As a CEO, president or business owner do you want every day to be a great day filled with business success and profit?
If so, here are 5 points to think about as you unlock the door each day to open for business till you turn out the lights at close of business:
1) Is it profitable? Is it revenue generating?: Every day ask yourself – Why am I in business?
There are many reasons such as satisfying work or living a dream to run your own business. But lets get to the reality of it all. You’re in business to make money. So your business must be profitable.
Every action you take will lead somewhere. If the actions you take are not geared to making your business successful and profitable, there’s no question you’ll be headed for big problems down the road.
Expenses need to be met. Payroll and taxes need to be paid. You need to take a paycheck home. Plus make a profit. Everything you do in your business needs to contribute to your company’s bottom line.
2) Think it through: You need a space to work in. You need computers. You need employees. Depending on the type of business you have, you may need inventory. You also need the most important thing that drives everything else – how you think it through.
- What happened today?
- What happened yesterday?
- What actions do you need to continue that were successful?
- What actions did you take that didn’t work?
- Are you rethinking the actions that did not work so you don’t make the same mistakes over and over again?
You need to continually think about what is going on in your business. Not just show up every morning. Most business people have no plan. Are you one of them? Even if you do have a plan, do you keep to it? Have you updated it lately? Are you reaching your business goals?
There needs to be a plan for the year. There needs to be a plan for the month. You even need to get it down to a plan of what you are doing for the week and day.
Review the goals you’ve set to make sure you are on track. If you’re not on track to meet your goals, find out why and get back on track again. You even need to think about goals not only for the business but for you, the CEO, president or business owner.
Every person that works for you needs to have their own set of goals. If everyone, including yourself, is meeting their goals and you’ve given everyone the right goals, there’s no question your business will be successful.
3) Anticipate. Anticipate the needs of employees, current projects and customers: You need to be proactive. Not reactive. Think it through (as discussed in #2).
Put yourself in your employees’ shoes.
- What do employees need to do their jobs well?
- How do employees feel about working at your company?
- What’s the best way to approach them?
- How do employees feel about the goals you’ve given them? Do they think the goals are realistic and obtainable? Do they understand the importance of meeting those goals?
Anticipate your employees needs so the goals you’ve set can and will be accomplished.
When you are working on a project for your customers (or your company), have you thought about the unknown? The unintended consequences? Things that may happen that you didn’t anticipate? Again, think it through. Take it to the next level.
Same with customers, anticipate their needs.
- What can you do for your customers to make their business or life better?
By doing so, the competition doesn’t stand a chance in the world of taking away the business.
4) Don’t assume: Leave nothing to chance. Part of your business day needs to be spent thinking and planning to get the best results possible in every aspect of your company. When you just assume or think everything is alright, you may not like the results you get.
5) What’s next?: Continually ask yourself throughout the day – What’s next?
The future will be here before you know it. If you haven’t planned for it, you won’t get the results you want from your business.
As you turn out the lights for the day and lock the door, ask yourself:
- What’s next for my business?
- What’s my next business success?
To your success!
Howard Lewinter guides – focuses – advises CEOs, presidents and business owners throughout the United States to MORE success – MORE profit – less stress. Get MORE from your business! Talk with Howard: 888-738-1855.