TOP TEN DRIVERS FOR SUCCESS IN 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Rachel Levy Konik
212.255.8455 ext. 235
RachelK@rosengrouppr.com
SUCCESS MAGAZINE NAMES
TOP TEN DRIVERS FOR SUCCESS IN 2008
Dallas, Texas (December 20, 2008) – New Year’s is a time for resolutions, and according to SUCCESS there is no better time design the person you want to become and the life you want to live in 2008. Publisher and Editorial Director of SUCCESS magazine, Darren Hardy, offers the following advice on how to make 2008 your best year ever!
1.Decide to be Successful – Success is not a dream, hope or fantasy; it is a decision. Make the decision to change, improve and act on your ambitions.
2.Design your Best Year Yet – As an architect would design a skyscraper, write out the goals, plans and actions it will take to achieve the life you want to live.
3.Identify Your Passion - What are your unique interests, talents and gifts? Passion attracts success. Find what you love to do - you will never “work” again.
4.Program Yourself for Success – You will see, perceive, expect and create what you think about. To program your mind for success – read watch and listen to materials that will support your success.
5.Surround Yourself with Success - You are the combined average of the five people you hang around the most. Surround yourself with healthy, success-minded achievers.
6.Model Success - The best way to learn to be successful at anything is to find someone who is where you want to be and model their success habits.
7.Master the Fundamentals – Don’t complicate it. About a half a dozen things make up 90%+ of what it takes to be successful at anything. Keep it simple.
8.Get Fit - The mind cannot achieve what the body cannot perform. Your family, friends and career and future depend on your good health. Make it priority No. 1.
9.Remember What’s Important – At the end of the journey what will have mattered most will be your relationships – the people you love and those that love you. Make sure they are on your goal list for 2008.
10.Make a Difference – What do you want your life’s legacy to be? You have the power to make a positive difference – to a single person, a neighborhood, a community, a nation, the world. Realize that power in 2008.
To speak with the Publisher or Editor from SUCCESS please contact Rachel Konik at 212-255-8455 x235 or Rachelk@rosengrouppr.com
About SUCCESS magazine
SUCCESS, published bimonthly, is designed specifically to serve the growing entrepreneur, home-based and small-business markets. SUCCESS features today’s thought leaders and success experts, leading CEOs, entrepreneurs and other achievers with practical advice, ideas, tips and training on leadership, goal setting, time management, selling, motivation and much more. SUCCESS retails for $5.95 and is distributed nationally with an initial rate base of 100,000. www.SUCCESSmagazine.com
Posted by Darren Hardy on Friday, December 21, 2007 at 10:29 AM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, October 08, 2007
Success Lessons from Lawyers (yeah, Lawyers!)
Holy Toledo! (or something like that ;-) ) was what I said when I got my final bill from a lawyer I used on a recent transaction.
You know what personal development practice they have mastered… probably better than you and me? Valuing their time.
They charged me for every lunch, brief huddle, phone call and email… yeah every email! THAT is the kind of time value awareness we all need to have.
This is one of the most valuable lessons I can give you about transferring daily, hourly, moment-to-moment behavior into a significant annual income...
Having an income oriented association with how you spend your productive time.
Let me show you how this works:
What is your annual income goal? Let’s say it is $150,000.
Now here is how you need to bill/produce/value your time accordingly –
If you work 50 weeks a year 40 hours a week, that’s:
· $3,000/week
· $600/day
· $75/hour
· $37.50 every 30 minutes
· $18.75 every 15 minutes
· $6.25 every 5 minutes
> Spend an extra 15 minutes at lunch – pull out a $20 bill and tear it into pieces.
> Chat with a friend for 10-minutes during your work day – that just cost you your lunch money.
> Leave an hour early because it’s Friday – take out 3-$20s, 1-$10 and a $5 for the privilege.
That is what wasting time costs you, but so does confusing “activity” from productivity.
Every day you need to ask yourself – what am I going to do today that will earn $600 or more? During every hour you need to ask yourself – am I producing $75 in results? If not, that is why you will fall short of your annual income goal.
It is your vigilant discipline of producing $20 worth of work (every 15 minutes) that will magically materialize your $150,000 annual income.
Good advice right? My bill will be in the mail! ;-)
Posted by Darren Hardy on Monday, October 08, 2007 at 11:12 AM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
WARNING… you might be successfully failing!
