Are You Making These 5 Profit Killing Business Mistakes?
As Ben Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
With all the moving parts of your business, it’s no wonder that some things can fall through the cracks, diminishing your profits and affecting your business growth. If you don’t “check-in” on your business now and then, a couple small business mistakes can become detrimental problems in your business success.
ARE YOU MAKING THESE 5 BUSINESS MISTAKES?
1. INCONSISTENT BRANDING AND MARKETING
It’s just not enough to publish a couple of times on Facebook or post a LinkedIn update here and there. The same goes for ignoring your email list. If you fail to stick with a consistent marketing plan, people will forget your name, forget how they got on your email list, or forget why they’re even following you on social media.
You end up starting back at the beginning. All of these forgotten people will need to be won over again. They need to hear from you consistently before deciding to purchase your products or services. Getting them to know, like and trust you takes time.
A marketing plan is the first step to achieving this consistency. If you don’t have a marketing plan, now is the time to start one. It doesn’t have to be complicated; it just needs to get you set on daily/weekly/monthly tasks that lead you to your big marketing goals and continuously grow your business.
2. FAILURE TO AUTOMATE
Are you stuck in the old-school way of doing things, like personally making phone calls to confirm your appointments instead of using technology to send reminders to confirm?
Even posting on your social media channels can be automated using platforms such as Meet Edgar. Yes, these automation tools do cost money but compared to the costs to the cost of an employee or even a virtual assistant doing the same task, you can’t pass up these time savers. The old-school ways are much more time-consuming and cost you significantly more money in the long run.
WorkMarket’s 2020 In(Sight) Report vividly details the very tangible and costly impact inefficient workforces have on revenue and overhead for businesses, as well as personal profit and peace of mind for employees.
The data is clear. Employees consider many aspects of their jobs to be repetitive and open to automation, while business leaders claim that significant portions of their workdays are ideal fits for automation and AI. In fact, according to the report, 53% of employees state that they can save up to 2 work hours a day (240 hours per year) through automation, and 78% of business leaders posit that automation can free up to 3 work hours a day (360 hours per year). Think about those numbers. They’re staggering.
Imagine being able to save 3 hours every single day!
Check out the resources page for the latest technology that can help you automate while sticking with your business budget.
3. A LACK OF MESSAGING OR BRANDING
Do you know your company’s mission? What is your USP – your Unique Selling Point? If you can’t answer these 2 questions, you need to revisit your business messaging. Remember that branding is more than your logo, your business name, and your style; branding includes your overall image and your promise to your customers.
William Arruda from Forbes says this about message consistency, “Consistency is the key to successful branding. And consistency goes beyond the product itself. The brand promise must be clear with every interaction each stakeholder experiences. That means every part of the organization has a role to play in branding, from research and development to finance to talent development.
But being consistent doesn’t mean that you can’t change. In fact, consistency gives you a firm foundation for evolving into offering even more options for even more people. Once you have built a reputation through the consistent delivery of your brand promise, you have permission to evolve and expand.”
It may be time to drill down on the core principles that drive your business and get a better grasp of your overall branding and message. This can be an effective strategy for fixing your messaging business mistakes.
4. POOR MONEY MANAGEMENT
Do you have processes in place for your accounting and paying your invoices? Do you know what your income vs. expenses looks like? Do you have a bad habit of buying training and course that you don’t have the time to use? Have you taken a look at your recurring charges on your credit card or PayPal account?
There is no reason you should be surprised at the end of the month with how much (or how little) profit you made if you have good financial processes in place. Businesses that are ready for growth have good money management processes in place.
Starting with a basic version of accounting software like Quickbooks so you can look at your monthly profit and loss and set yourself a budget and sales goals to get yourself on track with improving your money management.
5. NOT REINVESTING IN YOUR BUSINESS
Think of reinvesting as one of the best ways to grow your business. Instead of taking all your extra profits to pay yourself each month, keep that money in your business and use it to grow your business.
Some ways to do this are to hire a virtual assistant to take some tasks off your plate, purchase training tools or software that will help your business grow, or invest in a business coach to guide your journey. Each of these options will help your business run more efficiently, giving you more time to serve your customers and prospects.
Entrepreneur.com suggests these ways to invest and reinvest your company’s first profits.
- Business improvements
- Marketing
- Invest in your team
- Invest in yourself
- Hire help.
- Consider coaching
- Outsource your least favorite tasks
- Improve your SEO
- Create a cash buffer
Of course, you still should pay yourself a salary every month, but be sure to set aside a portion of your profits to go back into the business each month so you can continue to grow.
Now is a great time to take a look at your business marketing and operations. See if you are making any of these business mistakes and take the time to get them fixed.
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Here's to working SMART.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: TORIE MATHIS
Torie Mathis helps entrepreneurs get from where they are to where they want to be by working smart. She is a best-selling author, Army veteran, speaker + trainer, and your mentor to creating the business+ life you love. She has cracked the code for creating a lucrative, independent business + an amazing lifestyle. She can help you with your marketing and business growth, your clarity and purpose and help you reach your vision of success. 🙂
Torie hosts SMART AF, a show for non-techy, non-marketers looking to grow their business, with her husband Sean and is the creator of SMART AF Magazine.
Trying to figure out all the new tech tools, marketing strategies, and social media channels is a pain. I know.
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