The Five Core Business Success Factors
December 4, 2008
All businesses have five critically important success factors (core profit principles) - that must be understood - whether your business is small or large. They can make the difference between getting ahead… or just getting by. And in times like these, understanding them can make the essential difference in your business’s survival.
Here, we’ll explore what they are - and how you can put them to work for you in your own business. These principles form the basis for most success in business achieved by entrepreneurs, business owners, business managers, and professionals. Without following them at least to some extent, you’ll find business to be a struggle - and much less rewarding than it could be.
As you read this, see how well your own thinking and actions in business stack up to these five core principles:
1) Profits are essential for your business to succeed - they are what pays you.
You don’t have to look far to find examples of businesses imploding due to lack of profits. (The current banking and financial crisis immediately comes to mind… Or, remember the dot-com bubble?… the spend, spend, spend your way to market share type of thinking.) And, those are just some larger, more visible examples… small businesses are at even more risk.
Ultimately, profits are the essential key ingredient for business survival - and your focus on them is key. The very existence of your business depends on a steady-stream of profits… to pay your bills… your salary… your employees… your vendors and suppliers… and to secure your financial future.
Profits make the difference between the success or failure of your enterprise. They are the fruits of your labor and the essence of why you’re in business. Without profits (or deep pockets), you can’t last long.
2) Most businesses miss profit opportunities on almost every transaction or customer/client relationship - and are limiting their incomes without even knowing it.
Here again, you won’t have to look far for examples. Just think of all the leads that don’t get proper follow-up, the customers/clients that receive only occasional communications (if any), the up-sells, cross-sells and add-on sales that could have been part of a given transaction, the unrealized intangible opportunities that exist in your customer/client or vendor/supplier relationships - and you can begin to see a sad pattern.
It’s a pattern of profit opportunities gone by… wasted utilization of assets… or under-realized profit potential in your transactions. In many cases, business owners, managers and professionals are completely unaware of their lost profit opportunities.
Make your expenditure of time, energy, capital, and resources produce more for you - and capture the money that most businesses miss. Think about your sales, marketing, and advertising process as a total package - and create, test, and put in place processes that take advantage of strengths in your business.
3) Stability and security comes from creating a “Web of Profits” in your business.
Do you have a number of different sources within your business to support you? Or, are you relying on only a few? Or, even worse, relying on only ONE primary source of profit?
The majority of businesses rely on fewer than five profit sources - and think in terms of “profit centers.” In other words, a collection of different channels of profit from individual sales of products or services (retail), bulk sales (wholesale), joint ventures, ownership interests, licensing and/or other arrangements, and so on.
But, when you create a “Web of Profits” in your business - that is, an interconnected approach that integrates a variety of profit sources and activities together into a single unit of functionality - you stand a better chance of leveraging your business in new ways.
4) The focus on Increasing Profits is more beneficial than the focus on Cost-Cutting.
In times of recession or economic crisis, sometimes cost-cutting is the only logical and sane option. If you’re bleeding… you stop the bleeding before anything else. But, when it comes to cost-cutting, the effect is temporary and fleeting. Once you’ve drastically reduced your expenses, any additional cost-cutting might hurt your business’s effectiveness and viability.
Crisis management aside, it’s much better to focus on getting more business, to create new profit sources, run better promotions, do better advertising and marketing, and generally operate your business in a more customer/client oriented way.
That’s what eases the pressure from high-costs… and provides you with what you need from your business. The thinking that goes into a profit-oriented focus and mindset can often provide innovative and inspirational breakthroughs in results.
5) Strategically plan for Profits - and take the specific action steps needed to implement your plan.
Being laser-focused on profits - rather than your strategic planning being primarily focused on revenue - takes you to the next level in your business plan. You’ll be able to see alternative profit possibilities - and the action steps needed - so you can build them directly into your plan.
By their very nature, business plans focus on the bottom-line - and usually they just focus on the obvious sources - not necessarily on the alternative profit possibilities. And it’s these alternative profits that most businesses miss… profits that could even eclipse what’s being produced by your current business activities.
Often, the biggest difference between those who are able to implement new profit sources and those who aren’t - is simply the willingness to identify what potential alternative profit sources exist… to prioritize the order in which you want to implement them… and to know exactly which action steps to take. Then, of course, to simply get started - and systematically put them into practice in your business, one-by-one.
