Work Your Core

For the past couple years, we have had an opportunity to work with not only some really fun people but with trainers that really know what they're doing. We spent a lot of time working on our "core."  I'll bet a lot of you are doing the same.  And so it got me thinking about our core business.  It's something you hear a lot.  "Stay focused on your core."  "Play to your core strengths." "Work on your core business processes." 

This thing of working on our core relative to our business seems to be amped up lately when it comes to IT.  Lots of companies are looking at how they handle their IT and wondering if it is something they should outsource. The term for this outsourcing and where it happens most is in a big category called managed services.  Don't feel bad if you're still confused by what managed services means. A recent Forbes study showed that more than 60% of medium and small businesses don't really understand it and aren't sure of its value.

So essentially, managed services is simply the practice of outsourcing day-to-day IT management responsibilities. Today, because there's been so much advertising around the term, people think of managed services as moving things into the cloud.  And while that can be a part of managed services, it's not really the biggest.  Here's what I do know, managed services has a place in your business, but you have to figure out what that place is.  Most will tell you it's the things that have become commoditized that you just don't want to bother doing any more.  I had a good friend who is in this business tell me the other day that all IT services are to be commoditized and you'll be buying what you need much like you do electricity.  An interesting thought.

I think the decision comes down to your definition of your core business. Chances are you will find that you need an IT person not an IT company to handle most of your requirements. That person can help you decide what to outsource, in other words what can be put under managed services. What I'm saying is information technology and technology in general is a piece of your core business. Just like you have sales, marketing, accounting, product delivery, HR and finance, you have IT.  I tend to think of it as having an in-house bookkeeper and having a CPA. Technology is in everything we do every day in our businesses 24/7.  And if it's not it should be. 

Just like we've learned that we must work our core to be strong as well as nimble and flexible, we have to start to consider IT as part of our business core processes and give it the same attention.   So I'm off to work my core. It's not easy, (I sweat a lot), but it's vital! 

Come join our discussion on our blog or I welcome your feedback through email.  

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza operates 34 locations throughout CT, DE, FL, NJ, NY and PA. The pizzerias occupy spaces of 2,800 sq.ft. to 4,000 sq.ft. in various retail settings. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the existing markets, excluding FL, during the coming 18 months, with representation by Sabre Real Estate Group, LLC. For more information regarding Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, contact Jayson Siano, Sabre Real Estate Group, LLC, 500 Old Country Road, Suite 209, Garden City, NY 11530

Innovative Mattress Solutions trades as Sleep Outfitters, Mattress Warehouse and Mattress Unlimited at 130 locations throughout IN, KY, OH, TN and WV. The stores, offering bedding items and mattresses, occupy spaces of 4,000 sq.ft. to 6,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and power centers. Plans call for 45 openings throughout OH during the coming 18 months, with representation by Equity, Inc. Typical leases run five years. A vanilla shell is required. Preferred demographics include a population of 40,000 within five earning $40,000 as the average household income. For more information, contact Kelly Gray or Tracey Herron, Equity, Inc., 11 West Monument Avenue, Suite 506, Dayton, OH 45415.

Food City Markets, Inc. trades as Food City Markets at two locations in NY. The supermarkets, featuring meat, produce, and deli departments, occupy spaces of 10,000 sq.ft. to 20,000 sq.ft. in freestanding locations and strip centers. Growth opportunities are sought throughout the New York, NY metropolitan area during the coming 18 months.  For more information, contact Paul Berger, Food City Markets, Inc., 1 Blue Hill Plaza, Suite 1502, 16th Floor, Pearl River, NY 10965