Mike Michalowicz's Blog, page 82

Episode 48: Recruiting and Profitability with Matt Schwartz and Donna Leyens

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Show Summary

Matt Schwartz and Donna Leyens join us for Episode 48 of the Profit First Podcast! Matt shares his story and give some great insight on hiring the right employees for your company.

 

Our Guests

Matt Schwartz

Dynamism. Passion. Creativity. Analytics. Innovation. These are the characteristics of an ideal marketing candidate—and they’re what keep Matt Schwartz hooked on his job. After nearly two decades in retained executive search, Matt has an instinctive and thorough understanding of what his clients actually want. And time and again, he has been able to meet their challenges. Matt honed his technical knowledge during the 90s dot com boom. He began at Gundersen Partners, LLC, then moved to Heidrick and Struggles, where he became a principal in the Global Consumer Practice. He grew adept at finding key executives in fast-moving consumer goods, retail, fashion and luxury, sports /media and entertainment, and corporate communications. In 2003, he founded MJS Executive Search. Despite those lean times, the new firm thrived from the start. Now, two recessions later, MJS has established itself as a leading retained executive search firm that knows how to find the right executive—even in the most unexpected places. Matt knows when a client’s objectives are achievable—and when they are impossible. He relishes difficult searches, while setting realistic expectations. Matt is also passionate about leading edge technologies. If it’s digital, social, new, and cool, Matt speaks the language. Not only can he interpret it, he can also leverage it to teach, inform, and most importantly, to persuade. In this way, Matt helps his clients remain or become leaders in their realm.

About Donna Leyens

Donna Leyens is an entrepreneur and a Certified Professional Business Coach. She began her career as a Wall Street executive, and earned an MBA in Finance from NYU-Stern School of Business. She started her first business, a handmade jewelry company, in 2001, where she learned that an MBA doesn’t even begin to prepare you for life as an entrepreneur. Leyens is currently the co-founder and President of Provendus Group, a team of business strategists who guide entrepreneurs to achieve business growth, profitability and personal freedom.

Show Quotes 

Companies are looking for a competitive advantage. We used to spend the money on TV commercials – but in today’s society we skip over those now. People are spending more and more time online – so how can you reach your micro audience effectively?

It may be beneficial for your business to invest in a LinkedIn recruiter. It’s a good way to micro target/advance search to find the people best fitted for your company.

Want to hire someone? Put a few hurtles in place. The one’s who want the job will prove it. For example, when placing an ad for finding a new employee – have a specific phrase you want them to include in their response.

Don’t worry about the size of your company or the office space. Bigger is not always better. Just do great work and your clients will keep coming back!

Take advantage of outsourcing to help keep you focused on what YOU want to do in your business. Find your genius work.

To take your Profit First – start with opening up your accounts. It’s OK to start at 1%… just get it started! It’s not what you make, it’s what you take.

 

Have a question you’d like us to answer on the air? Email Kristina or Mike!

Kristina@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Mike@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Show Links

Matt Shwartz

Website: www.mjsearch.com

Twitter: @mjsearch

Donna Leyens

Website: www.ProvendusGroup.com

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProvendusGroup

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ProvendusGroup

Join our circle on Google+: http://ow.ly/vS6Ke

Connect with us on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/3035505?trk=tyah

 

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!

Have You Been Laughed At? I Hope So!

Have you ever been laughed at? Have you ever been ridiculed? Have you ever had people call you crazy, insane or some variant of?

Yes? Good. That is exactly what I had hoped. You see, if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you better get ready to be questioned, ridiculed and worse.

It’s the name of the game. Entrepreneurs are the risk takers. Entrepreneurs are the ones who are willing to try the untried. Entrepreneurs are the ones willing to face persecution from the masses, to see their innovation come true. Entrepreneurs, ultimately enlighten the masses to something good, something new and something better.

Don’t think entrepreneurs have to face a gauntlet of resistance and challenge? Remember Fusionman? (The man who created jet propelled wings, and then used them to fly over the Alps.)

People thought he was crazy. And we (including myself) laughed at him… at first. But ultimately, he had the final laugh. He pushed the envelope, and has opened the door to a new or better “something.” And if he is right, ALL the rewards will come his way.

Think I am wrong? People laughed at Galileo… at first. The Wright brothers were a joke… at first. Henry Ford was ridiculed for expecting the impossible… at first.

So now it’s your turn. If you have been laughed at, joked about or ridiculed, I congratulate you. In fact, I applaud you. You clearly have a new, different or better venture at hand. Now you simply need to have the guts to stick it out.

