One of the biggest reasons for the unacceptably high rate of failure for new startup businesses, besides lack of sufficient capital to maintain the business through the initial months, is a lack of focus and a clear plan for the business. Time after time, people come to us for advice on how to sell their products, but when we ask them who their Target Market is, what their Core Values are, what their Core Focus is, what their Unique Differentiator is, they have no idea. All they have is a product to sell, but no plans on how to sell it, or who to sell it to. They are basically just babes in the woods, lost, with no sense of direction for their business.
We have decided to put together this Business Health Checkup tool to help you to clarify the health of your business. The tool is based on the Entrepreneurs Operating System which was designed by Gino Wickman, and is described in his book “Traction” which we highly recommend. Wickman’s book, and “Duct Tape Marketing” by John Jantsch, form the basis of our own Modern Marketing Method.
We recommend that you come back either quarterly, or at most six-monthly, and re-use the tool. Hopefully, each time that you re-do the test, your scores will increase and you will get closer and closer to the successful business that you wanted when you started the business.
A Couple of Pointers
Be honest with your answers, remember that this is for your own good, there are no prizes, Brownie or Kharma points involved.
The more thought that you put into your answers, and the more honest you are in rating your business, the more value that you will get out of the test.
To give you an idea of the range, try this scale:
5 = “Yeah, we are all over this like mustard on a hot-dog!”
4 = “We got this, but need to improve a little.”
3 = “We are sort of doing it, but need to work on it a lot more.”
2 = “We have a vague idea of what it means, but need help with it.”
1 = “Whatchou talkin’ about, Willis?”
Some of the questions may not apply to your own business at this stage of your progress, for example, if you are a startup business and you are currently the only person in the business, the questions about teamwork will not apply to you yet. So give yourself a rating of 1 for these questions.
As your business grows, you will start to employ staff, then these questions will apply to your business, and you can start to rate your business for them. But if you have no staff, you can’t rate yourself for Leadership just yet, can you?
If any of the questions or the terms used are confusing, you are welcome to email us at Port Macquarie Online Marketing with the title of ‘Business Health Checkup Tool’ in the email and we will gladly explain what they mean and how to use them in your business. We will be putting together a glossary of terms and their uses, and as soon as this is finished it will be added to our Resources page, so keep an eye on that page. Good luck with your assessment!
Business Health Check List
Please Note:
No email address is needed to run through this quiz, just enter the relevant numbers and the total will appear. We strongly recommend that you do the quiz at least once a year, and preferably twice a year, and keep track of your improvement in your business health. However, if you want to discuss any of these values, don’t hesitate to contact us via the button below, and we would be more than happy to discuss the results with you.