Attracting top talent has more to do with how your business and its corporate culture are viewed by an educated workforce in relationship to other positions available.  How do you differentiate?

Your attack should focus on selling your vision and what you bring to the table for the employee. Talent will naturally seek responsibility, reward and a socially balanced lifestyle.  Provide a compelling reason why the candidate should work for your team.  What’s in it for them?  Make your business a great place to work.  Create a culture that nurtures success.

In the Great Workplace[1] the authors suggest there are five dimensions to working for a great company; Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Price and Camaraderie.  The first three combine to form trust.  Your employee has to know and trust you to do the right thing for them.

If you are a two person retail shop consider mentoring the new hire to be the best in relationship selling.  Your offering might include cash rewards towards higher education and text book subsidies for university students.  Your engagement with the new hire could provide a valuable reference for their next level job.  You provide a reason for why they should come to work.

On the other hand if you manage a 100 person office you need to sell the candidate on where they fit into the organization and what opportunities await them.  Is it fun, is the money on market and do you give them a chance to grow and manage projects they can take ownership of?

Attracting top talent is as simple as giving the candidate a reason to come on board.  Creating a great workplace can be the answer.

What are you doing to attract top talent?

 Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  Let’s recognize that any business, whether new or established, needs cash to pay the bills. So, where does it come from? Sales of course, BUT at start-up, the owner must furnish cash to capitalize their project.  If, however, the target sales assumptions are not met profitability will suffer and the owner may have to inject more of their own funds to help get past the point of sustainability.

Sustainability occurs when profits and liquid assets turn over sufficiently to replenish the cash account. If this does not occur for an extended period of time, the question arises; when will this business become profitable?  If the answer is unforeseeable, it may be time to reevaluate your business project’s plan.  Why aren’t your sales covering your costs?

Why don’t lenders immediately jump in and assist with cash shortfalls?  Because adding debt to an enterprise with unsustainable cash flow and profits is a losing proposition. That aside, lenders do not own shares of the business or receive future profits as a return on investment, nor do they participate in day-to-day management decisions. While the entrepreneur seeks independence he or she may forget they need to have enough gas in the tank to get across the desert.

The two  most common reasons for business failure is a lack of start-up/back-up capital and sales revenue to cover costs.

When established businesses suffer economic downturns, experienced owners know they are the ones responsible for refueling their working capital. Sure, banks can help at that stage because there may be a demonstrated track record, fixed hard collateral assets and strong resources in the form of personal assets behind the owner.  However, at start-up, it is unrealistic for a financial institution to place depositor’s money at risk when the owner has not invested enough to carry the load.

Besides having an articulated business plan new owners must consider the following:

1. Ensure your cash investment covers all plant, equipment and leasehold costs PLUS at least six months of fixed operating costs including allocation for heat, power, rent and salary to owner.

2. Leveraging personal assets such as home equity to compliment cash investment; the idea here is that when the business becomes sustainable, it can repay the owner.

3. Use #2 as your safety valve to cover unplanned expenses in the early going.

Planning out the capital you have available at start-up is essential to ensuring your business has a fighting chance at success.  Be sure you consider not only how much money you need at the beginning, but how much you need in reserve to keep it going.  Can You Cross Your Desert?

Image courtesy of James Barker at FreeDigitalPhotos.net