Sept. 17, 2024

Create More Profit and Cash Flow with Inventory

Interview with Ciara Stockeland, “The Inventory Genius”; Actions for Business Owners to Manage in Uncertain Times


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

iHeartRadio podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon Amazon Music podcast player icon Pandora podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon Deezer podcast player icon Podchaser podcast player icon Spreaker podcast player icon Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Youtube Music podcast player icon Podcast Addict podcast player icon JioSaavn podcast player icon Castbox podcast player icon Castamatic podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon Fountain podcast player icon Goodpods podcast player icon Overcast podcast player icon PocketCasts podcast player icon Podurama podcast player icon Podverse podcast player icon Podyssey podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon YouTube podcast player icon
iHeartRadio podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon Amazon Music podcast player icon Pandora podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon Deezer podcast player icon Podchaser podcast player icon Spreaker podcast player icon Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Youtube Music podcast player icon Podcast Addict podcast player icon JioSaavn podcast player icon Castbox podcast player icon Castamatic podcast player icon Castro podcast player icon Fountain podcast player icon Goodpods podcast player icon Overcast podcast player icon PocketCasts podcast player icon Podurama podcast player icon Podverse podcast player icon Podyssey podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon YouTube podcast player icon

Interview with Ciara Stockeland, “The Inventory Genius”; Actions for Business Owners to Manage in Uncertain Times


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).

Powerful Business Strategies Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/powerful-business-strategies--6198916/support.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.279
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

2
00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:03.919
solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

3
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:05.280
those of W FOURCY Radio.

4
00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:06.519
It's employees are affiliates.

5
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.000
We make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

6
00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:12.400
or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

7
00:00:12.519 --> 00:00:15.679
liability explicitor implies shall be extended to W FOURCY Radio

8
00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.480
or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments should

9
00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:20.839
be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for choosing

10
00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.280
W FOURCY Radio.

11
00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:30.839
Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out

12
00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:34.240
that everything you have ever learned about growing your business

13
00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:38.320
is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right

14
00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:41.640
way to grow your business by learning business and financial

15
00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:46.320
strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here is

16
00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:51.520
your host. Resident of Next Step CFO Michael Barbarita, and

17
00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:55.679
joining Michael for today's show as an executive moderator is

18
00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:00.200
chooky obia.

19
00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:04.079
Yes, this is shookey, and I believe that gratitude is

20
00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:08.159
undefeated and growth is about the next step, So it

21
00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:10.799
is an honor for me to moderate today's discussion with

22
00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:12.159
my good friend Michael.

23
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:16.920
Michael how are you fantastic? Chucky? My name is Michael Barber, Rita,

24
00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:20.200
President of Next Step CFO, and next Step CFO is

25
00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:24.760
a fractional CFO and strategic implementation firm, and our vision

26
00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:28.799
is to ensure overwhelmed business owners achieve the time, freedom,

27
00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:32.439
and consistent profits to build a legacy and a life

28
00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:36.760
they desire. Our mission is simple. It's dedicated to guiding

29
00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:40.319
small business owners to leveraging their time, exploding their profits,

30
00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:44.159
and building a meaningful, meaningful legacy. You know, this show

31
00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:47.000
Powerful Business Strategies in our book of the same name,

32
00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:50.400
is a step toward accomplishing that vision and mission. And

33
00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:52.319
so with that, I would like to hand it back

34
00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:55.879
to my co author and moderator for the show, Chucky Obio.

35
00:01:56.359 --> 00:01:59.959
Michael, thank you. Look, I'm really energized by today's episode

36
00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:05.920
titled create More Profit and cash Flow with Inventory. Just

37
00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.879
a quick disclaimer before we activate all the insights locked

38
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.319
into today's show. So look, Michael and I are both

39
00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:15.759
affiliated with a number of different organizations and I currently

40
00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:20.199
serve as the managing director of business Development for Vetter Price,

41
00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.840
a global business focused law firm. In addition to that,

42
00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:29.120
I collaborate strategically with Michael to moderate a number of

43
00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:33.919
business roundtables really coast to coast, and we document powerful

44
00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:37.919
business strategies from those roundtables. In fact, that's the name

45
00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.280
of the book, Powerful Business Strategies, and the name of

46
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:44.879
the show. But the views expressed in today's show are

47
00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:48.680
our personal views based on personal success stories. But my

48
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:52.919
mission as the Fearless moderators to ask the right questions

49
00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:57.680
to help you, the listener, learn the best strategies that

50
00:02:57.759 --> 00:02:59.639
the competition isn't doing.

51
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:04.560
Michael, Yes, talk to you well, Chicky. We have a

52
00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:08.520
very special guest on the show today, Pierra Stocklin. Yeah,

53
00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:12.439
that's right. Yeah. And Sierra, who is an inventory genius,

54
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:17.120
helps businesses use their inventory to create more profit and

55
00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:21.960
keep more cash. Now, personally, I find this fascinating because

56
00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.400
I've been talking about over the last couple of shows

57
00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:30.759
how business owners in retail, manufacturing and distribution need to

58
00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.080
manage their inventory better to solve cash flow problems. But

59
00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.599
I haven't really offered enough solutions when a business owner

60
00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:46.120
is over inventory. So I'd like to welcome in Sierra Stockland.

61
00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:48.360
Hey, how are you guys?

62
00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:52.840
How you doing? Sierra? I'm so excited, so away. We

63
00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:55.800
really are. I want to I just want to thank

64
00:03:55.840 --> 00:03:58.960
you for coming today. It's really a pleasure. It's really

65
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.919
a pleasure having you. Could you tell us a little

66
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:05.879
history that you have with inventory and small business. Yeah.

67
00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:09.479
Absolutely. So I started my first business when I was thirteen.

68
00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.560
I was born and raised in North Dakota, where it

69
00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:16.120
was freezing cold for much of the year. I now

70
00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:19.800
live in Nashville, but came from an entrepreneurial background. My

71
00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:21.800
dad and my grandpa both owned small business, so it

72
00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.079
was only natural for me to be solving problems and

73
00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:27.079
selling things. So I built that first business for about

74
00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:30.120
a decade, got married, had a couple little ones, and

75
00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.399
decided I was going to get out of the nonprofit space,

76
00:04:32.439 --> 00:04:36.079
which is where my first business lived, and get into retail.

77
00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:38.959
So I launched my first retail store in two thousand

78
00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:40.759
and six. I had never worked a day of retail

79
00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.399
in my life, but I thought, you know what, I

80
00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.040
can buy and sell stuff. This is easy. So I

81
00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:49.000
opened a high maternity baby store. Six months later, I

82
00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:51.519
opened a second concept right next door. This was a

83
00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:55.079
designer outlet. I had the opportunity to buy and sell

84
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:59.279
truckloads of off price and overstock inventory agains before the

85
00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.279
two thousand and eight h session, so things were flowing easy. People.

86
00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:04.560
There was a lot of waste when it came to inventory,

87
00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:06.720
and I thought, I can figure out a way how

88
00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:09.879
to sell that, so I launched my second concept. Ended

89
00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.000
up merging those two concepts into a high end designer

90
00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.680
outlet store, so think Tjmax in a small boutique environment.

91
00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:21.680
Built that enfranchised it. In twenty ten, we had multiple

92
00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:25.279
locations around the country. Things were going well. From the

93
00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.759
outside looking in, everyone thought I was doing amazing. I

94
00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.839
had a seven figure business, I had multiple locations, corner office, warehouse,

95
00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:37.000
all the things. But it all came crashing down. And

96
00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.439
that's another story for another day as to why on

97
00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:43.600
the franchise thing franchise side of things it didn't work.

98
00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:49.040
But through that we lost everything, including our home, and

99
00:05:49.079 --> 00:05:52.120
I was left sitting on the couch thinking what was

100
00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:55.560
this all for. I have invested time, energy, sweat, blood, tears,

101
00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:59.439
my home right, my family savings, and now I have nothing.

