Found Money is YOUR Money!

Make Money Picking Fruit, NOT Growing Trees!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:27:00 +0000

Imagine yourself driving along a picturesque highway on a sunny fall afternoon. You spy an absolutely beautiful fruit orchard. Its trees spread out before you almost as far as you can see. You are so stricken by the beautiful sight, you quickly stop your car and go into the orchard.

As you walk into the beautiful surroundings, you notice something doesn’t seem quite right. Although you’re not a fruit farmer, you can’t help but thinking there seems to be a whole lot of fruit that seems very ripe on the trees. But there are no workers around picking fruit. In fact, you can see where ripe fruit has started to fall to the ground and go to waste.

You keep walking, and finally you hear the sounds of workers and equipment working. You follow the sound over the next hill and are amazed by what you see.

There must be several dozen workers and several different types of machines all working at a feverish pitch.

But all the workers and equipment are working in the dirt. They scurry around the orchard, digging in the earth, and using the equipment to move dirt and dig holes.

You wonder why on earth all this activity is being focused on putting stuff into the ground. After all, there’s all that fruit ready to be harvested further up the orchard.

It’s too much for you to take so you walk over to the man that’s obviously in charge (the owner of the orchard you find out), and ask him what he and his workers are doing.

“Can’t you see?” the orchard owner asks in a hurried tone.

“We’re really busy trying to plant these new trees. Trees take several years to grow before they put out fruit, so we’ve really got to get going. I don’t have any more time to talk with you now. Good day.”

“How can this owner of the orchard be so blind?” you ask yourself. He’s got all those wonderful trees with all sorts of fruit just ripe for the picking. You wonder to yourself about how much effort, and how many resources he’s wasting by refusing to take advantage of his obvious assets.

Does the orchard owner sound familiar to you? Sound like anyone you might know?

Does he sound a little bit like, maybe, ummmm, you?

It’s a fact that most businesses have a tremendous “orchard” already established. There are many customers who have purchased in the past. And those same customers would very likely purchase again if given the chance, and a bit of a nudge.

But the paradox is that many business owners instead spend an awful lot of time and energy trying to “plant more trees” in an effort to get more fruit (clients). And they spend much less time and effort simply “picking” the fruit that’s already ripe (going to back to customers they already have).

That’s a lot like walking by the apple trees in the orchard, picking only the largest apples that happen to be ready for picking on any particular day. And then never returning to those same trees again later to pick the apples that have subsequently become ready to be picked.

So stop ignoring your “apples” in favour of trees.

Put your creativity to the test. Try to come up with at least one different thing you can offer your customers each month. Plan a marketing campaign to “harvest the fruit” in this way.

Your profits will make some tremendous leaps forward.

And you will find yourself needing to spend less time “planting new trees”. Instead you will find yourself simply harvesting more apples.

Go ahead.

Continuing to grow trees is important. But don’t forget to pick the fruit that’s in front of you, ready to pick, too.

Business With Personality

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:28:00 +0000

I did a radio guest appearance yesterday for The Big Biz Show. Its two hosts are Sully and Russ T Nailz, and are a terrific example of letting your personality and individual style show through in any business.

While it delivers great content and information, its hosts deliver their two hour show in a way that is fun, entertaining, slightly irreverent, and that definitely shows their personalities.

The result is that they attract a loyal audience who match their style, personality and approach (i.e. High Resonance). And that makes for a very fun business, both for the hosts AND for the listeners.

That same approach can be (should be) applied in your business. Let your personality shine through and you will quickly find yourself attracting customers who have a High Resonance with you, your business, its products and services, and your approach.

And that will go a long way toward making your business more fun, more sustainable, and more profitable for you.

You can check out The Big Biz Show to see a great example of what is possible when you don't hold back from letting your true personality shine through in your business.

It's No Wonder Some Businesses Struggle To Produce Financial Results

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Yesterday I was reading an article about a particular small business.

The article was interesting and told about how the owner went about starting the business a couple of years ago.

Then when it came to the "financial section" of the article I was reminded about one of the reasons I've found that small business owners seem to struggle so hard to produce the financial results they want.

