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Who knew? May is "talk to your accountant" month You know we have a monthly feature about events you can promote. This is not one of them but it is an important idea for you and your business. May is a good month for this as tax returns for business and personal should be done. Let's look first at your business. Hopefully you are looking at your financial statements for the first four months of the year; this would be a good time to compare the first third of 2019 to the first third of 2018. Look at revenue, margins, individual operating expenses and bottom line. See the differences and consider what you need to be working on for the last eight months of the year. During presentations I hear from too many people who are months and even years behind in getting their books done. Too many people tell me they can't read the financial statements or make decisions with the information. While we are suggesting you read our article titled, "We are not playing on the same team", we want to remind you that working with an accountant is a two way partnership that requires your participation. If you do not understand your financial information or find you are not using it to make decisions, tell your accountant and ask for their help in making these papers you are paying for into information for your business. If the accountant does not provide the help, it may be time to look for a new one that will partner with you.
Article of the Month - Having a demonstration school Personal experience in the past 10 days have given me a new appreciation for this month's article. I could easily lose count as I think about the things in our home that warrant additional instruction so that we can fully enjoy them. Even an item such as a smart phone that most all of us have is full of features we do not understand how they are to be used. Each of our businesses can differentiate ourselves from the competition by providing things the competition cannot do or will not do. Let me invite you to read this month's article titled, "How do you do that?"
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? Michael Kalscheur and John Wheeler Your bucket list; everyone has talked about having their bucket list for life. It is the list of things you want to get done before you die. There is even a movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson done humorously about the topic. The May Small Business Conversations will have Michael Kalscheur and John Wheeler of Castle Wealth Advisors join us to discuss the four buckets for your business that you should have before you retire. Michael has been on Small Business Conversations before and provided us with one of the best received programs we have ever had. Talking about your business and your eventual retirement, we expect similar results. As always we will be sending you two announcements during the week of the May Small Business Conversations to invite you to join us.
Book of the Month - Blue Ocean Shift Several years ago we reviewed the book, Blue Ocean Strategy. We found it to be one of the most memorable books we have reviewed because of the guiding principle we took from the book. Far too many businesses grow their business by taking business from other similar businesses; We refer to that tactic as a "red ocean strategy". This business is not doing anything to grow the industry or customer's interest in the products or services offered. With a "blue ocean strategy" the business is being unique in bringing new customers to the products or services offered. My favorite example is an observation of a friend who was interested in buying a camera. That interest grew such that my friend became an owner of multiple cameras and lenses. The camera shop grew its business by developing the interest in photography of a person as compared to taking customers from another camera shop. Blue Ocean Shift is the follow up book written by the original authors, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne and examines multiple businesses that have implemented the Blue Ocean Strategy since 2005. The concept of "blue ocean" over "red ocean" is without question more challenging to implement. However, it has a tendency to be more profitable as the most common tactic in a red ocean situation is that of attracting customers by price.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Break Even Analysis Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - Pizza party Most businesses have multiple occasions over the course of a year where there is a sense of accomplishment in the completion of a sizable task or achieving a goal. Our staff incentive idea for your business for May is that of your having a pizza party for everyone involved to celebrate and as a means of saying thanks for everyone's efforts. While the first time you do this will be a surprise to your staff, subsequent sizable tasks will be approached with a stronger sense of responsibility and determination if you surprise them again with a pizza party or other similar way of recognition. 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.
What's coming up that you can promote? - Give your existing and potential customers a reason to celebrate. We collect information from National Day Calendar and share certain events that we know you could include as a part of your promotional efforts. We are adding this new feature to help you create events for several reasons. Your customers will enjoy a fun connection with your business. You can easily use social media to promote the event. You will get the benefit of your event getting a tie in to events that local and national media promote. Our favorite example is that of chocolate pie. Yes, there is a chocolate pie day. If you are a grocery store or restaurant, it is a natural to tell your customers of the event and invite them to do business with you. Other businesses could do a joint effort with the restaurant or grocery store. Putting these together can be quick and easy, but should be planned in advance. As an example, as this is May 1 you should be looking at what you can do in July. Examples of July events include: National Grilling Month July 1 is Canada Day July 4 is USA Independence Day July 6 is Fried Chicken Day July 9 is Sugar Cookie Day July 11 is Pet Photo Day July 15 is Give Something Away Day July 17 is Hot Dog Day July 20 is Lollipop Day July 21 is Junk Food Day July 23 is Vanilla Ice Cream Day July 25 is Hire a Veteran Day July 27 is Day of the Cowboy July 28 is Parent's Day
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MAY 2024
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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
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
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.
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."
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.