102
00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.360
And I had this opportunity to either sit and wallow

103
00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:06.759
in that and to blame others, or to say, what

104
00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.600
part of that did I have a pardon?

105
00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:09.839
Right?

106
00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:12.560
What part of that was because of the choices I made,

107
00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.959
and thankfully I chose the latter and decided, I'm going

108
00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.319
to figure out what I did wrong, and I'm going

109
00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:21.199
to build again, but I'm going to do it differently

110
00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:23.800
this time. And one of the things that I noticed

111
00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:26.639
as I reviewed my story and looked in the review

112
00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:29.639
mirror was that I had been so focused on top

113
00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:33.519
line revenue and never focused on profit. So I was

114
00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:38.040
building and marching towards a million dollar business, multiple locations, sales, sales, sales,

115
00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.160
but I had never thought about what it was doing

116
00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:44.079
to the bottom line, like what was I keeping? And

117
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.480
I had worked for a dozen years in that business,

118
00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:50.639
never taking a consistent paycheck, always paying everyone else. And

119
00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:52.519
so I decided, I'm going to do it differently this

120
00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.480
next time. I built and launched, grew and sold a

121
00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.040
business within eighteen months. It was profitable from day one,

122
00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:01.680
and through that started to work on that inventory genius

123
00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:04.839
framework so that I could help other entrepreneurs avoid those

124
00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:06.720
very costly mistakes I made.

125
00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:12.360
Excellent and I've got to tell you that is incredibly inspirational.

126
00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.600
You lost your house, my god. Yeah, uh, you can't

127
00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:16.680
get much lower than that.

128
00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:17.480
You can't.

129
00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.680
That's pretty low. That's pretty low. I can't figure out

130
00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.800
a way to get much lower than that, Chokie, do

131
00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:25.000
you have a lesson for Siera?

132
00:07:25.399 --> 00:07:26.720
Now, I want to pick up on what you said,

133
00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:29.920
Michael about how inspirational Sierra, the story that you just

134
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.000
shared with us is, and even just the reflections on

135
00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.519
the impact of small business owners in your life. Like,

136
00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.319
I'm just so intrigued by that. So here's a question.

137
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:44.759
Why are you so passionate about helping product based businesses

138
00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.639
use their inventory to create more profit.

139
00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:48.839
Yeah.

140
00:07:48.920 --> 00:07:54.120
I think it's because I know that they can succeed,

141
00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:57.800
and I know what it feels like to feel hopeless.

142
00:07:58.519 --> 00:07:58.759
You know.

143
00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:02.959
So when before we lost everything, it, like I said,

144
00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.519
it looked amazing from the outside looking in, Like I

145
00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:07.240
was invited to the White House, I was on the

146
00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.319
Small Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce, like

147
00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.480
I was speaking doing all these things. Looked very successful.

148
00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.160
But I felt like a fraud because I knew how

149
00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.120
much dead I had. I felt so stuck. I really

150
00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:23.800
hated my brand at that point, and I felt like

151
00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:26.120
I couldn't get out. And I know that there are

152
00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:29.079
hundreds and thousands of entrepreneurs that that are listening today

153
00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.279
that feel that way. That people are like, oh, my goodness,

154
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:34.919
you are doing so great, look at your business, and

155
00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.240
they smile and nod, and then they think, but I'm not, like,

156
00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:41.039
and what are the missing pieces? And so I'm so

157
00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.600
passionate about this tooky because I know that if they

158
00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:48.000
just had those missing pieces in their puzzle, we could

159
00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.080
turn things around. And I've seen it and I've helped

160
00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:53.559
so many entrepreneurs do it, and so I just want

161
00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:56.519
to get that message out whenever. And however I can.

162
00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:59.960
Just as a follow up to that, when you lost everything,

163
00:09:00.279 --> 00:09:03.679
was it due to a mismanagement of inventory? It was

164
00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.519
partially at least partially due to that.

165
00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:08.720
Yeah. So what's interesting is, and I talk about this

166
00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:13.759
in my book Inventory Genius. I sold franchises to potential

167
00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:17.360
franchises who became my franchisees to grow because I was

168
00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.679
focused on top line revenue. But I wasn't focused on

169
00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.759
that profit like we talked about, and so the choices

170
00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:27.039
that I made in selling was based off of money

171
00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:31.799
coming in right more sales. And so when I sold

172
00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:34.919
franchises to franchises that were probably not the best fit,

173
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.840
and I didn't make the wisest choices That eventually came

174
00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:40.639
to bite me in the butt because now you have

175
00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:43.679
contracts with a lot of people who maybe you shouldn't

176
00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.559
have contracts with, right, So what happened in my business

177
00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:49.200
was there is a lot of fraud on the franchisees

178
00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:51.240
part things that went on that I didn't know about

179
00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:53.679
because I wasn't partner with the right people. But I

180
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:55.960
did that to make sales because I thought that was

181
00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:00.840
most Important's right. So, because I didn't understand what profit

182
00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:03.320
did and that that was most important, I was never

183
00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:08.000
focused on bottom line results, and that's directly tied to inventory.

184
00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.919
We were an inventory business, and so I just wanted

185
00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:12.960
to buy and sell lots of things instead of looking

186
00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:16.080
at Okay, maybe I don't sell three more franchises, maybe

187
00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:20.519
I work on building more margin, and my top line

188
00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:23.559
might not look as glamorous or exciting, But boil boy,

189
00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:25.399
does that bottom line look good? And then I can

190
00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.279
make wise choices because I'm not constantly chasing the dollar.

191
00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:29.240
Does that make sense?

192
00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:31.080
Absolutely? That's interesting.

193
00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:31.679
Yeah.

194
00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:35.360
And what's the number one thing you think inventory based

195
00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:38.759
businesses miss when it comes to scaling profitability?

196
00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:43.000
They do not focus on margin. They do not focus

197
00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.360
on margin. I was just listening to Mark Cuban actually

198
00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:47.279
talk yesterday. I was listening to a kind of a

199
00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:49.320
masterclass he did, and I just loved it because he

200
00:10:49.399 --> 00:10:51.360
kept bringing it back to the margin. And you know,

201
00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:54.840
we hear about margin and markup, which are not the

202
00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:57.799
same thing. By the way, you know, like, oh my goodness,

203
00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:00.399
I'm Mark. You know I'll ask a new perspective client,

204
00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.159
tell me about your margin. Oh well, I mark everything

205
00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.600
up three times. That is not your margin. That is

206
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.399
what you mark it up. But you have sales, you

207
00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:09.120
have discounts, you have waste, all of those things. So

208
00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:11.559
I would say the number one. They don't focus on

209
00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:13.759
the difference between what I sell it for and what

210
00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:17.240
I bought it for, including shipping and those other included costs.

211
00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:20.440
Here's what I have left. Let me give you an example.

212
00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:25.039
I just got an email from a banking company. They're

213
00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:26.399
offering me a capital loan.

214
00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:26.639
Right.

215
00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.879
I don't need this, but they offer money left and

216
00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:31.159
right right. So click on this button. You don't even

217
00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:32.960
have to really do anything. We'll just drop it in

218
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:35.799
your account. Here's the fee. We'll take it out of

219
00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.600
your top line. Revenue every single day till it's paid off.

220
00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:42.919
So someone that's in dire straits financially, this is great,

221
00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.159
I can finally make my payroll, I can find So

222
00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.679
they sign up for this loan, and then what it

223
00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:50.080
does is it takes money out of their top line

224
00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.200
right away. Let's say they have a forty percent margin,

225
00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.679
that's what they're running on, and now twenty percent of

226
00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:57.519
their top line revenue is going back to pay back

227
00:11:57.559 --> 00:12:00.840
this loan. Now you have twenty percent to to pay

228
00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:03.759
and fund all of your operating expense and service any

229
00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:07.360
other debt. You cannot get ahead doing that. And I

230
00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.720
think that's what inventory based businesses missed. The margin is

231
00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:12.720
your secret weapon. It is your key, but it will

232
00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:16.200
also destroy you if you are not watching it very closely.

