July 22, 2024

7 Actions for Successful Business Owners in Economic Downturns

Today's economic environment is uncertain. Business owners must prepare for economic downturns. 7 action items to prepare for economic downturns

Powerful Business Strategies is broadcast live Mondays at 12 Noon ET Music on W4CY Radio...

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Today's economic environment is uncertain. Business owners must prepare for economic downturns. 7 action items to prepare for economic downturns

Powerful Business Strategies is broadcast live Mondays at 12 Noon ET Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com January Jones Sharing Senior Success is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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explicit or implied shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio

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or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should

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be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing

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W FOURCY Radio.

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Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out

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that everything you have ever learned about growing your business

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is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right

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way to grow your business by learning business and financial

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strategies that your competition isn't doing and now here is

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your host. President of NeXTSTEP CFO Michael Barbarita and joining

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Michael for today's show as an executive moderator is chooky obio.

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Yes, this is chookey, and I believe that gratitude is

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undefeated and growth is about the next step. It is

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an honor for me to moderate today's discussion with my

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good friend Michael. Michael how the heck are you excellent?

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Zucky? And I am Michael Barber reata from Next Step CFO.

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And Next Step CFO is a fractional CFO and strategic

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implementation firm. And our vision is when sure overwhelmed business

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owners achieve the time, freedom and consistent profits to build

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a legacy and the life they desire. And our mission

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is simple. It's dedicated to guiding small business owners to

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leveraging their time, exploding their profits and build a meaningful legacy.

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And this show powerful business strategies and our book of

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the same name is a step toward accomplishing that vision

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and mission. And so with that, I'd like to hand

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it back to my co author and moderator Choky Obio.

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Michael, Look, I'm really energized about today's discussion, but just

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a quick disclaim before we get started. So, so Michael's

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point about just legacy. Look, Michael and I are both

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affiliated with a number of different organizations and I currently

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serve as the managing director of Business Developments for Veta Price,

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a global business focused law firm. In addition to that,

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I collaborate strategically with Michael to moderate a number of

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business roundtables really nationally, and we document those best practices

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from our conversations with successful business owners. But look, the

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views expressed today's show are our own views based on

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our successful experiences, and my mission as the Fearless moderator

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is to ask the right questions and to help you

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and me candidly learn the best business strategies that the

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competition isn't doing. So Michael Ala toss it back over

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to you.

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Thank you, Juki, and today you know our topic is

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about seven action items to take an economic downturn, to

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which I promised to get to. But I want to

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tell you something that I feel compelled to say because

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there could be many business owners out there that are

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deciding on whether or not to pursue their dream and

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it can be a very difficult and risky decision when

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it comes to implementing a new idea. Absolutely, so I

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just want to offer a little short insight about it.

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Back in two thousand and two, I put together a

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complete written business plan to create virtual trade shows on

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the internet. It was called trade showsothnet dot com. And

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these virtual trade shows that I was I was creating

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would help small companies who can't afford to attend or

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exhibit at trade shows an opportunity to attend them over

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the internet. Now, I never wrote a complete business plan

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with financial projections and all that I never implemented except

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for this one.

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Wow.

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Yeah, I even bought the domain trade shows on thenet

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dot com. And as I kind of reflect back on

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why I didn't pursue my business plan, I remember I

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was fraught with fear of making any kind of change

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and self doubt that I could do it, Fear and

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self doubt that I couldn't raise the money for example,

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fear and self doubt that I couldn't find the technical expertise,

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fear and self doubt that the whole idea was just

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way before its time, or maybe it wasn't ever going

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to be in its time. I couldn't hit enter, but

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I hit the lead. A year later, in two thousand

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and three, I received an email from a company called

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on twenty four who, among other things, creates and builds

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virtual trade shows. They had three venture firms on their board.

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They were doing extreme well and they're still in business today.

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And I saw pieces of their virtual trade shows and

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it was exactly what I envisioned. And I even had

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even more bells and whistles than they did. But evidently

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the founder of On twenty four, Sharat Scharan, he had

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no fear and no self doubt about raising money, he

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had no fear and no self doubt about finding the

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technical expertise, and he had no fear and no self

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doubt about the timing of the project. And if he

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had that fear boom, he overcame it. He didn't hit

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the lead, he hit enter.

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Remarkable.

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So wouldn't it be a shame to do what I

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did and let fear of making a change and self

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doubt prevent you from serving the world.

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Michael, Look, I am so inspired by that, and we'll

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get in some really nice comments from the folks that

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are on. We've got quite a few, quite a number

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of business owners that are on, and I think there's

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some headnots to that. So fear and self doubt, Michael,

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give us a sense how does that connect to our

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topic today? Because I think there's a great connection with

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this idea of overcoming fear and self doubt and then

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managing a successful business in economically uncertain times.

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Yeah, so that's exactly what happens to you in an

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economic downturn. There there is you know, there's fear of

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making a change because the ability, as we'll get into,

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the ability to adapt is a critical skill for a

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business owner. And then what happens is is when you're

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thinking about adapting, you have this self doubt that that

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creeps in about the change because you're not used to

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change or you fear change. And so it is related

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for sure. And I'm not saying that this story made

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it easier for someone to make this kind of a decision,

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but I wanted to share this personal story of regret

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because that's what it is. It's a personal story of regret.

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And if anybody out there is thinking about you know,

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they have uh the groundwork for an idea. Most most

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of the time, it's better to hit enter than it

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is to hit the lead.

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It's just a remarkable visions to plants in the mind

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of business owners. And Michael, look, business ownership and leadership

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is really hard.

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Agreed. Yep, Absolutely, it's hard. Yeah, it is. And the

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ability to adapt is high.

