Existing Business Diagnostic

Existing Business Diagnostic

This EXISTING BUSINESS DIAGNOSIS has been developed for those businesses that are already in operation. The essential question being addressed is, "How effectively managed is this business that you have created?" Step 5, Management Development, and Step 6, Business Renewal out of Best's Six Steps to Small Business Success form the basis for this Diagnosis.

Management Development (Step 5) deals with the identification and assessment of the general management issues and personal management techniques that you are most likely encountering in your business.

Small Business Renewal (Step 6) helps you determine not only the condition of your business, but also helps you identify what corrections need to be made get it/keep it going in the right direction.

Instructions: Use the following values of a 5-point scale to score each of the statements.

Very Confident (I am very confident about this statement.)
Fairly Confident (I am fairly confident about this statement.)
Neutral (I feel neutral rather than positive or negative about this statement.)
Not Very Confident (I am not particularly confident about this statement.)
No Confidence (I am not at all confident about this statement.)

Answer each statement as honestly as you can, after you’ve read the accompanying clarification/explanation, noted in (italics). Be as objective as you can, even erring on the conservative side if need be in order to paint as accurate a picture of your potential small business success as possible.

Proceed to the end of the statements for an interpretation of the results. Understand that this is a preliminary diagnosis of the EXISTING BUSINESS area, providing only an indication of relative success or failure and is therefore not to be construed as a guarantee of either condition.

Use the "Comments" space under each statement to summarize your reactions/ideas to the statement. This will help with further analysis, whether it comes from you or another source.

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Existing Business Renewal
1.	I have an up-to-date, comprehensive, written business plan, which I use on a periodic basis to check where the business is, against where I thought it should be going. (Most business don't have a formal, well-developed business plan, just the ones that survive. A business plan is a map to the future of the business and without having one the chances of getting lost increase dramatically.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
2.	I have established goals and objectives for each major part of my business. (Goals and objectives provide a framework of purposefulness within your business, which in turn assists you in developing other supportive actions like budget development, work schedules, and financing.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
3.	I am able to periodically assess the different external environmental factors of my business with reasonable accuracy and quickness. (External Environmental factors (economic, demographic, government, technology etc) continually produce change pressures for your business. Staying up with these changes, even ahead of them on a good day, is of vital importance to the long-term success of your business.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
4.	I am pleased with the results and the expenses related to the promotional plan that I have adopted for my business. (The best product/service line in the world is worthless unless you are unable to communicate its availability to potential customers. An effective promotion mix will be cost effective, minimal cost and maximum results.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
5.	My product/service line is competitive from a price, quality, variability, and desirability perspective. (Maintaining the competitiveness of your product/service line requires constant vigilance and periodic change. Is your strategy to do this more proactive whereby you try to stay ahead of the competition, or is it more reactive whereby you try to meet the competition?)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
6.	My business generates strong customer satisfaction levels. (Customers have a variety of ways of telling you whether they are satisfied or not. What techniques are you using? In today's competitive market, you'd better be shooting beyond satisfaction to ? (check notes)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
7.	My financial management system is set up so that I can monitor vital financial information that I need like cash flow status, sales volume, gross revenue, personnel expenses etc. (Whatever financial information is important to you and your business should be easily accessible and very accurate/timely. The mix of this information will vary from business to business, owner to owner depending on what is considered important but cash flow and sales figures are usually minimal requirements.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
8.	I have or have access to a capital reserve that I can tap into as necessary. (As an extra line of defense, just as with your family budget, you should have a capital reserve for your business to help meet the demands of the unexpected.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
9.	The location of my business, whether home or in the community, is accessible to my customers, well-organized, and very presentable to my customers. (The location and condition of your place of business is part of the value package that you offer to your customer. Make it the best that you can.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
10.	My interpersonal relations/communications with my customers, (staff as appropriate), and other stakeholders in my business are effective. (The ability to deal effectively with anybody connected with your business is another one of those top considerations for any business owner.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
11.	I have mutually acceptable contracts/agreements with suppliers, landlords and other appropriate stakeholders in my business. (Contracts form an enabling, legal framework for your business. Because of them, you can make certain commitments with reasonable assurance that you can keep them. Bad contracts are unfair/restrictive to one or both of the parties and typically create bad feelings in addition to lessening the enabling abilities.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
12.	I have established ongoing, effective relationships with key professionals who are or may be important to the success of my business (e.g. lawyers, accountants, bankers, marketing specialists etc.) (It is a rare individual who can run a small business completely by themselves. Even if you think that you have expertise in certain areas, it would be a good idea to get the perspective of another professional in that area from time to time. Also these professional areas are ones where any mistakes you make could mean severe damage to the business so better be safe than sorry.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
13.	I have various aspects of the business operations included in an operations/personnel manual (e.g. hours of operations, customer service policy, personnel policies if applicable, etc.). I review this document periodically for necessary changes and coordinate this with my staff, as appropriate. (There are usually a wide array of policies and procedures that evolve in any business. While it is suggested that you be careful not to get bound up with too many rules, codification of the basic rules of the road will minimize confusion, frustration, and perhaps even lawsuits.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
14.	I am able to plan for both the current operations of my business as well as its long term growth needs. (The act of taking care of current operations while at the same time anticipating and preparing for longer term growth is akin to changing the wings of an airplane while it is in full flight. It is not always easy given the demands of the present but it must be done if your business is to maintain its competitive position.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
15.	I am effective at managing my time. (Are you getting everything that you need to get done and still have time for the rest of your life? If not, you may need some time management assistance.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
16.	I am able to balance the demands of my business with the demands in the rest of my life. ("Work on your business, not in it", are words of wisdom from Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited. You are more than your business so balancing the different dimensions of your life will help you to develop and maintain a more complete life as you are engaged in running your business. This is one of the classic "easy to say, hard to do" lines. But if you don't balance your life and other parts like family, and health suffer, will you be satisfied with what you have left. At the end of the day, is it really worth it to sacrifice the rest of your life for your business. Many individuals believe that in fact the more balanced your life is, the more successful your business is likely to be because you will be able to maintain a more healthy perspective on the business. )	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
17.	I am aware and pleased with how the different elements of the business interact with each other on a short term basis. (Elements here refer to structural components like Leadership/Management, Product/Service, Financial/Physical Assets, Human Resources, Environment, and process components like marketing, accounting systems, planning, and communicating.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
18.	I believe that the different structural elements of my business fit together easily, complement each other, and operate at a very high level in general. (The structural components include areas like Leadership/Management, Product/Service, Financial/Physical Assets, Human Resources, and macro and local service Environments that impact the business. It is important that these structural elements not only fit well together but that they also operate at a high level.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
19.	I understand what the change or driving force(s) is within my industry and I am confident that I can respond to any change pressures that may arise. (Most businesses, within an industry, are subject to various pressures for change. Within a particular industry, these change pressures usually come from one or more predetermined sources. Examples would include technology for the telecommunications industry, and changing societal patterns for the food industry. In most cases, change will come at the direction of the owner/manager of the particular business.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:
20.	I believe that each of the structural elements of my business has the flexibility to adjust to any change pressures, no matter what the origin of the pressure. (The key thing here is that there needs to be reasonable flexibility in all of the structural elements if the business is going to respond to any given change pressure.)	Very Confident	Confident	Neutral	Not Very Confident	No Confidence
Comments:

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