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I'm Profitable But Have No Money!

I’ve talked to many people whose businesses are struggling with a lack of cash. Even though the company looks profitable on paper, there’s no money to pay the bills. What’s going on here?

It’s not that you’re crazy or cooking the books. Although you certainly should look at the accuracy of your accounting, it’s likely that the problem is simply the TIMING of your cash. Here’s a typical scenario: You stock up your shelves with products, and in a month a customer comes in and purchases that. Sure, you got the markup, but the problem is that you had no money at all between the time you paid your supplier and when your customer paid you. This creates a timing gap, sometimes quite significant. When you look at the monthly or quarterly results, these timing distinctions can disappear.

In a services business, a similar thing occurs. You sign a contract to do some work. Over the next month, you deliver that work, paying your employees and incurring expenses. At the end of the project, you invoice your customer, which he pays the day before it’s due. We have a gap in the TIMING of your money, which is reflected by the balance in your checking account. You’ll get your profit eventually, but may not be able to buy groceries today.

There’s several approaches to fixing this, within some broad categories:

• Delaying your expenses

• Accelerating your revenue stream

• Reducing your expense exposure

• Restructuring your business model

Here’s a few specific ideas within each category:

Delaying your expenses

• Use credit cards, but only to the extent that you can avoid paying any interest

• Renegotiate payment terms with your suppliers

Accelerating your revenue stream

• Shorten your invoice terms, and develop systems which increase the likelihood of customers paying on time

• Reward customers who pay in advance or with cash

Reducing your expense exposure

Restructuring your business model

What are your best techniques for generating and conserving cash?

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Why Business Is Like Music

I saw a presentation some years ago by a talented symphony conductor. One of his favorite quote was, “I’ve realized that the conductor is the only person in an orchestra who doesn’t make a sound.”

That’s the difference between leading a business, and working in a business.

An immediate reaction, of course, is that it’s easy to be able to afford the “overhead” of a conductor when you have a 100-piece orchestra. Fair enough. So let’s look at a smaller example.

When I was leading a group of church singers, we had between 5 and 12 people on a regular basis. As the director, I also took a very pragmatic role as one of the singers. I don’t have the talent to sing and play piano at the same time – that’s MUCH harder than it looks – but I sang, directed, and selected the music.

What was critical was to distinguish between these roles.

When I was director, my role was to lead group decisions, create and lead practices, and coordinate with the other music groups in the parish. My role as singer was clearly secondary, to supplement the others in the choir.

In the business world, a leader needs to clearly delineate his different roles – decision maker, strategic planner, salesman, customer relationships, and so on. As the company grows, employees will start taking the lead in delivering value (through marketing, sales, production, customer service, and so on) while the owner must spend more time on direction, decisions, and orchestration.

The challenge is that these leadership tasks may not feel like they’re delivering much value. If you’ve developed your skills in working with customers, it tends to feel less gratifying to spend so much time on trying to get a whole bunch of employees aligned.

The thing you have to remember is that your value in these higher level activities is multiplied by the size of the company. When you are able to motivate 15 employees to work together, your value is AT LEAST 15 times the effort you put into it. When you help five people in sales to be more effective, your value is AT LEAST five times if you just do the sales yourself.

Yes, these activities feel more “back office” than your people on the front line. Maybe you can do parts of their work better than they can. But nobody else can have the multiplying impact that you can. You’re the one who will help all the employees to create beautiful music together.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Is Free Advice Free?

I had a great discussion recently with a person who owns a coffee shop. She put out several queries in some LinkedIn discussion groups, asking for advice on how to bring in more customers. And in fact, a number of people were quite helpful.

Here’s one problem I’ve seen, though. When you’re asking for advice, especially in a public forum, you’re asking people who don’t understand your business very well. They know what you told them, and if they have REAL initiative, perhaps they looked at your website.

The other problem is that the people who are the most helpful are not necessarily those with the most knowledge. Sometimes they’ll have useful background, but often it’s just people who enjoy being seen as some kind of expert. Or maybe they’ve heard that they’ll sell more products if they participate in online discussions, and they’re just trying to build up their own visibility.

