Maximizing Your Resources

In yesterday’s Congressional hearings into the recent IRS scandal of targeting certain political groups for unfair treatment, witness Becky Gerritson made a bold statement in favor of the concept of freedom:

“I am a born-free American woman – wife, mother, and citizen – and I’m telling my government that you have forgotten your place. It is not your responsibility to look out for my well-being or to monitor my speech. The posts you occupy exist to preserve American liberty.”

It’s a well-accepted fact that entrepreneurs and business owners value our freedom above almost anything else.

Unlike the entitlement-minded majority of Americans, we entrepreneurs know that our success or failure is up to us – not the government or anyone else.

And we like it that way.

Unlike the government, entrepreneurs and small business owners have to be responsible stewards of our resources. Just as surely as wasteful spending characterizes our government, Return On Investment and the proper use of resources is what we must be all about.

This week and next week, I’m going to talk about how to take an inventory of all your current resources and get the absolute most out of them. This can help your capital go further and increase your profit margin.

Today I’ll cover three different ways to maximize what you already have.

I. Recognize The Obvious

Sometimes when you’re too close to something, you can’t see the big picture. That’s why you need to step back and really take a hard look at the resources you currently have right in front of you.

You are literally surrounded at all times by opportunities that can boost your career and help your business become more successful – even if you don’t think about it every day because you’re busy running your business.

II. Unconventional Breakthroughs

Don’t just sit around waiting for breakthroughs – you need to create them yourself.

What I mean by creating a breakthrough is either discovering a brand new way of doing things or finding a better way to achieve the results you want.

Of course you should constantly work on innovations with a skillful business coach (all top performers have coaches!), and you should also have regular brainstorming sessions with your staff – encouraging them to come forward with breakthroughs or ideas any time they have them.

Here are some great examples of business breakthroughs…

A health and beauty company discovers that a side effect of one of their products can be marketed on its own as a solution to a different problem
A company creates a roll-on deodorant inspired by the shape and size of a ball point pen
Phil Knight (founder of Nike) pours rubber onto a waffle iron in his kitchen and creates the most innovative and successful running shoe ever

When you’re looking to attract or strategize for a breakthrough, here are some key points to keep in mind…

Look for the hidden opportunity in every situation
Look to create at least one cash windfall for your business every quarter
The more value you create for your clients, the better your breakthroughs will be
Seek out multiple sources of ideas to make sure you find the best breakthroughs
Effective breakthroughs remove all risk or resistance

III. Face The Facts

Before you can put your breakthroughs into action, you need to face the facts of the processes and systems that are not working for you, then either work to correct them or get rid of them entirely.

The best way to do this is through what’s called “System Analysis.”

Here’s a simple way to perform one for your own business…

Make a list of your own strengths and weaknesses
Compare those to the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors

Then, ask yourself and your team some or all of these questions in order to get a handle on where your business is right now…

Why did I first start this business? Why am I in this industry?
What products or services did I offer in the past? Which were the most popular?
Why are my customers, clients or patients buying from me right now?
How did I generate new customers, clients or patients in the past?
Which of my marketing efforts used to produce the best results?

Once you’ve got some answers to these questions, you’ll have a much better idea of how to tune up your business.

These three areas I’ve just gone over give you a jumping off point for how to use your current resources to their fullest potential. If you need any help with your strategic or systems analysis, try my FREE SSSMarketingUniversity.com test drive to work with me or one of my amazing business coaches:

—–> SSSMarketingUniversity.com