Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 53

Are Your Clients Sucking the Life Out of You?

Bad clients are bad for business. They can take an inordinate amount of time to service. They can complain about the irrelevant. They may not pay their bills, or at least drag out the payments forever. They can be a huge emotional drain. Or, more often than we care to know, they can be all of the above.

One course of action is to fire the bad client. With their termination, so goes the headaches, the exorbitant time, the emotional drain. But what if that client is buying a very profitable product from you? What if they are 60% of the revenue for your service department? Firing them will surely remove your headaches, but it could also put your business out of business.

All bad clients aren’t made the same. Before you choose between a “keep ’em or kill ’em” approach to bad clients, take these steps:

1. Conduct a Client Assessment – All clients are not created. This is true for both good clients and bad. Assess that bad client on factors such as their historical revenue, projected future revenue, Immutable Laws, etc. If a client was a good guy in the past, they have the potential to return. Nudge them gently (the strategies are below) and try to get them back to their former self. Of course if they were always bad, it is unlikely you will be able to change who they are.

2. There Is A Reason – There is a reason they keep doing business with you. They may not have much redeeming value (minus the fact that they spend so much money with you), but you clearly have redeeming value to them. Schedule a meeting with client and explain the challenges you are facing with them and that it is difficult to near impossible for your company to tolerate. Ask them if they will make a commitment to improve. They may say no, but either way it can’t make matters worse.

3. Match Personalities – Businesses are made up of people. Their people and yours. Sometimes the business difficulties are just a personality mismatch. The client may have a bad apple, or (shockingly) you may be the bad apple. Ask the client if they will assign a new liason from the company. Even if you are dealing with the boss over at the client, he/she may be willing to let you work with one of his colleagues instead (note: a jerk boss would likely use the term “subservient” or “bitches” or something, instead of colleagues). Alternatively, try changing up the liason on your side. You might have an employee who can deal with the client much better than you can.

4. Lay Down The Law – This is the tough part of being a vendor, but critically important… you need to lay down the rules of what is acceptable or not. Meet with the client (face to face is MUCH preferable) and tell them exactly what is wrong, exactly what they need to do to fix it, and exactly what the consequences will be if they don’t take the action you request.

5. Set A Stop Loss – Once you had the “Lay Down The Law” talk, or used another method to address the client, put a time frame on when this must take full affect. Commit to the action you will take at that time, based on what the client does. Stick to it. If you waffle when they don’t comply, you will be trapped forever.

6. Get Out Of The Trap – If nothing fixes the problem, yet you decide to continue the relationship, you need to realize the problem is NOT the clients but yours. Your actions indicate that you are willing to be treated the way they are treating you, so it is in fact just for them to continue. Your actions speak louder than your words. You are in the trap. At this point, the only way out is to take your final stand and just fire that client and let the chips fall where they may.

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Focus Hacks

It happens to us all. We are working away, and then that email chime goes off. Two hours later we finally realize that we drifted off from the work we needed to do. I reached out to the entrepreneurial community to learn how they refocus on work after a distraction sets in. Here is what they shared:

1. Dance Like You Don’t Care
It’s easy to lose focus when you spend all day in a chair. Staring harder at the screen will not make you more productive! When this happens to me, I dance. I use Songza to find an energizing playlist, then I kick off my shoes and dance around the office for a song or two. I don’t care if I look silly. It works every time!
Thanks to Jessica Oman , Write Ahead






2. Make A To-Do List And Stick With It
I continuously update my extended to-do list, which is formatted like a calendar. I enjoy crossing things off the list as I get them done. Whether your to-do list is on paper or in a digital format, you need to build that list, keep it updated and stick with it. You won’t drift off into la-la-land when you see that you still have 23 specific things that need to get done before 5 p.m.!
Thanks to Mark McLaughlin , Results Marketing

 

3. Overcoming “The Blur”
As a creative person who is easily distracted I sometimes get overwhelmed with little details and my focus goes out the window. I call it The Blur – when whatever I had to do becomes a blur. My trick to overcoming it is to pick one thing to work on and and give it a time limit. For example, “I will work on this book cover design for thirty minutes only”, or “just until 3:00 o’clock”. When I’ve finished with the time limit I can do something else if I want to. Often by then I have re-focused.
Thanks to Wendy Dewar Hughes , Summer Bay Press

 

4. Purge, Merge In Order To Surge
Need to get back on track pronto? Purge your entire calendar for the rest of the day. Then bulk together common tasks left in the day and MERGE them together. Make all your calls back to back. Or go around and meet everyone you need to meet within a finite time block. Schedule it all and pay attention to the hard stops you’ve set. You’ll see a SURGE of productivity with this approach to the 2nd half of your day.
Thanks to Kenny Jahng , Big Click Syndicate LLC

 

5. Have A Tic-Tac
Give yourself a break, have a Tic-Tac or eat M&M’s.

Well really. None of us our going to die or have posted on the ol’ tomb-stone. “The Person who had the most focus is buried here” or “No OCD Lays Here”
Thanks to Rebekah Phelps , Extra You, LLC

 

6. Getting Refocused A La Kinect!

I usually work 12-14 hour days, and at times, talk to people from around the world in a passionate industry.

When my focus gets thrown off, I do the following:

I walk over to my Xbox.

I start playing Xbox Kinect.

Throw some kicks and punches in a workout game.

Break a sweat.

Mind is clear again, and I can focus.

I think it happens because I have more than 20 people talking to me at once, all the time. Work hard…play hard?

Thanks to Steven Lowell , Voice123

 

7. Prep And Prompt
Start the day with the most important project-not email & set out the project the day before so it is ready to go are good common prep tools. Consider working in power hours-50 minutes on the project, 10 minutes to check e-mail or return calls can help you get the most our of each hour. If the nature of your work means constant distraction, set an alarm or use something like the Firefox add on consciousness bell to ring every 30-60 minutes to recapture your attention & get back to the project.
Thanks to Susan Lannis , ORGANIZATION Plus! Inc.

