| |
| |
|
Small Business Information |
|
|
|
Five Break-through Ideas to Immediately Increase Profits and Improve Cash Flow
Too often in business we get trapped into reviewing our sales numbers without analyzing the all important "profit" number. This is commonly referred to as the "bottom-line" of a business. There are various ways you can dramatically impact your profitability. 1) Under Pricing Kills Profits! Many small businesses have thinner profit margins than larger firms do because they tend to under price their products or services. So why not just raise prices? I know the feeling--you're scared that your competition might swoop in like a bird of prey and your customer base might shrivel overnight! If you have thought about raising prices but haven't done so, let me give you an example that may give you the confidence to do so. My client, Steve Lopes of Stanley Steemer based out of Edison, NJ had a positive experience from raising prices about a year back. After giving me much resistance to my advice to raise prices, Steve agreed it would be prudent to test it. The result? Sales and profit went up for the month in which he raised prices and Steve was pleasantly surprised at the little, if any resistance he got from his customers. Since then, Steve has increased prices 2 more times. What happened to sales and net profits? Sales surged by 25% for that 12-month period and net profits for that same period skyrocketed by 84%. Since Steve's sales are in the 7 digits, these sales and net profit increases equate to very significant numbers. Best of all, it allows Steve with a lot of extra cash to do things he wanted to do in his business and personally. Still unsure about raising prices? Remember, you can always cut them back. More likely then not, you'll be surprised at the positive impact it'll have on your business, assuming of course you continue to provide the same or better level of service to your customers. 2) Is The Marketing Working? Make your advertising accountable. You've probably heard the familiar maxim: "Twenty percent of my advertising brings in 80 percent of my business, but I don't know which 20 percent!" I see that as a common problem with many small-businesses. They don't track their marketing to know what's working, what's not. This problem stems from a bigger problem and that is not being aware of the difference between institutional and direct-response advertising. Institutional advertising, also known as image advertising, is all about you, the business owner. How great you are, your qualifications, years in business, "full-service" product line, etc. It's the most common form of advertising. You see institutional ads every day in print or in TV. They're often cute, creative, funny, utterly ineffective and not trackable. Simply put, an institutional ad has no way to track results and is there to keep the company name in front of the public. By contrast, direct response advertising is all about your customer and his or her needs. Its purpose is to stimulate a phone call, letter or a visit. Best of all, unlike an institutional ad, it is trackable so you can make every dollar you spend on it accountable. This then helps to measure the effectiveness of each ad. 3) The Easiest Way To Profits Keep a lid on spending! Resist the urge to spend freely. You may like the way a lavish office and expensive furniture looks, but does it really contribute to your business? In some businesses, a fancy office is critical; in most it is not. I once had a small business owner who spent $5,000 on his front office desk in a business operation that had no "office visits." Needless, to say, this business owner did not survive too long in business due to this and other extravagances. Get as much value out of every transaction, whether you're leasing office space or stocking the kitchen. Important caveat: Don't compromise when it comes to spending money on your own self-development. Small business owners don't give this enough importance and thus spend far too little money in this area. This is a big mistake. As an example, in the next 5 weeks, I'll be attending three conferences across the country and investing about $4,300 in seminar tuition fees, travel and boarding. Not a small chunk of change you would agree, but in my opinion, well worth the investment. You are the most important asset in your business. Take good care of you. 4) Have You Got A Back End For Every Sale? Most small-businesses ignore the easy money to be made with a back-end sale. Yet, the really smart business owner never forgets that the most profitable words in the history of business were: "Would you like fries with that?" I have read that these words instantly doubled the total sale. Your biggest expense is reaching a new customer. If you succeed to winning him over to the point that he pulls out his wallet and gives you money. . . he will often continue to give you money if you offer something else. Yet, you do not need any expensive advertising to do this - he's already listening to you. You simply have to open your mouth and offer him something else. Savvy small-business owners will have something more expensive to sell, and something less expensive. Something else that fits in with whatever the initial sale was. . . and something else that just has broad appeal. But they will always have something on the back-end. 5) Outsource Judiciously One of the battle cries in business today is to determine the one thing that your business does best, become even better at it, and outsource absolutely everything else. There is certainly a lot to be said for taking a careful look at every function in your business and asking yourself if you should outsource it. But take a hard look at the numbers before you decide to jump on the outsource bandwagon! Salim Omar, CPA is the author of the newly published book, Straight Talk About Small Business Success In New Jersey now available in Barnes and Noble bookstores and on Amazon.com. More free information can be accessed on his website http://www.OmarGroupCPA.