Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Simple Business Advice: Focused Recommendations that Will Make You a Better Business Owner
    Simple Business Advice: Focused Recommendations that Will Make You a Better Business Owner
    Simple Business Advice: Focused Recommendations that Will Make You a Better Business Owner
    Ebook196 pages1 hour

    Simple Business Advice: Focused Recommendations that Will Make You a Better Business Owner

    By Matthew Smith

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    You won't agree with everything in this book. That's part of the beauty of advice—you can take it or leave it. But by considering the advice in this book you will either see something in a new way, or simply be forced to reaffirm what you already thought. Either way, you will think critically about how you run your business, what you do, and why. You'll be a better small business owner as a result.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMatthew Smith
    Release dateJun 4, 2017
    ISBN9780998507835
    Simple Business Advice: Focused Recommendations that Will Make You a Better Business Owner

    Read more from Matthew Smith

    Related to Simple Business Advice

    Related ebooks

    Small Business & Entrepreneurs For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How to Escape the Debt Dilemma

      Aug 28, 2019

      Most of us have been told that when it comes to debt, it's best to avoid it altogether You've heard it everywhere: Aside from a major purchase, like a home, if you can't pay cash for something, then you can't afford it. Of course, that's easier said

      4 min read

    • Article

      How To Regulate The Employment Relationship

      Feb 25, 2022

      The professional relationship between employer and employee is based on mutual benefits, respect and trust. Inevitably, in some cases, this relationship will sour due to poor work performance, conflict, misconduct, a breach of trust or other factors.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Making Friends With Money

      Jan 28, 2021

      Business finances aren’t as exciting as selling out a craft fair or landing your first wholesale client, but tending to your money early on will set you up for financial ease later. Here are three tips to get started. It’s easy to say you’ll do your

      2 min read

    • Article

      Fuel Spark Success

      Jun 5, 2020

      Fuel Spark Success
      8 min read

    • Article

      What Is A Finance Function?

      Jun 12, 2023

      What Is A Finance Function?
      4 min read

    • Article

      The First 90 Days

      Feb 1, 2018

      The First 90 Days
      14 min read

    • Article

      Take Time To Get Better At Trading And Investing

      Dec 6, 2019

      another year has rushed past. I’m not sure about you, but I am feeling old after this one. Truthfully, the local market did all right, when we take dividends into account, but I still feel battered and bruised. Fortunately, I have some time to rest o

      2 min read

    • Article

      Grow Your Startup

      May 26, 2022

      Grow Your Startup
      6 min read

    • Article

      What’s Next? Using The Coronavirus Crisis To Assess Your Business And Come Back Stronger

      Jul 6, 2020

      Many businesses are currently grappling with the impact that Covid-19 is having on their day-to-day life. It is a worrying time as businesses adjust to sudden changes in demands from consumers, and potentially having to literally stop trading. If you

      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Calculate Your Retirement Wealth Gap

      Mar 6, 2022

      Whether they admit it or not, many business owners wrestle with anxiety surrounding their financial futures. Maybe you’ve dealt with this yourself. But you don’t have to be fearful about your retirement savings if you plan properly. I’d like to share

      5 min read

    • Article

      Grow Your Remote Business

      Jun 30, 2020

      Grow Your Remote Business
      4 min read

    • Article

      What Successful Financial Management looks Like

      Oct 19, 2022

      If you're a smart business owner you will have your Accountant on speed dial, says GoFi8ure’s Lisa Martin. “He or she is really like your financial coach,” she explains. “So, if you want to bounce ideas around, then you should be able to talk to your

      4 min read

    • Article

      Get Lender Ready Now

      Sep 28, 2020

      Get Lender Ready Now
      4 min read

    • Article

      Warning: Your Business Is Not a Retirement Fund!