 

8. Move My Laptop Back To The Office!
My interior design business is based out of my home, and sometimes I get lazy and bring out my notes and laptop in to the living room. Big mistake of course! With the cat running around, and T.V. on in the background, I get distracted every few minutes. Right around the time my laptop battery runs critically low, I move back to the office and get back on track.
Thanks to Joyce Leibowitz , Landis Interiors, LLC

 

9. Use The Bookending Method
To refocus in a hurry use a technique I call Bookending: Commit + Act + Report = Success. Commit to a buddy, or use the accountability chat on my site, what you’ll work on for the next 15 minutes. Do the task immediately after making the commitment. Lastly, report back that you did what you said you were going to do. Sounds simple, but it really works. And if you’ve farted your morning away and want to salvage the day, what do you have to lose? Try it.
Thanks to Rachel Z Cornell , ProNagger.com

 

10. Eliminate Shiny Objects!
To stay on focus and concentrate, I turn off any music, TV, and email/phone alerts. I even put in earplugs so I am laser focused!
Thanks to Haralee Weintraub , Haralee.Com Sleepwear

 

11. VISUAL STIMULATION
It goes back to our kindergarten days that made learning fun–picture stories, puzzles, Sesame Street, plays, and beyond…! Today, as an adult, and worse as an entrepreneur, we call similar creative stimulation: YouTube, Pinterest, Google, Mobile Apps, Hulu, iPad publishing, events, and millions similar, custom to their niche industries to motivate & stimulate research, productivity, and creative breaks to refocus on new ideas, competitors, and future branding. Pictures paint thousands of words
Thanks to Asha Spacek , UR FEW MEDIA, LLC / UR SUPERMODELS

 

12. Daily Lists
I use daily lists to keep me focused. The phone will always ring (we hope) and there will always be distractions. Keeping a list of the tasks each day will do 2 things; it is motivating to see items get crossed off the list as they get accomplished and it will draw your focus right back to the task at hand. Love lists!
Thanks to Dotty Scott , Premium Websites, LLC

 

13. Shake Your Booty
My one tip for getting refocused is to get up out of your chair and exercise your body and your mind. To reboot my creativity I go and open a junk drawer or look through my bookshelf- for new ideas, and to get my body moving I take my dogs out for a walk, or turn on some music and move around the office. After that I look at my task list, prioritize and choose the most pressing item and make sure I complete it. Throw a little fun into your work day when you can!
Thanks to Rachel Sentes , Gal-friday Publicity

 

14. Use A Timer
One of the best ways to stay focused is to get a timer and set a time limit on what you are going to do. This will then make you concentrate on your tasks and make you aware of the time that is being used for each one. You can then write down the time each task took and all add all of the times together to get an even better idea of how you used your time.
Thanks to Edwin Soler , Libreria Berea

 

15. You Got To Move It, Move It!
One of the best methods to refocus is to take a “transition walk” in which you clear your mind of whatever you were doing before in la-la-land and prepare for the task at hand. It’s a time for you to shift gears and get the blood pumping so you can mentally and physically focus. Take a pad of paper, a digital recorder, or your smart phone with the Dragon Naturally Speaking app on it to record your thoughts as you walk. Many a great idea is hatched during a timely ten-minute transition walk.
Thanks to Barnsley Brown , Spirited Solutions Speaking & Coaching

 

16. Shop Till YOU Drop
Working at home as a lot of entrepreneur’s do I find it most convenient to go to a mall and people watch. A good cup of McDonald’s senior coffee or a Starbuck’s double cuppa when my wife is in attendance helps me to refocus and sort out what I want to do when I get home.

Over a long period of time I have found when I change environments I am quite refreshed and my mind has had time to think of some new tactics. If all else fails I go on a trip and face the consequences when I return.
Thanks to JEFFREY BYER , Www.reminicents Penny Bracelet

 

17. Keep The Time In Front Of You
Distraction are easy. By having a large clock in front of you as well as your Outlook or Google Calendar up allows you the opportunity to leave those distractions as well as shorten them. I have large clock on the wall just above the computer monitor and I can easily see the seconds, minutes and hours ticking away. By keeping time in front of me, I can quickly spot when I am allowing distractions to suck my valuable time. You have total control of your mind. Make the most of it.
Thanks to Leanne Hoagland-Smith , ADVANCED SYSTEMS

 

18. Get Out Of The Office!
When I’m feeling unfocused or uninspired, I get out of the office and network with a contractor, colleague or even a friend who owns their own business. Discussing the projects they’re working on gives me inspiration for my own business and a fresh perspective. Sometimes, it just makes me feel better to hear that they face the same challenges that I do. And, if you live and work at home, a change of scenery can really help to stimulate your creativity!
Thanks to Debra Cohen , Home Remedies Of NY, Inc.

 

19. Eliminate Distractions With Time Blocking
It has greatly improved my ability to eliminate distractions with time blocking. I set time blocks throughout my day, 30 minutes or more at a time that no distractions are allowed.This keeps the real work flowing and the distractions to a minimum.
Thanks to Robin Gerhart , RLG Enterprises LLC

 

20. Top Three On Paper, And Meditate

Drop the coffee, getting up for food or clicking on yet another email.

Write down your top three priorities. Or, you can highlight the top three on your already-written list.

Then meditate or pray about the motive behind them. Why are they important? This will reinforce your mind and heart to stay focused.

