LaKesha Womack

Archive for the tag “Business consultant”

21 Dec 2010
2 Comments

4 Strategies to Eliminate the Competition

While serving on my local Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors, a member contacted me and wanted the BoD to ban a competing business from an event.  At first, I thought it was joke until he continued the conversation with a high level of seriousness in his voice.  Since then, as I have been working my consulting clients, I am mindful of how they view their competition.  Although you can not make your competition disappear, there are some strategies that you can implement to reduce your worry factor.

  1. Don’t be afraid to get to know your competition. There are some things that your competition is obviously doing well to have remained operational but there are also some things that they can probably improve upon.  Don’t feel as though you have to fill the void of each of your competitors but when creating your marketing strategy, you should be aware of what sets you apart as well as what key service/products will help to keep you in business.
  2. Play nice. Once we find out some areas that our competition may struggle with or hear some client complaints, it may be tempting to shout it from the rooftops so that prospects can see how we are better.  However, it can be turn off to those prospects when you begin to bash your competition.  Rather than focus on their negatives, turn the conversation to your positives.  I have been in several situations where a client began to tell me how they felt I was different from someone who did the same thing that I do.  I knew who they were talking about and could have easily pointed out some additional differences but instead I kept the conversation focused on my products and services.
  3. Be true to yourself. Not only do you need to understand who your competition is and be able to articulate what sets you apart, you have to be sure that you are staying true to the mission of your business.  Many businesses get sidetracked trying to fill a void outside of their core competence and it creates confusion for the customer.  I remember when Hardees started selling fried chicken.  Although the product was very good, it was hard for me to get into because Hardees is known for the burgers.  Needless to say, it didn’t last very long.  If you stray from your primary brand offering, make sure that don’t move too far away from what your business is known for to avoid customer confusion.
  4. Deliver on your promises. Many businesses have a tendency to overpromise to get the customer and under deliver which causes them to lose the customer.  It is less expensive for your business to keep a customer than to market and obtain a new customer.  Take a realistic look at your service/product offering and what you are telling your client they will receive.  Are you delivering on your promise?  If not, you could be the competition that we mentioned in point 1 and eliminating yourself from the market.

In today’s globally competitive marketplace, understanding your unique value to your customers as well as how you’re different from your competition and being able to deliver on your promises will be keys to your success.

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense and tagged , , , , , , ,
17 Aug 2010
1 Comment

Which stage of business ownership are you in?

During my Twitter chat (#BOSSchat) with The BOSS Network last week, a very interesting question was posed: what’s the difference between being self-employed and a business owner?  I believe there are four stages of being in business for yourself.

Stage One – Self EmployedYahoo! Merchant Solutions - 120x600
Most people start out being self-employed.  At this stage you have a product and/or service to offer and will employ yourself to do the majority of the work.  You may have people who help you but the bulk of the responsibility for making your ship sail is in your hands.  You don’t have much time away from the business and probably feel as though it is consuming your life.  It is difficult to strike a proper work/life balance but you are not sure that you trust anyone else with your baby/business.  This stage is the most frustrating but survival is the key to your success.

Stage Two – Business Owner
 You have now progressed to having a manager or someone to take over the bulk of the responsibilities for your organization, however you are still involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.  You don’t feel totally comfortable delegating tasks to others but realize that it is necessary for you to be successful.  At this level, you should take advantage of opportunities to leave the business and network in your community.  You have successfully established your brand, now is time to put a face with a logo.  You may also begin to consider what is next for yourself personally and professionally.

Stage Three – Entrepreneur
 Most business owners or self-employed people that I know have visions of owning more than one business.  People toss around the word “entrepreneur” to define anyone who owns a business, however, I believe you become an entrepreneur once you are able to successfully establish a business AND begin working on additional projects whether professional or community based.  These opportunities will provide you with additional leadership skills and business connections that can help make some of your goals attainable.  As an entrepreneur, you may now feel the freedom to travel to travel to industry related events with the confidence that you have created a solid foundation within your business and that things will continue as you have envisioned.

Stage Four - Philanthropist
 Once you have had a chance to establish yourself and build a successful business, you should have some connections and some money in the bank.  I believe that most of us strive to make a difference in our community.  How do you do that?  Money and influence.  Do you see the connection?  Many times we see older people in our communities making decisions and being power players.  This is because they have amassed the connections and capital to have influence over decisions.  At this stage, people are coming to you seeking advice, financial assistance and consider you an industry leader.

Which stage of business ownership are you in?  Are you ready to move to the next stage?  If so, contact me ~ contact@lakeshawomack.com ~ for a one hour complimentary consultation to discuss strategies to help you achieve your goals.

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense and tagged , , , , , , , ,
11 Aug 2010
4 Comments

Reflections: My Faith Is My Foundation

I am not ashamed to admit that less than a year ago I was not nearly as comfortable witnessing about my faith as I am now.  I was afraid that talking about my faith might offend someone who believed differently than me.  Even when I started this blog, I tried to keep my faith out of it.  I began to ease it into the conversation with my Christian and Cool segment but still struggled to embrace my beliefs and spent more time questioning it.

Diamond is a jewel symbolizing Jesus, the (priceless) jewel; who is our Savior and Lord. The diamond is “superimposed” upon the cross which is a symbol that Christ is our foundation. The Cross is a symbol of Calvary where Jesus bled and died for our salvation. The Cross bridges us to our precious jewel of salvation – Jesus – and the open cross represents the “Victory” of salvation.