Copyright © 2008, Guerrilla Profits International
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Stuart Burkow is co-author of the new book, Guerrilla Profits: “10 Powerful Strategies to Increase Cashflow, Boost Earnings & Get More Business,” with Jay Conrad Levinson (the famed “father” of Guerrilla Marketing). Just Released: You can get a Free “Profits Launch Kit” with 5 Free Bonuses worth $161… when you get the Guerrilla Profits book at the $14.78 “Amazon.com” price (reg. $18.95) — Go To: http://www.guerrillaprofits.com/NewBook.html |
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VIP Access: Earn Six Figures with Teleseminars
December 3, 2008
How to Create your own Financial Bailout
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re more than
aware that America (and several other countries) are in the
midst of a recession.
I am being inundated with requests from the media asking
questions about how people can stay up during these
challenging, uncertain times.
I will share with you a few of the strategies that work for
me and those who triumph over circumstance at will.
1. Control the inputs of what you’re allowing into your
brain. For example, when you first wake up in the morning,
are you turning on the tv or radio news, which is 90%
negative? You may as well as punch yourself in the stomach
because that is how you will feel the rest of the day. Instead,
begin your day by inputting something positive, encouraging,
motivational or educational. I have done this for the past
15+ years and it gives me the boost I need for whatever
comes my way. The world’s outer economic climate may not be
within your direct control, but your own attitude, outlook,
emotional and mental climate ARE.
2. Set some new Goals or recommit to old ones. This gives
you something positive of your own choosing to focus on
throughout the day. Then really go after them. Do something
every single day. Notice I didn’t say to wait until the
economy improves to go after them, I mean right now, today.
The millionaires of next month, next year and beyond are laying
their foundation today, now. If you wait until the economy
rebounds, you’re only delaying your own success and growth.
Besides giving yourself the daily spark of going after your
dreams, you will put yourself in the best possible position
for the future as well. Opportunities exist today that are
ripe for the picking because much of the population is frozen
in fear. Don’t be one of them. Give yourself every advantage
by taking decisive action every day to advance your Goals.
Winners planting seeds now will reap the greatest rewards
today, tomorrow and beyond.
3. If you are one of the many who are paralyzed by fear,
hire a coach to hold your hand and guide you through it. Even
today in this economic climate, dreams are being born,
businesses are being started, growth is happening and A LOT of
money is being made. You were given 24 hours today. How much
of your time did you invest in making your life better?
Take charge. Empower yourself and go after what you want.
Don’t wait for a handout or a bailout, create your own destiny.
Napoleon Hill taught me “You become what you think about.”
For some of you, now is your test. How bad do you want it?
Think about your Goals, Dreams and Ambitions. Focus on
what you want, it’s a lot more empowering than being helpless
and worrying about what might or might not happen. Create what
you want in your life. Don’t shrink in the face of challenge,
rise up to meet it and conquer it.
Now is the time to invest in yourself. Now is the time to
decide what really matters in life and as Rock Balboa says,
“Go for it!”
4. Invest in yourself. If you have ever dreamed of starting
a business in the area of your passion, or if you already own
a business and want a solid road map for exponentially growing
it in any climate, I have a great training for you.
DotComPreneur.com is co-sponsoring a very special teleseminar
with a Mystery Millionaire who went from slaving his life
away at a NY Madison Ave Advertising agency to following his
dreams, now earning Millions of dollars per year. Just a
few years ago, his wife was unhappy with his long hours at the
office among other things. Having no safety net, he left his
high paying job, moved across the country and set out to live
life on his own terms, taking control of his own destiny. He
started a home business, and now working mostly from his telephone,
has turned his expertise and passion into a $ Multi Million
dollar a year income. He sets his own hours, has tons of time
with his family and in my humble opinion, lives a very admirable
life. He is positively impacting the world in powerful ways.
Oh, and he’s also one of MY coaches. I hired him to help lead
GoalGuru.com into 2009 and beyond.
I hope you will join us Thursday here:
http://www.TeleseminarRoadmap.com
Don’t worry if you cannot make it live, a recording will be
made available to all registered guests.
See you Thursday
http://www.TeleseminarRoadmap.com
If you want a bigger life, if you want a bigger income, more
certainty, more financial security, set bigger Goals and
surround yourself with others who are actively doing it.
http://www.TeleseminarRoadmap.com
Live Your Dreams,
Jill Koenig
Founder of http://www.DotComPreneur.com
ps. I have personally utilized teleseminars to generate more than $ 25 million dollars in sales
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