Before the current economic recession, how was your business really doing? There were businesses that were obviously doing poorly and others that were obviously doing well. However, there were also businesses that seemed to be doing well; but, were actually built on shaky foundations. In many cases, the differences between those businesses have become underscored and very apparent since the economic crash of 2008.

So what’s the real difference between businesses that are doing well and ones that only appear to be doing well? More often than not, it simply boils down to whether or not management really knows what is going on inside the business. It is the difference between using your data to forecast trends so that you are prepared for what’s on the way vs. being forced to react to what has already happened.

If you ask truly successful business people specific questions about their businesses, they can generally answer your questions in very accurate specific terms. They keep track of how their business is doing by using Key Performance Indicators or KPIs for their business. Many even have their KPIs programmed into their accounting system and can look at the info “real time” on a dashboard menu on their computer. They have spent lots of time figuring out exactly which KPIs they should use as their business performance metrics.

So you may ask, “What are these KPIs or which ones should I use?” Well, that answer really is very subjective and dependent on the specifics of your business. Some fairly typical KPIs that might be considered are 1) revenue per employee, 2) revenue per unit of fixed cost, 3) number of units produced per employee hour, 4) total number of units per day, 5) revenue per dollar of inventory, 6) the acid ratio, 7) work backlog per month. The list is endless and, again, really depends on what YOU think is important for YOU to know about your business.

In essence, KPIs tell the story of your business. Your performance indicators should give you a complete snapshot of how your business is doing at a given moment in time. For example, if you have a bank loan, then you already have a set of KPIs that were selected by your bank to monitor your business. Why? Because, the bank wants to be able to look at your numbers and quickly assess whether the health of your business has changed. Keeping track of key performance indicators is most often the difference between knowing what’s going on in your business and not knowing.

So, let’s revisit the original question. Before the current economic recession, just how was your business really doing? How is it doing now? If you are not happy with your business, do you know why it is not meeting your expectations? If you don’t REALLY know what the problems are, then you certainly cannot take steps to fix them. If this is your situation, then it might be time to dig deep and identify where the problems lie. From that point, you can determine exactly what corrections need to be made and select KPIs that will help you measure your progress towards the business that you want to have.

SELL YOUR TIME FOR THOUSANDS OF TIMES MORE THAN YOU THINK IT IS WORTH RIGHT NOW

The fundamental purpose of any business is to make profit for the owners through providing a service to the customers.  Now, all businesses go about achieving this basic purpose through different means.  But, all successful businesses are bound by a single common thread that allows them to achieve their ultimate goal…making money for the owner.  That one commonality is that they leverage time to generate profit.

It does not matter what type of business, what business model or what industry.  All businesses leverage time in some fashion in order to make money.  The better a business becomes at leveraging time in order to perform more work more efficiently, the more profitable and more stable the business will become.  It’s really pretty simple if you think about it.  The more efficient a business becomes, the more work it can perform which creates more profit dollars and a higher percentage of profit from everything that it does.

All businesses perform this leveraging process in the way that best fits their type of business and business model.  For instance, a car manufacturer might use equipment or robotics to reduce its work force while, at the same time, making more cars.  A construction company might purchase cranes and power tools to increase their work output.  In the 1980’s and 90’s the computer revolution took hold.  During that time, almost every single company in the U.S. computerized huge portions of their office work thus allowing the companies to leverage time more effectively.

However, the single most common and basic method that companies use to leverage time continues to be wholesaling the time of employees.  Are you scratching your head wondering, what does he mean?  If you are, it is just because you are not used to thinking about your time in terms of a commodity that can be used or traded.

We could discuss almost an endless number of examples of this.  But, a very clear example of this is a professional company like a law firm, a CPA firm or an engineering company.  These types of companies have a very simple business model.  They charge their customers by the hour and they pay their employees a fraction of what they charge their customers.  For instance a law firm might pay its junior attorneys $150.00 per hour but charge the client $250.00 for the employee’s time.  All companies from burger joints to New York law firms do this.

This is the central concept of leveraging time.  Put another way, if you work for someone else, you are selling your time for a wholesale price to your employer and letting them sell your time for a retail price.  Now, take a moment, read that again and just let it sink in.  If you really absorb this concept, you will change your point of view and a little light will come on.  Now you clearly understand why your boss will never pay you what your time is truly worth, don’t you?  He simply cannot pay you what he charges his customers and still stay in business, can he? 