Even a finely tuned and designed Ferrari will fail if headed into a brick wall.
I recently participated in a facilitated strategy session and one concept introduced by the facilitator Ben Rasberry from MAP was particularly compelling.
It is an analysis between Effectiveness and Efficiency.
What if you were doing the WRONG things RIGHT?
Take a look at the graph below.
I have seen two wildly different types of businesses in my many reviews:
A. Unsophisticated managers, accounting is done by hand, transactions are entered manually, the owner doesn’t even use email, not automated, paper driven operations, but they are very successful and make a tremendous profit.
B. An incredible stable of talent, bleeding edge technology, operationally efficient, flawless and relentless execution and the business fails miserably.
What’s the difference?
Even while companies in Category A might operate sloppily and execute inefficiently, they are doing the right things in their business. That could be their UVP (Unique Value Proposition), business model/positioning, focus on sales and revenue, world-class customer service or attention, etc.
It is more important to be sure you are doing the right things than the wrong things well.
Focus on Effectiveness, your business strategy, the core drivers of your business than getting lost in trying to optimize the minutia of your day-to-day operations.
Remember to work ON your business rather than only IN your business.
In Japan executives are required to DO less and THINK more. Step away from the busyness of your business from time to time to evaluate if you are driving your Ferrari in the right direction.
Direction is more important than speed.
Posted by Darren Hardy on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 at 08:35 PM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Out of the office? Or out of your mind?
Good article by Jeffrey Gitomer below. I have abridged it to hit the high points.
Don’t have your business go on vacation with you.
Out of the office? Or out of your mind?
Ever send somebody an email and it bounces back, telling you that the person you sent it to is “out of the office”?
How did you feel when you got it?
I get emails every day from people telling me they’re at a seminar, on vacation, out of the office for two days, home sick, or worse, that their spam blocker needs confirmation.
Quit doing this. You’re making your customers mad at you. And you look like a fool. Stop it.
Suppose a customer is trying to place an order, and they get your stupid reply that you’re “on vacation, please call Mary.” And they call Mary and she’s “either on her phone or away from her desk.” So the customer decides to call the competition because you are unavailable.
Now you have gone from rude to stupid.
Your customers could care less where you are or what you’re doing. They just want help.
I have forbidden all forms of auto-reply and spam-blocking confirmation requests in my business. In place of that, each person is responsible for figuring out what to do in case a customer emails or calls. By the way, we have no voicemail either.
There are several options for being able to serve customers when you’re out of the office or either on your phone or away from your desk. All of which require thinking, communicating, and serving the customer.
I’m out of the office more than 250 days per year and somehow manage to handle and reply to more than 200 emails a day without a BlackBerry. I have a cell phone where I can receive phone calls when I’m available, or text messages from people who genuinely need me. I have a laptop with a wireless card and an internal airport device so that I can get online virtually anywhere in the world, at my convenience.
Here are some options to stay in touch, or to be accessible, when you’re away from your desk or away from the office:
1. PDA device.
2. Laptop computer.
3. Cell phone.
4. Hotel business center.
5. Internet cafe.
5.5 Delegate to co-worker or hire an assistant.
When someone sends you an email, in most cases they expect a reply within 24 hours. Sometimes within an hour.
If your customer wants an immediate response, and you immediately respond with a message that says, “I can’t respond right now,” that doesn’t help the customer. In fact, it negatively impacts the customer’s feeling about you. If customers need an immediate response then you should internally forward your emails when you’re away so that they can be responded to personally, or have someone checking your email while you’re away.
MAJOR CLUE: The customer doesn’t need to know what you’re doing, or how you make it happen – they want a response to THEIR situation, not yours.
I’m certain that a small percentage of people reading this will not appreciate the cold slap in the face. They’ll keep their idiotic, self-serving auto reply as part of their standard operating procedure. Here’s the good news: There are some people who will totally appreciate it: your competition.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on sales and customer service at www.trainone.com.
Watch "Sales Rants" by Jeffrey as well.
Know someone going on vacation soon? Forward them this article before it's too late! http://darrenhardy.typepad.com/blog/2007/08/out-of-the-offi.html
Posted by Darren Hardy on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 10:54 AM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
“IT” is not the problem… uh, it’s YOU.
I’ve been exposed to several whiny conversations of late. Conversations where friends or colleagues have blamed other people, circumstances or the need to have "something" happen before things get better.