233
00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:18.879
Yeah, you know, as a fallow up to that. I

234
00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:23.279
can't tell you how many people I've helped where they

235
00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:29.960
got involved in those specific loans. Those yes, horrific thirty

236
00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:33.799
percent interest loans they pay weekly. You know, they have

237
00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:39.360
to pay it back daily in daily and daily daily page. Yeah,

238
00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.360
oh my god. It is a killer. And you know

239
00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:45.320
what I've I've found out. I found out that the

240
00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:49.440
average number of times that a business owner has to

241
00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:55.000
go back into those loans is eight eight to sixteen times.

242
00:12:55.720 --> 00:12:58.320
So because they can't make it, guess what they have

243
00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.519
to borrow again, and guess what they go to the

244
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:01.279
same source.

245
00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:03.919
Yes, and it's deeper and deeper, and.

246
00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.320
It's deeper and deeper and deeper. Yeah, it is really

247
00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:13.519
unbelievable problem. One of the follow up is that that

248
00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:20.600
focus on margin. Yeah, and do you look at do

249
00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:25.200
you look at other benchmark when you when you're looking

250
00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:27.679
at a company, do you look at benchmarks and how

251
00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:31.320
they measure their gross profit measures up gross profit margin

252
00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:34.559
measures up to the benchmark or is it something you

253
00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:37.120
don't you don't look at because you try to strive

254
00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.240
for the highest ever anyway, Yeah.

255
00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:41.200
I mean we do a little benchmarking. I always say

256
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:43.919
here's here's a couple of benchmarks I give to a

257
00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.279
new client because we all want like give me, give

258
00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:48.480
me the steady ground, like just tell me where to go. Right,

259
00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:50.639
So I say, okay, we're going to focus on at

260
00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:53.679
least a sixty percent gross margin and at least a

261
00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:56.360
twenty percent net profit. Now most of the time we

262
00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.840
want more, right, but at least it gives in there

263
00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:00.840
never close to that when we say are working together.

264
00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:02.840
So that gives them something to push towards, because a

265
00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:04.480
lot of people like they'll come in with a brick

266
00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:06.960
and mortar store, Michael, and they'll be running on a

267
00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.600
forty percent gross margin. I'm like, oh my god, you can't.

268
00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:12.200
You cannot. You're going out of business every day. So

269
00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.399
those are kind of some benchmarks I give them. But

270
00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:17.240
then with my framework, what we really work on is

271
00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:20.919
what is your true cost of doing business? I remember

272
00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:23.600
the first time I had this light ball moment, and

273
00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:27.200
this was very far into you know, the retail so

274
00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:29.720
I was still running the franchise concept. I finally found

275
00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.639
someone that helped me understand the numbers after many years

276
00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:35.600
in business, and he said, Sierra, just because you buy

277
00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.440
something for five and sell it for ten, doesn't mean

278
00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:40.200
you have five dollars left. Like you have to pay

279
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.840
to turn the lights on, pay to open the door,

280
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.559
pay for insurs all these things. And so in my framework,

281
00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:46.679
I help clients look at like what is your true

282
00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.879
operating expense? Then we go up and say, okay, what's

283
00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:52.919
your sales goal? What's your running margin? Now? Then we

284
00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:54.759
scroll to the bottom. What does that leave you with

285
00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:57.879
can that service your debt? Yes or no? Then we

286
00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:00.120
go back to the door and we start to pull

287
00:15:00.159 --> 00:15:03.480
all these levers that help them understand where their margin

288
00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:04.679
actually has to be.

289
00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:08.799
Interesting. Yeah, okay, excellent, that's great.

290
00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:14.200
Yeah, really intriguing. It's fascinating some of what you're saying.

291
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:15.759
And by the way, ciers, you can tell we're taking

292
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:18.519
some notes here and a number of business owners I

293
00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.919
would imagine are really inspired by what you're saying, in

294
00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:26.960
fact motivated. But let's also be honest. There's some skeptics listening, yes,

295
00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:29.039
and there's some folks where they'll say, look, I mean

296
00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.039
this doesn't really apply to my business. So here's a

297
00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:34.000
question for you. Tell us what you think about the

298
00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:37.799
profit first mindset and if you think it's a good

299
00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.240
fit for inventory based businesses and why.

300
00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.840
Yeah, I love this question because we all love to

301
00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.240
latch onto something new and exciting, a quick fix.

302
00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:47.519
Right.

303
00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:50.919
So profit versus a cash management system, like, that's what

304
00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:53.080
all it is. It's just telling your cash where to go.

305
00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.840
It's basically an envelope system. So we think Dave Ramsey,

306
00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:59.399
what he did for people, profit verus does for businesses, right,

307
00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.080
the missing link? And I was profit First certified. I'm

308
00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:06.039
no longer in the running certification because it's like an

309
00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:09.440
ongoing license. I don't have my license anymore, but I

310
00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:11.320
was certified, so I know the back end of it.

311
00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:15.519
What was missing was anything related to inventory. So when

312
00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.399
I would when I read the book, I'm like, this

313
00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:19.639
is great, but we're talking about mats and subs, and

314
00:16:19.679 --> 00:16:22.720
I'm sorry. Inventory based businesses don't have mats and subs

315
00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.320
like a service based business. So what happens with the inventory?

316
00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:29.320
This is our lifeblood. So when I worked with clients

317
00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.399
on profit First, I always had them start by creating

318
00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:36.080
an inventory account and they literally would take their cost

319
00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:38.799
of goods for I always have them do weekly because

320
00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:42.320
baby steps, super simple, small amounts, Right, So look at

321
00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.480
your previous week's cost of goods, move the literal cost

322
00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:47.960
of goods over to your inventory account, and we start

323
00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.399
to build an inventory account. So you're self financing your inventory.

324
00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.080
You're essentially creating your own line of credit. And this

325
00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:56.440
is going to take a while for them to catch up, right,

326
00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:58.200
because we have a lot of things that we're fixing.

327
00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:01.879
I love profit first in that it helps people focus

328
00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.519
on number one. If you're in business, pay yourself, because

329
00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.759
why work for free. I love that. I love that

330
00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:10.880
it helps them focus on numbers, like stop putting your

331
00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.519
head in the sand and pretending it doesn't matter. It

332
00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.440
truly does. But I think, like with any system, you

333
00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:18.599
have to make it work for you, and you can't

334
00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:23.880
get so so gung ho about following the letter of

335
00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.480
the law that you don't make things practical. So with

336
00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:28.920
my clients, I always said, let's make it practical, Like,

337
00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:32.519
let's be smart, what's most important, Let's save for a

338
00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:34.640
rainy day, Let's make sure you pay your taxes, and

339
00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.039
let's make sure you have money for inventory, and then

340
00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:39.319
sure we can open up twenty five other accounts if

341
00:17:39.359 --> 00:17:41.279
you feel like it. But right now you're not doing

342
00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:43.599
any of that. So let's let's start small and let's

343
00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:44.400
be smart about it.

344
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.440
You know, as a follow up to that, when you

345
00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:52.839
get a new client, Sierra, do you then not on

346
00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:55.799
profit first? Do you put them on profit first to

347
00:17:56.440 --> 00:18:00.119
start off with and then follow follow that program?

348
00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:02.880
Yeah, so we kind of do a hybrid of that.

349
00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:04.920
Like the first thing we always do is work on

350
00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.400
their budget. You know, I don't know about you, but

351
00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:09.000
I'm guessing a lot of your clients come to you,

352
00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:11.240
they're like, I've never done a budget. Budgets are scary.

