business discussion by kip northrup blue thumb pond expo

START.Friday, October 11, 13

WHY DID YOU START YOUR BUSINESS?

Friday, October 11, 13

WHERE DID YOU SEE YOURSELF BY NOW?


WHAT HAPPENED?Friday, October 11, 13

WHEN IT COMES TO FIGURING OUT WHERE WE'RE HEADED IN LIFE, WE NEVER STOP TO

ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION, "WHERE AM I?"

• We just keep marching forward, day after day, job site to job site, sale after sale, moving faster and faster but not really going anywhere. Eventually, at the end of our lives, we start to do some questioning.

• In 10 years, what will you regret not doing today?


WHICH PATH WILL YOU CHOOSE? AVERAGE OR AWESOME?


ARE YOU TOO BUSY TO BE AWESOME?

• You've got a lot going on.

• Sometimes when we focus on our dreams and try to take steps down the path of awesome, our wives cry in the kitchen.

• Stay up 30 minutes after your spouse goes to bed or get up at 5 am before anyone else.

• If your dream isn't worth 30 minutes, you've either got the wrong dream or you're just pretending you have one.

• If the minimum you're willing to pay is less than 30 minutes, you'd better go back to average. Nobody gets up early on the road to average.

• Either way, you are safe on the average road. See you at old.


LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION

• If you died today, what would you regret not being able to do?

• Are those the things you're spending time doing right now?

• Live a life true to yourself...not the life others expect of you.


WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO TRAVEL THE PATH OF AWESOME?


FIRST YOU MUST FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU ARE


WHERE ARE YOU?Friday, October 11, 13

HOW DO WE DO THAT?Friday, October 11, 13

START WITH TODAY.START WITH WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW.


TODAY IS OCTOBER 10

• At least 30 days left

• Then 120+ days to get ready for 2014

•What will you use these days for?


HOPEFULLY NOT THIS!


NOW LET'S REALLY START.Friday, October 11, 13

WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE WINTER?

• Ever hear this question???

• I hate the assumption of this question!


WHAT DO WE DO AT BLUE THUMB?

• New Catalog Layout/Design

• Review every page of websites

• Review results and plan new marketing campaigns

• Facility maintenance

• Reorganize the warehouse


FALL & WINTER TO DO LIST

• Ideas come up in the season but there's no time to do.

• Write them down and refer to them when the season winds down.

• Assign an employee to each task.


WHAT'S ON OUR LIST FOR THIS FALL & WINTER?

• Videos of ceramic vases running for website

• Design a pump testing station

• Meet with shipping company

• Set up video area

• Review instruction manuals


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"

• General equipment repair & maintenance.

• Clean it and paint it. A coat of paint goes a long way.

• Organize your storage areas.

• Organize your customer files.

• Walk thru every step of your business and find the areas needing cleaning/organizing/updating.


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"

• Financials: Pull out all your receipts and written checks and sort them by job.

• Job name at top; expenses listed below.

• Determine Gross Profit % for every job...more on this later...


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"

•Marketing & Advertising:

• What did you do for marketing/advertising this year?

• What worked?

• What didn't? Why?


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"

• Marketing & Advertising:

• Meet with your suppliers and find out what’s hot and new for next year.

• What products/services can you add that will yield the highest profit?


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"


• Compose a letter thanking your clients from this year for their business.

• In the letter include the new products/services you’ll be offering for the upcoming year and specifically ask them to go to your FB page to like it.

• In the letter customize it to their specific project and create a list of the things they’ll want to be doing to keep it looking nice. Offer your services should they want someone to do it for them.


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"


• Determine what home shows you’ll display at and begin your booth layout and design.

• Again, ask for help from your suppliers.


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"


• Website: This is a great time for you to go page by page through your website and make updates.

• Social Media: Add pics and update the info.


CONTRACTORS "TO DO"


• Visit each job site from this year and last and snap pics and video.

• These can be used on your website and in your social media campaigns.

• If your clients are home ask them if they would be willing to write a testimonial. Write it for them.


RETAILERS "TO DO"

• Discuss with suppliers what products are coming out that are HOT.

• Better to ask other retailers or a distributor because manufacturers think all their products are best sellers!


RETAILERS "TO DO"

• Review the product lines you bought and see if they are yielding the GM% you need to remain profitable.