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Absolutely, And what I love about the ability to adapt,

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And Michael, I'll pivot us. So the focus for today's

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show is on the seven actions that successful business owners

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take to deal with an economic downturn. Now, Michael, you

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and I have had a number of strategic conversations about this.

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Now I know just from experience and practice that that

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number one action is the ability to adopt. So did

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you want to maybe give us a little bit of

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an outline and then we could get into Yeah, let me.

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Let me give it. Yeah, let me give a little

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context to all of it. Uh. You know, So, how

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do we business owners prepare for an economic downturn? Because

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here's the thing. Business is terrifying, Yes, and it's terrifying

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because we business owners are responsible for so many other

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people's lives. And the scariest thing about business is that

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when you wake up in the morning, boy, you just

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never know what to expect. Me too, And the world

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is so fast. Things are getting done at the speed

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of light and it's hard to keep up. So our

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objective in this show is to give you ideas. We

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want to present financial and business strategies that your competition

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isn't doing and by virtue of that, help you thrive

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in an economic downturn, reducing the terror and uncertainty of business.

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But no, this, I understand this, this part. You can

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never really be ready for an economic downturn, but you

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can be prepared and that's what we're going to go

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over today. Seven items to prepare you for an economic downturn.

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And our job as business owners, as we were just saying,

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is to be prepared to adapt. That means to be

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flexible to change. And the thing about it is is

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many are resistant to change and therefore don't adapt. And

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that's why. So if you thrive in an economic downturn

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and businesses, it's always changing and yeah, god, it's unbelievable.

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And this is true now more than ever, and that's

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why Chukey and I will keep writing additional additions to

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our book and get feedback and we hope to get

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feedback and forums like this as well. And just a

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short time ago, in twenty twenty two, interest rates were

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low and many industries were having record years. Twenty twenty

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three was tougher and with interest rates staying high, credit

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card delinquencies also rising, personal savings in decline, and an

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uncertain political climate. You know, for many industries, the next

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year is very, very uncertain. And as a fractional CFO

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strategic implementation strategist, I see this uncertainty every day, so

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I get asked I mean, I'm always asked why are

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some companies winning while others are struggling? What are the

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winning companies doing differently? And how can I win in

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an economic downturn? So let me try to answer those

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questions with these seven action items that I believe are

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necessary to prepare for an economic downturn. So adaptation is one,

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but winning business owners have a need to have a

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laser focus on their number one goal, not the number

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one business goal, but the number one goal for themselves

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and their families.

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Michael, is interesting. So we just got a nice question

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just really quickly on that.

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Yeah. Sure.

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So an example of a personal goal that's different from

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a business goal at a high level.

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Well, an easy one is time freedom to be able

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to spend more time with my family. That is a

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personal goal. You want to spend more quality time with

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your family, you want to create memories with them. That

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that is a that is a first personal goal versus

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a business goal being I'm looking to achieve three million

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dollars in revenue.

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Great clarification, Michael, Yep, We'll get in some thank yous

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on that.

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I'll continue on. Thank you excellent, No problem now achieving

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their number one personal goal, or focusing on their number

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one personal goal is not only their why. It's not

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only their why. It's their why, but it's not only

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their why, it's they're also their motivation to adapt and

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to be flexible to change. So if they are really

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focused on their number one personal goal, they're going to

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that's not only their why, but it's going to give

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them the motivation to adapt and to be flexible to change,

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which is a critical component of winning in an economic downturn.

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And that that's why I say that great CEOs always

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start by understanding their personal goals and motivations. What's really

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important to you and your family? I mean, but from

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my perspective, it's important to me that my business serves me,

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not the other way around. I don't know, feel like

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a slave to my business. And that's, you know, another

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reason for this show. We're trying to overwhelm business owners.

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We're trying to get them out of that out of

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that hamster wheel mode. And so we have to start

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by setting our personal goals first and then moving to

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our business goals. So now with respect to our business goals,

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the way you should the way one needs to look

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at at those business goals is net profit goals first,

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then revenue goals. You know, it's really true that revenue

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goals without net profit goals are useless because it's net

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profit that that is going to be able to drive

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all your decisions. You know, for example, if you want

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more take home pay, you need more profit. You should

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have a profit goal, not a revenue goal. You know

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you want to you want to pay down debt. You know,

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guess what, you need more profit. You want to hire

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additional people, whether it be a manager or even a

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general manager, to run things. You need more profit. So

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we all we always talk about revenue goals, many of

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many of us business owners, but it's really net profit

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goals and then revenue goals. It's not like you ignore

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the revenue goal, but you certainly focus on the net

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profit goal first and the next. Winning business owners in

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an economic downturn have a visionary mindset. It's so easy

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to get sucked into the doom and gloom of an

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economic downturn. It's just so easy, and you go into

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scarcity mode, negativity mode. Don't do that. Wow, And certainly

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the world is changing, but it's not ending. We need

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to adapt, not shut down. So when you make decisions.

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You need to adapt to the to the to the

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situation that's in front of you. And I see so

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many times that business owners feel so much pain in

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an economic downturn that they make hasty decisions. They don't

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adapt to the conditions and really take the time with

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a calmdemeanor and strategically work their way to winning again strategically.

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And you know, maybe it takes utilizing the conversion formula

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that we talked about in previous shows, or an understanding

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of the customer problem. Maybe it make it takes making

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a compelling offer that we discussed I think it was

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last week. Maybe it creates up cells, cross sells and

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down cells. Maybe it takes rejuvenating former customers. You know,

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maybe it requires an understanding of what happens if business

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is twenty percent off and how that affects cash flow.

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You know, maybe it means you have to cut costs.

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Maybe it requires strategic alliances and joint ventures with other companies.

