5% increase = 220,000 jobs in America

"Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking,"What's in it for me?"
-- Brian Tracy, Author

An increase of only 5% in "Made in America" materials used by contractors to build homes in the US would produce 220,000 new manufacturing jobs overnight.

The belief is that we don't have manufacturers that can make everything needed to build a home, and if we did, the cost would be much higher.

• Fact: Cost increase of only 1% in materials.
• Fact: Better materials increase productivity and quality.
• Fact: You can get everything you need here in the US.

Have you ever thought about how to build a list of the American manufacturers that could supply your company and others like it?

Watch this short segment from ABC News, it is very interesting.

All the best,
Rick W. Wallace

Perserverance

Hello Clients and Friends,

I'm introducing a new format that is short, easy to read, and hopefully more effective in delivering knowledge that will be relevant while helping my subscribers better themselves and their companies.

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"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance."
-- H. Jackson Brown, Author



Perseverance, or what I call follow through, is the key ingredient to the success of people and businesses and is lacking in most of the companies I have worked for, or with, over the last 35 years.

It trumps all the issues that hold businesses and their employees back. Money, Time and People are issues that we have solutions for, but tend to start and stop in our attempt to get them implemented.

It is all about habits, clarity, focus, and execution, and a process and rhythm to ensure we follow through and implement the solutions. In short, it is about adopting some new habits.

We tend to develop bad habits that have us reacting all day long. This gets in the way of leading and making the changes necessary to building a profitable, successful business that works for the owner/leader vs. one that relies on her to work.

Albert Einstein, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."
.

All the best,
Rick W. Wallace

Cash Flow - #1 Pain for Small Business Today

Do you have something in common with your fellow business owners? Are more and more people slow paying you?

Recently I conducted a survey of dealer/distributors around North America and for the first time Cash Flow was mentioned by the majority as one of their top 3 concerns.
The slow economy over the last few years is starting to take its toll. More and more owners cite slow paying customers as a growing problem.

What can you do about it? You see there are really 6 Levers in your business that effect Cash Flow. Looking at A/R only is only 1/6 of the problem. While we all can't be financial wizards, we need to gain a basic understanding of what we are dealing with and the actions we can take to manage this issue.

As with anything, we have to have a way to measure the variables (the 6 Levers) before we can even talk about managing them. Once we are measuring the right things, we have to set some targets or goals to improve them. This does not mean we have to be financial wizards or "numbers" people, we just need a grasp of the "Levers" that effect Cash Flow and a couple of simple formulas to measure how we are doing and where we want to go.

The numbers you need are on your balance sheet and financial statements. If you don't want to do it yourself ask your accountant to provide these numbers to you each week or month.

I have written a Free Guide - "Cash Flow : How Disney, Ford and Trump all went Bankrupt - A Simple Guide to Improving Your Cash Flow"

Here's an excerpt:

"As Michael Gerber says, "I remind my clients that Donald Trump, Henry Ford and Walt Disney all went bankrupt, even though their enterprises were earning income, because they ran out of cash! Most businesses without cash flow forecasting in place do not survive, while nearly all businesses with cash flow forecasting in place do."

Of course you know that cash is the fuel for your company. Like a $70,000 BMW, you can have a fast growing, profitable company and if you can't generate enough cash (fuel) for your tank you can find yourself sitting on the side of the road, out of gas.

The main quantitative measure of a business' success is not profitability (the excess of revenue over expense), it is the excess of cash flowing into the business over the cash flowing out. It is quite possible, and even common, for businesses to be profitable but be cash flow disasters.

Growth takes cash and lots of growth takes lots of cash. It is a sad fact that the majority of failing firms are profitable as they enter bankruptcy. No gas, no go."

It's yours free by simply clicking here.

Referrals- It is not about the money

Intuitively, one may think that rewarding customers or other business owners to refer you or your company would be very successful. However, rewarding customers or small business owners for their recommendations is not an effective strategy.

New ECSB research shows that only 12% of owners expect to receive compensation for their efforts. Of course, owners would gladly take your money, but the majority (57%) don’t expect compensation. So, at a minimum, you are wasting money.