“My people just aren’t performing as they should”
“The market is slow”
“Everyone is on vacation”
“I’m not happy at home”
Etc., etc., etc.
I pulled this article up and sent it out to those few of people whom had temporary lapse self-pity and it seemed to heal them so.
We all can get caught pointing a finger or two or barking an occasional cop-out. When you feel a finger rising to explain a misstep or justification to why you are not living as your Best Self, give the article below a read.
It Is Up To You by Jim Rohn
One of the first things successful people realize is the old adage, "if it is to be, it is up to me." This doesn't mean that you do it all alone. It simply means that you take responsibility for your life and your career.
Too many people today look at opportunity and figure it is up to someone else to make sure they get it. They look at financial security and hope that the government will make sure they live safely in retirement or in case of disability. They wait and wait, figuring that it is up to someone else. And then the wait is over, and it is too late to do anything. Their life is over and they are filled with regret.
This isn't true for you however. You know that you must take responsibility for your life. It is up to you.
The fact is that nobody else is going to do it for you, you must do it yourself.
Now, some people may say, "Jim, that's a lot of responsibility." Friends, that is the best news you can ever hear. You get to choose your life. Hundreds of millions of people all around this world would give anything to live in the situation you do just for the chance to have the opportunity to take control of their destiny. "It is up to you" is a great blessing!
Here's why:
1. You get to chart your own destiny. Maybe you want to start a small business and stay there. That's great because you can choose that. Maybe you want to create a small chain of stores. Maybe you want to have a net worth of $100 million. That's okay too. The idea is that you get to choose. You can do whatever you like. Different people have different dreams and they should live them accordingly.
2. You can reap what you sow. Sleep in and go to work late and reap the return. Or get up early and outwork the others and earn a greater return. Place your capital at risk and earn a return or place it at greater risk and perhaps reap a greater return. You decide what you will sow and thus what you will reap.
3. No one else can stop you from getting your dream. Yes, there will always be things that come up and people who may not like what you are doing, but you can just move on and chart your own course. There is great freedom in that.
4. You experience the joy of self-determination. There is no greater pride than knowing you set your mind on something and accomplished it. Those who live with a victim mentality never get to experience the joy of accomplishment because they are always waiting for someone else to come to the rescue. Those who take responsibility get to live the joy of seeing a job well done.
Let me ask you a question: Where will you be in 5 years? 10 years? Or 25 years? Do you know? DO you have an idea? Have you ever dreamed about it or set a goal for it? Are you willing to take responsibility and recognize that, "It is up to you?"
You will be wherever you decide to be in those timeframes. You decide. It is up to you.
And that is very exciting!
---------------------------
Excellent related article - The YOU Factor
Now here is what YOU can do – Change the World!
Listen to this live performance by Eric Clapton as he inspires you to do just that.
Posted by Darren Hardy on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at 11:29 PM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Success Principles are no "Secret". Want it told to you straight?
I love straight-forward, candid, tell-it-like-it-is talk, especially as it relates to self-improvement.
There is too much polite puffery and aggrandizing of success principles in today’s culture in my opinion. It’s all some big “Secret” that etched on tablets, then buried by a secret society, but now finally discovered and revealed. Come on, really? That’s sugar fried dough you have to wrap the vegetable in to get people to eat it?
Success principles are all pretty simple and straightforward, unsexy, non-controversial or scandalous. Just plain, basic, and simple stuff – “fundamentals” as Rohn calls it.
Anyway, here is an article I came across that communicates in just that straight-forward manner. Well stated, very confronting with valuable tips. See how many of these you are guilty of. Could be the “Secret” to what is limiting your success:
10 virtually instant ways to improve your life
Many of our problems come from within our own minds. They aren’t caused by events, bad luck, or other people. We cause them through our own poor mental habits. Here are 10 habits you should set aside right away to free yourself from the many problems each one will be causing you.
1. Stop jumping to conclusions. There are two common ways this habit increases people’s difficulties. First, they assume that they know what is going to happen, so they stop paying attention and act on their assumption instead. Human beings are lousy fortune-tellers. Most of what they assume is wrong. That makes the action wrong too. The second aspect of this habit is playing the mind-reader and assuming you know why people do what they do or what they’re thinking. Wrong again, big time. More relationships are destroyed by this particular kind of stupidity than by any other.
