Is Your Brand Shut Down for Business?

Part 1 – Developing a Competitive Brand Than Can Always WinThe recent federal government shutdown fiasco got me thinking about how personal brands are also often at risk for shutdowns due to a variety of internal and external factors. Without delving into political details or assigning specific blame to any one person or party, I think most people agree that even with the recent temporary reopening, our current government is broken. Neither side is really “winning” these days.Politicians may manage to survive this kind of negative event, but your brand cannot. The turmoil plaguing Washington, D.C, is also plaguing our business and social sectors, so you must ensure that your brand is competitive enough to win no matter how treacherous the playing field becomes. Let’s quickly review a few key lessons about competitive, winning brand-building that can be gleaned from the most recent federal government shutdown.Strength through Compromise
In an effort to appear “strong,” many politicians in both major parties have adopted an attitude that compromise is a sign of weakness and the only way to win is to bullheadedly advance your own agenda and beliefs, never even considering making a tradeoff in a deal to achieve a greater goal.One look at the approval ratings of the current Congress should tell you how much respect such “strong” posturing generates. If you refuse to compromise, your brand will be seen as inflexible and stagnant, not fresh and powerful. Obviously when negotiating for a position, promotion or assignment you want to put your best foot forward and obtain your maximum advantage, but not at the expense of alienating the people you are dealing with. The key to brand success is developing repeat customers who buy your brand on a regular basis because it becomes a hallmark of quality, not strong-arming people into one-time purchases that result in a bad case of “buyer’s remorse.”You Don’t Have All the Answers
Politicians these days like to tell voters they (and their parties) have every answer to every problem that could possibly arise, and there is no chance an opponent could have even one good solution. This system of belief is just as false in business as it is in politics, and will shut your brand down as quickly as it shut down the federal government.A winning brand is based on projecting an image of confidence, competence and authority in your area of branded expertise. However, left unchecked this image can extend into arrogance if you take the attitude that you are the only one with any “real” authority in your branded area of expertise. A true professional is dedicated to always learning more, which requires having open ears and an open mind. People want answers, but don’t want them shoved down their throat.Make Yourself Look Good, Not the Other Guy Look Bad”Mudslinging,” or focusing on your opponents’ flaws rather than your own strengths, is nothing new in politics. But it has gotten particularly nasty as of late and was in full evidence during the shutdown. Politicians going out of their way to make their opponents look bad hardly greases the wheels of government, and going out of your way to make your brand’s opponents look bad will not grease the wheels of your career.It is surely tempting when trying to win a job, promotion or client to bring up the perceived or real flaws of whomever else may be competing for the same end goal. Don’t do it. Focus on how good you are and how much value your brand delivers. Anything else makes you (and your brand) look petty and also creates clouds of confusion and mistrust that will obscure the advancement of your brand as much or more as it impedes the brands of your competitors.Heart Check – How Competitive is Your Brand?Now that you know all about what keeping your brand competitive really means and what it takes to achieve and maintain a competitive brand, let’s do a heart check on the health of your efforts to make your brand competitive. Answer each question using the following scale of one to five hearts. Then add up the total and see how “heart-healthy” your level of brand competitiveness really is!Scale5♥Wait, that’s really, really true about me- Strongly agree
4♥That would be me- Agree
3♥50/50 sometimes, sometimes not- somewhat agree
2♥That absolutely has nothing to do with me-Disagree
1♥Let me take the fifth on this- Strongly disagree6.5 Heart Check Questions1. I don’t back down easily in a negotiation, but I’m willing to compromise to reach a mutually beneficial outcome.
2. I always make sure people I do business with will want to do business with me in the future.
3. I’m confident in my branded knowledge and skills, but not to the point where I’m cocky or arrogant.
4. I understand that others have as much or even more expertise than I do in key areas.
5. I always make myself look good, but not at the expense of competitors or colleagues.
6. I know that building a superior reputation through hard work and excellent results is the best way to achieve brand success.
6.5 I avoid petty drama and bickering that could bog down my branding efforts.Now that you’ve taken the test, let’s analyze your score:If you scored from 7-13, your brand’s competitiveness is expired. You know what that means: nobody wants to purchase your brand and you’ll soon be taken off the shelf.If you scored from 14-20, your brand’s competitiveness is day-old. There is minimal demand for your personal brand, but only at a steep discount and when the more popular and competitive brands are all sold out.If you scored from 21-26, your brand’s competitiveness is canned. Your brand will sell if it stays on the shelf long enough, but anyone seeking real fresh results will look elsewhere.If you scored from 27-33, your brand’s competitiveness is fresh frozen. Your brand is a respectable choice for the discerning connoisseur, but not the top choice.If you scored a 34 or 35, your brand’s competitiveness is market fresh. Congratulations! You have the brand that is most in demand and fetches the highest prices. You sell out early in the morning, when only the most competitive shoppers are out evaluating the available brands.

