Dirty Secrets of Small Business
Does your business have a plan to make money on purpose? This might seem like a strange question, but in our several decades of working with and advising small business owners we have found that the vast majority don’t have this plan in place. We refer to it as a Profit Plan. Chances are you may have heard it called a budget. No one like to be put on a budget, but we all like to make profits! So what does your Profit Plan look like?
If we had to pick a movie to be the theme for a small business owner, it would likely be the 1993 classic Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Even if you’ve never seen the movie you can probably relate to what it feels like to have the same day over and over again. Unfortunately for too many small business owners this can be the case. So what’s a small business owner to do?
One of the common refrains you’ll hear whether it be in business or life is something to the effect, “If you’re not growing you’re dying.” A phrase like that can put a lot of pressure on a business owner to constantly be growing. But what does this really mean to grow? How do you plan for all of this growth? And is it possible to have too much growth?
We were talking with a coaching client recently who was struggling to justify increasing prices for one of their services. She kept using the word “justify” when trying to convince herself that it was OK to increase prices. Our discussion quickly shifted to talking about what made their service different from the competition. We also chatted about the mindset of their ideal customer.
Most business owners can relate to what it feels like to have debt in your business. Unfortunately, not too many owners are aware of how to get all that debt paid off. In fact, it seems too many business owners have come to the conclusion that it’s just the way things are when it comes to having debt. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way.
When’s the last time you took a road trip? With the COVID restrictions lifted in most parts of the world combined with summer being upon us, we have seen a lot more cars on the road with folks traveling across the country. But even if you haven’t been on a road trip lately, I’m sure you can recall several you’ve been on over the years. And if you’re in your 40s or later, you might actually remember picking up your TripTik from AAA before leaving on your journey. These days, you likely will just punch the destination into your GPS enabled device to get you where you’re trying to go.
When we get to this time of year, folks will often ask us if it’s too late to plan since this year is almost finished and the next one is about to start. While this isn’t the ideal time to start your planning for next year, it certainly isn’t too late to start. In fact, it’s never too late to start your planning.
People have always had side hustles. For instance, can you name a plumber, electrician, or mason who doesn’t do some sort of side jobs for friends and family? How about that person doing “the books” for several small business owners on nights and weekends or that salesperson also contracting with a start up to help get their sales off the ground?
One of the biggest enigmas for small businesses is balancing time vs. money spent on their Marketing Plan. When first starting out most small business owners have more time than money so the Marketing Plan is often 90%+ focused on time with 10% or less focused on money. For example, a new business owner may spend a lot of time going to different networking events at things like the Chamber of Commerce or BNI. If they are more tech savvy chances are the owner will be spending time on social media.
One of the biggest challenges as a small business owner is knowing what to focus on next. With so many folks trying to set priorities for you and your business, how do you as the owner decide what is really important? Should you listen more to folks inside your business (e.g. employees) or those outside (e.g. customers)? What about someone like your spouse or children? Not to mention all those thoughts you have in your own mind. It’s no wonder so many business owners are battling exhaustion!