Be a PROFITABLE Badass Small Business Owner

Get Those Marketing Dollars Working for You! Do you know what your return is on your marketing/advertising dollars is? Do you know what your breakeven point is for each dollar you spend? In today's episode, we will dive in deeper on how to get the most out of these critical dollars you spend in your business! ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small Business Owners who are...

  Should You Try a Temp Agency in Your Small Local Business?  Many local businesses haven't looked into the possibility of using a temp agency. In this week's episode, we will take a look at some of the reasons you might want to see if this is a good option for you in your business.  ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small Business Owners who are tired of living job to job...

Pay Attention to Your Reoccurring Business What if You Could Have a Set Amount of Income Each Month? This is exactly what reoccurring revenue can provide you. A set amount of money that you know will be there each month if you continue to tend to those folks and always replace any losses. Even better, how can you grow this part of your business? When was the last time you crunched the numbers to s...

Don't Forget Who Brought You to the Party! Each of us has a person or multiple folks that have helped us get our business off the ground. We owe them a debt of gratitude for helping us blow up our business. Once our business blows up, we get busy and stop giving that VIP treatment to those that brought us to the party and soon that business starts to die off.   ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coac...

Use Your P&L Statement to Hit Your Profit Goal Have a Profit Goal? Figure Out Your Sales Goal to Hit It! Your Profit & Loss Income Statement has some great stuff to help you hit the profit goals of your business. By just using the percentages from your sales, COGS, expenses, and profit, you can work backward and determine what sales you need and what your COGS & expenses will typically run to hit...

Stop Blaming Your Competition!  It's Not Your Competitions Fault You Lack Business. There is plenty of pie to go around. The slices are so thin, yet we want to think that our competition is hogging up the entire thing, so we hop in our car and try and build the business in other areas that has just as much if not more competition! It is crazy. Let's discuss what you can learn from your competition...

Profits First and Why Why settle for what is left at the end of the month?  You are doing it all backward. What if you could pay yourself first and then figure out what you need to run the business?  Today we dive into why you want to start thinking Profits First and what bank accounts can help you stay on track. ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small Business Owners who...

Stop Being a Victim of Your Success Have you grown your business to a point where you feel like you are failing? That no matter how much you do in sales you can't seem to get out of a hole you have put yourself in? Maybe you have just realized that something has to give in order for you not to break.   If this sounds familiar, the odds are, you are suffering from what I like to call, being a victi...

Credit or Cash for that Purchase? Before you go purchasing that new equipment or investing in that new advertising, and going into debt, you need to figure out how long till the debt is repaid? By using your business numbers, you can figure out how many jobs you will need to just breakeven. Your goal should always be to be as debt-free as possible and today we will discuss why and how.   ~~~~   Th...

Your Strengths vs Weaknesses in Business We all have things we are really good at and some things in our business that we aren't so great at. Some will tell you to work on your weakness and make them a strength. But what if you could improve them enough to be dangerous and then have others that pick up the ball and run with it? How can you leverage your weaknesses to your advantage?   ~~~~   The L...

Income (P/L) Statement Coaching Lessons This past week I have had multiple coaching sessions with small business owners on their Income (P&L) Statements. There have been some themes that all of you will want to keep in mind on your journey of learning more about how to read your profit and loss statement.   ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small Business Owners who are ti...

Are Leads from Thumbtack, Home Advisor, & Angie's List Worth It?   Have you thought about using a paid lead service like Thumbtack, Home Advisor or Angie's List? You aren't alone. Recently I had a request for my two cents on the topic to I asked for the pros and cons in a couple of big Facebook groups and in this episode, I share the feedback. Folks had some serious passion around the subject and...

Bookkeeping is the Past but Key to the Future When you look at your bookkeeping numbers, you are looking at the past. Past sales, past receipts, etc. While they are the past, they are key to discovering changes you can make within your business to be even more profitable. In this episode, we go over a few examples that you might catch by looking at your numbers and hopefully inspire you to take a...

7 Ways to Scale Your Business Looking to scale your business? Then here are 7 ways in which you can do it. While they aren't the only ways, they are great buckets to start with. In addition to discussing ways you can scale your business; we will also discuss 8 ways to be prepared for the growth.    By the way, don't forget to check out the -  Know Your Business Numbers Course   ~~~~   The Local Sm...

The Know Your Business Number Course is Ready!   The more I plan out this Know Your Business Numbers Course, the more I realize how much good stuff can be included. There are so many reports, calculations, terms, you name it, that are so confusing, and I want to help make easier and help you focus on what you need for your business.   So I've decided to release the course in waves. The first secti...

Time to Refresh Your Batteries Are you a workaholic like I am? Rarely taking time off to just recharge your batteries? Do you feel like you just can't take time off or you will lose money as you can't let your business come to a halt while you are off? Honestly, you will not be your best if you are working on fumes day after day.   ~~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small B...

Where to Franchise Fees Go on the Income Statement?   One question I get is where do you put the franchise fees on your income statement – expenses or cost of goods sold? Typically, the franchise will have a preferred location they want you to report it. However, you want to include them in your COGS when figuring out your gross margin as they are off the top before you do anything else. So my per...

What's In a Name? The other day I saw a van driving down the road with signage on it. However, no one would know what they do or who they help. Let's discuss what is in a name and a few other warning flags that this one van had that all small business owners could learn from.     ~~~   The Local Small Business Coach Podcast is for Local Small Business Owners who are tired of living job to job and...

Should You Include Labor Hours in Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)? Service-Based Business Owners Must Include Labor Hours in their Cost of Goods Sold in order to get a true cost basis and calculate a true gross margin on their services.  Especially when labor is part of the actual service. Most importantly, solo business owners need to include labor hours too! They need to assign a typical hourly wage a...

What is Your USP | Your Unique Selling Proposition   What makes your business stand out over the competition? What is the unique selling proposition that you bring to the table?   Each business has something about it that customers think of. We call it your brand. But what is it that makes different than the others?   You don't want to be known as the cheapest, but you do want to be known for some...

Gross Margin Dollars vs Gross Margin Percent   A question I get asked is, "Is it better to push for gross dollars or gross margin?"   In typical coaching speak, it depends. LOL   There is a time and place for both. There are some large companies that are extremely successful using the gross dollar approach and others using the gross margin approach.   They key is knowing both numbers so that you c...

    Just Do It! | What is Keeping You from Making it Happen?   When I sit down with a business owner to discuss their business, they often seek ways to grow their sales and profits. We come up with some great ideas and ways they can make them happen.   So, what keeps them from taking the actions necessary to grow their business? Why do they show back up weeks or months later in the same place they...

    Do the Numbers Support Expanding Your Service Area? Are you thinking about expanding your business into another area? What if you had a huge opportunity in your own area? This week I spoke to a business owner who is excited to open up a new territory. We took just a few minutes and discovered that by just looking at some simple numbers in his business, that he might be better off sticking clos...

Are Your Customers Cheap? Why are customers so cheap? Maybe You Have a Perceived Value Problem!  Maybe You Are Missing the Pain Points You Solve?  Let's dive in and see what might be causing this issue. Too often we think of our customers or clients as being cheap when in reality, we have created the monster we hate. We have created a "cheap" feeling business vs a business value. Does that tick yo...

The Cost of Keeping Poor Performing Employees What if you could figure out the amount of profit you are losing due to having poor performing employees? Well, there is! By using the numbers you already have at your fingertips, you can discover how much in profit and in sales are lost due to not addressing the performance issues within your company. Would it shock you to learn that some folks are lo...