Summer 2009

The Certified Business Owners Choice:

Curse the Darkness or Light a Candle

During this recession, frustration and fear is often in the driver’s seat. Add lost opportunities and negative experiences in the world of contracting, business owners can become despondent to the point of shutting down.

But small business owners are a hearty bunch, especially those certified firms competing for projects with supplier diversity goals. They are tenacious and learn not only how to get around walls, but “punching through” as Maurice Coates, owner of C. K. United Sheet Metal & Mechanical, Inc. advised other DBEs during a recent FastTrac® GrowthVenture™ session.

While business owners still lament that some bid invitations come too late to respond, many do not follow up with the project owner. Ron Green, formerly with the Louisville Water Company, advised one business owner that if one of their project’s bid invitations is not received in a timely manner that bid invitation should be faxed to the Louisville Water Company with a note explaining that there was no time to bid on the contract. The project owner cannot correct a problem that they don’t know about was Green’s point.

Remaining positive may not be easy in difficult times, but the alternative is simply not productive and cannot lead to success. At the business level, negativity fuels devastating decisions that can impact your firm’s long-term viability.

Here are three common fear-based mistakes that business owners tend to make during a recession -- and how you can avoid them:

Mistake 1: Laying Low
It can be tempting to accept that the economy is at a standstill and that there is simply no business to be had. This may be true in some cases. However, business is all about building and maintaining relationships.

Just like aggressive job seekers, business owners should be taking time to pound the pavement. They should be calling on customers and competitors’ customers. They should be networking, not only with the same familiar groups they have been networking with for years, but branching out to organizations that may provide new contacts and new business opportunities. They should be talking to their vendors and asking vendors to introduce them to potential customers.

Smart organizations build potential customers and protect existing relationships while business is down. Many even gain market share during an economic downturn. How? Competitors who fail to build and maintain relationships with customers risk future business.

Mistake 2: Ignoring the Organization (Working IN the Business not ON it)
No one and nothing is perfect and that includes your business. Everyone could use help developing a more efficient and productive organization. However, hiring managers and/or consultants is often out of the question, particularly when businesses are facing furloughs, layoffs and worse.

The majority of certified KY DBEs have firms that have been in business over 10 years, and their owners and operators have even more years of expertise and technical knowledge in their fields. But it is common for small business owners to build strong businesses with little or no business training.

During an economic downturn, there is not a better time for evaluating areas of the business that could benefit from improvement. This includes setting a plan and identifying goals for growth; then setting forth a strategy. Business owners should seize opportunities to participate in low-cost or no-cost business development, mentoring or coaching programs, like those available with the Ohio River Bridges Project.

The nationally recognized FastTrac® GrowthVenture™ business growth development program is provided at no cost to certified KY DBEs while other business owners may pay up to $995 for the program. The Bridges Project has offered this Entrepreneurial Development Institute (EDI) program since 2007. While many DBEs have participated, many have not. The main reason given by DBEs in the local area for not participating has been the commitment of time. However, taking time to plan now, when business is slower than usual can build business in the long term.

CLICK HERE to request information about the October EDI GrowthVenture session.

Mistake 3: Not Doing the Research
Most certified KY DBEs seeking opportunities on federal and state-funded transportation projects understand that certification is not the only strategy needed. Pursuing opportunities requires closely monitoring web sites, resources, listings for project postings and bid announcements.

Contractor pre qualification with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is required for many highway road pre-construction and construction projects. Understanding which scopes of work require prequalification and which do not is the responsibility of the business owner. Maintaining that status and keeping DBE certification and prequalification up to date are also the business owners’ responsibility.

Business owners must do research necessary to be put in a position for opportunities for growth. The Ohio River Bridges Project’s KY DBE eNewsletter archive has many instructions and links to resources from contractor registration to KYTC prequalification.

CLICK HERE for access to the archive.

Making the Right Choice
Ultimately, DBEs and all small business owners have a choice to make. Will you give in to the recession? Will you become as inactive as the market? Or will you act now to see your way through troubled times?

If you can avoid these mistakes, your firm can thrive and emerge from tough times stronger than ever.