Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 77
October 29, 2015
People Lie With Words And Speak The Truth With Wallets
Ask your contacts if they would buy a product you’re thinking about creating. They will surely say yes. Your product doesn’t exist yet and they don’t have to pay you anything, so it is easy to say yes. Plus it is socially appropriate to say yes. It is socially appropriate to encourage your dream.
While all your contacts say yes to your hypothetical product when it is time to actually make the purchase they say no. Why?
It is painful for people to depart with money. When there is a transaction, the consumer needs to feel that the value they are deriving is great than departing with the money they are spending. It requires real consideration and thought. Not an obligatory yes because it is socially appropriate.
So next time you have an idea for a product and want to ask your contact what they think, ask them to put down a deposit. It will change the conversation from words to wallets. And wallets always speak the truth.
October 28, 2015
The Best Advertising Method Ever
The best advertising method ever? It’s not Facebook. It’s not email blasts or pay-per-click. It isn’t even a Super Bowl ad. The best marketing has always been word-of-mouth, where your existing clients are raving about you to their relationships (your prospects).
So stop pouring your time and attention into these other outlets, instead pour your time and attention to delivering your customers an experience that blows them away. They will become your best advertisement every. I promise.
October 27, 2015
How To Be Scalable
Scalable has become an abused word. Everyone wants to be scalable, yet few understand what it means. So let’s get a few things straight.
To be scalable is not to increase sales. That’s growing revenue.
To be scalable is not to hire more employees. That’s an HR nightmare.
To be scalable is definitely not adding more space and more stuff. That’s more overhead. More expenses.
To be scalable is to develop an efficient method of delivering a repeatable solution to a large set of customers who want or need it.
Create a solution that everyone wants and talks about, and it will sell itself. Create a solution that is so efficient it needs less employees, less space and less stuff. Do those two things and you have discovered how to be scalable.
October 26, 2015
Episode 51: Utilizing IT for Profitability with Michael Spadaro
Show Summary
Michael Spadaro joins Mike Michalowicz, Chris Curran and Kristina Bolduc for Episode 51 of the Profit First Podcast! Michael gives you great tips on how to leverage technology to become more profitable in your business.
Our Guest
Michael is the Founder and CEO of Profound Cloud, an award-winning IT consulting firm that helps businesses save time and money using innovative technologies that make them more efficient. Michael’s forward-thinking approach to technology recently earned his company a spot on CRN’s Next-Gen 250 list of solution providers that are on the cutting edge of technology and business model shifts. Profound Cloud was also the recipient of a 2013 Silver Stevie International Business Award for their outstanding customer service practices. Having served the IT needs of clients in numerous industries, along with being a business owner and entrepreneur himself, Michael has a keen appreciation of the challenges business owners face and an acute knowledge of solutions that succeed. With a background that spans from Software Development to Theatrical Design, including having worked on Tony award winning theatrical productions, such as the original Broadway productions of The Light in the Piazza and Rabbit Hole, Michael understands the importance of working as a team and how technology plays a role in all facets of our lives. Michael is an avid speaker on the topics of technology, productivity, and entrepreneurship. He proudly serves as a member of the Small Business Advisory Panel for Brother, a global manufacturer of printers and communication equipment. He attended New York University and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative.
Show Quotes
Get comfy with Google cloud! Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Google (a great central place for your HR materials), Google Plus, etc.
A common problem: “I don’t know what I don’t know!” Educate yourself on what’s out there! Make technology a fundamental skill so you don’t have to rely on the “IT guy”
Where can you start? Track certain topics using google news – you can set certain topics you want to follow.
There are so many helpful tools out there for business owners that people do not take advantage of, because they don’t actually know what’s out there – or they stick to what they do know. Do your research on what you already use and what’s out there… and choose wisely.
Take advantage of products that consolidate projects. For example, Hootsuite is a dashboard that combines all social media in one place (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN, etc)
After Michael implemented Profit First in his business, profits increased and business stayed the same. Then you start to notice the leakage of money that you can patch up.
