Rarely have I met a person who can tell me they have no desire to increase the revenue of their business. Most of us like the challenge of growing our business. It shows we are good at what we do. What I struggle to understand is businesses and people who don't make that effort. It is not that they don't need the money. Instead is they just don't think about what they can do to improve their business.
I have a friend in a service business. He spoke recently about his plans to retire from the business. Someone has expressed an interest in purchasing the business. I asked my friend what this person would be buying.
The answer was that the buyer would get the physical tools of the business along with the list of all the people he had done work for. His business is the type where the customer would need his services several times a year. When he finishes a service call, he expects the customer to call him for the next service.
My question was to ask why he didn't make an appointment when making a service call for the next service call. He thought it was a good idea. We did a bit of calculating together. The number of customers per day became the number of customers every three months, and then we multiplied by four. I asked him to multiply that number by the average price of a service call. The answer was a nice six-digit figure.
My follow-up question was whether he thought his prospective buyer would pay more if they knew there was that much business scheduled over the next twelve months. He understood my message but still has not asked his customers to book their next appointment.
That example is right there with my friend who owns a restaurant. I asked why his wait staff did not offer dessert to customers. The response was that the wait staff doesn't because most people say no. I offer no explanation for that logic.
Business is there for the taking. All it takes to increase revenue is to ask for it.
Article of the Month -
It is just a tool
It wasn't the first time someone commented that I make a point of frequently talking about money. In my defense, I remember a good friend and co-worker, Bob Sheridan, saying, "Money isn't everything, but it is right up there next to air."
Money is a tool. It is essential to the success of any business. What was not mentioned is that money allows a business owner to make a difference in their community. The Article of the Month for October tells the story of several small business owners who made a big difference with the money they made in their business. |
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Book of the month -
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear |
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"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us." There is some disagreement about whether this quote should be credited to Nelson Mandela.
I have always seen this as a challenge to continue to try and try harder. This is a very uplifting book by Elizabeth Gilbert. And if you are at a down point in your life and business, this could be the extra charge you could use right now. |
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Internet Tool for Your Business -
Sales Per Employee |
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We are three-quarters of the way through the year. Here is an interesting measurement of your business that you can perform. You will want to look at this measurement for all of 2025 as well as 2026 to date.
Look at the total revenue for your business. Now look at the number of employees you have. If there are part-time employees, use the number of hours worked and divide by 40 to translate the part-time workers into full-time workers.
Divide the total revenue by the number of full-time employees. The answer is the amount of sales/revenue per employee. Compare the number from all of 2025 to the first nine months of 2026. Are the numbers similar? If the number for 2026 is smaller than 2025, it indicates your employees this year were more productive last year. Do you know why? The same question could be asked if the answers went the other way.
The bottom line of this month's tool is that it is helping you to see if what is frequently the biggest expense in your business is being as productive as possible.
Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable, while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scenes, are part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information, nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information. |
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Staff Incentive for Your Business -
Pass the Carrot
Each month, as we share an idea for a staff incentive, we give credit to a series of books by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton that gave us the inspiration for this part of the Small Business News.
This month, we are sharing a staff incentive based on a common thread in their books - a carrot. Seeing a stuffed toy carrot at a toy store, we suggest you also make a visit to a toy store and purchase a carrot. Award the carrot to an employee as recognition for exceptional work. They are to carry the carrot with them for at least two days. After the two days, they can then award the carrot to a fellow employee who also demonstrates exceptional job performance. However, in awarding this to a fellow employee, the first employee must do so in front of other employees with an explanation of why this second person is deserving of the carrot.
This exercise builds camaraderie and teamwork. It also encourages employees to be aware of their coworkers. That is a lot of results from a single carrot that you purchased in a toy store.
We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
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