Managing Business Growth

Great book - easy to read. Written in plain English - not "accountant--speak". I actually enjoyed reading about finances! ND

I recently read, Managing Business Growth: Get a Grip on the Numbers That Count by Angie Mohr. The title certainly attracts ones interest. I love growth and I understand the need to "get a grip on the right numbers". This is one thing SYNNEX has taught me well. This is a simple short read intended for a start-up business. It has been a long time since I have done my own start-up and most of the examples used are about tremendously small businesses and start ups. Because the book is so easy to use, I would still recommend it to any start-up entrepreneur. There was a good section on mission statements that said the following. Mission statements should be: 1 - Measurable. You need to be able to determine if the goals are being met on a regular basis. 2 - Challenging. The goals should be a stretch to reach, but not unrealistic or unattainable. 3 -Focused. You will be using the mission statement to make operational and strategic decision in your business so the goals need to be sharply focused. 4 - Flexible. The goals should allow for individual interpretation within the framework originally envisioned. 5 - Clear. One of the most important facets of the mission statement is its ability to be explained and understood by everyone in the organization. Therefore the goals should be easy to understand and not marred with âaebusiness speak.â 6 - Appropriate. The goals in the mission statement must work towards achievement of the vision statement. If the mission statement is not in perfect alignment with the vision statement, the overall goals will not be achieved and the business will be dysfunctional.

What a goldmine of information and checklists for an entrepreneur. So many small business owners start their enterprises only to see them fail before much time has passed. If only those unsuccessful entrepreneurs had had this book at their side to keep them on track to success. I highly recommend this book for small business owners. It usually takes some capital to start a business. It also requires a business plan and a marketing plan. If those plans are realistic and reasonable, then things will probably go well. If they aren't, or if they become outdated, then the business will probably eventually fail. This book discusses how a business owner should always be planning or updating his or her plan. Checklists are provided for this. To do this one must look at themselves, look at the past business, the current business, and vision a future business. They must do strategic planning on a regular basis and things should work smoothly, or as smoothly as possible. There is such a thing as bad growth. That's the kind that just hits the business owner who cannot deal with it effectively. This could be an increase in product demand that cannot be met, or product demand that can be met but only by stressing the organization to near breaking point. By reading this book you should become aware that planning for success in business and then achieving it is so much better than just stumbling into it.