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October 2022
News of the day - 275 times and learning from Toby Keith 275 times; dating back to December 1999, our newsletter has shown up in your email on the first day of every month. And here we are fulfilling the commitment we made with the first newsletter: Share with small business owners the tools and ideas we find that can help them to be better and more profitable owners. We learn lessons in some of the most unique places. It was May 30, 2018. Toby Keith and Clint Eastwood were playing golf. Eastwood was asked how he remained so youthful and active. His answer was, "I don't let the old man in". With that response, Toby Keith wrote the song by that same title. What gets our attention is a line in the song that we tweak slightly to make our point. "Ask yourself how old would you be if you didn't know the day you were born". We see this as being very applicable to every small business. Let me change the line again to make it fit. "Ask yourself how much you would charge if you didn't know how much something cost". "Ask yourself how you would advertise if you didn't know how everyone else did it". "Ask yourself what product and/or service you would offer in your small business if you didn't know (or see) how everyone else does it in your industry". And I suggest, "Don't let the same old response as everyone else be in your answer".
Article of the Month - Learning how to promote We were visiting with an individual whose responsibility is to oversee a team of small business experts. As we were explaining a learning tool we have created, the response by the individual was surprising. It was to the effect of, "that's not the way most things are done". Advertising, promoting and marketing can also be seen that way. Are you doing it the way everyone else does? Or, are you being different? Seems to us that if you want your business to be remembered, it should be because you are doing things differently. See our additional explanation in this month's article.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? Mike McCormick explains the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) We extend our thanks to the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) for calling this concern to our attention. While not applicable to all small businesses there is yet another potential financial benefit that you should hear about and determine if it is applicable to your business. Mike McCormick, CPA visits for the October Small Business Conversations program to explain the ERC or Employee Retention Credit. As with his previous visits, Mike will be sure to not lose us in the technical jargon, as he walks us through the process of determining how a business qualifies and how to apply. Mike is quick to point out to those who are going to do some online research in advance of the October program, that you should not be looking to these companies who state they are specialists in the ERC process. This is because they have been known to push non-qualified businesses through the process only to have to deal with the IRS later.
Book of the Month - This is marketing by Seth Godin The full title of Seth Godin's book is, "This is marketing: You can't be seen until you learn how to see". We have never seen a Seth Godin book we did not like. The author is very intelligent, insightful, and has a mind that questions every standard we see. This leads to his sharing ideas that are unique. Being unique should be the cornerstone of the advertising and marketing of any small business. That is unless you just want to advertise that you have a lower price on your products and/or services.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Calculating sales per employee The biggest operating expense of most any small business is that of payroll. When reviewing a business, the total cost of employees, including the owner, is compared to the revenue. We mention the total cost of employees; that includes payroll taxes, incentives, bonuses, health care, and any expense directly related to employees. When comparing the total payroll to revenue, this calculation is frequently referred to as "sales (or revenue) per employee". To a point, the higher the number the better a business is producing revenue. We say "to a point" because while this number is being improved you have to consider if the business is giving sufficient attention to the customers. Use this month's free internet tool to see what the number is for your business. 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 - An incentive works only if it is appreciated Incentive - a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something. That is the way it is supposed to work. However, incentives sometimes fail because it is not something that the employee wants. We went to a football game last week with a group of friends. One of the group has a reserved parking area at a home near the stadium. As we were grilling, this person told of the various locations he was assigned to park over the years. What caught our attention was their telling of a period of a time when a bank rented a sizable area of this parking for their employees. Our friend told us that no one from the bank ever used this special reserved parking area! We did some quick calculation to determine just how much the bank spent for all those unused parking spaces over the course of a season. It was quite a sizable sum! Obviously, all wasted money. The answer to any incentive and not having the experience the bank did is simple; ask your employees what they like to do for themselves. The answer will give you insight as to what engages an employee. 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.
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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.
