consulting activities

I have some great news, guys.

Something happened to me that I decided to add some new activities to my common business. As you may know, I'm a marketing progect leader in Russian distribution company and a marketing lecturer in Ryazan University.

After my MBA boost of my entrepreneurial spirit I had a lot of doubts and thinking about own business. It took me 2 years to pay the debts after my study - and now I'm feeling like having a freedom to organize something myself.

First is the product project. We have a great idea and a clear vision how to build distribution. Need some personal finance to be invested, at least at a trial stage. The project is offline, but requires some online activity and refers to my personal interests to healthy life and professional connection in stationery business.

The second project started 2 weeks ago when I joined my family business. There's a group of smart people who know spanish real estate market. They are great in finding the place and good to communicate with people willing to buy it. The process is smooth, my task is to build communications and help improving client's inflow. Since they really know what they're doing, I'm happy to join them. This is #1 priority by now.

The third one is about buying a share of the business. I love the idea of business library connected to a network. And it is about micro-investment so I suppose it a good step to own business experience. Meeting the entrepreneur this or next weekend.

The last but not the least involves some abroad activities. This weekend we're meeting with a friend of mine to develop the business model and communication for yoga community.

Perfect. All the projects require my professional skills and refer to my personal interests. Abroad activities (love both places), markcomm, health, networks and media.

Feeling like openning a box of Godiva chocolate for the first time!

from to do... to done (Esselte slogan)

I've made it. Sat - decided to act. Sun - designed an announcement. Mon - printed out and posted it at salon's reception. Nothing much.
I also gave instructions about value-added consultations to a cosmetic girl.

One more step - I will ask her on Thursday when we'll meet to count the number of cosultations and repetitive service consumption to understand money our small trick will bring to the company.

I also finished processing revenue's data. Waiting for official statistic of costs and taxes to get the profit figures.

Just do it.

I've recently got (finally!) the book by Alex Levitas about improving profits. The most valuable advice (apart from lots of business situations the author described) is the thing of acting after thinking out the solution.

With the salon of my friend we decided to male stimulation action: give a free cosmetic test to everyone who has bought the 30-60 minute atrificial tan station pass. This is a trick - everyone who uses solarium needs a special skin treatment to hydratate it. If we advise directly, people might be afraid of being pushed to pay for cosmetic service. But if we give free test and explain, that additional treatment might be needed, it;s a person's choice if he (or she) will take it.

Sounds smart and easy. But we decided the trick a couple of weeks ago - and nothing has been done since that time. Well, it's really a time for me to push the program. 2 steps from me - calculate profits (since march 2007) and post an announcement.

Ready, steady.... no-no-no, not later... now! go!

wanna news?

My dear friends from beauty salon still haven't put any announcements I suggested to make. We created one more program to promote cosmentologists among to artificial sun station users, but nobody made an effort to announce it.

Well, very typical.

Today I'll make all the papers for them to put. It seems to me I'm thinking more about the company than the owners. At least they allow me to make them a field for experiments.

don't loose profits

When the discussion comes to entrepreneurial profits, the business owners are often puzzled how they can increase net income. The real question first is how to use the whole potential of an existing business.

My favorite small business - beauty salon has recently bought artifitial tan station. They need to pay off the credit. But since it is working no announcement came. Of course, best clients know about this service. But not all of them. I asked them to put info note at the wall close to reception area. Three times. Today I will check if they managed that.

Inform! How your clients can buy if they don't know what to?

entrepeneurial spirit

Today I had a talk with my friend. She is around 50 and she is an owner of small beauty salon close to my appartment in Ryazan. This lady is a very active person, she's about to open her own kid's store here, in Ryazan (they're remaking an appartment at ground floor to a shop now) and also is an active member of one of the churches (she coordinates also a rehab center project for ex-prisoners).

Yep, she has a typical entrepreneurial soul with a lot of personal time devoted to her business activities. She understands the necessity of establishing the contact with her clients, she has a high percentage of clients who visited her salon more than 1 time. She has a bit higher prices than most of the hairdressers close by, but still, she has her clients. She loves her staff, her girls treat her as a close elder friend. She has a great inner ennergy sourse, that helps her to make actions even if she doesn't know how to act.

Well, she does a lot of things successful entrepreneurs do. But she doesn't know her profit. Yes, she has all the figures for taxation purporses, but she never counts the difference between revenues and costs. She operates on a basis of cashflow - if she has enough cash to pay her rent and public utilities, she's happy. Sometimes she knows that she hasn't earn enough money to cover them in curret period, but she has some money left from previous one.

I asked her to provide me with all data about receips and expenditures to understand her profit picture. I hope understanding inflows and otflows of cash will help her to understand her situation better and improve profit. I also asked her to make minutes about all the small expenses left unaccounted - at least this will give me a full picture to start my recommendations for improvements.

I will keep an eye on this company.