Once a month I sit on a military transition panel where the audience includes perhaps a dozen or so folks considering following an entrepreneurial path after separating from the armed forces. I often ask them why are they considering going into business rather than “working for the man,” as they say. I get the usual […]
Diversify: Good Advice For Stocks, Good Advice For Business Read More »
Why do we take notes? One reason is it forces us to take new information and consider it in context so that we can produce relevant knowledge and wisdom. The physical act of writing down our thoughts strengthens the memory and provides greater recall later. When you read your notes and edit them, you are
How To Internalize Your Business Plan Read More »
I’m often asked “Do I really need a business plan even if I don’t need a bank loan?” My response is sometimes“Yes” and some other times “No” One thing is for certain, it is not the destination that is important when it comes to writing a business plan, but the journey you take in writing
Do You Need a Business Plan? Read More »
Ask the average person what made the car affordable and you would hear it was the way Henry Ford used the concept of the division of labor as outlined by Adam Smith in the Wealth of Nations. Most people naturally assume that if you have a job composed of many tasks it is better to
Efficiency Myth BUSTED Read More »
As an occasional golfer, I don’t have any expectation that I will hit a hole-in-one from the tee box. I expect to take several shots, each one taking into account many aspects including distance, slope, angles and more, with each stroke getting closer to the hole. I have learned that if my only goal is
Start-Ups Look For a Hole-In-One Read More »
Operating Leverage is just one part of your Economic Model. Simply put, operating leverage is the relationship between fixed costs and variable costs.
Understanding Operating Leverage Read More »
Sales Volume is just one part of your Economic Model and works in concert with margins. Sales volume is simply the number of units you sell in a specific period of time, say in a month. You can be just as successful if you have a high-margin low-volume business as you could with a low-margin
Understanding Sales Volume Read More »
Margins are just one part of your Economic Model. Margins can be defined simply as the difference between your Direct Cost to deliver a service or a product (often called COGS or Cost of Goods Sold) and the price you charge the customer for that product or service. The basic coffee you buy at Starbucks
Understanding Margins Read More »
Revenue Drivers are just one part of your Economic Model. Revenue drivers are how many ways you have to separate your customer from his money. A few years ago, I went to the Dixie-Stampede while I was in the Great Smoky Mountains. The ticket price was a reasonable $45 per person, which is a sensible
Understanding Revenue Drivers Read More »
Most clients I see can clearly articulate their Business Model, but struggle when it comes to describing their Economic Model. Simply put: Amazon and Wal-Mart share a similar low-cost, wide-selection retail model. However, their Economic Model is quite different, since one business is a virtual store and the other a physical store. Within the Economic
Understanding Your Business vs. Economic Model Read More »