353
00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:13.160
Don't tell me what to do with my money, you know.

354
00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.079
So we start with the budget because a budget just

355
00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:18.920
tells you, like what you can afford, and it shows

356
00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.160
you where the leaking is happening. So we just start

357
00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:23.880
with a budget. And then we'll typically start with an

358
00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:27.400
inventory account, so we start to save, you know, money,

359
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:29.839
so they have money for inventory. And then I love

360
00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:31.720
to have them set up that sales tech account. So

361
00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:34.359
using some of those profit first methods and setting up

362
00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.400
some of those Sometimes people come to me and they say,

363
00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:38.119
I love profit first, I've read it, I want to

364
00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:40.119
start with it right away. Great, let's set up the accounts.

365
00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:42.359
Let's do it. Sometimes the other week I did a

366
00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.319
consul and I asked her do you know anything She's like,

367
00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:45.599
I've never heard of that. What is that?

368
00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:45.920
You know?

369
00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:48.319
And it's just a savings It's a way to save

370
00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:50.200
and to focus on the right thing. So it really

371
00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:54.839
depends on the client. I think with anything you can't

372
00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:58.119
go it's like it's like training or wanting to lose weight, right,

373
00:18:58.200 --> 00:19:01.519
you can't go from I never eat out all the time,

374
00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:02.759
to like, I'm never going to eat out and I'm

375
00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.680
only going to buy organic fruits and vegetables, Like you

376
00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.680
won't stick with it. So the same thing with our money, Like,

377
00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:09.880
what's one thing we can do today that you feel

378
00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:12.160
like is manageable and that you can keep doing week

379
00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:15.480
after week, and then let's layer in something else. Let's

380
00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:17.559
layer in something else until a year from now you're like,

381
00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:20.680
whoa look at me. I am disciplined with my money.

382
00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:26.559
Yes, you are right, Yeah, excellent, excellent, And I also, CIERR,

383
00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:28.920
could you share a success story of one of your

384
00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.960
clients and tell us why that happened, why that success happened.

385
00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:35.160
Yeah, So I had a client, love this story. She

386
00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:39.079
came to me, had a thriving business to proof a concept.

387
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.880
She had the sales completely overwhelmed with what she thought

388
00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:45.839
was an inventory issue. This is always interesting too, what

389
00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:47.839
people think their problem is. So she said, you're an

390
00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:49.880
imagery Jesus. I read your book. I need you to

391
00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:52.039
help me with my inventory. Okay, sounds great, So let's

392
00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:54.559
take a look. So we dig into financials. I said, actually,

393
00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.680
what you have is a spending problem, Like you have margin,

394
00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:01.000
you have sales. We're just spending all that money like crazy.

395
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.359
So we worked on just slowing everything down. We built

396
00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:07.599
a budget and we lived the budget. I said, you

397
00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.559
may not spend money unless you tell me first, right,

398
00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:13.480
And so it's almost like asking permission because when you

399
00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.160
say it out loud, well, do I really want to

400
00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:17.039
tell Cyr I want to sign up for another X

401
00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.119
Y Z? Probably not, so I just won't do it right.

402
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:23.319
So we slowed everything down like she was given out bonuses,

403
00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:25.680
she was given out all this you know, money left

404
00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.839
and right. Slowed it down. Then we went back and

405
00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.599
we said, okay, and now let's look at margin because

406
00:20:30.599 --> 00:20:33.799
we can always improve. So we got smarter with her inventory,

407
00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:36.559
tighter with her inventory. We worked together. She had a

408
00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:39.720
lot of debt, so let's figure out how to smartly

409
00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:42.480
and wisely pay that off, because you also want to

410
00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.240
make sure you're keeping cash, like you don't want to

411
00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.920
go so aggressive with debt that you completely wreck your

412
00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:51.720
cash flow either. In under a year, we paid off

413
00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:54.480
over a half a million dollars in debt. We brought

414
00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:58.079
her to a profitable place, and she's like moving and grooving,

415
00:20:58.440 --> 00:21:01.880
So to me, that is like wildly successful, right, Like

416
00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.039
she knows how to create a budget. She knows how

417
00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:06.039
to stick to it. She knows how to say no

418
00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:09.279
because a lot of times, like for me and my business,

419
00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:12.839
I was making a lot of money. And I give

420
00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.440
the illustration in my book if you give a mouse

421
00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:17.119
a cookie, you know, you give him mouse a cookie,

422
00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:18.640
then he needs milk. If you give him milk, then

423
00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:19.079
he needs this.

424
00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:19.400
You know.

425
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.319
That was me like, well, now I have this, so

426
00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:23.559
I need a forkliff. Well, if I have a forklift,

427
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.279
I need a driver. If I need to have a driver,

428
00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.160
I need someone to manage the driver. And before you

429
00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:29.240
know what, you're spending so much because and you're making

430
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:31.680
it so it hides a lot of mistakes. So just

431
00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:35.000
teaching people how to read what their dollars and cents

432
00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:39.039
are doing has helped my clients tremendously excellent.

433
00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:45.160
When so back to profit first for a second. Yeah,

434
00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:47.920
so you actually set up a bank account that's just

435
00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:51.359
set for inventory. Is that Am I hearing that correctly? Okay?

436
00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.000
And then you'll take the percentage of inventory to sales

437
00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:58.480
and fund that account accordingly when dollars come in. Yeah,

438
00:21:58.559 --> 00:21:59.720
that how it works.

439
00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:03.200
Yeah, yeah, and it really shows them what they So

440
00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:05.359
we couple that with teaching them how to run and

441
00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:07.640
open to buy, so a buying budget, because if you

442
00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:10.759
use those two tools, it's like bumpers on the bowling alley,

443
00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.720
you know. So now the ball can't go too far

444
00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:14.680
that you can't overspend because I don't have any money

445
00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:16.720
in my account, so I can't spend it right and

446
00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.319
I'm not going to go too far the other direction,

447
00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.039
because an open to buy is going to show them

448
00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.400
here's what I have on hand. This is so funny.

449
00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:24.720
So I'll have clients say, okay, in my open to buy,

450
00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:26.079
I always have you have to put in what you're

451
00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:29.359
starting with today? Well, do I need to include the

452
00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:31.640
stuff in the back room that I'm going to be

453
00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:34.000
bringing out again? And I'm going to be of course

454
00:22:34.039 --> 00:22:36.640
you do. It's inventory you own. And if you don't

455
00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:38.359
want to include that in the number that you own,

456
00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:41.200
because when you include that it limits what you can buy,

457
00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:44.400
then you need to sell it so you don't get

458
00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.240
to just not include it and buy more stuff. So

459
00:22:47.480 --> 00:22:51.160
setting up that profit first, like inventory account, gives them,

460
00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:53.720
you know, and it also gives people permission because we

461
00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:57.240
do have clients sometimes that are caught too cautious about

462
00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.839
spending money too. That's that's not as you as often, right,

463
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.079
But like, hey, you've got five grand in your inventory account,

464
00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:07.519
it's okay to make that purchase, Like it's okay to

465
00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:10.599
spend that money. So it helps on both sides of things.

466
00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:15.000
And Sierah, what happens when one of your clients buys

467
00:23:15.559 --> 00:23:18.039
buys a dog, buys some dogs? You know it's a

468
00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:22.880
bad inventory that doesn't turn. How do you make suggestions

469
00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:24.960
to that particular scenario.