Thanks to Pamela Hawley , UniversalGiving

 

21. Take A Break
I know this sounds silly, but anytime I find myself distracted, I get up and take a break. I’ll go grab a drink or play a game and totally clear my mind. That break allows me to forget about all the things going on and it refocuses me. It also gives me a burst of energy to get back into the flow of things. When I get back to my office, I’ll make a quick list of things that will catch me up.
Thanks to Michael LeJeune , Michael LeJeune Worldwide

 

22. Take Advantage Of Visuals
We are mostly visual people. Get the right prompts up in front of you to maintain focus on your targets. Use charts, pictures, quotes, and most importantly, get your definition of winning front and center as much as you can. Make sure your office or work location has plenty of visuals specific to what winning is to you/your team- target clients, revenue, services, etc. Organize your day around it. One of my favorite daily prompts: Of what you do today, what will matter a year from now?
Thanks to Holly Green , The Human Factor, Inc.

 

23. Turn Off All Mobile Devices
I find that during the day when it counts the most, my mobile devices go off. This is when I have to start turning off devices and focus on what I have to get done. If you turn off your phones, mobile devices and devote a certain amount of time to getting things done you will reach your goals.
Thanks to Eula M. Young , Griot’s Roll Film Production & Services Inc.

 

24. My Top Priority
Coming back to reality, I focus on what’s most important to me and business at that given moment. Making up for lost time and, at lightning speed, I list all the associated tasks for the desired goal and begin achieving each one after the other. Should the delay be due to pesky tasks ahead, I list those and knock them out one after the other. In either case, I do not quit until the specific goal or list of tasks are accomplished. Perseverance and efficiency are essential for the Smooth Sale!
Thanks to Elinor Stutz , Smooth Sale

 

25. Refresh Your Mental Space
I find distractions are hard to avoid when I’m trying to work on too many things at once, so cleaning up my mental space is the first step to getting back on track to accomplishing priority tasks with ease & on time > Write a list of everything that needs to be done & then take a hot yoga class (run, Zumba class or any sort of all-encompassing mental exercise) to get my mind off everything except for the one task that needs to be finished. I also remove “to-do” paper pilse from my desk! #Sparkle
Thanks to Debbie Horovitch , Social Sparkle & Shine

 

26. The Pleasure And The Pain: Staying Focused
Flesh out each of your goals in as much detail as possible, what would you see, hear, and feel that’s proof a goal has been achieved. Then write out all the benefits you’ll gain by achieving each goal, and what will you lose by not achieving a goal. What feelings will you get by having the goal (secure, worthwhile, respected), and what feelings can you avoid by having it (desperate, rejected, isolated). Ultimately motivation is all about feelings, having the pleasure and avoiding the pain.
Thanks to Ronald Kaufman , Ronald Kaufman Consultancy

 

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10 Tips For Remodelers To Become More Profitable In 2017 by Mike Bruno

Running a successful remodeling business is more about numbers than it is about bricks and sticks. Of course, producing quality work is important; but I can assure you – there are companies out there that produce quality work but go bankrupt because they are not focused on profitability.

By definition, profitability is “the degree to which a business or activity yields profit or financial gain.”  However, this is not just about performing projects for profit; it’s about performing projects at a level of profitability to provide growth, sustainability and stability. Depending on your personal and business goals, the level of required profitability can vary from business to business, and owner to owner.

So what are some of the most important things remodelers should focus on to have a healthy and profitable 2017? I had the opportunity to interview some of the top thought leaders and consultants in the remodeling and building industries, and here is what they had to say:

Tip 1: Contractors should view reports for their businesses the way people look at the dashboard of their vehicle. There’s a multitude of gauges, but there are three to five that should be always looked at. (Mark Richardson)

As long as you pay attention to these reports, you can steer your company towards the right direction. Balance sheets and P&L statements help contractors monitor their overall financial performance, showing comparative data on assets versus liabilities, capital, gross profit, and so on. Budget versus actual numbers allow for variance analysis, which comes in handy for planning strategies and setting goals even through variable changes. Reports on overhead percentage, percentage of completion, leads and lead conversion (sales) are also crucial to keep in check.

Tip 2: Before even dealing with reports, understand and internalize the business basics. (Joseph Stoddard)

It’s important for remodelers to have a strong understanding of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that facilitate a successful business in order to ultimately realize their financial goals. Gross profit, markup versus margin, salary versus profit, break even point in dollars versus number of projects, current assets versus liabilities, cost to complete – all these are merely a handful of the KPIs that are instrumental to sustainability and growth.

Instead of “taking whatever walks in the door,” you need to understand your numbers first. Focus on the type of work that creates the best return for your company, and plan the number of sales you need to make.

Tip 3: Most contractors are misguided when it comes to reviewing reports, and are comparing apples to oranges. (Shawn McCadden)

When it comes to which reports to review and understand, the P&L (profit and loss) statement usually gets the most attention. Also on the top of the list is job costing. Accurate job costing allows for the comparison of data in budget versus actual, creates validation, and provides an opportunity to make improvements.

Contractors must understand the baseline information on these reports, and have accurate data to compare apples to apples. For example, if you have a masonry line item for 10,000 on your budget, but the actual cost on your report was inaccurately recorded, then your overall gross profit number would also be incorrect. Comparing budgeted GP versus actual without the right data would be an apples-to-oranges parallelism, where validation is lost and you can’t make improvements to your numbers.

Tip 4: Businesses fail due to lack of focus, lack of commitment, and lack of capital. (Mark Richardson)

Working capital is critical. Remodelers should never be in a position to make decisions based on what’s in the bank account. Always look to build with your client’s money – not your own. Always keep a pulse on what’s in your treasure chest. Cash flow management systems depend on having cash flow, so make it a priority.

Tip 5: Once you’ve focused on the right kinds of projects, monitor the “budget vs. actual” performance in several key categories. (Joseph Stoddard)

“Roll-up” reports allow remodelers to examine performance in key categories such as lead generation, sales, money (costs and cash flow), time of construction, and quality. With these summaries, you can identify and maximize your opportunities, attend to issues accordingly, and avert crisis while you still can.

