Four quick strategies for business owners to grow and build the value of their business and set it up to sell one day on their price and terms.
Budgets are necessary to control spending, but mindlessly following them is insane when it comes to scaling and growing your business beyond what the budget “allows”. You can be flexible and still grow smart as long as you look at key metrics for growth and allow them to supersede what some arbitratry budget measure says.
When and how do you balance growth while making sure you don’t go nuts on spend?
Your Business can be like a winning horse if you train it well and feed it with steady and growing profits.
On the big race day (the day you exit) it can give you a huge payout.
Have you ever felt really intimidated by an upcoming challenge? Like time I stepped onto a wrestling mat to face “Mr T.”* in the 1980s.
But then something amazing happened: when we got into the middle of the match, I realized he wasn’t so scary after all! In fact, if it hadn’t been for me being pysched out in the beginning and gave up points for nothing, I would have won.
This experience taught me an important lesson: don’t judge a situation by its cover. You never know what lies underneath. So be confident in yourself and take that leap of faith—you may surprise yourself!
*(P.S. It wasn’t the real Mr. T just in case you were wondering…)
As I posted this article on my Linkedin profile, I saw the date 26 January. It’s a coincidence, but it’s extremely relevant (and I’ll explain shortly).
Growing up in Chicago in the 1980s we witnessed one of the best NFL defenses to ever be on a field. It caputed a whole city and people went crazy.. even waiting in hundreds of thousands in 20 below zero to welcome them back after a championships.
Why do I bring them up? Because it’s a cautionary tale. How a system that brings you to the heights can also fail you when it outlives its time.
Like in business, and the system you used to launch can now destroy the value you built ..
As for the date? 26 January 1986 was the date they won the Super Bowl..
As a founder, especially if you were a solopreoneur, you had to do a bunch of things at once.
You had to hustle and find your customers, you had to onboard them, you had to service them, you had to bill them, and you had to collect from them all the while still trying to find new customers and working on the quality of your products and services.
And pay the bills, and deal with the government agencies, etc etc.
But when you are ready to scale and grow your business it’s best to keep in mind the Triangle of Success and the importance of being able to execute all areas simultaneously.
Do you make a sale to acquire a customer or acquire a customer to make a sale?
Why does this matter especially for scaling up your business?
Investing in your customer relationships pays off!
Don’t get so wrapped up in making a sale that you miss the long-term benefits of providing great service and using that sale to build a relationship with the customer.
And whatever you do, don’t ‘rip them off’ or you’ll find yourself out of business before too long.
Are you in business to trade your product or service or invest in your customer base – as an asset to your business?
It’s investment versus transaction and sometimes, as the example from my FX days shows, it’s not so clear cut.
Save money by doing it yourself right?
Wrong
it can cost you your business….
A business parable of how an owner transformed a horrible culture to one that allowed him to grow the business and become free.
Have you ever seen someone making a purchase and then changing their mind last second and leaving?
What can be more frustrating when someone is about to purchase from you, wants to purchase from you, but something is holding them back.
And what is holding them back might surprise you. But if you can figure it out, you can get the window shoppers to come in and the clients who would walk away.. take that deep breath and open your door.
With the New Year, many predictions come in, but they are mostly useless. You can see how useless it is by looking at the 2022 predictions and seeing what came true and what was not only wrong, but woefully so.
Even worse is the hero celebrity worship and blindly following even how they chew gum and walk at the same time.
Of course, thinking of the new year wouldn’t be complete without thinking of the two most annoying sales pitches we’ll have to hear repeatedly in the next 12 months…
Story of how my client had to deal with a most insidious “bunny boiler” before he could finally grow and scale his business.
Part 2 of dumb dog smart dog and how it applies to scaling your business
Ever consider dogs and what they can teach us about growing a business? And no, I’m not talking about going on the rug… or being so excited to see you as you walk in the office that they want to jump on your leg.
It’s about team.. it’s about fit..
and it’s about your freedom to grow your business without being stuck inside.
It is easy to convince business owners about the value of delegation and mentoring. Showing them and training them how to do it is the challenge.
We do it by setting the correct example, imparting the beliefs, and passing the knowledge on to others patiently.
Set high expectations and be clear about what needs to be done and provide adequate support.
Do these and you gain a freedom and a business that is much more valuable than you can possibly imagine.
Fun story from my childhood about mentoring. I’m mentioning it because there are some lessons in there that you can apply when delegating.
Many of us delegate by throwing the cat into the deep pool and letting it swim technique… and of course the cat drowns…
There is a better way.. and many of us have already experienced it in our lives as I did in this instance… and it’s lessons we can pass on..
We all want to live our lives and not be at the mercy of a boss, but owning a business and working for yourself often means having no free time. It feels like you’re always working, with obligations that take up your whole day from morning until night – even when you’re at home!
