The Path to Profitability

By:style='mso-tab-count:2'> S. Alison Chabonais

Automobile mogul Jim Moran is accelerating Florida

entrepreneurs' drive to success through a fully-funded endowment that helps

businesses boost performance and profit. Since its founding in 1995, the Jim

Moran Institute (JMI) for Global Entrepreneurship at Florida State University

has helped 1,500 of our state's entrepreneurs without charge. Individual and group

consultation spearheads a roster of support services geared to deliver

practical assistance, applied education and global presence in your market.

Jerome Osteryoung Ph.D., JMI's executive director, has had a

hand in helping 500 Florida entrepreneurs this past year. Recently, Osteryoung,

who is also professor of finance in FSU's College of Business in Tallahassee,

spoke with 40 Southwest Florida business owners on "10 Ways to Improve

Profitability" at a forum sponsored by the National Association of Women

Business Owners (NAWBO).

"Everyone knows that profitability is the blood that

keeps your business going. Understanding how to improve your profits enables

you to meet needs that satisfy customers, employees, suppliers and

yourself," says Osteryoung. "Conscientiously applying these 10 paths

to profit is what makes it happen."

Customer Service

By far the most important thing you do is provide customer

service. Without customers, you have no profit and no business. Successful CEOs

invest as much as 50 percent of their attention on customer service. Ask your

customers how they feel about you, your business and your products. Listen

carefully. Survey what they need. Find out what you can do better in order to

exceed their expectations. Constantly stress the necessity of customer

satisfaction with employees, then evaluate and reward them according to

exceptional customer service standards.

Secure Outstanding Employees

Employees make a company what it is. They daily determine

how you are perceived. They watch out for your company's interests when you're

not there. Hire the best and replace those who are hurting you. Establish a

probation period for newcomers to assess how well they represent your

organization. Canvass the market for competitive salary levels, and pay above

the going rate. Well-treated, well-paid employees are less likely to leave,

forcing you to spend money to search, hire and retrain someone to fill the

position. Signing bonuses tied to longevity encourage employees to stay.

Rewarding good long-term employees with bonuses creates loyalty in your most

vital asset.

Institute Employee Incentives

A well-managed company incentive system will result in 110

to 120 percent productivity. Make incentives congruent with business goals. And

beware sabotaging one goal by rewarding another. Generally, one incentive

system does not fit all, and you'll need to devise incentive subsets

appropriate to departments or activities. But make sure everyone is eligible.

Wise managers combine acts of appreciation and non-monetary awards, which boost

employee self-worth in the short-term, with a system of cash rewards that

enhances productivity and nurtures long-term loyalty. Walk before you run, as

once you establish incentives, they can be difficult to change.

Work With a Mentor

Entrepreneurs who ask for help do well. Captaining your own

business is tough and lonely at times. A mentor who speaks your language can

offer candid advice, help navigate minefields and guide you in survival

strategies. A good mentor can make a world of difference.

Network

You cannot over network, especially if you're in a service

business. Join groups. Attend meetings. Get involved with your community.

Provide leadership, and others will applaud what you can do. JMI facilitates

entrepreneurial roundtables in which 10 entrepreneurs come together every two

months to discuss problems. They reap valuable help while sharing solutions.

Never Compete on Price

Entrepreneurs want to compete on non-price attributes like

service and product quality. Convince customers you are giving them more than

your competitors. Be the best and you attract the customers everyone wants,

those who pay the asking price, pay on time and come back time after time. You

are freed to grow your market share. Compete on price and "win" by

being the cheapest supplier, and you attract price shoppers who view everything

you stand for as mere commodity. You sacrifice repeat business and customer

loyalty. Tied to selling a revolving door of old and new customers, it's hard

to get ahead.

Understand Financial

Statements

Financial statements, not checkbook balances, reflect your

company's financial health. A half-day course in understanding statement

fundamentals will attune you to what the balance sheet and income and loss

statement are telling you. You'll quickly get a better handle on the

relationship between assets and liabilities as well as profits and losses.

You'll be able to discern year-to-year trends, impact of financing on your

bottomline, and real return on your overall investment.

Reduce Costs

The fastest and easiest way to improve profits is to reduce

costs. If, for example, you operate with a five percent net profit margin and

wish to increase your profit by $100, you have two options. Either you must

increase revenues by $2,000. Or you can cut costs by $100. Cutting costs can be

painful. But prudent analysis by a small computer firm examining its every

expense allowed the owner to delete $5,000 in monthly bills. If employees balk,

you may elect to open your books and candidly explain the intrinsic value of

the business and the allocation of revenues that ensure the company's survival.

Invite employees to buy into your management decision, so that together you

work to avoid more hard-hitting cost-cutting tactics in the future.

Erect Infrastructure

Put needed infrastructure -- people, systems, equipment and

money -- in place BEFORE you set about growing your business. Otherwise, you'll

make a sale, fail to deliver and fall flat on your face. One CD ROM firm

teetered on the edge as its president traveled the country closing deals as

employees scrambled to keep orders flowing through the office. The need to hire

an office manager became critical as the firm neared 10 employees. Anticipating

that another salary would blast profits, yet counseled by JMI to proceed, the

president filled the position and now can't believe he resisted the move.

Use a Business Plan

A business plan is common necessity. You must know where you

want to go in order to figure out how to get there. If a full-fledged business

plan seems overwhelming, you can start with a basic feasibility analysis. It

clearly outlines demand for your product or service and ways to deliver it

profitably, and can serve as a nascent marketing plan. Every successful

entrepreneur understands at least two things, marketing and finance. Creating

and following a professional business plan, you'll always know how well you're

doing on your roadmap to success.

"Every one of these practical actions contributes to a

healthy bottomline," Osteryoung says. "You can use them in any

combination and any order, but use them."

S. Alison

Chabonais is a freelance business writer and public relations consultant.