Hello Fellow Entrepreneurs,
Boy-oh-boy. Are you in for a treat today!
I am about to share one of my famous spreadsheets with you. That’s right, I use a TON of spreadsheets to track almost every aspect of my businesses. Now you don’t have to go overboard like me, but I’ll bet if you implement just a tiny bit of these concepts, your business will instantly become more profitable.
One of my favorite business quotes is from Bob Parsons (the GoDaddy.com guy). It goes something like this:
Bob Parsons Rule #10: Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
Dang, I love that rule.
Well, here’s the video tip. I hope you enjoy it. 
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| In today’s video tip, I explain the importance of knowing exactly how much each customer is worth to your business. Then I explain how to calculate important figures like how much revenue each ad dollar brings in and other geeky statistics that will help you "fly" your business with your eyes OPEN! |
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Hope you liked the tip today. If you’re wondering where I got these unbelievable graphics made, well you can keep wondering cause I’m not telling!
Be sure to fly your business with your eyes open.
All the best,
Tim Schmidt
January 18th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Hi Tim,
Great tip. I completely agree. I’ve been in business for 13 years now and have 30 employees and if there’s anything i can add to this, it’s that there are hundreds of tasks a business owner has to constantly be doing that do not generate income. Prioritizing and automating those tasks is the only way to make it work (and keep you from going crazy). Remember, the ONLY thing you get paid for is delivering product. Everything else is there to support THAT task. Don’t become confused on that!!
A couple resources I’ve found to help put things in perspective is the book Good to Great by Jim Collins and The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. I think they are “must reads” (or “must listen” for those who prefer the audio version) for those starting out. They’re not a step-by-step guide on how to start a business, but they do get you into the proper mindset to start down the right path.
One tip that I like to pass along is that whatever you do, be the best at it and do not compete on price. Try to differentiate yourself in some way that makes people want your product or service more than the other guys. Do that first and then you’ve justified your added value (cost). I can tell you that you will never be the lowest price out there, so don’t even try going down that path. This is one of the hardest parts of being in business, but it’s absolutely necessary. This is also the difference between a real business and a hobby. A real business has to create a positive income stream. A hobby is something you enjoy doing and if you can get any money for it, you’re money ahead. Decide which one you want before you start!!
One last thought that i’ll leave you with is that owning a business is a lifestyle, not a job. It will consume more time that you ever imagined and will provide more rewards (and sometimes more agony) than you ever thought possible. Common sense, perseverance and hard work are absolutely required to be successful. It is possible to be successful, but it is not easy. Hang in there!!
Best of luck to you all,
Don
March 1st, 2009 at 10:27 pm
haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
March 1st, 2009 at 10:28 pm
i just wanted to say that I love this site