Most people don’t get radical financial results.
Most people get accidental results.
The cash in the bank is the cash they end up with.
The profit at the end of the month, quarter or year is the profit they end up with.
And the results they end up with are usually underwhelmingly average at best. Hands up who wants to be average?
Of course some people get lucky. But luck isn’t sustainable and you can’t plan to have good luck year after year.
So if you want better than average results, better than what you end up with, then you have do something different.
I’ve lost count of the number of business owners I’ve come across who are “hoping for a better year this year” with no plan of what needs to change to make that happen. These are the people who get accidental results.
What does radical look like?
It’s different for everyone of course. For me it’s having a year of overheads in the bank so I can withstand any shocks, with all my VAT and corporation tax put aside, it’s earning what I want to earn consistently, it’s being able to look several months ahead and already know that I’m in profit and on track to beat my targets.
It’s knowing I can deliver outstanding results to my clients and inspire them to be their best, in way that works well for my bottom line as well. And knowing that I can create the financial security I want for my future.
Personally for me it’s not about amassing great wealth, but for you it may well be – and that rarely happens by accident.
What would radical financial results look like for you?
Take a few minutes sometime today to dream just what that could look like for you.
How do we get radical?
Call me boring, but we need to plan for it! We know it doesn’t happen by accident.
We need to know what good even looks like.
Forget turnover – it’s a poor measure driven by vanity.
Instead, decide:
- What bottom line profit you want your business to make and retain this year
- What do you want your take home pay to be
- How much do you want to get into your pension
- What extra cash would you like to have to invest in growing your business, taking on new people, investing in training and new skills?
Then you’ll have a good idea what gross margin you need to make, which will lead you back up to revenue. Work it backwards from net profit back up to revenue, NOT revenue down to profit; otherwise you’ll get what you end up with.
We need to map out how we get our businesses to generate the profits and cash flow we want. And we need to know if our business is currently capable of giving us those results, and if not, what do we need to change?
I’m working with a client at the moment to treble their bottom line profit. The first barrier we came up against was that the management team are inexperienced and not taking ownership yet for their areas, so step one in our plan is training and supporting those managers to confidently step up. And we’ve identified a number of things that need to be changed or done – but we’ve got a clear plan of how we’re going to do it and when. And I have no doubt that we’ll get there, and when we do, they’ll have that extra profit in their business year after year.
Do you want better than accidental? Better than average? Better than what you end up with?
Helping our clients get these results is what we do. If it’s time for you to start demanding better of your business then why not talk to me? I don’t bite (very often) and I’m very happy to speak to anyone about their business, in fact it’s one of my favourite things to do!
You can book a free phone call or meeting with me – just drop me an email on Serena@fwordtraining.com or call me on 0115 9846344