Of course, waiting until the end of the year for a performance review would essentially defeat its purpose. It’s a must to account for the time to 1) draft the reports, 2) review, 3) plan for solutions, and 4) take action successfully.

Tip 6: Cash is King. It’s important to create good cash flow – airlines don’t let you pay for your ticket after you land, so why should remodeling be any different. (Shawn McCadden)

Most remodeling companies don’t pay enough heed to their cash flow. This is a huge no-no for profitability. When remodelers fail to control this part of their business, they dig up a hole to fall into when the stress of chasing payments comes in. When you let prepayment discounts fly out the window, and when you use lines of credit or loans to finance your client’s project, profit margins erode quickly – and before you know it, the company crumbles along with it.

Some remodelers have a misconception that it’s acceptable for clients to control the flow of money – it’s not. You need to get ahead of the financial needs of the project, and organize your billing accordingly. If you’re not getting compensated to finance it, then you have no business doing so. Never borrow money to build projects – always use the client’s money.

SHAWN MCCADDEN: A remodeling industry consultant, speaker and educator – Shawn McCadden is one of the most prominent names in the industry nationwide. As President of Remodel My Business, Inc., he provides business coaching to aspiring remodelers, as well as LBM and construction-related product manufacturers and suppliers. He is also an award-winning monthly columnist for Remodeling magazine, and a speaker for trade events and industry conferences such as The Remodeling Show and JLC Live. On top of that, he offers customized training as an MA and EPA RRP Certified Renovator Instructor. He covers RRP implementation training, systems development, and compliance documentation, and other related areas.

Tip 7: Contractors should be in “making hay” mode. (Mark Richardson)

Economic indicators are showing that the remodeling industry has at least a solid two to three-year run ahead, and contractors should be in “making hay” mode. It’s high time to focus on making profits healthier, and be more aggressive in getting the projects that are right for your business. Of course, pricing needs to be right, but there are opportunities to increase margins. Know you market niche. Know where to invest, and where to cut costs. Know which clients to take on, and how much work you can handle. Maximize productivity by hiring skilled staff members or training your current team in project management software, digital marketing, and bookkeeping. Don’t wait another five years to step it up. Take advantage of the economic opportunity, and start now.

MARK RICHARDSON: Renowned across the country, Mark Richardson is a business growth expert and pioneer in the development of professional standards in the residential remodeling industry. His feats have earned him a seat at the NAHB’s (National Association of Home Builders) Hall of Fame, recognition as 2006’s Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and best-selling book status with How Fit Is Your Business. He continued sharing his insights in his following book Fit to Grow, and contributed to publications such as HGTV, Money, The Washington Post, Fortune, Professional Remodeler, and Professional Builder. He also lectures for MBA programs, and serves as a board advisor for Harvard, the Better Business Bureau, GE Capital, and Revere, among many others.

Tip 8: Commit to gaining knowledge, learn to sell against low-ballers, and find your market niche. (Joseph Stoddard)

Aim for superior knowledge, and do the work needed to get you there. Getting your numbers right is one thing; knowing what to do with them is another. Enriching your knowledge in the types of projects you choose to take on, while expanding it further into sales, marketing, business, management, human resources, and so on – this will help you gun for the most profitable strategies in the different facets of your remodeling business.

Putting in the time and effort to elevate your knowledge will also help you identify ways to effectively present the value of your work. When you get to the point where selling against low-ballers comes naturally, you’re already on the right track. Keep going, and “find your market niche where you can sell at the markup you need.”

It’s all-too-common that remodelers struggle with maintaining a healthy level of profit for their businesses. Running a remodeling business is inherently difficult even when profitable, so running an unprofitable remodeling business is like trying to climb Mount Everest without a rope.

The truth of the matter is, remodelers don’t get into business to lose money. For many, it comes as a natural progression from being a tradesperson to eventually opening and running a remodeling business. Inevitably, since much of the focus is on getting clients and performing the work, some of the most important things like profit get neglected.

Being in the industry for almost three decades has ingrained key points for sustainable profit into my business practices, and I’d like to share with you a couple more things to keep in mind as you aim for a more profitable year ahead:

JOSEPH STODDARD: Joe Stoddard is a sought-after voice in the building and remodeling industries. He champions the development of business improvement processes and software, and helps contractors get on the right track as a founding partner and principal of Mountain Consulting Group LLC. A true advocate for progress, Joe shares his expertise further as a contributing editor at Journal of Light Construction and Tools of the Trade. He is also a monthly columnist at Remodeling, a frequent contributor to Builder and Pro Deck Builder, and a speaker at industry conferences such as The International Builders’ Show, Custom Builder Symposium, JLC Live, SMA Leadership Conferences, and NAHB’s Builder20.

Tip 9: Utilize a cash flow management system that includes a safety net for your profit, owner’s salary and tax payments. (Mike Bruno)

The construction business is unique in the sense that contractors typically receive large payments from clients before the work is completed. If they are not disciplined in managing those payments, this can quickly lead to financial trouble.

All-too-often, contractors run their businesses based on what’s in the bank account, without fully understanding where that money needs to go. In addition to the project expenses or cost of goods sold (COGS), there is overhead, which needs to include the owner’s salary, taxes, and last but not the least – profit. It’s good practice for contractors (and any business for that matter) to make sure they are secure for profit, taxes, and owner pay from every dollar they receive.

Tip 10: Clearly define your profit goals. (Mike Bruno)

The key to successful profitability is defining what that means to you and your business. Are you happy making $50,000 a year, or do you need to make $150,000 a year? Are you 30 years away from retirement, or do you only have five years to go? Do you have high overhead or low overhead – one truck or 30 trucks… and so on. All of these variables are contributing factors to defining the level of profitably you need to reach your goals. Once you have clearly defined what that means to you, it would be necessary to align your goals with key performance indicators, and to ensure every project you take and every expense you make are aligned towards reaching those goals.

