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Quick quiz
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Each month I'll give you a new question.
Just reply to this email for the answer.
The Voyager 1 space probe is the most distant human-made object from the Earth.
How far away is it? |
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Financial Reports Can Uncover Business Improvements
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Business financial statements deliver a record of past events and, more importantly, reveal the direction you're going in. Examining a few factors within the numbers will show you how to control your destination.
A key area to evaluate among multiple periods is the past fluctuation in revenue based on various amounts of spending for marketing, labor and perhaps other categories of expenditure. For instance, see if periods when you spent more on your website resulted in subsequent months of rising revenue. Or maybe your sales tended to rise when you increased business meal expenses by taking more customers to lunch. The key is to repeat actions that enhanced revenue and avoid spending on things that were not fruitful.
Another useful measure is revenue per dollar of labor expense. A solo operator may simply examine revenue per hour, since an entrepreneur devotes time rather than money to attaining revenue. Shifts in these ratios inform you about the productivity of staff or independent contractors or even yourself. A falling ratio of revenue to labor cost may indicate you have excess staff. Perhaps projects are assigned to the wrong personnel or presented without sufficient instructions. Maybe your business has outdated equipment and making new purchases would enhance labor efficiency.
Find out if variances in revenue are the result of selling more to each customer or a change in the number of customers. To measure this, divide revenue by the number of customers. If you sell many things to a broad market, you'll benefit from monitoring the gross profit margin of each product or service sold. Discussing ratios with your accountant will assure that you make optimal use of financial statements rather than rely on gut feeling. |
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How to Win Big in Today's Economy
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The altered economic landscape presents innovative and nimble businesses
with opportunities to thrive.
Find out how by requesting my free
report "How to Win Big in Today's
Economy."
Just reply to this email and I'll send it right out to you.
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Stories of Success: Proof It's Never Too Late
to Get Started |
It's easy to feel as if we have one shot at achieving success in our careers early on in life. After all, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates created multimillion-dollar companies in their teens. But the data suggests they're the exception to the rule.
According to MIT professor Pierre Azoulay after analyzing 2.7 million people, the average age of business founders is roughly 40. Here are a few examples of people who prove it's never too late to break through in business.
Vera Wang. Synonymous with the crème de la crème of bridal couture, Vera Wang didn't even begin designing clothes until the age of 39. Prior to her fame as a designer, she had dreams of figure skating in the Olympics.
Reid Hoffman set up his first social network, SocialNet, in 1997. Five years later, he founded LinkedIn at the age of 35.
Robin Chase was 42 when she co-founded Zipcar. She left the company in 2011 and continues to grow start-ups and serve as a member of the World Economic Forum.
Looking back further into the annals of history, the father of the auto industry,
Henry Ford, was 45 when he created the Model T car in 1908. Colonel Sanders founded the world's second-largest fast-food chain at the age of 45.
The name Momofuku Ando may not ring a bell, but many of us would not have made it through college without him. The Taiwanese-Japanese investor invented instant ramen at age 48 in 1958.
Last but by no means least, Betty White became one of the most awarded comedic actors in the world after she performed on
The Mary Tyler Moore Show at age 51. If Betty could do it, you can too! |
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Worth Reading |
How NASA Astronauts
Maintain Their
Mental Health
By Guadalupe Gonzalez
Inc. |
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Humans are designed for connection; coping with isolation is a superhuman task. After over 280 days on the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts provide valuable wisdom in this short video. From keeping a routine to give themselves structure to finding ways to keep interactively connected with loved ones, here's how they stay mentally fit while isolated high above the sky on the ISS. |
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190+ Catchy Headlines/
Blog Titles to Get
More Attention
By Raelyn Tan
raelyntan.com |
The headline is the hook. Think about the things you've clicked online or the
emails
in your inbox that have made you pause while scrolling to read more.
In a complex world filled with so much attention-grabbing stimuli, a catchy
headline draws in the right reader who actively engages with your content. Check
out these high-converting templates for some inspiration. |
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4 Email Marketing Mistakes You Don't Want to Make |
With all of the effort that goes into making a quality email that looks good, keeps your customers engaged and expands your reach, getting noticed in your recipients' already-flooded inboxes is a goal that often gets put on the back burner. Here are critical mistakes to avoid for a successful marketing email.