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All of these we will discuss in future shows. But

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one of the beautiful things about being in business is

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that are always options, and you know, it's it's just

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about understanding and knowing what those options are.

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Absolutely so Michael, A really good question from a business owner.

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What is a conversion model? So it's the conversion formula

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that we've explored in past at right, So did we

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want to just quickly touch on that?

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Sure, I will quickly touch on it. So the conversion

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formula is a formula to convert prospects into customers, and

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there's four parts to it and it needs to be

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done in that exact order as I as I'm going

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to state, otherwise it doesn't work. So let me go

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through those steps. It starts with the captivate. To captivate

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is actually identifying the problem that the customer has it

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doesn't want. You must identify that problem if you're going

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to convert a prospect. Now, it's not easy necessarily to

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find that problem, and that's why we have a thirteen

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week program to do just that, identifying the problem and

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your unique solution, which is to fascinate. So it's captivate

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the problem the customer has it doesn't want, and fascinate

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the solution that they're looking for that they can't find.

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Those are the first two components of the conversion formula

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and we call that those two first two components the

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position of market dominance. So that's that's step one and two,

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step three and by the way, you never get to

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step three if you don't have a good position of

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market dominance. Captivate and fascinate good step Yeah, Step three

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is educate. So now that you've interrupted, if you will

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uh through the through the captivate uh and engage the

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prospect through the fascinate, it's now time to educate them

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a little bit more. You've got their attention now because

285
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you hit a hot button that problem that they have

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that they don't want, and you offer a solution that

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they want that you can't that they can't find. So

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now you have a little bit more time to educate them.

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And you know one of the problems I see, uh chokey,

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is they that most business owners start with the educate Yes,

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you know, they line less services, multiple services in the

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hope that they won't forget somebody.

293
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Well, are you telling me there are a bunch of

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websites where business owners are saying they've got the largest selection,

295
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they've got the lowest prices.

296
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That's right, that hope, so I hope so marketing largest selection,

297
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lowest price is best service, honesty, high quality, most professional,

298
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fastest largest in the state. All that that is all jogging.

299
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It's not meat and potatoes. What the customer care really

300
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cares about? Correct? And then finally you have to hit

301
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the hit the customer with a compelling offer. And so

302
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it's it's captivate, fascinate, educate an offer. That's the conversion formula.

303
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And now there's five components to a compelling offer. Okay,

304
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the first one is scarcity an urgency. Correct, So scarcity,

305
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there's only three left. Urgency that this price, this this

306
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offer ends Friday. Yep, the scarcity and urgency. And by

307
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the way, it's important to note that you can combine

308
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these these components of a compelling offer. You just correct,

309
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You just don't have to have one. You could combine them,

310
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which makes the offer even more compelling for sure. The

311
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second component of a compelling offer is what's called a

312
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risk reversal, where the seller in the transaction takes most

313
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or all of the risk. Now, an example of that

314
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is when I was in the ski business, we had

315
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what we called a ski guarantee. Now, the customer's problem

316
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in the ski business is when they were sold a

317
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pair of skis, they really didn't know if it was

318
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the right ski for them until they get it up

319
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on the mountain. So we put together what we called

320
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a ski guarantee. Ski the ski through times you don't

321
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like it, bring it back for a brand new pair,

322
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and keep bringing it back until we get it right.

323
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And you know what, many people think thought that the

324
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customer would take full advantage of that and bring back

325
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multiple pairs of skis multiple times. But that did never

326
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happened because we solve their problem by getting the right

327
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ski for them. Correct. The third component of a compelling

328
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offer is adding more value to a product of service.

329
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So always be thinking about how you could create more

330
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value at a low cost. And now remember, if you

331
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create more value, you can increase the price. It's a

332
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good point, right, So you add more value at a

333
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low cost and then increase the price to reflect that

334
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added value or even some of that added value, and

335
00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:55.880
you could still make a very profitable scenario. And that's compelling.

336
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When you add more value to a product, that is compelling.

337
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And then the fourth component of a compelling offer is

338
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packaging and bundling. Yes, there isn't There is a perception

339
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out there with the customer that if you package things together,

340
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there's a value there's more value there, there's more perception

341
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of value. So when I was in the ski business,

342
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for example, everybody, every one of my competitors packaged skis, boots,

343
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and bindings. But we also packaged clothing, which separated us,

344
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which was doing something that our competition wasn't doing by

345
00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:42.640
packaging a hat with a bib, a parker and a

346
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sweater and they flew out the door and it was

347
00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:51.200
it was a very effective strategy. So you know, when

348
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we combined the ski guarantee with packaging clothing, it it

349
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was a great combination. And it is utilizing more than

350
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one component of a compelling offer. And then the fifth

351
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the fifth compelling offer is simply being indifferent to the outcome.

352
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Many times business owners pressed to make a sale, Yeah,

353
00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:19.519
and they and the and the customer can figure that out.

354
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They figure it out that that you have your interests

355
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that are more of a priority than theirs. And by

356
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being indifferent to the outcome, you know, by by by

357
00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:35.759
explaining it, by telling them that you know, we're doing

358
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this for you, You're getting on the same side, we're

359
00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.319
locking arms, You're getting on the same side of the table.

360
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That is compelling.

361
00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.240
Great and Michael I'll interject here out we'll give just

362
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a quick compliments to Pete's Plumbing and Heating company. Okay,

363
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And they propose that question, by the way, on the

364
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conversion formula. And Michael, I think you broke that down

365
00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:02.680
really well. So just as a quick recap, it's a

366
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first step captivating, second step fascinate, third step educate, and

367
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then fourth step to make the offer and then there

368
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are five ways to make an offer compelling. And Michael, again,

369
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you did a really great job of just breaking that down.

