Purpose & Profitability

Want to reach your goals for 2019? Why not come up with one word that can be the theme for the year that you live out in business and in life. Better than a New Years resolution, one word is easy to remember, to follow and live up to. Something that you can live out everyday that can make a big impact over the course of the year. It’s simple and can keep you focused. Tune is as I discuss my One Word and how you should come up with one as well.

As an entrepreneur you most likely set a variety of goals for the year and beyond. Sometimes you achieve them, sometimes you don’t. But how often do you celebrate those successes? If you’re like me, once you achieve one set of goals, its on to the next one. This New Year’s Eve special, we talk about the importance of celebrating even the smallest of achievements. You’ve accomplished much in 2018, it’s time to Celebrate!

A Christmas present for you entrepreneurs. It takes a lot of faith and hope to be an entrepreneur. You have to take an idea and develop a profitable venture without guarantees. So how do you maintain having a positive outlook in the face of adversity or challenges in your business? Listen in as Eric and I talk about ways to maintain your faith that your business will be better in 2019 then it was this year or years past.

The new year is upcoming so it’s time to make those resolutions and/or goals for 2019. As entrepreneurs, you may not set any new year’s resolutions, that tend to be broken within the first three weeks of the year anyway, you should still set goals for your business. But how do you set goals that aren’t too easy yet not so aggressive that they feel impossible to achieve? Listen in this week as we discuss how to set strong goals for 2019 and achieve them.

The act of giving is not simply a good thing to do morally, socially and spiritually. It actually has many other benefits personally and in business. Most likely you’ve heard the ancient proverb, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.” Well, this week we will talk about the various types of blessings you do receive when you give. Tune in this week for another Christmas season special.

Giving thanks in all things and circumstances is important for your long term success. You see, the most successful are resilient and don’t let the challenges in life and business weigh them down. But how do you stay positive when sales are down and/or threats in the economy are creating stress on your business? Giving thanks for the things that you do have and the things that are going well creates a positive attitude that keeps your head clear and allow you to find creative solutions to any circumstance. Tune in this week to hear our discussion on the secret weapon to having a successful business.

One way of creating a healthy culture is to prevent sexual and physical abuse. I'ts important in all walks of life and business. The headlines are full of allegations, arrests and lawsuits regarding sexual and sometimes physical misconduct in the workplace, schools, and other organizations. Listen as I interview my first international guest, Paty Anaya from Mexico City, as she shares about the work she does to prevent violence against women. From high school students to inmates, she helps them all. Prevention programs like hers can save your business lots of money in lawsuits and goodwill with your customers and employees.

A commonly overlooked area of growth for business is that of leadership. While marketing, finance, production, customer service are all important areas that can fuel growth in the business, the quality of its leadership determines its direction and limitations. Join me with my special guest Chuck Proudfit founder and president of Skillsource as we delve into this important topic so that you can take your business to the next level.

Learn the difference of, how, when and why to use one or the other in your marketing strategy. When thinking about marketing, many think about the advertising side of it where you are selling your product on print, video or digital media. Problem with always advertising is people will eventually tune out. Branding is a more powerful way of marketing that can capture people’s attention for the long term. Which in ultimately leads to greater sales. Tune in this week to learn the difference and implement into your marketing strategy.

Operating your business in a way that makes a positive impact in ways besides profit has been gaining momentum over the last couple decades. Tom’s Shoes, for example, is one of the original social enterprise companies to publicly display how a business can make money and do good at the same time. That’s being Purpose Led. But there are still many businesses that just look at social entrepreneurship or purpose led businesses a merely a marketing tool or a way of doing business that limits the profit potential of a business. In this episode, we’ll discuss and illustrate that having a purpose led business can actually drive bigger profits. Tune in and listen in to our discussion.

Vision casting for a business is very important to set the direction of the organization. Yet very few actually set a vision and write it down. This week, Eric and I shed light on what a vision statement actually is, the important role it lays on setting the course for the business and how it can be the catalyst for growth.

Whenever talking on the subject of business growth, we often talk about marketing and sales as the keys to growth. But what about we as the business owners as the key to growth? Many times we are our own limitations when it comes to that subject. So take a listen as Eric and I discuss how to overcome our own limitations.

This week’s episode focuses on service based businesses like consultants, coaches, restaurants, auto mechanics, financial advisors, lawyers, accountants, etc. The marketing principles we discussed last week still apply but some of the nuances in those strategies differ a little. So tune in as Eric and I discuss marketing strategies that work for your service business.

I often get asked what type of marketing strategy is best. My answer is always, “the one that works.” It’s somewhat tongue in cheek but it’s also a true statement. The next question is, “which one works?” Well, the answer is actually much simpler than you might think. Tune in as we discuss what marketing strategy is best for your business.

If you’re a business owner and married than you need to tune in to this week’s episode. Whether you realize it or not or admit it or not, having your spouse take some role in the business will improve the success of it. When I say role, I mean more than just as an administrator but at minimum, “chief counsel.” The spouse doesn’t necessarily have to actively work in the business to do this either. Listen in as I dig into this topic with my special guest.

The Importance of a BHAG for Your Business by Robert Fukui

One of the major reasons why businesses struggle financially is that they don’t charge what they’re worth. They may have “strategic” reasons why they charge less but the bottom line is that they’re afraid customers won’t pay what they’re worth. Listen in as we talk about symptoms of not charging the right price and how to overcome the fear of charging the higher price that you’re worth and the benefits of doing so.

We've all heard the expression, Think Outside the Box when talking about being creative and innovative. Well, I'd like to start the phrase THINK INSIDE THE BOX. Why? Because the fact of the matter is, we all face some constraints that we can't change. So true innovation happens when we come up with solutions with the boundaries we need to operate in. So listen in as Eric and I THINK INSIDE THE BOX!

The first half of the year is over and hopefully your business is tracking toward your goals. Regardless of where your business performance lies, it’s still important to plan for a strong second half as that will lay the foundation for a better 2019. So tune in and listen as I discuss ways to finish 2018 strong with my guest Jerome Fogel of Fogel & Potamianos LLP.

Anyone that has to get in front of the decision maker to sell their product/service understands the term, gatekeeper. That’s the assistant, wife, manager, or even a physical gate, that is the barrier between the decision maker and your sales presentation. Sometimes it’s just a matter even knowing who to talk to. So this episode discusses overcoming those barriers that will allow you access to the right people for you to make that sales call.