Ignoring spam complaints. Keep your spam complaints as low as possible. Along with several international laws regarding opt-ins (and "-outs"), individuals who flag your email as spam impact your "sender reputation." Keeping this reputation score as high as possible is the best way to bypass touchy spam filters and keep your emails both opened and acted on.
Using image heavy designs. Emails that contain several images take longer to load, making people likely to bail out while waiting for the email to open or automatically delete these emails containing larger file sizes when de-cluttering inboxes.
Overlooking "trigger words." There are certain hackneyed phrases that spam filters look for and actually trigger your beautifully designed email to head straight into the trash bin. Phrases that make exaggerated claims or create unnecessary urgency, like "Save Up To 50% ..." are common triggers. Keep up to date with the latest "trigger words" when composing your email.
Forgetting your brand. Building a strong brand requires consistency in every medium. Through your design, word choices and the overall attitude of the email, make sure that you are holding true to your brand's personality across the board. This is especially true for your email's subject lines. Help your recipients to easily identify you in their mountain of emails. |
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Share This Newsletter
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If you find this newsletter helpful or interesting, share it with those you care about.
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Links You Can Use - Email Marketing |
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Email marketing is a powerful tool to keep relevant, generate new leads and create sales. Here are tips for cultivating an active email database that grows organically. |
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Best Practices for Growing and Maintaining Your Contact Lists |
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Discover top tips for maintaining an engaged contact list. |
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Lead Magnets: What They Are and How They Can Work for You |
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Rapidly grow your email database by employing lead magnets. |
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High Email Unsubscribe Rate? Here's Why That's a Good Thing |
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Find out why unsubscribers
can actually be a blessing
in disguise. |
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Email Frequency: Best Practices for Email Marketers |
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Walk the fine line between over- and
under-contacting customers with these
tips to find your perfect balance. |
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The Basics to Approaching Cash Management |
Knowing that cash is important to a business is as basic as understanding that fire is hot. Despite awareness of these facts, running low on funds is a common way of getting burned by cash management problems. Some cash crunches are unexpected, but many are avoidable. Averting common cash management mistakes is key to preventing disaster.
Collecting Revenue
Unless a business has retail customers who pay at the time of sale, it will have accounts receivable to manage. Reviewing what's owed should occur routinely. Examination each week is advisable. An invoice should never age beyond the due date. A customer who is merely one day late should be contacted personally.
Immediate payment and future promptness are most likely to occur with a polite phone call. Sometimes a customer simply forgot about paying an invoice. Customers with cash flow problems are often embarrassed by their situations. Arranging a partial payment and an installment plan will ease their concerns. The focus of a sound collection system is providing predictable cash flow that sustains the organization.
Managing Costs
Bills for some things arrive every month. But a lot of business expenses are incurred at various times during the year. A little income each month must be set aside for paying the bills received in only some months. This cash management is easily administered with a general budget that conveys when these nonrecurring costs are due. A little cash must also be conserved for surprise events, such as replacing broken or worn-out equipment.
Most important of all, payroll expenses should never become a burden. This is not an expense that sneaks up on a business. Enough money for paying staff as well as contract workers must always be set aside in advance. Especially vital is including payroll tax deposits in cash planning.
Efficient personnel management is essential to minimizing payroll expenses. This requires planning for work that lies ahead and appropriately scheduling workers.
Spending Errors
An entrepreneur can accidentally succumb to impulse spending that strays off course in the same way a person may blow a family budget. A mindset to resist unnecessary purchases is crucial. You want every purchase aimed at increasing productivity.
For example, stocking up on inventory or supplies at discounted prices may appear beneficial, but that's not true when it triggers a cash shortage. Bulk purchases are not worthwhile if they crimp business cash. They eliminate the funds necessary for more important actions that result in higher revenue.
Another common temptation to resist is purchasing the latest tech gadgets. Upgrades to business technology should be planned in advance as part of forecasted expenditures in the upcoming year. System replacements are typically only necessary every few years.
Similarly, paying vendors early to obtain discounts might be unadvisable. This can sabotage your objective of holding cash for immediate needs. In fact, a cash shortage may arise that necessitates late payment. By communicating these setbacks immediately to vendors, a business owner is able to explain the temporary difficulty and commit to a promised payment date in the future. |
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This newsletter and any information contained herein are intended for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial or medical advice. The publisher takes great efforts to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this newsletter. However, we will not be responsible at any time for any errors or omissions or any damages, howsoever caused, that result from its use. Seek competent professional advice and/or legal counsel with respect to any matter discussed or published in this newsletter. |
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