As your business becomes more complex, it’s easier to hide money from yourself.
Responsible growth: only focus on your best clients! This will cut back a little of your revenue, but will improve your bottom line overall.
Show Links
Google Apps for Work Consulting Services
Corporate Partners
Nextiva – VOIP phone providers for small businesses.
Fundera – Single source online funding for entrepreneurs. Also offers an adviser program for CPAs, bookkeepers and business coaches.
TSheets – The #1 customer rated time tracking solution!
Fundbox – the simplest and fastest way to fix your cash flow by advancing payments for your outstanding invoices.
October 23, 2015
You Break It, You Bought It
You break it, you bought it. What a horrible sign to have in a store!
I am afraid to touch that thing, let alone look at it. I am afraid to experience your product. And if you make me afraid, I am not going to buy it.
Why not put that precious piece in a secure, museum like display? Now I will marvel at it. And what I marvel, I want to own.
Your product matters. The experience surrounding your product matters more.
October 22, 2015
An Addiction To Axioms
Be careful about accepting things the way they are, simply because it has always been that way.
The world was flat, until someone finally thought otherwise.
The earth was the center of the universe, until someone finally thought otherwise.
Just because the world says it so, does not mean it is.
Challenge the axioms. Find new answers. And then shout it out to the world.
October 21, 2015
A New Question
The next time you meet with a fellow entrepreneur and discuss your businesses, ask him/her this question: How profitable is your business?
For some reason that question never gets asked, yet it is the only one that matters.
I don’t care how much revenue your company generates. I don’t care how many employees you have.
What impresses me is how profitable your company is. I am intrigued by the efficiencies and innovations of highly profitable companies. I suspect you are too.
.So, stop asking how big your friend’s business is. Ask how profitable it is. Ask how healthy it is. That is what you you should care about. That is all entrepreneurs should talk about.
October 19, 2015
Episode 50: Video Content and Profitability with Seth David
Show Summary
School of Bookkeeping’s very own Seth David joins us for Episode 50 of the Profit First Podcast! Seth gives us great information about sharing content with your clients.
Our Guest
Seth David is the Dean of Beans at schoolofbookkeeping.com and President of Nerd Enterprises, Inc. which provides consulting and training services in Accounting and productivity based software. Consulting services range from basic bookkeeping to CFO level services such as financial modeling. Nerd Enterprises, Inc. and now schoolofbookkeeping.com is one of the leaders in the small business accounting world in online training resources offering courses on a wide range of software products. Seth David has been a top 10 speaker at The Sleeter Group’s Accounting Solutions Conference for the past few years. Seth makes extensive use of social networking tools, and web videos to maximize the impact of his training. His unique style and personal touch has helped him develop a large worldwide audience consisting of accountants, bookkeepers, and small business owners, as well as general consultants and technology enthusiasts. Seth graduated from Pace University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Prior to starting his own firm in 2003, Seth worked at Biggs & Co., CPA’s. An accounting firm based in Santa Monica, CA, specializing in bankruptcy, from 2001 to 2003. Seth’s role there was to perform audits; prepare tax returns for Corporations, S-Corps, LLC’s, Partnerships; and bankruptcy compilation work for SEC reporting and litigation. Previously, from 1999 to 2001, Seth was a Senior Revenue Accountant for the Veterinary Centers Of America. While there he managed the revenues for over 80 animal hospitals ensuring that the monthly closing entries were prepared so that the monthly and quarterly financial statements could be produced in accordance with SEC regulations. Seth also worked as an Auditor for United Government Services, a division of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin auditing Medicare cost reports under contract with HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration) from 1996 to 1998. Seth David attended Pace University and received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting with an emphasis on Public Accounting.
Show Quotes
Video tips are great to drive traffic to your website.
You want to increase your profits? You need to increase your client base. You want to increase your client base? You need to produce content for the web. There is no more getting around this. Content is King.
Accounting can be fun! When you can show your clients how to use the information you want to share, including how to make more money and build net worth – that’s exciting!