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Small-Business - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Solving the Late Paying Customer Blues Nothing can drive a business down faster than customers who don't pay their bills as agreed. When you sell to customers on credit you are making an agreement with them. Dig Deep for Small Business Ideas Before You Start the Wrong Business If you're serious about wanting to start a business, the first thing you want to do is take the time to understand what really makes you tick. Where do you get your drive? What gets you in a "zone?"However, there's a lot more to figuring out the BEST business idea that will make you more money and give you more freedom to enjoy more success in your life. Postcard Marketing - Low Cost Visibility You need to be visible to attract customers, right? But how do you get that visibility when you're short on cash? Here's an idea that's worked for many businesses. It's postcard marketing, and it's very affordable. Alliances: Drawing The Line How far can you go based on your relationship with an alliance partner?The imaginary line you draw in the sand will let you know when an alliance is getting close to failing. I would suggest setting the line a little higher than the disaster point. Are You Really the Boss in Your Own Business? I recently met with a very successful magazine publisher who was telling me how a chain of retailers for his magazines wanted everything their own way, even at the expense of losing revenue for their stores and missing out on the opportunity to provide real customer service to the customer.He was mainly concerned that some of the members of this chain, which, was made up of basically "mum & dad" store owners honestly thought that as it was their business, no one else should ask them to do anything over and above what they wanted to do. Creative Marketing Tips: Simple Things You Can Use In Your Business To Attract More Clients The single most important activity you can do in your small business is create a unique marketing strategy and plan. When was the last time you saw a company marketing themselves in an outrageous way? In this day and age it looks like everyone has read the same book on marketing - and sorry to say - that book doesn't work!What does work - is a little creativity, a little personality and a lot of effort to make yourself so different from your competition - that there is no real competition. How to Get Maximum Results With Minimum Effort Get maximum results with minimum effort. Sounds great doesn't it? The key is leverage. Electronic Franchise Disclosure and E-Signature Future for Investors It has been discussed allowing Franchising companies to electronically disclose franchise documents to the public and prospective franchisees. If the Federal Trade Commission wants to make UFOC information available electronically through email to catch up with the newest technologies then it will get complaints and make up another rule saying no unsolicited UFOC maybe sent through email. In Home Daycare Businesses for Profit To have one of the popular in home daycare businesses. Many people think all you have to do is love kids and have a home. Pressure Washing Market Niche Those who are in the pressure washer business should not neglect the Hotel exterior cleaning niche. Many five-star hotels spend significant dollars in making sure that their grounds are meticulously cleaned. Are You Ready to Own and Operate a Business? How often has someone thought of starting a business based solely on the fact they think it will be easier than working for someone else. Fact is, owning and operating a business can be one of the most grueling experiences you will have. Share Ad Expenses to Boost Profits The challenges of the small business owner are well documented. They must battle for market share against larger competitors, run all aspects of their business, and even pay higher rates for advertising and other marketing related expenses. Creating a Paperless Office When working from home, it is usual to find that you have your office in an area that is not very big, such as a box room or even in the corner of the kitchen. When your business really takes off, you will begin to discover that your work area starts to get swamped by paperwork and that you are running out of storage space. Comparing Boston Area for a mobile car wash business The Boston suburbs seem to be rich with possible locations to wash cars and a mobile car wash would be well served in that market. The customers have good jobs, high paying salaries and indeed demand such personal car washing services. Setting Up as an Electronic Repair Authorized Service Center If you plan to upgrade your workshop into an Authorized Service Center, this should guarantee plenty of work and a secure future. Setting up from scratch as an Authorized Service Center is not an easy job. Expanding Franchisee Advice Franchisor expansion policies are not as simple as one might think. On the mind of every businessperson is the idea of expansion. Finding the Right People for your Business Where do you find the right people for a business relationship?Finding the right people may not be as difficult as you may think. Quite often they are in your neighborhood and within your inner circle. Why are Reverse Mergers Often the Victims of Short Sellers? There is a great deal of abuse going on in the OTC Bulletin Board Market and a lot of money is being made as result of it. Regulators are trying to deal with the problem but are unable to put a halt to it, unless they take drastic steps which will be detrimental to the small and micro-cap market. What Happened to the Money and Freedom? Ask anyone trapped in a cubical about their entrepreneurial dream and they will tell you, "I want to own my own business. I'll make more and have more time. Common Sources of Financing for Small Business The choice of financing is an important determinant of whether a product reaches the market, or whether an existing business can survive. The choice of financing is an important part of being an entrepreneur and business owner, and the ability to raise cash when you have no or limited history takes skill and creativity.
|
|
|
|
|
