Is your business people based or process based? Did you know there was a difference? Don’t feel bad. Most entrepreneurs and business owners either don’t know the difference or worse, they do know and for one reason or another they continue on being people based.

So, what is the difference between people based and process based business? It is simple really. If your business relies on someone to decide what action to take next on a continuous basis, then it is people based. Or, if you do not have courses of action for routine and sometimes obscure events, then it is people based. A process based business is one that is run according to and by a predetermined set of steps or instructions. Typically all courses of actions that are encountered on a daily basis have a procedure telling you exactly what to do and how to handle things. Franchises are great examples of process based businesses.

Why would you want to have a process based business over a people based one? People based businesses are at the mercy of attitudes. People decide to carry out a routine course of action based upon their attitude or feeling. For example, someone does not like the way a client asks for assistance and subsequently does what they can to make the client leave. Or, a person does not feel like sweeping the floor today so they simply do not do it. People based businesses do not return consistent action therefore they do not return consistent results.

Conversely, process based businesses are built upon consistency. The same, pre-determined course of action is taken every time. For example, at 4pm every weekday the floor is swept by whomever the closing shift person is. Or, a client wants to buy a widget that you sell and they are treated in a predetermined way that leads them down the best course of action that can result in providing them with the solution they seek and provide the business with the client satisfaction and revenue it seeks. Mc Donalds is a good example. Almost anywhere in the United States, if you order a Big Mac and fries, you can be certain that it is going to taste the same and cost the same no matter which Mc Donalds you visit. I like to use Mc Donalds as an example because it shows the true power of a process based business. It is the most successful restaurant business in the world. However, when you walk in, what is the typical average age for most employees? And their education level? The average is teenagers to early twenties and many have little to no college education. This statement is not to denigrate teens and twenty somethings. It is meant to show that a bunch of teenagers can implement the processes that Ray Kroc designed and make almost any Mc Donalds a profit machine. How many Mc Donalds have you seen actually go out of business?

A few other points to be made are, when you have a people based business, you are always looking for ways to motivate people. Why? Because your business is people based. It’s that simple. Motivating people and making people happy are two completely different subjects. Continuously having to find ways to motivate your people is a sure sign that you are people based. Regardless of what type of business you are in or foundation you have, you should seek ways to make your employees happy. It leads to higher efficiency and less turn over. But that’s a separate topic.

When you base your entity on processes, the processes can take ordinary people and allow them to accomplish extraordinary tasks. There is a company in New York that put on various seminars and speaking events. The company made millions upon millions of dollars and organized thousands of participants. That company employed a total of 6 people. One of them was the founder. How can they continuously return revenue numbers that high with such little manpower in comparison? They have very efficient and effective processes.

As you can tell, I am a big proponent of process based businesses. If your business is not process based, get started with your migration from people to process. If you are unsure how to start, no problem. It’s rather easy. Document everything that happens as soon as a client walks in the door, calls on the phone, or sends you and email. From there you branch off like a decision tree. If they have a complaint, then you need a process to handle that. If they want to buy something, you need a process to handle that. If they have questions about your product or service, you got it, another process. It’s easier to start with the initial client communication and develop processes for every scenario. Anytime an employee asks, “How do we do whatever?” You are missing a process. Teach your employees to ask, “Can I get a process” when they do not know how something is done. When it is explained, document the answer and you just developed a process. You should have processes that cover every normal aspect of your business. Once you do, you will realize where communication is breaking down, where inefficiencies are happening, and what areas you can tweak to increase you revenue. The key, as with many other things in business, is to just get started. So don’t put it off any longer. Yes, I’m talking to you. Get going!

This week’s motivational phrase is:

In times of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists – Eric Hoffer.

Very interesting line of reasoning when applied to today’s ever changing world. In order to survive and thrive you must continue to learn. For if you are not learning and growing you are stagnate and regressing.

When I started as an entrepreneur I tried to help others although my means were meager. I would pitch in a little time or items that I may have had excess of. As my entrepreneurial endeavors grew, I began helping others because it helped to build alliances in the business world. My thought was, “If I help others, they will remember me and utilize my services or buy my products in the future.”

Over the years I have read and listened to many different books. A message I heard in one of them was, “If you help others get what they want, they will help you get what you want.” The message was from an iconic speaker on sales named Zig Ziglar. It had meaning to me. But no real impact. I was more concerned with the tips I could use for increasing my sales.

In recent times, I have become acquainted with a couple of fine gentlemen that practice this message. They are brothers. They are both extremely successful entrepreneurs. Both of them are two of the nicest gentlemen you will ever meet and they truly embody the meaning in this message. Their names are Daniel and Darin Vega. If you have attended any of Dan’s seminars or sat down and spoke with Darin, you know exactly what I mean. It does not take long to realize this. My point is, that after interacting with these gentlemen and observing their actions, it gave meaning to the message I heard on that Zig Ziglar CD a few years ago.

