Episode 98 - What to do when your plan fails 0

Jul 30, 2017

We all experience failure at one time or another. Successful business owners learn from their failures and keep going. In this episode, we discuss how to learn from failure to increase your success next time.

What to do when your plan fails

Jeff and Kristin discuss the following items this week:

First thing is to accept that your plans can (and sometimes will) fail
- Understand there is risk
- Go in with eyes wide open
- Try not to risk it all for an opportunity
Own it!
Understand the damage
List out what when wrong
Determine what can be salvaged
Determine if there are other wins
Make a new plan to move forward
Breathe and smile
Keep moving
Learn from it

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Episode 97 - How to deal with unhappy customers 0

Jul 23, 2017

None of us want to deal with unhappy customers but it is inevitable as a small business owner. In this episode, we discuss how to save your sanity and your reputation next time you must deal with one.

Before you respond

Many of us get a negative email, message, or review and want to instantly respond while we are seething mad. Probably not the best way to respond. Before you reply:

Breathe
Empathize
Do not take it as a personal attack
Think of solutions

How to respond

Listen objectively and get to the root of the problem
Come up with a quick resolution
Implement the resolution quickly
Don't be a pushover
Sometimes you cannot make them happy, no matter what you do

Sometimes you must fire customers

If a customer is too demanding or gets out of line, you can fire customers. Make sure you have disengagement language in client contracts where applicable.

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Episode 96 - Pricing your products 0

Jul 16, 2017

Small business owners typically struggle with pricing their products, especially digital products. In this episode, we discuss the factors that must be considered when setting your prices.

For more information about pricing your services, check out episode 90.

The components of pricing

There are four components of pricing:

Direct materials - These are the materials that go into each unit of your product. This might be the cost of a product that you have someone else manufacture for you or bonus items you give away with the cost of a digital course (maybe you mail a welcome packet or t-shirt). Direct materials can also be the cost of software that is incurred on each sale (if you are selling software as a service or other products with incremental software costs).
Direct labor - This is the direct cost of labor to make or provide the product. An example of this would be the cost associated with your labor to record videos for a monthly membership site like Small Biz HQ. This would also be the cost of editors and graphic designers for your new book.
Overhead costs - Overhead costs are all of your other costs associated with running your business. This includes other materials, labor, selling, and administrative costs. This definition is slightly different than the traditional accounting definition but it helps to simplify things.
Profit - Yes, you must actually figure profit into your calculations. There are a few different ways to do this. The most common way is to calculate your monthly desired profit or profit over the life of the product. For products with a longer lifecycle, I want to include monthly profit. Your profit should include your take home pay, any savings you wish to retain in the business, and your taxes.

You must also estimate how many units you can sell per month or over the lifecycle of the product (if it is short). Typically, we are very conservative with our estimates. If you estimate too high, you may end up not being able to cover your costs. If your estimates are conservative and you sell more units, your profit will be higher (which is a really good thing!).

Total Costs + Profit / Estimated Number of Products Sold = Price

Delays and procrastination will cost you

Time really is money. As the time you take to get a product to market increases, so do your costs. All of these costs, including the cost of your time, must be recovered. Here are some tips to minimize delays and procrastination:

Have a plan to get new products to market in 30 to 60 days.
If longer, minimize costs as much as you can.
Work off your strengths to develop new products more quickly.

Additional advice for physical products

Look for price breaks on order quantity but balance with storage and other costs.
Look for print on demand for books.
Discuss your plans with an accountant to avoid headaches, especially when working with affiliates or fulfillment in another state.
Discuss your plans with an attorney for intellectual property, claims, and safety issues.

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Episode 95 – Upgrade your Vanity Metrics 0

Jul 9, 2017

Why do we always look at numbers that mean very little?

Vanity metrics are the numbers that push most online businesses. However, they are just that vanity. They can make us feel great when they look good or grow. However, if they are low then we feel horrible. It makes us what to stop.

However, we need to remember that good or bad they mean nothing on their own. Views, downloads, likes, views, and hearts all mean nothing on their own.

VS what we need to know

What we need to look at is revenue, customers, conversion, cost or ultimately profit.

However, when we start a business those numbers are bad. They are the numbers of "old" business. They are not as sleek and sexy as these more modern metrics that make us feel like we are at least helping others even if we are not yet making money.

We understand

We are looking for validation as well. We want profits. However, we do this to help people. However, the less money we make, the less help we can give people.

So we need to look at metrics that tell us the complete picture of our business.

Use these to use get the most value out of your vanity metrics

Per Customer
Per dollar of revenue
Per dollar of profit
Per hour
Cost per Metric
Earnings per Thousand Metric

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Episode 94 - Health and Wellness Tips with Emily Olson 0

Jul 2, 2017

As small business owners, we often forget to take care of ourselves in the midst of our busy schedules. Join us for some wisdom from integrative health and wellness coach, Emily Olson.

Health and Wellness for the Small Business Owner

During this discussion, we cover food, movement, and energy so you can more effectively run your business. We had a lot of fun doing this interview and Emily provided some great tips.

If you are interested in finding out more about Emily and working with her, check out her website and sign up for a free 30-minute Breakthrough call. You can also sign up for her free 7-Day Whole Food Challenge.