Leading a Small Business Strategically

On Monday morning, the business owner returned from a long vacation to find his business closed. He was left with a note on the door that read, “This is to inform you that I’ve resigned. You left me to act in your behalf, but you didn’t tell me about these problems. The bills were months behind. Your suppliers were calling because they hadn’t been paid. You left me with several personnel issues that I didn’t have the authority to correct. I tried to deal with these matters responsibly, but they continued to grow. Why in the world would you leave us in such a hostile climate?”Today, many small businesses are experiencing the realities of global competitions. Many companies feel that they must restructure to stay competitive with world markets. After 18 years of managing projects and conducting over 100 organizational evaluations of business organizations, I realize that both large and small organizations struggle in implementing their operations effectively. According to a 2004 Small Business Administration (SBA) study, 580,900 small businesses opened in 2005, and 576,200 closed. The SBA noted that 67 percent of these new companies were able to survive at least 2 years, while 44 percent survived at least 4 years. What can be done to help small businesses achieve more market success? I have seen the benefits of strategic thinking in large successful organizations. Strategic thinking may be what a small business needs to sustain growth. Small businesses that cater to the workforce’s needs in the future workforce will gain a competitive advantage.There are four critical factors that will be discussed for gaining this competitive advantage:(1) inspire vision,(2) define core competencies,(3) apply strategic thinking, and(4) connect with employees.VisionEmployees want to know that their leaders are focused on the future as well as today’s problems. Vision is a key ingredient to keeping businesses on target. James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, conducted research on sixty thousand organizational leaders. They note that highly effective leaders inspire a shared vision: “To enlist people in a vision, leaders must know their constituents and their language. People must believe that leaders understand their needs…”A leader who has a clear vision can assist in guiding his or her organization. Most business leaders are too busy with the current issues of today and find little time for vision building. This leaves workers as well as the organization unfulfilled. Having a shared vision provides the small business a competitive advantage. Some critics will argue that a vision is not critical for small business success. This is simply not the case. Visionaries concentrate on future opportunities, not today’s limitation. Vision relates to the ability to look beyond physical constraints of the natural ream. While other organizations are engaging in trivial matters, an effective small business leader should inspire his workforce with a shared vision, thereby meeting their purposeful living needs.Core CompetenciesLeaders should clarify their core competencies with workers during rapid change. In times of restructuring, an organization should maintain its core functions. On the contrary, large businesses try to compete by quickly extending themselves in the marketplace, thereby becoming “all things to all people.” Their workers become confused because inconsistency and uncertainty exist. Companies find themselves doing things that they are not part of their organizational competencies. This provides a good formula for failure. In an effort to compete with global competition, many organizations downsize or ree-ngineer their processes, but lose their core competencies in the market.C.K. Prahalad, author of Competing for the Future, maintains that senior managers sometimes do not perform their homework in order to compete with the rapid market changes. He notes that restructuring is usually a dead-end initiative; however, re-engineering that eliminates unnecessary work and enhances processes is beneficial because it is directed toward company objectives such as customer satisfaction or total quality initiatives. Therefore, communicating a clear focus on core competencies is a competitive advantage for any business. Understanding a small business’ core competencies is an important element in organizational growth. Leaders then become the instruments to ensure that workers’ assurance.Strategic ThinkingEmployees want to know that their leaders are critically evaluating the market and industry competition. The enormous demographic changes within the 21st century American workforce are creating personnel issues for organizations unwilling to change their paradigms. Exemplary organizations think strategically and operate in duality. Watt Wacker, Jim Taylor, and Howard Means, authors of the Visionary Handbook, admonish that we live in an Age of Possibility where individual are able to claim their own future. They explain, “Fail to build your own future, and someone is going to build one for you….”Most businesses engage in some type of planning; however, few organizations properly engage in strategic thinking. Therefore, this becomes a competitive advantage in the marketplace for small businesses. Strategic thinking is more than meticulous planning in an organization. Strategic thinking consists of two components that are knowledge about the present and foresight about the future. Organizational strategists call this duality. Successful businesses exercise this phenomenon routinely. Most small businesses are concerned about today’s customers or tomorrow’s contracts but have little regard for future consequences. Some of the characteristics of effective strategic thinking include focusing on important issues, maintaining a long-term view, appreciating consequences, and remaining flexible. Strategic planning and vision work together because proper planning provides the basic framework and rationale for determining an organization’s direction while addressing the day-to-day challenges. Therefore, effective organizations go beyond detailed planning into a mode of strategic thinking.Connection with EmployeesEffective organizational leaders understand the important of connecting with a culturally diverse workforce. On numerous occasions, companies sing the praises of new technologies while workers are often devalued in the process. Leaders should see followers as more than mechanical parts for their organizational objectives. Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of the Human Equation, acknowledges that an organization’s success is directly related to its implementation, and this capacity comes from the workers, how they are treated, their skills, and their efforts as it relates to the organization.The Emergent Workforce now crosses gender, age groups, race, and geography. Employers must now deal with four generations in the same workforce for the first time in American history. The leadership style that may be effective for a Baby Boomer employee may fail with a Generation X employee. Some of the cultural changes include the acceptance of downsizing as a part of work life, the traditional family decline, the competitive nature of a global business structure, and the advancement of communication technologies to build person-to-person relationships. Some of these factors have impacted the workers attitude about their job and the quality of life. Today’s employees do not want to be a component in a big machine; they want to be valued because they are more than a physical being. In the quest for profit, many large businesses lose focus on the importance of socio-technical systems.However, small businesses cannot afford this luxury. Large organizations have difficulty adjusting to the personal needs of their employees in a rapid, competitive environment. Cultural and social changes place an additional burden of their flexibility to operate. This is a distinct advantage for a small business owner. Staying connected is critical to this success. Therefore, an effective leader in a small business must maintain a good relationship with his followers to assure credibility with the group.The Path ForwardIn spite of global pressures and front-line competitions, small businesses can achieve a high level of success with the right approach. The 21st century provides a brave, new world of personnel challenges such as virtual organizations, outsourcing, and the financial constraints of declining budgets in many federal agencies. Small business leaders can apply five critical factors that are vision, specific core competencies, goals, strategic thinking, and connection with employees. These problems then become an opportunity for small businesses to level the playing field thereby increasing their success rate. Therefore, these methods provide a logical, practice process for starting, growing, and sustaining a successful small business. Start today and grow your small business!

