This article is a re-printed from the�February 2011� edition, as approved by the�

UP Business Today�

Business Intelligence and the Need for Action�

There comes a point in the evolu-�tion of every small business when�the entrepreneur realizes, perhaps�for the first time, he/she has lost�control of their company. It is as if�a single light bulb has lit a dark�room.�

You’ve probably seen the signs�each day at the office, but weren’t�sure it was as serious as it now�seems. Your staff does not carry�out your orders as diligently as they�used to. The general level of excite-�ment amongst the staff is eroding.�Staffers are leaving earlier and ear-�lier each day, and they arrive later in�the morning. The passion for suc-�cess just isn’t what it once was.�When you begin to think back on it,�maybe you missed the signs or�maybe you simply chose to ignore�them.�

In a recent article written by Toddi�Gutner entitled,�How to Know When�You’re Losing Control�, business�owners, at a certain point in time,�inevitably come to the realization�their business is no longer in their�control. Could it be the business�owner isn’t driving the business as�hard as he/she used to, or maybe�you’ve lost the ability to motivate�your staff? Maybe you have�achieved the ‘peter principle’, that�is, you have exercised all the talent�you have to bring the business to�this point but you no longer have�the skill-set to take the business�further down the road to success.�

There is no question entrepreneurs�are visionary risk-takers. They�have the sheer talent to take an idea,�put it to paper, then form, structure�and build the business. This talent�is genius because very few people�in the world have both the talent and�perseverance to accomplish this�mammoth goal.�

As I have repeatedly argued, entre-�preneurs are the engine of growth�for our economy. As small business�goes, so goes the economy. Small�business fuels job growth, market�expansion, and technology innova-�

tion. Heck, small businesses�around the country raise the stan-�dard of living in the communities�they call home. But make no mis-�take; the talents of an entrepreneur�are limited. In reality, entrepre-�neurs are often mediocre managers.�

There's a tipping point for success-�ful businesses when good entrepre-�neurs learn to turn over the reins of�their company over to professional�managers. Take Larry Page and�Sergey Brin of Google. Despite the�organic growth of their company�and their many successes, these two�entrepreneurs stepped out of their�own way and let their company�grow.�I once tried to expand one of my�businesses by starting a new office�in a different geographic region us-�ing a trusted colleague. Despite�early successes our business did not�expand even though the local econ-�omy was growing substantially�around us. What I came to realize�is that my colleague was good at�starting� an office, but he did not�know how to�grow� an office. All�the effort and money expended�went for naught.�

The question many entrepreneurs�need to ask themselves periodically�is this: What are the warning signs�that tell a small-business leader he�or she is losing control?� �During the startup phase, the entre-�preneur is involved in everything�from creating the product or ser-�vice, to marketing and business de-�velopment, to hiring employees and�making payroll. In the early phases�of company development you need�this type of focus and drive. A�common vision and a steady pulse�are keys for survival. However, if�the entrepreneur does not remove�himself as the bottleneck the busi-�ness begins to suffer because effi-�ciency grinds to a halt when�decisions are not made when neces-�sary, and the staff becomes para-�lyzed with indecision. As a result,�the business owner begins to won-�

der why the business is not growing�or is not as profitable as it once was.�

To avoid such a scenario, business�owners need to address the follow-�ing issues and watch for applicable�warning signs: � �Time management.� Every busi-�ness owner needs to assess how his�or her time is spent. As the business�grows, the owner needs to shift�from an operational role to more of�a strategic, big-picture thinker. The�quicker that happens, the more the�company will grow. Most business�owners remain stuck in the day-to-�day rather than long-term strategy.�They need to learn how to let their�staff get better at their jobs so criti-�cal operational decisions once only�made by the business owner can�now be made by staff. This shift in�decision-making allows the busi-�ness to stay efficient.� �Business procedures.�Often in the�startup phase, small-business own-�ers fail to create essential standard-�ized processes and procedures. It is�obvious that when a business�grows, there is more data and infor-�mation to be assessed and evaluat-�ed. A lack of organized and�centralized processes only serves to�ensure the entrepreneur becomes�the bottleneck.� �Management team.�It can be ar-�gued that most individuals can man-�age three to six people effectively.�Any significant increase in this total�only serves a loss of control. In�these instances it becomes inevita-�ble that delegated assignments do�not get completed. It becomes es-�sential that a growing business�needs an internal infrastructure that�allows data and planning to be com-�pleted so decisions can be made in�a timely manner. In addition, many�entrepreneurs turned business own-�ers are reluctant to add management�capacity that brings a higher level of�expertise beyond the owner’s capa-�bility. In many instances, entrepre-�neurs are scared to death of�someone who brings an expertise to�

the table that overshadows their�own.� �Finance and inventory levels.�Given the current state of the econ-�omy, it has become increasingly�difficult for small businesses to�push forward into a significant�growth phase because of a lack of�available capital. It is no secret the�three most important aspects to a�successful business are cashflow,�cashflow, cashflow. Too many�business owners do not take the�time to secure needed capital for�growth. But that’s not all. Over-�ordering inventory, increased levels�of out-of-stock inventory, anti-�quated computer hardware and soft-�ware, and poor invoicing and�customer service are all examples of�a situation where the business has�outgrown its system.�

I will be the first to agree with the�notion that many entrepreneurs are�quick to acknowledge; it’s my com-�pany so I will do with it as I please.�Business owners have every right to�either push their companies to be�the best they can be, to let it cruise�along on automatic pilot, or to drive�it into the ground. These are con-�scious decisions with real ramifica-�tions. But at the end of the day, it�takes real business intelligence and�a reborn entrepreneurial spirit to�assess the strengths and weaknesses�of your business and your manage-�rial skill-set to grow an established�business. It takes an entrepreneur to�start a new venture, but it takes a�successful entrepreneur to get out of�the way and let the business grow.�

By-line: David Saint-Onge is Pres-�ident and Principal Strategist for�Black Ink Assets�(�www.blackinkassets.com�), a busi-�ness consulting and management�company providing organizational�assessment and efficiency perfor-�mance services, business growth�and sustainability guidance, infor-�mation technology services, and de-�velopment of corporate transition�and owner exit strategies.�

By David Saint-Onge