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May 1-7 is National Small Busines Week
e-retailer logoJanuary 2016
Volume 17 Issue 4
Small business week is a whole week - they heard us


Every year at this time we bring to you a mention of small business week being in early May. We do so with a bit of sarcasm as the "week" has always been a Monday through Friday. That may be fine for those of you in a service industry, but for those who are in retail it seems a bit odd as the weekend is often the bigger sales days of the week.

Finally the Small Business Administration has heard us! May 1 through 7 is the Small Business Week for 2016.

We believe that any and all of the events that celebrate the small businesses within a community are important for us to participate in. We cannot tell the story often enough; small businesses are important to every community.

Here is a link for more information and to sign up.

National Small Business Week
Article of the Month - Never forget a customer

My mentor as a speaker was Jack Rice. Like me, he was a former retailer who found his way into the speaking industry. There was a signature story that Jack told from his days of owning an appliance store. And along with the story was his comment, "Never forget a customer; never let a customer forget you."

Let me invite you to enjoy a story with a great lesson for all of us.
Book of the Month - Knock Your Socks Off

Following up on Jack Rice and the article just mentioned, our book of the month is Knock Your Socks Off by Performance Research Associates. There are multiple books in this series with slight variations on the name, including "Delivering Knock Your Socks Off Service" and "Knock Your Socks Off Selling" by Jeffrey Gittomer.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Debt to Net Worth

Ever borrow money for your business? When you do so, you likely get a loan packet in which you sign or initial thirty or more pages. The numbers about the loan, dollar amount, interest rate and length of the loan, are covered on just a couple of pages. A part of the middle pages are referred to as the loan covenants which is how you will provide information to the lender and what they can calculate from your financial statements.

One of the covenants frequently examined is the "debt to equity" ratio. In this ratio, they are comparing how much of the business you own and how much debt the business has. Follow this link for more information.
Staff Incentive for Your Business

We have previously discussed in this column that there is no one incentive that is best everyone. Today we have an idea for some fun and engagement with your staff.

When you get your staff together, ask each of them to take pen and paper to create a list of each of their co-workers' names. Next to the name, they should write what they think their coworker would like as an incentive.

Because they talk to each other during the work day, they will likely have some unique insight to each other. As you ask each person to share their list, you will likely have an entertaining conversation. You will also gain some insight to what you can use to engage your staff.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
Profits Plus |tomshay@profitsplus.org | (727) 823-7205 | www.profitsplus.org


 

 

 

 

 

 

MAY 2024
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Small Business

AdvisorieS

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.

Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
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BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.


Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.

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Profits Plus Solutions, Inc.
Tom Shay
PO Box 128
Dardanelle, AR 72834
(727)823-7205