      Dec 11, 2021

      I often receive inquiries from business owners seeking to increase their company’s profitability, margin, etc. Many of them view the business as their retirement plan. Although it’s an asset you could use to fund your retirement, I believe focusing o

      5 min read

    • Article

      Small Business Finance

      Mar 31, 2020

      Small Business Finance
      3 min read

    • Article

      Biz Start-Up Guide: Step 3 Make Plans Think Through Important Aspects of Your Future Home Business

      Sep 29, 2022

      Order at https://homebusinessmag.com/home-based-business-guide/ You know what type of business you want to go into, and that's a great start. You probably can't wait to begin. But before you do, it's essential to make plans. You need to think through

      11 min read

    • Article

      Realizing Profit Potential

      Oct 18, 2019

      Realizing Profit Potential
      4 min read

    • Article

      Straightforward Solutions And Strategies

      Apr 25, 2022

      HELLO, I’M CLARE – YOUR POSITIVELY CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVER I’M AT MY VERY HAPPIEST PARTNERING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS LIKE YOU TO STRENGTHEN AND CONFIDENTIALY MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD. WHEN NOT WORKING YOU’LL FIND ME OUTSIDE, RAIN OR SHINE RUNNING OR

      4 min read

    • Article

      Trusting AI With Your Money

      Dec 5, 2023

      Trusting AI With Your Money
      9 min read

    • Article

      Live Well Work Hard

      Apr 22, 2019

      Live Well Work Hard
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Simple Business Advice

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Simple Business Advice - Matthew Smith

      Table of Contents

      Title

      Author's Note

      All About Money

      Know Your Numbers

      Review Your Profit and Loss Statement Weekly

      Pay Partners Instantly

      Shop By Value, Not Price

      Be Intentional With Revenue Diversity

      Send and Follow Up on Invoices Promptly

      Think in Terms of ROI

      Establish Basic Financial Goals and Measure Them Daily

      Develop Minimums for Your Business

      Be Profit-Minded

      Marketing Matters

      Get Comfortable Promoting Your Business

      Tap into the Power of SEO

      Establish a Realistic Marketing Budget

      Trademark What’s Worth Protecting

      Don’t Stop Networking

      Publicize Your Clients’ Successes

      Be Involved with Your Community, but Don’t Give Back

      Aggregating Third-Party Content on Social Media Is Mostly Useless

      Finding Balance

      Delegate

      Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

      Don’t Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Done

      Ruthlessly Defend Your Time

      Take Regular Vacations

      Stop Kidding Yourself About Work-Life Balance

      Make Simple Rules for Working at Home

      Respond to Email Quickly, but Don’t Trick Yourself

      Find a Good Lawyer, Build a Relationship

      Customer Relations

      Answer the Phone

      Texting Isn’t for Serious Business

      Create, Use, and Evolve Your Contract Template

      Never Do Spec Work

      You Can Only Be So Flexible with Customers

      Provide Answers, Not Just Responses

      Team Matters

      Celebrate Milestones

      Be the Best Boss You Can Be

      Care for Your Team, but Do What’s Best for the Company as a Whole

      Decision By Committee Is an Amateur Mistake

      Knowing Yourself

      Don’t Confuse Motion for Progress

      Don’t Pretend You Can Proofread Your Own Writing. Few Can.

      Start the Conversation with an Apology When You Mess Up

      Understand What Motivates You

      Be Realistic About How Busy You Are

      Do What You Say

      Manage Your Burnout Risk

      Practice The Shower Principle

      Maintain a Hobby

      Find Your Hustle

      Perform a Self-Analysis After Every Meeting

      Do Less, and Do Better

      1.jpg

      SPONSORS

      Top rated supplier and installer of replacement windows and doors in the San Diego area. Guiding the process from consultation to project completion.

      Certified Crestron programming, design support, lighting programming and Crestron system evaluations in San Diego, Orange County, LA.

      Architectural design firm providing residential and commercial design services in Long Beach, Irvine, Signal Hill, Los Alamitos and nearby.

      Partnering with Southern California families to provide premier, in-home, pediatric speech and language therapy services.

      An experienced team of pastors who are called to the unique ministry of

      revitalizing churches through times of transition or crisis.

      All Rights Reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information please address Maven Publishing USA at info@maven-books.com.

      Copyright © 2017 by Matthew Smith

      Cover design and illustrations by Todd Simpson

      Published by Maven Publishing USA.

      First Edition

      For information about special discounts for bulk purchases or author interviews and appearances please contact Maven Publishing at info@ maven-books.com.