470
00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:28.079
Yeah, so I am very much of the school turn

471
00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:31.799
and burn, turn and burn that inventory, like it doesn't age. Well,

472
00:23:32.119 --> 00:23:33.920
the more you touch it, the more it costs. People

473
00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:36.119
don't think about that. Every time you move it from

474
00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:38.079
this rack to this rack, this shelf to the shelf,

475
00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.200
pack and unpack, it costing you money. And that cost

476
00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.079
of goods is adding up. I do not like, you know,

477
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:47.359
ten percent off and then twenty like this is like

478
00:23:47.440 --> 00:23:50.400
fifty percent off, seventy five percent off. Yeah, get the

479
00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:52.960
cash whatever that is out of it and turn it

480
00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:55.720
into money again. So as long as the cash is

481
00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:58.400
hanging on a hangar, in a shirt, or it's sitting

482
00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:01.039
in a box, it's not doing anything for you. So

483
00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:03.319
whatever we can get out of it. We turn it

484
00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:06.279
and burn it. Now. People get very nervous, right, They're

485
00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.480
emotionally attached to their inventory. It's like, oh my goodness,

486
00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:12.519
I spice right, you know, but I h yeah, but

487
00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:15.480
that was. It's neither here nor there. It's not doing

488
00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:17.759
you any good. So let's get rid of it. Let's

489
00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:20.319
move on, and let's be smarter and whyser the next

490
00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:21.599
time we invest that dollar.

491
00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:25.680
Right, I am in your camp on that, absolutely in

492
00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:30.160
your camp. I've seen too many times where inventory turns

493
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:35.920
into relics and antiques and all that, and of course

494
00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:39.200
the value is diminishing by the minute it is versus

495
00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:43.640
what they think potentially appreciating. Or if I can only

496
00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:45.880
sell it for ten percent off, I'll get my money

497
00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:49.759
back and you know fifteen you know, Oh it's just terrible.

498
00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:54.359
But anyway, that's really terrific. So see, how do people

499
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.720
get a hold of you and learn more about you?

500
00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:01.480
Learn more about your your company? Yeah, I think the podcast.

501
00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:03.920
Yeah, the best place to go would be just my website,

502
00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:06.839
Sierra Stockland dot com. There's a quiz there that they

503
00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:10.559
can take. So we just asked some questions about their inventory,

504
00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.160
their numbers, what's really keeping them up at night, and

505
00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.559
that'll help direct them to really good resources that they

506
00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:18.079
can use based on their business.

507
00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:20.759
Fantastic. Well Sierrah. I want to thank you, Choke. If

508
00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:22.720
you have any more questions face here, I should have asked.

509
00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.680
I don't know that this is really hold on. Yeah,

510
00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:26.920
thanks Sierrah, thank you.

511
00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:30.119
I just want to thank you. It's been terrific your

512
00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:33.319
wealth of knowledge. Thank you so much for coming.

513
00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:36.240
Yeah, thanks for having me on and to everyone listening,

514
00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.480
I just want to encourage you to focus on what matters,

515
00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.480
and I believe every mess can be fixed and every

516
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:45.559
problem can be solved.

517
00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:52.720
Excellent, Thank you so much. That's wonderful. Thanks Sarah, so chicky.

518
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:56.079
You know, one of the things I'm finding with clients

519
00:25:56.279 --> 00:25:59.279
is that in general, and this has happened in the

520
00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:02.599
last I want to say, I don't know thirty days

521
00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:06.759
or so, that demand is slowing. I am getting more

522
00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:14.160
and more calls with all of a sudden business is slowing.

523
00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:20.000
Demand is slowing people on spending at the same enthusiastic

524
00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:24.359
clip that they were spending at the dollars. The sales

525
00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:31.000
per the average sales per transaction is down, and like

526
00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:33.880
I said, more and more calls of new clients as

527
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:40.559
well as existing clients and so and as a result,

528
00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:43.839
you know, we business owners are truly in uncertain times.

529
00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:49.559
So what I'd like to do today is take a

530
00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:53.119
few minutes and talk about how we business owners can

531
00:26:53.200 --> 00:26:59.400
prepare for uncertain times. So, so, how do we business

532
00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:03.960
owners prepare for uncertain times? You know, business, it's actually terrifying.

533
00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:08.319
It's terrifying because we're responsible for so many other people's lives.

534
00:27:08.440 --> 00:27:12.480
And the scariest thing about business is that when we

535
00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:15.160
wake up in the morning, we really never know what

536
00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:20.319
to expect. Me too, I'm the same way. But today

537
00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:24.559
our objective is to give you some ideas for discussion.

538
00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.839
We want to present financial and business strategies that your

539
00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:32.519
competition isn't doing and by virtue of that will help

540
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:36.440
you thrive in uncertain times, reducing the terror and uncertainty

541
00:27:36.440 --> 00:27:40.680
of business. But know this, you know you can never

542
00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:46.079
really be ready for uncertain times, but you can be prepared.

543
00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:49.920
And our job as business owners is to be prepared

544
00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:53.720
to adapt. This means to be flexible to change, and

545
00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:57.480
many are resistant to change and therefore don't adapt, and

546
00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:03.519
that's why so few thrive and uncertain times, yes, and chooky.

547
00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.200
Business is always changing and this is true now more

548
00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:08.720
than ever, and that's why you and I will keep

549
00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:13.200
writing additional additions to our book and get feedback. And

550
00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:15.960
just a short time ago, when twenty twenty two, interest

551
00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:19.599
rates were low and many industries were having record years,

552
00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:22.799
twenty twenty three was tougher, but you know, it was

553
00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:27.519
still pretty decent. But in twenty four, with interest rates

554
00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:32.960
staying high, credit card delinquencies rising, personal savings and decline

555
00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:36.519
for many, this year has been very uncertain and it's

556
00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:41.759
been really for a lot of small business owners, has

557
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:47.920
been off. And as a fractional CFO and profit growth strategist,

558
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:53.400
I see this uncertainty every single day. So I get asked,

559
00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:56.880
why are some companies winning while others are struggling? What

560
00:28:56.920 --> 00:29:00.079
are the winning companies doing differently? And how can I

561
00:29:00.119 --> 00:29:03.880
win in these uncertain times? Because no matter how bad

562
00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:09.119
the times are, there's always companies that are thriving and winning.

563
00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:13.240
So let me answer those questions. You know, the first

564
00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:17.759
thing winning business owners do is they have a laser

565
00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:21.400
focus on their number one goal, not their number one

566
00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:24.880
business goal until later on, but the number one goal

567
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.519
for themselves and their families. And this is not only

568
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:31.720
their why, but this is their motivation to adapt and

569
00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:36.599
to be flexible to change. Great CEOs always start by

570
00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:41.559
understanding their personal goals and motivations. What's really important to

571
00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:45.039
you and your family. You know, I don't know about you,

572
00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:47.359
but it's important to me that my business serves me,

573
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.200
not the other way around. I don't want to feel

574
00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.599
like a slave to my business. And we must start

575
00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:56.799
by setting our personal goals first and then moving to

576
00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:00.880
our business goals. Now, with respect to our business goals,

577
00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:06.160
net profit goals first, then revenue goals. You know, revenue

578
00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:10.079
goals without net profit goals are useless. And that's what

579
00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:14.519
Sierra was talking about, right, focus on the profit. You

580
00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:17.519
want more take home pay, you need more profit. Pay

581
00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.920
down debt. You need more profit. You need to hire

582
00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:22.519
a manager, you need more profit. This is exactly what

583
00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:23.720
Sierra was talking about.

584
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:26.279
Absolutely. In fact, Michael, we'll get in a stream of

585
00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:28.680
comments and questions, so let's maybe take a minute or

586
00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:33.079
two to just address those so specific to personal goals, like,

587
00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:36.359
what are some examples through the decades you know you

588
00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:39.240
work with business owners, what are some examples of good

589
00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:40.640
personal goal statements?