That said, I’ve seen numerous cases where people are very giving, with incredibly useful information. So I often do recommend to people that they ask for information online, as a useful way to get ideas and pointers to resources. But watch out for taking advice.

Imagine that you were walking down the street and decided to ask a random person, “I own a coffee shop – do you have any advice on how I can get more customers?” OK, that would be quite weird. But you’re probably not going to think that anything useful will come from this unless you know more about them, they know more about you, and you have an actual conversation. And even then, you might just take their observations from a limited point of view – if they say you should give away free cookies, it may have nothing to do with it being a sound business decision. Maybe they just like cookies.

When you’re connecting online, then, look for:

• Creative ideas
  

• Resources
  

• People you should talk to
  

But it’s YOUR business judgment that’s critical – don’t let someone else run your business!

I run into this fairly often, because people will tell me that they’d like their business coach to make the decision for them. I won’t do that. Instead, I’ll give my clients some tools, perspective and feedback so THEY can make their own best decision. And more important, to act on that decision to propel the business forward.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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The Tele-Sales Disaster

I had a sales call today from someone who was attempting to have me buy an internet radio show to publicize my business. This was a great example … of how to completely blow a sales opportunity. Even though I’d evaluated a similar service a couple of years ago and declined to pursue it, I just might have been interested today. But it was not to be.

What went wrong?

• The nice lady started out by complimenting me on being well known in my industry, yet she didn’t know what that industry is nor the proper name of my company.
  

• When I asked how much the service costs, the lady answered with what was written on her script, which included no costing information.
  

• When I asked too many more questions, she sent me on to another gentleman, without asking my permission. All of a sudden I was speaking with “the closer.”
  

• At least he knew more about the service, and with some effort I finally persuaded him to give me the cost - $2000 for producing two shows and doing the publicity.
  

• At this point, he asked me whether I wanted to sign up to do a show on the 18th or the 24th. This struck me as just a little presumptuous, since I hadn’t yet bought into the concept that this is worth spending money on.
  

• He let me know that he didn’t have time to waste, that he had a deadline. Sorry, but his urgency isn’t my problem.
  

• When I told him that “I won’t spend money on this until …” he hung up on me mid-sentence.

During the call, I was checking out their website, since I was able to finally get the company name out of them toward the end. I’m not going to incorporate new strategic elements into my marketing strategy just based on a four minute phone call, especially if I’m betting $2000 on it paying off.

Interestingly, the original lady called me back a couple of minutes later, probably by mistake. Flustered, she asked me if the other gentleman had answered my questions. No, indeed, I was appalled and offended.

Now, BEFORE we all have a good chuckle about how screwed up some sales efforts can be, we have to think: Where are WE turning off customers and offending prospects? Perhaps it’s the sales clerk who’s having a bad day and can’t show interest to the customer. Maybe it’s the customer service rep who isn’t sympathetic to the caller’s plight, even though it’s not your company’s fault. Or it’s your website, which isn’t working properly and shows people that you’re not serious about your business tools.

These things are deadly, because you may not have any clue how many customers you’re losing every day.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Still Sparks Of Life In The Economy

One of the things I love about my business is that I get to interact with people in ALL kinds of industries. This helps give me a broader perspective on the world of business, and even on the state of the economy.

Recently I had a chance to lead a discussion with a group of software developers. It’s an exciting time for them, because business is booming and they’re struggling to find and retain great talent. Yes, this is a fairly rare exception, but I’ve seen a lot of other examples where the economy is now coming to life. Home sales (and things connected with that) are picking up, and there’s signs of optimism in home services.

I’m also seeing a lot of strength in the “buy local” mentality. My guess is that most of us know people who are struggling and out of work, so it makes us feel better when we’re supporting those in the community.

Mind you, there’s still plenty of other places where business is still dreadful. But I expect that this is what a recovery looks like – different industries will grow at different rates, and there may even be some sputtering along.

What do we make of this? Well, the first thing is not to lose hope. There ARE some bright spots, and they’re growing.