Wishing you a soaring success!!!

How To Raise Money Fast

There comes a moment for every business when cash is needed imminently.  I don’t care how big or how small your business is, when you need money fast for your business there is always a way.  From selling the stuff your business doesn’t need, to getting a government bailout (yeah I am talking to you General Motors), there are a mix of strategies to raising money fast.  Assuming you are company is not the same size as GM, you’ll likely need to rely on sources other than the government, but don’t rule out grants or SBA loans.

 

The Three Strategies To Raise Money Fast

There are three main ways to get money quickly.  First is to take out a loan.  This is where you borrow money and agree to pay it back in a specified period of time, and pay interest (the fee for borrowing money) in return.  Loans can be made by financial institutions, like banks, or private lenders, like your rich uncle.

The second main way to raise money fast is by selling equity in your business.  This is where a business or an individual gives you an amount of money in exchange for a piece of the business.  Once they buy part of your business, they are a part owner.  And the money they gave to you now belongs to the business.

The third main way to raise money fast is by a grant or gift.  This happens more often than you think.  The government may issue a grant or your rich uncle.  Regardless who gives it to you, in a grant/gift scenario, the money is yours to keep and there is no requirement to pay back or to give up equity.  But beware, the gifts often come with rules.  And if you don’t follow them, your uncle may be throwing a turkey leg at your head at the next Thanksgiving dinner.

 

How To Raise Money Fast

Here are five more ways to raise money fast:

1. Sell Your Crap
No, seriously. I guarantee that you own items of value that you’re not using and don’t need. Get rid of them. Have a garage sale. Sell them on craigslist. Get rid of your clutter and turn it into cash that you can use for something you really need in your business.
Thanks to Jessica Oman of Write Ahead

 

2. KickStart Your Heart!
If you need money and are running out of time then you can always look to crowdfund your endeavor using Kickstarter, where you can have the public back your project while giving them a window for completion, budget needed for completion, and incentives (like your products or service) for pledging money. The cool thing about it too is that you can get funded without giving up any equity and actually acquire a bunch of customers at the same time.
Thanks to Dahlia Roth of Free Government Auctions At GovernmentBargains.com

 

3. Friends And Family First!
Family and friends are always a good go-to for quick money provided you have an idea that works and won’t let them down in the end when it comes to you turning a profit. You would have to go above and beyond to repay them because they are your friends and family.
Thanks to Michael Pesochinsky of GovernmentAuctions.org

 

4. A Simple Process
The good old bank would be your best bet to get money fast. If you have any receivables or assets, you could put those or even your business up against a loan and get as much money as you need at a relatively low rate. Also, if you have good credit, you may even be able to get an unsecured loan. And one good thing about the bank is they don’t become your equity partner.
Thanks to Ben Farkis of Scams Info

 

5. Create An Expert Seminar
We believe in strong cash flow management in our businesses, so generating quick revenue isn’t generally a concern. If we have an unplanned desired expenditure, however, we want to pay cash. Often I’ll just create a small group seminar covering my area of expertise (making money with a blog).I create a date, post it to my site, and usually sell out in under a week.The seminars are really fun, the participants are appreciative for the information, and we have a nice little cash dump.
Thanks to Alison Smith of ProSapien

Episode 47: Growing A Colossal Business with Donna Leyens

Also Available On

 

Show Summary

Donna Leyens joins us for Episode 47 of the Profit First Podcast! Donna deep dives into the concept of the Pumpkin Plan and growing a colossal business.

 

Our Guest

About Donna Leyens

Donna Leyens is an entrepreneur and a Certified Professional Business Coach. She began her career as a Wall Street executive, and earned an MBA in Finance from NYU-Stern School of Business. She started her first business, a handmade jewelry company, in 2001, where she learned that an MBA doesn’t even begin to prepare you for life as an entrepreneur. Leyens is currently the co-founder and President of Provendus Group, a team of business strategists who guide entrepreneurs to achieve business growth, profitability and personal freedom.



About Provendus Group

Provendus Group works with entrepreneurs and small business owners to grow their companies and obtain the personal and financial freedom they desire through its signature program, the Provendus Growth Academy. The Provendus Growth Academy is based on the book “The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field,” by Provendus co-founder Mike Michalowicz. With guidance from Provendus Certified Coaches, clients work through the program, creating a framework and strategy that produces growth for their company and the internal systems that will support that growth, as well as personal balance for the business owner.

 

Show Quotes 

If you don’t start with the right foundation for your business, then you don’t have the right capacity to grow a giant business.

