Pilot Fish Personal & Professional Development, LLC
Prosper on Purpose
One of the keys to success for any business is attracting and retaining the right mix of clients or customers. Conversely, one of the keys for the consumer or business that wishes to transact business is to ensure that the right firm is engaged to provide the product or service desired. In simple terms, the “fit” must fit. [Read more…]
As a small entrepreneur, you can sometimes be overwhelmed by the amount of competition in the marketplace. How do you make yourself and your company stand out? This is especially problematic if what you are selling is a fairly common product or service. Experts tell us that when people purchase from smaller businesses, they do so because of the brand. What exactly does this translate to? In the case of a small entrepreneur, the brand is you.
One of the snares that catches some entrepreneurs is overemphasizing revenue. Yes, revenue is important. Without dollars coming in, there can’t be anything coming out. Sometimes, however, our definition of growth for our business values gross more than net.
My team and I have worked with entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. There have been those enterprises that grew to $1 million plus in annual gross, thereafter kicking out several hundred thousand a year to a founder. There were also smaller concerns that despite less impressive sales, were able to return an even higher percentage of dollars to the owner.
But we have also seen businesses that gross $1 million per year, and pay out $90,000 of that to the top dog. Then there are the boutique firms that pull in $100 grand and manage to net $90,000.
Of the latter two examples, which entrepreneur do you think might have less headaches and more satisfaction from his or her business?