Find your voice, and stay true to your personality. Packaging is everything.
If you’re in a professional services type industry… you’re in jail. Why? You constantly have to trade your time for money.
Take the knowledge that you have in your mind about your industry and create educational content for public consumption.
Feedback from your clients and the media is crucial. Take that insight and use it to better your approach.
Show Links
Corporate Partners
Nextiva – VOIP phone providers for small businesses.
Fundera – Single source online funding for entrepreneurs. Also offers an adviser program for CPAs, bookkeepers and business coaches.
TSheets – The #1 customer rated time tracking solution!
Fundbox – the simplest and fastest way to fix your cash flow by advancing payments for your outstanding invoices.
October 16, 2015
The Key To Persuading Others
It’s about passion. It is having a love for what you do. It is about giving a shit.
I met a woman who is a dolphin trainer. She couldn’t stop gushing about how amazing her work is. Communicating with dolphins. Learning their personalities. Connecting. The stories she shared were nothing short of remarkable. And by the time we were done talking, I wanted to experience, even just for a moment, what she does. She has an absolute love for her work, and the energy conveyed to me.
Conversely, there is probably someone in the dolphin training industry, that really doesn’t care for their work. They do it because they have to. The cold water. The squeaky squeak dolphin talk. And the constant, awful smell of buckets full of rotting dead fish. They would struggle to “sell me” on the values of being a dolphin trainer.
Forget all the closing techniques and persuasion tricks. Nothing will ever match the persuasive power of loving what you do.
October 15, 2015
How to Have a Great Place to Work
Do you have a great place for people to work? If you hesitate about answering that question, it may be time to give it some thought. Having a high turnover rate means that there are problems with the company culture, or the things that make up the overall attitude and end up influencing how enjoyable it is to show up every day. The last thing you want to do is spend your time recruiting, hiring and training, only to see those people walk right out the door.
The Final Whistle
So why is it, exactly, that an employee leaves a company? The top reasons that employees report for leaving a company are:
1. They don’t have any friends at their office. This is a big one, because nobody wants to spend 40+ hours per week at a place where they are surrounded by people they don’t think like them or that they don’t like. Talk about having anxiety on the way to work!
2. They don’t like the boss they work for. Sorry, I know that may bruise some egos, but it is the truth. (Have you ever thought about what kind of boss you are, and how easy you are to work for?)
3. And if you want to know what the distant third reason is, it is because the pay just isn’t good enough. This is an issue that may or may not be something you can address, but it can impact the company culture if people feel woefully underpaid or find out the pay of those around them (and feel it is unfair).
Creating Comfort
It goes without saying that if you want to have a great place to work, you need to build a common culture in your company. What this means is that people need to share similar values, energy and attitude. By doing so, this will automatically engender friendships. Plus, you need to be a great boss – someone who is loyal, trusting and fair to all employees.
But there is more that you can do to create a comfortable company culture that makes people want to stay, rather than clock out for good. Find what works best for your company, but consider the following things you can do to help:
-Help people feel proud and valued, and that their opinions and suggestions matter.
-Create a sense of unity so that everyone knows what the goals are.
-Provide proper training, as needed, which will help people avoid frustration.
-Welcome those things that are different about people, and embrace diversity.
-Reward the team when things go right, rather than just one person.
-Respect everyone, regardless of their position.
-Skip the corny team-building sessions and ask them what they would like to do together, on occasion.
-Try to promote from within, whenever possible. This will give them hope that someday it could be them that moves up.
-Give your employees credit for the company success. After all, you really can’t be successful without them.
-Pitch in and help whenever possibly, showing that nothing is beneath you.
Positive Place
Creating a positive work environment is an effective way to retain your employees. Oh, and if you are thinking that an old fooze ball table will change the work environment, it won’t. In fact, if it is not genuine, it will be seen as a gimmick. The key is to allow the culture develop naturally, materializing on its own. And if it is a fooze ball table that comes about, well, then it will be an even bigger hit!