3 Element “Sweet Spot” to business growth:

1. You have to know who your top clients are. Evaluate your clients and figure out which ones are the most profitable for you, and which ones are taking up so much of your time and energy yet you’re not making money from them.

– 80% of your revenue or profit comes from 20% of your clients. What’s happening to the other 80% of your efforts? Go through a client assessment.

– Immutable laws – rules that you or your clients will never break in your business.

2. What is your unique offering (what makes you different)? Be unique in a way that your top clients care about. If you aren’t unique, you are basically just competing on price. What is your area of innovation: price, convenience, quality?

3. Scale and  systemize. A lot of services base businesses will run into this as a roadblock – they can’t grow anymore because they don’t have the systems in place to support their growth. When you don’t have systems in place, then at some point you can’t make any more of your product or service any more of your clients because no one but you can do these tasks.

If you fire the clients that are draining you, then you and your team will have time to focus on bringing in the better clients. It’s scary because it’s the unknown, but the people who do it reap the benefits.

 

Have a question you’d like us to answer on the air? Email Kristina or Mike!

Kristina@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Mike@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Show Links

Website: www.ProvendusGroup.com

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ProvendusGroup

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ProvendusGroup

Join our circle on Google+: http://ow.ly/vS6Ke

Connect with us on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/3035505?trk=tyah

 

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!

The Generic Label Trap: How To Break It

Integrated Counsel Trumps Lawyer

When you hear the word lawyer, what do you think? Costly. Paperwork. Stressful. Reserved. Antagonistic.

When you hear integrated counsel, what do you think? Probably nothing comes to mind, since you never heard it before. If you are asking yourself what does that mean. . . I just broke the generic label trap.

 

Shut Up! I Already Know What You Do.

The term lawyer is a generic label. So is accountant, and social media specialist, and computer guy. Any term that a prospect can immediately categorize you with is a generic label. In other words, when they hear your generic label they conclude that they already know what you do. Even if they really don’t. And that is a big problem for you.

For example, if you tell prospects you are a lawyer, they don’t need to hear any more. They already know what you do. They already know that you are costly, and are antagonistic, and reserved, and did I mention costly?

Once a prospect hears a generic label, you no longer can explain how you are different. I mean, you can try. But they won’t listen. They already “know you.”

 

I’m Sorry. What Does That Mean?

You can break the generic label trap by using a unique name that explains a specific benefit of what you do. Consider integrated counsel. Since a prospect can’t instantly categorize you, you have the ability to explain why you are unique. This time they will listen. A unique label, that customers haven’t heard before, gets their attention.

When you share your unique label, and you hear your prospect mutter those magic words “what does that mean?” you have received an invite to highlight your differences.

The dialog can now go something like this: “As an integrate counsel, one of our legal experts will work at your facility for the length of the project. They will integrate into your environment and get a hands on awareness of what your corporate culture and social network is like.” Putting the nail in the competitors coffin, the dialog may continue with: “We do all the legal work that ordinary lawyers do. That’s the easy part. It’s the integral understanding of your culture that allows us to write legal documents providing both the necessary legal protection and to address your cultural objectives that you need to thrive.”

Break your industry’s generic label trap. Your prospects will finally listen to what makes you great (and finally pay you what you are worth).

The Ultimate Sales Close

It’s that pivotal moment. The client is just a few perfect words away from the sale. What do you say? What will make sure they write out that check?

How about saying, “You are free to proceed anyway you like.”

Sounds absurd, doesn’t it.  It doesn’t sound like the ultimate sales close. It sounds more like the ultimate sales un-close. But that is why it works so well. By freeing up your prospect to make their own decision, they feel that they are not being cornered or pressured. They are in a much more comfortable position and with the freedom of choice will buy more confidently.

Researchers say that this closing technique not only increases close rates, it also eradicates buyers remorse.

So when it comes to getting more sales, this closing phrase is one of the best. And when it comes to keeping clients for life, this technique is the ultimate closer.

Always Have These 6 Contractors At The Ready

You land a big new project and need expertise and staff that you don’t currently have. No small business can afford an army of employees just sitting around waiting for the next big project, so you need to scale. Fast. Your client won’t want to hear that you need to spend a month to advertise, interview, and hire employees to do the job that you’ve assured them you were perfect for. You need good people; you need them right away; and you need them to go away when the job is done.

The single best solution to these competing needs is an arsenal of contractors – specialists on call who permit your small business to expand and contract at a moment’s notice. Regardless of whether you operate a food truck, plan weddings, or provide accounting services, there are six contractors that every small business should have on call.