590
00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:45.759
Yeah, I think a lot of business owners want more

591
00:30:45.880 --> 00:30:52.440
time freedom and consistent profit and consistent profits when they're

592
00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:56.799
not there. So more time freedom, okay, because they want

593
00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:00.000
the time freedom to spend more time with their families. Correct,

594
00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:03.200
spend more time with their children, go to their children's

595
00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:09.880
soccer games, based basketball games, baseball games. So time freedom

596
00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:14.759
comes up a lot, but also consistent profits when they're

597
00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:18.720
not there. You know, they want to break away from

598
00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:20.960
their business. They want their business to work for them

599
00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:26.359
instead of them working for their business. And there's several

600
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:31.359
ways to do this, several all take discipline, all take commitment,

601
00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:34.680
but very very doable.

602
00:31:35.039 --> 00:31:39.640
Yeah, very helpful perspective. Yeah, thanks Michael, and that no problem.

603
00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:42.599
So with respect to our business goals, which is the

604
00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:45.920
second thing, it's as I mentioned, net profit goals first,

605
00:31:47.079 --> 00:31:49.839
and this was exactly what Sierra was talking about just

606
00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:54.960
you know, just five minutes ago, so it fits very well. Next,

607
00:31:55.319 --> 00:32:00.000
winning business owners at uncertain times have a visionary mindset.

608
00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:03.359
It's easy, so easy to get sucked into the doom

609
00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:06.079
and gloom of uncertain times. You know, when I was

610
00:32:06.119 --> 00:32:10.519
getting those phone calls from those from the new clients

611
00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.839
and from the existing clients, they're all sucked into the

612
00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:17.839
doom and gloom. It's easy to go into negativity and

613
00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:22.359
scarcity mode. Don't do that. I mean, the world is changing,

614
00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:26.519
but the world isn't ending. We need to adapt, not

615
00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:31.920
shut down. And so I ask everybody to avoid scarcity

616
00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:36.039
based decisions and make visionary decisions. Think about the impact

617
00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:40.640
of the decisions next quarter, next year, five years from now.

618
00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:45.319
Make decisions that will serve you well in the long run.

619
00:32:46.200 --> 00:32:50.359
And you know what's fascinating is that when we think

620
00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:53.759
about the vision of our companies and we make decisions

621
00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:59.920
based on the long term, it's amazing how it inspired

622
00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:03.680
us because what it does is it allows us to

623
00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:06.200
think back to the reason why we started our business

624
00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:09.440
in the first place. You know, what our vision was then,

625
00:33:09.599 --> 00:33:13.559
what our mission was then, and when we make decisions

626
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:17.759
based on that, it really it makes us feel a

627
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.200
whole lot better and inspires us. Now, the next part,

628
00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:25.599
I'm going to come into the numbers now, so I

629
00:33:25.640 --> 00:33:27.720
wanted to. I want to prepare everyone.

630
00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:31.799
Absolutely, and all folks get prepared to digest the numbers

631
00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:36.079
that Michael's getting ready to us. And you know, Michael's

632
00:33:36.079 --> 00:33:40.720
gonna take us to a strategic CFO level, right, Michael,

633
00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:44.279
so's right. A couple of questions and let's get to

634
00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.240
the heart of this, right, I think some folks would

635
00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:52.519
benefit from your perspectives here. So having and adopting a

636
00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:57.640
visionary mindset when you're dealing with the pressures of employees

637
00:33:57.680 --> 00:34:02.440
have to get paid, vendors have to get paid, things

638
00:34:02.519 --> 00:34:07.680
are really really stressful. How how does a business owner

639
00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.199
keep that longer term visionary mindset when they've got a

640
00:34:12.360 --> 00:34:15.119
lot of short term heartache and headache.

641
00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:19.480
Chookey, It's not easy, but it takes a certain mental

642
00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:23.320
toughness to be able to get through those difficult times

643
00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:28.440
and to understand. You know, in accounting, there's a concept

644
00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:34.000
called going concern, okay, and a business is always to

645
00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:38.719
be assumed to be a going concern. No matter how

646
00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:45.119
difficult things are. Your business is a going concern. And

647
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:49.920
so you know, you need to focus certainly on you've

648
00:34:49.920 --> 00:34:52.639
got fires. I get that, you've gotta you're gotta handle

649
00:34:52.679 --> 00:34:56.159
those You're gonna put those fires out. And some of

650
00:34:56.199 --> 00:35:00.639
the concepts that we've been talking about in previous oh

651
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:04.599
where you can see listen to the previous shows at

652
00:35:04.639 --> 00:35:10.960
Powerful Business Strategies dot Com. Actually address how to deal

653
00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:16.000
with those difficult situations and how to prevent them. So

654
00:35:16.280 --> 00:35:18.920
when we talked about it, and we we dedicate an

655
00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:22.519
entire we dedicated an entire show to solving cash flow problems,

656
00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:27.440
which is what you just described. And so there are

657
00:35:27.480 --> 00:35:32.480
strategies that you can do and once once you start

658
00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:35.719
to work through that a little bit, you'll gain a

659
00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:39.519
lot more confidence and the vision will come back. That

660
00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:44.079
vision will come back. So what I what I'd like

661
00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:46.880
to stress is that you go back and listen to

662
00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:53.239
the cash Flow Problem podcast and and that will help

663
00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:56.960
tremendously to deal with all those cash flow issues, no

664
00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:58.800
matter no matter how bad they are.

665
00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:00.840
I mean, Michael, just based on some of the comments

666
00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:03.679
that are streaming in, folks are really resonating with that,

667
00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:07.920
particularly your ability to link the confidence with the vision.

668
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:14.159
That's quite inspirational, right, So as the confidence grows, the

669
00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:16.960
vision becomes a little bit more solidified. So yeah, Michael

670
00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:18.559
got really good stuff. So look, I think folks are

671
00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:22.719
ready to take on some of these Okay, excruciating numbers, Michael,

672
00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:23.719
let's talk about.

673
00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:27.360
But by the way, I am very sympathetic to people

674
00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.440
in those situations, and you know that's why we're here though,

675
00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:34.360
we you know, we help people in those situations absolutely. So,

676
00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:40.159
as I mentioned this next part, it's a little numerical,

677
00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:42.639
and it might freak out some people. And one of

678
00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:45.280
the reasons why it might freak out people is because

679
00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:47.840
a lot of people aren't doing it. You know, we've

680
00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:52.119
taken over one hundred and fifty business owners to an

681
00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:55.320
individual business assessment, and in that assessment, we have three

682
00:36:55.599 --> 00:37:00.119
basic financial questions, and eighty percent of these business owners

683
00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:07.360
did not know the answers. See, winning business owners make

684
00:37:07.400 --> 00:37:11.599
the right decisions and uncertain times because they make decisions

685
00:37:11.880 --> 00:37:15.960
based on the numbers. Now, if you really listen to

686
00:37:16.039 --> 00:37:20.559
Sierra earlier, she was talking about that exact same thing.

687
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:24.360
She gets people more equated with the numbers. She lets

688
00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:31.280
the numbers and the data drive decisions, not emotion. And

689
00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:36.880
so that is really critical because when times are good,

690
00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:39.800
you'll get by, Oh god, everybody got by in twenty

691
00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:44.119
twenty two not looking at the numbers. It's not effective,

692
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:46.760
but you'll get by like you did in twenty twenty two.

693
00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:50.880
But to win at uncertain times, you must make decisions

694
00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:56.519
based on the numbers. Now, you might ask what numbers, Well,

695
00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:03.079
I've been able to now, not completely, but I've been

696
00:38:03.159 --> 00:38:08.400
able to nail down eighty percent of your decisions that

697
00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:12.719
you make in your business can be narrowed down to

698
00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:16.400
just five numbers to look at. If you know these

699
00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:21.039
five numbers, you can eighty You can make eighty percent

700
00:38:21.119 --> 00:38:24.320
of your decisions. You can make those good, good decisions

701
00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:28.239
based on the numbers and the data and those five areas.

