“It’s Tuesday morning at 1:45 a.m. I just finished work…I haven’t even eaten dinner…guess it’s too late for dinner anyway. I will try and call you tomorrow morning, but I’m not sure if I will be able to keep our meeting.”
This was an actual email sent by an SGI™ member to a Client Success Manager (CSM) several weeks ago. The member was supposed to call the CSM for their weekly chat to discuss business, but as you can imagine, the CSM never got that call. On the bright side, at least the member was considerate enough to email, but that’s not the point…
Why was he working so late? Probably he had a deadline and the job just had to get done. He made a commitment to his client and he certainly would never let a client down. But why so late? The real reason is that he is not running his business… it’s that his business is running him!
I guarantee that the next day he was exhausted and not productive at all. If he was moving the next morning it was slowly. He didn’t see his family or eat dinner. Is this why we get into business? Where is the glory in living this way? Unless he makes a conscious decision to change and get out of this type of work habit, we can guarantee more 1:45 a.m. days. To break this absurd cycle we have to systemize our business and all of the processes around it. It begins with a plan and a question.
What is the real purpose of your business? You may recognize this theme as I speak often about asking this question of ourselves. If you answer, “To make money,” then why is that the focus? I don’t care what region you’re in or the state of its economy, what happens inside your company is up to you.
Here are 10 simple questions, if you know the answers, your business is going in the right direction. If you don’t know the answers, then you need help.
- What is your gross margin?
- What is your asset-to-liability ratio?
- Do you have a written business plan complete and ready for 2014?
- What is the real value of the inventory in your company?
- Have you negotiated your 2014 pricing with your suppliers yet?
- What is your direct-labor percentage?
- What is your overhead or administrative percentage?
- Is your 2014 marketing plan written and ready?
- Do you have a daily report to track your company’s results?
- Do you have receivables? If you do, are they less than 60 days old?
If you cannot answer these simple questions, you may be destined to work until 1:45 am. You need help and you need it fast.
It may be time to consider the real purpose of your business. It’s late in 2013. The New Year will be here before you realize it. Take the time to start getting ready today. Then, hopefully, you won’t be the type of contractor working until the wee hours of the morning. Instead, you’ll have a fully actionable plan that is guiding you to a profitable year.