Every Entrepreneur Can Learn from George Zimmer (and how he was fired!)

"You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." ~ George Zimmer

Over the last four decades, the founder of Men's Wearhouse has shined in the spotlight with his well priced men's fine clothing and deep bravado signature phrase...until last week when the Board of Directors fired him.

It can be emotional and disheartening to watch an icon of an industry dispelled by his own company. How could something like this happen? How can a brand built by a man who regularly embraces his image (Zimmer was forefront in most of the company's advertising) decide to fire their shining star.

This is where we - as fellow business owners - must take note. We are all striving for growth in our own endeavors. We want our company to be successful and earn recognition. Often one of the biggest struggles for start-ups is financial capital and so many of us are more than thrilled when the opportunity to gain investors appears. But just as there is reward...there is risk when you give away the control of your company. George Zimmer is feeling the pains of those risks now.



When someone becomes an investor or shareholder in your company - you are taking on a partner. With each additional investor - you give away a portion of your control of your company. While a founder may retain the largest portion of stock at first - this can soon become a weaker controlling interest when IPO's and investment growth occurs quickly.

Some suggestions to ensure you make the best decisions for your company:

• Always, always, always ask an attorney about your options and possible outcomes. The more you know - the better informed you will be as you direct your company through growth phases.
• Grow Slowly and operate within your means. This sounds a little like advise that a financial planner might give to a family but it remains true for a business. The more you control your assets and stay on top of your expenses - the less you will need from other investors.
• Create dual classes of stocks. If you do need to offer shares, you can choose to create one set of stocks which have limited voting power (available to the public) and another for your founders, executives and family members which has the dominate controlling interest.

All of us started our businesses for a reason. Perhaps it was a dream - a vision that your idea could become a steady income for your family or even change the world. Or maybe you wanted to create a start-up that could gain popularity so that a bigger company could buy it. As long as you understand where your business is going and the risks along the way - you won't be blindsided. Learn from the mistakes of others (like George Zimmer) and protect your controlling interest to execute your business.

Photo: Opinuns

Learn from the World Series and Super Bowl to Motivate Your Small Business to Win!

Millions of people tune in by radio, television and streaming feed to watch SPORTS. The 'big game' draws more attention than other events such as a politial debate, breaking international news or even a natural disaster. As a country, we're probably not ashamed to say it - we're sports obesessed. We applaud and celebrate the shot, the stop, the drive...the winning play that made history. Some even experience agony when their beloved team does the unthinkable...they lose.

There are critics who argue that sports pay hommage to inflated salaries and offer a distraction from real life but when it comes to business - sports might have a few points worth taking notice.

Goal Oriented Excellence

Every year, thirty-two NFL teams compete for the chance to be in the Super Bowl (one of the most watched televised events ever). Thirty MLB teams take aim at a shot of playing in the World Series. For Basketball, it's all about the Finals and for Hockey, the Stanley Cup reigns supreme. The winners receive praise, parades, record book titles, tons of confetti and possibly a shower from a cooler full of gatorade.

How does this translate to business? These teams all set out with a very clear goal in mind. Sure, for some teams it's a more reachable achievement but even for the lowest ranking team - it's a tangeable and measureable objective. Does your business have this kind of focus every quarter? year? Do you give your team (employees, managers, sales force) clear direction to achieve excellence? Most businesses just focus on the daily, weekly or monthly sales figures but employees are more likely to work together and perform consistently (or even raise their level of performance) if there is a substantial goal in sight. AND the reward has got to be worth it. People don't perform for a pat on the back. They like to feel like their efforts are appreciated and important.

Business Take-away: Give your team a measurable goal that offers a substantial reward if achieved.

Individual Recognition

We cheer on our teams to win but lets not forget that we equally celebrate individual performance. Awards are given for specific achievements in team roles (offense or defense or position) as well as overal 'valuable' contribution to the season and usually results in...drumroll...more money. Ooooh yes, we did just use the 'M' word which we understand every small business owner obsesses over. We know you might be cringing at the idea of offering a monetary bonus for individual performance but hear us out.