In a nutshell, while profit is essential for keeping operations afloat, prioritizing profitability in your business practices, strategies and decisions is key to growth, sustainability, and stability for your company. Remodelers who have already taken this to heart may be leagues ahead in the industry, but with strong dedication to your trade, you can also achieve new heights for your business. The steps have been laid out for you. Get on the path, remodel your numbers, and build your profit for 2017.

MIKE BRUNO: A Profit First Certified Professional, Mike is the founder of Contractor Business Solutions – a back-end office support, bookkeeping and consulting company that caters to construction and service companies. For over 27 years, Mike has been in the construction industry, and still runs a successful design-build-remodeling company, and a real estate development and investment firm. Mike is QuickBooks Certified, and is a member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers, and the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

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The Impressionist Art of Conversation

I still don’t have a Kindle, and don’t think I want one. I love the feel of physical books. I love the subtle cracking sound of the spin when I first open a new one. And most importantly I love writing my thoughts on the pages as they come to me.

I envision the authors ideas and my own blending together. Strengthening. A mastermind of sorts. I know. I’m weird. Very weird.

Any who, I wanted to share a thought that came to me as I was reading The Big Moo by Seth Godin. This particular thought was not triggered by what was written, but by the ink on the pages itself. I noticed, after close examination, that the chapter titles were simply a series of closely aligned dots.

It got me thinking (as you can see from my notes on that page). When we communicate, we don’t need to fill in every spot. In fact, the small spaces give between the dots give shading and texture. It feels more “human” in a way.

With your own communications, you need to be clear for sure. Just like it is very obvious what this chapter title says, you must communicate with clarity. But you shouldn’t go beyond that. You shouldn’t give so much detail that their is nothing left for texture and shading. Clarity is necessary. Texture is liberating. Excruciating detail is painful.

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Find Customers Who Want Long-Term Value

Andrew Mason, 32, the charismatic, but controversial CEO of Groupon, has been fired. After a rocky leadership, profanity laced memos to the SEC, fuzzy accounting practices, SEC investigations, and a whopping 77 percent decline in the company’s share price, Mason now joins the ranks of the unemployed. The firing wasn’t a surprise. It came a day after Groupon delivered a net loss of $81 million for the previous quarter. Stock prices plummeted 24 percent, but Mason, whose personal worth is more than $200 million dollars, said he was okay with the loss and the firing. In a letter to employees he likened his time and journey at Groupon to a 1990’s era video game called “Battletoads,” explaining that failure is part of the package. “It would be like I made it all the way through the Terra Tubes (Battletoad) on the first try, without ever dying,” he explained. Mason cited the company’s controversial accounting techniques, its failure to meet its own financial projections, and its deep and dramatic stock decline for the firing, but didn’t point a finger at anyone but himself. “The events of the last year and a half speak for themselves,” Mason wrote. “As CEO, I am accountable.”

Groupon’s novel idea of offering steep discounts to consumers for local products and services sounded great at face value. Unlike other coupon techniques, a certain number of consumers had to buy in to the discount before the discount went into effect. Vendors liked it because it guaranteed them a certain number of customers and ultimately consumers got a great deal, Groupon took a piece of the action, and the local vendor got tons of exposure. There was only one problem. It wasn’t great. Financially the consumer won, Groupon won, but the vendor actually lost. Vendors did sell a lot, but often at a loss. The vendor thought that would be ok, since people now had a sampling of their products or services. They thought customers would come back and back; but it didn’t work that way. The critical flaw in Groupon is that it was structured to attract primarily one kind of consumer mindset—customers who wanted cheap prices, not long-term value. After using their deep discounts, customers didn’t come back, they just went to the next cheap deal.

The Groupon challenges teach us a great marketing lesson . . . for marketing efforts to thrive you need to have an offer that appeals to value, and where everyone wins, not just those shopping for a deal.

Read more on about Andrew Mason’s termination at the Time Business & Money section.

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Profit Hacks to use in your dental practice TODAY by Connie Jacox

 

Every practice feels the pressure from reduced insurance payments, and the rise of corporate dental practices, but there are untapped opportunities in your office right now that you can turn into revenue and growth. Check out these great profit hacks, that you can put in place today, this week and this month.

TODAY

Mine the untapped resource of inactive patients currently within your practice management system. Set an office mandate of scheduling at least 5 patients per week, offer an incentive program for the front office to get these patients in and pay the incentive when the patient shows up for service. –Dr. Steve Rasner, well known speaker on practice management and implant dentistry. http://realizingthedream.com/
No one leaves the room, make sure that once you sit down to do a procedure no one needs to leave the room for supplies or equipment. –Dr. Howard Farran http://www.dentaltown.com/dentistryuncensored
Cultivate Google reviews, teach your team how to cultivate Google reviews, at the morning huddle (you DO have a morning huddle right?) look to see which patients have Gmail accounts, decide who will ask, (note-this should not be the dentist), and have a cheat sheet ready to hand the patient with step by step instructions on how to submit a review. – Dr. Gary Takacs, producer of the Thriving Dentist podcast. http://www.takacslearningcenter.com/thriving-dentist-show/

 

THIS WEEK

Establish a “Cheers Bar” atmosphere, where everyone knows your name, the front office should have a homey feel. –Dr. Steve Rasner
Embrace whitening, not just an offering but a part of as a part of your practice culture.  Patients that whiten their teeth are focusing on their teeth and it becomes a gateway service. – Dr. Gary Takacs
Know your numbers!  Ask your bookkeeper or accountant to walk you through your profit and loss statement and balance sheet until you understand your current financial situation.  –Connie Jacox, Certified Profit First Professional https://www.blbksolutions.com/

 

THIS MONTH

Improve your skill set take the time to become licensed to do oral sedation, to attract the “phobic patient,” the word or mouth marketing is huge. –Dr. Steve Rasner
Pick a service you are excited about. Find something you are excited about and get more training. Add more of this service to your practice whether it’s implants, adult ortho, or cosmetic dentistry. –Dr. Gary Takacs
Read a book. There are great business books out there, so take the time to read a few.  Uncomplicate Business: All it takes is people, time and money by Howard Farran, Profit First: Transform your business from a cash-eating monster to a money-making machine by Mike Michalowicz, Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

 

As you can see there are some simple things you can do right now to improve financial health of your dental practice.  Which one will you do today?

