Now that I have been given a new lease on life, I MUST make the most of it. So, today going forward I will commit to use this tool, this Blog, to serve what I believe God wants me to do with this second chance. So, what is it I supposed to do you ask, well, enjoy the read;
My Three Causes
Those of you that know me know my passion for the success of the entrepreneur. Everything I have done in business has been to make an impact in reversing the horrific statistic of business failure. Over the years, however, and most recently during a bout with cancer, three significant overarching strategies have surfaced that are now anchors of my three causes. All three causes, when fully embraced and implemented by a cluster of regional businesses will be “Business accelerators” and will profoundly impact the economic conditions of a region. So, without further ado, here are my three causes.
Cause #1: Workforce Development
The problem:
There is no question that every business owner would like to have a better trained workforce. Too often new employees lack the basic skills for business; Skill like good communication, business writing, problem solving, critical thinking and even the fundamental of how to properly dress for work or work ethics.
In my region of the U.S., the County of San Bernardino, it is reported that 30% of our high school students will not graduate from High School. For those who do graduate, 12.2% will move onto a college education. When you put it all back together, that means that one of ten students pursue a college degree. The remaining 9 either join the military, learn a trade, enter the “System” (drugs, gangs etc..) or simply enter the workforce. Every business wants the college going employee but the numbers simply don’t work out. Business owners complain to educators about the quality of their output but the reasons that impact this output are far too great to address comprehensively. I have complete confidence that our educators are working diligently to address many of these factors. Nonetheless, the business community is screaming for a simple solution for improving the quality of the workforce and, if given a chance to contribute, they would gladly do so if the solution made sense.
The Solution
It is my humble opinion that the link between our high school output and the business community is our nation’s community college system. The obvious reason for this is that anyone can attend community college. And, they can take any class. An individual can learn a trade, take management or supervisory courses or take college prep courses. In addition, the cost of attending community college is still relatively affordable. In most regions, one can take a full load for about $1,000.00 per year. Unfortunately, even this cost of admission is still beyond the reach of many of our youth.
So here is the simple solution. Think of a day when every business within a community college district, funds one dream for one student for one year for $1,000.00. That’s it. If every business within the community college district where I live were to fund one dream, we could promise college to over 30,000 students. That is 11,000 more than currently attend the college. In fact, the business owner can fund a dream of an active employee, or the child of an employee. So, if we, the business community, are sincerely interested in improving our workforce, then a simple solution is to financially assist one student at a time to attain higher education. We win, the student wins and the community wins. (Fund a Dream is a formal program offered by Chaffey Community College)
Cause #2 Business Acumen
The problem
It is reported that better than 85% of all new business startups will fail by year two. Yet, in the year that this statistic was reported, 2000 – 2001, 100% of the net U.S. job growth came from small business. During that same year the census revealed that one of the major contributors to business failure is a lack of business acumen amongst entrepreneurs. In fact, that Census reported that only 22% of new entrepreneurs had a bachelor’s degree or equivalent. Of the Hispanic or Black entrepreneur only 11% had a bachelor’s degree. Now, this is not a degree in business, mind you, this is a degree in anything. So, what does this mean? Well, it means that the majority of our entrepreneurs was not taught critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, research or disciplined study skills, or peer group learning skills; all of which are critical in business. I argue that a lack of business acumen should NEVER be a contributor to business failure! Think of it this way. When an employee loses his/her job what do they do? They get another job. When an entrepreneur loses their business what is the impact? This entrepreneur has maxed out their credit cards, pulled all equity out of their homes, borrowed from friends and family only to lose it all. LIVES ARE RUINED! FAMILIES ARE BROKEN APART! MARRIAGES ARE SHATTERED! I argue that if you can teach the business owner HOW TO properly run their business and surround that business owner with a group of like-minded entrepreneurs to share best practices, then the success rate of small business will be significantly impacted. In fact, I have evidence of this within the clients whom are members of an Estrada Strategies training/coaching program. Think of it this way, as a business owner you don’t know what you don’t know, and, if you can fix the business owner, then the business will fix itself.
The Solution
I kind of let the cat out of the bag in my closing statements of the problem above. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that business owners whom are taught business rules, systems and leadership principals, and are coached to apply what they have learned, will profoundly alter the success course of their business. In addition, given the opportunity for a business owner to share their biggest challenges with a room of their peers, often another business owner in the room had faced a similar challenge and can share how they resolved it. So, if every business owner, or decision making executive, belonged to a group of like-minded executives who met on a monthly basis to enhance their business acumen and to share their best practices, and were coached on how to properly implement what they have learned, the success rate of small business will be significantly improved. In every business community there are several programs for a business owner to engage; Programs like Estrada Strategies CEO Club, or Vistage, TAB or others. I have seen firsthand the success rate of business owners who are attending such groups and find it difficult to comprehend why ALL business owners do not embrace this simple concept.
Cause #3: Regional Economic Ecosystems
The Problem
Far too many businesses and municipalities are spending millions of dollars outside of their region. In all my years as a CEO Coach, I cannot tell you the number of times, when in a coaching session and while looking at a client’s trade payables, I found myself asking a client “Why are you purchasing that out of state? I know of someone just up the road who can do that for you.” I put the two business owners together and they create local commerce. Or, during a business networking event, I see business owners meet up with other local business owners and create local commerce simply because two owners met in person. It blows my mind to see a local business, or municipality, ship their monies out of the region to save 3% to 5%. Do we realize the negative impact we are having on our own communities by doing so?
The solution
Well, the solution is quite simple. Every business and municipality spends no less than 75% of all their trade payables within the community where they reside. Can you imagine what this could create? Just think of it. More dollars are spent within the region. Local businesses are more successful and hire more employees. Those employees spend their monies in the local communities where they live and as a result generate more tax revenue for local government. In turn, local government can reinvest in infrastructure, public services and programs to further assist their residents and businesses. This is creating a Regional Economic Ecosystem. Image a system where each community is self-sufficient and a total commitment to retaining wealth is forefront of all significant business decisions. In addition to this is the commitment from business to employ local residents who in turn keep their payroll dollars local.
Now imagine with me for a minute, a day when in every region or community, every business owner and decision making executive, deploys all three of these simple principals. A day when every business funds one dream for one student, when every business attends a group of their peers to further enhance their business acumen and when every business and municipality spends no less than 75% of their dollars within their region. Can you imagine with me the impact this will make for that region. When combined as three concurrent strategies, local economies will become self-reliant and business success will be a matter of degree not survival.
You have a CHOICE!
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