Second, make sure you meet customers where they’re at. Most people are very sensitive to conserving every penny, because the future is so uncertain. If you can adjust your products and services to make things more affordable, you’re more likely to succeed. You might even find that it’s a change you’d like to make permanent, if only because it might help attract new customers to your business.

And third, don’t make dumb decisions and blame it on “the economy” or “those idiots in government.” Make the best decisions that you can, then move forward and accept the consequences. Blaming others, especially faceless entities, is just giving control away for no good reason.

The economy is what it is, which is the rules by which business is played. It’s always been that way.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Damaging The Brand - and Beyond!

I had a kid – looked like high school age – come to my house today, wanting to do an estimate for painting my house. But to complete this story, I’m going to have to go back a few years.

In 2005, I had a college student drop by our house, looking to paint it. He was part of a well-known company that gives summer jobs to students, which is a nice objective. I ultimately had them do the work, because the price was reasonable and they assured me that they would give me personal attention and high quality.

To make a long story short, it didn’t happen. They did the work, but the quality was horrible and the promise of “we’ll make sure you’re happy with the work” didn’t happen. I chalked it up to a learning experience.

So today an even younger kid, with a different company, came by with a similar pitch. I had to tell him that I’ll now only do work with people that I know, and there’s no way I’d even have him give me an estimate on the work – despite the fact that he claimed their work would be “just as high quality” as another well-known painter in town.

I was reflecting on this whole chain of events. The first company did a number of things:

• They had a nice sales pitch, well rehearsed, which gave me high expectations. I don’t think I expected anything unusual, just a professional delivery of service.
  

• They dashed my hopes by delivering shoddy work. So bad, in fact, that I had people negatively commenting about the quality of their work shortly after they’d finished.
  

• Of course, they lost me as a customer, AND they lost everybody I’ve talked to about house-painting since 2005.
  

• They reinforced the problem when they showed up in 2006, telling me how shabby my house looked, and then disappeared when I asked if they would fix the problem.

Now here’s the really interesting thing: Not only did they damage their brand, for me and everyone I talk to, but they damaged the entire business model. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to consider having any home services done with someone who just shows up at my house with a clipboard.

So here’s the serious question for you: Are you delivering an experience to anybody – whether they’re a paying customer or not – which is going to drive business away this strongly?

If you’d like to have a business coach help you to answer that question, and to help you address any weaknesses, give me a call.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Hire Your Weakness

“As soon as you can afford it, hire your weaknesses.” – Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx

I heard this interesting quote on a news interview today, and Sara is clearly right on the target. She means that you look to hire people who fill in skills that you don’t have, where you’re weak.

Makes sense, right? But all too often we want to hire people who are like us. That makes us more comfortable, it makes us feel like we can “get more done” because things are going to work smoothly.

When two of you think the same, one of you is redundant.

Get out there and find people who are different, who fill in your gaps, who make you uncomfortable. Your business will be healthier for it.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Are You Serious About Starting A New Business Venture?

I've noticed something in the last couple of weeks that I find quite striking.

I'm running into a lot of people - a LOT - who have started up their own business ventures. A lot of people have lost their jobs, and a number just got fed up and decided to strike out on their own. As a result, there's a wide range of one-person businesses that have cropped up in the last year or two.

Perhaps it's always been this vibrant - I'm not sure. The point is that I'm seeing a lot of them because I'm out there networking, promoting my own business.

In a matter of just a few minutes' conversation, I tend to classify each person as serious about their business, or not so much.

I'm not talking about whether they're GOOD at their business - we all make plenty of mistakes when we first start out.

I'm noticing whether they're DEDICATED to their venture.