Worse, paying for a referral diminishes its impact. Their study shows that if owners believe another owner stands to benefit, its credibility is jeopardized. For example, the likelihood of a referee following a "paid" recommendation drops like a stone – a negative impact of 4.3 times compared to a "genuine" recommendation. This is now like "shooting yourself in both feet." Rather, we need to take a step back and understand what drives owners to advocate for your products or services. The critical insight is that owners recommend you more so because of their relationships with their peers, and less so because of their relationship with you.
While owners do need to be satisfied with you, what ultimately drives them to recommend is if they believe your product or service will help their peers. What ultimately drives them NOT to recommend is the fear of giving bad advice to their fellow owners. Small business advocacy is about them, not about you.
So, make sure you have a documented Formal Referral Program that clearly states what you do and don’t do with referrals. What you would like the referrer to do? Provide something of value that the referrer can "give" to the referee to make the effort easier for them to approach an associate and make them feel good (remember it is about them) about making the referral. This could be a free consultation over lunch, something of value that allows you to show how you will serve this referee in the future.
Then remember to follow up several times with the referrer to keep them in loop and reinforce how good it feels to help out their referee/friend/associate. This Program means a lot more to someone than a car wash ticket or $50. It is ok to show your appreciation after the fact, but that should be an afterthought and unexpected.
For more on the Formal Referral Program watch this short recorded webinar:

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/323397/Trust---The-Formal-Referral-Program--recorded

All the best,
Rick Wallace
And

Doers vs Feelers

This is from my coach Steve Chandler and says it all about committment and time management:

"One of our club members recently asked me to repeat what I'd said a long time ago about the difference between doers and feelers. He said it changed the way he lived his life. So I'll say it again. Professional people fall into two categories. There are doers and there are feelers. Doers do what needs to be done to reach a goal that they themselves have set. They come to work having planned out what needs to be done. Feelers, on the other hand, do what they feel like doing. Feelers take their emotional temperature throughout the day, checking in on themselves, figuring out what they feel like doing right now. Their lives, their outcomes, their financial security are all dictated by the fluctuation of their feelings. Their feelings will change constantly, of course, so it's hard for a Feeler to follow anything through to a successful conclusion. Feelings are changed by many things........biorhythms, gastric upset, too strong a cup of coffee, an annoying call from home, a rude waitress at lunch, a cold, a bit of constipation. Those are the dictating forces, the commanders, of a Feeler's life. A Doer already knows in advance how much time will be spent on the phone, how much in the field, what clients will be cultivated today, what relationships will be strengthened, what communications need to be made. A Doer uses a three-step system to guaranteed success: 1) They figure out what they want to achieve. 2) They figure out what needs to be done to achieve it. And, 3) They just do it. This is not a theory, this is the actual measured and observed system used by all super achievers without fail. Whether you are a Doer or a Feeler has nothing to do with your character or personality. It has everything to do with choice. Choice is the key to it. You can choose either one, at any time, in any situation. So today, as you are challenged by situations, be sure to ask yourself, "What can I do about this?" instead of "How do I feel about this?" You'll be very pleased with the day you have."

68% Small Business Owners Are Using Mobile Devices

Smart phones, tablets, etc. are being used by more and more people. And not only by young consumers, but business people to search the web and read their email. A recent survey of 1,021 Small Business Owners about their use of tablets shows that smart phones have become even more popular, especially for email. 68% of small bsuinesss owners use theirs to search the web and 58% use them to search vendor's websites.

If you are sending information out to your customers, making special offers, etc. via email with links back to your website or sign up pages or if you are starting to use QR codes on your business cards and printed materials, make sure the landing page you are using is mobile optimized.

What does that mean? Simply someone on their smart phone can actually read it and use it in format that is conducive to their device.

Want to know how? Read this short piece from William Joseph, Search and Rank here in town. Notice how it works on your phone or your PC and William can do this for you.

Rick Wallace
All the best,

Success = Hire Sunny-Fire Gloomy

Tom Peters recently pulled from his archives his rules for ensuring business success. It is so simple yet it works and it works every time, regardless of the business.

From Tom Peters:

The Way for your team to Succeed:
HIRE SUNNY! FIRE GLOOMY!
Hire/Promote those with....Sunny Dispositions.
Fire those with perpetually...Gloomy Dispositions.
(Hint: The farther up the Organization you go, the more important this gets.)
(Rule: Leaders are not permitted to have "bad days"....especially on Bad Days!)
(Rule: One Sad Dog can infect a group of 100.)
(Rule: One Energetic, Optimistic, Sunny Soul can motivate an army to move a mountain.)

Make sure you include this in all your job descriptions and screening scripts.

I would be interested in your rules? Please comment

Coach's Corner
Not Enough Time - Big Problem - So Skip It
by Rick Wallace

"Those who make the worst of their time most complain about its shortness." -
La Bruyere

Watch this 2:26 minute video blog and get the secret to skipping your biggest problems.