370
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Scarcity and urgency is a first, second, risk reversal, third

371
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adding more value, forth packaging and bundling. And then this

372
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fifth one, which is really good, this indifference to the

373
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outcome and picking up on that last point in difference

374
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to the outcome. And Michael, how do you think this

375
00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.599
connects back to some of the successful actions that business

376
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:40.920
owners can take, particularly with the visionary mindset.

377
00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:45.559
Well, I think you know, once again, it's being more

378
00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:53.079
concerned about the prospects problem and really showing that, you

379
00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.920
know what, one of the things that we do is

380
00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:58.160
we focus on what their number one goal is. And

381
00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:01.839
it's different for all industries, but we focus on what

382
00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:06.319
the number one goal of that business owner is and

383
00:25:06.359 --> 00:25:09.359
then because what it does is it gets into a

384
00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.680
real deep discussion with the business owner that we're really

385
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.960
concerned about helping them achieving that number one goal. And

386
00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:19.240
it hit and you know, and you know, there's an

387
00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:22.680
emotional core that gets hit there and and and it's

388
00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:28.279
that's where the indifference comes in. Bye, by really digging

389
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:34.240
deep into that customer problem and solving it. It's just

390
00:25:34.440 --> 00:25:37.359
it's just it's just it just helps tremendously with the

391
00:25:37.400 --> 00:25:38.480
conversion to a sale.

392
00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.440
Michael Man. That's such a great point. And the conversion

393
00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:46.039
equation can be executed online and offline, is that right?

394
00:25:46.359 --> 00:25:49.359
That's correct, It could be. The conversion formula can be

395
00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:55.079
used for any communication to a client, any communication at

396
00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:59.119
all up to a prospect, I should say, any communication. Uh,

397
00:25:59.160 --> 00:26:03.799
we have had positions of market dominance to captivate and

398
00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:09.279
fascinate on incoming voicemail messages. Wow, you know, on the

399
00:26:09.720 --> 00:26:14.720
greeting greeting in a voicemail. So any type of communication

400
00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:18.680
to a prospect is where the conversion formula can be

401
00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:19.960
very effective.

402
00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:24.480
Really important. So yeah, we're getting some nice gratitude notes

403
00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:28.039
just in the way that you detailed that response. There's

404
00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:31.799
some folks that are saying that was very practical and

405
00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:36.480
actually a nice little comment here. I've got to redo

406
00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:41.759
my whole website. We got that, So, Michael, just a

407
00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:46.279
really really good stuff just as a point of recap

408
00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:48.640
to these seven actions. And Michael, look, I was taking

409
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:52.319
some good notes here. These seven actions. You've covered Action one,

410
00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:56.200
which is having the ability to adapt, action to defining

411
00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:02.960
a business owner's number one personal goal, Action three documenting

412
00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:07.319
those business goals, particularly net profit goals first, and then

413
00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:11.799
for adopting a visionary mindset. So I want to just

414
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:15.599
make sure, Michael, I'm taking really good notes here, any

415
00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:19.559
additional thoughts or comments related to those first four actions

416
00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.279
before we move on.

417
00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:23.960
Yeah, we'd like on the visionary mindset, you know, we

418
00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:30.440
want to avoid scarcity based decisions and make those visionary decisions.

419
00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:32.599
You got to think about the impact of your decision.

420
00:27:32.599 --> 00:27:35.359
I don't care what time you're in, whether you could

421
00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:39.519
be in a really difficult economic situation, but you got

422
00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.039
to think about your decisions and how they're going to

423
00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:45.279
be impacted next quarter, next year, five years, for now.

424
00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:47.519
You have to make decisions that will serve you in

425
00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:50.200
the long run and what this means is that when

426
00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:53.319
we make decisions in an economic downturn, it can't be

427
00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:56.160
a decision just to ease the pain for a little while.

428
00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:59.640
It has to be the right decision for the long term.

429
00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:03.240
And give you an example to key, I have had

430
00:28:03.319 --> 00:28:06.559
fifty two kidney stones over the last forty three years.

431
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:11.599
Wow and yeah, and with each and every stone, the

432
00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:16.000
doctors and nurses focused on reducing my pain through numbing drugs,

433
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:19.480
but not removing the cause of the pain, which was

434
00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:25.119
the actual stone. Now, eventually they did that, or believe me,

435
00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:29.279
I wouldn't be here today. But that was not their

436
00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:33.400
first order of business. When our businesses are in pain,

437
00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:38.279
we have to we feel that need to relieve the pain. Okay,

438
00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:45.279
and instead of taking out the stone, finding the root

439
00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:50.720
cause of the pain and solving that. And a simple

440
00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:56.519
example of what business owners do immediately is they discount prices. Yeah,

441
00:28:57.039 --> 00:28:59.079
you know that All that does is relieve the pain.

442
00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:02.720
It doesn't address the cause of the pain by not

443
00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:05.279
having enough value, that's the cause.

444
00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:16.559
Interesting, that's really interesting. I'm also uh, I'm also thinking

445
00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:18.880
you might be superman. I mean, how many of the

446
00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:27.960
remarkable Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've got to get your healthcare secrets.

447
00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:33.400
Yeah, yeah, mean yeah, but the problem is, uh, it's

448
00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:35.880
it's just the recovery of it is is just amazing.

449
00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:37.599
And then you know you have to deal with all

450
00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.559
the pain that's involved. It's it's quite a process. That's

451
00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:43.640
all I could say. Otherwise I'm just gonna get both,

452
00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:50.519
you know, get gross gross out everybody. And so this

453
00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:56.480
next part, in terms of handling and being prepared for

454
00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:59.240
an economic downturn, it's going to probably freak out a

455
00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:02.319
lot of people because we know a lot of people

456
00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:05.680
aren't doing this. And we know that because we've taken

457
00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:11.200
eighty small business owners over eighty to an individual business assessment,

458
00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:15.960
and in that assessment, we ask three basic financial questions.