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Connie Jacox is the Founder CEO of BLBK Solutions LLC a Certified Profit First firm that specializes in the dental industry.  She can be reached at connie@blbksolutions.com

Good Morale Means Profitability

The morale can go up and down like the DOW Jones. Some of it is a natural result of outside influences, such as a struggling economy. Most of it is under your direct control. Short of putting antidepressants in the water supply many experts argue there’s no sure-fire way to boost employee morale. I disagree.

Morale is the result of the stories going on in your employees’ heads. The more they repeat negative stories, the more morale suffers. The cure is sparking a new, authentic story and sticking with it. The spark is easy and brings instant results.

1. The Daily Huddle: Remember this: people’s emotions are a result of the stories they are telling themselves in their heads. When your people are down, keeping it quiet will only make it worse. Have daily huddles (standing mini-meetings that last no more than 10 minutes) where you share the actions and progress you are taking to make things better. Let people share specific challenges they are facing, and the actions they are taking it to fix it. The daily huddle creates a regular shot of energy (better for you than doughnuts and coffee). Just be sure to stick with this for the life of your company. There is nothing worse than starting the huddle process and dropping the ball on it… that will further crush morale.

2. The Work Schedule Change Up: When people are in an emotional rut they are typically in a action rut too. Let them change the schedule of their activities, and you will instantly change their emotional rut. For example, let them start late on Monday so that they can clear up any personal stuff from the weekend and come in focused and ready to turn things around.

3. Forget What They Do, Talk About Why They Do It: Believe it or not, your tax collectors office is about as excited about collecting taxes as you are about paying them. So when they get down about what they do, their morale skyrockets when they appreciate why they do it – using funds to protect citizens, beautify parks, improve education and more. All to often employee morale tanks because everyone is focused on that. Get everyone’s attention focus on the why. Use the daily huddles as the perfect forum to remind people.

4. Specific Thank Yous: This one’s easy. It takes two simple words. Say it, and say it about something specific, and say it with meaning. Appreciation always increases morale. Acknowledging the difficult times, helps a lot too.

5. Learn The Love Language: You’d be surprised that love of a significant other can teach you amazing things about business morale. A book called, The 5 love Languages, teaches you how to communicate with a significant other… but the lessons go well beyond that. We all communicate in one of five methods. Read the book to learn about the communication style of your employees and practice speaking in their style. Then when your down-in-the-dumps employee starts moping around you’ll be able to help them get charged up again. When you speak the right language, morale leaps back up.

6. Let Them Talk: The first thing customer service reps learn is that angry, or down people need to vent before they are open to change. Meet with people individually or in small groups to share all the problems and challenges they are facing. The process of letting out the problems and stresses they are experiencing is a major step in instantly recovering morale. The key here is to do in small groups. In big groups you’re more likely to get a soap boxer harping on one problem. They can spawn more problems than you can fix.

7. Take the Bullet: When your people are facing difficult challenges and morale is sinking, be the ultimate leader and take the bullet for your team. Take on the dirty work, handle the nasty confrontation. Show your team you are their to serve them, and morale will go up.

8. Remove The Road Block: Figure out what the one biggest stress point is that your employees are facing. Is it the detailed monotony of filling out timesheets? Is it a particularly nasty client no one likes to deal with? Find the problem and then step up and take it on yourself.

9. Change Of Scenery: Even in a great workspace emotions can fall when the physical environment stays the same. Get your team out of the office occasionally for a totally unique and different activity, like volunteering for a day at Habitat for Humanity. While everyone is out, have the office freshly painted with bright colors. The return to a clean space may just be the spark you need to instantly improve morale.

10. Nap Time: Ever have to have a critical conversation with your significant other when you were exhausted. You probably got pretty testy, right? Employees are people too. And if they don’t get enough rest, they will get testy and morale will suffer. Provide a quiet, dark “nap” room where employees can opt to lie down on a comfy couch, in a recliner, or even on a cot and take a 20-minute power nap to rev up their attitude. If you have employees that work overtime, or late hours this has been proven to increase their productivity as well as their mood.

11. Massage Day: Talking about getting testy. Have you ever have to deal with a difficult situation when you were in physical pain? I bet that got the negative attitude-juices flowing. Help increase the morale but helping your employees relieve pain and relax. There are hundreds of massage schools and thousands of massage therapists who do seated (all your clothes stay on!) massage in the workplace. They bring their special chair and employees get fast, but deeply satisfying shoulder and back massages on their break. Great treat for any staff that sits at a computer all day. Guaranteed to elevate the mood!

12. Get That Body Moving: That’s right. Take 15 minutes for everyone to dance. Not only does it get people’s blood and excitement pumping, it’s fun and it releases natural hormones that elevate people’s moods. All you need is a boom box or sound system. Better yet, make it casual day (if it’s not already) and have a professional dance instructor come in and teach a hip-hop, Zumba or other dance class for an hour.

Now that you have taken action to instantly improve morale, your job is to keep the momentum going. The key to that is regular communication and authentic leadership. I’ll teach you more about those strategies in an upcoming post.

Don’t Lose Your Audience by Posting too Much on Social Media

Jumping onto a social media platform before you understand it is like ordering dinner off of a menu written in a language you don’t speak. You might think you’re ordering a cheeseburger with bacon, but you’re really ordering sautéed grasshoppers in chocolate sauce with a side order of pickled cow’s feet.

