It is pretty simple. The only way you can be successful in the business climate of today is to be using best practices. You have got to be good across the board. Everyone needs to step up and no slack.

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Business Plan

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You plan to fail or plan to succeed. You plan better include how your business is going to survive not only the current credit crunch but the tsunami wave of inflation that is coming.

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Cash Flow

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So does your business have no kidding no fooling cash flow management provisions? Your business plan must have provisions for tracking your cash. Washington says that the banks must start lending. Well if we have anymore downturns the companies that have their cash flow well managed will probably not have those really uncomfortable discussions with their banker

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Forecasting

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Does your plan have accurate and precise tools for forecasting? These tools are necessary because you need to know when you need inventory and when you need cash.

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Management Control

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Do you run your business like a salad?  Do your individuals all going in their own direction. Today small businesses must be about to react and change directions in the beat of a heart. Now if your company has only one person this won’t be a problem. On the other hand if you have more than five this could be a problem

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Marketing activities

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Marketing activities today must be based on ROI. You must pay for performance with your marketing dollars.

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Time management

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Where are you spending your time? Have you done an analysis of how time is spent? If you have not done this for yourself how do you expect your employees to do it?

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Financing

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How are you financing your business? Where is the money coming from? How are you paying your operating expenses and capital expenditures?

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HR management

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Do you have a company policy handbook? Do you have all the necessary procedures to be OSHA compliant? Do you have written policies for harassment issues?

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Inventory control

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Does your inventory control you or do you control your inventory. Do you have a system for tracking stuff? How is your inventory managed?

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Marcom

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Does all your marcom material relate to how your people talk to your customers? Do your customer service people know what you’re sales people are saying to your customers? Everyone in the organization needs to be familiar all marcom materials

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Credit and collections

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If part of your business model is to grant credit, then you had better have a collection strategy. Do your policies keep your customers and improve sales or the opposite?

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Strategic Analysis

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Do you have the ability to track progress of all the factors that we have just gone through? If you do not, then you will be forced to react to changes in the economy and that when the economy or market factors change you will not be able to capitalize on the changes

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Knowledge management systems

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How do you keep track of it all? Knowledge management unfortunately makes people think of computers and who wants to go there. Well it is must more important. It means that everyone in your organization must have the ability to see what everyone else is doing. Sometimes this involves technology; the management system defines the equipment not the other way around