459
00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:18.720
And those financial questions I number one, what is your

460
00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:23.079
annual revenue? Two what's your gross profit percent? And three

461
00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:26.920
what's your net profit percent? Just those three questions, and

462
00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:34.039
eighty percent of these business owners didn't know the answers. Wow. Yeah,

463
00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:39.640
And it's a real problem. And winning business owners make

464
00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:44.319
the right decisions in an economic downturn because they make

465
00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:50.240
decisions based on the numbers. Now, when times are good,

466
00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:54.839
no problem, you'll get by. You'll get by not looking

467
00:30:54.839 --> 00:30:57.000
at numbers. It's not effective, it's not even close to

468
00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.640
being effective. But you'll get by. But to in in

469
00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:06.440
an economic downturn, you must make decisions based on the numbers.

470
00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:11.279
And what numbers you might ask, well, CHOOKI I have

471
00:31:11.359 --> 00:31:14.039
a name for them. I call them the vital five.

472
00:31:15.160 --> 00:31:18.720
You see, these five numbers should be with you at

473
00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:23.039
all times, and they should burn in your memory because

474
00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:28.799
you will improve decision making immediately by just understanding these

475
00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:34.519
five data points, because every decision you make is involved

476
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.440
usually involves these five data points. And these five data points,

477
00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:42.480
the vital what I call the vital five is sales,

478
00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:51.319
gross profit dollars, gross profit percent, your net profit, and

479
00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:57.319
your current cash balance. By understanding these numbers, you're going

480
00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:02.880
to improve your decision making. So and in future shows,

481
00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:08.599
for sure we'll go over what specifically these five items

482
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:13.119
are and how and how they impact decision making. But

483
00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:20.720
it's if you have these five numbers in mind, you

484
00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:23.640
don't even have to really know the rest of your

485
00:32:23.680 --> 00:32:25.559
P and L or the rest of your balance sheet.

486
00:32:26.039 --> 00:32:29.720
But without these five numbers, it's it's hard to make

487
00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:38.400
the right decisions. So the next thing is that and

488
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.640
this is all the financial component. By the way, this

489
00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:45.400
next couple of next couple of components. So next is

490
00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:51.559
winning business owners understand what their financial statements are telling them. Now,

491
00:32:51.559 --> 00:32:53.880
the three key financial statements are the P and L,

492
00:32:55.400 --> 00:33:00.000
balance sheet and cash flow statement. And believe it or not,

493
00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.759
when I'm in a room of small business owners and

494
00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:05.880
I ask how many people look at their P and

495
00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:08.240
L at least once a month, less than ten percent

496
00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:12.680
I'm sorry, less than half raise their hand. And then

497
00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:14.960
when I ask how many people look at their balance

498
00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:16.920
sheet once a month, that's where less than ten percent

499
00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:20.799
raise their hand. And when I ask how many people

500
00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:23.720
look at their cash flow statement once a month, I

501
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.240
might I might get one person to raise their hand,

502
00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:31.559
so you can imagine like that, that's cash flow. To me,

503
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:35.440
that's the life bloit of a business being totally neglected.

504
00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:39.759
And the good news is you don't have to know

505
00:33:39.799 --> 00:33:42.119
how to read financial statements, but you do need to

506
00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:46.640
understand the story behind them and how those financial statements

507
00:33:46.680 --> 00:33:48.599
will guide you to the best decisions. And if you

508
00:33:48.599 --> 00:33:51.319
need help understanding your financial statements, you've got to go

509
00:33:51.400 --> 00:33:57.960
out and get that help. It's crucial. Yeah, So the

510
00:33:57.960 --> 00:34:01.839
next thing that winning business owners have in an economic downturn.

511
00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:06.440
Is a business and cash flow forecast? Why is that? Well,

512
00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:11.280
the business and cash flow forecast helps you understand the

513
00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:18.480
outcome and ramifications of the decisions before you make them.

514
00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:23.280
So it's basically a situation where we could give you

515
00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:25.320
the answers to the exam. With a business and cash

516
00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:28.000
flow forecast, you can get the answers to an exam

517
00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:29.639
before the exam.

518
00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:33.400
Well, yeall, Michael folks are saying, sign me up for that.

519
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:42.599
Yeah, it just gives you that foresight. So for example,

520
00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:45.519
you know how many of the business owners out there

521
00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:48.760
have ever been surprised by a cash flow problem. Well,

522
00:34:48.840 --> 00:34:51.840
if you have a business and cash flow forecast, you'll

523
00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:55.119
never be surprised by a cash flow problem again because

524
00:34:55.159 --> 00:34:58.119
you'll always know what your projected cash position looks like

525
00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:02.840
today and in the future. Sure by month. I have

526
00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:05.440
many times been able to tell clients that they're headed

527
00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.719
for a cash flow problem. Let's say I was talking

528
00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:11.119
to them today in July. I could tell them many

529
00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:15.039
times that at the beginning of the year, in you know, January, February,

530
00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:18.000
and March, they're headed for a cash flow problem. What

531
00:35:18.039 --> 00:35:22.039
do we need to do today to prevent that and

532
00:35:22.599 --> 00:35:27.519
just that one thing we've been able to circumvent big trouble.

