Extreme Makeover for your Business
By Richard W. Syrek

You know how your business has been performing. Do you ever wonder whether you have kept up with the ever-changing market or what your true potential might be? Then consider doing an "Extreme Makeover" for your business. "Redo" your business as if you were starting over.

Start by dusting off your business plan. Take a look at all of your original assumptions and tactics. Are they still valid? How have you performed versus the original goals that are still valid? When you have answered these questions, take what you have learned and revisit your Vision and Mission. Make sure that you consider changes in the market and how your product serves this new market. Toss out old goals, revitalize those that are still valid, and add new goals that are applicable to new opportunities that you may have realized during the process.

Perform a skills assessment. Are you and your employees trained to utilize the skills that are necessary in today's business? Advances in technology have created new communication opportunities and new analysis tools to help you serve your customer's needs. You must also keep up with your customer's market to anticipate their potential needs in the future. Plan to close any gaps that may have surfaced.

Review your marketing plan. Look for an opportunity to fulfill a market need that you haven't previously explored. Perhaps you can modify your product to better serve your market. Take a look at the avenues of advertising you have used and list the steps that have been most successful. Look to exploit these methods in the future.

Review your external and internal image. Look at how your product and packaging represents the image you want to project to your customers. Review your service performance and commit to a standard that supports the corporate image you want to project. Make sure your employees have the tools necessary, and the working atmosphere that encourage a productive working atmosphere.

Follow these steps and enjoy the results of your "extreme makeover".