2. Don’t dramatize. Lots of people inflate small setbacks into life-threatening catastrophes and react accordingly. This habit makes mountains out of molehills and gives people anxieties that either don’t exist or are so insignificant they aren’t worth worrying about anyway. Why do they do it? Who knows? Maybe to make themselves feel and seem more important. Whatever the reason, it’s silly as well as destructive.
3. Don’t invent rules. A huge proportion of those “oughts” and “shoulds” that you carry around are most likely needless. All that they do for you is make you feel nervous or guilty. What’s the point? When you use these imaginary rules on yourself, you clog your mind with petty restrictions and childish orders. And when you try to impose them on others, you make yourself into a bully, a boring nag, or a self-righteous bigot.
4. Avoid stereotyping or labeling people or situations. The words you use can trip you up. Negative and critical language produces the same flavor of thinking. Forcing things into pre-set categories hides their real meaning and limits your thinking to no purpose. See what’s there. Don’t label. You’ll be surprised at what you find.
5. Quit being a perfectionist. Life isn’t all or nothing, black or white. Many times, good enough means exactly what it says. Search for the perfect job and you’ll likely never find it. Meanwhile, all the others will look worse than they are. Try for the perfect relationship and you’ll probably spend your life alone. Perfectionism is a mental sickness that will destroy all your pleasure and send you in search of what can never be attained.
6. Don’t over-generalize. One or two setbacks are not a sign of permanent failure. The odd triumph doesn’t turn you into a genius. A single event—good or bad—or even two or three don’t always point to a lasting trend. Usually things are just what they are, nothing more.
7. Don’t take things so personally. Most people, even your friends and colleagues, aren’t talking about you, thinking about you, or concerned with you at all for 99% of the time. The majority of folk in your organization or neighborhood have probably never heard of you and don’t especially want to. The ups and downs of life, the warmth and coldness of others, aren’t personal at all. Pretending that they are will only make you more miserable than is needed.
8. Don’t assume your emotions are trustworthy. How you feel isn’t always a good indicator of how things are. Just because you feel it, that doesn’t make it true. Sometimes that emotion comes from nothing more profound than being tired, hungry, annoyed, or about to get a head-cold. The future won’t change because you feel bad—nor because you feel great. Feelings may be true, but they aren’t the truth.
9. Don’t let life get you down. Keep practicing being optimistic. If you expect bad things in your life and work, you’ll always find them. A negative mind-set is like looking at the world through distorting, grimy lenses. You spot every blemish and overlook or discount everything else. It’s amazing what isn’t there until you start to look for it. Of course, if you decide to look for signs of positive things, you’ll find those too.
10. Don’t hang on to the past. This is my most important suggestion of all: let go and move on. Most of the anger, frustration, misery, and despair in this world come from people clinging to past hurts and problems. The more you turn them over in your mind, the worse you’ll feel and the bigger they’ll look. Don’t try to fight misery. Let go and move on. Do that and you’ve removed just about all its power to hurt you.
Author: Adrian Savage is a writer, an Englishman, and a retired business executive, in that order, who now lives in Tucson, Arizona. You can read his other articles at Slow Leadership, the site for everyone who wants to build a civilized place to work and bring back the taste, zest and satisfaction to leadership and life.
Know someone who knows some people who might be limiting their potential because of one or more of the suggestions above? Forward them this article:
Get email updates when a new post is published on the blog. We could all use some more tell-it-like-it-is success tips. Subscribe in the upper left.
Posted by Darren Hardy on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 10:59 PM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The American Dream is real, it’s possible!
The testimonial for that claim? An immigrant named Arnold Schwarzenegger.
When asked, “Who do you admire and respect the most?” I think of Arnold. Sound odd? Other candidates become disappointing when you look at their life as a whole.
There are many admirable people, but most of them are imbalanced achievers. Think of some of the most successful and admired people of all time and while they might have changed the world, revolutionized an industry or even won a Nobel Peace Prize, if you look a little closer they were a terrible father, a miserable husband, morally bankrupt or just a plain jerk to those who really knew them.
The whole package. I love the story of Arnold Schwarzenegger. It eliminates everyone else’s excuse and illuminates what’s possible with a positive attitude, insatiable determination and relentless hard work.