533
00:35:29.920 --> 00:35:35.159
And as I've always pointed out, CEOs of the best

534
00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:38.880
companies are never surprised by cash flow or anything else

535
00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:41.760
for that matter, because they have a business and cash

536
00:35:41.800 --> 00:35:45.039
flow forecast. And what's interesting, Chooky, is there's a reason

537
00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:50.199
why Fortune five hundred companies, every single one has a

538
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:52.679
business and cash flow forecast. There's a reason for that,

539
00:35:54.719 --> 00:35:58.480
and it could be and like I have done many

540
00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:03.159
times personally, we prepare business and cash flow forecasts for

541
00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:06.920
any type of business at all, Okay, how small you are,

542
00:36:07.480 --> 00:36:10.760
because it gives you that foresight and it also identifies

543
00:36:10.800 --> 00:36:15.000
the most effective business model you can have. And that's

544
00:36:15.039 --> 00:36:18.679
something that small business owners who are starting up with me, Yeah,

545
00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:19.679
they need to know that.

546
00:36:20.119 --> 00:36:24.280
That point really, that point really resonates, absolutely resonates with me.

547
00:36:24.320 --> 00:36:27.840
I mean, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

548
00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:28.519
You know that.

549
00:36:28.599 --> 00:36:31.559
I know that. And some of the reactions that we're

550
00:36:31.599 --> 00:36:35.679
getting here is you're saying there's Fortune five hundred level

551
00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:39.199
service that small business owners could get access to by

552
00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:42.679
just embracing this idea of a business and cash flow statement.

553
00:36:42.719 --> 00:36:47.719
Is that right? That's correct, yep, and yes, absolutely it

554
00:36:47.719 --> 00:36:50.639
it You know one other thing that it does. I

555
00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:52.719
promised I wouldn't get into this until we have our

556
00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:55.880
show on the business and cash Flow Forecast. But it

557
00:36:56.000 --> 00:37:00.599
answers the can I afford it? Question? Ah many times,

558
00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:03.800
I can't tell you how many times I get asked,

559
00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:08.400
can I afford a new truck? Can I afford a manager?

560
00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:14.440
Can I afford a new location? Can I afford to

561
00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:19.000
add a product line? A new product line? That the

562
00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:21.400
can I afford it? Question? The beautiful thing about a

563
00:37:21.440 --> 00:37:24.559
cash flow basis a cash flow forecast is that you

564
00:37:24.599 --> 00:37:28.760
could you could create multiple what if scenarios? You know,

565
00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:30.760
what if business is off twenty percent, what if it's

566
00:37:30.840 --> 00:37:33.679
up twenty percent? What if we add a new location,

567
00:37:33.840 --> 00:37:37.079
what if we what if we add a manager, what

568
00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:39.840
if we add h Well, I said, a new look,

569
00:37:39.880 --> 00:37:41.639
a new a new product line. Correct.

570
00:37:42.599 --> 00:37:47.840
Yeah, that's remarkable. And Michael, look, I think just for

571
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:51.199
the sake of all the goodness that we'll pack into

572
00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:53.599
that episode when we go through the business and cash

573
00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:56.000
Flow Forecast up, I'm gonna pull you back, Michael, I'm

574
00:37:56.039 --> 00:38:01.800
pulling you back, all right. Yeah, we've got some good

575
00:38:01.880 --> 00:38:06.119
questions off folks on that, so tune in so next.

576
00:38:07.239 --> 00:38:11.000
Winning business owners in an economic downturn need the right

577
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:17.199
business strategies. And this is the point about being strategic

578
00:38:17.400 --> 00:38:22.440
versus tactical. I mean, did you know that ninety five

579
00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:26.559
percent of business and financial strategies used today are identical

580
00:38:26.599 --> 00:38:30.920
to your competitors and they don't work. Your strategic plan

581
00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:34.320
needs to be made up of strategies that your competition

582
00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:39.880
isn't doing. And just to name a couple of strategies here,

583
00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:43.400
that every business should have a position of market dominance.

584
00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:48.280
And as you heard earlier in this show, we talked

585
00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:52.039
about the captivate problem the customer has it doesn't want

586
00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:55.559
and the fascinate them. The solution that they want that

587
00:38:55.599 --> 00:38:58.239
they can't find. That is the position of market dominance

588
00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:03.280
and every single business needs one. Every single business should

589
00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:06.920
have a compelling offer. Okay, we went over the five

590
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:10.920
components of a compelling offer. And every single business should

591
00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:15.079
have joint venture partnerships that are working. Uh, there's a

592
00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:18.880
lot of joint venture partnerships out there that that really

593
00:39:20.199 --> 00:39:23.119
they're just they're not working. And one of the reasons

594
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:28.920
why they're not working is that business owners having having

595
00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:32.320
these discussions with somebody that they'd like to strategically partner

596
00:39:32.519 --> 00:39:36.719
partner with. They dropped the ball, yeah, don't they. They

597
00:39:36.960 --> 00:39:39.000
They dropped the ball in a couple of ways. They

598
00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:43.559
don't ask the other side what success looks like.

599
00:39:44.519 --> 00:39:48.199
Absolutely, And I know, Michael, just to interject with some

600
00:39:48.280 --> 00:39:51.920
of our experiences with the Business Roundtable, I mean this

601
00:39:52.800 --> 00:39:55.920
it really animates business owners, just this idea of how

602
00:39:56.000 --> 00:40:01.000
to create a successful strategic alliance and joint venture partnership.

603
00:40:01.519 --> 00:40:03.480
I have a number of questions for you related to this,

604
00:40:03.639 --> 00:40:07.599
and I imagine we could save this for one of

605
00:40:07.639 --> 00:40:10.360
the episodes. In fact, we'll maybe get a little bit

606
00:40:10.360 --> 00:40:14.159
deeper into joint ventures and strategic alliances. How does that sound? Yeah, No,

607
00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:16.519
that's great, brilliant, Yeah, that's absolutely spot on.

608
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:19.639
Yeah, that was the intent here. We're going to cover that.