702
00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.119
Those five numbers that you have to know what your

703
00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:32.960
sales are. You have to know what your gross profit is.

704
00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:35.840
You have to know what your gross profit percent is.

705
00:38:36.840 --> 00:38:39.360
This is what Sierra was talking about when she was

706
00:38:39.400 --> 00:38:43.880
talking about gross margin, net profit. You have to know

707
00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:50.280
that and your current cash balance. So it's once again

708
00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:56.000
the vital five, these vital five numbers. You must know stales,

709
00:38:56.800 --> 00:39:00.960
gross profit, gross profit percent, net profit, and your current

710
00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:10.119
cash balance. This will drive winning decisions. Next, winning business

711
00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:14.960
owners understand what their financial statements are telling them. The

712
00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:18.760
three key financial statements are the P and L, balance

713
00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:22.320
sheet and cash flow statement. You know, when I'm in

714
00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:25.679
a room of small business owners and I ask how

715
00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:28.320
many people look at their P and L at least

716
00:39:28.360 --> 00:39:32.000
once a month, less than half the room raises their hand.

717
00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:34.599
When I ask how many people look at their balance

718
00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:37.360
sheet once a month, less than ten percent raise their hand.

719
00:39:37.960 --> 00:39:40.360
And when I ask how many people look at their

720
00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:43.679
cash flow statement once a month, I might get one

721
00:39:43.719 --> 00:39:49.440
person to raise their hand. Imagine cash flow the lifeblood

722
00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:53.119
of a business, stuff that Sierra was talking about also

723
00:39:53.639 --> 00:39:58.119
being totally neglected. Well, the good news is you don't

724
00:39:58.119 --> 00:40:00.280
have to know how to read financial statements, but you

725
00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:03.599
do need to understand the story behind them and how

726
00:40:03.639 --> 00:40:07.360
those financials will guide you to the best decisions. And

727
00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:11.440
if you need help understanding your financial statements, go get that.

728
00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:16.960
The next thing winning business owners have it at certain

729
00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:19.480
times is a business and cash flow forecast, and we

730
00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:22.559
dedicated a whole show to this. And why is that

731
00:40:22.639 --> 00:40:26.440
because the business in cash flow forecast helps you understand

732
00:40:26.519 --> 00:40:31.400
the outcome and ramifications of your decisions before you make them.

733
00:40:32.920 --> 00:40:34.639
I mean, for example, how many how many of you

734
00:40:34.679 --> 00:40:37.679
of them have been surprised by income taxes? Well, if

735
00:40:37.679 --> 00:40:40.000
you had a business in cash flow forecast, you'll never

736
00:40:40.039 --> 00:40:43.840
be surprised by tax liabilities again, because you'll always know

737
00:40:43.880 --> 00:40:48.920
what your projected net profit looks like. And CEOs of

738
00:40:49.000 --> 00:40:53.400
the best companies are never surprised by taxes or anything

739
00:40:53.400 --> 00:40:56.400
else for that matter, because they have a business and

740
00:40:56.480 --> 00:41:00.840
cash flow forecast. Bottom line is this, if you want

741
00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:04.079
to thrive at uncertain times, the number one tool of

742
00:41:04.199 --> 00:41:10.840
winning business owners is the business and cash flow forecast. Next.

743
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:15.599
Winning business owners at uncertain times need the right business strategies.

744
00:41:15.639 --> 00:41:18.639
Did you know that ninety five percent of business strategies

745
00:41:18.719 --> 00:41:21.920
used today are identical to competitors and they don't work.

746
00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:26.000
And that's why we say everything you've ever known or

747
00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:30.440
learned about business is wrong. Your strategic plan to be

748
00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:34.599
made up of strategies that your competition isn't doing. Every

749
00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:38.079
business should have a position of market dominance, which is

750
00:41:38.119 --> 00:41:41.440
what we discussed in a previous show, Our compelling offer,

751
00:41:41.559 --> 00:41:44.480
what we discussed in a previous show, and joint venture

752
00:41:44.559 --> 00:41:48.280
partnerships that are working, just to name three of several

753
00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:51.880
strategies available to you, and Chuky will go into more

754
00:41:52.039 --> 00:41:54.719
detail or we will Chokey. We will go into more

755
00:41:54.760 --> 00:41:59.960
detail on these as Our show continues on every Monday

756
00:42:00.119 --> 00:42:04.320
at noon Eastern time. Absolutely, and just so you know,

757
00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:08.880
the position of market dominance and compelling Offer are previous

758
00:42:08.880 --> 00:42:13.119
shows that you could listen to and they're very, very

759
00:42:13.119 --> 00:42:16.800
insightful and you can find them at Powerful Business Strategies

760
00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:20.719
dot com. And the general mindset of business owners at

761
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:24.000
uncertain times is doc cot everything. It just can't cut

762
00:42:24.039 --> 00:42:27.880
your way to success. We have a formula for cutting expenses.

763
00:42:28.679 --> 00:42:31.480
You cut the expense if the expense doesn't help you

764
00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:34.960
acquire a customer, if the expense doesn't help you retain

765
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:38.239
a customer, if the expense doesn't increase the long term

766
00:42:38.320 --> 00:42:40.960
value of a customer, and if the expense doesn't help

767
00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:45.400
deliver your product or service to a customer. And after

768
00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:48.559
you apply those rules to expenses, look for investments in

769
00:42:48.599 --> 00:42:52.039
the three a's assets that produce revenue, amazing people to

770
00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:57.519
help you scale, and automation to leverage time. You know,

771
00:42:58.119 --> 00:43:02.000
success at uncertain times is not defined by those who

772
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:07.880
spend less. It's defined by those who spend smarter. And

773
00:43:07.960 --> 00:43:12.000
Sierra was talking about that as well earlier. Today. Today,

774
00:43:12.039 --> 00:43:14.760
we're all facing the call to adapt and to make

775
00:43:14.840 --> 00:43:18.880
decisions based on the numbers. Those who do will make

776
00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:23.320
business a lot less terrifying. Those who do will achieve

777
00:43:23.559 --> 00:43:27.880
their number one personal goal. Those who do will thrive

778
00:43:27.960 --> 00:43:31.280
at uncertain times. Did you know that there are more

779
00:43:31.360 --> 00:43:37.000
millionaires and billionaires minted in uncertain times than any other

780
00:43:37.079 --> 00:43:40.920
time period in history. The only question is are you

781
00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:47.840
prepare to be the next one? Chooky? I think we

782
00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:49.599
have time for compliments.

783
00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:54.760
Yes we do, Yes we do. And Michael, by the way,

784
00:43:54.800 --> 00:43:59.000
before we jump into compliments, I took some notes on

785
00:43:59.039 --> 00:44:03.199
this preparation for in certain times, and I think the

786
00:44:03.239 --> 00:44:06.559
insights that you shared are so powerful. Give us a

787
00:44:06.599 --> 00:44:10.159
sense if there was a headline that a business owner

788
00:44:10.199 --> 00:44:12.960
could walk away with just one headline as it relates

789
00:44:13.039 --> 00:44:17.000
to dealing with and managing through uncertain times, what would

790
00:44:17.039 --> 00:44:18.760
be that one takeaway or one headline?

791
00:44:18.760 --> 00:44:23.800
Michael, We need to adapt and to be flexible to change.

792
00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:28.039
I love that adapt and be flexible to change. And

793
00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:30.760
as Michael and I always save their questions that come up,

794
00:44:30.800 --> 00:44:32.840
if you need help, go get that help. So look

795
00:44:33.320 --> 00:44:37.320
very excited about our business complements segments. So we have

796
00:44:38.000 --> 00:44:43.639
five business owners that we want to spotlight and compliment

797
00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:49.320
in today's show. And as always, these business owners represent

798
00:44:49.400 --> 00:44:53.199
businesses coast to coast, so there's true national representation here

799
00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:56.719
West coast, East coast, Midwest and beyond. So the first

800
00:44:56.760 --> 00:45:03.440
business owners, Jennifer McKenzie with Organzed Synergy do incredible work.