You see, there was a table that showed a breakdown of monthly overhead. The items included were advertising, phone, vehicle, promotional items, office expenses, insurance, accounting fees, and other items. The total for all of these items was $1,660 according to the article. And the article then went on to state that the business needed to sell its service twice per month to break even (its service sold for about $800).

Now there's nothing with the financial theory of this approach - that's a textbook breakeven analysis.

But there's a couple things wrong with the viewpoint, from the viewpoint of a small business owner.

The first is that the article's breakeven analysis didn't even consider how much money the owner wanted to take each month. And let's face it, for the vast majority of small business owners, they need their business to pay them something. If it doesn't they will eventually be forced to shut down. That means owner compensation is as much a montly fixed cost as rent - and it should be factored into breakeven calculations. After all, why target sales efforts to achieve a level that doesn't make any money for the owner?

The second problem is that the article's breakeven analysis doesn't break the target down into different products and customers. Like all small businesses, some customers are more profitable, as are some products, than others. A truly effective breakeven for a small business really should provide targets that related to the day-to-day activities of the business (how many customers and what products?).

Like I said, the article was good and I enjoyed it. And the breakeven analysis it contained was absolutely correct, from a theoretical viewpoint.

But I was also reminded how different "real life" viewpoints in small business are, and should be, if any business owner truly wants to crreat the financial result they want.

Need Money For Your Business? Some Of It Is Already There

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:08:00 +0000

We are starting to see news items that the economy is strengthening. Yet many small businesses I talk to are still struggling to find adequate capital and financing.

It's true that bank lending and traditional financing to small businesses had dropped drastically in 2009. In fact, here's a chart from CNN Money that shows just how big this drop has been.

The problem is that, now that the economy is starting to show some signs of health, many small businesses are finding it tough to take advantage of opportunities because of a lack of capital.

That's the bad news.

The good news, however, is that most small businesses have never tapped into their "internal source of capital". What do I mean by that?

I mean that a lot of small businesses fail to look inside for opportunities to maximize capital, profit, and cash flow that already exist their businesses. In almost every instance I've ever seen, there are tens of thousands of dollars (even hundreds of thousands of dollars) in Found Money Potential that is just waiting to be discovered that already exists inside the business.

So if you're looking to take advantage of some opportunities, or even if you are looking weather the tougher economy, you really need to find out how much money is "hiding in front of you" inside your business.

And you can find out for FREE, by visiting my website at www.foundmoneybook.com

Dogs and Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:18:00 +0000

I've been spending a lot of time the last week training my 9 week old puppy.

It's an awful lot of work but it's one of those things where there simply isn't any other option. He's small now but is going to grow to be fairly large. And that means I need to train him now so I will always be able to effectively control him, no matter how large he grows.

And my belief that businesses are kind of like dogs (which I write about in my book, Found Money). When they first start out they are small and can simply be "handled" by effort and force. And because of that it's easy for small business owners to fall into the trap of not planning, not thinking about certain things. They never stop to think about how manageable the business will be once it starts growing.

And sadly, in most cases, that results in a business that "runs" its owners instead of the way it should be.

Luckily, businesses that have been allowed to "run" their owners, like dogs, can be "trained" to become manageable and obedient.

But first you need to focus on imaging how you want your business to actually behave.

So no matter how "out of control" your business is, commit to starting, and sustaining, whatever effort is required to get control of it so you can finally reap the benefits.

$25 Million Economic Injection Campaign For Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:42:00 +0000

What would the benefit be to the Small Business Economy if we could inject $25 million (or more) into small businesses everywhere?

That's the question Michael Gerber (of The E-Myth fame) and I asked ourselves when we formed our new company, Certified Capital Advisors. And, of course, we both realized that the impact would be absolutely huge.

So Michael Gerber and I are launching our $25 Million Economic Injection Challenge.

It is our goal to help small business owners find at least $25 million in Found Money Potential, using concepts taking from my new book, Found Money - Simple Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Profit and Cash Flow in Your Business.

And we want to help small business owners find that $25 million within the next two months.

