Making Business Profitable

This segment came on the heals of the 2020 Presidential Election.  The purpose of the segment was to place an emphasis on the importance of celebrating differences in the pursuit of profits.

There was so much anger in our country leading up to the elections.  And we know that anger is a secondary emotion – the primary emotion is fear.  In other words, the source of anger is fear.   So, the question becomes, what are we so fearful of as a nation?

 While we don’t have all of the answers, but the opportunities for perceived differences that are created by a “I” and “me” culture are a part of the defining the problem.  The “I” and “me” culture gets in the way of opportunities, which brings us to our conclusion that the more problems that a business owner entertains as a result of these perceived differences, the less profit that business owner will experience.  

People want to be around a winner.

In this segment, we do a Jeff Foxworthy parody with the statement – “you may be surviving if”

…you have no money

…you have no one to help you run the business

…you work “more than 24 hours per day”

…you think that 5% profit is good

We describe thriving as…

…you have so much money that you need a financial advisor

…you are able to take quarterly or semi-annual vacations

…you have work/life balance

…you are winning!

There are only a few levers to pull to move a business from surviving to thriving. 

This segment outlines the three most important factors  that must be considered before starting a business – 

1.     Do you have a passion for the work?  The going is going to get really tough really fast.  It will be your passion that sees you through it.  If you lack passion, you will lack the motivation to continue to fight.

2.     Can you make money with your passion?  The object of the great game of business is to make profits.  If the object of your passion is not scalable enough to yield profits commensurate with the risk associated with starting a business, then just leave it as a hobby.

3.     Craft a business plan.  There is very little value in having a business plan but there is tremendous value in planning for the business.  Using Google and US government resources to research industries, markets and competitors is very important.  Developing a financial plan that forecasts revenues and expenses is even more important.

After these factors have been worked through, then you can begin to decide whether you should start from scratch or purchase an existing business.  With four million Baby Boomer owned businesses hitting the market in the next 3-5 years, there are incredible opportunities out there. 

People want to be around a winner.

In this segment, we do a Jeff Foxworthy parody with the statement – “you may be surviving if”

…you have no money

…you have no one to help you run the business

…you work “more than 24 hours per day”

…you think that 5% profit is good

We describe thriving as…

…you have so much money that you need a financial advisor

…you are able to take quarterly or semi-annual vacations

…you have work/life balance

…you are winning!

There are only a few levers to pull to move a business from surviving to thriving. 

The answer is a resounding yes.  Good managers are arguably the most important cog in the wheel of a successful business.  According to the Gallup Organization the quality of the manager is the single most highly correlated factor for employee engagement and retention.  Employee engagement and retention are highly correlated to productivity, efficiency and profitability. 

This segment describes the characteristics of good managers and characteristics of bad managers.  Gallup Organization research indicates that only 14% of new managers will be successful in their new roles.  86% of managers will be modestly successful of fail in their new roles.  What a call to action for SMB owners to train their managers!  

This segment outlines the three most important factors  that must be considered before starting a business – 

1.     Do you have a passion for the work?  The going is going to get really tough really fast.  It will be your passion that sees you through it.  If you lack passion, you will lack the motivation to continue to fight.

2.     Can you make money with your passion?  The object of the great game of business is to make profits.  If the object of your passion is not scalable enough to yield profits commensurate with the risk associated with starting a business, then just leave it as a hobby.

3.     Craft a business plan.  There is very little value in having a business plan but there is tremendous value in planning for the business.  Using Google and US government resources to research industries, markets and competitors is very important.  Developing a financial plan that forecasts revenues and expenses is even more important.

After these factors have been worked through, then you can begin to decide whether you should start from scratch or purchase an existing business.  With four million Baby Boomer owned businesses hitting the market in the next 3-5 years, there are incredible opportunities out there. 

The answer is a resounding yes.  Good managers are arguably the most important cog in the wheel of a successful business.  According to the Gallup Organization the quality of the manager is the single most highly correlated factor for employee engagement and retention.  Employee engagement and retention are highly correlated to productivity, efficiency and profitability. 

This segment describes the characteristics of good managers and characteristics of bad managers.  Gallup Organization research indicates that only 14% of new managers will be successful in their new roles.  86% of managers will be modestly successful of fail in their new roles.  What a call to action for SMB owners to train their managers!  

This segment came on the heals of the 2020 Presidential Election.  The purpose of the segment was to place an emphasis on the importance of celebrating differences in the pursuit of profits.

There was so much anger in our country leading up to the elections.  And we know that anger is a secondary emotion – the primary emotion is fear.  In other words, the source of anger is fear.   So, the question becomes, what are we so fearful of as a nation?

 While we don’t have all of the answers, but the opportunities for perceived differences that are created by a “I” and “me” culture are a part of the defining the problem.  The “I” and “me” culture gets in the way of opportunities, which brings us to our conclusion that the more problems that a business owner entertains as a result of these perceived differences, the less profit that business owner will experience.  

This segment describes business planning as the secret to success.  The alternative to a good business plan is constantly operating in the “whirlwind”.

We define the role of Mission/vision and Values as the true north of the organization.  We define the business planning work product – Financial Plan, Sales Plan, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan and Management Plan.  

Organizations with business plans – written goals and objectives – have operations that are 30 times more successful than their competitors.  The game on the calendar for 2021 is economic recovery and huge opportunity.  Do you have an executable plan to ensure that your company is as successful as possible in the coming year? 

This segment describes business planning as the secret to success.  The alternative to a good business plan is constantly operating in the “whirlwind”.

We define the role of Mission/vision and Values as the true north of the organization.  We define the business planning work product – Financial Plan, Sales Plan, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan and Management Plan.  

Organizations with business plans – written goals and objectives – have operations that are 30 times more successful than their competitors.  The game on the calendar for 2021 is economic recovery and huge opportunity.  Do you have an executable plan to ensure that your company is as successful as possible in the coming year?