Build a perpetual business…

Entrepreneurs Need to Flip Their Brain Switch:  They Need to Get Transmogrified!

Highly Acclaimed Business Strategist Leads Change for Global Workers Who Want to “Reinvent”

By Rhonda J. Smith

Sherese Duncan never would have imagined that watching “Lean on Me” would help revolutionize her business.
“My husband and I were watching the movie and we heard Morgan Freeman say ‘transmogrify,’ and we were like, ‘What is transmogrify?’ When I found out that it meant to transform something into something completely different, I knew that would be the mantra for my business.”
And it has been. Duncan, 38, is president and CEO of Efficio’, a Charlotte, N.C. - and Atlanta-based company she started in 2001 to help small businesses go to a higher level in three main areas: profitability, execution and perpetuity. Her motto to get others to transmogrify their businesses dismisses the old adage “think outside the box” and promotes “there is no box.
“When you’re thinking outside the box you’re putting yourself in the box to start,” Duncan said. “I don’t even put myself in a box. I go wherever I want. People don’t think about what their business looks like without limitations.”
A part of getting clients to see there is no box is her promotion of what she calls a strategic blueprint instead of a business plan. Duncan said a business plan simply gives a shell of what your business should be doing but doesn’t give specifics, but “a strategic blueprint documents what you need to do in your business every single day. It’s your full business, every single piece.” Having no box instead of thinking outside the box and strategic blueprints instead of business plans are two reasons Duncan believes Efficio’ is cutting edge. “We don’t provide templates. We specify everything according to the particular business.” (click title to read more…)

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Have you heard of a business exit strategy?

If not, it’s time to think about it.  Not the literal meaning but more so the “I need to do something different” meaning.

As we continue to push forward and work our way out of the economic downturn, we have to think about our businesses from the outside perspective.  For instance, has your customer base changed? Are entrepreneurs or consumers still interested in your current solution or are they flocking to other types of solutions that you don’t currently offer?  Or, are you still stuck in that mucky muck of “how do I strive and thrive?”

Any way you look at it, sometimes it may be time to quit.  Quit what you’re doing the way you’re currently doing it or simplly go back to the drawing board and start all over.

Here’s 3 Quick Starting Points to determine what level of “quit” you should be looking at:

1.    Sales over the last three years. If your sales have slipped by 20% or more over the last three years combined then something needs to change.  You need to re-think marketing, maybe even upgrade your sale process.  Or, maybe your customer service is less than what you would like it to be.

2.    Trends in the market. Are your solutions and your business model keeping up with trends in your industry and within your target market?  Do you need an upgrade in technology and how you build your business?  Are you able to keep up with your competition or are you stuck trying to catch up.  Trends are not always trendy, sometimes they are opportunities that can make or break your business.

3.    Consumer tastes and preferences are constantly changing. Have you analyzed the consumer market you serve recently?  Not just surveys, but analyzing what and how they were buying five years ago and how’s it’s changed or stayed the same each year until now?  I know, sounds heavy but if you’re in business it should be part of your monthly reporting.  An easy way to start this process is to look at your own buying habits, how have they changed and why?

Exit strategy is not always about letting it go; it can just be a small change in how you do business in order to respond to changes in the market place.

©  Effició, Inc.

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Efficio’s School of Business virtual launch party is scheduled for May 19, 2009 from 10am - 12midnight.

We’re almost there! Efficio’s 10 year vision is coming into view and we want to share it with you and the world.

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When you talk about transmogrifying yourself you have to begin with YOU, in order to correct and enhance the bad and good within you.  It’s about following your good mind, trusting in yourself, not looking to others to do the work for you.  This translates directly to your business and how you run your business.

Time . Life . Business . Family . Self…think about it

Are you delivering your excellence?

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