Samples Of Small Business Subcontracting Plans

Small business subcontracting plans necessarily mean a large business enterprise sub letting or taking help from small businesses. In large business outfits, the amount of office supplies is great hence a small business firm is contacted and a contract is signed with them to provide office materials regularly.o A subcontract is broadly defined as an understanding agreed upon by a prime contract and subcontractor to provide goods or services needed for complementing the performance of the prime contract.o The service a small business provides, however, is not necessarily under the prime contract; it should satisfy the prime contractor’s ordinary overhead requirements attributable to the prime contract.This entire process of contracting out a part of the project to a small business firm is known as small business subcontracting. The contract is made formal only if the costs involved in providing materials exceed $500.000 for the entire period of performance.o a small business subcontracting plan must state an expected amount of business that the prime contractor expects to award to small business contractorsHowever, it is untrue that all business concerns need subcontracted businesses to reach the stage of completion.o In order to ensure completion, each subcontracting plan must name a manager or contract person, called a plan administrator, in charge of promoting compliance under the plan.Only when the magnitude of the business project demands calculated subcontracts sub recipients are brought into discussions.The subcontractor’s SBSP mentions the materials to be purchased, the total amount of money that will be spent on each small business outfit and the percentage of money that has been stipulated for supplies and/or services that these purchases represent.Small business concerns usually used as sub recipients of such huge business projects are:o Small Disadvantaged Business concern
o Minority Institutes
o Veteran Owned Small Business concern
o Women Owned Small Business concern
o Historically Black Colleges and UniversitiesRather than waiting for communication, a small business can contact prime contractors directly to inform them of its small business.A small business can approach agencies themselves to show inclination of its availability for subcontracting.A SBSP is prepared by the principal investigator of the project. The principal investigator takes up the responsibility of meeting the goals set in the plan. If the SBSP fails for any reason, the contractor may be made responsible for the damage and the business concern handling the project may be denied new contracts.Once the SBSP is prepared, it is presented as a part of the business proposal. It is open to negotiation.o In soliciting subcontracts, prime contractors often seek several small business sources to insure they are obtaining a fair priceo If a small business is dissatisfied with the treatment it receives from the prime contractor, it cannot protest to the agency or General Accounting Office.The principal investigator informs the Procurement Resource Services (PRS) administrator of the need of subcontractors. The PRS then aids investigators in identifying suppliers as per the requirement of the project.o Prime contractors are increasingly aware of the need to subcontract with small businesses for delegating work.
o Certain small business contracts stress the possibility of dollar penalties on those failing to meet their subcontracting plans.Typical samples small business subcontracting plans require the following information:o Identification Data – name of the company, address, date of preparation of SBSP, Solicitation Number and Item or Service required
o Type of Plan – individual, master or commercial
o Goals – estimated dollar value of all planned subcontracting, estimated dollar value and percentage of total planned subcontracting to large business concerns, estimated dollar value and percentage of total planned subcontracting to small business concerns etc
o Details of Program Administrator
o Equitable Opportunity
o Reporting and Co-operation time line
o Record Keeping
o Timely payments to Subcontractors
o Description of Good Faith Report