The Manager's View

One of the most satisfying experiences I have had is building a workforce that is focused on achieving and exceeding organizational goals. I have found that taking five steps can have significant impact on this process. The six steps are: ·       Design the organization and workforce structure around the goals of the organization. This is more easily accomplished if you are starting a new business and more difficult for older and more established businesses. As I have mentioned in past posts, it is helpful to envision an organization successfully meeting its goals and think about the structure and employees driving that organization. Those goals can be making a certain level of profit, reaching a certain market segment, being a market leader, providing a certain level of service and so on. Many businesses may have all of the above and more as stated goals.   With these goals in mind it is important then to look at the organ...

When introducing a new product or service to the market a key, and often critical, consideration is the price for this offering. I have seen folks simply take the cost of production and use a percent mark up as a pricing model. This is the simplest model and it provides a good example for the need to consider other pricing model options. Here are 10 things to consider before setting a price for your product or service: ·       Mark up Based on Cost Vs Retail . In the opening paragraph I gave the example of a model being used that marked up a product by a percent over the cost. The cost used here is generally direct cost or labor and materials. If someone wants a 30% of the asking price to be the mark up, then using 30% of cost won’t provide the desired outcome. Simply put, it is the wrong math. If something costs $1 to make and it is marked up by 30% for a selling price of $1.30 then the profit of based on the asking price...

Starting a new business doesn’t necessarily mean that large amounts of money need to be raised. Even businesses with the potential of capturing a new market of substantial size may not require a substantial investment. This may be good news for individuals with a great idea coupled with expertise and know how. I have seen individuals lose control of their ideas and their vision of a successful company by seeking out investors to support the company in its early stages. This can be avoided by building the business though alliances and involving individuals that can benefit if the business is a success. Steps in sitting up a low cost venture should include: ·       Identify potential prospects that would benefit from the product or service to be offered. These prospects can be interviewed to see if your offering is going to fill a market need. They may be enlisted to further refine the offering. ·       Onc...