Time - Not the Problem - Get My Webinar


Sign up for a FREE 30 minute recorded webinar that will show you the secrets of getting the most from the time you have.

10 Questions you should ask before you seek outside help

If you, as a small business owner, are, or have in the past, considered seeking outside help to address areas of your business that need improvement you should be aware this will create the need for change within your company and its success will depend on how you and your company most effectively implement change.

Business owners are constantly being approached with programs or people who claim to be able to help them better their business.

These include Mastermind Groups, University programs, Consultants, "Guns for Hire", Seminars, Coaches, etc.

Even when you come to the conclusion it is time to reach out for help you should be warned that it is not the time to make an investment with the "option of the day". They each provide solutions, but they each have different ways of delivering the solution.

As I said before, it must match the way you and your business/team accepts change and how you follow through and implement change.

To insure an investment like this will result in the desired outcome for you and your company, I suggest you take the time to answer certain questions before you even think about proceeding to take a look at the options in front of you.

To make it easier to answer these questions start by focusing on one issue or idea that you know would better your business.

Buying Decision Process
What is the #1 problem/issue holding your business back or the #1 new idea you need to implement to grow your company?
How are you currently set up to fix this problem or implement this idea with the current resources you've got in place?
Historically, how successful have you been in addressing issues and implementing new ideas? Why?
What's stopping you from using your current resources (inside and outside the business) to fix the problem or implement the idea?
Is there something further you'd want or need but aren't getting from your current resources?
Who would be the people affected by any solution that would address the problem or implement the idea?
How would they be affected by the changes your decision would create in the business and what role would they take in the process of addressing or implementing it?
What would you need to consider to insure that the people that are touched by this issue/problem/idea would be willing to get on board with new choices you might make?
What would you need to know or believe differently in order to be willing to add new processes, habits or best practices to the daily routines of your business?
How would you know when it was time to bring in an outside catalyst to help you focus on addressing this issue and/or implementing the new idea?
How would you measure the effectiveness and the ROI on an investment in an outside resource/solution?
Only after you have answered these questions, are you in a position to research the solutions and make a decision on the type of help you need, how and who will be involved, and how effective each program will be in your particular situation.

Do you want to learn new skills or do you prefer someone to just come in and give you a plan and leave? Do you need someone to be accountable to and work with you to implement, or can you learn and then return to your company and teach the team? Do you need to build the plan together for it to be effectively implemented or do you want someone to come into the company and just do it for you?

All these answers have to be considered to be able for you to invest in the right program for your situation.

I've seen a lot of time and money wasted by business owners who made decisions like this without considering the proper match between the right solution and their unique situation.

Seeking outside help is a strength, not a weakness. It can be the best investment you have ever made in your business, but it can also be very ineffective if you choose resources that do not deliver within the unique environment of your business culture.

Those of us in the business of "helping", understand that the success of our work will depend on the proper match between our method of help and the client. Thus, we have all referred prospective clients to other programs to ensure their success.

As a coach, I sustain and grow my business by referral and word of mouth and I want every engagement to be successful.

Don't Procrastinate

Don't let problems and ideas go unattended any longer, seeking help will ensure you address them, but answer these questions before you start to seek the right solutions.

I would be happy to explore this with you through a Complimentary Buying Decision Meeting (phone or in person). Together we can walk through these questions and ensure you know how to choose the right solution for your unique situation.
Rick Wallace is a Business Coach, Speaker and Writer who speaks to and works with 100's of small business owners each year and knows that the success of any betterment program requires a good fit between the program and the client's unique situation. Contact him at rick@next-level-coaching.com and he will be happy to walk you through these questions and supply you with objective advice. See more resources at www.next-level-coaching.com

Marketing tip - Use QR codes to bring Life to Your Marketing!!!

Watch this 2 minute video and use your imagination.

How would you like to have your business card take a prospect ,in less than a second, to a video on your company or to recording of your Value Proposition?

Or your website landing page or a coupon or special that you could change every day - if you wanted to?

How about on retail shelf – one click and they are seeing a video on the product?

How about a newspaper or magazine ad that with a click of their smart phone they are sent to a special offer or video?

Click on this link and watch my 2 minute video that demonstrates this new technology. It’s free and easy to implement. The apps are free for the phones and the code can be generated and printed in 2 minutes
On free websites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUAt7WtG_EE

All the Best,

Rick Wallace