Who can I turn to?

Your reactions and comments on the preceding articles in this series – which come under the general heading "Basic business management advice for installers" – give me guidance to write more. My approach within these articles has been to take real-life examples from my almost infinite library of experience, working with installers around the UK – hence the seemingly arbitrary choice of topics such as Performance-Related Pay, Finding the Ideal Customer, and Making Your Terms of Business Clear.

There is book after book on the subject of Good Business Practice, and a few of them actually make good reading. Have you read one recently? Or ever? The background of many installers does not naturally incline them towards the disciplines of textbook business management.

So where does Dionne Warwick fit into all of this? The more mature among you might remember that she had a hit in 1965 with the Bacharach and David song "Who can I turn to?" A meeting last week gave me a classic real-life example of the dilemma posed by this song title. Can you relate to this?

A man and his wife started their security business in 1990, and (importantly) prepared a Business Plan in which they foresaw that it would be 13 years before they were in a position of being totally self-supporting.

They did not just hit on 13 years out of the blue, but set out on the trail as they:

1) Knew the industry (the male partner having worked in it for a "national")
2) Knew the geography and the type of people in their chosen location
3) Knew the competition, and
4) Knew themselves, and their own talents to work through this process

Firstly, try convincing a bank manager or funding partner that it's going to be 13 years before payola! Unless you're a dotcom, or intending to set up your business in Japan, the conversations are likely to be short.

If you are running a service business – which we all are, in case one ever forgets – it is a physical impossibility to build up a base of goodwill and recurring revenue in the sort of payback time that most (unfortunately narrow-minded) bankers and funding partners have in mind.

So do you make false promises of an early payola and pick up on the problems later? Do you stay (fatally?) realistic, because deviousness is not an appropriate policy?

As it happens, this man and his wife have actually achieved payola in 10 years, rather than the 13 they had envisaged. As I didn't see a car-park full of BMWs, and pictures of them glad-handing with celebrities around their reception area, their own view of payola seems to be building carefully and prudently, keeping a bank balance in credit, peace of mind, staying true to themselves, and playing to their strengths. This of course does not preclude hard work to keep it that way, but that seemed to come naturally to them.

One thing that is for sure, is that they could not have achieved this without an intimate knowledge of how to analyse their business month on month on month. The female partner has the gift and staying power to enjoy doing this (a fine example of playing to one's strengths).

She had, for example, been able to trace 128 orders for new installation work as a direct or indirect result of carrying out ONE job for (as it turned out) a very influential local dignitary. The thing about people in a position of influence is that they can work for you or against you, depending on the levels of service (and maybe servility) which you provide.

If this example sounds like "too many eggs in one basket", you could be right if you are not naturally a "service provider". Beware being reliant on any golden egg-laying goose. The goose may end up on someone's dinner-plate A good dinner for someone, but no more eggs for you!

The background of many installers does not naturally incline them towards the disciplines of textbook business management

Anyway, back to Dionne Warwick. Who can you turn to – whether you have a fledgling business or a long-established one? As you know, there are any number of people queuing up to spend your hard-earned money for you under the pretext of "consultancy", and then to walk away leaving you with a crying baby and a dirty nappy.

To use another metaphor, "It's good to talk" but who can you really trust to tell you the things that you might not want to hear, but also provide you with the best medicine? This is undoubtedly the hard bit, because personal honour and the reluctance to admit the possibility of failure or shortcomings are at stake.

The bank manager? You certainly need to keep him informed and on your side, but whether it is part of his remit to get personally involved with your business is debatable (and it's hard to forget the level of bank charges!)

The auditor? A good source of knowledge and the auditor (or someone used as an external book-keeper) can undoubtedly help as, if nothing else, he/she should help you to keep a tight rein on your purse-strings. It is however, a very pleasant surprise to find one who has a strategic interest in your company development.

Your quality consultant/assessor? Often a very good source of wisdom and advice – and there are some conspicuously good ones who work around your industry. They can make themselves part of the fabric of the business, and can be real value-for-money whether they have a rolling contract with you, or work on a jobbing basis.

Business Link (or similar "Company Doctor" bodies)? They are undoubtedly a good source of business development advice, and they are targeted on ensuring that their pool of expertise and available funding are utilised. If nothing else, many of them offer funding against charges levied by training/consultancy organisations. The more that your area has "development" status – usually urban/regeneration/very rural areas – the greater your chance of assistance funding.

I would welcome any feedback, through my email address, on your own experiences, which you may wish to share with other readers.

For example:

Do you have a Business Plan, and if so, how do you monitor this?

Do you intend to have a formal Business Plan to take your company through its next stages? If not, what is your secret of success?

Have you had formal Business Management training and, if not, would you value this?

Who have you turned to?