What Nature Can Teach us About Business Online
As of March 2011, there were almost 2.1 Billion users online. The internet has made the world smaller, more in touch, and easier to access. The opportunity to do business across the globe is literally, at our fingertips.
This has also created competition from places, sources, and companies that were never possible in the past. I fully believe that those who can adapt to the changing online world will thrive. Those who refuse to see the change and grow with new technology will be starved out of the business world.
Nature can teach us a few things about business and competition, and here are a few tools to make sure your business stays alive:
Smaller companies that understand the internet and use it to full advantage can steal business from larger corporations that were never concerned before. Like the octopus in the video, most feared it would not survive in the tank. It eventually was the hunter, and not the hunted.
To turn your business into the hunter, I recommend using: Google Plus Search The person who gets to the lead fastest wins. Google plus real time search does thing most search engines never could, giving you the opportunity to find new leads and reach out to people like never before. Now, find potential clients before the larger corporations even know they exist through Google Plus Search. A great tool to become the hunter.
You may be in a small niche business and have to survive any way possible in a land of pigeons. Many businesses will turn down potential leads because it is not the client they are used to working with in the past. I once ran into a business owner who sold his business for $300,000,000. He told me that his business was broken. He said the way he fixed it was by looking at all of the old practices he used in his business. If he did something just because that was the way he always did it, then he would find a new way of doing it. The tool I would recommend using online is: Google Adwords Express. This tool helps you to find clients right in your potential area and target smaller groups for those with a tighter budget. It still lets you compete vs. larger corporations, just in the specific area you need.
Make sure to watch this video to the end:
Sometimes you let your competition do all of the work for you, and while they tire themselves out you can go in for the kill. My favorite tool for this is spyfu. You can view what your competition is doing online and study what PPC, SEO and other tools they are using. This tool saves so much time and takes the guess work out of your competition. It also helps you know in case there is an even bigger spider behind you.
The Theory of B2B CFO
I was contemplating the concept of B2B CFO® back in the mid 1980s, while a manager with Arthur Andersen
& Company. I was considering the concept of “typical consulting” as it related to the point of diminishing marginal
returns. At first, my model showed a complete point of diminished returns, which seemed typical for all consulting
engagements at the time. In short, they all seemed to have a finite ending with no anticipation of a continuation
with the client on a permanent consulting basis.
I was curious if one could calculate a point of diminishing marginal returns and then cause a constant perpetuation
of billings for many years. The rough draft looked something like the following:
This model sat on my home desk for many months with no movement towards an answer. I then put some more
effort into the project and documented the following assumptions: Read more
B2B CFO NAMED IN PRESTIGIOUS INC. 5000 LIST
B2B CFO NAMED IN PRESTIGIOUS INC. 5000 LIST
184% Growth Earns B2B CFO Spot in the 2010 List of Fastest
Growing Companies in America
Phoenix, Ariz. August 24, 2010 – B2B CFO, nation’s largest
provider of CFO services to small businesses, has been named to the
prestigious Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America.
Now in its 29th year, Inc. Magazine’s annual ranking judges US-based
and privately held companies by their revenue growth. This year’s
list was ranked on the percentage in revenue increase from
2006-2009. B2B CFO’s growth earned 84th place in its industry.
“There are approximately 27 million small businesses in the U.S.
today,” said Jerry L. Mills, founder and chief executive officer of
B2B CFO, “It is a huge honor to be among the fastest growing and the
most successful businesses in the country. Our firm has experienced
tremendous growth over the past few years and we are on track to
continue expanding. I am especially grateful to all of the firm’s
dedicated Partners who continue to advocate our services around the
nation.”
In a personalized letter congratulating B2B CFO on this
accomplishment, Jane Berenston, editor-in-chief of Inc. Magazine’s
wrote “Congratulations: your company, B2B CFO, has made the 2010
list of the fastest growing private companies in America. This
achievement puts you in rarefied company, especially if you consider
that over 27 million businesses are registered in the USA. The elite
group you’ve now joined has, over the years, included companies such
as Microsoft, Timberland, Visa, Intuit, Jamba Juice, Oracle, and
Zappos.com. I look forward to congratulating you in person in
Washington, D.C.”
B2B CFO’s growth is reflected in numerous awards this year. The
company was also recently named in ACE Corporate Growth Awards,
which recognized the most successful and fastest growing companies
in Arizona.
In August 2010, B2B CFO has grown to 170 Partners across 39 states,
representing 5,000 years of cumulative experience. Each Partner is a
seasoned financial executive who serves as CFO to growing businesses
on as-needed basis. Approximately 80% of the Partners have a
background that includes senior executive positions at the Big Four,
and all of the Partners have held high level executive finance
positions in various industries in corporate America. Together, B2B
CFO Partners work with more than 500 businesses in the nation with
combined annual sales of more than $3 Billion.
Jerry L. Mills and many of the B2B CFO Partners regularly dedicate
time to educate business owners on financial matters. Mills is a
frequent speaker and contributor and has been featured on many
national media networks including FOX Business, Fortune Small
Business, Smart Money and many others. Mills is also the author of
The Danger Zone – Lost in the Growth Transition, and Avoiding The
Danger Zone – Business Illusions, both business non-fiction books
that help entrepreneurs understand and build a strong financial
strategy.
“We look forward to participating in the Inc. 500|5000 conference in
Washington, DC this fall,” added Mills. “Along with my colleagues, I
look forward to the October 2nd awards ceremony and to meeting the
entrepreneurs that created the other 5000 fastest growing companies
in America.”
About Inc. Magazine
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc.
is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners
and managers of growing private companies that delivers real
solutions for todays innovative company builders. Inc. provides
hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people,
finances, sales, marketing, and technology.
Inc. Magazine’s 29th annual Inc. 5000 ranking of the fastest-growing
private companies in the country is available online at
www.inc.com/inc5000/list
About B2B CFO
Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the firm was founded in 1987 by
Jerry L. Mills. B2B CFO is the nation’s largest CFO firm serving
entrepreneurial, growth and mid-market companies with revenue under
$75 million. The firm’s partners have an average of 25 years of
experience and each individual partner is a senior level executive
with a broad range of expertise. Please visit online at
http://www.b2bcfo.com/
The Wall Street Journal featured B2B CFO® as experts in cash flow management. 
