deciding between vendors, for instance, requires examining historical data, references and prices. But the tipping point often rests with your gut. Which feels like the right choice?



6. Communicate Your Decision, and Move to Action. 
Once you've made your decision, it's important to explain it to those affected by it, and involved in implementing it. Talk about why you chose the alternative you did. The more information you provide about risks and projected benefits, the more likely people are to support the decision.


An organized and systematic decision-making process usually leads to better decisions. Without a well-defined process, you risk making decisions that are based on insufficient information and analysis. Many variables affect the final impact of your decision.
I hope these few ideas help improve your approach to decision making in your business. Please let me know your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Conserve cash – Improve profits

As an entrepreneur, one of the key factors that keep a business running is liquid cash or operating capital. When a business has cash flow it will always be in a position to pay suppliers, meet payroll and pay for other expenses.

However, many owners go without cash inflow into the business. The main reason why businesses get into this position is due to a lack of ways to conserve cash.

Conserving cash is not always easy. If you think so, then tell us why many entrepreneurs fail? Can a business increase cash flow and maximize profits at the same time? Yes, here are key steps for doing so.

1. Spend wisely
Make sure that purchases are made for need to have not nice to have items. Items should have  a good use in the business producing revenue where possible.

2. Hire only when necessary
Employee salaries are a significant cash drain so efforts to maximize productivity from current employees are paramount.

3. Lease equipment or buy used
Leasing vs buying can be an important option since equipment purchasing can be a serious cash drain. If an option exists to buy gently used equipment it may be a profitable option.

4. Plan ahead
Make sure you forecast financial activity. A plan outlining expected revenues and expenditures is vital to understanding cash needs. You certainly want no surprises on cash flow activity.

5. Renegotiate leases
Rent is often a sizeable fixed cost that can be negotiated. Speak with your landlord; there may be an opportunity to downsize or even temporarily obtain rent reductions. Landlords often prefer to accept lower income than losing tenants.

6. Go to the clouds
If your business is large enough to have in-house servers you are aware of the maintenance costs. If business is increasing this may be a cost effective way to create additional capacity without buying expensive new servers.

7. Exchange Goods and Services
Look for vendors who are also in need of certain products and supply the products to them in exchange of products that you lack to run your business smoothly. By exchanging products for other products( barter trade), it means that you will be able to conserve cash in the business.
Business owners should share their cash flow objectives with other key managers to ensure every opportunity to maximize cash savings is realized.
I hope there few ideas provide new thoughts on ways to improve profits for your business. Let me know what you think. Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com