801
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:07.239
I mean, they've got this mission to empower and equip

802
00:45:07.400 --> 00:45:13.039
nonprofit leaders with the tools and the support and the

803
00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:18.480
resources to optimize their operations and really fulfill their potential.

804
00:45:18.639 --> 00:45:21.119
As we know, there are a number of nonprofits that

805
00:45:21.119 --> 00:45:23.559
are doing just incredible work and Jennifer and her team

806
00:45:24.039 --> 00:45:27.400
through Organize Synergy, really helped to drive that. The second

807
00:45:27.480 --> 00:45:33.400
business owner is Alisha Krinn and she and the team

808
00:45:33.519 --> 00:45:35.880
are with I love the name of his business. By

809
00:45:35.880 --> 00:45:42.199
the way, Michael inbound Gold usaically. I mean, you know,

810
00:45:42.320 --> 00:45:45.280
coming off the Olympics, right and we recollected as a

811
00:45:45.320 --> 00:45:49.119
country a lot of gold medals and Alicia and her

812
00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:51.960
team do a really good work. App part of their

813
00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:54.920
mission statement is to help you, as a small business

814
00:45:54.920 --> 00:45:58.519
owner and your team make your CRM so effectively the

815
00:45:58.519 --> 00:46:01.639
way that you manage contacts and data to make it

816
00:46:01.760 --> 00:46:05.119
much more efficient with the use of AI. So kudos

817
00:46:05.159 --> 00:46:08.079
to Alicia and the team there. The third business owner

818
00:46:08.119 --> 00:46:13.199
is David Kirsten with Wide Angle Media. The team there

819
00:46:13.360 --> 00:46:17.039
they are video marketing strategists and a lot of what

820
00:46:17.079 --> 00:46:19.119
Michael and I talk about is just how to take

821
00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:24.320
your message and drive your message to your target audience.

822
00:46:24.599 --> 00:46:29.320
We've done this in past shows, for example through the

823
00:46:29.360 --> 00:46:34.079
conversion formula that we've discussed, so David and team helped

824
00:46:34.119 --> 00:46:41.480
to really drive video based video marketing messages. The fourth

825
00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:50.559
business owner is Tybooberry and they are a really intriguing business.

826
00:46:50.880 --> 00:46:55.840
The business is called My Little Beehive LLC. And suffice

827
00:46:55.880 --> 00:46:58.159
it to say, I think if anyone has just a

828
00:46:58.199 --> 00:47:02.599
minute or two check out My Little Beehive dot com.

829
00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:04.880
I think you might be pleasantly surprised at some of

830
00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:07.760
the work that they do there. And then the last

831
00:47:07.800 --> 00:47:11.360
business owners that will highlight today as Whitney O'Brien with

832
00:47:11.400 --> 00:47:14.800
Whitney O'Brien photography. Part of why we wanted to really

833
00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:19.079
spotlight Whitney and team, it's just the surgical and strategic

834
00:47:19.119 --> 00:47:22.079
approach that they take to helping you tell your story

835
00:47:22.119 --> 00:47:26.320
through photography, your value story through photography. Michael, these are

836
00:47:26.679 --> 00:47:30.199
the business owners that we wanted to spotlight. We have

837
00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:33.639
a series of other business owners that will spotlight next episode,

838
00:47:33.920 --> 00:47:35.719
but I'll swing it back over to you Michael.

839
00:47:36.360 --> 00:47:40.760
Thank you. Chicky. Yeah, I wanted to once again say

840
00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:45.639
that at the website Powerful Business Strategies dot com, you'll

841
00:47:45.679 --> 00:47:49.599
be able to listen to all of our podcasts that

842
00:47:49.639 --> 00:47:52.840
we've done, all the radio shows that we've done, including

843
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:58.519
things like the position of bocket, dominance, compelling offers, and

844
00:47:58.559 --> 00:48:01.719
then the conversion formula which Chokey talked about. We also

845
00:48:02.199 --> 00:48:07.079
had a show about business and cash flow forecasting and

846
00:48:08.239 --> 00:48:13.599
strategic partnerships and so many strategies. If you go back

847
00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:17.719
and look at go to Powerful Business Strategies dot com.

848
00:48:19.119 --> 00:48:22.519
And to get a copy of the book Powerful Business Strategies,

849
00:48:22.559 --> 00:48:28.880
simply go to our website www dot NeXTSTEP CFO dot net.

850
00:48:29.239 --> 00:48:33.480
It's totally complimentary and until next Monday at newon Eastern

851
00:48:33.519 --> 00:48:36.440
time for Chucky Obio. My name is Michael Barberta and

852
00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:38.000
my remember, yes.

853
00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:40.280
I'm going to do one thing a little bit unconventional

854
00:48:40.320 --> 00:48:44.119
because okay, this particular business owner kept sending some comments

855
00:48:44.559 --> 00:48:47.159
they need to deserve a spotlight. So okay, now it's

856
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:52.119
Cavelis in the comments says you love this question, Michael,

857
00:48:52.519 --> 00:48:55.280
How do you find the perfect profile to being a

858
00:48:55.360 --> 00:48:58.519
part of your team?

859
00:48:58.519 --> 00:49:02.960
Oh well, it depends what skill set that they bring

860
00:49:03.039 --> 00:49:08.760
to the table. But I think a certain level of it.

861
00:49:09.199 --> 00:49:12.440
If you notice a certain level of enthusiasm, I hope

862
00:49:12.440 --> 00:49:15.199
you hope you notice at the level of enthusiasm, the

863
00:49:15.480 --> 00:49:18.480
level of enthusiasm that we have for doing this show,

864
00:49:18.519 --> 00:49:21.840
and for this show especially Choky, not as much me,

865
00:49:21.920 --> 00:49:28.360
but especially Choky. He's very he's very enthusiastic. So yes,

866
00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:32.880
we look, we look for enthusiasm. We've we obviously looked

867
00:49:32.880 --> 00:49:35.800
for knowledge in the areas that your that your your

868
00:49:35.800 --> 00:49:41.119
skill set lies and we're always looking. So uh, if

869
00:49:41.239 --> 00:49:45.880
you know I web, I'm sorry. My uh email addresses

870
00:49:45.960 --> 00:49:49.559
your c f O. Y O. You are CFO at

871
00:49:49.599 --> 00:49:51.719
next Step c f O dot net, be happy to

872
00:49:51.880 --> 00:49:56.239
if you send a resume, happy to UH to review it.

873
00:49:56.239 --> 00:49:57.119
It would be my pleasure.

874
00:49:57.960 --> 00:49:59.000
Great, Michael, Thank you.

875
00:50:01.079 --> 00:50:04.039
So to get a copy of the book, Powerful Business Strategies,

876
00:50:04.079 --> 00:50:08.480
simply go to our website www dot NEXTSTEPCFO dot net.

877
00:50:08.519 --> 00:50:12.639
It's totally complimentary and until next Monday at New Easton

878
00:50:12.719 --> 00:50:17.480
time for Chucky Obio. I'm Michael Baberita, and remember, don't

879
00:50:17.599 --> 00:50:20.519
keep doing what your competition is doing.

880
00:50:22.519 --> 00:50:25.599
You have been listening to Powerful Business Strategies finding out

881
00:50:25.639 --> 00:50:29.280
that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

882
00:50:29.599 --> 00:50:32.760
Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern

883
00:50:32.840 --> 00:50:36.320
time on W four cy Radio with your host Michael

884
00:50:36.320 --> 00:50:40.960
Barbarita of Next Step CFO and moderator chugy Obio