What changed? I’m not sure.  I took a break from the Christian and Cool writing because I didn’t know what else to say, I couldn’t find the right words for those Sunday posts, there was a block within me.  I spent the past few months anticipating a change in my ministry and reconciling within myself how that change was going to effect me.  I am a member of the AME Zion denomination and we have a Young Adult in Christian Ministry (YACM) department that ministers to 22-40 year olds through prayer and mentoring.  The YACM has a national (or connectional as we refer to it within the denomination) steering committee.  In July I attended our Christian Education Convention where leadership for our national committees were elected and those leaders will serve four-year terms.  Most of you that know me, know where this story is going.  I was elected to the committee as the South Central Chairperson, which means I will be working on ministries in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

Trust me… I didn’t think I could handle one project especially one of this magnitude because starting a company or joining a Board of Directors is much different from making a committment to help build God’s kingdom.  Although I am a part of this committee, I am “officially” accountable to God for my actions and the work I do.  As I began to mentally prepare for this position, things in my life began to change.  I stopped having so many questions about my faith and began to embrace it.  I will admit that I still have less traditional views on Christianity than many people but I have accepted that my faith is my foundation.

I believe our society has compartmentalized faith to such a degree that many people think their faith is separate from every other component of their life.  It is almost as if it has its place –>>> over there rather than it being the base of everything that we do.  I feel as though some people that I was once close to, I am not close to anymore and some things that were once ok with me, are not any more.  I will never judge anyone because that’s not my job but I am finding myself ministering to more people and my faith is the starting point for a lot of conversations.  I still have some old habits that need to be broken but I am honest about it and don’t try to be perfect.  I want you to know… I am a work in progress.  Key phrase “in progress” which means I am moving forward but not there yet.

Sometimes I find myself saying things that I never imagined so boldly professing about my faith but it feels so good to not have to hide that part of me.  I am excited about what is in store for my ministry and moving toward more Christian-based business consulting because I want the people that I work with to experience the same level of joy and success that I have… not in material gain but establishing themselves as Christians doing the right thing at all times knowing that their blessings will manifest from there.

Thanks for taking the time to learn a little more about me :)

Posted in Reflections and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
27 Jul 2010

Is your business at maximum capacity?

As a small business owner, you are always seeking new business, trying to hold on to current business and looking for ways to bring back old business.  However, have you considered at what level your business will reach maximum capacity?

In theory we like to believe that our business is capable of servicing any and everyone that wants our product/service; however the reality is that our business model is only equipped to handle so much “work”.  Many major corporations hire efficiency experts to help them streamline processes and constantly find new ways to do things better but in less time so that they can produce more.  Yet, as small business owners, we often create a process and stick with it regardless of our growth.  We often forget that there may be a quicker or easier way to do something  because we get used to the way we have always done things.

This attitude is harmful to your business for the following reasons:

  1. It is possible that you could be overextending yourself and not delivering on your full promise to your customer because of a lack of time and/or resources.
  2. It is also possible that you are able to handle more business but because of a lack of efficient processes, you always feel “busy” without accomplishing very much.

Working with a business consultant, will allow you to attain an outside perspective of your operation’s procedures and processes to ensure you are working efficiently while delivering on all of the promises that your business has made to your customers.  We can examine your sales processes, accounting procedures and training policies to ensure all systems are operating at full speed.  We can even discuss what happens once you reach maximum capacity and want more business.

Contact me (contact@lakeshawomack.com) today for a one hour complimentary consultation to discuss how to determine whether your business is operating at maximum capacity and what to do next.

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense and tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
13 Jul 2010
2 Comments

Create multiple streams of income for your business

I’m not your typical business consultant.  At least, that is what I have gathered in talking to my clients about their experiences with working with other consultants.  I am not generalizing so if there are some consultants out there that think like me, then you obviously don’t fit in this (blah, blah… you have to say stuff like that or people get huffy thinking you’re talking about them… if the shoe fits…).

Anyway… one of the things that I believe sets me a part from other consultants is a phrase that I like to use, “Dare to dream.”  Sounds easy enough, right?  Not always.

When planning to start a business or while running a business, you have to make practical decisions.  You have to weigh each decision carefully to ensure you are on the right track and doing what’s best for yourself and for your business today, tomorrow and ten years from now.  But what happens when your vision gets so practical that you can’t see the future of your business?  What happens when you are so focused on being practical that you can’t dream of expansion or see what’s next?

By daring to dream, I encourage my clients to think of other ideas that are complimentary to their current business so that they have multiple streams of income.  Let’s use the example of a bakery.  Yes, my client is great at baking desserts.  She has a cute a little shop and does ok providing for herself and her family.  However, one day I asked her to dare to dream of where she wanted her business to go and she said, “I want to own a banquet facility to rent out for special occasions with an industrial kitchen for catering.”  I am the type of person that believes anything is possible in my own life and for my clients so I responded, “Let’s put together a plan.”

You see, her dream expanded the vision of her bakery to create the following streams of income:

  • revenue from the sale of her baked goods
  • revenue from opening during lunch hours during the week and operating as a deli
  • revenue from the rental of the facility for weddings, receptions, parties, etc
  • revenue from renting the industrial kitchen to caterers without access to such a facility
  • revenue from catering the events being held at her facility
  • revenue from bringing in a chef and using herself to provide cooking classes for the community

How many of you saw that coming?  LOL… that’s what I get paid to do.  I help my clients to see how their dreams, with a proper plan, can help them live the life they’ve always wanted.  When you have five streams of income versus just doing the one thing *while operating within the core mission of your business* you are building an empire for yourself.  On any given day, she is making money from one, two or all five sources.  How much better is that?

When thinking of your business, dare to dream of what you want it to look like at its peak, then contact me (contact@lakeshawomack.com) for a complimentary consultation to see how we can make it a reality.

Posted in Business Dollars and Sense and tagged , , , , , , ,

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