Thought for today:

In business, there are so many competing interests in the course of a day.  It takes vigilance to keep up clarity about profit margins.  Business Debtors Anonymous has a tool for that…

Members share:

“Focus is crucial in managing a product line.  I was vague about what I was selling.   Each product deserved its own story.”

“I run a school, and I couldn’t tell you what my profit margin is.”

“I run a theatrical production company, and the advice of DA members has been invaluable.  I learned how to use spreadsheets for marketing and production costs, and I measure results of every dollar spent.”

“I work in nonprofit campaigns and my favorite metric is ‘Cost to Raise a Dollar’.  Without that, I wouldn’t have a clue which campaigns are showing results.”

We can ask ourselves: 

• How many products or services do I sell?
• What does it cost to deliver each of them?
• Can my business survive and thrive at these margins?
• What does it cost to develop a product, market, sell, replenish and store?
• What are my administrative costs?
• Should I cut an underperforming product?

These are just some of the questions that naturally come up when working BDA Tool Six.

Ask:

Am I focused on eliminating wasted time and materials, and improving processes?  How have I improved my profit margin lately?

Meditation for today:

We can think of our business as a manufacturing plant floor, where work moves from one end to the other, through a series of work stations.  A bottleneck in one area slows up the entire product line, and this should be our focus to free up resources.

Kanban charts are a simple tool for managing workflows. We write each task on a card, and each card moves through a series of columns, from left to right as work gets done, such as: “To Do”, “Planning”, “Doing”, “Testing”, and “Done”.  Using this method can avoid waste.

Affirmation for today:

“I will manage any issue that hinders delivery of my product by calmly breaking the problem down into its parts and taking those on one at a time.”

“I understand the environment around and throughout my business, so I can better identify any bottlenecks or waste.”

A Currency of Hope

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