You can participate by going to the website at www.foundmoneybook.com and getting your free Found Money Potential Analysis done. You will find out how much Found Money Potential your business has, and receive action steps that will help you capture that potential.

So go do it.

And help make the $25 Million Economic Injection Challenge something amazing for your business, for your family, for your community.

To Change You Need To Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:18:00 +0000

I was talking with a client yesterday about applying some of the principles from my book, Found Money - Simple Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Profit and Cash Flow in Your Business.

I spent some time going through his customers and their sales volumes. I showed him how his business could earn approximately $45,000 more per year by working with existing customers who have already bought from him. The process I use is what I call Customer Profitability Mapping.

After that, he looked at me, and said that he had never thought about it like that.

And in the very next sentence he told me how he just wasn't sure he could go ahead and do it. The problem was that this new way of looking at things was simply too far outside of his comfort zone.

True it would be different. And yes it would require a change in habits (all for the better, mind you). In other words, yes, it might be slightly uncomfortable for a short time.

But despite the massive potential gain, the business owner decided that the "comfort" of continuing to struggle in the business like they always have was better than the "discomfort" of changing ingrained patterns, even if those changes would create massive benefits.

Please don't let yourself get caught in the "trap of comfort". Be willing to be objective and move outside your comfort zone when it will ultimately benefit you, your business, and your family.

Economic Bailout for Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:43:00 +0000

No such thing!

Let's face it. Despite a huge source of jobs and economic activity, small business has never really received much attention as far as "economic bailouts" go.

And that's not going to change.

The good news is that I know from experience that EVERY small business has thousands, tens of thousands, sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars in Found Money Potential. It's simply a matter of knowing where to look, what to do about it, and how to capture it.

Let's start a movement. Let's start our own Small Business Economic Recovery, and take control of our own future, the future of our families, the future of our employees, and the future of our communities.

Let's do it.

Is Yours Round or Square?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:06:00 +0000

I went to get my hair cut the other day with a new stylist. Interesting business hair stylists have.

After all, it's pretty tough to truly distinguish any one salon over another, isn't it?

I sat down in the chair once the stylist was about to start cutting. And just as she was about to begin, she paused and asked me if I liked the back of my haircut round or square. Some people prefer a rounded, more gentle look, and some prefer a sharp, square look.

I certainly had never thought about whether mine was round or square before. And in all the years I've been getting haircuts, I've never once been asked which I prefer.

My previous stylists all simply cut the back of my hair in either "round" or "square" in the manner they were comfortable with, or thought was best.

But here's the thing.

By asking that simple question (about something I had never considered before, but that made so much sense the second it was asked) my new stylist instantly separated herself from every single stylist I've ever been to before.

She positioned herself as a true professional who was interested in what I really wanted, and was capable of delivering it. And because of that, she has created a new client for herself and demonstrated she's different (in a good way) from others.

And in tougher economic times like we are all facing right now, those simple (to her) but high impact (to me - the client) demonstrations of caring and expertise are critical.

Consider ways you can avoid making "obvious" logic leaps in your business and get your customer involved in some decisions that demonstrate how caring and expert you truly are.

Marginal Defense

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:02:00 +0000

I’ve been coming across a lot of business owners and clients lately who are either considering reducing prices to remain competitive in a slower economy, or have already done it. There seems to be a fear that failing to cut prices might result in lost customers and decreased business volume.

And in some cases, that fear may be accurate. Price cuts may be necessary.

But many times reacting to competitive threats (either competitors or a tough economy) through price cuts is a case of “chicken little” thinking the sky is falling. Using price cuts as a competitive tactic usually fails.

Any business is driven by, and survives by its margins – how much it makes by selling a particular product or service. It’s margin that creates the ability for any business to pay its owners and pay its overhead.

And margin is created by a thoughtful and careful pricing strategy. And if it’s not, then a business should definitely be undertaking a pricing strategy planning exercise.

Pricing is not something that should be changed “just because”. Pricing is a critical component of the infrastructure and strategy for any business. And for the same reason a business wouldn’t simply change its logo and signage just because of a slower economy, it should most certainly avoid haphazardly changing its pricing because of it.

