Many large businesses conduct assessments or have consultants do it in an effort to benchmark best practices. The purpose of a small business assessment is the same, to determine actions needed in the business to achieve best practices in several areas.

My experience is that small business owners need to continually assess several areas of the business and compare with best practices or at least determine if the best practice is best for their business. Business subjects that I have selected are: Establish your company, personal assessment, general business, customer relations, employer-employee issues, legal issues, services offered, finances, systems, and leadership.

The following table will help create an assessment report that can be used as an action plan for monitoring improvements and view trends in these business areas. Determine the goal or target that you would like to achieve by rating ( 1 to 5)  the best practice as necessary, rated five, or not important to your business, a one rating. Next determine your status for the particular issue, a five rating shows that you have accomplished the best practice or a one rating show that you are not close to achieving the best practice. Compare these two numbers to determine where to concentrate effort to create a company with best practices in place. This first table shows the first two business areas to be assessed.

Future blogs will show additional business areas and provide a means to evaluate the company and develop action plans to accomplish a best-of-class company. This provides a means for concentration on business issues that are important, this discipline will allow the company to achieve its goals with efficiency of time spent.

Business Assessment for Small Business (Establish Yourself and Personal)
Assess goal from 1 to 5.  Assess actual from 1 to 5.  One is lowest rating and 5 highest in both cases.