Coaching For Best Business Practice Bottom Line

 

 

I’ve heard a Russian saying about production workers: “We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us.”

 

It probably sounds funny in Russian. In America workers who pretend to work usually find other jobs.

 

Small business owners know their bottom line better than anyone. Whether they know a trade or mastered a special skill, whether they’ve opened their own shop after working for a big company or expanding out of their garage, they know the numbers.

 

Entrepreneurs know the value of covering expenses, when to invest in new technology and tools, when to hire.

 

While some people feel the best goal of industry is giving back to the community that supports them, best business practice says cover the nut or find a new business idea.

 

II

 

As a youth sports coach I learned the big difference between talking to parents and talking to the team without the parents present.

 

For the parents it’s all about the kids. If they’re having fun then everything is good. I’d say the same thing three different ways to help the moms and dads feel their kids were in good hands.

 

To the team I’d say one thing: “You parents want you to have fun, I want you to have fun, but no one is having fun unless I’m having fun. Winning is fun, but learning how to win is more fun. That’s what we’re all about. Will we win? Yes, but we’ll lose, too.

 

“Losing a game won’t make you a loser. A bad attitude makes a loser. So let’s agree now that we’ll try to learn together.”

 

Then I’d make my kindergartners drop for twenty and take a lap. No, I didn’t. I saved that for later with my sixth grade teams.

 

III

 

What’s the difference between coaching sports and coaching business owners in a business park? Time. Don’t take any more time than needed because, say it together, “time is money,” and they all have clients waiting for them.

 

So start with a question, a money question like, “what would you do today with an extra five thousand dollars?”

 

What would you do?

 

Improve business conditions? Buy ad space? New tools? Take a class? Best business practice says you need to be more competitive, open new markets, and be more efficient with time.

 

Pay attention to the back office analytics to track where to improve quality and reduce waste.

 

This is nothing new, just google best business practices and it’s right there. Now imagine putting it on the table for hard working tough guys to chew on. Would they listen?

 

Why would small business owners in the middle of their day take a break to listen to a business coach? Bottom line is the answer.

 

If a bunch of entrepreneurs in the same location do their work and pay rent and go home, it all works out. Until it doesn’t.

 

Every team needs to know they can depend on their teammates; a group of businessmen need to depend on each other.

 

I’ll break it down.

 

IV

 

We all have a circle of friends, family, and acquaintances. We all have certain things in common. If I know a good mechanic I’ll tell my circle in case their car needs work.

 

If my favorite couch wears thin and I know a good upholsterer, I’m calling them.

 

Word of mouth from a trusted voice is the best advertising money can’t buy.

 

If a new business moves into the business park they bring the same circles of people who may need work done. Maybe it’s a cash exchange, a barter, or a promise of things done in the future.

 

Make a deal, but you can’t do that unless you make a positive contact. Find a way to cooperate, collaborate, and share. Good will is good for the business bottom line.

 

People in business over an extended timeline get comfortable with a certain level of success. They work hard enough to provide the lifestyle they want. They don’t want to work harder because they’re already maxed out.

 

But what if there’s another way to increase profits and work less? Is that what medical specialists do? Think of the general practitioner with a waiting room full of patients versus the high dollar specialist like the surgeon, the radiation oncologist, or the ear nose and throat doctor the GP refers to.

 

Not everyone gets to drive a Mercedes 550 and live in luxury, but doesn’t it sound fun? While that’s not my goal, it’s not a bad one.

 

Making a difference in business life is a goal, and it starts with the bottom line. Move up from there and new things come into view.

 

That’s when to ask the bigger question: “What do you see now?”