• What products do you have still sitting around?

• List these on eBay or Amazon to unload.


RETAILERS "TO DO"

• Do a review on your top sellers or items you think people are price shopping you on and check your prices against the competition.

• Are people leaving your store to make the same purchase online?

• We can’t stop the internet; its here. But you don’t have to support the products that are being sold online at steep discounted prices.

• Find products that have a strong MAP policy in place. And don’t just take the mfg’s word for it: do your homework.

• Having a MAP policy and enforcing a MAP policy are two very different things!


RETAILERS "TO DO"

• Create a checklist of things for someone to check for.

• Ask a few family members or friends to come in and review your store.

• Meet with you staff to address the items needing attention.

• When you are in your store every day you tend to walk right past the things that need attention and never notice them.


STORE REVIEW CHECKLIST

• How does the entrance look? Inviting? Clean? Clearly marked?

• When you step inside does it feel inviting?

• How clean are the floors? Have you vacuumed or mopped lately?



• Are the windows clean and free of cobwebs?

• How clean are the shelves? Are the products straightened?

• Are there signs that clearly promote the services you offer?



• How is the lighting? Bulbs need to be changed?

• Twice a year go through and change out your light bulbs in the store…customers will come in and think you’ve remodeled!


ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR?Friday, October 11, 13

PART 2: GROSS PROFIT MARGIN


WHAT IS GROSS PROFIT MARGIN %?

• Gross Profit is the amount of money remaining after you paid for materials. (Sales - COGS)

• Gross Profit % is the percentage of your sales that is remaining after you paid for materials. (Sales - COGS divided by Sales)


SALES MINUS COGS = GROSS PROFIT

• Gross Profit is calculated by subtracting the COGS from your Net Sales.

• $100 net sales minus $60 in cost (COGS) = $40.

• $40 is your gross profit.

• Great for determining how much money you have to pay the remaining expenses.


GROSS PROFIT % (MARGIN)

• Always better to know the GPM%.

• Your goal is to INCREASE your GPM% year after year.

• The HIGHER your GPM% the more real $$$ you'll have to cover expenses and realize a PROFIT.


WHAT IF...

• Our example: $250,000 x 39% = $97,500 ($2500 loss)

• What if 40%: $250,000 x 40% = $100,000 (break even)

• What if 42%: $250,000 x 42% = $105,000 ($5000 net profit)

• What if 45%: $250,000 x 45% = $112,500 ($12,500 net profit)

• Could you use an extra $15,000 right now?


2 WAYS TO RAISE GPM%• Charge more for the products &

services you are currently offering.

• Find new products & services that provide a better GPM% than your current average.

• Did you know that the average Water Feature installation yields a GPM% of 50% or GREATER?

• Why wouldn't you suggest a water feature on every single project you touch?


WHAT OTHER IDEAS?• Contractor example: weed pulling, gutter

cleaning, or poop scooping? Paver maintenance program; pond maintenance?

• Retailer example: beer making supplies or fairy gardens?

• Custom-Made products & High-Quality products demand higher prices & margins.

• The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.


FOCUS YOUR MARKETING, WEBSITES, & FLYERS ON THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT YIELD YOU THE BEST GPM%.


SHARE THIS INFO WITH ALL OF YOUR EMPLOYEES!


REVIEW CURRENT OFFERINGS

• Are the products you currently sell supported by MAP?

• Can your customers find what you sell online for less than you can afford to sell it for?

• Effects both retailers & contractors.


EVER HEARD THIS?• "We're going to buy the products

online but still want you to install them."

• Translation: You are over-charging me for the product but we still want them professionally installed and warrantied...(forever).

• "We're going to think about it".

• Translation: We're going to go home and check the prices online.


IT'S CALLED "SHOWROOMING"Friday, October 11, 13

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF IN SITUATIONS LIKE THESE?


WHAT PRICES DO YOU WANT THEM TO FIND ONLINE?


• Think about where you are now and what your path to awesome looks like.

• Create your fall/winter to do list.

• Find your highest GPM% products.

• Market the crap out of them.

• Start. Wherever you are, Start!


business discussion by kip northrup blue thumb pond expo

Business

marketing advertising

job site

didyou seeyourself

upcoming year

average road

didyou startyour business

new products services

fb page