Since my new found enlightenment on this message, I have put it into practical application. However, this time I am helping people with no other concern except helping them. I am truly trying to help them get what they want each time I offer and engage in contributing my assistance. I have been repaid in more ways than monetary compensation. Not only do I personally feel better because I am positively impacting so many other people’s lives, but those people make sure that I do not endure any hardships in their arenas of expertise. By truly helping others try to get what they want, I have become more self fulfilled and gained an army of alliances along the way. Not to mention all of the symbiotic relationships has created a dynamic that has exponentially increased my earnings revenue. I literally have more opportunities than I have time to take advantage of.

It is easy to get started. Just find a fellow entrepreneur in need and offer to help make them successful utilizing your area of expertise. Help them without regard for personal compensation. This is especially hard when you are financially hurting. However, it is my experience that it will be paid back to you in greater proportion than you contributed. To view the converse of this, look at those who are selfish and are only trying to help themselves. They are generally overworked, overstressed, often broke, and have few (if any) alliances. This is a cynical world. But, if you can overcome your fear and cynicism, you will realize that these words ring true. I have heard it, witnessed it, and experienced it. Help others get what they want and they will help you get what you want.

This week’s motivational phrase is:

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else – Benjamin Franklin.

My wife left that as a comment to my post Fed Up With Excuses. I found it relevant to make it this week’s motivational phrase. Ponder the phrase for a moment and evaluate all those individuals in your personal and professional lives. Do they excel at anything else besides making excuses for things. They may call them reasons. But, what is the frequency of their “reasons?” How is their performance? If you have someone on your team that acts this way, either you need to enact an attitude change upon them or let them join another team that needs someone to create excuses. If you are that person, stop! Excuses never enable someone to enact a positive change.

Many of us were raised to go to school and get a good job. This was sound advice in the industrial age. But we are now in the Information Age and maintaining the same mantra is making America fall further and further behind the curve. Please do not misunderstand me. I believe in education. I just do not believe in the formal educational system to acquire a better job or propel you forward in business.

There are a few fields for which a formal college education is still a viable and required foundation for a profession, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, psychiatrists, and a few others in the medical, legal, and mathematical fields. They attend college to learn the basis for their profession. However, all of them are required to seek continued education to stay up to date in their fields. It seems accepted for someone who paid ten to hundreds of thousands for their education to pay for courses in the thousands to tens of thousands in the continuing educational field.

Entrepreneurs, wake up! You may attend college to get a basic knowledge of business and accounting. But the real knowledge gained that is needed to be a successful entrepreneur is not learned from a college classroom. It is learned from experience and from other entrepreneurs. You cannot buy experience. But you can buy knowledge from others in the form of classes and seminars taught by entrepreneurs that have already succeeded in the realm that you seek success. If you want to learn about financial literacy, you seek out Robert Kiyosaki. If you want to learn about self growth, you seek Tony Robbins. If you want to learn about entrepreneurialism and practical application of that knowledge, you seek Daniel Vega. And the list goes on and on (Zig Ziglar, Donald Trump, T. Harv Eker, Napoleon Hill, etc) depending upon what type of specialized knowledge you seek.

These are your professors in entrepreneurialism. Why do you hesitate to pay $500 for a seminar or $5000 for a class. These seminars and classes are specially designed and tailored just for your specific need for information. To put it in perspective, to enroll in MU (Missouri State University) in the Spring of 2009 for 20 credit hours is about $5500 and that does not include your books or any extra course specific classes or materials required (info found here). Let’s assume, conservatively, that your books and materials were only $500. That means that you would spend $12,000 for one year of education. Here is my question, as an entrepreneur, do you spend $12,000 a year on your own education? $6000? $1000? Most of you spend nothing on your education and that is horrible. Why is that? The excuses I hear are “I do not have the time” or “I do not have the money.” I am here to tell you like it is, “That is a load of crap!” If you are not growing your mind you are stagnate. Stagnation in the entrepreneurial world equals death. In comparison to traditional colleges the classes are less expensive and more focused towards your particular needs. And you can receive your education, and often times mentorship, in less time. From my perspective, you have to make time and you can’t afford not to invest in your education. If you don’t you will have plenty of time on your hands and no money when your competition learns what you refused to and continued to progress while you regressed. Small business is the backbone of the US and the leaders in innovation. If we are falling behind, you can clearly see the reason. Entrepreneurs, the ones who create small businesses, do not invest in their number one asset: THEMSELVES.

President Obama stated that the only way we are going to ever going to reduce our national debt is to make ourselves more valuable. We make ourselves more valuable by increasing our education and our ability. The President went on to state that this included Alternative Education, which includes seminars and non-accredited classes. Doesn’t it make sense that if you do what the millionaires do that you will receive the results the millionaires receive? You are an entrepreneur which means you are a person of action. Your money spent on your education, if paid for by your company, is often tax deductible. It is also an investment that never depreciates, compounds in value as you add more to it, and no one can ever take from you. Quit procrastinating and making excuses and get started. Your future depends on it.

**Note: If you are looking for specific seminars or classes and are having a difficult time selecting one, contact me with your requirements and I will be happy to refer you to one that meets your needs.