The truth is that the best way to survive a tough economy is by having adequate margin. Margin in any business is its lifeblood. It’s what gives it its ability to thrive and survive. Willingly reducing its lifeblood (margin) by price cutting is a move to willingly reduce its capacity to operate and survive.

So if you are considering doing anything with the pricing in your business because of competitive pressures or a tough economy, stop yourself right there.

To borrow from an old saying, “Step away from the price list”.

Before you take any action on your pricing do some homework and some analysis. Make sure you truly understand the impact a price cut will have on your business and its ability to thrive and survive (tough economy or not).

Maybe price cuts really are necessary for your business, in your industry.

But price cuts driven by fear, wrong assumptions, and whim will usually drain more lifeblood (margin) from your business than they will ever give back.

It’s almost always a losing game. And in a tough economy, you simply can’t afford to lose.

Are You Choking Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:27:00 +0000

Imagine if you tried to choke yourself with your own hands (don’t try it, just imagine it). If you could manage to do it, eventually you’d pass out, your hands would relax, and you’d be able to get oxygen again and recover.

But when it comes to business, many business owners do the equivalent of “choking themselves with their own hands” – especially in a tougher economic environment like we have right now. Many business owners seem to panic and take actions that start to choke their very own business, using their very own hands.

A lot of business owners get real defensive. They do things like cutting back on advertising, marketing, business lunches, and other PR. But those are often the very things that can help a business make it through tougher economic times. In fact, those things not only help any business defend and survive in a poor economy, but actually prosper, improve, and beat the heck out of their competition (who is filled with fear and panic and is most likely "holed up" with their back exposed).

Cutting back on those things is the business equivalent of “choking yourself”.

It’s been proven in study after study that the hardest and most expensive customer for any business to get is a “new” customer. And the easiest and least expensive one to attract is one who has already bought from you (an existing customer).

But cutting back on your marketing and promotion budget and efforts often leads to spending less time communicating with existing customers, and more time looking for new ones. It is a puzzling paradox that “chokes the life” from any business.

So please don’t stop or reduce your marketing efforts and budget because of a tougher economy. In fact, you may even want to consider doing just the opposite and increasing those things right now.

But don't be careless and simply spend money in these areas. You need to really focus on the right things.

For example, spend your time and money reaching out to customers who have already dealt with you. Use advertising to promote special events, products, or services to your previous customers. Use your efforts to offer additional products or services to those who have previously bought something from you.

Also, think about all the “other things” your business sells that many of your customers have never purchased. Think about all those things your customers may not even know you can do for them, or provide for them.

And make sure you focus your efforts on customers who actually make you money. If you've got customers who don't make your business enough money or who place demands on your resources that are unrealistic and unfair, cut them loose, send them packing, give them their marching orders, refer them to your competitors - I think you get the point.

And then spend your resources working the customers who are profitable. Spend your resources telling them about products and services that make your business money (don't laugh - a lot of times businesses try to sell stuff that does not really make them any money - dumb, but common).

Place your focus on “selling more to those who have bought before” instead of cutting back on your marketing and promotional efforts. Failing to do that is like choking yourself with your own hands. It’s not smart, and it could be fatal.

The "Zero Marketing Challenge"

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wilkinghoff) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:22:00 +0000

I was doing a presentation to a group of franchise owners over the weekend and one of them had an interesting thought.

He suggested his goal was to get his business to the point where he had zero reliance on marketing to new customers.

His point was that he wanted to rely purely on great referrals from his existing customers, and to sell a larger array of his total products and services to customers he already has.

And he feels his business is currently about 90% of the way to that goal (he's been working on that goal for several years - and, by the way, is among the Top 5 franchisees in the country).

I thought that was a pretty cool mindset.

So I'm suggesting you give yourself a "Zero Marketing Challenge". For one week, act as if (and get your team to act the same way) you had to rely only on referrals and expanding your "share of wallet" (the number of products and services you sell to a given customer) for each customer you come into contact with.

See what happens.

And post your results here.