here you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by empAs a business coach I get an unusual opportunity to see the biggest mistakes almost all small businesses make. The biggest is: "I can't afford.....," "I'm having problems paying the bills....so, let's cut costs!"

Avoid That Thinking as Your Dominate Mode...IF you want to Survive

That's not to say we don't look at expenses and fix them when necessary. However, as the dominate mode of managing a business, this is a business killer. It develops limits around our business rather than expanding what we can or should be doing. It puts most businesses into a downward spiral. It puts up barriers to problem solving instead of taking a positive action to fix the REAL problem.

What works is looking for ways to generate MORE money, more results, instead of limiting what we do.

Here are some questions to ask that will help you find the right answers, and the right actions. Finding the answers will quickly resolve your problem, where continuing in the cost-cutting mode will eventually kill your business.

• How much money do I generate for every dollar spent on my business, a return on investment question instead of cost avoidance?
• How much MUST I put in to generate what is needed to pay the bills.
• What is the multiplier for my business?
• What area of my business is causing the problem?
• What MUST be done there to generate MORE money?

When you look at what has the biggest impact on my business, it rarely is in avoiding costs.....sometimes, but rarely, at least for most of the businesses I've worked with. Business Model That Works-Multiply Your Business Results FAST

Let's break down our business into a really simple model. A business is like any process that we can manage. Draw this in your mind, or on a piece of paper. A process is a black box, where you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by emp

elops limits around our business rather than expanding what we can or should be doing. It puts most businesses into a downward spiral. It puts up barriers to problem solving instead of taking a positive action to fix the REAL problem.

What works is looking for ways to generate MORE money, more results, instead of limiting what we do.

Here are some questions to ask that will help you find the right answers, and the right actions. Finding the answers will quickly resolve your problem, where continuing in the cost-cutting mode will eventually kill your business.

• How much money do I generate for every dollar spent on my business, a return on investment question instead of cost avoidance?
• How much MUST I put in to generate what is needed to pay the bills.
• What is the multiplier for my business?
• What area of my business is causing the problem?
• What MUST be done there to generate MORE money?

When you look at what has the biggest impact on my business, it rarely is in avoiding costs.....sometimes, but rarely, at least for most of the businesses I've worked with. Business Model That Works-Multiply Your Business Results FAST

Let's break down our business into a really simple model. A business is like any process that we can manage. Draw this in your mind, or on a piece of paper. A process is a black box, where you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by emp

quickly resolve your problem, where continuing in the cost-cutting mode will eventually kill your business.

• How much money do I generate for every dollar spent on my business, a return on investment question instead of cost avoidance?
• How much MUST I put in to generate what is needed to pay the bills.
• What is the multiplier for my business?
• What area of my business is causing the problem?
• What MUST be done there to generate MORE money?

When you look at what has the biggest impact on my business, it rarely is in avoiding costs.....sometimes, but rarely, at least for most of the businesses I've worked with. Business Model That Works-Multiply Your Business Results FAST

Let's break down our business into a really simple model. A business is like any process that we can manage. Draw this in your mind, or on a piece of paper. A process is a black box, where you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by emp

erate MORE money?When you look at what has the biggest impact on my business, it rarely is in avoiding costs.....sometimes, but rarely, at least for most of the businesses I've worked with. Business Model That Works-Multiply Your Business Results FAST

Let's break down our business into a really simple model. A business is like any process that we can manage. Draw this in your mind, or on a piece of paper. A process is a black box, where you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by emp

here you have an input (what you are feeding into your business). Put the input on the left side of the box. Inside the black box we are creating value (hopefully). What goes on inside that box is a multiplier of what we put in. (Put a BIG X inside of the box) And, finally the output (going out the right side of the box) is X times what we put in. For our business, the input is typically dollars and time. The multiplier inside the box is created by us, maybe by employees. And, what comes out is X times dollars more than we put in, probably some customers, a product, a service.

Input [$, time] -- [inside of our business - X] -- Output [X times more dollars]

After we get X dollars out of the box the first thing that happens is that some of it is eaten up by overhead (those internal costs that are there whether we sell even a dime, rent, utilities, insurance, etc.). After paying the overhead, the rest can go into your pocket, or be used to grow the company further. What Will You Do the Next Time You Can't Pay Your Bills?

Make sure to read this, even though you are paying the bills. This is IMPORTANT to understand. Many businesses don't. In seminar after seminar on business building, when I ask, "What will you do the next time you can't pay your overhead costs?"

The first answer from the crowd is always, cut overhead (there's ONE of those cost cutting statements). Of course, overhead is, by definition, a FIXED cost. There just isn't much we can do with overhead. To cut out our rent, utilities, insurance, etc. is nearly impossible, and IF we could do it, it isn't going to happen immediately, leaving us with the problem that we were trying to avoid and that needed to be fixed FAST. It just isn't one of those areas where we can make a major impact, nor a fast one. The real opportunities are elsewhere.

When the people in the seminar get that, they always head for two distinct answers, we'll:

• Cut Marketing

Or

• Cut Employees (for bigger companies that have employees)

Neither of these are the right answer.

Before You Can Take Action You MUST Know Your X, Your Business Multiplier

Money spent on marketing should always be evaluated by using the multiplier process model we talked abo