609
00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:22.800
These are all we have. We have twenty two business

610
00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:27.599
strategies that we're going to cover in all these in

611
00:40:27.679 --> 00:40:32.719
all these broadcasts. So now, the general mindset of business

612
00:40:32.719 --> 00:40:36.880
owners in an economic downturn is to just cut everything.

613
00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:43.480
Yeah yeah, and you know you could cut absolutely, but

614
00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:47.280
you can't cut your way to success. And we have

615
00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:52.280
we actually have a formula to use to cut expenses.

616
00:40:53.320 --> 00:40:56.360
And this formula has worked very well over the years.

617
00:40:57.840 --> 00:41:05.039
Sometimes it requires a little, uh, somebody to bounce off ideas. Uh,

618
00:41:05.400 --> 00:41:09.519
sometimes it requires that. But here they are you cut

619
00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:14.199
the expense. If the expense doesn't help you acquire a customer,

620
00:41:14.760 --> 00:41:18.880
that's number one. If the expense doesn't help you retain

621
00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:23.840
a customer, that's number two. If the expense doesn't increase

622
00:41:23.880 --> 00:41:27.719
the long term value of a customer, that's number three.

623
00:41:28.679 --> 00:41:31.559
And number four, if the expense doesn't help deliver your

624
00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:36.760
product or service to a customer. Yeah, those four now,

625
00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:41.400
that's those are our That is our formula for cutting expenses. Yes,

626
00:41:42.760 --> 00:41:45.840
And one of the keys is is that a lot

627
00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:48.760
of business owners don't know what long term value of

628
00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:52.360
a customer is. The long term value of a customer

629
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:54.800
is the average number of dollars that you're going to

630
00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:58.800
get every time you get a new customer over over

631
00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:03.480
a certain amount of time. Some people use five years,

632
00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:07.639
some people use ten years, some people use lifetime. But

633
00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:12.519
understanding that metric is very important because like, for example,

634
00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:15.960
when I was in the frozen cookie dough business, I

635
00:42:16.079 --> 00:42:19.360
used to give an oven away with every opening order.

636
00:42:19.719 --> 00:42:22.280
Now another a convection of it at the time cost

637
00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:24.519
about two hundred and fifty dollars something like that. We

638
00:42:24.599 --> 00:42:27.159
used to give good ones up and my opening order

639
00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:33.199
was probably sometimes as low as one hundred dollars okay,

640
00:42:33.199 --> 00:42:36.760
So I wasn't making money on the first order. I

641
00:42:36.920 --> 00:42:39.559
was bank I was banking on the fact that every

642
00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:42.719
time I get a customer, I would get fifteen thousand

643
00:42:42.760 --> 00:42:45.639
dollars worth of sales over a period of five years,

644
00:42:47.199 --> 00:42:49.599
and that two hundred and fifty dollars for that oven

645
00:42:50.119 --> 00:42:53.639
was pale in comparison to the fifteen thousand dollars I

646
00:42:53.679 --> 00:42:57.199
was going to get over the long term. So understanding

647
00:42:57.199 --> 00:42:59.800
what the long term value of a customer is is

648
00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:01.920
not only important metric to have in mind to do

649
00:43:01.960 --> 00:43:03.679
a program like I did when I was in the

650
00:43:03.679 --> 00:43:07.840
Cookie Approaches a cookie no business, but it's a metric

651
00:43:07.880 --> 00:43:13.079
to understand how you're going to advertise because understanding the

652
00:43:13.079 --> 00:43:17.039
long term value of a customer influences advertising decisions as well.

653
00:43:19.400 --> 00:43:24.480
And so the fourth way, the fourth item that we use,

654
00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:28.679
you cut the expense at the expense doesn't help you

655
00:43:28.840 --> 00:43:32.280
deliver your product or service to the customer. So if

656
00:43:32.320 --> 00:43:38.519
it doesn't deliver it in any way, or it impacts

657
00:43:38.559 --> 00:43:41.000
the production of the product or service in any way,

658
00:43:42.199 --> 00:43:45.800
you don't cut it. Otherwise you cut it. And so

659
00:43:45.920 --> 00:43:53.440
those are the four critical rules that every business owner

660
00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:56.119
should use when it comes to cutting expenses.

661
00:43:56.440 --> 00:44:00.639
Yeah, Michael, a flood of questions related to just last point.

662
00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:04.519
So are all of these rules created equal? Or if

663
00:44:04.519 --> 00:44:08.639
a business owner were thinking strategically, should they prioritize some

664
00:44:08.760 --> 00:44:11.519
of those cutting expense rules over others.

665
00:44:11.960 --> 00:44:16.480
No, they're equal, They're absolutely equal. Great, and they should

666
00:44:16.599 --> 00:44:20.079
and they should consider everyone when going through whether or

667
00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:21.320
not to kind an expense.

668
00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:26.000
Very helpful. Some feedback that we're getting here very helpful.

669
00:44:26.360 --> 00:44:31.079
Great. And so after you apply those rules to expenses,

670
00:44:31.559 --> 00:44:34.239
we look for investments. Now this is in an economic downturn.

671
00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:38.280
I'm using the word investment, okay, and we invest in

672
00:44:38.320 --> 00:44:42.360
what we call the three a's, assets that produce revenue,

673
00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:47.119
amazing people to help you scale, and automation to leverage time.

674
00:44:47.599 --> 00:44:48.000
Hmmm.

675
00:44:48.840 --> 00:44:53.079
That automation component now with AI is very very important.

