August 28th, 2007 08:58 AM By Staff
Government Contracts
Some recent studies show that governmental contracts for minority owned businesses are lower than expected. Certainly this does not come as a surprise; this statement by no means is an assignment of guilt, rather than stating the obvious.
It comes as no surprise that federal and state governments have a rather tainted history in terms of awarding contracts to minority owned business. However, there also could be an equal effort on the part of minority business owners to compete for those contracts.
Essentially, however, there are greater burdens for small business to compete for those large federal contracts; yet local and state contracts may illustrate a better and more viable opportunity for small business owners.
The first step is certainly the most difficult one. In order to find the most up to date opportunities in your local community, the best approach should entail a combination of contacting local government officials as well as exploring existing resources such as local government websites.
In our experiences, such search can be time consuming and frustrating for small business owners. Alternatively, there are many commercial services available which would do the leg work for a minimal fee. We would strongly recommend starting with those third party services in order to get a better overview of the existing or up coming opportunities.
August 18th, 2007 08:49 AM By Staff
Marketing and advertising in prism of Business Cycle
The most recent economic roller coaster and its impact on medium and small businesses are not quite obvious however; sporadic and panic driven actions by small business owners are starting to show an impact. The most obvious decisions to cut advertising and marketing budget to meet year end profits is the most flowed decisions that can be observed.
As a general rule it is vital to recall some of the most fundamental rules of business. Advertising and marketing are the corner stones of any solid business that plans to maintain and expand its market shares. Cost cutting and or fat trimming in order to achieve short term budget requirements in exchange for long term loss of market shares is by far one of the most devastating decisions that can be made.
It is not to say that budget adjustments in marketing and advertising section may not be done, rather than achieving a balance that assures long term business market shares and survival. It is our opinion that specially in economic down turn in general markets, it is vital not only to maintain advertising and marketing budgets, but if possible at all an increase in those spending should be undertaken.
The same, however, does not apply to economic down turn in specific markets and industries. If particular downward trends in specific industry is noticed, overall reductions and budget adjustments is vital and will ensure proper financial liquidity and cash flow that may assist in long term survival.
None of the above strategies would generally apply to publicly traded companies or very large organizations. Those points are rather generalist theories based on most common business and economic environment for small and medium size business. But again, even very large organizations have similar concerns that need long term as well as short term strategies.
To reiterate the above strategies, it is important to remember that the mere budget increase or maintenance of advertising and marketing funds does not assure any level of success. Any consideration to spend marketing and advertising funds should be subject to detailed scrutiny for efficiency, effectiveness and return on investment.
Brought to you by World Consulting Group. Your premier management consulting firm in Columbia Missouri.
August 06th, 2007 07:25 AM By Staff
Management Consultants and management consulting firms have a tendency to formulate their own successful approach based on fundamental principals of business equally known to everybody. It is rather simple to observer and evaluate those consultants that abide by their company guidelines rather than basing their evaluation on individual needs of an organization.
That is where the smaller management consulting firms take a lead in innovation and creativity. Without being to centralistic it is important to emphasize that large organizations including large management consulting firms are prone to establish standard operating procedures or protocol which is rather rigid and inflexible. Certainly there are exceptions which include very large companies that are able to be flexible and adaptable. Yet the nature and fundamental basics of leadership dictates that a strict protocol is necessary to manage a large organization.
Hence, as a general rule it is rather important to evaluate management consulting firms and their respective performance preliminarily based on their organizational size. At first glance it sounds to simplistic but it is not. Smaller organizations including management consulting firms are inherently forced to compete with larger organizations that have several layers of research and development, layered organizational management, as well as an inherent bureaucracy that is established to abide by chain of command and create efficiency, yet actually achieve the opposite. Logically as well as practically this is not as suitable approach for smaller organizations. Just imagine a 20 to 50 man operation that would establish long decision making procedures that would delay actions as well as reduce productivity.
It is true to argue that small organizations including smaller management consulting firms encounter their own unique challenges such as limitations on resources including human capital as well as financial means. Yet those challenges are not very likely to limit successful operations on behalf of client because of the availability of simple solution that may include third party resources.
It is important to point out that most of the above statements are of theoretical and philosophicalnature. There are certainly many exceptions that might render those statements void. However, in terms of general assumptions it is not only logical but also viable to assume that because of limitations of resources, smaller organizations including management consulting firms are forced to become more effective, efficient and flexible in order to assure their own survival.
Brought to you by: World Consulting Group — Your premier management consulting firm.