Fran Tarkington, NFL Hall of Famer and Entrepreneur says, "The best in sports are celebrated because they've earned it. It's a pure meritocracy and if you can perform, then you will be rewarded."

This is what you are already doing. You started your business believing that if you came up with innovative ideas, put in hard work and long hours to build a business that delivers value to customers - that you will be rewarded. People will continue coming back to your business for it's value and customer experience and you will actually make a profit and possibly grow into a bigger business. You already believe in meritocracy! You're employees believe it too and most will be willing to step up their game if they believe you'll notice and reward them for it.

Business Take-away: Give your employees individual goals as well as group goals.

Exercise Meritocracy

We can hear you. "Yes, but I don't have the money to offer financial incentives." We understand. We're all in the same boat. Is there an easy answer? Yes, though you may not like it.

If you want to be a big(ger) business - you need to think like one FIRST.

Becoming a bigger and more successful requires you to think outside of your small business box. Push your standards of thinking. What would you do differently if money wasn't the issue? We're not asking you to go broke. We're asking you to think about ways to motivate your team to perform beyond their current level. That requires an incentive. You could even create levels of incentive.

For example: "If we hit this sales goal - you get this bonus but if we hit this higher level - a bigger bonus." Crunch the numbers. If your team is increasing productivity, you're business is making more money. And these new customers are going to stick around if you guys keep up the effort so the rewards can compound. You're the team owner and you have to get your coaches (managers) and team (employees) to want your business to grow just as much as you.

Cheaters Never Prosper

One thing to remember is that if you try to short-cut or cheat this process - it could backfire on you. As the team manager of your business, you need to offer development and training programs (just like the big businesses do) to give your employees the tools for success. Setting someone up to fail - especiialy to avoid paying out the incentive - will backfire on you. You may think your reputation among your clients is important but it is equally imperative that your repuation among your employees is golden. That doesn't mean that they have to like you personally but you want them to WANT to perform for you.

Business Take-away: Start out on the right foot and your small business is sure to score big points not only in your bottom line but among your team as well.

Should I hide my prices?

Pricing your product or service can be a tricky task for any business owner but once you do decide on that magic number - you have to put on your marketing hat and decide when to show it and when not to.

Reasons you might want to 'HIDE' your prices from initial 'investigators'...
• You want to build an initial strong desire and demonstrate affordability - this is where your marketing is focused on the features of your product or service to dazzle a prospective buyer with everything they'll enjoy from the purchase.
• You want to show how the personal value of the product or service is greater than just the price value - this is where your marketing is focused on the emotional value of the sale and addresses the needs your potential customer has.
• You want to change the potential client's perception of the price - sometimes referred to as 'price conditioning.' - it can be tough but price conditioning is an art companies like Audi, Tiffany and Co. and Ethan Allen have mastered. Customers of these businesses believe that the special nuances of products purchased from them are WORTH the additional cost. It's still a car, a diamond ring and a chair that does the same things as the ones you could get at Kia, Kmart or Walmart but their customers want to pay more because their perception of the price in terms of value is different.

Situations when you should NOT hide your prices...
• If your price is a competitive advantage - For example, if you are cheaper than your competitors, or you have a special offer that can make even the quick-glancer recognize it as a good price, then you might want to do the opposite and make your price more prominent.
• If your price is low enough that it could be considered an 'impulse buy', then you might want to leave it on display as normal.
• If you are unsure what to do - when in doubt, it is always better to show your prices or a price range than to make the mistake of hiding them because you haven't done your research.

Why you want to be careful at playing too much 'keep-away'...
It should be mentioned that hiding your price can be as simple as offering a new client special, a trial period or making a person click to another screen to see the price. In these cases - you are not eliminating the price from view entirely. However, we have come across several businesses who refuse to put any pricing on their websites or marketing.

We want to warn that this can be dangerous because people like to shop before they buy. If you aren't even willing to show a price range - people might overlook you because your competitor does show prices. You are also making it more work for a potential customer to buy from you because they have to contact you to even discern if they can afford you. Shoppers (on every level) want life to be easier - not complicated, and they definately don't want to spend extra time and energy if it isn't worth it.

