The Power of Human Analytics with Michael Hall
Grow For It!
Episode 28: It’s my pleasure to welcome Michael Hall, Executive Advisor with Hall & Associates to discuss the topic of Human Analytics. As Mike describes it, think of this as Moneyball for companies. He uses analytics to help business leaders to gain valuable insights when it comes to managing, leading and inspiring employees and managers. Human Analytics Mike begins with a definition, from Google, that captures the essence of Human Analytics. “The systematic identification and quantification of the human drivers of business outcomes.” Similar to the move ,...
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Show Up Positive Book by Rita Ernst
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Episode 27: I’m happy to welcome Rita Ernst to the studio to discuss the launch of her new Show Up Positive book. You may remember Rita from . She is an industrial/organizational psychologist, who became a business consultant and now, a published author. She’s appeared in the local news, on radio and to a book signing with 70 people. Let’s learn about how her approach to helping individuals to have a positive impact. To order a copy of the Show Up Positive book, click one of the links on this page: I want to thank you for taking the time to...
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HR Alliance Offers an Innovative Approach
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Episode 26: I’m happy to welcome Marcy Young to the studio for today’s episode. Marcy is the Founder and CEO of HR Alliance LLC, in Louisville, Kentucky. She’s developed a business model enabling companies to contract with her and her team of HR specialists, without having to hire them in-house. It’s an ideal way to get the HR expertise a business needs for ongoing help, project-based initiatives or a hybrid plan customized to meet specific needs and/or situations. Does Your Company Need Help with an HR Issue? Contact Marcy Young and her team of HR Professionals...
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Cyber Liability Insurance Are You Covered?
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Episode 25: Cyber security and cyber theft are real issues for small business owners. There are now cyber liability insurance policies available to cover you, should you fall victim. In this episode, I interview Beth Combs and David Goheen from Gallagher, a large insurance company providing multi-line insurance, risk management and consulting services.
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Why You Should Write a Book - Cathy Fyock
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Episode 24: Ever think about writing a book? In this episode, I interview Cathy Fyock who’s a professional book writing coach. We’ll discuss how she works with her authors, why you should consider writing book and part of the process involved in accomplishing it.
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Mental Health Marketing Tips and Advice
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Episode 23: I invited my friend and colleague Andrew Aebersold to join me to discuss mental health marketing. He’s the Founder/CEO of Mediaura, a digital marketing company. We'll focus on issues related to effectively marketing a solo practitioner, a practice group or a larger company, such as a behavioral health facility. Both of us have experience in this healthcare segment. Marketing a mental health practice requires an understanding of the unique issues.
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Businesses Should Think Differently in 2021
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Episode 22: The business assumptions, rules and paradigms you used to guide your business through 2020 and previous years won’t necessarily apply in 2021. Join me for a discussion with Industrial psychologist and business coach Rita Ernst and photographer/brand & image consultant Coral Abood. If 2020 was the year of pivot, 2021 will be the year of flex.
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Protecting Your Healthcare Practice with Parker Wornall
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Episode 21: Louisville attorney Parker Wornall joins Jim to discuss the work he does for healthcare providers. His focus includes dental offices, foot and ankle practitioners, APRN practices, chiropractors, mental health practioners, adult day-care practices and others.
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Insurance Topics with Wendy and Alan Hall
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Episode 20: Wendy and Alan Hall join me for a discussion about the Alan Hall Agency. They work with various types of insurance. Their business recently went through some changes, so I thought it would be a good idea to ask them to walk us through the process. We also discuss some common insurance pitfalls for business owners.
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Interview with Bellarmine's Dr. Frank Raymond
Grow For It!
Episode 19: I’m proud to welcome Dr. Frank Raymond. He’s Bellarmine University’s Interim Dean of the Rubel School of Business and MBA Director. We discuss how business owners are making sense of the 2020 economy. This discussion is an informal exchange of ideas. These ideas do not necessarily reflect the views of Bellarmine University. Seek advice from lawyers, accountants, tax consultants, financial experts or other professional advisors before making decisions that may impact jobs or businesses.
info_outlineHello and welcome to GROW FOR IT! I’m Jim and this is a business podcast designed for small business owners, managers and other professionals. My goal is to work in the space between your ears – on your mindset – to help you focus on the actions and activities that help you to move closer toward your vision.
In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss a couple ways to use your financial reports, breaking down your customer segments and I’ll even give you a few tips on maximizing your profit margin.
The simple truth is Business Planning can be as high-level or as micro-specific as you want it to be. The company size, the organizational focus, even your specific role can benefit from a Business Plan. However, none of these really determine how complex your planning has to be. The fact is, if you’ll invest more time upfront, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your goals and moving closer to your vision.
We can’t get time back, so momentum, focus and velocity are typically to your advantage – SO LET’s PREPARE!
The best way to begin is to do a DEEP DIVE on your financials for the previous year. I’m not talking about just looking at your Gross Revenue and Net Profit. You’ve got to go deeper.
I recommend you break the numbers down by client segment, service and vendors. YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR METRICS!
Let me caution you here. People like to get very enamored with margin percentages. “Hey I’m making 38% on this product!” The reality is you don’t pay your bills with percentages. You pay with dollars. It’s always about the margin dollars!
As you stack-rank your client segments, you can quickly see which deliver the most profit margin to your bottom line. Simply looking at gross sales by segment can be very misleading. Topline revenue is only part of your business formula. I won’t tell you it’s unimportant, but it’s definitely less important that net margin, and ultimately net profit.
You want to fully understand who is driving your margin! The next step is to align business activities to focus on those client segments, products and services.
What you’re really looking for are your sweet spots. Which activities deliver the most margin dollars, for the least amount of effort? How can you do more?
Equally as important, which activities deliver the least amount of margin dollars? How can you do less of them?
Consider this: Did you leave money on the table last year? Are there discounts or rebates you simply didn’t take advantage of? Make a note to start asking each vendor about various programs, discounts and rebates. If there’s free money on the table, you need to figure a way to get your share of it!