The experience can be the same with social media. You’re anticipating something all thick and juicy and bacon-y and when your meal arrives you’re like, “I wonder how much of this I can hide in my pockets?” All you can think of is why you didn’t pay more attention in French class.  If you don’t understand how to market via social media, and where you are taking your company’s marketing message, you could end up pretty darn hungry. Hungry for business, that is.

Small businesses that are used to the glory days where they identified the demographics of their customers, ran ads based strictly on data, then waited for the cha-ching of the cash register are slowly realizing those days are over. Advertising was a one-way message then, from you to your customers. The customer listened, because they had no other choice.

Now anyone (which means everyone, by the way) with a FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+ account is talking, and listening, and engaging.  Advertising is now a discussion and if you can’t carry on a conversation, you might as well have ordered the pickled cows’ feet.

The Right Customer, At The Right Time, On The Right Platform

Today’s social media requires you to have a conversation with the right customer, at the right time, on the right platform. Not being on the right social media channel is like speaking at a carpeting convention when you sell automobiles.  You are clearly talking to the wrong people, at the wrong time, and the wrong place.

To select the right social media channels, you need to first know your marketing goals and who wants to hear it.  The process is simple… ask your top clients (the existing “right customers”).  Ask your top clients what social media platforms they visit.  Ask them which ones give them the most value.  And ask them when they visit social media (hint: the right time).

What Do They Want

Birds of a feather flock together. With an understanding of where your top clients are going on social media, you can now roll out your social media strategy:

Step 1 – The Right Social Media Platform

If you’re paying attention in your meetings with your top clients you will know the best social media to use, not only from what they say but from what you also observe. Don’t just use Twitter or Facebook because everyone else is, or because your top client likes to use them to talk with his college buddies. Find out what social media platforms your best customers use to find solutions and to stay current.

Step 2 – Managing Social Media

Use a management system like Hootsuite (http://hootsuite.com) to have a unified platform for managing the social media site you need to be on.

Step 3 – On Schedule

Social media serves two purposes very well – delivering content and having a dialog.  For the content part, you must have a scheduled approach. Regularly introduce new, relevant content in social media.  Be an active voice, constantly.  And to do that, you must schedule it.

Step 4 – On Time

As I mentioned in Step 3, social media is the ideal platform for a dialog.  As prospects and customers make comments, you have the ability to participate in the conversation. Use your social media platform to notify you of relevant keywords, and respond in a timely fashion with relevant information.

Social media is a conversation. Don’t beat people over the head with your product just because you can. You would never go to a networking event, meet a person and repeat what you do 100 times during the hour. Don’t do it on social media either. Pretend you’re at a party or dinner and let people know once or twice what you do as part of a much bigger conversation.

Your social media needs to be targeted (clone your best customers). You need to have scheduled sharing of content, complemented by real time dialog. You need to be responding with customers/prospects and your community, and you must be part of the conversation in a way that benefits those you’re talking to, and not sounding like a loud obnoxious ad.

I wrote this blog post on behalf of Visa Business and received compensation for my time from Visa for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine, not Visa’s. Visit http://facebook.com/visasmallbiz to take a look at the reinvented Facebook Page: Well Sourced by Visa Business. The Page serves as a space where small business owners can access educational resources, read success stories from other business owners, engage with peers, and find tips to help businesses run more efficiently. Every month, the Page will introduce a new theme that will focus on a topic important to a small business owner’s success. For additional tips and advice, and information about Visa’s small business solutions, follow @VisaSmallBiz and visit http://visa.com/business.

4 Tips to Ensure your Allergy Practice is Profitable in 2017 by Wendy Barlin

Running an Allergy Practice is no easy task! Running a highly profitable one is even harder.

As a CPA who focuses on Allergy Practices, I wanted to learn what the most successful practices did to ensure a health practice and how I could help my clients achieve greater PROFITS……

My aim was not to uncover the basics, but to dig deeper into the financial operating processes and mindsets of highly profitable firms.

Below is what I learned.

When it comes to a successful business, there is no doubt that profitability is a critical indicator. In fact, it is one of the most vital elements that must be present in order to ensure that a business is self-sustaining and will continue to grow its customer base. Not to mention that if you ever want to sell your company for a pretty penny you must be PROFITABLE.

When it comes to actually obtaining the best profit possible rather than simply acknowledging its importance, of course, things become a bit more complicated. This is perhaps especially true in today’s business landscape. Consumers today have more options than ever before when it comes to the services and businesses they frequent. That is why it is so important to ensure that you are doing all that you can to provide the best and most smoothly run service to your patients.

To determine the best way to ensure profitability for allergy practices this year, I reached out to industry experts for some advice and insight. I was fortunate to interview three specialists, and they gave me some great tips about the most important factors that influence success. Let’s take a look at what they had to say, and examine three tips to ensure that your allergy practice is profitable in 2017.

1.) Embrace the Present (and the Future)

Adjusting to new technology can be difficult for any business. In industries where diagnosis and treatment tends to happen in person, however, the adjustment to new care methods can be particularly challenging. With that said, there is no avoiding the changing healthcare landscape. Harry Nelson, founder and managing partner of Nelson Hardiman, believes that looking to the future of healthcare is one of the best ways to ensure profitability for an allergy practice. He suggests paying attention to things like tele-health services that provide convenient advice and diagnosis to patients without requiring them to come in for an in-person visit. Concierge direct care is another growing service area to keep an eye on.