There is an easier way!
With these three steps, owning a business becomes more enjoyable, as we free up our time and build wealth on top of everything else…
Have you ever tried to explain yourself to someone who is hard of hearing and refuses to do anything about it? Do your customers feel that way when they speak with you?
As a business owner, you wear a lot of hats. You’re the CEO, the CFO, the janitor, and everything in between. It’s a lot of work, and it can be frustrating at times. Here are the most common 5 frustrations I hear—and the solution that solves them all…
When the economy takes a turn for the worse, business owners’ first instinct is to cut costs. They’ll slash prices, fire staff, and skimp on quality to try and preserve their profits.
They think they can keep profits the same even with lower revenue by reducing costs and slashing prices to increase volume.
In almost every case, they’re wrong.
Too many companies nowadays treat customer service as an expense, not the investment it is. They’ll roll out the red carpet for you when they’re trying to sell you something, but once you’re a customer, they couldn’t care less about you.
How do you go from Risky Business to a Business where you don’t have to be there every hour of the day?
As a business owner or CEO, you can’t be everywhere at once. You have to trust that your employees will do their jobs and not party like it’s 1999 (or 2022). But how do you make the leap from risky business to hands-off business? Here are four tips to get you started.
Do you hate turning away customers because you are just too busy to handle the ones you have? Would you like to scale but have a budget that is too tight to do so?
Some quick basic steps can help you start scaling and generate the cash flow you need to make the necessary investments to really take your business to the next level.
Do you ever feel like you’re being pulled in a million different directions? That you can’t possibly take on any new business because you’re already stretched too thin?
It’s so easy to chase the latest shiny object. This includes using “powerful” marketing and persuasion principles, but doing it the wrong way. Basically, you need to deliver what you promise…
Don’t catfish your customers…
Cheap Customer Service doesn’t save you money.. It costs you current and future earnings at multiples much higher than the small margin you save by shortchanging the most important facet of your business.
10 pretty simple steps on the surface but which can help you scale and free your business from relying on you, and so allow you to get your life back.
Building and selling a business requires two types of discipline: 1) Focusing on your niche to build an independent, scalable and successful company, and 2) Focusing your actions and decisions on those that build the most valuable and least risky asset. The type of asset a future buyer would pay the highest money to acquire.
Halloween is here, but for many business owners, it’s not all treats. I recently caught up with a friend whose business thrives, even while he enjoys an extended stay in Greece.
But did you know that 7 out of 10 profitable businesses are set up for a nasty trick? Years of hard work, sacrifices, and late nights… only to find their ‘reward’ nearly worthless when it’s time to cash out.
Will your business give you a treat—or a trick
In business, being just “a half step too late” can make or break major opportunities. The Chicago NFL game showcased how missing that split-second focus cost the team dearly.
I recently had a client who missed a lucrative deal over a preventable oversight.
The lesson? Don’t let everyday distractions cloud critical decisions and make you end up being a step too short or a second too slow.
Just wrapped up our Profit and Dine session in Dubai, and one participant is already implementing insights to 5x profits and double the value of his business. All from focusing on one powerful metric.
Imagine knowing exactly where to invest to get your most valuable customers and drive profits higher than ever before. Are you tracking it yet?
Incredible moment in yesterday’s NFL game! With just 2 seconds left, the Commanders’ Jayden Daniels launched a Hail Mary—Chicago tipped it, but it still found Noah Brown’s hands for the game-winning touchdown. Pure elation for Washington, heartbreak for Chicago.
But here’s what’s even more surprising… many business owners are relying on a Hail Mary when it comes to capturing the full value of what they’ve built. Are you one of them?
Read on to find out.
Ever felt trapped by the daily grind, unable to step back without fearing things might fall apart? Jane who owned a logistics company did too—until she leveraged data and a key metric to uncover her most profitable customer segments and empower her team. Now she’s free to explore business opportunities worldwide while her company thrives. Discover on Tuesday the 29th of October the key metric and data-driven approach that transformed her business, boosted its profits and freed her time.
Learn the one metric that tells you where to spend your marketing and advertising to attract your best customers and get rid of those that end up wasting your time and money.
Ever had someone in business question your value just because you’re no longer “officially” part of the group?
I had an eye-opening experience with a member I’ve known for years in a networking organisation that left me rethinking what it truly means to build lasting relationships in business.
The lesson I took away? It speaks volumes about how some people approach relationships and opportunity and where you should be investing your time and money.
Read on to find out more.
Are you chasing metrics such as ROAS without the full picture? I’ve seen so many business owners led down costly paths to optimise this and other metrics, but it’s often the wrong one to focus on without the full context.
At our upcoming Profit and Dine session on October 29th, we’ll give you the full context by diving into the key metric you really need to guide your investments—and boost your profits and cash flow.
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