How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.

Differences in the Types of Auctions That Take Place Around the World

Auctions are those events where properties or goods are sold to the highest bidder. Auctions are mostly public events, where bidders make a series of bids and purchase a particular item for a high price. During auctions, bidders decide the price of an item rather than the seller. It depends on bidders to decide the amount they would want to pay for a specific item. During an auction, a bid is a proof of a legal binding. Bidders agree to pay the amount that they have bid. In a high profile auction, bidders may have to pay a deposit in escrow accounts or give a proof that they can pay for those items.

Types of Auctions:

Different types of auctions take place around the world. Below mentioned are some types of auctions:

1. English auction:
This is a basic type of auction. In this type, people can see the item and then start bidding. Bidders slowly raise the value of their bid until everyone gives up. The highest bidder is the winner. An auctioneer manages an auction, keeps records of the on going bid and decides the winner. Sometimes, the seller will quote a minimum amount for an item to the auctioneer, below which the auctioneer cannot sell that item.

2. Dutch auction:
In this type, the auctioneer sets a particular price and then gradually lowers the price. People in public will start bidding and later decide which prices are suitable for the item. A seller may use this type of auction to sell large quantities of same products to the public. For instance, a seller may want to sell a large amount of hay and will thus, decide to sell this hay to people for the same amount, once a reasonable price is decided.

3. Silent auction:
In this type, the bidders in public will present their bids in a sealed format. These sealed bids open at the same time and bidder with the highest bid wins. There could be a modification in this type of auction. The bidders are allotted a specific period to bid. They can roam in a room displaying the items, and write their bids on an associated sheet of paper. The bidders are allowed to see bids of other bidders and can choose a higher price for an item. At the end of the allotted time, bidder with the highest bid is the winner.

Examples of Auctions:

Auctions can be of two types either public or private. Sellers may trade any kind of items in both types of auctions. Some areas where auctions take place are:

1. Antique auction: An antique auction consists of a trade opportunity as well as provides entertainment.

2. Collectable auction: In a collectable auction, the seller may put up collectables like coins, vintage cars, luxury, stamps, real estate, and luxury for sale.

3. Wine auction: In wine auction, bidders can bid for rare wine, which may not be available in retail wine shops.

4. Horse auction: Bidders can bid for young horses of the best breed.

5. Livestock auction: In livestock auction, bidders can buy pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.

The other examples of auctions may not be public. These auctions are for bidders from corporate levels. Some examples of private auctions are:

1. Timber auction
2. Spectrum auction
3. Electricity auction
4. Debit auction
5. Environmental auction
6. Auto auction
7. Electronic market auction
8. Sales of business auction

Bidders in an auction need to examine the items displayed and decide an appropriate price for an item. Thus, auctions help buyers in getting the best deals and in gaining better profits for sellers.