      ISBN-13: 978-0-9985078-1-1

      Author’s Note

      You won’t agree with everything in this book. That’s part of the beauty of advice; you can take it or leave it. But by considering my advice, you will either see something in a new way or simply be forced to reaffirm what you already thought. Either way, you will think critically about how you run your business: what you do and why you do it. You’ll be a better small business owner as a result, and that’s the true goal of this book. Advice is easy to come by because most people have an opinion on most topics, but brief, actionable advice that’s practical, thought-provoking, and easy to implement isn’t so plentiful.

      Working with small business owners around the country—in various industries and with different approaches—has provided me with a unique perspective regarding the strengths and struggles that most small business owners face. I hope that by distilling that diverse experience and years of insights into practical advice, I’m able to help small business owners like you.

      Each of the following chapters is short and focuses on a single topic. There’s no specific order to the chapters, nor is there any meaningful connection between them. So, skipping around or reading just a few chapters at a time won’t diminish your experience in any way. Some chapters also include comments from other business owners and entrepreneurs. In some cases, their opinions match with mine. But sometimes they don’t. There are also a few guest-written chapters sprinkled in here and there. My goal with the guest chapters and comments is to provide alternative points of view, more for you to think about, and a richer reading experience.

      Simple Business Advice started as a column in Businessing Magazine in 2014. I loved the idea of providing short, actionable advice and opinion for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The articles have been quite popular with readers, and people who know me always say they can hear my voice when reading them. So, given that feedback, I decided to expand the idea and write this book. I hope you find it informative, useful, and maybe even a little entertaining.

      One disclaimer: I am far from perfect. In fact, I can’t even follow my own advice 100% of the time. Many of the chapters are based on things I’ve observed in other business owners, while some are based on my own weaknesses or areas where I’ve found improvement to have a great impact on success. I hope you find fresh ideas and encouragement in my advice.

      All About Money

      | 1 |

      Know Your Numbers

      Ever watch Shark Tank? I love that show. During the first couple of seasons, there were a lot of business owners who were mercilessly rebuked for not being able to answer simple questions about the financial health and costs of their company. In later seasons, business owners have learned to be ready and have their numbers in mind before their pitch.

      Ready for some fun? Let’s put you on the spot. Answer these questions right now.

      How many customers will you have this year?

      What percentage of your business is repeat customers?

      What’s your projected revenue for this year?

      On that revenue, what will your net profit be?

      What is your most profitable product or service?

      These are very basic questions that every business owner should be able to answer without looking at anything. I don’t expect you to have these exact figures ready to recite, but you should have pretty close approximations in your head at all times. If you don’t, I’d say you need to get a better pulse on the financial health of your business. My suggestion? Fix it. Today.

      And, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.

      If you were able to answer these questions without cheating (like opening QuickBooks), congratulations! Keep it up!

      | 2 |

      Review Your Profit and Loss Statement Weekly

      Are you familiar with the profit and loss (P&L) statement? Many of the small business owners I know really haven’t spent much time understanding critical financial reports like the P&L.

      Review your P&L statement every week. Seriously, every week. For larger companies or those with more transactions, you may want to look more often. But never less.

      Start by looking at your net income, the last line on the P&L. There are two things to consider. First, is the net income positive (in the black) or negative (in the red)? Obviously, you’re looking for a positive number here. Second, keep a mental (or written) note as to what the net income typically is. Having a typical net income number gives you a quick way to spot trends. Is the number going up each time you check in? Is it going down? Or is there a temporary spike?

      In order to easily compare numbers, you need to select the date range for the report. I recommend starting with a month-to-date report and a monthly report. Along with a year-to-date (YTD) report, those should provide a quick look at how things are changing each month, how the current month is stacking up, and how the YTD compares to the previous one. Compare the net income from month to month and year to year to find trends and identify seasonal patterns.

      When you spot an atypical net income, you need to take a closer look. Dig deeper, looking at spending across various categories, and be aware of how overhead categories are trending. Are you spending too much on company events, office supplies, or meals and entertainment? Watch what happens with payroll and related taxes over time. Are revenues up or down, and how has that affected the bottom line?

      You probably already track your bank balances and maintain certain

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1