SME Blog

An absolute mess

As president Obama takes power in the US we must all hope he achieves as much success tackling the current crisis as in his internet campaign.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to many people in the business world.  High level individuals working in the inside of banks, highly successful business owners, respected financial experts and leading professionals.  The one common strand is that we all agree that the situation is an absolute mess.  I'll add my own view is that it is only a matter of time before the UK starts printing money. With this in mind I thought a little light relief was in order.  The video gives tips from Monty Python on how to raise finance in testing times. 

Pivot tables - Excel training

As the downturn cuts there is the evitable squeeze on budgets.  Not surprisingly, for many companies the training budget is on the list to be slashed.   However, there are smart ways to train staff at next to no cost.

For example, Emily Coltman got in touch with me to point out a series of Excel videos that can be obtained for £7.50 (plus VAT).  Add to this piece of information that the cost covers all users in a company then the £7.50 represents superb value.  

The topic of the videos is Excel pivot tables.  If you use Excel regularly then this is a vital topic.  It does have an air of mystery to those not in the know, but is an indispensable skill once gained.

To conquer the topic there are four videos (each less than five minutes) together with supporting spreadsheet and manual.  It is a very clear and concise approach that is a winning formula and at £7.50 it certainly won’t be a drain of the budget.

You can find out more at Glen’s Feechan site at http://www.feechan.co.uk/index.htm?page=excelvideotraining

Simon Hurst Excel Guru

If you are a budding Excel guru or you want to be able to achieve more in Excel faster and quicker then an online visit to Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales can help.  There you will find the Excel Guru in the form of Simon Hurstat their online network IT Counts.

A selection of Simon's tips are listed below:

Useful Excel shortcuts
Office IT Quick tip – Excel data entry
Did you know? Random MS Office tips
Excel and instant year ends
Part 2 – the best ever Excel tip?
Excel functions: MATCH(), INDEX() and the Lookup Wizard
Roadshow day 4, Lancaster - Excel's OFFSET() function

Simon's tips come in bite size chunks at IT Counts.  The online approach works well as many tips include animated screen shots which aids in grasping the concepts. The tips are also permanently online so if you forget a point then the answer is just a click of the mouse away.

If this has given you an appetite for more of Simon's tips then clicking on the link below.  You will have to join the IT Counts online network first - membership is free and open to all.

Simon Hurst's Excel IT Counts Posts

Note:  Once at Simon's web page select "All Dates"

The good, the bad and the entrepreneurial

I have a lot of admiration for entrepreneurs.  It can be tough and stressful road creating a business that will grow and last.

Over the last 18 years I've worked for both small entrepreneurial businesses and large established organisations.  Small entrepreneurial businesses are one of the most exciting to be involved with despite being hugely challenging.  Fresh and innovative ideas are often brought to life in a free spirited and flexible environment. 

If you look at the table at the side you'll see typical key areas listed that are associated with an entrepreneurial business, but are they all good and are some downright bad?

The answer to the above is actually quite simple.  The truth is that it depends where the business is in its life.  For new small entrepreneurial businesses the above list is common, but as the company grows it needs to develop and change.  For example, with 3 employees the above list is just fine.  Multiple the employees by a hundred to 300 and with the above list melt down will result unless there is swift change in key areas.  Here is the rub of course.  As the business grows it needs to develop and change, but making change is a painful process and gets avoided.  However, you just cannot avoid change if you want your business to grow and there are methods to make it less painful.

   

Business growth. Luck or skill?

Fast growth SME's are not the norm.  Quite the opposite, per the FT, two thirds of starts up have gone under by year 7.  So what do the fast growth SME's have that the others don't is it luck or skill?

Luck does play its part.  Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can make a huge difference.  I've seen some of SME's biggest clients come from unlikely situations.  The odds of it happening were small, but possible.  I've also seen strong management teams being caught up in external factors just outside their control.  Even the best team can't prepare for the infinite eventualities the world can through up at it.  Sometimes it is just plain bad luck that strikes us all.

So luck plays its part for a growing business, but over the years I've become more and more convinced skill is underplayed.  What do I mean by that? I mean there is an enormous amount that the majority of SME's can do to improve their odds of growing and becoming more successful.  What this entails I'll be covering over future posts this year.