Web Administrator.

Your company’s website is the world’s portal to your services. When your website goes down unexpectedly, it’s like having the front door to your shop locked. You need a locksmith, and you don’t need them next week. You need a web administrator available immediately – and it must be a contractor that you know you can trust with the keys to your online kingdom.

Web Designer.

The benefit and the curse of the rapidity with which we can alter the face or our business by updating our website is that you have no excuse for an out-of-date site. If the prospective client you’re meeting at 2pm tomorrow needs to see current data with integrated text, graphics, and video, you must offer results rather than excuses. Having a designer on call lets you wow your client with the substance of your presentation rather than having to apologize for the style that’s missing.

Writer.

Whether or not you want to admit it, most of us aren’t spectacular writers. You can’t expect to be the expert at everything, and a skilled writer can deliver sharp, specific content consistently and quickly. Would you rather labor over a mediocre press release for an entire morning, or would you rather make a call to your writer, share the details, and get back to work while your polished, compelling press release is being written by a pro?

Core Competency.

Whether you’re a landscaper, a caterer, or a graphic designer, you need to have skilled local talent lined up in your business’ field. The rule of thumb is to keep a pool of an additional twenty percent of your core staff ready to go. Being able to expand from ten to twelve can be the deciding factor in you delivering on your promises.

Administrative Assistant.

This catch-all category ensures that you have coffee for a twenty-four hour shift. It means that the slew of follow up calls after a marketing campaign are made in a timely fashion. Even if you have a full-time admin on staff, you still need to have a backup (imagine being without him for a few weeks), so consider using a contract to be an admin to your admin. If you key administrator is out, for any reason, you have a backup who is already familiar with your operation.

Translators.

If you don’t have a need for a translator right now, you will in five years. Identifying the languages spoken by your competitors (or allies) lets you be prepared for opportunities to either compete or collaborate without delays. Even if your business operates domestically, you could discover that your office cleaning business in Bethesda has a business model that could be duplicated in Eastern Europe. Being prepared with a translator lets you capitalize on opportunities you might otherwise miss.

The keys to ensuring that these contractors will work for your business model is finding quality people you can trust and depend on. Websites like Elance and ODesk are pools of qualified freelance workers with ratings systems so that you can find experienced and qualified providers when the services you require don’t have to be local. For local talent, Craigslist and community sites like Patch can be useful for rounding up your crew.

It’s important to start small, and it’s ideal if you can try out your contractors with an initial assignment to ensure that they’ll integrate smoothly and are competent. When you find a contractor who’s competent, responsive, and reliable, your goal is to keep them happy. Pay them promptly and treat ‘em like gold. They’re the keys to your small business’ success.

The Best Way To Save A Bad Business Partnership

A confluence of events put me in front of two business partners who hated each other. To make matters worse, they were sisters. 50/50 owners who planned to do everything they could to make a go of their business, now loathed each other.

My job was to fix the business, by fixing them. This is what I did:

I sat them down together and asked them a hypothetical question. I asked them if their father was dying of cancer would their focus change. Of course it would. They would focus on their father, on helping him, on being with him. They would be bonded on something greater than the day to day.

When you can get business partners looking at the greater purpose of their business and their lives, all the day to day nonsense fades to background noise.

I am not suggesting that you and your partner seek dying people to motivate you. But I do know this. If your partnership is struggling, you aren’t in sync on the greater purpose of your business. And I bet you haven’t even discussed it.

To save your business partnership the two (or thee or four) of you need to have a sit down about your personal life’s purposes. Then talk about how all of this plays into your business purpose.

If the purpose is “just to make boat loads of money” your partnership will continue to divide. Money is the reward for purpose, not purpose itself. But if your purpose is as motivating as your love for a family member, your partnership will recover.

 

Episode 46: Cash Flow and Profitability with Rich Manders and Emma Bradshaw

Also Available On

 

Show Summary

Rich Manders and Emma Bradshaw join us for Episode 46 of the Profit First Podcast! Rich gives us great tips on how to scale your business. Emma shares her story of how her business came full circle.

 

Our Guests

Rich Manders (left)

Rich is a coach with real life serial entrepreneur business that has “been there-done that”. He grew his last business  www.i-automation.com through $80M in sales. Rich was the CEO and used coaches to get himself to the next level.  He sold the majority interest in iAutomation in 2007 to the #1 private equity firm in their space after a successful  auction process that left them picking from 6 bidders. Rich stayed on with the PE firm for another 6.5 years, initially as  Co-CEO of the company and then later as an advisor and board member until he “retired” in January 2013. During this  time they completed multiple acquisitions and built an amazing team. They built a business that was 3~5x the net profit  in their industry while maintaining great work/life/family balance and becoming a multiple ironman triathlete.

