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November 2023 Making an investment on November 15 Wednesday, November 15 is a day you could do something very important to help your fellow small business owners. It is the annual Great American Teach In Day. Contact your local school and volunteer to teach students about small business works. Tell students of the benefits and enjoyment you receive from owning your own business. Explain to students how a small business works from the inside. Mentioning this reminds me of an experience we had in our family business. I remember a high school student working in our business who brought his homework to show my Dad. The student received an "A". In the report, the student explained that a business pays a small price for a product and multiplies the cost several times to determine the selling price. The operating expenses are minimal and the average small business makes a net profit of 30%. While my Dad thanked the student for sharing his work, inside he was furious. How could a teacher possibly give a student that grade when all of the information is so very wrong? My thought was to wonder who was teaching this student about business. A similar situation occurred this past week as a young man came to me after a presentation to ask about the challenges of keeping employees in his business which is exclusively service. My answer was that he needed to explain to all of his employees just how margins and operating expenses really are within a business. Hence, my suggestion; Would you volunteer some time with your local school on November 15 to teach some classes and explain small business? Article of the Month - We are not playing on the same team Entering the last two months of the calendar year, this is an opportune time to think about who will provide your year-end accounting. Sure, you have had the same accountant for years. You think you are pleased with their work because you and your business have never been audited. And, you have never had to pay any penalties. Shouldn't that be enough to decide that all is well? We would like to offer the article of the month as a guide to measuring what your accountant is doing to help your business. You may find that you need to have a better understanding of your business. And if your accountant is not going to teach you, where are you going to learn more? Book of the month - Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin We appreciate after a presentation that someone in the audience offers to share a book suggestion with us. This book, Extreme Ownership, is written by a pair of Navy SEALS who translate their experience and discipline from military action to business ownership. Over the years we have shared multiple books on business management that have been written from an individual's experience of leadership in the military. We think you will enjoy this one as well. Internet Tool for Your Business - Accounts Receivable Aging Interesting how so many business owners look at only two things - gross revenue and net profit - when determining how well their business is doing. If your business has accounts receivable, then the Internet tool for your business we are suggesting is very important. This tool helps you to see how well you are doing at collecting those receivables. Revenue is not revenue until the money is in your checking account. And this tool will show you how much of your money is still in the hands of your customers and not doing anything 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. Internet Tool for Your Business Staff Incentive for Your Business Regardless of whether your business provides services or products, it is November that starts a busy season in almost everyone's life. Understandably for those of you in retail, it is a time when it is "all hands on deck" to take care of the Christmas buying season. However, as a means of engagement for your employees, it could be very beneficial to give each of them a day off early in the season. You could preface this announcement by telling your staff you want them to be able to enjoy the season as well as you need their best effort during this busy time. A day to rest; to shop for the holidays; or to be with family; you will be telling your staff that you are thinking of them. 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.
