9 Steps For Creating The Best Odds For Success

Written by a successful businessman with
four decades of ownership experience, and
packed with valuable advice, The Facts of
Business Life presents every business
owner - whether he or she is starting,
building, maintaining, or exiting a business -
with the key facts that, applied together,
can ensure a strong and lasting enterprise.
The Facts of Business Life
by Bill McBean
www.factsofbusinesslife.com

When you run a business, there are always some certainties as you look
into the future. You know your best competitors will work to become
better. You know your customers will demand more. You know you'll
have to work smarter and harder every day to improve your bottom line.
However, if you take a long hard look at a few critical pieces and put a
plan in place right now, you can be much more prosperous.
Break down your planning into what you need to do internally -- with
processes, employees, yourself, etc. -- and what you need to do
externally -- with customers, marketing campaigns, and so on. Here are
9 steps that can help you to increase your odds for success.
By Bill McBean
9 Steps For Creating The Best Odds For Success

By Bill McBean
1. Evaluate your leadership
If you don't improve your leadership skills, there is little chance your
business can improve. Being a great leader begins with a self-analysis
of your leadership ability.
Without effective leadership, your employees have no idea what is
important, what to manage, or what success and failure look like. In
order to have effective employees, your business ﬁrst has to have
effective leadership, and this starts with the owner.

By Bill McBean
2. Do a top-to-bottom walk-through of your
systems and procedures
In essence, systems and procedures (processes) actually operate your
business, though a lot of owners misunderstand this simple concept.
Examine which processes are working, which need to be improved,
and which processes are outdated and exist only because "it's the
way it's always been done."
In particular, look for inconsistencies in how employees handle tasks,
especially those that directly impact customers and those that
affect the data you use to make decisions about the business.

By Bill McBean
3. Kick off a cost-cutting, gross-profit-building
mission
This is a powerful weapon for an owner. In reality this is the most
powerful 1-2 punch an owner can make on their bottom line and cash
flow. Most owners look too cut costs first, because it’s the easiest of
the 1- 2 punch to do. But, increasing gross profits can’t be ignored as
gross profit is the life blood of any business and correlates to your
market and your businesses future. Don’t assume that you know how
much things are costing you - including vendor pricing - or that your
employees are reacting to new sales opportunities, and or threats
to your market performance.

By Bill McBean
4. Re-engage employees
To motivate employee’s in this economy they have to be focused on
attainable results and rewarded for consistently doing what you want
them to do and focus on. Nothing beats a handshake with $20.00
bucks in it and a thank you. Or, giving them some unexpected time off
with pay.
And, for the owner to realize their role is to make your business
environment one in which success can be continually created.
Meaning eliminating frustrations, proper training, and ‘cutting out
employee’s who are performing and have bad attitudes, to name
just a few motivation killers.

By Bill McBean
5. Set some realistic, specific goals, get set up and
ready, and really go for it
Aim high but be speciﬁc. If your goals aren’t measurable, you wont be
able to gauge your progress and eventually the goals you set won’t
matter to anyone. Setting realistic goals, putting a plan in place, and
routinely checking the progress is one of the best way to be
successful and make goals meaningful, if you aren’t willing to work for
the goals your employee’s won’t either.
And if you take your focus off of improving your business, competitors
will step in and take what you have worked so hard for. Its just
the law of the marketplace jungle.

By Bill McBean
6. Boost your product/service offerings
The products and services you offer are the core of your business.
Think about what you can do to squeeze out another product or
service offering with what you already have in place.
And don't ignore the power of impulse purchases or convenience
items, even if they are not matched up with your core products.
Always be looking to make new and better offerings to your
customers. Doing so provides added value for your customer and for
you. A true win-win.

By Bill McBean
7. Revamp your marketing campaign
Think about who your customers are. Are you marketing to them in a
way that makes sense?
It takes marketing to bring customers in and to keep them. Many
companies see marketing as an expense, but it's actually an
investment and deserves your focused attention. And remember, your
attention should be focused on what products are selling, where your
customers go for information, who purchases your products, who are
the easiest customers to attract, and which products bring the most
gross proﬁt.

By Bill McBean
8. Find new ways to impress loyal customers
Few things are as important as your customer base. It's essential that
you ﬁnd ways to protect yours by developing very loyal customers.
You can't ignore the market and what your competitors are doing to
keep their customers, but the prize goes to the owners who become
more creative and don't offer just the expected.
It can even be as simple as posting a sign by your cash register asking
customers to go to your website to register for prizes, or to sign up at
the point of sale - everyone likes to win something! This is where the
term 'think outside the box' really applies because the only limit
is your imagination.

By Bill McBean
9. Get knowledgeable about economic/tax
changes and how they'll affect you
The slow-to-recover economy and the ﬁscal cliff debacle have taught
us the importance of staying one step ahead when it comes to the
economy and how it's going to affect your business.
Be proactive and seek out a trusted ﬁnancial advisor. He or she will be
able to point you in the right direction and uncover ways to save. Ask
your banker about your overall market, which industries are showing
strength, and which are struggling. This can give you a look into the
future on what products may have increased demand and which
ones may lag.

Bill McBean spent many of his nearly forty years as a
successful business owner in the automobile industry where,
among many achievements, he purchased several
underperforming and troubled dealerships and turned them into
a successful business enterprise. At the height of his success
sales revenue had increased 10x. This attracted the world’s
largest automotive retailer, AutoNation, which McBean
eventually sold to them. Since this sale McBean has been
involved in several new businesses, includingMcBean Partners,
an investment and business mentoring company, and Net
Claims Now, which provides administrative services and
support to the restoration & emergency responders industry.
The Facts of Business Life is available where books are sold!
Amazon Barnes & Noble
The Facts of Business Life
by Bill McBean

9 Steps For Creating The Best Odds For Success

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9 Steps For Creating The Best Odds For Success