“Regardless of company size, the concerns of executive management are all essentially the same.”

- Bryce’s Law

I was recently at a gathering of independent consultants from around the Tampa Bay area and we got around to talking about the concerns of owners of small businesses. From this, we devised a list of pet peeves commanding the attention of small-to-medium sized business owners, to wit:



Employees/Human Resources – staffing and allocations, payroll, benefits, and management.

Work environment – facilities and equipment, corporate culture.

Systems – implementing business processes productively, and staying abreast of technological developments for competitive advantage.

Regulations – complying with rules as established by government and industrial concerns.

Time Management – scheduling and devoting time to the proper set of priorities.

Financial Resources – managing and planning cash flow and investments for optimal return on investment.

General Planning & Strategy – both short term and long term, including an analysis of the market and competition.



At the end of this session, we discovered that the concerns of small business owners are essentially no different than large corporations, except on a much smaller scale. The only difference was that the small business owner has to move faster than his corporate counterparts simply due to the size of his operation. For example, he doesn’t have time to read voluminous business plans and financial statements. Instead, he requires summary reports which get to the point in a couple of pages. He needs good, sound supporting advice to make his life easier.

This got me thinking about the amount of time and money corporate executives invest in managing their company’s affairs. True, some things require considerable time and effort to investigate, such as researching new products/services and checking market conditions, but most of what is done is what I refer to as “meatball” type analysis which should be easy and relatively inexpensive to prepare. Let me give you an example; a couple of years ago I was working with a Fortune 500 company who had contracted with another firm to produce a Business Systems Plan. This took several months to perform and resulted in a substantial document over three feet thick (I kid you not) costing the company $1.5 million. I was asked to flip through the document and give an opinion. It only took me a couple of minutes to discover the authors had reused narrative from other client projects in the document and that most of it was superfluous. But the fact that it was incredibly thick and printed on some pretty impressive looking paper, gave the company the feeling they had gotten their money’s worth from the consultants. Interestingly, the company never acted on the information contained in the document simply because it was so voluminous and they couldn’t find their way through it. In reality, a ten page report could have satisfied the company’s needs, but I guess you cannot charge $1.5 million for a ten page document can you?

The point of all this is that the size of a company really has no bearing on the concerns of those charged with running it. They are all essentially the same. Nor does any business owner have the time or inclination to be devoured by detail. Although detail is important to substantiate claims, summary reports are more effective for supporting the needs of business owners. They simply want accurate and reliable information to act on regardless of the form it takes, but preferably not three feet thick.

If you would like to discuss this further with me, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail at timb001@phmainstreet.com



By: Tim Bryce

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If you own a business, chances are you’ve already considered expansion in some respect – whether in terms of product and service offerings, marketing operations, or the number of staff you employ. What’s more, the size of your business has likely had great influence on your ideas of expansion. For instance, small businesses often start with a base set of products or services, limited marketing, and a modest number of staff – ultimately working towards expansion in all of these areas.

There are a number of ways to expand your small business, and countless tools that can help you do it. And interestingly enough, one prominent business expansion tool also happens to be one of the world’s most widely used resources: the Internet. The Internet holds a wealth of information, resources, contacts and more to help you expand your small business in a way that’s right for you.

For example, if you’re looking to expand your business in terms of product or service offerings, you’re likely to need an additional base of suppliers. And what better place to source those suppliers than through the Internet? The Internet can return countless results via a search for specialised suppliers, enabling you to sort through your options and choose the most suitable suppliers based on your business goals.

Alternatively, you might want to expand your small business with regard to product and service promotion – something which can be achieved via online videos, blogs, news articles, or email updates to your clients. The online world happens to be one of the most powerful promotional tools available to business owners, quite simply because it’s so widely used the world over.

However, what if you simply want to increase your number of staff? Once again, the Internet can be one of the most useful resources available for staff recruitment. It’s a fact: countless people search for jobs online, everyday. So if you place job postings online, you’ll get the most exposure – and the highest number of applicants – for your post. The higher the number of applicants, the higher the chances you’ll find the staff you’re looking for.

However, in utilising the Internet for your business expansion operations, it’s worth remembering that certain types of Internet services adhere better to businesses. For instance, you can find specialised business broadband deals which offer higher – and often unlimited – broadband usage, increased speeds, mobile broadband services and more, ultimately giving you better access to the tools you need to help you operate and expand your business.

Therefore, it could prove worthwhile to enquire about business broadband in your area, and discover what this dedicated service can do for your business.



By: Adam Singleton

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