676
00:44:54.119 --> 00:44:57.039
One of the things that I'm doing from an automation

677
00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:01.039
standpoint is I'm training an AI to called Claude. I

678
00:45:01.079 --> 00:45:05.400
believe it's a it's an offshoot of chat gpt okay

679
00:45:06.079 --> 00:45:10.079
and with Claude. The unique thing about Claude is that

680
00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:13.400
you're able to train it about you and your business,

681
00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:17.760
and you're able to give it all types of content

682
00:45:17.800 --> 00:45:21.280
that you may have developed. You're also able to ask

683
00:45:21.320 --> 00:45:24.559
it questions like, Claude, what else you need to know

684
00:45:24.599 --> 00:45:27.360
about my business in order for you to effectively communicate

685
00:45:27.400 --> 00:45:30.480
with me? What else is it that you need to

686
00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:33.199
know about my business so that you can generate content

687
00:45:33.280 --> 00:45:40.840
for me? So that is incredibly invaluable. So automation, You've

688
00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:43.760
always got to look for automation to leverage time because

689
00:45:44.119 --> 00:45:48.159
not only does it leverage time, but it reduces cost.

690
00:45:51.719 --> 00:45:55.480
And what we have to understand is that success in

691
00:45:55.519 --> 00:46:00.440
an economic downturn is not defined by those who spend less.

692
00:46:01.519 --> 00:46:06.440
It's defined by those who spend smarter. That's why Chicky,

693
00:46:06.519 --> 00:46:10.159
we say, we say cutting. You know, we want to

694
00:46:10.199 --> 00:46:13.920
give you guidance on how to cut costs, but we

695
00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:18.679
also want you to invest. Yes, whether it's in assets

696
00:46:18.679 --> 00:46:21.039
that produce revenue, amazing people to help you scale, or

697
00:46:21.039 --> 00:46:22.400
the automation to leverage time.

698
00:46:24.360 --> 00:46:29.000
Really well said, you know, rethink expenses, but increase investments, right.

699
00:46:29.159 --> 00:46:33.119
Right, And So let me review the seven action items

700
00:46:33.159 --> 00:46:36.360
to prepare for an econdrect downturns. Where as we're winding

701
00:46:36.440 --> 00:46:40.119
up here. So the seven action items is the action

702
00:46:40.199 --> 00:46:44.000
Number one is have the ability to adapt critical stotting point,

703
00:46:44.079 --> 00:46:49.000
great starting point, because without that everything else falls to pieces. Second,

704
00:46:49.039 --> 00:46:55.400
define your number one personal goal. Third, document your business goals.

705
00:46:55.559 --> 00:47:00.599
First okay, I'm sorry, profit goals. I'm sorry your business

706
00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:05.079
calls profit goals first, then revenue then revenue goals. Number

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00:47:05.119 --> 00:47:10.039
four is adopt a visionary mindset and make visionary decisions,

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00:47:10.079 --> 00:47:16.400
not reactionary. Number five knowing your numbers. This includes three components.

709
00:47:17.280 --> 00:47:22.760
First and foremost, understanding your vital five okay, your sales grows,

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00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:26.559
profit grows, profit percent and net profit in cash. Second,

711
00:47:26.679 --> 00:47:30.599
understand what your financial statements are telling you. Third, have

712
00:47:30.760 --> 00:47:36.679
a business and cash flow forecast. Next. Action number six

713
00:47:38.119 --> 00:47:43.440
is implement the right business strategies, be strategic not tactical.

714
00:47:44.440 --> 00:47:51.679
And number seven rethink expenses and increase investments and chooky.

715
00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:56.400
Today we're all facing the call to adapt and to

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00:47:56.480 --> 00:48:00.480
make decisions based on the numbers. Those who do will

717
00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:04.920
make business a lot less terrifying. Those who do will

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00:48:04.920 --> 00:48:09.519
achieve their number one goal. Those who do will thrive

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00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:13.519
in an economic downturn. And get this, there are more

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00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:18.880
millionaires and billionaires minted in economic downturns than any other

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00:48:18.960 --> 00:48:24.000
event in business history. The only question is are you

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00:48:24.159 --> 00:48:31.519
prepared to be the next one? Any closing comments took

723
00:48:31.559 --> 00:48:33.039
me before we sign off.

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00:48:33.960 --> 00:48:36.599
A number of thank yous. It's funny so that last

725
00:48:36.679 --> 00:48:43.199
question folks are saying yes and maybe sounds really good.

726
00:48:44.119 --> 00:48:46.719
Michael very Well said, Now, we did get a couple

727
00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:51.239
of comments around upcoming episodes, so folks are looking forward

728
00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:54.599
to the business and cash Flow Forecast episode. We preview that,

729
00:48:55.159 --> 00:48:58.280
and then the Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliance episode. We

730
00:48:58.360 --> 00:49:01.039
preview that, and then to Michael's point, there are twenty

731
00:49:01.079 --> 00:49:06.920
plus strategies based on tried and tested strategies that we

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00:49:07.039 --> 00:49:10.639
plan to review us part of these shows. Really appreciate it, Michael,

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00:49:10.639 --> 00:49:11.360
You anything else?

734
00:49:11.599 --> 00:49:14.360
Yes. To get a copy of the book Powerful Business Strategies,

735
00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:18.639
simply go to our website www dot NEXTSTEPCFO dot net.

736
00:49:18.679 --> 00:49:21.880
It's totally complimentary and until next Monday at noon Eastern

737
00:49:21.920 --> 00:49:25.920
time for Chucky Obio. My name is Michael Barbarita, and remember,

738
00:49:26.519 --> 00:49:29.559
don't keep doing what your competition is doing.

739
00:49:31.320 --> 00:49:34.400
You have been listening to powerful business strategies, finding out

740
00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:38.079
that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

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00:49:38.360 --> 00:49:41.559
Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern

742
00:49:41.639 --> 00:49:45.079
time on W four CY Radio with your host Michael

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00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:49.719
Barbarita of Next Step CFO and moderator Chukey Obio