Five areas of your business to know better today to earn more money tomorrow.

Any business owner who struggles with identifying the necessary actions to make more money will eventually find themselves out of business.  The same is true if you feel like the changes you make aren’t producing the results you desire; you are going to fit into one of the two following scenarios:

Scenario A Owner	Scenario B Owner
“I hate feeling that my business is out of control.  Even worse, I know I am running out of cash.”	“I feel my business is in control, yet I want to see higher profitability than what I earned last year.”
If you fit this scenario, it is time to take action on the easy-to-access data you likely have.   All you need to do is organize your data into a useful form then integrate it with other relevant business considerations to produce actionable information you can use to identify what practices you need to start, change, or stop with confidence to gain control over your business.	If you fit this scenario, you likely accept that the real lost income of any business is not the actual money lost but the difference between the money made and the money that should have been made but wasn’t.  Then you, too, need actionable information you can use to identify what practices you need to start, change, or stop with confidence to position your business for success.

The question to ask yourself is, “Do I feel more like the owner in Scenario A or B concerning my business at this moment?”

A well-designed small business assessment will scientifically determine which of the above two scenarios you’re in.  Whether you’re more like the owner in Scenario A or B, if you have trouble identifying the actions you need to start, change, or stop to produce higher profits and protect your cash flow, the BusinessCPR™ Fitness Test will help help you see what’s working and what isn’t in your business.

What business data do I need to complete the business fitness test?

Below is an illustration of the core information you will use to benefit from the BusinessCPR™ Fitness Test in five easy steps.  As you review your data needs step-by-step, consider how likely this information is readily available in your business.  Your success tomorrow is shaped by your application of critical information organized in a way to help you make better decisions today so you get the results you’re looking for:

Step 1—Increase the Velocity of Your Operating Cash Flow Today

To prevent cash outflows from exceeding cash inflows, you need to know the following for your business:

• • • • Receipt date and amount of Accounts Receivable collections
      • Payout date and amount of planned Accounts Payable payments
      • Payment date and amount of recurring expenses
      • Anticipated cash receipt date and the amount for planned asset sales

Step 2—Build Your Twenty-four-month Profit Plan to Guide Your Decision-Making

Making money is made more complicated than it already is to do when you run your business without the following sales and profit targets at a minimum to be realized each month:

• • • • Net sales
      • Gross Profit
      • Operating Profit
      • Net Income

Step 3—Confirm the Quality of Your Profits Through Leading and Lagging Metrics

To confirm how your business is doing while identifying where you are performing better or worse than your desired plan, utilize the following reporting tools:

• • • • Sales Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
      • Operation KPI’s
      • Finance KPI’s
      • Actual to Plan Variance Report
      • Year-Over-Year Variance Report
      • Thirteen Rolling Month Variance Report

Step 4—Stop the Losses That Keep Your Business at Risk

All wasted or lost cash costs you both cash reserves and profits.  Below are five steps to follow to hold onto more of your money:

1. 1. Identify, quantify, and prioritize your profit losses
   2. Set the metric for confirming when the loss is fixed
   3. Work your stop the profit loss action plan
   4. Measure the progress of your efforts
   5. Confirm you are holding onto the cash savings being generated

Step 5—Be Accountable for Your Results

In every business, there are always more things to do than time available to do so.  Make sure you don’t waste your time on the wrong things by knowing the following for you and your business:

1. 1. Know what you and only you can or should do, then get it done
   2. Delegate and follow-up on the rest since you can’t do it all

For many small business owners, the challenge in applying the BusinessCPR™ Management System in their business isn’t getting the data. It’s converting the data into actionable information.  Your business assessment results will give you both new insights and confirm what you already know so you can act confidently today if your goal is to improve the profits generated in your business so you can significantly improve your cash flow, tomorrow leading to continuously growing cash reserves.

Would you like to know where your business is most vulnerable?

Click the link below to take the no-obligation small business assessment test to learn what’s working well in your business and what isn’t.  Those who complete BusinessCPR™ Business Assessment have less management uncertainty and confusion because they are better able to see what they need to start, stop, and continue so they make more money with less stress.