 

Emma Bradshaw (right)

Andrew Yeo and Em Bradshaw founded  a video and photography company in Australia that specializes in equine and rural promotions. Started off when we met 5 years ago and soon after started taking photos at major equine events in Outback Australia. Did that successfully for a few years and then we started Wild Colt Productions where we are paid to take video of equine events, webcasting major equine shows and then moved into more specialized video promotions and marketing for Rural businesses in Australia.

Had our ups and downs but we have done the age old mistake of investing all our monies into capital expenditure and living and leaving not enough for anything else including most importantly our taxes and have got into trouble with this in particular.

Then we had great clients but were still getting behind so we had another misstep in taking on more work outside our ‘lane’ into other ventures, took on someone else businesses and then nearly burnt out ourselves as well as got into more tax debt and now we were in danger of losing our good clients as well as this new venture.

We took a major step back, decided that we had to change not just one thing but many and so disentangled ourselves from the new businesses in time and then Andrew came across Profit First. I really didn’t want to listen at first as we (as a couple) had played the blame game for far too long and I was just defensive. Profit First broke all that down and we listened to Mike as we traveled around Australia, only stopping the tape to exclaim OMG that is SO US.

As soon as we got home, we had a ‘meeting’ with each other and worked out our percentages. Our first 6 months of the year are full of events and within two weeks we had paid ourselves a wage, got the profit account sorted and made our first tax payment.

Now in our second half of the year (a lot quieter) we are shuffling a little but we are in such a good place to fix our tax problem, we have just moved to a beautiful new town on the coast of Australia and living our dream, well the start of it. Paid out our employee that we owed $6500 for nearly 12 months about 2 weeks ago and that was the best feeling.

 

Show Quotes 

Many CEO’s do not understand how cash flow works – which creates a need for a business coach.

Free-scale: many times when you try to grow your business, you actually reduce your freedom at a rate that’s faster than actually growing your business. You need to find that happy place of scaling your business and get that freedom [for you and your team] at the same time.

Get the right people in the right seats! Get clarity on what your employees want and what they’re good at.

The reason why you’re stuck: someone inside the business is the bottleneck; If they are not good at their job, they can’t teach their skills to others.

Once your business is profitable, it’s easy to spend money on the wrong things; don’t get stuck in this pattern.

If you’re business is struggling – do NOT give up on it! Profitability is around the corner.

 

Here’s Emma’s view during the interview

 

Have a question you’d like us to answer on the air? Email Kristina or Mike!

Kristina@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Mike@MikeMichalowicz.com 

Show Links

Rich’s Website

www.iiiicoach.com

Emma’s Websites

www.wildcoltproductions.com.au

www.wildfilliesphotography.com.au

 

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!

Advantages Of The Outsider

I was at a conference for technology service providers – the folks who setup computers, network them together, and fix them when things go awry. The event was filled with tips, tricks and strategies on how to market and grow technology businesses. The only problem with the event was that there was too much head nodding.

As different technology experts and gurus took the stage to share their “secret formulas,” the audience acknowledged idea after idea with nodding heads and occasional applause. They weren’t showing appreciation for truly new ideas, they were showing appreciation for each idea that affirmed what they already knew.

At the end of the event, I tallied all the ideas that were presented and conclude that fifteen were truly unique. I then took an informal survey of the participants. I asked them what they were going to do with these fifteen ideas. To my surprise, not a single participant saw a single idea as something new, but as something they could do better at. These ideas weren’t unique, they simply affirmed the same ol’ same ol’.

Are you seeking new ideas from the competitors and gurus in your industry? You won’t find new ideas there. The same people, in the same industry, have the same ideas. The insider gets trapped in trying to improve the same ol’ ideas, and by default never discovers new ones.

Ironically of all the people who were at the tech conference, I was the one who gained the most. I am an author. I own a business growth accelerator. I am far removed from technology services (at least nowadays). Being the outsider at this event, I heard idea after idea that was new to me. My business doesn’t operate like the technology service sector, and therefore their ideas broke the rules of the author industry and growth acceleration industry. I left ripe with new, unique ideas that I implemented in my business immediately.

The next time you catch yourself nodding in agreement at your industry conference, realize you aren’t learning, you’re affirming. It’s time you become the outsider.