So..."Should you hide your prices or not?"
There is no right or wrong answer but here's the real questions you should answer first:
• What do my competitors do?
• Why is it important to hide/show my prices?
• What would my customer want?
• What would I want if I was a customer?

Create An Easy & Fast Small Business Plan

Every business needs a business plan - no matter how small!

What information needs to be in your business plan? What is the order of information that will make the most sense to lenders and investors? You can answer these questions with the business plan outlines provided below.

What are the standard elements of a business plan? If you do need a standard business plan to seek funding — as opposed to a plan-as-you-go approach for running your business, which I describe below — there are predictable contents of a standard business plan outline.

For example, a business plan normally starts with an Executive Summary, which should be concise and interesting. People almost always expect to see sections covering the Company, the Market, the Product, the Management Team, Strategy, Implementation, and Financial Analysis. The precise business plan format can vary.

Is the order important? If you have the main components, the order doesn’t matter that much, but here’s the sequence I suggest for a business plan. I have provided two outlines, one simple and the other more detailed.

Simple Business Plan Outline

1. Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.
2. Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.
3. Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.
4. Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.
5. Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure you can track results.
6. Web Plan Summary: For e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales and marketing strategies.
7. Management Team: Describe the organization and the key management team members.
8. Financial Analysis: Make sure to include at the very least your projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.

Build your plan, then organize it. I don’t recommend developing the plan in the same order you present it as a finished document. For example, although the Executive Summary obviously comes as the first section of a business plan, I recommend writing it after everything else is done. It will appear first, but you write it last.

Standard tables and charts

There are also some business tables and charts that are normally expected in a standard business plan.

Cash flow is the single most important numerical analysis in a plan, and should never be missing. Most plans will also have Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss statements. I believe they should also have separate Personnel listings, projected Balance Sheet, projected Business Ratios, and Market Analysis tables.

I also believe that every plan should include bar charts and pie charts to illustrate the numbers.

Expanded business plan outline

Here’s an expanded full business plan outline, with details you might want to include in your own business plan.

1.0 Executive Summary
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Mission
1.3 Keys to Success

2.0 Company Summary
2.1 Company Ownership
2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or Start-up Plan (for new companies)
2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

3.0 Products and Services
3.1 Product and Service Description
3.2 Competitive Comparison
3.3 Sales Literature
3.4 Sourcing and Fulfillment
3.5 Technology
3.6 Future Products and Services

4.0 Market Analysis Summary
4.1 Market Segmentation
4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy
4.2.1 Market Needs
4.2.2 Market Trends
4.2.3 Market Growth
4.3 Industry Analysis
4.3.1 Industry Participants
4.3.2 Distribution Patterns
4.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns
4.3.4 Main Competitors

5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary
5.1 Strategy Pyramids
5.2 Value Proposition
5.3 Competitive Edge
5.4 Marketing Strategy
5.4.1 Positioning Statements
5.4.2 Pricing Strategy
5.4.3 Promotion Strategy
5.4.4 Distribution Patterns
5.4.5 Marketing Programs
5.5 Sales Strategy
5.5.1 Sales Forecast
5.5.2 Sales Programs
5.6 Strategic Alliances
5.7 Milestones

6.0 Web Plan Summary
6.1 Website Marketing Strategy
6.2 Development Requirements

7.0 Management Summary
7.1 Organizational Structure
7.2 Management Team
7.3 Management Team Gaps
7.4 Personnel Plan

8.0 Financial Plan
8.1 Important Assumptions
8.2 Key Financial Indicators
8.3 Break-even Analysis
8.4 Projected Profit and Loss
8.5 Projected Cash Flow
8.6 Projected Balance Sheet
8.7 Business Ratios
8.8 Long-term Plan

Business plan outline advice

Size your business plan to fit your business. Remember that your business plan should be only as big as what you need to run your business. While everybody should have planning to help run a business, not everyone needs to develop a complete formal business plan suitable for submitting to a potential investor, or bank, or venture contest. So don’t include outline points just because they are on a big list somewhere, or on this list, unless you’re developing a standard business plan that you’ll be showing to somebody else who expects a standard business plan.

If you need help with your Website Design, Social Media Marketing and Business Strategy - give us a call (800) 596-6218!