Eager to roll it out and bring in the business?
Maybe you had better hold on a minute.
Here’s a story that illustrates what this means.
Robert Skrob is proud of his 13-year-old son.
Robert Jr. is learning to draw plans.
His 8th grade shop teacher shows him how.
He must draw a project from three views.
Overview and two side views.
That shows the teacher he knows what he plans.
Only then can he use wood and a saw.
This is a good lesson in life for all of us.
We need to conceive, see and draw our plans.
They may not be in pictures but in words.
Pictures, of course, help, too.
An executive recruiter friend uses pictures.
He has a photo of a snazzy car he wants to buy.
It is an expensive toy . . . but it motivates him.
He makes one more call every day due to that car.
A sports car may not be your goal.
It may be a dream vacation.
Your child’s education.
A highly profitable business.
A secure retirement.
Whatever it is, you need a picture in your mind.
You need a plan . . . on paper.
Such planning takes time . . . and patience.
Too often we are caught up by our passion.
We want to plunge right in and do it.
We can waste a lot of lumber that way.
Time is money . . . and money is wealth.
Precious resources. Use them wisely.
We started our company 20 years ago.
I could hardly wait for that first edition
I could see it rolling off the press.
I could see holding it in my hands like a new baby.
But my partner restrained me.
We need a business plan, she wisely said.
We spent weeks writing a narrative.
Then more weeks projecting costs and sales.
We hired a business planner to help us.
Crunching numbers is tedious . . . but necessary.
When we finished, we took two more steps.
We shaved 10% off our projected sales figures.
That was just in case we were too optimistic.
Then we added 10% to our costs.
That was for unexpected contingencies,
That swung the projected bottom line 20%.
I’m glad we did it. We reached profitability fast.
And we knew when to expect it.
But it took us 30 days longer than anticipated.
Without the 20% change, it might have taken longer.
Robert warns against being impetuous.
There are big profits in planning.”
It doesn’t sound sexy or much fun.
But planning is a very profitable exercise.
Don’t complain about your accountant’s questions.
Accountants know how to maximize profits.
They’re not just bean counters. Work with them.
A holiday gift idea for you
Would you like autographed copies of my books?
They make great holiday gifts.
We’re raising $10,000 for adult literacy tutoring.
It’s easy to make a donation for these books.
For a $100 donation, I’ll personally autograph them.
One for you and four for those you care about.
You can read about the books at my web site.
www.JerryBellune.biz
Then email me at JerryBellune@yahoo.com
Or call me at 359-7633 to order by credit card.
