A Lesson Learned From a Client – Smart Business Thinking

A Lesson Learned From a Client – Smart Business Thinking

Working with innovative and resourceful business owners is a learning experience. Many use their imagination to solve a problem they’ve never thought about.

Here’s one where two therapists, new to running a business, used creative thinking to get their hands around a problem.

The two young therapists who had worked together decided to start a practice in Arlington. They are excellent therapists, with a practiced home-based plan to reduce childrens’ stress. The idea made sense, and their marketing plan had merit.

They had worked only as employees, so they had no experience running a business. And they soon faced a typical start-up problem: the business was not generating enough cash to pay expenses and their salaries.

The partners attended one of my presentations on starting and growing a business. A week later they asked for help to create a smooth-working practice with sustainable growth.

Needless to say, they were perplexed. They struggled to figure out the weakness in the practice's cash flow.

Then came their lesson in ingenuity. To understand their dilemma, they bought a Monopoly game and used the money to understand what was happening to the cash flow.

They placed the money in two categories – revenue & expenses. The exercise drew a stark picture and yet it was the age-old problem for small businesses – not enough revenue to cover their spending.

That solved their quandary but not the cash imbalance.

To put the company on an even keel I instituted:

·      A marketing plan to increase revenue

·      A maximum allowable spending limit

·      A scheduled reduction of outstanding debt

·      A cushion for unanticipated needs

Then I worked with them on a strategic plan:

·      Establish the vision

·      Identify the milestones

·      Concentrate on the outcome

They envisioned their practice expanding from Arlington to a 30-mile radius in Northern Virginia.

Milestones included:

·      Increase the client capacity to 100 children

·      Add the number of therapists to achieve that growth

·      Expand office facilities to include space for caregiver education

Bottom Line?

1.     Develop a business mindset to focus on building long-term success.

2.     Use whatever tools come to mind that will advance the solution.

3.     Plan for the future thereby making decisions on current issues that are in line with the vision.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor to management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.