Now you may be wondering how you can get in on that action.  Well, most traditional businesses have an exceptionally high entry fee because they require a building, employees, insurance, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, bank debt, etc.  In essence, the typical business has lots of risk and, the bigger it gets, the more risk is involved for the owner.  So what are YOU supposed to do?  How do you start your own business?

Well, luckily for you, I’ve saved the best for last! THE INTERNET BASED BUSINESS is your ticket to leveraging time like never before in the history of man.  You, yes YOU, can literally leverage your time tens of thousands of times over with very little investment.  Take a little advice from someone who has built multimillion dollar businesses from the ground up.  An internet based business involves MUCH less risk than a traditional business.  An internet based business allows you to leverage your time with the power of the internet.  You can literally reach billions of people worldwide at the same time with a system that works 24/7/365 while you are doing other things.  You can have a business with no employees, no inventory, no insurance, no building, no rent and no significant debt.  You can have a business that has an 80% profit margin on an almost limitless income potential that you can operate from virtually anywhere in the world. 

If you are willing to go through some education, back to school if you will, you can break the chains of working for someone else forever.  Can you imagine gaining not only your financial freedom but free time as well?  Can you imagine selling your time for thousands of times more than you think it is worth right now?  It is not only possible; but it is just a decision away.  If you really want to have complete control of your life, start today!

THE REALLY UN-SUGARCOATED TRUTH ABOUT STARTING A BUSINESS AND WHY THE  INTERNET IS SO MUCH BETTER

So, you’re interested in finding out more about starting a business.  Whether you currently own a business, have always dreamed of owning one or are just checking it out, you have a reason that has gotten you to start the research.  Everyone has their own reason, their “thing”, why they might want to start a business and everyone thinks that theirs is unique.  But no matter what the “thing”, it is going to boil down to one of two BASIC reasons.  That reason will either be  (1) You have a burning passion for something that you want to do or accomplish or (2) You need a way to make the amount of money that you think you’re worth, but that no one else will pay you.

If you’re truly, and I mean truly, lucky you’ll have both.  Lots of people want to make more money, but few of those have the burning passion to go with it.  That’s why 95% of all new businesses fail within the first five years.  That desire to make more money wears off really quickly unless you have something else pushing, or possibly pursuing, you.  It’s just too easy to decide to pop the top on a cold drink and watch the game with friends, to go to a movie, to go fishing or whatever else you enjoy.  Do that only a few times and your motivation for your new business will be pretty much gone.

It takes discipline to be successful at anything, especially at business.  Robert Collier says, “Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out”.  That means especially when you don’t feel like doing it.  And, you have to have that desire or dream to make the discipline worth the sacrifice.

If you’re thinking about a brick and mortar business, a traditional business, then BUCKLE UP!  You had better get prepared for really big sacrifice!  Think about how you are going to feel when you are working 16 hours a day for months on end because you have to do paperwork at night after the business is “closed”.  Will you be able to keep going when your spouse keeps complaining that they never see you?  How will you feel when all your employees go home for the day and you have to stay for hours just to finish up?  Will you be able to handle the pressure of all the debt, the second mortgage, maxed out credit cards, borrowing from friends and family, personal guarantees, risking everything you have?  What will happen if everyone else gets paid, but you can’t take home a paycheck for a few months because there just wasn’t enough money left at the end of the month?  Will you still believe in your business?  Heck, will you still believe in yourself?

In addition to these issues, you will need to learn to think differently.  You will have to learn many new skills.  A short list might include site selection for your business, lease negotiations, developing bank relationships, sales, employee relations, hiring and firing, accounting, tax strategy, withholding taxes,  inventory management, etc., etc. 

If the answer to these questions is “no”, then you don’t have that burning desire, that dream that drives you.  You may not be willing to do what is necessary to succeed and get to the other side of the mess.

But, if you truly want to start a business, then take a little advice from someone who has built multi-million dollar businesses from the ground up.  Internet based business involves MUCH less risk.  Internet based business allows you to leverage your time with the power of the internet.  You can literally reach billions of people worldwide at the same time with a system that works 24/7/365 while you are doing other things.  You can have a business with no employees, no inventory, no insurance, no building, no rent and no significant debt.  You can have a business that has an 80% profit margin on an almost limitless income potential that you can operate from virtually anywhere in the world. 

 No amount of money in the world is worth working 60 hours and more per week and not seeing your family.   However, the rewards associated with building a business the right way are almost unimaginable.