Summary: Stay current and leverage technology

2) In-Office Sales Are Key

Lee Sheinkopf, MD, a board certified allergist/clinical immunologist of the Allergy Asthma Care Center, has valuable experience in improving the profitability of practices. She believes that one of the most important things to emphasize when it comes to increasing profitability is to sell more point-of-sale items in your office itself. This refers to things like pillow encasements, shampoos, and other items that patients might find helpful in treating their allergy issues. This is especially important if you are going to recommend that patients try solutions like using a pillowcase that eliminates dust mites – why divert your customer to other retailers when you could sell the relevant items yourself and increase your profit in the process?

Summary: Make it easy for your customers to purchase products directly from you rather than the big box stores. Convenience trumps price.

3) Specialization Trumps Generalization

There is a tendency in today’s workplace to cross train employees in many different roles. You might have one employee who was hired to code medical records, for example, but ends up spending a lot of time answering the phone, scheduling appointments, and even checking in patients. Dr. Trenkle believes that this is a mistake. In order to ensure knowledgeable and smooth service, it is important to hire a team of people who are specialists in what they do – and to have them focus on that particular role.

Summary: Hire talent for the primary role they will be performing.

4) Implement a “pay yourself first methodology”

“You as the owner of the firm are more dedicated, more invested and more committed to the success of the company than any employee ever will be. Yet many owners pay themselves last or in some cases not at all.” says Mike Michalowicz Author of Profit First and CEO or Profit First Professionals.

Are you ready to increase your profitability in 2017? Follow the above advice, and you’ll be well on your way!

Explore these ideas further at the following sites:

Nelson Hardiman – www.nelsonhardiman.com

Dr Lee Sheinkopf – www.ilovemyallergist.com

Dr Raffi Tachdjian –  www.airedoc.com

Dr Geoffrey Trenkle – www.laentdoctors.com

Wendy Barlin is more than an accountant. She is a Personal Business Manager and financial confidante. Her specialty is taking all the tedious financial chores off the shoulders of busy professionals and business owners so that they can focus on the areas where they excel. Wendy is a member of the California Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She served on various committees for the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and is a mentor for the Jewish Vocational Services Mentor Program.  You can learn more at wbarlincpa.com/

 

Give and Ye Shall Get

Learn Entrepreneurship By Volunteering

If I offered you a chance at an internship that would rock your business, and your business potential, more than any class you could take anywhere, would you sign up? Yes? OK, then get out there and volunteer somewhere. Volunteer? Yeah. It’s a good thing. I mean, duh!  It helps our neighbors, our communities and our country and it helps us. Yeah. You and me and everyone. Millions of us volunteer in one form or another. We deliver meals to shut-ins, swing hammers and paint houses with Habitat for Humanity, fill boxes at the local food bank, or serve dinners at local homeless shelters. We’re out there baby!  In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 63.4 million people in the US volunteered last year. That’s 26% of the population.

So why do all these folks volunteer? Lots of reasons. Obviously the financial gain is NOT one of those reasons, but there are other kinds of rewards and remuneration. People volunteer because they get more out of the experience than what they put into it. The whole feel good, put a gold star on my emotional chart is one thing. But you also can express yourself, meet new people, make new friends, learn new skills, network and rub elbows with community leaders you might not ever meet otherwise. But there’s one more reason to volunteer: You can learn to be a kick ass entrepreneur along the way—especially if you go into it seeing it as both a chance to give back and an opportunity to learn and hone your people and job skills.

I experienced all that stuff first hand by spending a few days planning, and then working, at the food bank in my community.  Man oh man, did I experience some hard core business lessons, and so will you…

Lessons Learned

Going into volunteering, you may think you are the ultimate nice guy, the generous guy, giving of your time and skills. You’re just going to walk in, do some work, help a few folks and earn some brownie points. But if you really want to see what being an entrepreneur is all about, volunteering in a leadership position will give you important insights into what it is like to run a business and to rely upon others to have your mission carried out. Consider it a trade in a lot of ways, your time for life lessons. Getting others to do the things you want or need them to do is hard enough when you’re paying them. When they are simply volunteering their time, it becomes a whole new ballgame, one that requires inspiration and clarity in the common vision in order to effectively lead them and meet all the objectives.

There are a lot of important things that volunteering will teach you about entrepreneurship, but here are the ones I learned first hand:

Focus. How easy it is to get off track! When people work, they often get distracted. This is especially true with volunteering. Even people who know each other (and those who don’t) can be easily sidetracked into conversation. You’ve seen it happen in your workplace right? Well, it happens everywhere. The work grinds to a halt and you’re the one who has to light the fire to get things popping again. You can’t whip volunteers (or employees), or hold a performance bonus over their heads. So you need to find a way to support both rapport among the team and getting the work done. You have to learn to go in prepared and to be aware of how to influence and motivate your volunteers.
Listen. You will also learn, when volunteering, that everyone has a better or new idea. The thing is, people volunteer because they want to be helpful and they want to share what they know and be rewarded and acknowledged for their contribution and its significance. So ideas (as dumb as some are) come fast and furious. You’ll need to learn to acknowledge their input while focusing that energy on going about the work in one consistent way.

Recognize. Want to keep your volunteers motivated?  Lavish them with praise and recognition for their efforts and for a job well done. But only use this to reinforce the good things, like when they are doing the right things right!

The Hardest Lessons

Becoming humble is perhaps the hardest and most important lesson you can learn from doing volunteer work. You realize at some point along the way that in the grand scheme of things, you really aren’t all that important. I had to step away for an hour during my volunteer project and, sure enough, productivity actually hummed along (even increased) when I was not there. The lesson here is that you, as an entrepreneur, need to set the course, get people fired up, and then, for God’s sake, get out of the way and let them do amazing things.

Volunteering to organize something for your community may not put money in your pocket. But there is a good chance it can help you become a more insightful business leader, as it did me. By honing in on the important lessons that you learn as a volunteer, you can use what you learned to work with your own employees. And those lessons may just take your business to the next level, which is priceless.

If you want to read more about volunteering, check out Volunteer by Charlotte Hindle.