Pool noodles. You know those coloured foam round sticks that children play with in swimming pools? Two summers ago, I saw a gas station selling them in a rural area displaying a sign proclaiming their price. The sign said “Cheaper than Canadian Tire in Town”. Why, I thought would you advertise like that when you […]
BUST THE MOLD: TIME FOR A NEW PRICING PARADIGM
UncategorizedWith few exceptions, most businesses use an outdated approach to pricing their goods and services. Whether they sell manufactured items, wholesale or retail or even provide financing, the conventional wisdom surrounding pricing was created in the late sixties and early seventies – a time when profit was evil. The conventional wisdom is built upon following […]
A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO BUSINESS TURNAROUND
UncategorizedI have done a lot of turnarounds. It is always a shame that companies don’t seek professional expertise until the bailiff is at the door or when it becomes truly costly to get back to profitability. After a while I understood that business owners have a lot of pride and are loathe to admit that […]
CAN YOU SAVE A COMPANY ON THE ROCKS BY INJECTING MORE MONEY?
Build Your Business Business Turnaround Debt Solutions Financing ProfitabilityIn the 1990’s a children’s clothing business nearby to me in Vancouver BC suddenly collapsed. Revenues and profits had grown at a breakneck speed with a multi-location expansion project. But they did not take into account that expansion vacuums up a ton of immediate cash that can only be replaced by profits generated over time. […]
Estimating. Do you WAG, SWAG or use a Stick?
Build Your Business Coaching Pricing Strategies Profitability UncategorizedOriginally published in Cast Polymer Connection, Fall 2017. In so many small businesses goods and services are priced based on guesswork – WAG method (the Wild Ass Guess) or add just a few numbers for SWAG (a Scientific Wild Ass Guess). Perhaps you use the STICK method where every stick and nail is costed out? […]
8 THINGS YOU NEED TO GET YOUR TOUGH PROJECT FUNDED
Build Your Business Business Turnaround Debt Solutions FinancingWhen an acquisition or refinance is turned down by lenders, it is too often because the borrower is not prepared. The following will help you to get your project funded even if the banks say NO! Ability to support the loan. You must have the ability to support the loan payments. This must come […]
10 Reasons Price Matching Is A Risky Strategy
Pricing Strategies10 Reasons Price Matching Is A Risky Strategy: Ask Walmart, ToysRUs & Best Buy (from an original Post on May 7, 2013 by Gilon Miller ) What started as a competitive pricing strategy has turned into a bad dream for Walmart, ToysRUs, Best Buy and their customers. These, and other big retailers are running into […]
QUOTING WARREN BUFFET
Branding Build Your Business Business Turnaround Coaching Pricing Strategies ProfitabilityWarren Buffett, the billionaire chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said he rates businesses on their ability to raise prices and sometimes doesn’t even consider the people in charge. “The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power,” Buffett told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in an interview released by the […]
What is profit engineering? How to create pre-determined profits.
Build Your Business Business Turnaround Coaching Debt Solutions UncategorizedWe believe that profit engineering is designing your company to produce a predictable, pre-determined profit. I owned a service company in Vancouver Canada that produced a 45% gross margin every month, steadily, for 13 years. So it can be done. And if you have predictable margins you stand a better chance of making a profit. […]
Busy But Not Winning
Build Your Business Business Turnaround Coaching Profitability Sales Uncategorized Work Life BalanceI have several clients and a number of friends and colleagues who equate busy time with productivity. But, being “busy” does not always equate to being effective. Ineffective people abound. From outside they are hard at work with paper, phone calls, emails, meetings and more meetings. Their desks are piled high. They look frazzled. They […]