Questions - 1 to 62 of 62
Is there ONE person that you are likely to talk to or discuss matters with prior to addressing a serious problem or making a critical decision involving this business?
Is that person an immediate family member, that is a spouse, parent, child, brother or sister?
Does that immediate family member work in the business?
Does that immediate family member provide business advice for a living?
Does that immediate family member own a business separate and distinct from this one?
Does that immediate family member manage a different business or a department in a large organization?
Which immediate family member are we discussing? Is he or she a:?
Is that person a:?
Do you consider that person a mentor?
Has that person been your closest business advisor since you first entered THIS business?
Are you more likely to discuss a serious business problem or a critical decision with several people, a different person depending on the situation, or are you more likely to handle it yourself without outside input?
Would at least one of those people with whom you might discuss the decision be an immediate family member, that is, a spouse, parent, child, brother or sister?
Does this business have a formal Board of Directors?
Do you have an informal advisory group that periodically meets to review your business and offer advice or counsel?
Is the primary reason that you make critical decisions about this business without consulting others because:?
(solicit advice from) An accountant
(solicit advice from) An engineer
(solicit advice from) A Women’s Business Center
A banker
An insurance agent or broker
(solicit advice from) A university-based small-business or entrepreneurship development center
(solicit advice from) A supplier
(solicit advice from) A marketing or advertising consultant
(solicit advice from) A lawyer
(solicit advice from) A management consultant
(solicit advice from) A business owner
(solicit advice from) SCORE
(solicit advice from) A designer, not including a Web designer
(solicit advice from) A computer or software specialist, including a Web designer
With which of those people or organizations did you work most intensively with over the last 12 months?
Please estimate the number of hours in the last 12 months that you and/or your employees worked with this person, including hours putting together any materials that this person needed to help you.
Please estimate the total costs of that person or firm’s services over the last 12 months?
Which BEST describes the type of task that person or firm performed for you. Did he or she:?
Did you implement all, most, some or none of the advice, suggestions, or recommendations that this person or firm offered?
Did the outcome of your relationship with that person or organization prove:?
Which BEST describes that decision. Was it:?
On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 means SLIGHTLY more important than most decisions you make for this business and 10 means HUGELY more important than most decisions you make for this business, how important was this decision?
Which BEST describes the stakes of your decision for the business? The decision meant:?
Could the decision be BEST described as:?
Which BEST describes the general subject matter that business decision is related to? Was it:?
(business decision) Did it more specifically involve:?
Did it more specifically involve:?
Did you recognize the existence of the matter that your decision addressed or did someone bring it to your attention?
Did you recognize the matter your decision addressed gradually, over an extended period of time, or suddenly, in a very brief period?
Once you recognized the issue you needed to address, approximately how long was it before you started a course of action to address it? Was it:?
Prior to making the decision about the proper course of action, did you seek-out a person, persons, or group to discuss the matter and/or possible solutions?
About how many different people did you talk to or consult on this matter prior to making your decision?
Was (one of those people/that person) an immediate family member, that is, a spouse, parent, child, brother or sister?
Earlier, you identified ONE person that you consult with about business-related issues. Did you consult that ONE person when making a CRITICAL decision involving this business?
Was (one of those people/that person) another owner of this business?
Did you hire and pay a person or firm to help you decide how to resolve the matter?
In terms of value for the time invested and money spent for this person or firm, did you get:
What was the most important reason that you did NOT hire a professional to help you address the matter?
Did a supplier, banker, insurance agent or someone else who provides advice as part of a product or service influence your decision?
Would you describe that influence on your decision as:?
Did you look for and find a FREE or very low-cost organization or public agency, such as SCORE, a Small Business Development Center or a community organization, to assist you with the matter?
What was the single MOST important reason that you did NOT use one of these free or very low-cost sources of help?
In the end, did that person, persons or group with whom you discussed the matter:?
What was the primary reason you did not seek out anyone to discuss the matter prior to making your decision? Was it because you:?
Volume 12, Issue 1, 2012 ISSN - 1534-8326
William J. Dennis, Jr.