Profitability Channel

I made a U-turn when I turned fifty a few months ago. I simply realized that I was finally living the way I wanted rather than considering what others might want.

Simple but not always easy. Over the years, I have trained all the people in my life to think of me as the “go to” person. In fact, I did such a fine job that people handed off their problems before they made an attempt to solve the issues themselves. This was especially true at work. So the only one really excited about the U-turn was me.

It took some time before everyone understood the change in direction was permanent, but my company is stronger now as a result. I have handed off the busywork that had kept me from doing the important stuff. But it isn’t enough to delegate. My staff still needs access to information to help them make better decisions and be more effective players.

iBusinessChannel fills that need. For example, my company is considering government contracts and how we might be able to expand our market to the military. The "Government-Business Partnership" is a great program and resource that provides insight into this industry. Additionally, I don’t have the time to read all the business books that catch my eye so I will be tuning in to “Cover Stories”, a show on iBusinessChannel that highlights authors and motivators in various fields of business.

For my business, the employee responsible for bookkeeping should be extremely familiar with the fundamentals of fiscal management so they can liaise with the accountant and accurately relay the information I need. Luckily, iBusinessChannel has an insightful program focusing on finance to assist the novice to the more seasoned professional.

iBusinessChannel...It’s one-stop shopping. Now if they only had all the information I need for working with my teenage daughter…

Ever notice how easy it is to figure out someone else’s business problems? “How obvious”, you sigh. “I would never (fill in the blank)!” It’s too bad we can’t see our own blind spots as well as we can others.

One of the best things you can do for your company and yourself is find a mentor who will tell you the unvarnished truth. One of two things will happen: You will shout “aha!” or you will completely disagree and spend lots of time defending your actions. Pay attention when it happens – especially the defensive part.

It’s hard to hear the truth sometimes. We get so invested in solutions that we never even think the problem doesn’t have to exist much less get fixed. Let me explain.

A bar down the street from my office had always served wine by the glass. It was well-known the after work crowd often asked for their glass of wine to get “topped off”. It was very difficult for the staff to figure out how much to charge and they spent a lot of time trying to be fair to everyone involved. A new owner came in and replaced all the large wine bottles with individual size bottles. No more calculating, no more discussions over bills, no more complaints. Did they lose customers? Absolutely not. It actually had an unexpected benefit. There’s no question about how much you have had …good to know when you’re driving later.

I didn’t ask for help on a particularly thorny issue recently. The unsolicited comments kept coming from another business owner I respect. I kept thinking he didn’t really understand one of the core issues (note defensive tone). I finally allowed myself to fully consider the idea. It all came down to semantics. When I substituted a word I liked rather than the one he used it was like an epiphany. We are meeting in the next couple days and it will literally transform the way I do business. My most grateful thought? That I didn’t keep my defenses up and miss this wonderful opportunity.

Ask yourself what would happen if you were able to focus on new ideas instead of trying to solve problems that don’t really exist. If learning an entirely new method created profits rather than headaches. If letting down your defenses meant increased flow of information for more rapid decision making.

Your customers, suppliers, and vendors will notice. “How obvious”, they will sigh, “That company really knows how to take care of business.”