Eliminating Profit Killers Could be What Takes Your Business to the Next Level
Over the past 40 years, I’ve worked with thousands of business owners, and that’s no exaggeration. One of the most surprising things I’ve learned in that time was that there’s surprisingly little difference between businesses that thrive and businesses that seem to perpetually struggle. However, there’s one difference in particular that I want to talk about today, and that’s eliminating profit killers.
If you don’t know already, a profit killer is a deficiency in your business that stops it from reaching its fullest potential. Eliminating them is virtually guaranteed to boost your sales, increase your efficiency, and maximize your profits. At first glance, this may seem like a daunting task, but keep in mind that every business, at some point or another, has had to deal with profit killers at some point or another.
Knowing this, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that in many cases, eliminating these profit killers is not as difficult as it sounds. Rarely are they truly “unfixable.” In fact, since every business has dealt with them, there’s a very good chance that someone else has already solved the problem for you, and you just need to apply the same methods that they did. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time you encounter a profit killer.
The bad news is that many business owners don’t know how to recognize profit killers themselves. All they know is that they’re working harder than ever and their profits don’t seem to be going up—in fact, they may even be dropping. For entrepreneurs who already devote a massive amount of time to their business already, this can be extremely demoralizing, especially when they know their business has incredible potential. Unfortunately, if they don’t learn how to recognize profit killers (and learn to eliminate them for good), the circumstances aren’t going to improve.
On top of that, once a profit killer is identified, even when you already know the solution, fixing it takes consistent, hard work. For business owners already exhausted by trying to keep themselves afloat, this may seem daunting, and that’s understandable. Running a business isn’t easy. With all of that said, however, the hard work you put in to eliminate profit killers is 100% worth it. At the end of the day, you’ll see greater profits, less stress, and overall better value from the time you put into your work.
There’s no easy, one-size-fits-all solution to profit killers, but there are some general principles to keep in mind to help you deal with them. I’m going to list a few of them below—if you’re a struggling business owner and you haven’t tried any of these ideas yet, it’s time to start taking notes.
Before we begin, I want to note that this week’s topic is going to be a two-parter. This week, I’ll be talking about profit killers, what they are, and what to expect when you’re dealing with them, and the mindset you’ll need to get rid of them entirely. Next week, I’ll go into further details regarding solutions, since there’s no easy answer. In the meantime, here are some things to keep in mind as you move forward:
Eliminating Profit Killers with Outside Help
The honest truth is that most business owners won’t necessarily be able to recognize profit killers on their own. It’s here that outside help becomes a major factor for them. Getting a consultant, profit coach, or CPA can provide you with valuable outside perspectives that can make a difference in your business. Put simply, you want someone who can cover your blind spots.
There’s no downsides to having someone around to give you a second opinion. When it comes to business especially, a look from the outside goes a long way. If your business is struggling and it feels like the work you’re putting in too much work for little to no ROI, this could be the missing element that makes all the difference for you.
Eliminate Profit Killers by Prioritizing Them
This may seem obvious, but if you want to eliminate your profit killers, you need to make that task your #1 priority. Many business owners think that once they identify the problem, they can throw together an “easy fix” and pay little to no mind afterward. While these quick fixes may ease their problems, for the time being, there’s a very low chance that the problem will actually be solved.
Eliminating profit killers takes a certain degree of persistence. If you’re going to get rid of them, you’ll have to put a lot of focus on doing so. Put aside the time to get it done, and then follow through. Profit killers never go away on their own.
Eliminate Profit Killers by Putting in the Work
This ties into the previous point, but it’s too important to not emphasize on its own: If you want to eliminate profit killers for good, you need to put in the work to do it.
Putting aside the time to implement your fixes is only the first step. From there, eliminating your profit killers takes hard, consistent work. They don’t get fixed overnight—the best and the only real solution is persistence, determination, and full commitment. Running on autopilot will get you nowhere, and the last thing you want is for all of your hard work to be wasted. Maximizing the value of your time will maximize your profits, guaranteed.
Next week, I’ll be going over the Profit Killer Diagnostic Quiz. This quiz is designed to help you identify the profit killers in your business, and from there, I’ll be going over my step-by-step guide to getting rid of them, plus different solutions to specific problems you may be having. Keep what we discussed this week in mind, and mentally prepare to fully commit yourself to work solutions.
In the meantime, I hope you found this information valuable, and it gave you an idea of what to expect when it comes to eliminating profit killers. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it, and you can do it. Until next week, stay safe, stay healthy, and like I always say, “Let’s make this our most profitable year ever.”