The story to inspire us all. Arnold emigrates from a poor farm in Austria barely speaking a word of English. He attacks his goal of being the greatest bodybuilder of all-time with indomitable fervor. He not only wins the sport’s greatest title (Mr. Olympia), he utterly dominates the sport and wins six consecutive times. Four years after retiring from the sport, he makes a surprise appearance and wins for a seventh time.
Yet he is not content just being a sports star. He attacks his movie opportunities and roles with the same dedication, wins a Golden Globe for his first performance ever and (as you know) goes on to become the highest paid actor of all-time during his reign.
Yet, he doesn’t just bask in the spot light of Hollywood attention. Arnold studies money and finances and starts prudently and strategically investing smartly in real estate (not many know this). He ends up amassing hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate in Southern California (you’d be surprised how rare this parlay is for the mostly one-dimensional high paid but little retained wealth movie stars is).
Oh, along the way he marries into the “American Royal Family” to JFK’s sister’s daughter, nice.
I have known people who have been really successful at one thing, but VERY few who can duplicate that success in a completely different field. Arnold has now dominated and been heralded as the greatest of two different (and incredibly competitive) industries.
Enough? Not for Arnold. He now sets his sights on what many thought was completely ludicrous for him – politics. Apparently it wasn’t. He is now the two-term Governor of the seventh largest economy in the world!
Here is what’s best. All the while he is a doting father and committed and loving husband with gaggles of friends and allies of similarly impressive character.
This month is Arnold’s 60th birthday. What an amazing legacy he has carved thus far and I have a feeling he isn’t done yet!
What is the secret to his success? What tips can you gain from the “Austrian Oak”? A few insiders share some of his secrets:
“Everything in his life is goal-oriented, but he focuses on one thing at a time. That’s the difference between Arnold and most people. He focuses 100% on the goal in front of him.” – Franco Columbu, 50 year friend and two time Mr. Olympia
“Arnold has to be the most determined and the most focused person I’ve met in my life – and I’ve met people from about 106 different countries. He has that challenge personality. Everything he said he was going to do, he did.” - Ben Weider, Founder of IFBF
“Arnold just had a very winning philosophy” he didn’t entertain negative thoughts. He’s still like that. He would master what he put his mind to. He said if you can master it, you can be good at anything, because the rules for success are always the same.” – Frank Zane, three time Mr. Olympia
“What impressed me most about Arnold was that he was never afraid to ask questions. I found that very enlightening about the man. A lot of people never ask questions. Arnold searches for knowledge.” – Reg Park, three time Mr. Universe
What about YOU? Would people describe you as determined, focused, constantly inquisitive, relentlessly persistent with an unwavering winning philosophy that never entertains negative thoughts?
Most of us were born in this country and spoke the native language from the beginning. What separates our success from that of the farm boy immigrant with the funny name – Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Be like Arnold. Here’s how: have unwavering positive expectation, determination, focus, curiosity, persistence, work ethic an indomitable will to win… and believe the American Dream is possible – for you too.
Posted by Darren Hardy on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 09:53 PM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Monday, July 02, 2007
Independence Day
On July 4th America celebrates its Independence Day. The day we became a free nation.
But how about YOU? Do you have your independence? Are you free, I mean really free?
Are you financially free? Can you live on the interest of your investments? Can you choose to or not to work at whim? Can you go where you want, when you want?
Are you emotionally free? Who owns you emotionally? Who and what triggers your buttons? What unresolved issues still run the tapes in your head?
Are you physically free? What foods withers your will? What conquers your commitment to exercise? What suppresses your zest and vitality?
Are you spiritually free? What doubts hold you back from a full embrace with your spirituality? What do you allow to interrupt or disturb your inner peace and tranquility?
Are you mentally free? What limiting beliefs keep you from blossoming into the full creation you were meant to become? What inner voice captains your ship?
Which of these freedoms do you lack?
If you want it, you too have to fight for it!
The same courage, commitment and unwavering will it took to gain America’s independence is what’s necessary to gain your own.
It’s time to take back your mind do battle with what keeps you dependent and suppressed from the greatness you were endowed to be.
But you have to claim it, you have to declare it.
As we celebrate the victory of a nation two centuries ago, it is time to also celebrate YOUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
No longer will you accept a life of mediocrity and unfulfilled dreams. Mark this day and everyday hence the day you decided to be free… really free!
Posted by Darren Hardy on Monday, July 02, 2007 at 06:36 AM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Killer Interview Questions - separating the fakers from the success makers
Recruiting and hiring the right people is the key to any successful business.
