The Setback That Taught Me to Focus on Profit
Sometimes the win is finally seeing what needs to change.
One cold winter day, I sat beside a fire in my mentor’s home outside Anchorage, trying to figure out why my marketing consulting business couldn’t get ahead.
I had clients, I had hired people to help me, and I was busy doing everything from serving customers to keeping the books, but I was still struggling to pay the bills. So I went to that meeting wanting to know how to make more money.
My mentor, Lee Berglund, looked at my finances and helped me see what I had missed. I knew how to generate revenue. I wasn’t paying enough attention to net profit.
That was uncomfortable to admit. It was also something I could work on.
I don’t look back on that struggle and pretend it felt good. But it gave me a lesson I still use: when I hit a hurdle, I step back and reconsider the goal before putting more effort into the same approach.
I had been focused on bringing more money in, when what I really needed was to keep more of what I earned. That distinction is why I put so much emphasis on knowing your numbers.
In my one-on-one coaching, I help business owners look closely at the challenge in front of them, clarify the outcome they actually want, and decide what needs to change.
Try this with one recent setback. Write down the result you were trying to achieve, then finish this sentence: “What I really need to improve is _____.” Use what happened as evidence, and make that answer specific enough to guide your next decision.
What has this setback helped you see more clearly?
If it has highlighted how much your business still depends on you, my Owner Diagnostic can help you take a closer look.
If you’d like my help turning that insight into a focused next step, reply and tell me what happened. We can explore working together one-on-one.
To your freedom,
Ral West
Livin’ the Dream
Take 3 minutes to find out how much your business still depends on you, and what to hand off first. See the link to my Owner Diagnostic below. |
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