The Top 7 Things I Learned From Running My Business for Over 16 Years

My business coaching clients are always asking me in one form or another about the biggest lessons I have learned while running a business and the things I wish I had known before taking the plunge. I thought about it for a while before putting pen to paper or in this case, fingers to keyboard to come up with the gold nuggets that I have gleaned over the years, ones that I have found especially influential in running my business. Today's tips will cover the knowledge that I have truly taken to heart and implement in my daily work routine. Sometimes it is truly the little things that end up being the most important.

1. Job Costing! This is always my number one tip. Accounting systems are a must for any business to survive. They don't have to be big and fancy. There are many forms of accounting that you can implement to track your funds, prepare your taxes and the
like. However, I have talked for years now about a job costing method I use that shows entrepreneurs and all business owners how to determine which line items make the most money, which jobs have the highest profit margins, how to evaluate referral
sources, and channel marketing resources in the right direction. Expenses are broken into A, B, C, and D expenses. This coding system is simple and transparent so everyone in the company can understand it and implement it. A = obvious fixed expenses, B = time expenses, C = hidden expenses, and D = general operating expenses.

Job costing will provide you with numerous benefits, including:

- Determining the profit or loss for each job and the profit percentage of each job.
- Sorting each job by gross sales and total profit to determine whether or not the highest grossing jobs actually make the most money.
- Evaluating the referral source of each job.
- Eliminating advertising and marketing expenditures that are not paying off.
- Determining which referral sources to reward, so that the most profitable referrals continue and increase.
- Evaluating the profitability of each line item in order to determine which areas of the business make (or lose) the most money.
- Determining which segments of the business you should develop or eliminate.

2. Vendor Relationships Are Paramount! I don't know what I would have done over the years without some of my vendors coming through for me in a crunch. I have written extensively about how good vendors can make you money since every time you get a job, they can potentially benefit by you utilizing their services. While it is true that I have had to change up my vendor lines several times throughout the years, there are several that I have had with me for quite a while. It is these men and women who, through both business and social relationships, have helped me thrive and brought my clients immense joy and satisfaction. Treat your vendors as trusted friends and colleagues. As in life, the goodness you put out comes back to you in droves. And hopefully that will add to your bottom line revenue!

3. It's All About The Customer! While this sounds like the most obvious thing in the world, you would be surprised how often I hear people blow off their customers because they are too small for them, too difficult to work with or not exciting enough. I cringe when I hear these things, but then I gladly think that there will
be one more client back in the pool looking for my services. Clients, especially in this economy are too precious to be treated with such derision. I won?t lie and say I haven?t had my bucketful of clients who I wish were a bit easier to work with, but when you work hard for them, maintain a positive mood with them, and wow them with all the work you've done on their behalf, many times they turn into converted followers. I have found that the hardest clients to work with are those that have had very negative experiences in the past. So prove your worth and make that money!

4. Surveys and Questionnaires Do Help, Really! You are questioning me on this, I know. There are not many of us out there that actually enjoy taking the time to check off little boxes on page after page of often innocuous or very personal questions. However...I have found that when my clients, or for that matter, potential clients take the time to fill out my surveys, their feedback is always extremely helpful. Their honest responses have helped me tailor my pitches differently, produce products for clients that I normally wouldn't have and allowed me to alter my approach to event production. I've learned that survey questions should be tailored to elicit the responses you need to find answers to. But keep the survey or questionnaire brief and to the point so people will indeed write up their answers.

5. Advertising versus Marketing Expenses! And no, they are not the same thing. While I do a fair amount of advertising, I have found my money has been better spent on promotions that market my business to a targeted demographic so that the eyeballs that I capture are ones that I might be able to turn into clients. With advertising, you usually need to buy a bundle of six ads at a minimum before the reader will begin to notice your ad--and that is with the caveats that the advertisement needs to be big enough to capture the eye, placed in prominent position within the publication, and that the publication has a big enough circulation and demographic that you desire to reach. Advertising pages cost a lot of money where as you can get a lot of bang for your dollar with creative online marketing and some tenacity.

6. Hold Meetings With Employees Regularly! As the owner of your company, you have the final say in all things related to its management. But, keep in mind that your employees are also the heartbeat of the organization and very often have tremendous
ideas that could aid in finding new business or assist in patching up a leaky division. To arrive at an informed decision, I keep an open door policy where no ideas are stupid and all are welcome. I try my best to foster this culture because when employees are scared to speak up for fear of looking foolish, you have then
lost a very important eye that is there to essentially grow your business for you.

7. A Mentor Or Coach Is An Important Part Of Your Team! I have written extensively that I was lucky enough to have a coach when I started my business. I now have three mentors and coaches that I still rely on! It is always good to get an outside take on what is going on with your company. I don't care if you have been in business for fifty years, you will and should always have questions about how you can better manage and develop your business. Consistently talking with a coach or mentor who
has been in the trenches will help challenge you, motivate you, and keep you accountable for the better. It is all about making the right decisions that will aid in growing your business and ultimately afford you the life that you are looking to lead.