Serious

• Is making the outcome happen
• Is working at it full time
• Makes decisions
• Speeds up
• Self-energizes
• "I am doing, we are doing"
• Obstacles are a way to learn
• Sees positive signs, hopeful

Not Serious

• Is wishing the outcome will happen
• Is working on it as convenient
• Waits for decisions
• Slows down
• Gets discouraged
• "They are (or aren't) doing"
• Obstacles are a reason to stop
• Sees all the negative signs

There's a particular franchise that's become quite popular of late, and I've run across a bunch of people who have signed up as one-person franchisees. When I talk to the 10% who are serious, they:

• Know their products very well
• Are actively seeking customers every day who would like to work with them
• Know exactly how their business is doing
• Envision a future with the company, and are doing things to build it

The other 90% are less serious, it's clear that they're just dabbling and hoping for some income until a "real job" comes along. But they're sabotaging their business success: Nobody but their current family and friends is ever going to become a customer.

Yes, I think the ratio is roughly 90/10. I've seen this pattern enough times now, and have tested my theory with others.
Why do you suppose that the most successful franchises have such high fees? A compelling reason is to weed out the 90%, so the 10% who are serious can join and build a robust business. And the other 90% aren't out there damaging the quality of the brand.

So… Are you putting in the serious effort it’s going to take for your new business to succeed? Or are you just dabbling?

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Random Acts Of Marketing

• Put a few ads in the newspaper.
• Send out a mailing to your list of prospects.
• Hand out some coupons.
• Attend a networking function.

I’ve worked with a number of businesses that have marketing programs like this. Is it effective? Likely not. Why?

First, for many of these efforts, the first attempt will have absolutely no impact. In fact, studies have shown that it’s going to take seven tries before that prospect is even aware of you. And it’s going to take perhaps 20 tries before they have any kind of preference to even check you out. I have every reason to believe that these numbers have increased, as we’ve become more and more deluged with information and advertising.

Second, you need to be reaching the right audience. Let’s say that you have a pizza joint that serves students at the university. Will coupons in the newspaper work? If it’s the school daily, perhaps. If it’s the community paper, no way. And you may get a lot more traction handing out coupons at the student commons than by assuming that anybody is reading newspapers anymore.

Third, your message needs to be consistent for any particular prospect. If your pitch at the networking function is about cheap and easy, and in the advertisement is about slow and high quality, you’re going to confuse people. And people don’t buy when they’re confused.

Here’s the key principles of a productive marketing strategy:

• Invest in the methods which actually reach the right people and have impact
• Do it repeatedly, so you can get people to recognize, remember, and prefer your company
• Be consistent, so that each prospect is hearing reinforcing messages through different media
• And measure results!

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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Business Coaching for Partners

I’ve had occasion to work with business partners as my clients, and it’s an interesting dynamic. Here’s why:

Partners often enter into a business relationship because they recognize that they need to bring together different skills and viewpoints in order to help the company succeed. That’s wonderful, and it usually works quite well.

Often the two will have a “50-50 mindset”: the significant decisions will be made with equal input from both people, which then implies that consensus (pretty much full agreement) is the way to bring it to conclusion. Even if one partner owns more of the company than the other, it’s still desirable to reach a consensus agreement because that makes for a stronger forward motion. Employees like to see consistency and agreement, as do customers and investors.

Remember, though: These are two different people, with different backgrounds, viewpoints, and personal goals. So if you rely entirely on consensus decisions as your only tool, you may find times where you reach an impasse. Or, you get APPARENT agreement, but without full commitment. That can be even more dangerous than outright disagreement, because there’s less than full honesty.

This is where a business coach really helps to create a stronger alignment. When I’m working with partners, I often explore HOW they make decisions, where they have independent areas of ownership and when they want to drive a deeper alignment. I help them to get their viewpoints, opinions and emotions out on the table where they can be talked about in a less contentious way. Part of that is just having a third person in the room, but it’s also important that I ask some probing questions and honestly listen to the responses.

The result is sometimes quite startling: I find partners who are able to go back to their core reasons for working together, rather than focusing on the differences. Often what appears to be a large gap becomes much smaller, and can be resolved via compromises and creative alternatives. And what results is stronger alignment to create a powerful future for the business.

If you work in a partnership of some kind and sense that there could be value in aligning the two of you and helping to resolve differences, give us a ring. We’d be glad to sit down with you and show you what a great coaching conversation looks like.

Carl Dierschow
Small Fish Business Coaching Fort Collins
www.smallfish.us

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