If you are hiring, these questions below will be invaluable. If you are looking to be hired, better to get these questions in advance and be prepared with the killer answers.
I have been in the process of hiring a few key employees for a couple of companies I am involved with. In preparation for these interviews I pulled out some of my notes on interview questions that have worked the best for me in ascertaining someones true character (it's not easy!) and performance potential. I offer this well evolved list to you as well as a couple of other article suggestions to further your resources.
Questions:
(Quick insight... sort interview or long one?)
What circumstances bring you here today?
What was the best part of your previous job? Worst?
What was your greatest contribution to your last job/company?
Why did you part ways?
(A little self-examination/realization)
What woudld you consider to be your top 3 qualities that make you successful?
What are 2 areas you would like to improve on?
How would your best friend describe you?
How would your previous boss describe you?
Favorite job ever? Worst?
Favorite boss ever? Worst?
Types of people you have trouble getting along with?
What motivates you? When have you felt most motivated about your career?
(Insight into real motivation, personal interests/passion)
If you could start your career over again, what would you do different?
Starting college today, what courses would you take this time?
What do your supervisors tend to criticise you most about?
(non-professional insight)
How do you balance work and family?
What do you like to do when you are not at work?
Last book you read? Favorite/most influential of all time?
(personal development inquiry)
How much do you invest in your personal development? How?
Do you have written goals? What are your top 3?
Who would you consider your mentor/role model and why?
(can they sell you?)
What are you looking for most in a new job/position? Describe your ideal opportunity.
Based on what you know about our industry/company how does this compare to your ideal?
(have they done their homework?)
How would you describe what we do?
Who do you see as our top 3 competitors or potential threats in the future?
(more selling...)
What about (comany interviewing for) is most exciting to you?
Why (company interviewing for)? Why do you want this job?
(love this question....)
Why you? Why do you think you are the ideal candiate for this position?
(best to find that out upfront - ask directly)
Are you considering any other offers right now? Which?
(gotta know where you are negotiating from, nothing like knowing the numbers upfront)
Income history?
Other great articles and resources:
14 Killer Questions to Ask in Your Next Interview
Ten Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers
Prep for the Top 10 Interview Questions
Oh, and in case you have to fire: The Art of Firing
Forward this article onto a friend: http://darrenhardy.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/killer-intervie.html
Not subscribed to The Pulse? Enter your email address in the upper left and get updates when new articles are posted.
Posted by Darren Hardy on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 12:24 PM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BIG Savings Tips for Small Businesses
I have been on a big cost cutting kick lately... maybe something in the summer air?
The old adage is true - "A dollar saved is a dollar earned", but it is even better than that...
Saving a dollar drops right to the profit bottom line. It is FAR easier to execute on cutting some non-performing costs than it is to think of ways to create more revenue, subtract the acquisition and operating costs to produce the same net dollar in profit.
I operate several companies, advise and sit on the board of a few others and have been trumpeting this theme big time lately. Poking through the expense lines of the P&L I have identified many expenses that could be greatly reduced or eliminated all together. The increase in net income has bumped up anywhere from 10% up to 23% in one case.
A 23% increase in profit is a HUGE victory! Lots of capital, internal resources, time and distraction from other productive endeavors would have had to go into producing that kind of return otherwise. Think about it!
Here is a good article that runs through a list of cost savings tips: Getting to Black: 100 Tips to Cut Small Business Overhead and Reach Profitability
In addition to the list provided in the article, be sure to analyze your marketing expenses. I have found a tremendous amount of waste in marketing campaigns that are not delivering quantitative and quality results.
The best way to improve your ROI (Return On Investment) in your sales and marketing is to cut off spending on low or non-performing initiatives. This not only saves you money, increases your profitability but also saves you time and resources that would have been spent otherwise in nurturing poor quality leads. That time and those resources can now be re-allocated to profitable initiatives.
The net result? You save money, increase profitability and make MORE money with the new found time and resources once spent on low or non-performing initiatives. The net result can be as much as 50%+ in net improvements to the bottom line.
THAT'S how to beat your competition and impress your banker!
Know an entrepreneur or small business owner? Be a good Samaritan and pass along this article: http://darrenhardy.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/big_savings_tip.html
Posted by Darren Hardy on Wednesday, June 13, 2007 at 11:04 AM in Great Success Tips | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
